Three Amigos On The Water

Larry Weishuhn

“Lairr, Tom and Mike Snyder want the The Three Amigos to come to Port Mansfield the first week of August to fish for snapper, sheephead and trout.” Before I could answer Rick Lambert continued, “I’ve already talked to Zumbo. He’s in. What’s your schedule in early August?”  Rick made the call from across the hall at the 2026 DSC Summer Expo, where he was my guest, but also a great supporter of DSC and the DSC Foundation.

I am certain Rick already knew my answer.  Any time the three of us, Jim Zumbo, Rick and I, “The Three Amigos”, have the chance to get together I’m in!  I suggested he meet me at out DSC Foundation (www.dscf.org) Askari Room to lock in dates.  He did and we called Mike Snyder.  He said those dates were perfect for he, his wife Mary Beth, and Tom.

Jim Zumbo, really needs no introduction when it comes to hunting, fishing and even camp cooking.  He and I go back to well into the past century.  We have been dear friends for many years and shared numerous adventures.

I officially met Rick Lambert several years ago at an NRA Convention where his daughter, Miranda was the evening banquet entertainer, back when she was just really getting started in the country/western music scene. At the time I was still with Thompson/Center Arms as their PR/Media person. After the concert T/C presented Miranda with a pink Encore.  A few months later Rick had a huge birthday party for me at his “Paradise” property near Lindale, Texas.  We’ve been serious hunting/fishing partner and dear friends ever since! Zumbo coined us the “The Three Amigos” and it stuck!

Along the way I introduced Jim and Rick to Tom and Mike Snyder, who at the time had recently started Trinity Oaks (www.trinityoaks.org) a faith based mission using outdoor activities to make a difference in the lives of others including wounded warriors, their families and youth, as well as at the time provide hundreds of tons of game meat to those in need. Rick, Jim and I helped where we could, including with donations, helping with hunts, on-stage presences (for years I served as the MC of the auction, where Charlie Waller was the auctioneer) and anyway we could help.  In the process those I just mentioned we all became good friends.

Over the past several years we have hunted or fished with Tom, Mike and Mary Beth whenever we could get together, and occasionally with Charlie Waller as well. These included several fishing excursions based out of Port Mansfield, Texas which sits at the near southern most point of Texas.  During those trips we have fished for red snapper and occasionally offshore for billfish and dorado, but also inshore for a a variety of other fish with Captain Chad Kinney with Bamm Bamm Fishing (www.bammbammfishing.com).  Captain Chad and his crews have always done themselves proud in producing fish, even when times were a bit lean for others fishing in the area.

Our recent trip to Port Mansfield started with Rick picking me up at my home in “Blue Bell Ice Cream Land”. From there we headed to the Austin airport to pick up Zumbo, then proceeded to Stubb’s Bar-B-Que for supper.  In route Rick told us Stubb’s (www.stubbsaustin.com) was where Miranda debuted her first album! Having now eaten at Stubb’s I understand why that was important. Stubb’s is truly a Texas treasure!

After a comfortable night in a home owned by Miranda we left Austin for the rather long drive to the southern tip of Texas. With all the story-telling it seemed like the trip took minutes rather than hours.

Camp in Port Mansfield was “Paige’s” which was built in the honor of Tom’s and Mike’s niece who passed away a few years ago. It’s right on the water with a fishing pier. Charlie Waller was there waiting for us. Mike and Mary Beth live in the area and arrived next, soon followed by Tom who had driven down from San Antonio.

The evening was spent cooking, eating, have an adult libation, including Red 55 Wines (from the Miranda Lambert collection) complimented by many, many hunting and fishing stories. As is so often the case it did not take long to spend the night in a hunting/fishing camp.

