Ron’s Fishing Tips and Stories: All Fishing and No Hunting Makes Jack a Dull Boy.
Fish Report
Just a note to say Mexico bass fishing the past couple weeks looks pretty good as the lakes are full at both El Salto and Lake Comedero.
Tip
This week I am going to talk about a plan to help every outdoor sportsman with his every day life and the great benefits of the outdoor lifestyle. For many of my years I would just fish with no hunting. When the fish didn’t bite here in the winter I would either fish in Mexico or stay at home with no hunting.
Until about 5 years ago I had gone 10 years without firing a shot, just fishing during the warm months of the year. I had forgotten just how much I loved following a couple good bird dogs hunting quail or even hunting squirrels in the Trinity River bottom. I wasn’t ever a big deer hunter but I do love to eat the back straps when they have been marinated in Worcestershire sauce (can you believe I spelled that right?!) and grilled on a pit using mesquite wood.
Last week, things just caught up with me with the economy, Virginia’s health, not being able to go to West Texas hunting and the local fish not biting. The only thing going well that day was that the Mexico bass fishing business is better than last year or the year before. Thank goodness!!! However, I was in a real funk and I decided to take my bird dogs and a buddy to Upland Game Bird Farm at Corsicana, Texas and hunt pen-raised quail. On our way to Upland I began to feel a very calming sensation as we talked about dogs and bird hunting and some great hunts we had years ago.
We arrived at Upland and found out that Steve Stroube had planted 18 birds early that morning so we went straight to the pasture and put the dogs on a stakeout chain. Man oh man did I feel good — really hard to describe. We watered the dogs, had the breakfast of champions (a good cold Coca-Cola) and then released my two-year-old English pointer named Penny. Penny took off like a bullet with her tail cracking and having so much fun it got Rick and me pretty excited. She had been down about 4 minutes when she hit a strong point, looking like a frozen statue. Rick had my 20 gauge over & under Ruger and a pocket full of shells. He walked up in front of Penny and out blew 3 bobwhite that were almost as fast as wild quail. Penny stood still waiting on Rick to shoot. Rick didn’t kill a single bird. In fact he didn’t even shoot. The birds came up all around him for a perfect shot and I knew he had a pocket full of shells. Come to find out that was the problem… He had the shells in his pocket and none in the gun. I told him it is hard to kill quail with an empty gun.
We put down a total of 6 dogs, got 3 good stop to flush, 4 more points, and 2 good backs, and killed a grand total of 2 quail out of 18 birds. Not too much for the skillet but it was just the perfect medicine for me. I had so much fun being out with a great friend and my string of good dogs. On the way home I told Rick that was the most fun I had in several years. When I got home I told Virginia I felt better than I had felt in years and was ready to get back to work full steam. The next day in the office I couldn’t talk enough about our Mexico bass fishing or our Brazil Peacock fishing. I think I worked about 12 hours that day and wasn’t even tired. In fact I really didn’t want to quit work!
The point I am making is that everyone should have a rule in their life to get away every so often from their work so as to live a longer life and a much happier life. Outdoors writer Ray Sasser, a long time friend who writes for the Dallas Morning News, set the perfect example for me years ago but I am so hard-headed. Ray changes his activities as each season comes and goes as that is his job. Without a doubt it is best to change up your fishing and hunting with the seasons but always take off every week or two and go do something you enjoy in the outdoors. REMEMBER IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO GO WITH A GOOD FRIEND.
Every outdoors man should have at least 2 freezers filled with a good amount of crappie, catfish, deer back straps, quail, duck, squirrel, turkey breast, hams off of wild pigs, wild turkey breast, and crawfish tails left from your last crawfish boil. If you will buy a FoodSaver (Professional 300) and freeze wrap your wild game and fish it won’t get freezer burn and will taste like you just caught it or killed it. If game is not freeze wrapped I won’t eat it if it is frozen any other way. Try it!
Today’s tip is a little different but one that could make your life much more enjoyable, and possibly longer. You don’t have to go with us on a Mexico bass fishing trip to satisfy your itch for fishing. It’s true that bass fishing here in the states is very difficult by comparison and that is why I don’t bass fish here anymore. But you can have a ton of fun catching other species of fish and have good table fare at the same time. REMEMBER THAT WORK IS FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO FISH.
Good luck with your fishing and wear that lifejacket!
If you want to change up the pace with an international adventure, we offer dove and duck hunts and deep sea fishing in addition to our bass fishing packages.
