Perception

      At about 6:30 A.M. I travelled about 20 minutes on Possum Kingdom lake to reach the state park area of a lake. When I had been to that side recently to fish, This spot had became my favorite fishing hole. The creek is lined with gravel and rock so I can practically see everything in the water. It is absolutely the most peaceful place I can think of.  It was about 55 degrees outside with no wind with an overcast. I came to this creek today not to fish but to travel up the creek and experience the beauty that had surrounded me. I took into account all of the little things that made this creek such a beautiful destination whether it was the clarity of the water, the types of trees, the size of the rocks, the different animals I happened to see, as well as the perfect weather. While each of these thing on their own are beautiful, they all seemed to point to the bigger picture. I turned my boat motor off well before entering the creek so I would not disrupt the stillness of it. I then turned my phone off and stuck it in the glove box so I could focus entirely on the sights in front of me. I put my tolling motor in the water and began to make my way into the entrance of the creek.

     The creek is about 50 feet wide and about 8 feet deep at its deepest point. During the spring bass will move into creeks like this to spawn, and with water clarity being so clear I am able to look and find these fish. When I found my first bass I stopped my trolling motor and just watched to see what the fish was doing. The bass was sitting on top of its nest it had made in between the fallen logs that were littered along the shore line. Sitting there for about ten minutes I just watched as the bass would stay almost motionless around its nest. I then trolled along down the creek and began to look at my surroundings. I found it common that there would be massive boulders about the size of cars along the banks followed by mesquites that line them in between. There are oak trees in the back ground as well as an occasional cedar tree which I found the most interesting because there were cardinals in them. It seemed the only time they would leave one tree was to go to the next. Nestled in the Oak trees I found dove and once I heard a woodpecker but wasn’t fortunate enough to find him. In some shallows I saw a crane sitting still, looking for baitfish. I then sat and watched him on his hunt and examine his actions. For about 5 minutes the crane would walk graciously through the water not even causing a ripple then would peck at the water. It had finally gotten its fish and then flew off.

I then turned around and headed back.

      All in all, the trip took about one hour but I was able to take in so much detail. Although I knew all along it was beautiful, when I fished this creek I only seemed to take what i needed into detail. The shrubs in the water, the overhanging rocks, or if my worm was on my hook right. I never sat back and took it all in trying to examine the smallest thing that was happening around me. For this beauty, I am thankful.