FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
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Chris sent me a text asking if I wanted to crappie fishing with him and Clay. So tomorrow we are headed to the lake to give it a go. And he mention he thought it was about this time a couple of years ago when we knocked them pretty good. I looked back on the blog and it was exactly 3 years ago tomorrow. Besides the fishing that date is important in this house. It is my lovely wife Nancy’s birthday tomorrow.
Happy Birthday Nancy
She knows how I feel about her, a great wife, and my best friend. Every day with her has been a pleasure and my life could not be any better if I tried, and every single piece of it is thanks to her. Since I will be taking off early in the morning I just wanted to say – Happy Birthday Nancy, you are my best bud!
Weather – Friday
86/49 Partly Cloudy Wind NW 10 – 20. Chance of rain 0%
Lake Level
Today 97.48 Monday 97.27
Solunar Times
- Best 8:39A – 10:39A
- 9:04P – 11:04P
- Good 2:26A – 4:26A
Before I forget about it today the weather was interesting. The wind was about 10 when we got there, and was inching to 20mph out of the north when we quit. And what seemed to be unusual to me when Clay and I talked about it, it was almost straight out of the North and it was not cool. Add the mile high sky and it was not the best conditions, but who cares, we were fishing.
We headed up lake with plenty of good bait and our first stop turned out to be it as far as crappie went. The lake is charging up, and up lake the hyacinth is spreading rapidly. So it is turning into a jungle on the shoreline and looks good. We were dipping minnows around brush and trash, and in one little area we caught 8 or more, 3 keeper crappie, I lost a nice one, and 2 small keeper catfish. Not their lucky day, but from there on not ours either as far as crappie went. We fished one larger area, and then a couple of more small coves with brush, but no more crappie, which was kind of surprising.
Clay with a good one.
At this point we were actually catching more bass than other stuff. Some of them were pretty good ones and they were right in the really shallow brush. Since I had been catching bass the last month we decided to fish swim jig in a couple of places. It took them both a second to get the hang of it, but they started catching them.
Then Chris got in on the action.
Clay caught the biggest bass, but the one we did not see that swam by the boat on the end of his line likely was a real good one. It was hauling butt and was heavy, but that was all we got out of her as she pulled off. Most of the bass were right on the bank again, and we saw beds in areas where there was no water when I fished the area Monday. So this rise is doing nothing more than getting them all worked up if it was possible for our bass to get more worked up. It does not hurt things that the water temp was 69 to 72 degrees everywhere we fished. And today, like the last 2 weeks, there are pods of tilapia everywhere, with the occasional one swimming by the boat. Apparently without a clue that he is about to be target practice, and fresh fried filets. And there are also plenty of gar so some bow fishing with Jeffish is coming soon.
Crappie fishing on Coleto is so different from the way I caught them on the highland lakes of Arkansas. Catching them out of 20ft was not unusual, and most came on brushpiles that were planted as there is next to no wood in those lakes. There is no doubt in my mind these crappies are spawning, and will continue to do so, probably through the next moon. My problem is I have not taken the time to figure them out, but trust me, somewhere on that shallow stuff there are places with crappie that would load a boat. Those today were in maybe 2 foot of water and black as all get out. Unfortunately working other cover in that cove only produced bass. In fact more bass than crappie. I am not sure that if I try it again I might just head down a bank, in a cove, and out the other side, just dipping. Logically you should bump into them somewhere. It just did not happen for us today. As I am batching it tonight I did get this done when I got home.
Magic how these turn in to that. Good vitals!
But we had a good time, both are good fisherman, and Clay had never fished the swim jig so it was cool to introduce him to that. Both got the hang of it quick and before we quit at 2:30 they probably caught 7 or 8, not bad for real rookies with the swim jig. And they had every kind of bite, thumps, wiggles, and ticks, those fish can be tricky but a good day to get the feel of the multiple ways they eat that swim jig.
I left my bass stuff at the house so I did the guide thing, which was nice. Great to put your boat mates in perfect position with the right bait. If we had just bass fished today it would have been ugly. And like it has been, get on the backside/calm area of a windy point, stay way off, and throw whatever you like, there are always fish there in those conditions in most coves. A last word if catfish is your thing, I have caught one at least the last 3 trips, and you saw Johnnie’s last week. They are shallow and biting if you want some.
