היומן של cosmiccat

Today and yesterday I went to Old Sabine Bottom WMA near Lindale, a really cool place. I've been there before to make observations of plants, and I wanted to find out how many different types of fish I could catch. On the first day, I fished at the end of the channel near the entrance. I caught four types of fish: redear sunfish, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, and the bluegill. I caught a glimpse of a longnose gar swimming away and hoped to catch it, but I never saw it again.

I have a gar lure, which is made from a frayed piece of rope. The idea is that the gar bites the rope, which gets hung in its teeth. Gar tend to completely swallow fishing lures, which kills them. The rope lure simply gets caught in its teeth, increasing its chances for survival. How to make a rope lure: https://youtu.be/gB9gtG9X5JE

Halfway through the day, I drove down the Sabine River bank and managed to catch a drum. Unfortunately, when I unhooked it for a photo, it slipped out my hands and swam away.

Today I went back to hopefully get that gar and another drum. I didn't see the gar, but I saw a drum swimming back and forth along a creek. I put a worm on my hook and threw it in. From a distance, I could see something coming---a little baby alligator. It was attracted by the splash and thought it must be something to eat. It put the bobber in its mouth, then spit it out. It stared and tried again. Not a very bright alligator. ;p I hiked further down the channel, away from the baby gator. It came again. I moved three more times, and it kept following me. The last time, it bit my bobber in half and I gave up. Alligator, you are cute, but you can't eat my fishing gear!

I don't know if everyone here has heard of the city of Texarkana. It gets its name because one side of the city is in Texas and the other in Arkansas. This city offers the opportunity to make observations in two states at once! I have a little trip planned for a weekend.

Day One: Bringle Lake East Park, Texas side.
Day Two: Red River public boat ramp. The Red River has some fish species that can't be found anywhere else in Texas. Half the ramp is in Arkansas, and the other half in Texas. I'll have to buy a three-day temp license from Arkansas to fish here.
Day Three: Nix Creek Trail, Arkansas side.

Yesterday I did an experiment on Instagram to prove that gar do not "eat all the fish and then people don't get any." Many anglers believe that gar are a "bad fish" and kill them on sight, leaving their bodies to rot. This is illegal in Texas, but people do it any way.

In this little Instagram experiment, I went to a creek where longnose gar are present. I baited my hook with a worm and cast right where the gar were hanging out. In a span of a couple of hours, I caught four species of game fish: the largemouth bass, the bluegill, the channel catfish, and the longear sunfish. I probably could have found more, but I can only fish for two or three hours in the morning because of the heat. These fish weren't scarce, either! I would get a bite almost immediately every time I cast!

I also saw what I will call a mystery fish. It was very large and fat. I don't know what it was; maybe it was a carp.

Today I went to Brandy Branch Reservoir/Pirkey Power Plant in Hallsville. I was disappointed because this lake is mostly covered in hydrilla, making bank fishing impossible. The only spot I could fish was directly on the concrete ramp. I caught the golden topminnow on my microfish hook and a puzzling sunfish. It looked like a bluegill, but had red fins. I couldn't find anything like it in my Freshwater Fishes of Texas book. I looked at the lake's stocking history for clues. Coppernose bluegill were stocked in the 80s. I had heard of the coppernose on Youtube, but I didn't know what it looks like. I looked up the description and it matched: a bluegill with a red tail that has white margin.

The coppernose is a subspecies native to Florida, not Texas, which would explain why it's not in my Texas fish book.

Overall, I wouldn't go back to this lake or recommend it unless you have a boat to get to the middle of the lake, past the hydrilla.

Next week's adventure: what fish are in Lake Murvaul near Carthage, TX? https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/murvaul/