We begin gathering before 3 PM on Friday when the park staff unlocks the facility and checks out our cooking gear. Families and individuals check in at the main office and ask for their FREE pass for the "Fly Fishing Group". Once at the facility, the first order of business is finding the necessary bunks in one of the 5 bunkhouses. Segmented for couples, male singles, female singles, families with kids and the last for "Non-Snorers Only". The bedroom in each bunkhouse is designated for a dressing room "not sleeping" so that you can have some privacy when needed. This room might also be used by a mother with a new baby.
Next to unloading food to the kitchen. Everyone is asked to bring their necessary foods for the weekend. Most people bring to share, so all you need to provide is a nice sized dish for each feast or meal. This gives you a chance to show off your favorite dish or creation! You can imagine out of 60 to 65 people, the feast we have! Eating is a real treat! No restaurant could provide better food!
Breakfast begins fairly early with the early risers! It just so happens that one East Texan prepares mouth watering pancakes for everyone or at least until the chow line dies out. Eggs of all sorts start while some fantastic breakfast dishes pop out of the over and disappear fast. This is not for the faint of heart, as they say. If you snooze you lose! Late risers will have to fend for themselves or find the crumbs!
Cooking for lunch begins right after breakfast and kitchen cleanup. It is a real treat to see a clean kitchen evolve over and over! All the busy hands make these tasks a joy - not a task. Around noontime, the aroma from the kitchen forces mouths to water and lines to form.
Some of the strange slang and accents you will hear during your weekend come from the fact that clubs gather from all over! Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and we have had them from Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Children have a safe place to play because the cove of the lake is at least a hundred yards down hill from the bunkhouses. That means fishing! Wading, float tubes, kayaks and canoes are the order of the day. No Louisiana license is required for Texans. Of course, fishing is a minor thing to most because all the fun is in the main hall all day or out in the parking lot where expert fly casters practice and show off their new rods and reels. Another opportunity to learn something by just squeezing in and joining the conversations. It wont take long before you will be handed a rod to test out. You might just find a new fiberglass rod that outcasts graphite!
Now to planning! Bring bed sheets or a sleeping bag, pillows and blankets if you need it. The beds are quite comfortable and the bunkhouses are very clean. Bring your bath items with your toothbrush. We don't care if you don't shave but combing the hair is a must. Don't worry about bringing eating necessities, we now provide paper plates, bowls, cups, plastic ware, napkins and all the kitchen cleaning items. No need for any cooking items unless you need something special like a blender, crock pot or food processor. Everything a commercial kitchen can have is provided by the park service.
Bring a little firewood if you want to toast you feet in the fireplace.
For some strange reason we have had some individuals who prefer to bring their RV but be warned now that they are not allowed in the Group Facility and you will be hunted down by park officials if you attempt to park there. RV sites are close by in the park. The main gates are closed and locked at 10 PM each night requiring a lock combination number for access. Since we have no telephone in the Group Facility there is no way to know when people arrive late to open the gate for them. This means if you arrive after 10 PM you had better made provisions before hand.
Walter & Linda McLendon 936-875-3726 Pineywoods Fly Fishers waltermc@sprynet.com
Other links:
Pineywoods Fly Fishers
Toledo Bend State Park
Lake Bistineau State Park