Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post Reply
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

The Matt Daubert outdoors accrual account has a fair balance in it, so I stole away Saturday morning for a short trip with the dog. We headed up into unit 905 in the Sam Forest. It was soggy as hell, but not too much activity on the trails.

As I was walking out the door, my black lab Bonesaw hit me with his sweet, desperate eyes, and I knew I couldn't leave him.. but also that it would ultimately be a big mistake. The plan was to hit Caney Creek, which I've pulled a few bass from before. They're not footballs, but I don't really care. The surprise of an eat on small, unsuspecting water gets me fired up, and I enjoy hiking into places to bank fish.

Well, taking Bonesaw was a detriment to my success. He was chest deep into every drainage we came across well before I was able to drop a fly in. A few times I said screw it, and would leash him momentarily to a tree so that I could work a small stretch of creek bank. The water was SO fishy, but nothing doing.

Any body else do anything of any significance last weekend or this week?

MD
User avatar
Bayoutalker
Posts: 553
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 7:23 pm
Location: Beaumont, TX

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Bayoutalker »

You done good taking your buddy with you. I lost mine a couple weeks ago and I wish I would have taken him with me a lot more. You can always find more fish but quality time like that is hard to come by.

Cliff
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Ron Mc »

Was planning to, but the work thing came up, and then this brutal front.
I've taken two dogs to the river, but only one of them became a fishing buddy. My Akita prioritized her fun in the water over everything.
My Elkhound was a different story. Naturally shy about water, he would do everything I did with stealth, and thought it was really important when the fly line was piling up on his head. He liked smelling the fish before I released them, and knew this was the success and purpose of the outing.
User avatar
karstopo
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5612
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 am
Location: 77566

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by karstopo »

Image

An old photo of Tate out in the boat.

Cast off the dock for a bit on Saturday, it was warm here, and Tate my dog hung around for that. He’s in for inspecting fish. Anytime I say or yell “fish on” he will come running over. He likes to watch the fish splash around and is right at the edge of the dock when I bring a fish in. He sniffs each fish. I think bass are his favorite and he doesn’t appear to like catfish. After getting a mix of bass and Crappie off the dock, I decided to get out in the flatbottom for a few minutes. Caught some bass of all about the same size of about a pound near the shoreline. Tried a white deer hair diver, but it might still be too early. The bass and a few Crappie came on a size 2 deep purple Balanced leech with a 3/32” bead up front. Tail was just wild turkey marabou in its natural color.

Sunday, the front blew in early. It’s been cold since. Made a few casts in the wind yesterday, but it was too cold to enjoy. Image

Tate in the boat from an previous outing.
User avatar
Finn Maccumhail
TKF 1000 Club
TKF 1000 Club
Posts: 1724
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:48 pm
Location: Houston- Upper East Side ;)

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Finn Maccumhail »

Just be careful out there with the dogs. There was a video on Facebook a couple weeks ago of some people playing fetch with their dog while fishing at the 980 bridge in Riverside (Harmon Creek above Lake Livingston) and a massive gator took the pup. Frankly, I'm not convinced these jerks didn't do it on purpose because there's no way this gator was unknown- he looked to easily be a 12+ bull gator.

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/loca ... 13340.html
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

Bayoutalker wrote:You done good taking your buddy with you. I lost mine a couple weeks ago and I wish I would have taken him with me a lot more. You can always find more fish but quality time like that is hard to come by.

Cliff
For sure. With two baby girls, my pup has been a little neglected of late. I try to make a point of bringing him along when I can. Sometimes it's just out of the question haha.

MD
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

karstopo wrote:
An old photo of Tate out in the boat.

Cast off the dock for a bit on Saturday, it was warm here, and Tate my dog hung around for that. He’s in for inspecting fish. Anytime I say or yell “fish on” he will come running over. He likes to watch the fish splash around and is right at the edge of the dock when I bring a fish in. He sniffs each fish. I think bass are his favorite and he doesn’t appear to like catfish. After getting a mix of bass and Crappie off the dock, I decided to get out in the flatbottom for a few minutes. Caught some bass of all about the same size of about a pound near the shoreline. Tried a white deer hair diver, but it might still be too early. The bass and a few Crappie came on a size 2 deep purple Balanced leech with a 3/32” bead up front. Tail was just wild turkey marabou in its natural color.

