Caddo Lake April 09

[Piscado Loco]

Well, I'm sorry to say that I didn't catch anything but a sunburn while we were there this weekend. I'm not too heart broken though because my wife was with me which means I really didn't dedicate too much effort towards my angling. We did however paddle around 12 miles in 7 hours with our pooch Sacha riding along the whole time. She was beat after it was all said & done. So anyway, I have no pics of fish but we got 80 scenic pics between the 2 of us & 3 cameras. I'll be posting quite a few on here so I wont comment on them. Just scroll down slowly & enjoy the view.

I hope everyone enjoyed them & it wasn't too many. I really did try to narrow it down but there were so many that turned out great it was hard to choose.

[bowgarguide]

Wow
Thats some awesome pics.
Ron

[DarrellS]

That is a beautiful place. Great pictures.

[Mythman]

That is a beautiful place and you got some great pics.

I got to make that trip...........sometime.

[preacher]

MAN! That stirs me up! I love that lake and those pictures are awesome especially the swamp monster.

[MarkCM28]

Awesome pictures. I hope to make it out that way at some point.

[Piscado Loco]

Ya this was one of the most beautifull places I've ever camped. I really want to go back soon so if anyone wants to plan another trip out there this summer let me know. On another note, I am so proud of our pooch Sacha. We were hoping to get out to the islands but never actually found land. We found 2 small areas of land where we were able to get out & stretch the legs but other than that we were on the water for a straight 7 hours. The only bad thing about paddling out from that park is the bayou. The paddle down that stretch isn't bad but beware of boaters in the evenings. There's a long stretch that isn't protected & they will buz right past ya & never even wave. The wakes can get a lil rough since the bayou is only so wide & there's not many places to hide or get outa the way.

[fisher of people]

Thanks for the report and great photos. Caddo is definitely on my short list, I can't wait to get up there. Looks like your pooch did great too. How big is she? Looks like she was riding pretty comfortably. Is that a T120? I've been taking my Chesapeake paddling with me, he's doing pretty well so far, but he definitely gets antsy after awhile. May take him on an extended paddling/camping trip in May if I think he's ready. He's at least 60 pounds and still growing, so I need to be sure I can control him.

[yakin ag]

That place looks fishy! I bet there are some whopper catfish in there...outstanding pics

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

Piscado Loco – That was you I talked to, but I didn’t know it. I was in a white power boat Saturday morning fishing the bayou, and you, your wife, and dog were headed towards the main lake.

We did a little fishing, a little kayaking, but no kayak fishing.

I took my family to Caddo Lake State Park last weekend, and we had a fantastic time. The park is kept very clean and heavily patrolled by TP&W. The people were friendly and everything was laid back.

We went fishing from my FIL’s boat, and we did pretty good. We caught:
23 White Bass
6 Largemouth Bass
2 Chain Pickerel



These were the biggest white bass I had ever caught. Some were 16-17 inches. All had spawned, except for one. They were extremely aggressive, and we were catching them in a bayou with fast current, and the bayou was ~30-40’ wide and 5-8’ deep. We started catching a few small ones, and then we switched to white spinner baits, and we only caught the bigger fish.



On that same bayou, there was some good sight seeing.



As I said, my family came, and this is my 16 month old girl, getting her first smore.



Here are a few pictures of the bayou by the state park.





For the first day, we lauched at crips camp, and immediately we saw a raccoon swimming in the lake. He made it to a piling, and crawled to the top, looking forward to an afternoon of sunning himself.





We also enjoyed an afternoon paddling around Mill Pond, and it was wonderful. I had a great conversation with the young boy, whose mother works at the canoe rental place. He wad been collecting turtles that day, and he showed me a turtle with a red stripe running almost read to tail and a red/yellow/black marbled underside. I had never seen one. Can anyone ID a turtle from this description? He called it a Mississippi Map turtle, but the online pictures don’t look the same.

Also, does anyone know what this umbrella plant is?

