|
River King . . . the world's finest fishing and working catarafts |
The Cataraft Chronicles The following is a chapter from my running journal of the six month effort to redesign the rowing frame on our Kingfisher catarafts. Here you will find an almost daily update of my current sea trials / shakedown / vacation trip to the Gulf Coast to try the new design in several different types of fishing water.
You can find the other chapters here: Cataraft
Chronicles, Table of Contents
Monday, April 5 After spending the night at a rest stop north of Lafayette, Louisiana, I continued on the surprisingly long trek from New Orleans to an area about 50 miles south of Dallas where I hoped to meet up with Barry Austin. Barry was an old customer who had purchased a Day Tripper several years before. He and his wife Peggy were following the Chronicles. I had passed Barry on the trip down but there were still too many River King unknowns at that time for me to stop and fish.
I called Barry around ten but he wasn't in. His wife, Peggy gave me his cell phone number but he didn't answer so I left a message. By about 2:30 in the afternoon I was nearing the place on the Interstate where I would be past the turnoff that would have taken me south to Barry's ranch when the phone rang.
Barry was glad to reach me and urged me to drop down to his place for some fishing. He had been fishing that morning with his long time buddy and fellow Idahoan, Mike Lawson, owner of the Henry's Fork Angler in Island Park, Idaho. Barry and Peggy own a large portion of the Pettigrew ranch where he raises cattle, harvests pecans and guides fly anglers. Although he takes his clients to many of the great bass lakes in central Texas, the Pettigrew ranch includes a seventy-five acre extinct gravel pit that has been turned into the most amazing bass fishery I have ever seen. I needed little convincing and pulled off the interstate at the next exit.
As I left the interstate, the overcast skies and wind that were the tail end of the storm that blew us off the redfish flats the day before, passed to the northeast. The sun was shining bright and hot in the cloudless skies behind the front.
I drove south and west across rolling farm country, past many lakes and creeks. Lots of hardwood trees and a few conifers filled in the gullies and patches around the farm houses. When I crossed the Trinity River bridge and turned off the main road, passing through the gates of the ranch, I knew this was a special place. Springtime in Texas was happening and wildflowers were blooming everywhere.
Barry and Mike had run into town to pick up something at the hardware store so Peggy filled me in on the ranch and their operation over an iced tea in the kitchen. The water surrounds the ranch house on three sides. Here's the view to the dock near the back deck.
The two guys were back soon and told me to grab my rod. We headed for the John boat at the dock. Motoring out we wound through a maze of narrow channels and waterways, all with steep undercut banks, brush hanging over the edges. Barry handed me a thick white marabou streamer that he tied the day before and suggested I tie it to no less than 12 lb test tippet.
Here's my view from the bow, Barry at the helm, Mike in the middle, as we make our way to the particular channel that Barry was looking for.
Once at the chosen channel we started fishing, Mike and I at the bow and stern, Barry at the oars. Mike had the first hookup on about his third cast. I was soon into the fish too. It was definitely one of those days where you lose track. Here's Mike with one of his many fine bass. Oooh son!
For the next hour or two we both fired our streamers up under the vegetation on the steep banks and were frequently rewarded. The sight of that white streamer splashing up under the brush and slowly sinking, then strip, strip, bang - and another monster bass thrashing its way to the boat - was thoroughly etched into my brain. All I know is that I caught more bass and bigger bass that afternoon than anytime, ever. We caught fish after fish, sometimes with double hookups. Mike and I brought them in and Barry released them for us.
Mike waits while Barry extracts another fly.
Here's me with a nice one.
As the sun started dipping toward El Paso, Barry called Peggy on the FM radio and set the dinner arrangements. Thoroughly fished out, we made our way through the winding waterways back to the ranch house. Barry has a few pet catfish that he feeds under his dock that can be caught on flies - egg patterns actually. He suggested we try for them while he grilled the steaks (what else?) up by the deck.
First, he tossed in some fish food pellets to get things started while Mike quickly turned out a few egg patterns for us. Barry had a great room set up for tying.
Something tells me this guy's tied a few flies before.
Back at the dock, the catfish were enjoying the party. They made a big sucking sound as they swirled through the feed. I was reminded of Ross Perot for some reason.
They hit the flies on a dead drift sink, any motion and they'd pass it by. Once on, they fought amazingly hard, heading for submerged brush. They broke us off several times and straightened a few hooks as well.
Here's one that Mike managed to bring to the dock.
Finally Barry called us up to dinner. I don't eat much beef these days but those steaks were thick and tender and had the finest flavor you could imagine. What else would you expect after the greatest bass fishing experience of your life? We enjoyed dinner and talked about the fork, which Mike says should be fishing very well this spring when Harriman State Park (The Ranch) opens in mid June.
After dinner I declined Barry's invitation to spend the night. He and Mike were set up
for some Turkey hunting the next morning but I was welcome to stay and fish as much as I
liked. I explained that I had a long drive ahead and probably needed to get a couple of
hours of road time in that evening. I thanked Barry and Peggy for the great experience,
said good-bye to them and Mike and reluctantly, I headed down the road.
If you ever think you'd like to catch some bass on a fly, this is the place. You can get
in touch with Barry and Peggy Austin at:
Pettigrew Ranch
Route 1
Chatfield, TX 75105
Home: (903) 345-7331
Mobile: (214) 616-7331
If you have more questions, you can reach us at:
Mail and shipping:
River King Catarafts
Port Ludlow, WA
Telephone: 360.316.1170
Or, send us E-mail: info@cataraft.com
Copyright Fusionair. (C) 2007 All rights reserved.