Sunday, the front blew in early. It’s been cold since. Made a few casts in the wind yesterday, but it was too cold to enjoy.

Tate in the boat from an previous outing.

Sometimes I wish I had a dog that would just chill in the boat with me, but other times I enjoy watching him be a wild banshee. Where are you doing all of this fresh at Stopo? I thought you were a salt guy 364 days a year?

MD
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

Ron Mc wrote:Was planning to, but the work thing came up, and then this brutal front.
I've taken two dogs to the river, but only one of them became a fishing buddy. My Akita prioritized her fun in the water over everything.
My Elkhound was a different story. Naturally shy about water, he would do everything I did with stealth, and thought it was really important when the fly line was piling up on his head. He liked smelling the fish before I released them, and knew this was the success and purpose of the outing.
That's funny. Mine hasn't quite made that connection; maybe if I did more catching he'd put it together lol.

Bonesaw can tell that the rod and reel is the focal point of something very exciting. It really gets him riled up, and generally he ends up swimming around right on top of my fly line in the water. He's a turd, but a damn fine one. If he had a better trainer, he would have been one hell of a duck/goose dog.

MD
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

Finn Maccumhail wrote:Just be careful out there with the dogs. There was a video on Facebook a couple weeks ago of some people playing fetch with their dog while fishing at the 980 bridge in Riverside (Harmon Creek above Lake Livingston) and a massive gator took the pup. Frankly, I'm not convinced these jerks didn't do it on purpose because there's no way this gator was unknown- he looked to easily be a 12+ bull gator.

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/loca ... 13340.html
That's awful. I am generally very skittish around fresh water east of San Marcos and say south of maybe Waco, but admittedly my guard was way down when we were back in there the other day. I appreciate the heads up! Don't know what I would do if he got snatched right in front of me.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Ron Mc »

Mddauby wrote:That's funny. Mine hasn't quite made that connection; maybe if I did more catching he'd put it together lol.

Bonesaw can tell that the rod and reel is the focal point of something very exciting. It really gets him riled up, and generally he ends up swimming around right on top of my fly line in the water. He's a turd, but a damn fine one. If he had a better trainer, he would have been one hell of a duck/goose dog.

MD
The reason the elkhound was that way is in their genes, water means falling through the ice - 55 lbs, looks 90 - the rest is hair.
The fact he would go in the water was a sign of trust.
User avatar
karstopo
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5612
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 am
Location: 77566

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by karstopo »

Been doing a lot more freshwater (and less saltwater) fishing since I moved to the namesake lake of the City of Lake Jackson.
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

Very interesting.

I grew up in West Columbia, and my stepdad still lives in LJ now. Growing up, I never really put two and two together that there actually was a Lake Jackson, but it makes sense. It looks like a natural oxbow.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Ron Mc »

There's another kind of natural lake in the hill country.
Floods can lift flagstone strata and pile it up, making a deep hole and a natural dam.
There's a big one down from Wagon Wheel Xing on the Guadalupe N. fork.
Image
Another down from Center Point Lions Park.
We saw one formed new down from the Center Point "Y" crossing, where a cold creek is coming in on one side, and fished it from inception to maturity as it added gravel bars over the years.
Where that cold side flow comes into the hole, fish are always stacked up.
Also, on the dolomite bottom above the hole, you can sight-fish big bass coming out on the flat to feed.
Since TPWD stocked whites at Flatrock Dam 7 years ago, these holes have also filled up with whites.
Image
User avatar
karstopo
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5612
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 am
Location: 77566

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by karstopo »

Growing up in West Columbia, did you ever fish Manor or Eagle Nest lake? How about Mallard lake or the 2 reservoirs at Columbia Lakes? There was a fishing club on Horseshoe lake right where Bailey's Prairie road and 332 met. I used to do some work out at Manor lake when Brown and Root owned it. I never fished there but it was supposed to have some big bass. I did fish Columbia lakes maybe a couple of times.

