GPS and RAY BOB
After my recent column on GPS units, Carl and Barbara Berryman of Altus emailed me to share this story of how useful a GPS unit can be.
“You asked for GPS stories recently and we have one that impressed us when it happened,” Carl said in an email. “We have a Cobra GPS 500, which we had used mostly to mark productive spots and used the go to feature to get there or follow the track if they were in a creek we didn’t know.
“We were planning a fishing trip to Ray Roberts Lake (fondly called Ray Bob by the local fishermen) down in Texas and I had previously purchased a map of the lake so we could plan the best place to put in and fish. We both like to use spinnerbaits so we decided to fish Buck Creek as it has a lot of brush in it.
“We reserved a room in the Four Horsemen Lodge in Pilot Point, Texas, so we could be close to the Buck Creek Boat Ramp, which is about 3 miles away.
“As you have told in your stories many times, the fish were not where we wanted them to be (back in the creek). We had seen many bass boats flying through the thick brush that day, obviously following the narrow, winding creek bed toward the main lake.
“When were were at the ramp getting ready to leave, one of those boats that charged through the creek, came in and the driver told us the fish were off the points and islands about five miles out and they had not moved into the creeks yet.
“The next morning, with the GPS plugged in and turned on, we waited for one of those bass boats to charge by and I powered up and at a safe distance, followed this boat 2 or 3 miles out to James Point and Big Bass Point and had a very enjoyable fishing day.
“I put the route in a track and named it RAY BOB; something very clever and we could charge through the brushy trail just like we were locals. In fact, a couple of guys in a boat that followed us in commented that we had to be from around there to know the creek that well.
“I pointed to the Cobra GPS and told them we owed it to the GPS. They found it hard to believe that it was that accurate, but I knew it was because I had checked it out before.
“Ed, as you said in your article, ‘a GPS is a handy gadget to have.’ After that experience, we don’t leave home without it.”
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