Coleto Creek 2/17/17.

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Prognosticating fishing success is at times about as accurate as palm reading and betting on horse races.  Great success on perfect days, or a complete strike out.  Or knocking them stupid on a day when you should not have a bite.  So with that said I am about to prognosticate the heck out of tomorrow.  If it does not thunder and lightening running me off tomorrow the fish are in trouble.

I harp on the perfect day for big fish, and tomorrow is one of those days.  Looking at the conditions here is why it has so much potential.  First it will be a cloudy rainy day following a real sunny warm up day.  Additionally it will be much warmer over night so the water should not cool that much.  When combined with a rising lake level the physical conditions are as good as can be hoped for.  And last, the spawn is on and the big girls are starting to show up.

Wednesday I saw lots of beds.  I am not a bed fisherman, but for those of you who are, a couple of days of clearing, which we may not get for a few more days with rain coming, and conditions should be ideal.  If I had to guess we might have an extended spawn this year due to the early start.  Over the years I have seen everything from a 20 foot raise to a 20 foot drop and more during the spawn on Corps of Engineer lakes, all having varied effects, most not good.  So how the fish will react remains to be seen.  But all that aside, it is looking good for tomorrow.

(It is 6am and raining outside.  It looks like it will hang around for a while today, but unless it gets real ugly I will be heading out at daylight.  So far no thunder or lightning on the horizon, just rain.  So time to suit up and man up.)

Weather

74/60  Thunderstorms.  Chance 80%  Wind SE 10 – 15.

Solunar Times

Good  9:36 to 11:36am     Best  3:47 to 5:47pm

Lake Level

Today  96.84     Wednesday  96.17

This is why I go!

When the big girl above decided to eat the spinnerbait she absolutely blasted it in about 2 foot of water.  She was on a little ditch on a flat with good water close by.  This was the first one I caught on a spinnerbait, but it was not the last.

It rained all the way to the lake, then quit.  The clouds stayed around pretty good in the morning but were gone by 1.  So unfortunately it was not perfect, but the fishing was still pretty good.  I fished several places this morning before I figured it out.  They are still biting swim jig and Bang O Lure, but I just did not find the right water for that, or today the right fish.  The water was off color in many places so I stuck with the clear water and just alternated between the swim jig and the Bang O Lure, and both worked.  When I lost count it was 17 and it just went on from there like it has been.  The excitement of the morning was catching the tilapia, which popped the swim jig.  That is the third one I have caught on a lure that way in my life.

              A pretty big tilapia.                                            Lots this size around.

It was a morning of hunting and pecking in the plant arm and I finally decided to go see if they were biting up river.  With a perfect wind, and the water warming on some shallow banks, it was time to give the spinnerbait a serious go.  Earlier a couple made a half hearted pass at it so at least they were interested.   From there it was not fast by any means, but when one would hit that spinnerbait they were stopping it.  With the water so off color it was critical to run the bait right on top, as slow as possible, making a big wake with the willow leaf.

This guy crushed it over a bush.

It started to slow down a little as the afternoon wore on, and by then it sounded like NASCAR on the lake as folks started their weekend.  When I moved back down lake they did not seem to want the spinnerbait, but anywhere the water is clear the Bang O Lure will work.  They still seem to like it right on top splashing along,  I always try to make it sound like a shad flipping whenever I move it on top.  And the swim jig bite remains the same, slow crank it and hold on.

I have been trying other places, some without much success, and then the next place will have 5.  This may be the longest stretch the bite has been this consistent on Coleto in the 6 years I have been fishing it.  All I have to say about today, if it had stayed cloudy it would have been better.  Just like a fisherman, catch another 30 and it could have been better!  My hands are just trashed, my back hurts, and if it was not the weekend I would go tomorrow.

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I got this report from kanrunner, who I met at the lake the other day and gave a couple of tips to.  Looks like he made good use of them.

Did you make it to Coleto today ? It was pretty slow starting out  caught 1 on Brown jig with rage craw swimming, and 1 on a purple worm.

And 10 on a white spinnerbait with double nickel  willows on trees.  You basicly had to drop it on their head, they would only grab it on the drop.  You could definately say they where biting lite.

3ft to 6ft of water all day was where they where at.
Water was 68 dropped 4 degrees from yesterday.
That bite goes along with the temperature drop the other night.  They stick real close to cover and get a little tougher with a big water temp drop this time of year.  But you took what you knew and fished the bait you have confidence in.  Nice job adapting to conditions.  Feel free to send me any reports you have and it was nice meeting you.
 

