Two of those don't require a boat. Anderson Pond near Pitkin and Hodges Gardens State Park near Florien. Both lakes are small, do not allow motorboat traffic and have large areas of clear bank. More in the realm of pond fishing than lake fishing.
On this day I went to Hodges. The wife enjoys the gardens and I get to go fishing. Win - win!
You can rent a jon boat with trolling motor, canoe or kayak. But I decided to do the bank thing. Not that I didn't mind spending the money, just that I was feeling lazy. I rigged up my 5-weight rod with a bass bug and my 4-weight with a size 14 Rosborough Hare's Ear until a tiny football indicator.
I started with the bass setup but managed only just one in two hours. The lake has a good number of bass, but once again a late spring cool front had pushed through and probably sent them deep. So I changed rigs.
No sooner than I cast the four-weight with the RHE, the tiny float plunged underneath and I set the hook. For a short time, I thought "maybe it's a bass". Turned out to be a 10-inch chiquapin. Turned it loose, then made another cast to the same area. Same result.
Each of these chinks was in the 10 to 11 inch range and full of fight. It was good to have brought the 4-weight rather than the 2-weight otherwise I would've needed a gaff to land them! Much to my wife's chagrin, I turned them all loose.
While it was a great day at the park, I received some sad news before leaving. Turns out that Hodges is on the list for possible closure due to state budget constraints. The Sabine and Vernon parish officials are working hard to prevent this. They need the tourism dollars as much as I need my favorite redear bank fishing spot.
