Corpusfishing.com

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My dad wanted to come to Texas to visit my brother Jimmy in Houston and also visit me here in the coastal bend. Back in the early 80's he had a 31' charter boat in Port Aransas named the "POLLYMARJEAN". In 1983 he made a move to North Carolina and I have only seen him a handful of times since then. I have always wanted to go fishing with him again since he is the one that got me started fishing. I have many fond memories of our early fishing experience at Galveston, Texas City Dike, Sam Rayburn and the Lake Livingston Dam. We set a date for last week and I made reservations for a cabin and tent camping site at Coleto. I needed a tent site because dogs are not allowed in the cabins and I would be camping with their dog, "Surf". Surf is a fixed male schnauzer and will bark continuously unless you are right there by his side. My dad and his wife Susan will be arriving Monday morning. I decide to arrive late Sunday evening, just in time to put out a few jug lines so we will have fresh fish for supper Monday or Tuesday night. My dad and I will be leaving on Thursday, check-out time is 2 PM.

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Well, the weather last Sunday was cold and very windy. When I arrived Sunday afternoon around 5 PM I was hesitant to go set out my jug lines since the wind was blowing so hard. When I arrived at the boat ramp I headed to the restroom for a quick break. When I was walking back to the boat a young boy around 12 years old approached me. He asked if that was my boat and pointed at the "Skeeter." I said yes and he replied, "That's a really nice looking boat". I explained that it is a 1971 model and that there are few of these still around. I asked him if he was fishing and he said, "No". I then asked what he was doing and he said, "Listening to music". I asked where is your music and he said. "On my back". I was confused until he turned around and I saw a small back pack attached to his back. I asked who he was with and he said, "I'm here with my dad and he is fishing at the boat ramp. I then looked and saw his dad holding a keeper bass he had just caught. I went ahead and got ready to launch. As I was lining up with the ramp I looked over and saw this young boy watching my every move. At this time I parked my truck, got out and went over to the boy's dad. I then asked if I could take his son out on a short boat ride. He said that would be fine so I told the boy he was about to go on the ride of a lifetime. I knew as soon as we got out of that cove he would get bounced around and soaking wet in less that 30 seconds. Well, the ride lasted less than 10 minutes but I can assure you that young boy will remember those huge swells and cold water for the rest of his life! He thought he was on the best ride Disney World had to offer!

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I say my goodbye's to the young boy and head out for what can be best described best as a cold wet ride. I pick the calmest shoreline just past the dam and start making and baiting my lines. I only have enough time to put out 5 lines before it starts getting dark. I have put two hooks on each line and have baited each hook with large shrimp I had bought a few weeks ago outside Freeport. I quickly return to the protected cove and park my boat on the bank just behind cabin 62. This is the largest cabin at the park and I am here because cabin 63(The one I had reserved) just had a water leak and everything is wet inside. I guess if we were staying at the Omni Hotel this would be called "An Upgrade!" My dad and Susan will be staying at the nicest cabin in the park while I will be sleeping in a cold tent with "Surf".

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It's after midnight and I am wide awake. I decide to go check my lines and see what I have caught. Well, I have caught nothing. There are a few shrimp missing and that's it. I bait the three lines with missing shrimp and decide to move the other two. I head up the lake and pick a shoreline near some trees. The sky is clear and the moon is so bright I do not even need my spotlight to find my jugs. With everything rebaited I head back to the camp to get a little more sleep. Before I head back to the cabin I decide to fish with dead shrimp off my boat tied to the shore. I quickly catch two "Bullhead" catfish and a bluegill as big as my hand. No more bites, so I head to the warm cabin for one last nap before my dad arrives.

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My dad arrives early Monday morning and we go out to check my lines. Before we leave I have to reel in my two lines I have cast out from my boat before I went back to sleep. To my good fortune I have an 18" channel cat on one. Finally a start for our fish fry. When we check my lines I have two more nice sized channel cats. I re-bait everything and put out a couple more lines. I have brought 12 jugs and eventually get all 12 out. The fishing is pretty slow all four days but I manage to catch a few while my dad never catches a fish. When I am driving home I realize I have not even taken a picture of my dad the entire trip. That is OK, because I seem to remember fishing trips years ago like they just happened yesterday and this trip will always be fresh in my mind!

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Here are a few pictures of my dad and his charter boat from the early 80's. He is the one in the white collared shirt. He was a life insurance salesman for National Life Insurance Co. in Houston for many years. He is the only fisherman I knew that went wade fishing below Lake Livingstons Dam with pencils in his shirt pocket. I guess you never know, where you could write a "Life Insurance Policy!"

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My dad pictured with my old friend and taxidermist, "David Heard". If anyone knows where David is these days, I would like to know. He moved from Aransas Pass in the 90's and has gone like the wind. I found where he was in Florida 10 years ago but nothing since then.

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Here is a family photo. My dad top left, my brother Jimmy top right and my other brother "Pirate Larry" bottom row right in the middle.

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A big snapper catch first trip out after Hurricane Allen in 1980.

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A few pictures from my favorite cove at Coleto and my last days catch. The bass on top is 18" and the tilapia was caught on dead shrimp.

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Oh, I almost forgot about the ,"Bull Fighting". I saw this on the road between Refugio and Goliad. Never seen anything like it before.

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