Fish Catching Travel

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Weather

Mainly sunny. High 91F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph   0% Chance precip/.0 inches

Solunar Times

• Best Times    4:10A – 6:10A
•                         4:38P – 6:38P
• Good Times  10:24A – 12:24P

Tides

M   14      Low   4:12 AM
14     High   6:17 PM     0.5

Water

Up a couple of feet since last trip.  Temp 72 – 76 over most of the lake.  From real murky up both arms to fairly clear near the dam.

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There really is not much to say about fishing Coleto.  Voe was able to fish a day before he headed back to Las Vegas so we hit the lake right after day break.  It was fairly foggy and it did not clear until about 9.

We started mid lake and fished a couple of coves and points on both sides going in.  I caught a small one in the back end of the first one we fished, and then it was about an hour before Voe finally caught one on a buzzbait.  In fact, I went almost all morning without another bite, and that was his only bite on the buzzbait.

The only one worth a hoot all day.

We ended up fishing both arms, a couple of main lake coves, a creek, and a big flat cove, all with about the same success.  It did seem the farther up lake you went in either arm the slower the fishing got.  The only place we actually had more than a couple of bites was in a creek, and they were all small.  It seems the water raise and the color combined to slow them down, but it may just not be me adapting to the changes.  Only time will tell.  I do know that there is a ton more cover in the water and that can only help as  conditions stabilize.

The ones we did catch came half came on Swim Jigs, and 1 or 2 on buzzbait, blade bait, and I think one on a worm.  Just guessing we caught 9, and until we fished the last pocket right by the dam, maybe 3 of them measured.  The one above came on a KVD 4 1/2″ pearl swim bait.  It came out of a shallow bush and ate it, the only one we actually saw eat it, unlike the last couple of trips.  We fished hard and just never did have a run, just a bite here and a bite there.  We needed the rain but a big raise during the spawn is usually not a good thing.

One thing going on, the tilapia are starting to be everywhere.  As the water clears they will be easy to find in the back of flat coves, their spawning beds look like a small tire in the water.  And trust me, if you find a bunch of beds they are in the hole, no matter what your eyes tell you.  So if you ever wanted so shoot one with a bow and arrow, now is the time.  And they are a lot better to eat out of the lake than the ones you buy in the store.

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Johnny sent a report on Coleto and a comment on the Fiskars scissors.

The Fiskar Scissors cut the braided line like a hot knife through butter!

Caught most of the fish today on soft plastics in 4′-5′ of water. There were a few in the coves but most were on points. Hope the good luck hangs around next weekend for the tournament.

Thanks for tip about the trailer on the spinnerbait.

Caught most of the fish today on soft plastics in 4′-5′ of water. There were a few in the coves but most were on points. Hope the good luck hangs around next weekend for the tournament.

Thanks for tip about the trailer on the spinnerbait.

Thanks for the report and the tip on the scissors.  Looks like the fish may have backed off just a little with the rain.  So good luck in the tourney, let us know how you do, win, lose, or draw.

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And I got this from Chuck who fished in the kayak tournament on Coleto last weekend.

KATS Tournament 03/12 with 107 Kayak entered. Water wasn’t too bad. Tough day of fishing for most. The rise pushed the shallow fish up further and the big ones were tough to get to for most folks. Two lucky anglers found a small cove that had 20″ fish in (kayak tournaments use length instead of weight. We CPR Catch, Photo and Release the fish) Plenty of zeros got posted by some darn fine anglers. I caught 3 fish off one stump but could never find another stump the fish were holding on. I’m going to keep my lucky bait under my hat for now, but the most successful plastics were all dark as in black/blue. Seems like smaller fish liked the pink and chartreuse. A few guys caught em on swimbaits and spinner baits. Winning length total for 5 fish was 96″.

Wow!  I know kayak fishing is gaining popularity, but I had no idea that many folks would be fishing.  Of course whether fishing a kayak tourney or a boat tourney, it seems conditions always conspire to turn things on their ear.   Not a bad string for the winner, I would be happy with 5 that measure 20″ most any day and most anywhere.

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Mark sent along this comment on the needle fish I caught on Coleto.

The photo of the weird fish caught on your March 8 trip to Coleto Creek is an Atlantic Needlefish. Scientific name “Strongylura marina”.
They are quite common in the bays in the spring and summer. Apparently this fish migrated up the Guadalupe River and was pumped into the reservoir by GBRA pumps.

Thanks.  I thought they looked like what we catch at the gulf occasionally, just surprised they can live in fresh water.  And I wondered how they might have gotten into Coleto.  So great comment, thanks for reading.

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That about catches us up for the day.  I am just waiting to hear from Shoedog on tomorrows plan, but it will be on the water.  So next it is outside to work on trailer lights.  Funny how both trailers were fine, now both are acting up.  Love those trailer lights.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines