Flag Day 2016
/This is my favorite weekend of the year.
Cray Cray
/A return visit to the Lower Colorado with Sharelunker member David, was cray cray. And by that I mean those bass are hungry and in line at a mud bug buffet.
We barely paddled, and mostly let the river take us where she was going. We eddied out at several holes around the island, and got out to wade fish a couple of times too. The river anchor also allowed us to sit on top of a couple of honey holes that would have produced all day.
David was excited to see so much hydrilla, and many a bass were sheltered there. The hydrilla was mostly on the upper stretch of the run. We both also hit the Lower Co. trifecta, catching at least 1 of three species of Guadeloupe River Bass, Largemouth Bass and Catfish. The cat I had on the line, according to David, was a 7-8 pounder, and we were thrilled while thinking it was a bass, going through a little ripple, then me hopping out of the boat to beach it, before it broke off.
We didn't keep count, but bet we had 30 fish in the boat, I'll give David 20 and I'll take 10. Most were in the 3 pound range, but that's including the Guads. We scared up a couple of bigger bass, a 4 pounder and David had a big one on the line, maybe 7 or more, it broke off his 14lbs test line. There are some big ones out there. We were out the door at 6:40 and off the river at 3:30, it was like being a kid again, cray cray.
Paddling the Lower Colorado
/
Believe we have found my favorite little run close to Austin, the Lower Colorado from Little Webberville to Big Webberville Park, in...wait for it...Webberville.
Flow was 399cfs below Longhorn and about 450cfs at Bastrop. Their was plenty of water, as we never had to get out of the boat to drag her. Obviously a lot of bass in the water, TJ landed one on his and the first cast of the day. I, however, will have to work a little harder next time to get them in the boat.
After the 1st stretch, the river forks, and most of the water was moving to the right. This is a really nice island and a good place to fish. We will spend more time on that section of the river, and paddle through the top and bottom sections next time.
Ranch Weekend
/In Texas, ranch weekends are the best. Big thanks to @DPJones15 for letting us all get together. Arlo especially enjoyed swinging underneath the big Oak tree.
River Rats
/What an honor. I was invited to join the River Rats, a group of men 31 years in the making. In 1983, Jay Kauffman's dad, Al Kauffman, and his gang of misfit buddies took a river trip on the Stillwater River in Montana and started an annual tradition. The group has grown to over 60 rats and spans 2 generations now.
Rats on Suicide Summit
It is so big that this year the group split up, and original Rat member Sam Pfiester's son, Austin Pfiester put the trip together for the mostly younger generation. Austin chose the Snake River running through Hell's Canyon, which creates the border of Idaho and Oregon. We took whitewater rafts over 5 days, 4 camps, and some 60+ miles looking for trout, bass and sturgeon. Winding Waters River Expeditions were our guides, but really much more than that. We ate well, fished hard, never paddled, swam, snorkeled, kayaked, SUP, and celebrated life, summer and tradition in the mountains. It was a pleasure being on the river with such a crew.
There's more photos being shared, and I'm working my way through a ton of GoPro footage, and so far, there's some really good stuff, including sturgeon footage. I will post the video below when it's finished. A-O River!
Generations Beach House
/A post from the road. Amber, Arlo and I took a nice walk this morning. We are staying at Generations Beach House in the 30A area of Florida's Panhandle. I'm also trying out my new toy, the Sony NEX-7 and so far am digging it. Here's a couple of shots from this morning, I'm sure there will be more to come.
Amber, Arlo and Justin
Amber and Arlo
Diving Sulawesi
/No, I did not just go to Indonesia, I wish...
I was fortunate enough however to have visited Indonesia twice while my not quite yet in-laws were living in Jakarta. We visited Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2009 and I hate to say I've had this raw footage on my computer since then. I finally had to do something with it, so here it is, simple, yet informative.
Texas Monthly BBQ Festival
/The 3rd Annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival was a smoking good time. 21 of Texas' greatest BBQ joints hand picked by Texas Monthly came to Austin to celebrate meat. Brisket, sausage and plenty of ribs were smoked up and attendees could sample Texas's bounty without having to pile into the wagon and hit the road.
In my humble opinion, Lamberts from Austin had the best brisket, Buzzies from Kerrville had the best sausage (beef and pork mixture with cheese and jalapeños) and East Texas classic Country Tavern had the best ribs.
Some shady folks at the shady table. Thanks to the Thornson's for a great home base.
After stuffing my belly, our crew moved to the grass, sat in the shade, and listened to Hayes Carll and his band play.
Hayes Carl rocks away the afternoon in downtown Austin, TX.
Hayes Carll and me after the show.
Looking forward to next year's festival. Cheers!
Paddling the Upper Guadeloupe
/The Guadeloupe River is spring fed and begins near Kerrville, not far from the Herald E. Butts (H.E.B.) family ranch, according to our happy bus driver. It flows from the Hill Country to the Gulf of Mexico and is host to many tubers, kayakers and anglers. Since the Geary's moved to Spring Branch last year, we have been excited to explore the upper regions of the Guadeloupe River. With Chris and Allex in from Oklahoma, and April and Rick, we had a great crew.
Last weekend we tackled the 4.5 mile stretch from Nichols Landing (formorly known as Specs Landing) to the 281 bridge. Water was up a little from the recent rains and flowing at 40CFS, we decided we wouldn't want to go in canoes if it were much lower than 30.
Good times on the water.