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

BTW, I specifically planned the trip for last weekend, so i could see an American Lotus flower, but I didn't get my wish. I am jinxed, because this is my 3rd attempt, and all have been unsuccessful.

[fisher of people]

Also, does anyone know what this umbrella plant is?

That's May Apple, Podophyllum peltatum: http://may-apple.com/photos.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll have to wait till I get home to think about your turtle. Thanks for the great pics. Looks like you had a fantastic trip.

[Piscado Loco]

CityByTheSeaCitizen that's awesome man. I wish I'd had that luck. Did you catch all those fish on the same bayou you saw us on? I noticed that pilon had F on it. I don't think we ever got to that area. It really is a huge lake. Also, were you & the family staying at the SP? Next time I go I think I'd like to get site 64 or 65. We scoped em all out on that stretch before we left & those 2 looked like great places to launch into the pond from. Although I also thought it might be better to drive a lil & put in somewhere on the lake.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

No, we didn't catch anything out of the Cypress Bayou proper. There is a government created ditch, called government ditch, that creates a straight line shot from the north tip of the bayou down to Uncreatain.

We caught all of the sand bass, 4 of the black bass, and 1 of the pickerel in that ditch or in one of the adjacent pools. Current was flowing pretty hard through there.

we did camp at the state park, but we stayed in a cabin, and my in laws stayed at site 23.

We heard an owl on Thursday night, and I went exploring in the dark for about 2 hours looking for it. Well it was more like 20 minutes of looking for the owl, and 1:40 looking for campsite 23 again. That place is very very disorientating.

[Piscado Loco]

Here's a funny question for ya. Did you happen to hear bagpipe music playing late at night or early in the mornings? It was driving us nuts & made it hard for mi esposa to sleep. She kept commenting that it was a noisy park but we think it's just because the sites are so close. One pack a couple sites down from us had a flood light they left on all through the night.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

Be glad it wasn't banjos that you were hearing.

We didn't hear any bagpipe music, and my in-laws site, 23, was very quiet. Although, I am pretty sure someone stole about half of our firewood. I would have given some away, if they asked.

I did think the primitive sites were fairly close togethor. I would be pissed about the flood light, that is very inappropriate.

I have a few more state park adventures planned this year. Bonham, Meridian, Fort Boggy, Fort Parker, and I always stay at Tawakoni and Ray Roberts S.P.'s a few times a year. I liked Caddo, but it is too far to do very often. We bought a yearly park pass this year, and my plan is to wear the magnetic strip off the back.

We will also be visiting the S.P.s SW of Austin in a few weekends.

Piscado Loco, do you fish anywhere local to DFW?

[Piscado Loco]

I'm still debating if I should get a pass. I'm thinking it may be a good idea though & a friend knows how to get em half off if you buy 2. I like to fish all over the DFW area. I've been kayaking a while now but I'm still fairly new & still learning about the angling side of it. Lately I've been getting out to Grapevine at Trophy Club Park, Ray Roberts at Johnson Branch (still wanna check out the bridges on the east side), Joe Pool & even Arlington. I didn't care for our outing on Arlington though. My bud got a lure cought in his leg on 1 treble & shorts on the other & while we were digging it out of his leg I got a ticket. The cop parked by the entrance while he wrote the ticket & then put it on my windshield before hauling butt outa there. Nice of him to check on us eh. Coulda used a lil help but oh well. I guess they're real job is just to get that quota cause it sure seems like that's all he cared about. Anyway, I'll get off that rant now. That same guy I normally fish with just recently introduced me to the Brazos up there at the Hwy 16 crossing & I'm trying to plan an overnighter there. I love that area, the view is great anywhere you go. I've also paddled but haven't fished the Guad & San Marcos a few times. Trying to get down there to meet some of those folks & try my hand at fishing. I think they have an outing coming up soon. It's on my calendar. They just recently had a clean up on the Guad but I already had something going on that weekend & couldn't break my plans. Anyway, like I said I'm still fairly new & trying to explore any water I can so if you want some company let me know. I'd love to tag along especially if it's somewhere new. Just hope you don't mind Sacha going too. I think she may hate me if I go out without her now that I've got her hooked.

[Pel-e-Can]

Great Pic's! My wife and I went there last year and are looking forward to going back in May. Last year, we did not have our Kayaks. Now I can't wait.
We both have Kayaks.

[Just Fish]

Great pictures, awesome scenery

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

I'm still debating if I should get a pass. I'm thinking it may be a good idea though & a friend knows how to get em half off if you buy 2. I like to fish all over the DFW area. I've been kayaking a while now but I'm still fairly new & still learning about the angling side of it. Lately I've been getting out to Grapevine at Trophy Club Park, Ray Roberts at Johnson Branch (still wanna check out the bridges on the east side), Joe Pool & even Arlington. I didn't care for our outing on Arlington though. My bud got a lure cought in his leg on 1 treble & shorts on the other & while we were digging it out of his leg I got a ticket. The cop parked by the entrance while he wrote the ticket & then put it on my windshield before hauling butt outa there. Nice of him to check on us eh. Coulda used a lil help but oh well. I guess they're real job is just to get that quota cause it sure seems like that's all he cared about. Anyway, I'll get off that rant now. That same guy I normally fish with just recently introduced me to the Brazos up there at the Hwy 16 crossing & I'm trying to plan an overnighter there. I love that area, the view is great anywhere you go. I've also paddled but haven't fished the Guad & San Marcos a few times. Trying to get down there to meet some of those folks & try my hand at fishing. I think they have an outing coming up soon. It's on my calendar. They just recently had a clean up on the Guad but I already had something going on that weekend & couldn't break my plans. Anyway, like I said I'm still fairly new & trying to explore any water I can so if you want some company let me know. I'd love to tag along especially if it's somewhere new. Just hope you don't mind Sacha going too. I think she may hate me if I go out without her now that I've got her hooked.

We only bought a yearly pass this year, with intentions to explore aas much as possible.

I like Isle Du Bois park at Ray Bob, just because it is less than 1 hour from my house. I fish for crappie there during the summer months, but most of my experience has been from a PB. I too am fairly new to the combination of kayaking and fishing. Done both for my entire life, but never togethor until 2-3 years ago.

I am planning on fishing the red river on next thursday. Shoot me a PM and maybe we can work somethign out for Thursday. I work in Allen, so it is pretty close to my work. I live in Carrollton, and I fish/paddle the Elm Fork of the Trinity at LLELA to Sandy Lake pretty often.

We have friends out near Tawakoni, which makes the S.P there a pretty attractive location. At Tawakoni S.P. they have those community spiders which is alway fun to look at. It will give you the heepie-jeebies, even if you aren't afraid of spiders. Plus, for 5 straight years, we have caught a great mess of catfish every year. Plus we always catch a few surprises.

Dogs are always welcome with me. My black lab Lumpy might tag along, but he is a spaz when we get around water.

[Zen Archery]

now thats the type of post I like... incredible pictures!

[Piscado Loco]

Not sure if I can make it out to the Red River next Thurs CityByTheSeaCitizen. I'm a transitional employee right now which means I'm getting laid off in a few months. I have limited time I can take off & can't really go out during the week. Unfortunately I'm stuck to fishing on the weekends for now. I may be able to make an outing to Gvine or possibly Joe Pool during the week. Just depends on how fast I can get my stuff loaded up & get back on the road after I get home from work. I work in Irving & live in Hurst. I get off work at 4:30 which puts me home arounf 5. That gives me at least 2 hours of daylight so as long as I'm going somewhere close I can pull it off. I hear there's a place to put in on the Trinity over by my house. Do you know the Hurst area at all? I wanna say it's somewhere off Pipeline.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

Don't know much about the trinity. Sorry. I will keep in touch.