I was excited to finally book a trip to this lake and was certain I would have a good day catching a lot of fish. I intended to be on the water about 2:15ish. I really was on the water a little past 4:00 after having a tire explode as I cross the part of Hwy 71 that is being redone, only 3.5 miles from the property! I put on the spare and of course the two closest tire stores in Sulpher Springs aren't open on Sundays so I drive 35 minutes to Paris where thankfully Castillo's Used Tires was open and they had my size tire and thankfully I had cash on me b/c I guarantee you Castillo's doesn't take credits cards. I drove back to the property, hit the water thinking I can still probably get three hours of fishing in. I fish for about 45 minutes(not even getting a bite) until I hit one of Timber Lakes' many submerged trees that breaks my trolling motor so that the prop barely spins. I'm left w/ no choice but to paddle back to shore against a heavy wind and every time I take a break the wind pushes me backwards but I have no choice to rest sometimes b/c after one hour of paddling my arms and shoulders were screaming.

I load the car thinking about a quick two hour trip back to a bar in Dallas for a beer. I cross the bad part of Hwy 71 again and another tire pops. Now one blown tire crossing that section I chalk up to "stuff happens" but twice I begin to blame the road construction. So I put the spare on for the 2nd time that day and b/c my car doesn't have a full size spare, just a donut, I limp home and the drive that would normally take just under two hours takes 3.

So, two blown tires($175), two tanks of gas($90), a busted trolling motor($70), lake rental($60) and 6 hours driving for a 45 minute fishing trip that I didn't even get a bite. Heck of a Sunday!

Posted By: Jason Grant