I had originally started a post in the camping section, but I wanted to post a report here also. Originally I was going to go to Harmon creek but with some of the advise of the guys here I changed my mind and went to Lake Raven. Figured the creeks would be muddy as all get out.
So, I arrived on Sunday the 19th and tent camped until Thursday 4/23. The storms missed me Sunday and the Lake was like glass that evening. The weather stayed perfect the whole week. The water was pretty murky with all the run off and the bass fishing was a bit slow. It was really windy Monday so I bank fished right at the campsite. First thing I see when I got to the water was a 7ft alligator cruising to the other shoreline. Made me a little skittish about paddling out. But I ended up catching a 14 or 15# channel cat. Probably the largest one I have caught before. Caught her on a live crawfish I happened to find on the bank. Tuesday morning I woke up early and decided to brave it out and look for some bass. Ended up catching 2, both around 2.5 to 3#'s. (Sorry no pics of the bass. Left the phone at camp.)First largemouth bass on the kayak and I was stoked! Talk about a thrill! Came in for lunch, bank fished and went back out in the evening as the sun was going down. This ended up being my routine the rest of the week. One thing I noticed was the bass were blowing up my topwater & spiinging lures but wouldn't commit to eating it. I figured they were laying on their beds after the spawn and just wanted to kill any bait that came around. Is that the norm when they are layed up on their beds?? I did catch 1 or 2 bass each morning and again in the evening, and I just sat on the bank fishing for bream and catfish with a bobber and worm during the day. Talk about relaxing! After that the gators didn't bother me anymore. When I saw one close to where I was paddling to they would just swim away in the opposite direction. Caught some of the largest bream I have ever seen. Some were a good 10 to 12" long! I kept a few and fried some up with some french fries for lunch one day. Delicious! Saw a territorial dispute between 2 young alligators. One didn't want the other in his area and chased him away. He caught up with the other which turned around when he saw him coming and ended up being a huge display of splashing and thrashing about until the other was gone. That was cool to see also. Also, me and the racoons were having a battle of wits in the middle of the night. I didn't think about locking my cooler shut and they were able to steal my steak I had in the cooler. I heard the noise and woke up and busted them red handed! The next night I put my tupperware bin with my kitchen gear in it (which was pretty heavy) on top of the cooler. Well I was awakened by a big crash and busted this guy again! He pushed that sucker off and was about to steal the few large bream that I did keep. hehe Overall, I great camping and fishing adventure! No radio, no news, just the great outdoors.
Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
- Cityfisher
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Re: Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
Great Read. Thank for posting.
Re: Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
Good write up and stories. Enjoyed hearing about the experience and adjustments you made. Sounds like near complete relaxation.
- Chief Brody
- TKF 2000 club
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Re: Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
nice job on the report - thanks for taking the time to do it.
I enjoyed reading about your adventure!
I enjoyed reading about your adventure!
- Cityfisher
- Posts: 640
- Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:05 pm
- Location: Houston, Tx
Re: Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
Thanks guys! It really was a great adventure.
Some other things you see outdoors like 2 crows beating the heck out of a big hawk in mid air or the little water snake that swam by just made the trip that much more enjoyable. I got a blow up one morning from one of the biggest bass I have ever seen. This thing blew up out of the water and rolled on top of my topwater like a huge tarpon you see in the videos. I would bet that thing was at least an 8lbr. I lost sight of my lure in all the splashing and almost jerked myself right out of the kayak trying to set the hook. Then I sat there for a few minutes grumbling to that bass for not eating my lure! (out loud I might add!) hehe
Some other things you see outdoors like 2 crows beating the heck out of a big hawk in mid air or the little water snake that swam by just made the trip that much more enjoyable. I got a blow up one morning from one of the biggest bass I have ever seen. This thing blew up out of the water and rolled on top of my topwater like a huge tarpon you see in the videos. I would bet that thing was at least an 8lbr. I lost sight of my lure in all the splashing and almost jerked myself right out of the kayak trying to set the hook. Then I sat there for a few minutes grumbling to that bass for not eating my lure! (out loud I might add!) hehe
Re: Huntsville State Park - Lake Raven
Probably my favorite place to kayak/fish. The bream fishing is unbelievable. You'd be hard pressed to find a larger population of BIG hungry sunfish. Nice report, I'm hoping to make it out there this weekend.