Outdoors With Mat Taylor
Went fishing, but I got there too late

In last week's column, I mentioned I needed to go fishing. After getting all my income tax information together and giving it to my tax preparer, and allowing the rains to subside, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Colorado Bend State Park to fish for white bass.

We left Kempner about 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the park more than an hour later. We checked in at the headquarters. The attendant said the white bass were running, and some anglers had caught a lot of fish. He also said most fish were caught up the river from the headquarters.

We parked at the designated lot, gathered our gear and walked north on a trail that parallels the river. We noticed a number of fishermen along the bank but saw no one catch a fish.

Although the trail is near the river, you have to navigate a steep incline to get to the water. That is not easy for an old man like me.

I did stop and fish several spots using my favorite lures with no results. We walked on farther north and met a middle-aged couple with two stringers of fish. They had about 25 white bass and a couple of crappie.

The man told us the classic line: "You should have been here several hours earlier."

He said they began fishing at daybreak and caught fish until about 9 a.m., then the fish stopped biting. He did not tell me what they used to catch the fish.

I have heard similar comments all my life, such as "you should have been here yesterday" or "the fish were really biting the day after you left."

I did see one man in a float tube in the middle of the river catch a couple of fish. Then we walked back to our car and drove to the south parking lot. I decided to walk the half-mile trail to Spice Wood Springs Creek and try my luck there. In the past, I have caught a number of whites where the creek enters the river.

There is a beautiful small waterfall on the creek and although I did not get a bite, it was worth the walk. We hiked back to our car, and after the two long walks, the last one-half mile seemed like two miles to me. I needed a rest.

Even though we did not catch any fish, Nelda and I enjoyed the time in the outdoors, chatting with park visitors and getting some exercise.

If you decide to fish for white bass in the park, I would recommend going very early in the morning, and the preferred method would be to fish from a small boat or a float tube. I also saw several anglers trolling lures in the deeper water, and they landed several fish.

We visited the park in the middle of the week, and I presumed not many people would be there. Boy, was I wrong! I forget it was Spring Break for some schools, and the park was full of people, young and old.

There are 37 primitive campsites in the park, and all were occupied.

People were fishing, and kids were playing and flying kites, walking and biking. It was reassuring to me to see so many enjoying the outdoors, instead of staying home watching TV or playing video games.

Colorado Bend State Park is a 5,328-acre facility located west of Lampasas. You don't have to fish to enjoy the park. Visitors also have access to primitive camping, hiking, mountain biking, swimming, birding, nature watching and guided tours.

One activity I would highly recommend is a tour to Gorman Falls, one of the most secluded and unique waterfall sites in the state.

The four-mile, round-trip Gorman Falls tours are conducted every Saturday (weather permitting) at 2 p.m.

Gorman Cave walking tours also are offered at 9:15 a.m. each Saturday and Sunday, and a crawling cave tour takes place at 9 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month. Call the park headquarters at (325) 628-3240 for more information.

To reach the park, drive west on FM 580 to the community of Bend. Turn left and drive about five miles south to the park headquarters to check in. The last several miles are over rough gravel, however the road is accessible to all vehicles if you follow the posted 20 miles per hour speed limit.

With a remote, beautiful facility within reasonable driving distance, more local residents should take advantage of Colorado Bend State Park and its many opportunities.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers.

He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar.net.