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Get Inhaled!
I could get in real trouble. We are headed out for a couple of days, me to fish Lake Travis, here to lighten her wallet in Austin. But there is a problem – I just got the Controlled Descent Lures from My Coast Outdoors. The ability to adjust the buoyancy just reeks of big trout. I don’t mean to compare them to Corkies, but if you think about it, the concept can be just as deadly. Think about it, being able to insert foam, and a rattle if you want, and then make them do everything from float to sink has real possibilities. But the best of all, the ability to make them basically suspend. Chris made a good observation today, kind of like the success I have had the last year using the 1/32oz jig head. Same principle, stop it right in front of their face, and have it stay there until they can not stand it. I can just imagine it in front of a good one, shake that double leg, and hold on.
Notice the double tail on the pearl one. Make it suspend, twitch it, should be awesome.
So now I do not want to go to Lake Travis, having them in my grubby little hands and seeing their potential all I want to do is find a swimming pool, and figure out the basics before and then get waist deep in the Gulf. Some allowance has to be made for the heavier salt water, but the basic should remain the same as far as weight is concerned. I want to see how they work on a 10lb. fluoro, which I will use to throw them on my casting gear. My Coast Outdoors includes the foam and an Owner hook in each package so you are ready to go. Chris said a jig head should be fine, and I would agree. So no matter how you rig them, it just seems freakin’ deadly. So I will go out of town with the birthday girl, but as soon as I can get in the water I will be there.
Go take a look at their website, they say it much better than I do and it will peak your interest as it has mine. And there are plenty of how-to videos on the site. Of course they are on facebook, aren’t we all, so stop in and give them a like if you are so inclined. Plus they have a contest going on for a few more days you might be interested if you get a chance to use them the next couple of days. But now the real test for me – how well do they put fish on the end of the line? We will find out, it should be fun. Nothing like something really new and innovating in fishing lures.
http://www.mycoastoutdoors.com/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/My-Coast-Outdoors-1085833788121350/
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I got this nice comment from RL after Wednesdays report on POC.
What a beautiful, great day to be on the water! Thank you for the report on poc. I spent quiet a few hours fighting trafic in H Town and Sa going to & from the auctions i work this week. However your blog makes me feel like i fished all day and for a short while my mind had a break.
RL
Glad you could come along in spirit if nothing else. And I am with you on the feeling like you are “being there” sometimes. I think about it everyday whether I am there or not. And if you ever want to feel that almost there experience read the Zane Gray series of fishing books. His cowboy books made him rich and famous, but most folks do not know he was a fisherman who spent every last dollar exploring fishing all over the world. He was a man after my own heart. He fished for fish big and small and was an adventurer as far as fishing goes. His stories really do take you there, catching 800 pound tuna after a month of trolling before he catches a monster on a hickory rod and primitive reel. Fights lasting hours with bloodied hands and broken spirit. Giant marlin fighting to the death, you can tell I get excited about it just telling you about it. Find them and read them, they will take you there. And any man that spends his last dollar fishing, and dies almost broke, is a man after my own heart. He was no poser! Thanks for reading.
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I got this question from Rusty, and unfortunately I am lacking a good answer.
Doug, I’m looking for a salt water fly fishing guide in Matagorda area. Any recommendations?
Rusty
First good to hear from you. Glad you are upright and taking nourishment. I just do not have a clue as to the answer to your question. But I do have a possible suggestion. In the saltwater magazine at all the gas stations there is a guy who is out of POC and writes about fly fishing the cost monthly. I don’t have a copy right now, but I believe his email address is at the bottom of each article. Drop him a line, he should be able to point the way. Those fly guys stick together. And who knows, someone who reads this might make a suggestion. If you get time drop me a note on the Fayette and Bastrop fishing, I just have not made it that way, our fishing has been to good. If Fayette is anything like Coleto is it must be crazy good.
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There is no better time of year on the water. Monday catch 30 or 40 bass. Can’t slay the cappies, just catch some nice bass. Want to hit the bay, whack some big reds. Turn a friend on to a new technique while you spend the day with a couple of good guys, and you have one great week! Tomorrow it will be clean the boat, check line and tackle, and get ready for what looks to be 4 days on the water this week. If I can catch a striper on Travis, and then Get Inhaled! it will be another great week. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
