Needed a Bigger Cooler

[Darrells]

First the story. Don't jump ahead, be patient GrassHopper....

Ron and I hit the brazos below the Falls yesterday for a little R&R overnighter. I was just a liitle concerned about the fishing as a front had just blown thru and the River was dropping. We always have a great time regardless of the fishing so it really did not matter too much. We got started about 3:00 and stopped and fished a couple of places along the way.

We messed around for a couple of hours and headed on the place we were going to camp. We really like this spot as it is not muddy, fairly flat, and has abundant fire wood (we always have a fire while camping).

The evening wore on and we caught a few small Channels and Gaspers. The cooler it got the bigger the fire got.

About 8:00 or so we decided to start supper and let the fire burn down to cook the Ribeyes.

It is hard to beat a steak cooked over an open fire.

About Midnight we decided to turn in and get some sleep. We had both bought a tent that straps to your cot and we both were pleased with them.

We awoke pretty early and just sat around had some coffee and shot the bull. Neither of us were in a hurry to get going and it felt really good to be able to relax. We were sitting in front of the fire as the temps were in the mid Forty's and a stiff North wind when I looked over and one of my poles was bent if half. I grabbed it and immediately knew it was a good fish. After about ten minutes or so I finnaly got him to the bank and Ron grabbed it by the gills and pulled it up. Before ever weighing it I knew it was a PB Blue for me. She weiighed #35 on two different sets of scales.

I needed a bigger cooler.

We fished for another couple of hours woithout much luck and decided to load up and head upstream. Loaded and ready.

It was not a bad paddle back upstream and we were soon at the take out. just in time for a great Sunset.

Couple of pics from the house.

As always it was great to spend some time with my paddling partner on a River we both like to paddle/fish on.

 

[jdupre']

That sure is a whopper! I see why you and Ron bring those heavy rods and reels. Great report. Those ribeyes look GOOD!
Fill us in on those neat tents. Looks like a nice alternative to a comfy hammock.

Joey

 

[tx river rat]

This was really a fun trip.
Darrel and I always have a good time we believe in eating paddling ,watching out for each other , camping , our personality's just fit and even if the fish are not biting we have a ball.
We saw and heard a lot of wildlife ,hogs fighting, owls. two coyotes walked out within 50 ft ,king fishers , killdees ,sandhill cranes. Darrel caught a turtle I had never seen ,his shell looked like a polished slab of wood ,maybe he will post a pic.
The food was great, I never once wished for an mre or a can of beany weineys
This trip brought back a lot of memories. My first experience fishing in this spot was a long time ago ,I was fifteen at the time . Lynn took me there on a day fishing trip. Lynn was my mentor on the Brazos and knew more about that river ,the holes and catching the fish than anyone I have ever met.He was in his 80 at the time and had fished and hunted the river since he was a kid. I wish I had written down a lot of stories he told me. In the five years we fished together he drug me up and down about a 40 mile stretch of the Brazos always the teacher, I will forever be grate ful for his expertise and dragging a teenager along and introducing me to the grand lady THE BRAZOS.
I sat bye the fire and looked around ,thinking how camping had changed , tents cots kayaks stoves grills , all the gear that we haul that really makes a fun camping trip. I sat there and thought of what we used back then,a wool army blanket was your bedroll, slept on the ground ,your jacket was the pillow, an empty ,never used, gallon paint can was used to carry coffee and food in, then when you got to camp it was dipped in the river a handfull of coffee thrown in <river coffee , lay a small stick across the top so it would boil over and a few egg shell thrown in to settle the grounds. Never bought bait nature always supplied it. It was special time in my life .
Darrel congratulations on the big fish and I enjoyed it as always.
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

You guy's keep catching cats that big you will not only need a bigger cooler but bigger boats to hold those coolers and cats. I'm guessing that other cat in the cooler was the one Ron caught. Only reason for that is Ron had all his rods in place and no one had to fish for the rod the cat was on , it was still in the holder. :wink:
Another reason for the bigger coolers would be to hold those steaks ( Texas sized ones ) and taters you had for supper. That way you could transport both of them in one cooler.

Like Joey I'm curious on your thoughts about the little tents for the cots , seen them advertised but have not known anyone who had one to use. They seam like a good set up for a quick camp.

Chuck.

 

[tx river rat]

I am going to jump in here on the tents.
they are easy setup , pack very small ,have flaps that hang over the cot enough so no water can get under you. You can sit up in them . I think they are more of a summer time cot they have a ton of net and should be cool in the summer,can be set up on a cot or on the ground.
I am so spoiled to a few things that I am use to that mine may see limited use, no storage for cloths and gear, cant set my coffe pot and stove inside and no way to warm up the tent. AND NO WAY TO USE A PEE JUG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. it was 30 degrees .
If you are use to a hammock I think you would love it.
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

Were they the ones from Cabelas? , the ones they have look a lot like the ones you guys used but the complaint against theirs was that the rain would get between the cot and the base ( Bottom ) of the tent , no skirt on them to stop the water from getting in between the two of them.
I noticed yours had the skirt on them to stop the water from getting between the cot and the bottom of the tent. Plus they look like a good substitute for a hammock when you can not use a hammock like on the Brazos were trees are few and far between to use ( Legally without trespassing ) for camping.

( As Ron explained to me on my trip out there , you can camp on the sand or gravel bars legally but not in the wooded areas , that is trespassing. If I could of I would of been hanging the hammock where we camped and not in the tent)

:lol: :lol: :lol: Know what you are saying about the temperature.........Going to be 30 here tonight according to the national weather and being ( Living ) in a low lying area I'm looking at 25 to 27 or in that area for a couple of nights. I can figure it will be 4 or 5 degrees cooler then what they say here at the place. There temps are for Orlando.
Found a spot to hang the hammock for an overnight camp but not right now , not even with a good down bag to snuggle in.
Winter has arrived .....

 

[catfish]

hey Ron & Darrel thanks for the post wish i could been there too instead of the 4 letter word. looks like you guys had a great time. i guess that fish will make some good steaks too. i sure am glad you guys remember to pack one thing the camera. nice pics & reports thanks for sharing.

i do have one question at where you guys took out is that a sill across the river ? and is it shallower for some reason there?

 

[Darrells]

here is the text from the Texas Historical Marker on site:

Marker Text: When Anglo-Americans began to settle in Texas, the falls of the Brazos were located 2 miles southwest of here. At that time, the water fell about 10 feet over a rocky ledge. The falls served the Indians and early settlers as a traill landmark, meeting point, and compsite. In 1834 colonizer Sterling C. Robertson (1785-1842) established the town of Sarahville De Viesca at the fall line of the west bank of the Brazos, but it was abandoned in 1836 because of Indian hostilities. Later renamed Ft. Milam, the settlement lasted only a few more years. It was followed by the town of Bucksnort, begun in the 1840s on the east side of the river. The falls also formed a natural fording place for frontier travel; the rocky stream bed was the only hard-bottom crossing of the Brazos within 200 miles of the coast. The rapids marked the limit of the river's 19th century steamboat traffic as well. Organized in 1850, Falls County was named for this distinctive landmark. Marlin became the county seat in 1851, and Bucksnort soon disappeared. The Brazos River changed course in 1866, moving the Fall line to the present site and lowering the rapids to about 2 feet. Today a county park is located along both sides of the river at the falls.