Family Fishing Trip 1969

It was Summer 1969, Ted had been telling me about the fishing on Toledo Bend and about a place on Lowes Creek. Their family was planning a camping trip there and they asked us to join them. He said that Jo Ann’s family had said they would go. I already knew Eva was not big on camping or sleeping in a tent. I called the place and found out that they had some mobile homes that were set up as one-bedroom units with a/c and a bathroom. So, I rented one for the weekend. Eva’s idea of roughing was a/c, bathroom, and black & white TV.

I had bought a boat from Clifford a couple of months before and it would give me a chance to use it. Tammy was two years old and excited to be going, but Eva was cautious about what I had committed us to for reasons I will not get into today. When we got there, we were relieved to see a nice place and the trailer rentals were new and in good condition. They were near the campsites where Ted and Lynn had their tents. The marina was located on the creek, and it had a good boat ramp.

We got everything set up so that we could go fishing that afternoon. Ted had brought a flat-bottom aluminum boat with no motor, and I had a small wooden ski boat that was big enough for four people. I tried pulling the flat bottom boat with my boat, but the motor had a speed propeller, and it would not pull it. The creek was wide where the marina was located and good fishing areas were near the campsite; however, it was a good distance to the main body of the lake and the waves could get rough if the winds picked up. I had never been to Toledo Bend, and I wanted to see it from my boat.

Ted and the kids fished in the creek in the flat bottom boat while Lynn and I went to the lake and looked for good fishing sites. Toledo Bend Reservoir is an exceptionally large lake with about 1,200 miles of shoreline so we did not go too far into the lake. On our way back, I saw a spot just off the creek channel where I wanted to fish. It was in the middle of large pine trees that had been flooded when the dam was built.

We started catching crappie fish as soon as we would drop a line in the water. We would take the fish off the hook and put it in the fish basket and drop the line in and catch another fish. When we ran out of minnows, we pulled the basket out of the water to go back to camp and it was so full that it was bending out of shape. When we got back to camp, we started cleaning fish and putting them on ice. We went and bought more bait and then had fried fish for supper. Our plan was to go back to the same location with Ted, Lynn, and me and to also set out a trotline for catfish.

We set out the trotline where we thought we might have luck with catfish and went to our “fish hole” and tied up between the trees. The fish were still there, and we filled the basket again. On the way back, we ran the trotline and had eight good-sized catfish. We were all dead tired by the time we finished cleaning the fish. Eva and Tammy were already asleep when I went to the trailer, but I needed a shower, and I was glad to have hot water.

The next morning, we decided we had enough fish to take home, but we would give the kids a boat ride and let them fish for a little while before heading home. The kids caught some fish but nothing like the day before and they enjoyed the boat riding more. Eva had an enjoyable time visiting with Joyce and Jo Ann while the kids played together. It was a great weekend with family. More great memories of years gone by.