Capital City Kayak Fishing Tournament Series Stop #3 was held at
Lake Bastrop
this past Saturday, March 9th. I believe 36 anglers braved the tough
conditions, 3 in the fly division and 33 in the conventional division.
The day dawned cloudy, and winds in the 15 -25 mph. range. Not
promising, but “what the heck, we’re here”! The paddle from the North
Shore launch was uneventful, if not blustery!
I started fishing in Middle Lake Flats cove. My original plan was to throw a
Umpqua Todd’s Wiggle Minnow on
a slow sink line. I tried it for a little while and decided to change
the plan. I have been working on a new weedless foam frog pattern, and
since the day was going to be challenging, why not up the challenge? I
caught my 1st. bass about 10 AM, a chunky 15.5″ fish. Things were
looking up!
Hoping to put a fish an hour “in the box”, I started working the
weedy shoreline. The winds seemed to be picking up, and the pines were
swaying heavily. Lake Bastrop is a lovely little gem about 45 miles
east of Austin, in an area called “Lost Pines”. I was working it hard,
with no luck! I made another cast and my fly wrapped around some blades
of grass, and “BAM!”, the second bass hit. The fish ran towards me,
and I had a hard time keeping up! I got the net out, and brought a 16
1/4″ fish into my
“NUCANOE Frontier”.
The next 3 hours brought nothing but higher wind gusts and no fish!
I headed back to the launch, and I think I paddled all the way back
using only my left (port) side paddle blade. I felt comfortable and
safe in my boat, although the wind was brutal! Having about 90 minutes
left to prospect, I probed the north shore. The area looked really
fishy, but “NADA!” I limped home, hoping I had the “winning bag”. In
the end, my 31 3/4″ was good enough for second place.
Adam Hansen took 1st. place in the fly division. Joseph Sanderson,
an Austin local attending TCU in Fort Worth, took first place in the
conventional division, with over 94″ in the bag. I must add that it was
Joseph’s first time fishing Lake Bastrop, and fishing in the CCKFT.
Congratulations to every one who braved the tough conditions. Looking
forward to seeing you on April 20, in the Championship Stop.
I would like to thank my sponsor, Blake Young at
NUCANOE.
They make an awesome boat, especially for standing and fishing from.
Keep an eye out for the new 10′ Frontier, due out in mid May. Despite
the tough conditions, I felt safe and comfortable. In addition, the “
CCKFTS” would not be possible without the hard work of Dan Walker at
MOC Kayaks and Beau Reed at
Papa Chops. Thanks for participating! See you April 20 on the lower Colorado!
