Well, I planned this year's Austin CAGI as a Social Venue...Good Thing!
My focus of this trip was to relax, hang out with my dad and Trey, and help out some newcomers; and while I succeeded on all of those points, the FISH did not cooperate Saturday; but they did the rest of the time.
We arrived Wednesday Morning at 7:30 (after leaving the house at 4:00am- I did NOT want to go that early, but Pop really wanted to get down there early to start scrounging for a site. Good thing we did- The utility sites were full, and the water sites were all taken. We asked which sites were scheduled to open that day and staked out a spot where we could pounce on them as soon as they woke up. We were watching sites 2 and 3- 3 being my overall favorite.
When the folks in 2 started moving around, I asked the lady if we could move to her site, she said that would be cool and so we started to move our tent over. She then came around and stopped us- Her husband had promised their spot to the folks that were in 3, but they were not at the site at that time, so I snagged 2 and waited for the 3 people to get back. When they got back, we traded spots, and all was good.
We set up quickly, and I took my boat out to bait up the swim. I baited up each day with the boat, hoping to hold the fish during the event. Our First Fish came at 4:00- a small Channel Cat. 11:00 saw the first Carp- One of my best fights EVER! I still haven't decided which was the Best- this poweful 22# Carp, or my 45# Buff; it's still a toss-up. Pop got a 23.12# Thursday morning- Turns out this would be Big Fish for the whole trip. We headed into town for the day to get some breakfast(IHOP at I35 and 71- Ask for Melanie) and last minute supplies, then we returned later that afternoon and started fishing again. We caught a few more Carp, including Trey's NEW PB of 17#14oz, then we went to sleep.
As is always(hopefully) the case, we were woken up by a screaming run. Pop landed that fish, and we got ready to leave again, but I noticed something different...One of the baitcasters had been spooled down to the knot at the end. We hopped into the boat and followed the line to an underwater snag that had the fish wrapped up. after manuevering the boat around the tree for a while, we got a look at the rigging, but then the line snapped and the fish swam off. It was an exciting way to start the day. At breakfast that morning(again at IHOP with Melanie), I found out hat Jason would be coming with his son Dayton- I was excited and ready to get things set up for Saturday's event.
Jason and Dayton pulled up around 5:00 as I was in the water catching another Carp- I figure that's the best way to greet a Carp Brigadier. He set up his gear and we waited for some action. After Dinner, some new CAG folks(BOB and Cheryl Nagy) arrived and we started showing them all of our kit, rigs, and methods. They were really impressed with all of the new information, but they paid close attention, asking alot of questions so that they will be Master Carpers by the time the CAGI pops up next year. As they were saying their Goodbyes for the evening, Jason got a run- He put Dayton on the fish, and they got to watch him fight it, and catch it. (Always nice to be able to show folks that what you are doing actually WORKS! lol... We had a few more fish overnight, as we made final preparations for the event.
Brian Sherwood, a CAG Member from Houston, showed up early Saturday morning- ready to get going. I showered, checked in with everybody, and we all started to Fish! We spent the day sitting and waiting; talking with the kids and parents from the neighboring sites, and showing some of the newbies how we do what we do...But no Catching...
We went the entire day Saturday without a single run- ALL of us. The boat traffic was just too much for that section of the lake.
Despite the lack of fish, we had a good time. After it was all over, we settled in for what we believed would be a Fast Action Night, but the fish just weren't ready to play yet.
At 5:30am Sunday Morning, I was woken up by a run. During the fight, I called to Jason and Dayton to come check it out- It had been so long since we had seen a fish. They wouldn't wake up so Pop and I continued about our business of landing the fish. I caught that Mid-Teener and when I was resetting the rod, I noticed that one of the hangers on that pod was bobbing up and down. I called Pop over and told him to watch that hanger- He told me to look at the spool...There was a fish on, and he had pulled all of the braid off, and was into the mono backing! Pop grabbed the rod and pretty much dragged that tired fish in. He said he thought he was just reeling in a board; I told him his board was swimming off to the Left. That fish went 19#9oz, and we still couldn't wake Jason and Dayton, so I had Pop pose for a picture with the Sleeping Beauties.
About 5 minutes after releasing Pop's fish, I had another run on that same rod. Jason and Dayton still didn't want to play, so we took another picture with them. That was 3 fish in 30 minutes after going 24 hours with no action.
We kept fishing, and started to pack up. We kept catching fish on that same rod(5 total that morning) while we prepared for the trip home. When the last run came, I called to the neighbors and let Michael catch the fish. He had been really excited every time we caught a fish, I wanted him to get in on the action. He fought the fish and landed his First Carp- A scrappy 10 pounder! He and his family were so proud.
In Summary... During the event, we did not get any fish; but before and after, we had plenty of fish and lots of action. We got to see friends, and meet new ones- That's what I think of when I think of the CAGI. Thanks to Keith and David for pulling it all together, and thanks to all who made the trip to Austin.
We'll do it all again soon!
Chad
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