Editor’s note: This was written by LSON Founder David J. Sams.
It was one of those busy days in the office, but when the phone call came in from my good friend Dick Hart last week inviting me to go fishing on a premier private bass lake in East Texas, well, there was no hesitation.
“How quick do you want me there?”
Dick, even at age 84, still loves to catch big bass — he takes weekly trips to the lake and can retell stories of almost all of those trips. He’s caught more bass over 10 pounds than he can remember, but suffice to say, the number is higher than most.
His weekly routine involves getting out of Dallas before the afternoon traffic gets too bad, arriving at his favorite restaurant for a quick meal before heading to the lake in time for a few hours of fishing during the best part of the afternoon.
We boarded his classic East Texas bass boat — a Kingfisher — with a very stable fishing platform and stick drive and headed in search of big bass.
Our effort was there on this afternoon, but the fish weren’t cooperating. We tried throwing Texas-rigged Senkos and Jobu sticks at brush piles, shorelines and open water, to no avail.
We only managed two fish.
On the way back in, Dick steered the boat effortlessly into his boat dock, despite a blowing crosswind.
“Not many people can do that,” Dick said modestly.
Dick likes to go to bed early and rise even earlier, so we went to bed with visions of bigger bass in the morning.
We were greeted with cool, windy conditions in the morning and expected to find some schooling bass. We quickly put four bass in the boat, including a 5-pounder, but then the bite got tough.
Wind was a factor, and at 10 a.m., Dick announced he had tried most of his hotspots and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It was time to head home.
On his previous trip, Dick had caught several fish in the 8- and 9-pound range, so we knew the lake’s potential.
Sometimes, it’s just as fun to fish with an old friend as it is to catch a 10-pound bass.
Watch the video below:
