Fish Catching Travel

The Best Baits on the Planet!

My fishing on Tuesday was totally dictated by the weather.  The forecast was for warm and fairly calm on Thursday and Friday, so that was reserved for the Gulf.  In fact the Shoedog may be down so it will be hard after it.  Wednesday has a 90% chance of rain so there would probably be no fishing.  Tuesday the wind was supposed to blow 15 – 20 out of the north, definitely not a bay day, and stay in the 50’s, so a short trip to Coleto was in order.

I knew I made the right choice as the lake was white capping when I got there.  I am going to make this report short and sweet, the fishing just sucks there right now.  It has gotten to the point that I am getting a complex.  Today I fished half old faithful places, and half I haven’t fished in a while.  I threw crankbait, plastic, topwater, spinnerbait, jerkbait, and I can not remember all what else, but it was the whole box at them.

As my old bud Tad used to say:  This is all a grown man did all day.

First it was the area around the plant.  The first fish came on a crankbait, then after while of no fish, another came on plastics, and from there it went downhill.  If anything has been surprising it is how few bites have come on jerkbait.  With no grass it has opened up many new areas where it was impossible to throw.  In most lakes in the last of winter/early early pre-spawn, a jerkbait is the ticket.  Points leading into spawning coves, steep channel banks in leading into the back end of creeks and rivers, big flat secondary points with cover, rocks or brush in big coves, all are classic patterns to fish early spring.  No matter how hard I try to put them there and eating a jerkbait, they are not having it.  After 4 hours I put it on the trailer and headed to the house.

The punch line is that there are fish to be caught, but it is just a little early.  Fishing those cold, blue bird sky, north wind days, is not the ticket.  A good warm rain and nights staying in the 50’s will get them going and all will be right with the world.  So for the time being the lake will be put on the back burner and the big trout hunt begins.

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My wife, my friends, my family, they all give me a hard time about my flip phone.  It is I Phone this, and I Phone that, with a whole lot of Facebook thrown in.  Well I have not succumbed to the I Phone thing and for 3 or 4 years have had the same Samsung flip phone.  I can not remember the specifics but it is built hardy for people like me.

So yesterday when I got out to hop on the boat and drive it off the trailer somehow my phone must have popped out of the pocket on the sweatshirt, fell in the lake right on the ramp, all without me hearing or feeling anything.  I park the truck and realize as I start the boat I do not have the cellphone.  The truck, the route, the boat, nothing.  So the conclusion is I left it at home, so off fishing I go.

Later that day Shoedog calls the number and Ron, camping at the park answers it and says he found it laying on the ramp in 2 foot of water as he launched his boat.  Who know how long it was there.  But the punch line is this:  Your fancy I Phone would not have survived a soaking in 2 foot of water.  I love that phone and it is just right for a train wreck waiting to happen like me.  Thanks Ron and the office at Coleto for getting my phone back to me.

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I got this Coleto comment from Billy, and it actually goes to what I have kept hitting in hopes they would finally start the move.

Missed you by one day on Coleto. A buddy of mine fishes it pretty regularly and he and I went Sunday. Started at about 10 and fished to a little past dark. It was a slow grind. We each caught about six or so fish. Except for three of them, they were all on brush hogs. He did catch three of them in pretty short order after the sun went down in the back end of a cove on a topwater frog bait.

That is exactly what I have been finding, you can catch on about any bait, but plastics are still the ticket.  The fishing remains tough, but it is time to hit the back ends of coves and creeks and watching for the big warm up.  It is coming sooner or later, I am just trying to hurry spring along at the lake.  Thanks for your fishing reports, we will be sharing a boat soon.

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Belize

I actually happened upon this post while searching about fishing behind the Lazy Lizard, since two of my friends also found tarpon there a few years ago.

I was wondering if you could tell me more about those tarpon.  Do you think they’d be there in the winter (around now?).

Michael it is funny you asks this today.  The Boss was just looking at Belize airfares this morning, and it is right around $300 round trip direct to Belize City.  Then a $100 for your round trip air to Caye Caulker and you are in business.  As  far as whether the tarpon are still there I would imagine they are.  I think the majority of that size, <30 lbs or so, are resident fish.  Now how they may react this time of year is a guess on my part.

We stay at Sea Dreams when we are there, and hope to return some time, and I would email them and ask if the tarpon still come in to the pass behind the Lazy Lizard at night this time of year.  So if you find out any more let us know.  And the rest of you, if you have never been there before now is the time, the airfare is half of what we paid the last couple of times.  And check out Sea Dream in the article in the travel section, great place and great folks, and if you have never hired a guide there is no better deal anywhere.  Good place to cross both a permit and bonefish off your list, and maybe stick a tarpon in the split.  So thanks for asking Michael, and if you go we will all be looking forward to a cool story.

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I just straightened out the saltwater stuff, got my wading gear in order, changed over a few things in the boat, all the necessary things to hit the salt.  If things work out like I think they will the boat will be hooked up for the next week without interruption.  Watching the weather, wind, and tides is the order of business.  So not much left to do but go.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines