Fish Catching Travel
Boy do I love Mondays, especially after the summer crowd is all back to real life and things quiet down at POC. Aaron and I put in at Froggie’s Monday morning and when I parked the truck there were only 2 other trucks in the lot. It almost felt like I was in an alternate universe. After a full lot for the last 4 months it was great to not have to park a half a mile from the dock.
We did not have a specific plan, just to head out and catch some fish. Our first stop was the Oil Cut. Topwater was the first bait of choice. We had numerous hits, though we probably only boated maybe 5 in there. Though they were small I did manage to put a 16″+ trout in the boat on the large KVD Sexy Dog, which has been my (or the fish’s) choice the last month. A walk the dog bait it also has a little flat area under the chin that not only helps it walk, it spits a little water to boot.
After working some of that our next stop was the flat near the old Coast Guard station. The wind was blowing right on it, the tide was up, and there was grass everywhere. We worked that area over for about an hour without success. So then it was off to Mitchell’s Cut where I can usually put a nice red in the boat. And Aaron promptly did.
The average size for the day.
After working the cut we went in to Big Bayou, still searching for whatever would get on the line. We were alternating between plastics, spinnerbait, and topwater. Topwater clearly died after 9, and I don’t believe we had another bite on it all day. But one thing about experience, and knowing your area like the back of your hand, is you can do a little better job of working the right bait in the right place.
Big Bayou has a mixed bottom with all the different structure that the Gulf has to offer. As we neared the end of a long deep bank there is a small mud flat sticking out, a place where I have caught numerous flounders over the years. So when we got down the bank I started crawling my plastic and wham, a keeper flounder.
Then we fished a deep bank that is one of my go to place for trout and low and behold not even a smell. It was not quite that bad as we put a couple of small trout and reds in the boat in Big Bayou, just not keepers. So we hit the shallow side of one of the islands with a soft bottom and the flounder were all over it. To bad the punch line is not one made it over the side. We probably had 6 or 8 bites there, but with our superior skill we messed it up. Aaron lost a real hoss right at boat side, then in an effort to be in the in crowd, I lost a good one at the boat. The one thing I took away from that is the flounder have started biting and are moving to predictable places.
I read a study (I think it was his doctorial thesis.) a few years ago that extensively detailed flounder placement. The author actually scuba dove to observe flounder and his findings have helped me boat more flounder. They love to position themselves on soft banks with grass or reed edges where there is a drop close by. And when the tide starts falling out they go on the chew. So next time you want to catch one no matter where you are keep this in mind. It is a simple pattern and it continues to work for me. Fall is coming whether we believe it or not. But no matter what we believe, the fish are sure thinking that. And what happened next just further reinforces my belief.
We were about to re-fish that bank and get serious in our efforts to put some flounder in the boat when we got sidetracked, and it worked out great. Aaron had been seeing birds working off Bayucos Island for almost an hour so we changed plans and headed that way. Working the birds in the POC area can be a thing of beauty, or a Gafftop and Lady Fish nightmare. In this case it was the former.
The birds were working along the reef running parallel to the island. When we got there the bait was everywhere and we immediately started seeing redfish. Spinnerbait was the bait of choice and we ended up putting 3 more in the 24 – 26″ range in the boat. One school of about 6 swam by and Aaron flipped his spinnerbait about 5 foot from the boat and they swarmed it, one of those cool bites right in front of your eyes. I managed to lose a redfish who hit so hard it was one of the best bites I have ever had from a redfish. He slammed it, maybe he was hitting it head on, but he almost jerked the rod out of my hands. After a brief struggle, where I already had him on the half shell, he pulled off. And of course this was right after I commented on how rare it is to lose a redfish on the Strike King Redfish Magic. Fate will do that to you every once in while, it keeps you grounded. With the number of redfish there it is easy to assume they are starting to gang up for the fall run. And even if I am trying to push that phenomenon up, it sure has me thinking of fall. A side note to the spinnerbait is we actually caught several trout on it. Not a common occurrence but it happened today.
There was scattered grass in area where the fish and birds were working, and as we would go over it with the boat we could see trout scooting out of it. So we went to plastics, which ended up not working as it was so shallow, so then we went to subsurface jerk baits. Aaron was throwing a Mirr-O-Lure in the slow sinker and for me it was the MirrOdine. He put a 17″ trout in the boat, and though I did not catch another keeper, the small trout were smacking it. I have not fished that style of bait much, and still have a lot to learn, but that MirrOdine is great for really shallow water and is something to think about when the fish are that shallow.
It was about 2 when we called it a day. It was a case of what could have been. If we had gone to the birds when we started seeing them it might, no would, have been a killing. The tide at that point was on the rise, but slowing, and as soon as the water quit moving, so did the fish. Before the day was over we caught a lot of fish, it was simply a matter of working through them to get the keepers. We ended up keeping 4 reds, 2 nice trout, and 1 flounder.
You know you are having a bad day when first you are frozen, then skinned, and finally invited to supper where you are the guest of honor.
There were several things that played a role in today’s fishing. First the tide was high, and I mean up there, first thing. It was one of those high/low/high where it never really got that low, and the whole progression only took about 4 hours, which kept the fishing steady as the water moved most of that period. Second, the high tide placed the flounder at the edge of the grass on muddy areas, the classic beginning of the fall flounder bite. And last, the wind did not blow, which was a welcome relief.
When we cleaned fish we did a stomach check, with Croaker, shrimp, and Blue Crabs filling the redfish guts. Aaron’s nice trout had 3 Croaker in her belly, all about the size of the 4″ jerk baits we were using. So like I said a while ago, they are really on those Croakers. This was one of those trips where we managed to catch fish off and on all day, and before it was over picked out a nice string. I love fall.
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I talked to my old buddy Clyde the other day and he told me about a cool experience he had striper fishing the other night on Lake Norfork in Arkansas. As a side note he had not fished since we were in Canada, a rare 2 month stretch for him. Right before dark he found them on the locator 50 foot deep on one of the points we have striper fished for 30 years. (Nothing like a cleared, deep, highland reservoir.) He threw big swim baits, blade baits, and a few other things without success. He finally tied on a 1 ounce jig head and put a 4″ Strike King Caffine Shad body on it. To get them to bite he had to let it fall all the way to the bottom first and then swim it along super slow. He ended up boating one over 10 pounds, missing several more. So by keeping after it he finally figured something out. Of course that means his fishing drought has come to an end. Nice job dude!
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Just a note to all you guys who like offshore fishing. I have seen some really big Red Snappers at the cleaning table the last month, and boy were there some whoopers on the table today. So if that is your thing better get it while the getting is good. And with the ongoing snapper war between Texas and the Feds be sure you have a real understanding of the limits and the difference between state and federal waters. Beats having a game warder explaining it to you while he is writing you a ticket!
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Like I told you the other day, this is going to be a fish till you drop stretch. We are going after the elusive schooling catfish tonight. That should be interesting. From there is will be “Water Somewhere Wednesday”, and for sure another day on the Gulf, and then maybe a day at Fayette County if we get some rain and clouds later this week. With our first front of the fall on the way there are some big changes coming on the all fishing fronts, and I intend on taking full advantage of it. I already have some really great things planned for fall. It will be a fly fishing lesson when I get to Padre in a couple of weeks (I am sure in 1 hour I will go from completely clueless to a master fly caster.), then a 3 day down in Port Mansfield with Shoedog and Chris in October, and the big finish at the end of November, 3 days of fishing in Costa Rica. Makes me all giddy thinking about it.
As you can tell I am getting all worked up over the fishing to come. This has been one long hot stretch but the end is near. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