Well before sun-up we, Rick, Jim, Charlie, Tom and I, met Bones our Bamm Bamm Fishing boat captain and Carlos his first mate and were soon off to fish for red snapper. It took a while to get where they wanted us to fish. There every time we dropped a hook to the bottom it seemed we either had a bite or caught a red snapper including many that did not make the minimum length.  In the past, fishing with Bamm Bamm Fishing we caught some really big red snappers and soon had our limits. This time we caught a lot of fish, released most of them, not making the minimum length before catching our limits. Although we hoped for bigger fish, we this time were able to catch a lot more fish before reaching our limits. Talk about fun and putting up great “fights”. Often catching two at at time surely made it even more exciting.

That afternoon I recorded podcast episodes for my weekly “DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn” with Rick and Jim and then a separate one with Jim.  The rest of the afternoon we mostly cooked supper, told stories and rested for the next day’s excursion, this time for sheephead.

Mike and Mary Beth had recently acquired a cabin in the bay which they are renovating.  Built on pilings it sits right on the edge of the “intercoastal waterway”, thus had both shallow and deep water, ideal for a wide variety of fishing especially sheephead found particularly around the dock’s pilings.

Using live shrimp, we simply dropped the line to which was attached a bobber right along the edge of the dock, then waited for a bite. Soon as it occurred and the bobber went under, the fight was on.  In the past I had occasionally caught a sheephead but never one of any size.  I dearly wanted to catch a big one!  A very short time after I started fishing, after having lost four fish, I finally hooked one solidly…a big one!  As I fought it, I hollered “Get the net!”  I did not want the one on the end of my line to get away.  A couple of minutes later I was able to persuade the fish to come within reach of the long-handled dip net.  It was huge!  As I reached for it, I was reminded by Mary Beth, who is an ace when it come to all fishing but especially sheephead, “Don’t put your finger in it’s mouth!”  It was then I recalled sheephead are really fond of barnicles and have teeth somewhat like humans, both upper and lower. After grabbing the barnicles they crush th

em with there “back teeth”.

I knew my fish was big, but did not realize how big until Mike measured it, 22-inches.  My largest sheephead prior to that time was one that measured about 12-inches.  Shortly after catching my first, everyone who was fishing including Jim, Rick, Tom, Mary Beth, Charlie and I again were hooked up with sheephead.  During the morning’s trip I caught four more measuring 18 to 21-inches. Others in our party did equally well. Once he caught his limit, Tom started fishing for spotted trout (weakfish) and caught a limit that fit within the legal slot size, 15-20-inches.

Sheephead, if you do not know, is a delicious fish, just like red snapper and spotted trout.  Once we had caught our limits Tom, Mike and Charlie prepared a delicious lunch of nilgai sausage. Satiated with food, bag limits of sheephead we headed back to “Paige’s”, where again that afternoon we had a most delicious meal of chicken-fried nilgai steak and all the fixings.  Nilgai antelope, also known as the blue bull of India, roam throughout the southernmost area of Texas.  These natives of India, the third largest of the world’s antelope species, were introduced to Texas in the early 1900’s. They are absolutely delicious, as well a great fun to hunt.

Our third morning, we, Rick, Charlie and I were up very early and on the water at shortly after first light hoping to catch spotted trout.  Jim was not feeling his best, so decided to say in camp and rest a bit.

Between bright sunshine and intermittent showers, fishing was on the “slow/tough side”. But we did catch a few trout using live croakers for bait, including six, two each, that were within the “keep slot” of 15 to 20-inches.  Although most were small it was still great fun catching them.

Off the water after enjoying a great meal dockside we headed to Paige’s to tell more stories and do more cooking.  After the sun sank we walked onto the fishing pier. Mike cautioned because of the high winds and waves, which were according to him quite unusual for the time of year, fishing might be slow.  He was right.  The exception was one 24-inch trout Rick caught. He immediately released it because it exceeded the 15 to 20-inch slot limit.  Mary Beth, however, again proved her prowess as an angler catching numerous trout, albeit shorter than 15-inches.  Jim and I sat with hook in the water and rod and reel in our hands, fishing but not catching.

All too soon our “The Three Amigos Ride Again” came to an end.  We headed home the next morning but not before agreeing to soon meet again for another hunting or fishing trip. I am already counting the days until we can get together once again either to fish or possibly next time hunt for nilgai…