Fish Catching Travel

The Tour Grade Sexy Shad buzzbait put them in the boat today.

I finally got a handle on our weather, and it turned out to be a great day.  I got on Coleto about 9 Monday, fishing until I could hear the thunder coming at 5:30.  What has been happening is evening and night showers, and as I type this at 7 I can hear lots of thunder all around us.  But the trick was to fish right during the middle of the day.  It worked today, we will have to see tomorrow.  The winds are supposed to be low, so the Gulf is happening in the next 2 days, somewhere.  But back to today.

Basically I fished coves and main lake both, and noticed little difference.  It was not fast by any means, but if you kept the bait in the water one would jump on it sooner or later.

The first nice one of the day.

The problem today was they just could not make up their mind.  The one above came on a buzzbait, but I had already caught a couple on pink trick worm.  Though they would hit the trick worm, it was not as fast as it has been.

This girl smoked that worm.

The wind was not an issue today so I was able to fish where I wanted.  There just was no specific type of place, like coves, or points, or long brush covered main lake banks, that was all that much better than another.  It was a keep the trolling motor in the water and the bait in the water day.  It really seemed like if you caught one, get ready, there was another one there.  I think there is so much water the fish can be anywhere, and they are.

And of course they would eat a Strike King Swimming Jig.

There never seemed to be a specific pattern on type of cover, and just because there was grass did not mean the fish were in it.  But hit the right patch of cover and you could get a couple of bites.

There were a few in this type of grass.  She jumped that buzzbait on the first turn of the handle.

I wish I could give you a more specific report, but there really was no specific thing to take away from today.  I caught 5 or 6 fish on each bait, and the size was pretty equal.  I am sure there is good way to catch them, and a good place to find them, but they just have not really settled down yet.  And there is miles of new grass and cover, and if you can figure out which of the cover is preferred you will be in business.

 It does look like the lake has fallen a couple of inches so things will stay in a state of uproar until the spawn is over.  I did see beds with fish on them, so it may be a month before things really settle down.  But if you are a shallow water fisherman Coleto will be the place to be this year.  Figure them out and a huge stringer could be right around the corner.

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Shoedog got in one final day of fishing in Arkansas before heading back to College Station.

We got out on Norfork Lake and headed up Bennett’s Bayou to find some crappies. Water was off color from runoff and there was some floating debris, but not as bad as when we were here last year. Lot’s of boats as it was a Saturday in April in Arkansas. First bank we hit Tom caught a nice slab.

Our old buddy Tom Ryan from Iowa.

There was an old fella trolling along with one of those boats with about 15 to 20 poles on the rigs and he was catching fish, so we tried trolling some and picked up a couple and some small whites. We were marking a lot of fish scattered at all depths. We moved back a bit in the creek and started targeting trees and stick ups and were catching tons of small whites and started catching some nice crappies.

The Shoedog with a nice one.

It wasn’t fast- just a fish or two on each spot, but these fish were being hammered by many boats. They were all females but on and apparently moving up all through out the day to spawn. Their eggs were really far along when we cleaned that eve.

They need at least this many to feed these animals.

Further back in the creek we hit a small cove with a dock off to the right. I caught a walleye and we had a few small whites again. Up in the corner of the dock fish kept chasing shad. There we caught 3 nice bass and several whites. They were really active and it was fun.
We dropped Tom off at the dock and picked up Maria to finish out the day. The overall appearance of the boat improved.

Maria and Clyde, two of the best folks on the face of the earth.

It stayed the same all day- a fish or two on each spot. No monsters, just nice slabs. We caught 13 nice ones in all and had a great day of fishing and friendship. Finished off with a steak dinner and a little pick in’ and a grinnnin’. Thanks to Clyde and Maria for the hospitality and Tom for coming down south from Iowa for the fun.

Family, friends and fishing….nothing better than that!

Great trip, wish I could have come with you.  Glad all was well and will be looking forward to seeing Clyde when we meet in Canada in August.  And it is time for you to start thinking about the Florida trip.  We are leaving in 8 days, and boy am I excited.

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Last, I would like to give Minn Kota props.  When I ordered the part to fix the trolling motor bracket last week I mentioned I was heading to the Everglades in a couple of weeks.  The guy said it would ship in 5 days, and it was at the house when I got back from the lake Monday.  He went ahead and expedited the order.  Then I had a little hitch installing it, and they went above and beyond the call of duty helping me out.  I have owned Minn Kota products for so many years I have lost count.  So thanks guys, your service and support is what we have come to expect from a quality company.

So now it is up and running, and so is my heart rate just thinking about a huge tarpon streaking out of the mangroves and smashing a topwater.  If you are a saltwater fisherman the Everglades should be on your bucket list.  The first time I made the trip I had no clue, so I took it slow and expanded my range daily.  But it has been a dozen years or more, and one big hurricane, so there will be lots more to learn, and I can’t wait.  But until then it will be a little trout fishing on the Gulf.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines