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#2 ·
I wasn't on the Texas trip...but I went to New Orleans once and somehow ended up in the St. Patty's Day parade. On tv. Now THERE's a story!!

On another note, I have the head of one of the Gator Gar from Texas in my freezer stinking up my frozen pizza :cf:
 
#5 ·
Well Allen, It went down a little like this...Newt and I hook up With Josh and Tyson in San Antonio where we quickly learn that there are NO rental cars available (including the one we reserved) in the entire town which happens to be the 7th largest US city. After being shuttled around from one Enterprise rent-a-car (they pick ya up) branch to the next and finally to the branch where we had reserved a trusty Jeep Cherokee that would certainly accommodate four eager bowfisherman and all of their gear where we were finally dropped off. It was our plan to wait until our reservation or another was returned. Here, there were two of Texas' finest young Mexican women who clearly enjoyed all that the dollar menu at the McDonald's across the street had to offer. I'm not exactly sure how this happened but some how we drove away from there in the rig they were using to shuttle us off on to the next guy. The two gals there either really liked us or they didn't want us sleeping in their lobby. Either way, we got a car and were damn happy about it...not sure what happened to the gentleman that drove us there in it to start with, I just knew we weren’t taking him back for fear of losing our recently acquired rig. At this point we were an hour and a half away from where we needed to meet the guide and in no rush. We were not booked to go out until the next day. We headed south and began our search for some good ol fashioned Texas groceries (preferably w/o any okra). Right out of the gate we stumble on to a BBQ joint…Texas is famous for BBQ! Upon exiting the place we were all wondering why that was. We soon learned that this particular place was only one of many in a chain of BBQ joints as we passed another every mile or so. Now we’re nearly happy but not quite fully in the realm of happiness…we still gotta find some WHISKEY! After a small wager was placed on whether or not there would be any Pendleton found in Texas we set out. My way of think’n was that Texas is the biggest rodeo State in the nation and we all know where the idea behind Pendleton whiskey derived. After several stops we had come to realize that San Antonio must lie within a DRY county because everybody just kept saying “liquor store…this is San Antone” then they would laugh and walk away. Finally, after reaching the county line we came upon a liquor store…it was the first building we came to, brilliant right? Well guess what is lined up in one glowing bottle of pure pleasure after another on the VERY FIRST shelf that you can possible walk in to upon entry…you got it, PENDLETON!!! We gather up a couple half gallon bottles and head to Wal Mart…yep, they got them too! Just keeps getting better. We grab ourselves a cooler, some cups and all the c0cktail fix’ns we need and decide to go meet our guide in Three Rivers Texas but not before a stop at the local quickie mart where we were asked “don’t y’all have any fish where yer from” when we were buying our non-resident licenses. Several (or two several) c0cktails later and after an hour of thoroughly eyeballing the boat we would soon all be on, Jack Thatcher of Exreme Bowfishing walks out of the diner and introduces himself. Seemed like only minutes later (but I know it cant be because in the mean time we enjoyed several (or two several) more c0cktails) and we were backing his boat into the darkness of Choke Canyon Reservoir. Josh (or may be it was Tyson) handed me a Monster Energy drink which might as well have been lacquer thinner (thanks bye the way to whoever it was…ya probably saved my life) because it tasted EXACTLY like lacquer thinner. Everything we would see in the next minutes began to sober us up pretty quick. There were all sorts of fish that none of us had ever seen before but seeing a 15’ alligator was a very sobering sight. We quickly burned thru forty or fifty shots at Spotted and Short nose Gar which peak out at roughly the size of a 14” piece of broom stick. Josh got the real excitement started when he hammered this 44lb Buffalo….
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We were sobered up fairly good at this point and starting to get it together. Tyson whacked this dandy Needle Nose….
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We were all pounding on the Spotted, Short Nose, and Buffs when Josh finally hooked us up with our first Gator Gar (yep, they do come in smaller versions than you see on TV)….
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Another Good Needle Nose found the bottom of the bucket….
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After a long night of blood, sweat, and Nog that the fish in Texas take to a WHOLE other level, we wrapped things up at 6:00 the next morning. We Started back in at 3:00 that afternoon on the Nueces River….
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We were there to shoot “rollers” which is just like shooting “strikers” here at home. You see one break the surface and snap a shot three feet low and two feet ahead of the fish into muddy water. This too took us a little to get on to but we were soon all boating fish on a regular basis. We killed our two best fish of the trip here.
A Dandy Needle Nose…
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And the coveted Gator Gar…
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We hunted the River until about 8:00 then loaded up for dinner and re launched in to Choke Canyon Res at about 10:00 and shot many more small gar and carp until 4:00 the next morning. We went back out for the last time at noon on a day that would finally bring us two short hours of the perfect conditions needed to kill the big one. Heat, calm water, and no wind. During this time we had many 5’ to 7’ gar rolling in all directions but very few within 30 yds. of the boat. We fell short on a couple of opportunities and when the wind picked up it was OVER!

The next morning while Josh and Tyson turn over the rental car that is certain to be totaled due to the stench that can only come from 3 days of four guys w/o enough showers, a gallon of whiskey, and that unique Texas Nog, Newt and I walk in to the airport...probably 80 people in line to check their bags. I spy me a computer terminal just inside the door so I head for it to print my boarding pass. Newt is coming in behind me w/ our bags. Just before I get to the terminal and set down the bow case and cooler, I pass bye this smoke'n hottie that is headed in the opposite direction. I hear Newt mumbling something to the extent of "Holy $hit Dude...you see that" when very suddenly I hear the hard case slam hard against the floor behind me and I pick up our bags sliding out across the floor from out of my peripheral vision...when I turn around, 'ol Newt was all wadded up on the floor across the bow case...EVERYONE including the hottie turned around to see what the hell just happened...I damn near fell down laughing! May be ya had to be there...

All in all, the trip was one of the best bowfishing experiences of my life. Many thanks to a good guide and great friends for making it happen. If you ever get the opportunity to put a trip like this together with a few of your Podna’s, you should definitely go for it!
 
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