Fish Catching Travel.
Sometimes you can not win for losing. After not fishing the Gulf for a month I was excited to be heading out on a day when there was not a lick of wind. I wanted to hit several bays to get my feet back under me as far as where the fish were and what they were doing.
After putting in at Indianola Marina it was off to the mouth area of Boggy Bayou. There were a few boats in the area and I decided to fish the cuts and bars in front of Boggy. It was 9 before I got to fishing, and it was dead flat calm. For the next 2 hours I worked that area over, and then headed back down towards the marina on the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline and fished it. I had exactly 0 bites, not even a pass on both plastics and topwater.
So next it was off to fish a couple of places in Kellar Bay. After not being there for a while I headed to the long pasture bank on the north side. Over the years that has been one of my better trout places. There is grass along a drop into 4 feet of water and the trout are there somewhere, it is simply a question of finding them.
When I pulled up there was bait on the surface everywhere. On my second cast I caught a keeper trout, put down the power pole, and caught another 3 smaller ones in nothing flat. And then the surface activity stopped like someone cut off the switch. I ended up losing a really good one and catching a few other shorts, and then it was over. I can only imagine what it was like there an hour earlier. So now it was time to hit one of my favorite redfish banks.
Since I wanted to fish the Powderhorn for reds next it was the bank on the way out of Keller. Redfish Magic was the bait of choice. I ended up catching one that just made 20″, but back in he went, then I caught 2 more short ones on that bank.
His lucky day, he just made the line, but with cooler shrinkage my rule is you either make it or not, no close calls.
One of two little guys.
So with that the total for that bank it was time to hit a couple of places in the Powderhorn I wanted to fish. I will say this about Keller – I did not fish in the back area for reds, but it should be awesome right now, especially around the docks and back in on that bank. And for the trout I was just a little late, so Kellar is worth the day, a little effort and the fish should hit the cooler.
After a bumpy ride back across Lavaca Bay I headed back in the Powderhorn on the north bank and started throwing the Redfish Magic. It was not 10 minutes when I had one of those classic redfish spinnerbait bite, a solid thump.
Now that is what I am talking about. Why they desert me on the few tournaments I fish only the fish Gods know.
The tide was slowly falling out and it was getting real shallow in the back end so it was time to move out to the front and hit some off the trout places I have caught them in the past. As I was running out, I felt the boat hit something, then the prop, but it wasn’t a solid hit, though I did feel the boat go over something, so on I went. More on that later.
I love the grassy flat parallel to the boat lane, and when the trout are there it can be fast and furious, but not today. I caught a couple of small ones on popping cork, along with a couple of trash fish. It was now 4:00 and hotter than heck so I called it a day. Not bad for not being on them. 4 reds, around 8 trout, and a few assorted get off my line fish. It was just good to be back on the water. With my love of spinnerbait fishing in both fresh and salt I am looking forward to the rest of the summer. I know one of those reds just has to have a tag from CCA.
When I pulled the boat on the trailer I noticed the prop took a pretty good whack. So no big deal, prop repair just comes with the territory every so often. So off to the house but when I got about 2 miles from the bypass there was a massive blow out on a trailer tire, I mean it was loud enough to hear. I pulled over and there was a car behind me and it started to pull over past me. I thought wow, they are checking on me, but that was not the case, they also got a flat. I never saw anything on the road but obviously it got me and them, and who knows how many other folks. But I have the stuff for a quick change and in 15 minutes I was off.
When I got home it was time for a power wash and putting the boat to bed for the next couple of days. When I crawled under to take the plug out there was a big a$$ gouge in the hull. It is about 4 foot long and 3 or 4″ wide, ugly. At least I fished after it happened and the boat was not taking on water, so that is something. Over the years I have gotten stuck, hit a thing or two, but it has never resulted in real damage. Unfortunately this is ugly. So today I am off to find a repair place to see what the damage really is. Oh well, as much time as I spend on the water I had one coming, it just sucks when it does.
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And with that happening it is time for the old holiday safety comments. It is shaping up to be a big weekend on our area waters, and with it comes big traffic. So as I have said many times in the past, take the high road. Yield if you can, there are no points for winning a chicken contest, especially if the other guy does not have a clue. If you need to move, just move. If someone cuts you off, give them the evil eye but nothing more. It is not worth it to end up in a hassle on the holiday weekend, and people end up dead from what starts as nothing more than a simple argument. Just yesterday a collision by a pleasure boat and a bass boat on Conroe resulted in at least 2 deaths, it happens. So be the bigger man this weekend, everyone will be safer for it.
Keep the kids in life jackets, and while we should all wear them when the boat is running I know that will not happen, so at least keep non-swimmers in them. And the kill switch lanyard is not on the boat for decoration. It can save your life and that of innocent boaters. So clip it on, I put mine on my wrist, while the boat is on plane. It only takes a second, and the thought of a boat still running fast, going in a circle chasing you down, is to frightening to think about.
And be smart about where you run. It happened to me yesterday, in a place I know. but should have been more careful. Just because you can run in 12″ of water does not mean you should. Could I have avoided it? Maybe, but it happened. It could have been worse, a lot worse, so be careful. Besides someone possibly getting hurt, nothing like a repair bill to increase the cost of the weekend.
And last, keep you throwable floatation device out and where you can use it. Not only could you save a life, the Coast Guard are checking that. And along with that, the life jackets must be easily accessible, not in some compartment under the anchor. And to go along with that how about a quick check of horn, flares, fire extinguisher, and registration. Not only is it required we are right back to why pay a big ticket, it is cheaper to make sure you have everything.
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You know how I love to hear from you folks. It lets me know you are out there and reading, just looking at the numbers does not mean anything to me. It is great I will probably top 150,000 visits this year, but it just does not mean the same as hearing directly from you.
Chad dropped me a note, which was nice, and nothing like hearing your last fishing experience was not an isolated occurrence. Chad fishes Coleto and had been smoking them in the grass on crankbaits, until his last trip, where he blanked for the first time since he got back into bass fishing in 2006. Ouch. His conclusion was the same as mine, the rise in the water level at Coleto has them in transition. It will be interesting to see where they settle.
I also heard from Aaron who fishes Coleto and the Powderhorn. Aaron is lucky enough to get to fish with his dad. He grew up fishing the Hill Country with his dad, and they still fish together. They are kayakers who fish artificial and are just starting to get into saltwater. And their experience mirrors mine, getting the reds figured out, but still struggling with consistent trout fishing. Take heart Aaron, it will get better, though I am still amazed at how often I struggle with the trout. And your Coleto experience is something I had not heard before. Thanks for your kind comments.
Folks I really mean it when I say let me hear from you. I will post what you want me to, I will keep the secrets you do not want me to tell. Your comments make me a better fisherman and person. So keep those cards and letters coming. I keep up best I can.
Have a safe weekend. Remember the reason for the 4th, it is why we can all be out there enjoying our freedom. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