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Random Ramblings

I am not going to debate climate change, that is politics and I try to stay away from that on this blog.  But a new study by a well respected researcher published in a scientific journal has found that the dissolved oxygen content in the ocean has dropped 2% in the last 50 years.  That just may be a real problem in the future, at least for generations after us.  Politics aside, we need to keep monitoring and protecting the outdoors, not only for our sport, but for our kids.

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I know I have been lax on the old Gulf fishing, but that will change.  Spending lots of time reading charts, weather, and solunar times has been interesting and informative.  Not sure whether it has directly affected results, but we will get a real chance to see.  There is a 3 day period coming up February 24 -26 that has real potential, and it is time to get back to some serious wading.  The best fishing of the year will soon break loose on the bay, though from reports it has been good now if you find them, and I will be taking advantage of it.

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One thing that has been apparent since I traded the Rage Craw for the Zoom Craw, is that the jig itself is still the most important part of swim jig fishing.  I have tried several kinds and the Strike King Swimming Jig is still the best.  It does not roll as some do at higher speed, and comes through grass and cover better than other jigs.  So while the trailer has changed the Swimming Jig is still the ticket.  And one last word on swim jig fishing – While they will eat the white and the blue/black, the bluegill color is by far the most consistent producer on Coleto.

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And speaking of swim jigs Johnny one of my regular readers sent me these pictures.

                         Now that is one big catfish!

Timely as I just caught a catfish on a swim jig the other day.  This behemoth weighed 22lbs and took 15 minutes to subdue.  Great catch and some good eating.  And it shows how quickly things are moving this year, the fish in Coleto are on the prowl.  Thanks for the pictures Johnny, keep in touch.

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A while ago I wrote about fuel line deterioration.  And it has happened again on the Carolina Skiff.  When I got this 50 Mercury 6 years ago it came with a fuel line and bulb.  Since at the time I had an onboard tank I just put it away.  3 years ago I switched to the red 6 and 3 gallon tanks and put the hose on.  Well it lasted exactly 3 1/2 years.  I was having trouble starting it and when my buddy Jeffish used the boat one weekend he went to change bulbs and found the line was coming apart inside.  I mean in 3 years it was literally coming apart.  So who knows how long, or how much stuff, has been in the engine.  So if you have not changed in a while take a look inside, you might be surprised.  And once he changed the fuel line the starting problem disappeared immediately.

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My All Time Favorite Comment!

I am always asking you to comment, and I read each and every one.  Of course that means I have to wade through hundreds, and I mean hundreds of spam and crazy comments.  The one below comes up every so often, it is a canned comment that floats around on the internet, and I wanted to share it with you.

The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it does not
disappoint me as much as this particular one.
I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I really believed you’d  have something useful to talk about. All I hear is
a bunch of moaning about something that you could possibly fix if you were not  too busy seeking attention.

Tell me how you really feel.  This makes me laugh every time I get it.  The internet is a wonderful and scary place!  So keep those comments coming, especially ones as insightful and on point as this one.

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Spring brings the fishing and boat shows.  The Bass Pro fishing expo is coming in the next few weeks and there are some good deals in the flyer.  I will definitely be stocking up on plastics and fluorocarbon line.  And the Houston Fishing Show follows on March 8th and I will be hitting that too.  If you go, and you should if you want some good deals, stop by the Wade Right booth and say hi and look at their great products.  And last, we are now a day or two over a month away from Australia.  Talk about looking forward to some fishing, how could it not be epic.

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Cocoons

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If they work anything like the regulars they will do the job.  And with offer code Comp17 you will get free first class shipping.  So click on the logo at the top of the page and see what they are all about.

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Boy it has been a run.  And the better fish are showing up more and more.  One of those mystical day on the water is coming sometime in the next month.  If you fish the lake fish what you like or are good at.  They are up and biting, and it won’t get any better than this as far as numbers go, but size will continue to increase.  The tilapia are everywhere, I saw a copper head on a rock when I went to untangle my bait, and the fish are trying to spawn.  A great time of the year on the lake.  After wearing them out on the lake it is time to turn my attention to a little saltwater.  I got all the stuff organized, reels oiled and line put on.  Time to go catch a trout.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

About Redfishlaw

I am a retired attorney who just loves to fish. I was a freshwater guide for about 20 years and now have moved to the salt. I am not the greatest fisherman, but I am committed. So if you love fishing, and want to learn what little I have to offer, stop by anytime.
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