FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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I spent the long weekend on South Padre with the Boss and some of her family.  I took a break and did not fish, just enjoyed the weekend and did some work on the blog.  Of course some good eats and family were part of the weekend.  I was hoping to fish Tuesday but with a forecast of wind to 30mph with storms I decided to do a few responsible things and fish starting Wednesday.  And I have to say again, the Bang O Lure is so hot right now I can barely stand to write this today (Tuesday) when I will not be fishing until tomorrow.

Wednesday

Weather

67/43   Sunny  NNW 10 – 20  0% chance rain

Solunar Times

Best  2:11 to 4:11 pm    Good   8:00 to 10:00 am  (Both times were consistent today.)

Lake Level

96.08 on 2/6/17.      96.17  2/14/17.  (It is clearly coming up.)

A Put on Your Big Boy Pants Day!

It was a balmy 47 degrees when I left the house, with a nice breeze of 20mph out of the N – NW, and it stayed that way all day.  The catching was not “tough”, but the fishing sure was.  I could not get to my 2 best places, and there were other places that were just not fishable.  But at least when I got to the lake I had already removed my head from my you know where and actually had a plan based on the conditions.

With an almost 40 degree temperature drop in 36 hours, an inch plus of 65 degree rain, and a mile high bluebird sky, I figured they would be tight to cover early, and they were.  There was no question they would not be in the backs today, and that also stayed true all day.  So it seemed the swim jig would be the ticket, and it was.  I did not catch a fish on anything else all day.

This was a nice  fish, solid.

Starting in a big cove without any real wood in it I put 3 in the boat there.  It also stayed like that all day.  One here, 3 there, in fact in only one place did I not catch a fish and a couple I caught 4 or 5.  Two places turned out to be the pattern, wood no more than half way in a cove early, and then later in the day it was calm spots with the sun beating down on it.  Those fish were shallow.

Happy with this size any day.

Spinnerbait, Bang O Lure, white swim jig, nothing.  But a slow steady retrieve with the bluegill/green Zoom Craw got bit.  Keep in mind, the wind is blowing hard, not only can’t get to my good places, but in some places I had a big bow in the line with the cross wind.  So catching fish basically from 8 until I quit at 4 was worth the effort, but it was work.  It was just tough fishing.

        Lots of ospreys around.     And the occasional catfish on the swim jig.

I have switched over to a Zoom Craw from the Rage Craw and I have found one great big difference, the Rage Craw is too soft.  I bought a bag of the Zooms and have caught a bunch on 10 of them.  I ran out and grabbed a Rage, and had 2 consecutive bites that did not hook up, but they ate the pincers off.  I had 2 torn up in 10 minutes.  The punch line, the Rage is $6, and the Zoom is $3, making them well worth it if you fish a lot.  And I can sure say that there has been no drop off since I switched.

It was very steady today in the middle of the coves, especially if there was a bend out of the wind with the sun on it.  Of course I missed and lost several, but before it  was over it was an easy 25+.  I actually saw a couple come out and eat, the green Cocoons were great today, perfect for the water color.  And I can not say it enough, see something deeper right now and there just might be a fish on it.  Today was one of those steady bites, not fast, but considering the conditions today was a success.

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After I put up the Lake of the Woods post in answer to Bill’s questions I got this from him a couple of hours later.

Thank you very much for not only your quick response but the excellent information . You nailed it perfectly, I could tell you know that with a group like ours we will have fisherman of all skill levels, your information will definitely make our trip a success. Many of us are taking son’s, grandson’s you might say a new generation of fishermen and I really want to them to have the best chance to have the most exciting Fishing experience possible, your information will insure of just that. I am excited as we will be House Boating which will allows us to spots right in the middle of this area.
I promise to give you a report and if you want with picture’s of this trip.

First it is so wonderful you are taking the kids.  To assure the survival of our sport we have to keep the generations coming.  And I am really jealous, the houseboat trip is on my bucket list.  So have a great time and we will be looking forward to hearing from you.

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And speaking of Billys, I got this from Edna Billy.

Well, I guess I need to beg along on a bass fishing trip with you as well.
Went to Coleto today. South wind was howling and there were a ton of boats on the lake(yeah, I know, weekend, don’t have a choice though). Between two of us, we caught, maybe 25 fish all day.

Well hey man, 25 ain’t chopped liver.  And if you did that on a weekend with that traffic it beats a kick in the head.  I will try to get over the “weekend” thing so we can go again, hate to see you suffering.  LOL!

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And congratulations to the fisherman who caught the new world record Kentucky bass.  I believe it was 11lbs 3ozs. which is a freak of nature.  I had heard about the big fish in that lake, and that is a big fish.  I may have caught one over 5lbs in my life, but that would be it.

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I really was satisfied with how it went today.  It was simply a matter of making sure the boat was in the best position possible, and then not messing up.  Several jumped off today because of the bow in the line I could not get a good hook set.  If it had not been for the braid I probably would not have know I had a bite.    Friday looks to be one of those days on the lake where you can put the real hurt on them.  If the water warms back up and clears some in the backs of the coves they will be hard at it.  So what exactly is next only tomorrow will tell, but the boat is on the truck.  And I love hearing from you so feel free to comment anytime.   Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines