Saltwater Sisters

First-timers fall in love with a new kind of fishing

By Nate Skinner

For Lone Star outdoor newS

As the summer season approached, Luke Bledsoe wanted to get his two oldest daughters down to the coast and on the water to catch some fish.

Karsen, 7, and Beckham, 5, had both loved their early fishing experiences with their father, but were limited to ponds, rivers and creeks in the Hill Country. They had never been on a boat before, but had specifically talked about how they want to go on a motorboat and catch fish.

So, when Bledsoe and his wife, Jillian, found themselves in the Port Aransas area with their daughters for a church trip, they felt they should take advantage of their time on the coast.

“I called up a friend of mine, Jonathan Alan Fenner, and we arranged for him to get our family out on the water for a quick fishing trip,” Bledsoe said. “We met Fenner down in Baffin for a morning outing, and the trip was an absolute success. The girls had a blast.”

Bledsoe said one of the most memorable aspects was the preparation that went into it. Not once did the couple mention to their daughters that they were going on a saltwater fishing trip. Instead, they waited until they were standing inside a sporting goods store getting

Targeting bream on Toledo

By Robert Sloan For Lone Star outdoor newS

Catching bream is often easy on Texas lakes, but Toledo Bend Reservoir stands out as one of the premier destinations.

The lake is loaded with a variety of panfish like bluegill, redear, longear and goggle-eye (warmouth), and they will hit a variety of lures, live baits and even flies, especially small micro poppers and sponge spiders. The huge reservoir has no shortage of places to fish. Around this time of year, the panfish are on beds and eager to hit anything that comes their way. The backwater coves offer some of the best clearwater fishing on the lake, and it’s common to see fishermen easing along and sight-casting to the fish. Other good areas are points that drop off into deeper water.

Jim Evans has been fishing on Toledo Bend for years. His favorite catch is a big bluegill, but he’ll often end up with a variety of panfish.

“I gave up bass fishing a long time ago,” he said while cleaning a batch of bluegills and goggle-eye perch. “With ultralight tackle, they put up a good fight, and they will hit just about anything that won’t