Fish Catching Travel

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I would be hitting the lake some today but our weather remains spotty.  It rained all night and according to the weatherman it may rain up to 6″ before it is over.  While it is keeping me home it is nice as we continue to recover from the drought which settled over this area around 3 years ago.  The rivers are full, the ground is saturated, and it would be nice if it would spread out just a little more.  But no complaints, rather to much than to little.

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After making the time and effort to take a long trip like our Florida trip it is time to take a look back at a little of the good and the bad.

Moving to a different area was fun, totally different fishing, but we also lost what we learned about the first place when we moved.  When I do it again I will definitely stay in the same place.  You can greatly enhance your chance for success by keeping it to one place.  The Everglades is a big place and 2 weeks is actually only scraping the surface.  Plus the islands give you places to fish no matter what the wind.  We have definitely learned a similar lesson by staying in Canada for 2 weeks instead of one.

Don’t try to do to much.  Concentrate on what you are there for and try not to get distracted.  You can’t learn a new area, and catch everything that swims, so keep your eyes on the prize.  When they say 30 – 50 lb fluro leader  there they are not kidding.  When the big one comes you need to be able to put the brakes on or they are gone in the mangroves.

Ramp access was so nice compared to our dearth of ramps in this area.  And I give Florida a lot of credit for their highway on ramps.  I think many of the Texas ramps were designed by a crackhead.   If I did not like to fish Louisiana so much I would never drive on I10 again.  Their interstate is the worst I have ever driven on.  They probably need to investigate whoever is in charge, shoddy or incompetent.  The highest and lowest priced gas on the trip both came in Texas.

Lots of sea grass is really a good thing.  And the no wake idle zones are also a good thing.  And we saw very few people getting up in really shallow water and messing up the grass.  Ripping up the bottom to get on plane is a bad thing no matter how you shake a stick at it.  And the speed limit in the Everglades was 30 mph in marked channel and 20 mph outside it.  It is not all about us and our fast boats – it is about the sea life that rely on the grass, and I am for any regulation that further protects it.

As I said before if you can not take traffic lots of Florida is not for you.  People zipping right by, dropping anchor in the way of your drift, stopping to watch you catch a fish, it would drive lots of Texas guides to heavier drink, or killin’s, one or the other.  There is not just potlicking going on, there is full scale piling on, it is something.  But if you think it will stay better here in Texas you have another thing coming.  The world is migrating to the water, and we have some good stuff here in Texas.  These are the good old days, enjoy them while you can.

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And here is a little taste of Arkansas.

A couple of bruiser Arkansas Walleyes.

Clyde picked these up bass fishing at night on Lake Norfork.  He was using a jig and frog and I can just imagine them thumping it as I write this.  Nice job Clyde, those are a couple of nice big walleyes.  Only a couple of months to Canada!

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I am writing this as the AC guys do their maintenance on the unit, and then depending on the possible storms I will try to get to Coleto.  (Pouring so that is not happening.)  I am sure the water is high so I can not wait to narrow it down, frog or buzzbait, it should be one or the other.

(This is an ad.  If you want fair, and good, AC work call Shannon at Victoria Appliance and AC.  Good dudes and will treat you right.  I have used him for several years now and can not recommend him any more highly.  He is honest.)

As far as the Gulf, storms are forecast for the whole week, so as soon as there is a break in the weather I will head that way.  Thinking about trying to work out a couple of day trip to Baffin, not sure if I can get it done but would like to figure it out.  Florida has some good trout, but Baffin is still the place to catch that lifetime fish, and since I did not get it done last time it left a bad taste in my mouth.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines