FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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In the spirit of honest and full disclosure, there is a funny attorney joke there somewhere, I want to let you know that Michael at My Coast Outdoors helped me out with a few baits.  But believe me, that has nothing to do with what I have been writing about the new Controlled Descent Lures.  Those of you who have been with me the last 6 years know, if they sucked I would have never mentioned them, or maybe told you to save your money.

Get Inhaled!  And stop in their Facebook page and give them a like.

https://www.facebook.com/My-Coast-Outdoors-1085833788121350/

I am really excited to be fishing with them this year, if the results so far are any indication it will be productive.  I am already thinking about tomorrow’s fishing as I write this.  If I had to guess my biggest trout this year will come on this bait.  And I love the experimentation aspect of learning to use them.  Of course I have been to Academy and bought different hooks and weight options and it will be interesting to see what works and report back to you.  It will be one of the very few baits going with me to Australia, should be a barramundi killer.  And last, it is expensive to fish 150 days a year and every little bit helps, ask my wife!  Thanks again Michael.

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One thing I forgot to mention in the last post was a cool outdoor experience I had while wading the other day.  I was in a gut when all of a sudden a really big coyote crashed out of the brush, hopped in the drain and swam across.  He was about halfway when he saw me and he watched me closely with ears up until he got to the other side.  Really cool.  There seems to be tons of coyotes on the islands and I have seen a bunch.  My favorite was the one who I saw several times trying to get in a beached crab trap.  Guess he finally gave up.

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How Cool Is This?

I got this picture from my buddy Todd.

A Bagley Fat Cat

He found this in his Dad’s old tackle box, who was a big fisherman.  I could not name it but I did recognize as a Bagley from the old days.  This bait is old and has been discontinued, though I saw a plea online to bring it back.  While I have been fishing Bagley balsa baits for decades I never did try this particular one.  He will be tossing it on Lake Travis this weekend and  I hope you catch a big one on Dad’s lure.

 I got this from Todd Saturday, and guess what?  He got it done.  You hear my touting Bagley Balsa baits on here all the time.  They have been catching fish for over 4 decades.  Todd thinks this one was a late 80’s or early 90’s.

Bagley baits catch fish no matter how old they are.

I love this story.  To catch a fish on a 30 year old bait out of Dad’s tackle box is just cool.  And the beat goes on.

The Travis Topwater bite is still on.  The Austin Boys had a good day.

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I am finally committing to reserving my Australia fishing.  I decided to commit to 2 days offshore on the Barrier Reef, then at least 1 day Barramundi (A bucket list fish.) fishing in a local river.  We will be in that area for 5 days so I wanted to leave a couple of days open.  There is a ton to do in the Port Douglas area so we will see what else happens while we are there.  I am looking forward to visiting the Cock and Bull restaurant in Cairns, which is right down the road from Port Douglas.   It is home to the Cairns Game Fishing Club in one of, if not, the greatest fishing destination on the planet, the Great Barrier reef.  I can’t wait!

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Those of you who have followed this blog know in the past I had some kind of mental problem concerning braid.  Lately using the slicker and thinner braid has cured some of that, but only on my freshwater stuff.  But shock of shocks I am going to be trying it on one spinning and one casting reel that I have set up for plastics in the salt.  I think when using the Controlled Descent Lures weighted neutral, or close, it will give a better feel for those tricky trout when you have a touch of slack in the line.  I think I will initially try a 20lb braid with a 15lb fluoro leader.  Of course that will affect the sink rate, just one more factor in trying to get it right.  Working out factors like that can only lead to one thing, bigger trout.

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I hope to get a day of fishing on Coleto with Jim from the Houston area this week.  He sent along a note with a couple of nice fish out of Fayette.

                 A nice 6 1/2 and a solid 8lber.

These were caught shallow on a swim jig a week apart on Fayette.  He reports he is catching a bunch of 2 – 4lb fish a day.  He is so right that Fayette can ruin a bass fisherman, it is one of the better lakes I have ever fished when you add numbers with size.  They love a jerk bait, and in my case I love catching them on it.

Jim also made the Fishing Show and picked up some Controlled Descent Lures that he plans on using on his Carolina Rig.  That should be killer, seems like a perfect bait.

Time to go fishing.

One thing I really do take quite seriously is when I start recommending specific baits and products.  Will they work for other folks?  Are they all they claim to be?  Are folks gonna hate on me when they don’t work out like they do for me?  These are one of the first baits that I knew had real possibilities both fresh and salt before I ever put my hands on one.  The application on the Carolina Rig is apparent, and I can not wait to hear how they work for you.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, and their application to all fishing is only limited by what you can think up.

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I used to read every fishing magazine I could get my hands on from front to back.  Over the years it slowly declined to where I now purchase the occasional fishing magazine for the plane or motel, or read them at the mall while the Boss reduces the bank account.  While at the show several were represented and had copies of past issues for free.  I grabbed a handful and while looking through them today I realized the only reason I still read them is to look at the adds and read about any new stuff.  There is always information to be obtained from any article, so I read a bunch of them and learned a thing or two.  But not enough to start subscribing again.

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This Weeks Good Advice

From Bill Dance;  “I have seen a lot of people pick up their tackle box without latching it.  Don’t Do That!”  And if you fish enough you know, it sucks when that happens.

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It is Sunday morning as  I finish this and I am sitting in my chair with my back giving me fits.  I hurt it 30 years ago loading a big patient into the ambulance.  Fortunately, I guess, it is not a constant thing by any stretch, but when it decides to act up it goes all in.  So today it will be sitting/walking so I can keep it stretched out.  It is amazing how the desire to go fishing will get me up and going tomorrow.  The weather is looking ok and I am headed for the bay in the morning.  I am anxious to get back out there and see if I can do a better job of feeding those trout the Controlled Descent Lure.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines