Fish Catching Travel
I got to the ramp at Keller by daylight and was excited to be there. The wind was out of the NE and light and the water was clear. I headed to the pasture area where I caught them the other day and it was not long before the first one smashed that Rapala Skitter Walk.
Things were really looking up.
An hour later I was plagued with the same problem as the last trip, redfish rolling on it but not eating. I kept with the topwater because they seemed to want it, and I expected at any minute they would start eating. But other than the one above the only other redfish was a rat on the topwaterr. Before the morning was over I realized that there had to be something more.
Finally a nice trout boiled it and missed. So I threw it right back in the same place and he blasted it. It was a funny morning, the ones that wanted it smoked it, but the majority of them were happy to follow it.
This was definitely more like it.
It is so easy to stay with something to long, and I was so guilty of that. For the next couple of hours it was topwater. While I caught several more trout, they were not keepers. Initially the fish were in 2 feet of water but when that sun came out full force as the tide slowly fell they deserted me shallow, another case of sticking with something to long.
So I moved out to deeper water to try and catch some more trout.
This one fell to the Down South Lures plastic paddle tail that I am currently in love with.
Several more succumbed to that plastic before it finally tore so I opened the box and dang it, I forgot to go buy some more. (I cured that this morning at Academy.) Over the next hour 6 – 8 came on plastics, all about this size. Guess I should measure some of them, but they were all out of the same mold, just under or touching is my guess. I just could not find the better trout.
I switched to the popping cork and Rage Shrimp and caught another 4 or 5. In past years at this time I have had good luck fishing a clear plastic shrimp under the cork but they just were not having that color. The trout I did catch were out in the 3′ range as soon as the sun was up. By this time the water quit moving, the wind quit blowing, and I just did not have it in me for any more fishing. It was one of those days when I wished someone was with me, it would have motivated me to stay and wait for the next water movement. But after fishing 5 days in a row it was time to take a break.
Plus it was time to replace line on all the reels, straighten out the tackle bag which was a mass of baits and plastics, and do some basic reorganization of all the fishing stuff. Of course that did not happen as the minute I sat down in the chair at the house I immediately fell asleep. It is hell getting old.
Of course here it is Saturday and now I wish that I had accepted Chris’ offer to fish with him and his dad today. But it was nice to sleep in today and take advantage of an easy day to get my stuff together.
Odds and Ends
Looking back on my last couple of trips to the Gulf I am not real happy with the way I fished. Though catching plenty of trout has not been a problem, size is. And though I have heard that from several folks it is time to change places and tactics. If the little ones are biting good, the better fish must be also. So it must be location so it is time to get the map out and do some basic study. I have the map of our area memorized, but it never hurts to think about what is happening and then see if you can make an adjustment. But I know one thing, it is time to put my thinking cap on and get out of this small trout rut.
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I met Dustin today at Academy. A fireman at Port Lavaca, he has just moved to the area, and as a bass fisherman he is excited to get in to the salt. He had an encounter with a big black drum the other day which he lost now has got the fever. So I hope to take him soon and help him with the basics of getting started. It has been my pleasure the last couple of years to fish with folks like him and help them get their feet wet, just as Dick Lane, Mac McGuiness, and a host of others did who took me under their wing when I started guiding in the 70’s. Pass it on, it is good for the sport.
And now I have heard of the 4th person in a few days who has hit a deer. The one Dustin hit was a nice 8 pointer. It may still be warm but the deer are on the move. If this is any indication it should be a banner opening weekend next week.
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Speaking of deer the Shoedog got a small place to hunt so this morning he set up his ground blind and sat a while to see if it was in the right place, and it is. He had 8 deer come close, including some who came right up to the blind. He was quiet and none spooked. So he slid out and when he was leaving he saw a monster buck so he is starting to get wound up. As we are supposed to get our first real cool fall front this Thursday into Friday it should be a great opener. The place also has some hogs so I am hoping some sausage and sticks are in our future. Who knows, I may even gat a chance to kill one. I used to hunt deer but with no place to hunt down here it has been a while.
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I told you about Aaron catching some nice flounder the other day. I intended to give this method a try, and like all good intentions, it went undone. But I do want to tell you about it, because it makes so much sense. Basically what he was doing was a variation of the bass fishing drop shot technique. He tied a small bell sinker like you would use catfishing at the end of his main line. The he put his hook up around a foot above it on the main line and used a 2″ Gulp. He said it was great and rarely got hung up on the shell. He concentrated on small drains coming out of the marsh, smart as the shrimp are migrating out, and then just drug it real slow stopping occasionally to shake it a little bit. He caught flounder, trout, and redfish. What a great way to keep it right in the face of a flounder. And speaking of flounder remember the limit goes to 2 fish on November 1, running until December 14 for pole and line.
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Next it will be a couple of days with the Shoedog. It will probably be down here somewhere on the Gulf. I am determined to figure out a pattern for the better trout. There are several different fishing opportunities available in the fall and one thing I want to do is hit Somerville Lake near College Station where the Shoedog lives. I spent many late fall days in Arkansas fishing for white bass. Not the best eating, it is just fun to catch them. Once located you can often catch them until you are tired of it and Somerville is full of them along with some hybrids, one hard fighting fish that hangs with the whites. And it is coming up on big blue cat time. A couple of years ago drifting Coleto was productive for some pretty nice blues.
I have a couple of more how-to articles in the works and will have several reports coming this week. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
