Since Jerry Lewis of Marble Falls retired four years ago from the Marble Falls school district, he has spent much of his time kayaking on the waterways.
“I like to paddle and get some exercise and fishing is a bonus. I like to take pictures of the wildlife. I have some good pictures of eagles and great egrets,” he told The Highlander. “It’s cooler in the mornings. Sometimes the shad (bait)
Catfish are running, so the bass fishing is better right at first light.
“The fishing may not be as good as some of the fertile lakes like LBJ or Buchanan, but I like Lake Marble Falls because it’s close to home.”
He shared quite the fish tale, during one of his most recent idyllic trips on Lake Marble Falls, where he put in his kayak at the boat ramp in Cottonwood Shores.
“I got there right after it started getting light. About 7 o’clock I was in the kayak. The Canadian geese started honking and that got the wild turkeys to gobbling,” he said. “This morning (Oct. 1) I was expecting to catch catfish on night crawlers. I had a pole with night crawlers, and (on another pole) I was fishing with some little crappie jigs.
“First, I caught two small (freshwater) drum.
They fight hard. Then, all of a sudden I hooked a big one. It bit on the 1/16thounce crappie jig. I was afraid I was going to lose it.”
Lewis said he was in an area about 4-6 feet deep -- “8 feet at the most.” He chose the spot because of the rocky areas and boulders which dissuade motorized vessels from disturbing the waterway too much.
“I thought it might be a big drum. I didn’t know it was a yellow cat until I got it closer to the boat. It got down between two boulders. I thought I was hung.
I thought I lost the fish.”
He backed up the kayak to try to salvage his line.
“But then the fish started moving. I thought this is a big fish. I fought him, had to loosen my drag. I hooked him right by the whisker, so that kept the line away from his rough teeth,” he continued.
The fish pulled the kayak to and fro, he said.
“I’ve caught big fish before, so that’s how I knew to loosen my drag a little more and play the fish for a while, so I wouldn’t straighten that little hook.”
After a 30-minute fight, he pulled the large yellow catfish towards the kayak and placed it on a stringer.
Lewis added he then took him over to the bank, took photos and filleted the fish on one of the boulders because it was too large (of course) for his small cutting board.
He guessed the catch to be about 20 pounds. It measured 34 inches. He decided to give half of the meat to his neighbor in Marble Falls.
Lewis further explained that he used a double crappie rig with a 17-pound monofilament line, adding a little split shot right above it for extra weight for casting. He acknowledged he uses inexpensive poles ($29.99).
His best advice for anglers is to get to a spot early.
“I got back to the boat ramp and its 9 or 10 o’clock. Here are these guys just getting there, and they had all this equipment,” he said. “If you get there too late, you miss a lot of the good fishing.”
