FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
And considering where I fished today this was one timely comment.
I really enjoy reading your blog. Even though I am a lady angler and pick up on your humor. My husband and I fish for trout and reds and we are headed to Powdwehorn fishing for a few days. We are new to Powderhorn and have found a few spots holding trout. Any suggestions on Powderhorn would be most helpful. We put our boat in there at the Indianola Marina.
First Barbara I want to thank you for reading this stuff. I love hearing from lady anglers and let me first get to the fishing today, and then a little more specific for the Powderhorn.
It Is The Bait Stupid
Often when we trout fish we are fishing a bar, a weed bed with potholes, drain, point, or some other structure that either holds fish or directs water and bait. It can actually be pretty simple if you think about it. Today was not simple but when I got my mind working I was able to pull it out.
Get out early to beat the heat.
When I got to Indianola Marina at daylight the tide was still moving in just a little and the water color was ugly. I assume it was from the freshwater runoff. But it was not an issue as the plan was to wade a long stretch of the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline. I started about half way between the Ranch house and the boat ramp.
Idling into 2 foot of water the color still did not fill me with confidence. Topwater was the bait of choice and there was tons of baitfish. I had one just jump all over it and miss, and the missing went on. Before I finally put it down 5 took a pass at it one way or another but just did not hook up. That was a mistake on my part. I wear a wading harness with a tackle box and spare rod, but today no different topwater. Who knows they may have wanted one a little bigger like the mullet or just another color.
Finally caught a fish. Took a picture of the first one, was starting to wonder if he would be the last.
After not catching anything for a couple of hours I finally started using my head. So I picked up the watermelon red paddle tail on a 1/32oz jig head. The first fish was this small red. Then I caught a smaller trout, and then another.
A finally a trout.
The bites on top were shallow but as soon as I turned around and casted out I started getting bites. Three or four were ok and then I caught a couple of nice ones in a row.
Getting bigger.
One thing about that shoreline there is miles of it that other than a few troughs it is fairly featureless. But what really made the morning was I finally started following a big bunch of bait, both mullet and shad. While I did not get a ton of bites, maybe 10, once I concentrated on the bait it was a nice bite.
Now that is a trout! There is the plastic they wanted today.
It just took me a little time to figure it out. That bank usually has tons of bait on it, moving up and down with the tide. You can see it everywhere, and I did actually catch a small mullet on the topwater that actually hit it. It was interesting thinking back on it how they hit the topwater in a 2 foot or less and when they quit, or I did, the bait was in 3 – 4 foot of water, and so were the fish. I made a pass on the grass along the shoreline and caught 2 little bitty reds, the future of the fishery.
Then just to see what it looked like I went in the big pocket on the left inside as you come into the Powderhorn to see the water color and see if I could catch a red on spinnerbait. The tide was stagnant, the color was marginal, and that pocket has more grass in it than it has had in a while. I should have boated one on a topwater but missed him, and never had a bite on spinnerbait.
And before I quit I made one drift along the grass near the boat lane. I did not have a bite on plastics trying to catch trout so as it headed to super hot it was time to call it a morning. Having not been on the Gulf in a while it took me a second to get in that mind set. Speckled trout are another animal, easy to catch, if you can locate them. As usual location, location, location. And today that location was under the bait.
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Back to your question Barbara. There is basically 4 places I catch trout in the Powderhorn. Now that does not mean it is the only places depending on time of year, conditions, etc. Nor is it related to the redfish. But as far as trout here is where I have caught them the most. First, as you come around the boat lane and head straight as you go towards the back there is a long bar, with grass and sand, that runs along the left side of the boat lane. It slowly flattens out and gets deeper about 3/4’s of the way down the boat lane. I like fishing the back side of it. Usually I set in the slot that runs on the other side of the bar. That can be 3 – 4 foot deep and has isolated oyster, but I rarely catch them on the oyster, they are usually on the flat.
The second place is about half way back on the left. It is near the second old well platform. If you stop there and idle to towards the bank you will see a pole which marks the end of the bar. There is a small pocket to the right of that that has a channel running into it. I have waded that quite a few times and when they are there it can be good. Just remember that when the tide is out the back area can get pretty shallow.
As you follow the boat lane in the very last stake on the right has a small oyster reef that seems to start past the last stake then heading right towards the small town. It can be good but has mainly been a winter spot.
And last is drifting the right hand side of the bay past the last stake. I try to keep in 3 foot of water and drift down that right hand side. Do be careful back there as there is a couple of obstructions that I believe are from an old RR track. And it seems generally if it gets shallower than 2 feet I am generally not successful on a regular basis in the Powderhorn.
So there you have it, where I catch trout. But really the Powderhorn is my redfish go to spot. If I intend to trout fish I usually wade the ranch shoreline out in the bay. And that bank can be easily drifted depending on the wind direction. So I hope this gives you a place to start and would love to hear from you on how your next trip goes. And feel free to comment anytime.
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Mac sent me this on a bait he discovered and caught some fish on.
Doug, the heat index in Bastrop is 108 degrees!! I may slow down bay fishing until Sept. I just found out about some new baits, ordered a few and boy howdy did they catch shallow water Reds. Heath Hipple, owner and founder of Buggs Fishing lures. They are tied like flies, fished like lures–Buggs catches fish. They come in different weights, and are made with feathers and rabbit fur His redfish lures are fabulous. I fished Burgantine lake at the back of St Chales Bay last week with them. The water was still clear and I had a blast with these baits. Reds came up from behind and sucked them in from a foot out Heath is a personable young man who will tell you how to use these when you order some. I just love sightcasting. It is fishing and hunting combined together. Mac
Actually I know about his baits. I met him 3 years ago at the Houston Fishing Show and will confess I did not buy any. He was actually tying them at the show. Looks like I will have to get a couple, love to see them eat it like that, kind of like catching bonefish on jigs. As usual it is good to hear from you and comment anytime.
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Looking at the tides and weather I may get back out there again in the morning. I will be sure I have 2 different spare colors and sizes of topwater, and if there is that much bait all I have to do is think back to today – It Is The Bait Stupid. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
