Fish Catching Travel
Coleto Creek
My fishing buddy Aaron Fite is back in town this spring to do a little work, and so off to Coleto we went. When we got to the dock there was a club tournament going out. Aaron asked if it was open, and they said no, to bad as Aaron is one tournament fishing nut. We headed up lake, and at his suggestion started with Strike King Swim Jigs.
Aaron was throwing a Blue/Black with a Rage Baby Craw, and I used a Summer Craw with a full sized Rage Craw, both jigs in a 1/4oz. He was throwing it on 15 lb. fluorocarbon and I threw mine on 20 lb. Big Game. It was simply a matter of throwing it to the bank and reeling it along. Occasionally you need to hop it while reeling in case they are tracking it.
Over the first hour or two we fished a cove, and then a long flat bank leading out of it, and put over 20 in the boat, and it just went from there. To get to the point, over the next day and a half we caught fish on flats, back in coves, and on deep banks. In other words, we caught them all over the lake. We caught fish up lake, down lake, and up the other arm. They are biting.
A nice average fish, with that Swim Jig down in his throat. We caught a ton this size both days.
Aaron with a nice one. I guess we put 6 or 7 in the boat like this over the couple of days. Though most came on Satuday.
Now I normally try to give you a little more specifics on Coleto as to where. I only have on word that says it all – GRASS! Now let me be a little more specific – GRASS! So the pattern was no more specific than that. It did not matter where, deep banks, shallow banks, flats, coves, points, creek channels, it did not matter, as long as you had GRASS! So if you are going to fish Coleto in the near future, find the grass and find the fish. Which may sound like a broken record, but it is par for course on Coleto Creek.
Another of the better ones. We easily hit 20lbs.+ for our top 5 on Saturday.
Saturday the fish were really beginning to stage for pre-spawn. Most of the fish we caught were males on the move. We spotted our first small ones on the beds, but they were really little. Just like a young guy, ready for action before the big girls get there. We also began to find Tilapia and a few carp in the back of some of the coves getting ready to do their thing.
Sunday was a little different. It was cloudy and dead calm when we got to the lake after 11:00. We went about half way up lake and the minute he dropped the trolling motor in the water the wind came up out of the north, and here came the front they talked about. It had a real affect on the fish. Though we did catch a few small ones in the back of a few coves, that front really moved the better fish out on the points. Nothing like a little cold front to chase them from the shallows.
Aaron with another good one. At this point we stopped taking pictures waiting for the big girl as we caught a bunch this size.
I did throw a spinnerbait some, but did not catch any on it. Aaron threw a Strike King 1.5 some, and though he caught a few on it here and there, the bite was so good on the Swim Jig that it was hard to put it down.
But now for a couple of words on exactly how to use it. It was just a medium retrieve nice and steady, with a few short hops on the way in. Some would whack it, some would slack line you, but most just ate it and tracked right along as you reeled it. And the bite was often so subtle that when you set the hook they were swimming right toward the boat. It was awesome to set the hook when you thought you felt something, and they were already 10 feet towards you when you set the hook. One thing I learned this weekend was I was using the wrong reel.
Usually when I am trying to use a slower presentation on a steady retrieve I like to use my Ambassador 5500c reels which are 5.3 to 1. While great at keeping me from reeling to fast, it was a little to slow to catch up with them. They would just eat it and keep on coming, and once you set the hook you needed the 7.1 to catch up to them. Though I caught a lot of fish on the slower retrieve reel, it really helped to be able to catch up to them, and my hooking percentage went up considerably. It was just a matter of reeling it a little slower.
When you are reeling that Swim Jig slow you have to be on your toes. The bite is often subtle, nothing more than a funny feeling, and you have to set the hook fast. Sometimes it even felt like a bluegill nipping at the tail, but it was bass. So it was best to keep the rod pointed right at them, remembering to hop it every once in a while. It takes a little getting used to, but it is a heck of a way to catch fish. In fact, it even catches these things.
When Aaron stuck this one he said I may have done something here. A couple of seconds later he knew it was a catfish, feeling that roll as they twist.
A little while later I caught this one. If you are a cat fisherman you need to load up and head to Coleto. And do not fish to deep, they are on the move.
Sunday it was clear that the mini cold front moved them farther out, and points closer to deep water was the ticket. In fact, on Sunday we caught some sitting in 18 foot of water on channel swings. So they are staging for the spawn. Just remember that if the sun is shinning and it is warm, they will head back in, if it is cold with a front that cools the water off, just move out and think about where they will hold waiting to move shallow.
The one thing that did surprise us was the fact we did not put that really big girl in the boat. Normally when you catch at least 50 one day, and over 30 the next on Coleto you usually will have at least one big one. But they are still waiting for the big warm up. As soon as we have a couple of days of sun it will be game on. So if you like fishing Coleto you had better make the time to get out there. One of these days it is going to be flat out ugly with big fish.
It was a great couple of days. The fish cooperated all day both days. There were a couple of slow periods on Sunday, but when you found them you caught fish. While they are starting to spead out, if you caught one, you usually caught several. And Sunday it was a matter of working the area over a little harder, as they were in a little deeper water. When we found a good bunch in a little deeper grass, Aaron threw some kind of Strike King creature bait, I wish I remembered the name, on a heavy tungsten weight. He tossed it in the thick grass and the tungsten weight helped it sink down into the grass. And when he would hit a hunk of grass he would shake it lose, and they would smack it. So while the Swim Jig was clearly the hot bait, when those fish were head down in the grass it took a little more to trigger them. I kept throwing the Swim Jig, but it would set on top of the heavy grass and not sink down in it, and I did not get near the bites.
So after fishing 6 of the last 8 days I am tired. But one thing that I love about late winter fishing is that they are biting. Whether it was on the Gulf, or at the lake, the fishing is awesome right now. The weather may be a little sketchy at times, but do not let that deter you. Now is the time, and no matter what your preference, if you can make time, go. There is no better time than the present to catch some fish. This is big fish time so try to take advantage of it.
Thanks for reading my stuff. The year has started off great for FishCatchingTravel.com. I have had more readers in the last 2 months than any months last year. We are growing and it is all thanks to you. When I started writing I never though in my wildest dreams that so many of you would stop by and I am thankful.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
