Fishing with Dad

I played hooky from work this afternoon and took Dad fishing again.  We went to the Lake Livingston Dam.  The last time that Dad and I were there together was about 24 years ago.  I couldn't drive at that time and I remember sleeping on the drive up there as Dad drove us in his Datsun 210 before the sun would rise.  Back then, we fished at the smaller dam, but now it is closed down and the larger dam is where they release all the water downstream.

We got to the larger dam around 3:30.  We drove around to a couple of spots scouting out the action.  From a point high above the dam, I had a pair of binoculars with me and I let Dad look at all the people fishing down below.  There were probably about a dozen boats in the channel below the dam, but they didn't appear to be catching anything.  Then Dad saw some people on the eastern bank of the river catching fish.

I immediately drove Dad down to the spot where we saw the people catching fish.  That area requires a parking permit to stay and fish, so I quickly unloaded our equipment, threw the cast net a few times to catch some fresh shad (bait fish) for Dad, and helped him get setup so he could start fishing.  By this time, it was about 4pm.  Once Dad was ready to fish, I jumped back into the car and drove back up the road leading into the dam to buy a parking permit from Browder's Marina.

I wasn't gone but about 15 minutes, but when I returned, Dad already had caught two white bass!  The spot he was fishing in was pretty crowded with 8 or 9 people standing just a few feet apart .  I poceeded to grab the cast net and went to catch more shad for bait.  When I got back 10 minutes later, Dad had another white bass on the stringer!  Everyone around him was pulling in fish after fish too!  Jackpot!

Since it was so tight in our selected fishing spot, I decided to let Dad keep fishing without intruding.  Over the next hour, he pulled in fish faster than I could take them off his hook with the pliers and put them on the stringer.  Every time I turned around, he had put another shad on his hook, made a cast, and hooked up with another white bass!  This reminded me of our trips to the Lake Livingston Dam many years ago.  I was always good with the cast net and so I would always catch the shad for Dad to fish.  We had an unspoken system where I would catch the bait fish and then keep them alive and strong by continuously changing out the water in our bait buckets every 15-20 minutes.

Needless to say, our unspoken system allowed Dad much more fishing time than me.  I didn't mind and today was no different.  I always enjoyed the way Dad's face would light up when he hooked into a fish.  At almost 80-years old, he looks like a kid on Christmas morning!  With barely enough strength to walk around without his cane, he somehow seems to find superhuman strength from deep inside to land those big fish!  Either that or he is faking the "old man routine" so that I can do all the heavy lifting on our fishing trips!  Hahaha!

After Dad had caught about 15 white bass, he told me that his arms were tired from fighting the fish and he wanted to rest a little bit.  I setup my fishing rod, stepped into his spot, and went to work.  I caught a few white bass pretty quickly.  But Dad seemed to be re-energized and I tagged him in again!  :-)  He didn't miss a beat and caught fish fast and furious.

Well, the sun started to sink on the horizon and we decided to pack it up.  The total count for our 3-1/2 hours of fishing today - 22 white bass (kept), 1 freshwater black drum, and 5 white bass released (undersized).  Dad had 19 of our keepers and I had 4 keepers.  Just like old times...Dad out-fished me again!  But what a great day on the water!  I might have to play hooky from work more often!

When we got home, Mom's eyes widened as big as golf balls when I opened the cooler and showed her all the fish we caught.  Mom and Dad are going to have enough fish to eat for the next month....but that won't stop Dad and me from going fishing again soon!  Hahaha! 

We fished a new spot today, with a new technique, but seeing Dad excited over catching fish is just as fun today as it was 24 years ago.  Attached are some pictures of our adventure.  I also want to invite any one of you who would like to come fishing with us to join us when your schedule permits.  Just let me know.  We've been going almost every weekend.  With spring here and the temperatures warming up, the fishing should get better and better over the next couple of months!