Glad you got on a bite Mike. That place I told you would come alive at 5:30 to 7:30 paid off. It has done the same for me every trip, so I'm glad I was able to share this with you and the fish are still there.

Yes you can if the trailway is open. Call the park and ask if you can hike to the ridge overlooking the nails & yegua basin. Phone:(979) 289-2392

I'd sure like to kayak up into Nails creek for some crappie.. maybe Sunday after church (about 3PM or so).. who would like to go with me? The more the merrier! I know where the fish should be holding and I'll show how I fish for them too..

I now find myself in the same shoes as Ben was in several days a go. My Mom is in the hospital and I do not know how long she will be in there. So, my little fishing trips will be on hold for a while until everything gets better and she is back home and able to care for herself. Could be days, could be weeks, or months, I don't know yet, but my Mom comes first before any situation.

My mom is now back at home with the wife and I and my dad. Situations change and we re-prioritize and rearrange life to better suit the needs of others in our care and to those whom we owe everything. I've got 5 siblings so the task of caring for our parents is spread to ease the burdens it brings with it.

I've got a good friend and his dad out on the lake today chasing down a crappie bite. They an usually fill a cooler and find a strong bite. I'll report back when I hear back from them later in the day.

All that is left to care for my mom is me and her younger sister, so I have my hands full. I live kind a close, so it will be more me than her sister, which is ok with me.

Area still closed at Newman's as of yesterday afternoon

Ben,
I'm planning to be up in nails in my yak, but probably on Saturday. Looks like I'll have a tailwind on the way back to the ramp. I thought about Sunday but there's a ball game I don't want to miss.

God bless you and HL&S for taking care of mom and Pop. I have that to look forward to in the near future. I'm blessed that I'm not there yet.

Till then, fish on!

Tight lines!

Care for the elderly parents is certainly a game changer.. Caregivers need to be very aware of the stress and the need to unplug from time to time..

My buddy and I went down to Nails Creek. Caught a total of 21 keeper crappie between us. Birch creek is open while in the park but NB still closed....

I wouldn't hold my breath on Newman's bottom opening up. To many crazy stories floating around, don't know what to believe anymore myself. Even if it did open up, it sounds like I won't be able to use the trail way bridge to cross over and fish from the other side like I always do. Time will tell though.

Received a text from J-Moe earlier, he said he was on an early morning bite with the fly rod. Said the presentation had to be very slow in order to get bit. I can tell you right now, they are in there, but your artificial bait has to look as close to the real deal if you want to get a strike. The fish were chasing mine the other day and turning on it as they got a closer look at it. Very picky right now, they can see the slightest little flaw in a bait and when they do, they will not bite at it period. Live bait might be the best choice right now. Hook them through the lip and free line them in the current. If only I knew the best way to catch those spot tail minnows in the Yegua. But I�ve never tried and probably never will. It�s hard work.

It was an interesting day today. I headed upstream and fished a few holes with conventional gear. I wasn't getting any bites. The deep holes I have been fishing are no longer very deep and are holding less and less fish.

When I finally got to one of my favorite spots I took out the fly rod and started fishing. I started with the same presentation that was working last weekend but didn't get a bite. I tried faster, slower, long strips, etc. but still couldn't get a bite. Finally, I cast it out and just let it sink. I waited about twice as long as I had the weekend before. Suddenly, the line twitched. I set the hook and caught the first white bass of the morning. That was the only presentation that worked. I kept throwing out and waiting, if nothing hit it I drug it back slowly on the bottom but never got a bite on the retrieve.

I caught 6 like this then I changed to a heavier clouser in the same grey / white color. I fished for about 10 minutes without a bite. I then changed back to a normal bead head clouser but in chartreuse & white. I fished for about 10 minutes without a bite. I went back to the original grey & white clouser and caught 2 more white bass before stopping for the morning.

I went back this evening and fished downstream with the same clouser. I found 2 holes that I caught crappie on almost every cast until I got bored. Lots of undersized crappie in both locations. Probably 3 out of 10 were keeper size.