Beautiful day's not necessarily good fishing.

 As you can see by the picture, it was a beautiful day. I could only manage about 5 fish like this in 4 or 5 hours.
It was tough fishing. I caught this one on a watermelon red Fluke. The rest on the old trusty spinner bait. Wind was strong from the southwest.

Catch of the day.

Northwest winds were whipping up the whitecaps at a constant 20 mph. We were out about 3 hours and only managed 2 fish about this size for our trouble. Casting was very difficult and the wind made staying out hard.
So far the southeast wind has been the most productive
for me. I'll keep you updated.

Windy but good!

The wind was blowing at about 15 mph. and gusting to 30, but if you could stand the wind the fish were biting.
Still biting chartruese spinners in 1/8 ounce. Took about 2 hours to catch 9 fish, including these 5 keepers.

Spring fishing!

Fishing has been good for the past 2 weeks for largemouth bass on a variety of artificial baits. Small spinner baits
in chartruese or white, with double willow leaf blades (gold or gold and silver) have been producing to 5 lbs. around flooded buck brush and against windblown shorelines. Other baits that have been producing are, green Senko's, Bass Assassins, Flukes and Wacky Worms. Some bites on Rogues. Southeast winds have been the best so far, today the wind is supposed to be out of the west. I will keep you posted on my success.

Jeff Ketchum, Innkeeper
Hidden Cotage
3-22-10

Wildlife around The Hidden Cottage

The Hidden Cottage backs up against the Angelina National forest. The Angelina National Forest is

153 thousand acres. Our area of the forest has a bustling wildlife population.  Yesterday we took these photos of some wild turkeys right behind The Hidden Cottage. If you like bird watching The Hidden Cottage is a fantastic location for bird watching.  We have a nest of Bald Eagles within view and often see them feeding on the lake.  Although wild turkeys are usually skittish, these stuck around for awhile allowing me to take several pictures.
For those of you interested in hunting, regulations and rules for hunting in Angelina County are posted here on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division webpage
Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Zavalla Ranger Station - 936-897-1068.




The ranger station address:
RANGER DISTRICT ADDRESSES
Angelina
Rt. 2, Box 242
Zavalla, Texas 75980
936-897-1068

Sam Rayburn Reservoir Information

Sam Rayburn Reservoir is the largest man-made lake located entirely within the boundaries of the State of Texas, and covers 114,500 acres at normal elevation in five counties, (Angelina, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Sabine, and San Augustine). The dam and reservoir were dedicated in 1965 and named by President Lyndon B. Johnson in honor of the long-time Speaker of the House from Texas. Lake Sam Rayburn has 560 miles of shoreline, including 100 miles of national forest shoreline.

History of the lake:

Sam Rayburn Reservoir, formerly known as McGee Bend Reservoir, is dammed eighty miles north of Beaumont (at 31°04' N, 94°06' W). It is fed by the Angelina River and lies in Jasper, Angelina, Sabine, Nacogdoches, and San Augustine counties. Construction at the McGee Bend site began on September 7, 1956, and deliberate impoundment of water began on March 29, 1965. Paul Hardeman, Incorporated, of Stanton, California, served as general contractor for the project, which cost $63,290,000. The project was renamed in honor of Samuel T. (Sam) Rayburn in 1963.

The reservoir is designed for flood control and power generation, owned by the United States government, and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth district. The earthfill dam has a spillway crest elevation of 176 feet and a top flood-control pool capacity of 3,997,600 acre-feet. Its two hydroelectric plants generate a total capacity of 52,000 kilowatt-hours marketed by the Southwestern Power Administration. With a drainage area of 3,449 square miles, Rayburn Reservoir conserves water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and recreational purposes.

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Sam Rayburn has thirteen developed recreation areas that are operated and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including : nine campgrounds, (primitive to highly developed), with more than 500 total campsites, sixteen multi-lane launch ramps, five group shelters, four picnic areas, four designated swimming areas, playground, volleyball, horseshoe and basketball facilities, interpretive trail, and more. In addition there are four outgranted marinas operated by private concessionaires.

Welcome to the Hidden Cottage Bed and Breakfast

The Hidden Cottage BB is located in the heart of the Angelina National Forest near Zavalla, Texas on the beautiful Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Our cottage is located just 5 minutes from the Monterrey Park Boat Launch, which gives you prime access to all the Bass Fishing hot-spots! Many of our guest take part in some of the many fishing tournaments on Rayburn for a list of the 2010 season click here ----> SAM RAYBURN TOURNAMENTS

We are directly connected to the Angelina National Forrest which offers miles of trails for hiking, hunting or 4-wheeling - see the Texas Parks and Wildlife website for rules and regulations for hunting in Angelina County and more information on hunting in the National Forrest is located on the USDA Forrest Service website.

If bird watching is more your sport then the pines of East Texas will not fail to deliver. We have a nest of majestic American Bald Eagles with in view of the cottage.