There's a persistent myth that the lake Jackson was somehow dug with slave labor. There is a historical record of an island being created in the lake by the slaves of Abner Jackson. Evidently, Abner went out of town one time for an extended period and his two sons decided to have the slaves construct an Island in the lake. Abner went ballistic is the story when he returned and saw the labor wasted on such a folly. The island is gone as is the home of Abner Jackson. All that remains of the home is ruins covered in vegetation.

There are Oxbows all up and down the Brazos river and Oyster Creek flood plains. Most like Lake Jackson are on private land. There's one just to the north of Lake Jackson on the prison farm. Some have reverted to swamp as droughts dry them up and then the lake beds are colonized by vegetation. Lake Jackson is under tight control by the Lake association and has mechanisms to maintain fairly consistent water levels. Fishing is tightly controlled. Boats all have unique markings to prevent non-residents from trying to launch their own craft to fish. Residents watch the lake like hawks. I still like fishing the public saltwater more, but the lake is certainly convenient.

Abner Jackson did just prior to the Civil war set aside some acreage, 100 acres I think it was, for his slaves. That land was around Shy pond in Lake Jackson and close to the Brazos Mall. A few descendants of the slaves lived around the pond even as late as the 1970's. They had a cemetery by the mall. There was a hunting and fishing club out around Lake Jackson after the Civil war until I believe Dow Chemical purchased the land around 1940 and then Dow sold off the tracts around the lake to engineers and others for home sites.

There was an open to the public park on Lake Jackson, owned by Dow and covered a good chunk of shoreline up until maybe the late 1980's or even the 1990's. There were buildings that could be rented for parties and a long pier to fish off. That's where the ruins of the Antebellum home are. The Native Americans used the lake prior to Abner Jackson, Stephen F. Austin and the invasion of the Europeans. The Karakawas were the local tribe. They left behind piles of clam shells and other estuary type shells, pottery shards, bones, and bits of chert for their points. They too loved the marine scene. There's documentation that they spent much of the summer swimming and playing in the surf and making an easy living from the bounty there. They headed inland to the lakes like Lake Jackson in the cooler months.
User avatar
Mddauby
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:11 pm
Location: West Columbia, San Marcos, Cypress

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by Mddauby »

Yeah I fished the hell out of Mallard and Manor lake. My best buddy from elementary lived on mallard lake, and later my grandfather was the caretaker for those lakes. There is a compound of about four lakes right there which are criss-crossed by a system of levees. Talk about heaven man, we walked all up and down those levees fishing as kids. Some of my first memories of fishing are from out there. Bluegill would gather up around the pilings of residents' boat houses when they were getting close to spawn. And the water clarity was pretty good; it was really something. We use to fill our gator tags out there too. They had some big lizards swimming around in there.

That's funny you mentioned the myth of the slave labor. I had someone just last weekend tell me that same old story. I was also told that back in the 70's and 80's fishing LJ wasn't worth much, but that it's really rebounded. Does that line up with your knowledge of the place?

Btw, there is a guy from Brazoria, Kevin Boss Crouch I believe, that recently found some middens on his place. He's on insta; pretty cool pictures I think.

MD
User avatar
karstopo
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5612
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 am
Location: 77566

Re: Sam Forest Pre Front Poke

Post by karstopo »

The bass have gotten bigger since the 1970's and 1980's. That's probably about the Florida strain of Largemouth being now dominant in the lake. The bass were eating well on the tilapia for years, but those appear to have all died since last year's cold water kill.

In the 1970's, seems like a 5 pound bass was a really good fish for Lake Jackson. there were lots of 1.5 pound fish around then. I just started fishing it again just last year. Last year was phenomenal. My buddy who is a total bass guy would catch a bass almost every cast on plastic worms or a crank bait during most spring trips. My daughter caught a 9# fish on a bubble gum pink worm. I got an 8 on an olive deer hair diver. A resident said some recent survey said the fish don't have enough to eat. Most fish I've caught lately look alright. They are just getting going on the lake, the recent cold weather slowed things down some.
Post Reply