Fish Catching Travel
5 Different Places in 6 Days – Day 3.
Here I sit at 5:00 a.m. finishing this post and listening to the rain come down. I would be on the road to Coleto Creek soon, but looking at the radar, it will be a couple of hours before I can leave, which at least gives me the opportunity to get this done before I head out.
With the trout fishing as good as it is right now, and no wind in the forecast, I decided to head to POC and catch some trout for a fish fry. I took the skiff as I knew I would not be having to go far to catch fish. And of course my first, and last stop, was Big Bayou. One of the things I really like about Big Bayou in the winter is that with the deeper water along the islands, it has always been consistent in the winter. There are lots of mullet and the deeper water gives them a little protection in the winter.
I threw a topwater for an hour on a couple of the shallower banks, and managed to put 3 in the boat. It was slow, so I headed for the deeper side along the islands to throw plastics. As the electric chicken color has been so good to me this last couple of months, out came the Gambler in the Flappin Shad. I like that bait, and so do the trout. It falls real slow and the tail does all the work. Before the day was done, I caught a bunch of fish. It was one of those days where you had to wade through a bunch of fish to catch a limit. And catch a limit I did.
The guests of honor at a fish fry.
I also made a video. I have really grown to appreciate what it takes to make the fish bite on cue. Of course the pros have unlimited battery power, I only have about an hour or so, and sometimes my timing is perfect, others it is so-so. While I did not get the real good stuff today, here is what I did get. It does give you an idea about how it went. The catching was continuous all day. A couple here, a couple there, but by 2:00 there was a limit in the box. But, it still irks me when I get this little. Oh well, I will keep trying.
Basically I fished the deeper banks in Big Bayou and the boat lane leading to Mitchell’s Cut. It was just a matter of tossing that Gambler Flappin Shad in electric chicken to the bank on an 1/8 ounce jig head, and hopping it down the bank. With the fish on these deeper places, and the tide falling most of the morning,, they love to position on the edge of the grass, waiting as the bait fish and other yummy stuff is pulled out.
It was interesting how I caught a bunch of really small reds, and not one keeper sized. That is very unusual in that area, but the numbers of small reds and trout give me hope for the coming year. No matter what though I caught fish from the first place to the last, you just had to wade through the smaller ones. Not a bad job.
When the tide stopped moving around noon I switched over to a 3″ Mirr-O-Lure in a brown with a chartreuse shad tail. That bait is heavier and is one of the tougher plastics around. I actually started using it faster, and it turned out to be a good choice. I had 5 in the box when I switched, and filled the limit in short order.
While I like to catch fish anyway I can, my favorite is still using the trolling motor and the tide to cover water. I guess the reason I like it so much is how similar it is to bass fishing, and since it works for me, I keep doing it.
I have been saying over the last month that the trout fishing is good right now, and it is. One of the reasons I decided to fish POC is I have fished many different places the last few trips as you know, and have been catching them right along. Be it a river, a big bay, or a big creek leading into a back lake, they have all produced trout. Sometimes we get hung up on “spots”. We all seem to search for that secret magic place. Right now we have that place, it is called inshore on the Gulf of Mexico. Now some places hold bigger fish to be sure. But right now it is a matter of going to your favorite area and fishing.
The trout are still bunched pretty good, and when you find them you can catch them, sometimes lots of them. Indianola the other day was a perfect example. No bites for 4 hours, the whack them for 2. Today was a little different. but later when I found a bunch of better ones, it was game on. So if you can get out go, the time is right. You may have to search a little harder, but if you find that big bunch you can catch the snot out of them.
I think I hear the rain starting to slack off. The radar looks ok, so time to load the boat and head to Coleto. This 5 different places in 6 day thing is actually fun, and I hope to jack them up today. Kind of gives me an idea for the future. Maybe something like 5 different species in 5 consecutive trips. There is a story there somewhere.
So thanks for reading my stuff. I try to keep it interesting and informative. But either way I appreciate each and every one of you who stop by. So keep watching, there are 2 places to go in the 5 different places in 6 days adventure.
Good Luck and Tight Lines.
