Fish Catching Travel
If you love catfish now is the time on Coleto.
I got out for a few hours Tuesday to try a few different baits. The fish are still hitting that swim jig, but I wanted to see if they would hit anything any better. Not yet. But what is really interesting is that we caught 2 nice catfish on it Sunday, and I caught another one today.
Another tasty catfish on the Strike King Swim Jig.
When you catch that many catfish on lures, this was the 5th one over the side the last week or so, they are really biting. It also means they are shallow. Almost all of them came from points near deep water, with really shallow water close. A person could simply anchor on the edge of a point with deep on one side and shallow on the other and catch fish. Stink bait would work fine. To really get it right you need to use a slip bobber and keep it right off the bottom. Of course it is not necessary and you can fish on the bottom, but I know lots of guides us this method. If you are want to catch lots of catfish, you need to add that technique to your arsenal.
Though I threw that Strike King Swim Jig about half the time, I wanted to try the topwater and spinnerbait. When I first got out there we had the north wind that led this small front. The fishing was a little slower, but I still put over 20 in the boat.
There are lots this size biting on Coleto right now, and there is that Swim Jig.
I tried spinnerbait and only caught one, not surprising with the cooler weather slowing them down. But one of the reasons I went was that it was supposed to clear and the sun was going to come out in the afternoon. About 3 it did. So out came the topwater minnow. Now the fish have been coming over grass, but as I worked down the bank with the topwater I noticed one thing as soon as the sun came out, they were on flat banks and points with sand on them.
Now most of them were small, but they bit until I quit at 5:30. I was simply twitching it along and as usually most of them were hitting it right under the water. So folks it is close, if we get a couple of days of really warm weather they should get crazy. And the tip for the day, if we get a few days of really warm weather with sun, and then a front moves in with clouds and maybe a little drizzle, quit your job, lie to the wife, and get to the lake. Looking at last years reports those were the days in the early spring that I absolutely whacked them. One of those days my brother came and we had several over 6, and ended up catching them from the first cast to the last. I can not wait.
I also received this from Aaron concerning this weekends trip, and I thought I would share it with you.
“It was a very much a weekend to remember. I still can’t believe catching around 80 fish over the weekend and no big girls over 6lb. But I still wouldn’t trade it. As for the Strike King bait I was throwing it was the Rage Hog watermelon candy on the 3/0 hook with 3/8oz tungsten weight. The object is to get to fall into the grass and not stay on top. Some people may complain about the grass hanging up on the bait but that is where the tungsten comes into play. The smaller diameter weight, but heavier, allows it to come through easier and not hold the grass. Moving the grass makes the bass more aggressive. When you have a cold front come through the way we did on Sunday fish bury up in the grass. So to make them active you want to move their habitat. Its like a spider on a web. The spider hides but keeping in touch with the web. When they feel a bug in the web they come out. Same as bass. They see or feel the grass move they think a shad or crawfish is in the area and ambush it when it comes out. Its more of a reaction bite.
Aaron Fite “Can’t catch a fish on a dry hook!”
Heed this comment. We hit one place with a big grass bed and even though I caught a few, he caught twice as many. They had backed off and were not near as active, and when he went to that technique, they really liked it. So on Coleto if they are slow, gives this a try. I used a regular weight and got a lot less bites. Something to keep in mind.
You know I have preached to you about taking folks fishing, especially new folks, kids, and others who can’t get on the water. So this year I did that, including actually picking a guy at the ramp and taking him for 3 days. You pay it forward and you get it back. My daughter’s father-in-law will be here in April and he wanted to hog hunt. Now I have no place to hunt, I hope to have somewhere some day, so I placed an add on Craig’s List and got a great response. A very nice man was kind enough to set us up with a couple of days of hog hunting with dogs. And the amazing thing is he does it because he likes to take new people. Funny how what goes around comes around, nice when it is good thing. So I am so thankful he took the time to contact me. All’s I can say is I can not wait.
So thanks for reading my stuff. I am not sure where I am headed tomorrow, but it will involve a boat and some water. One of the great things about having the available places to fish in our area is you can turn left, or turn right. There are lots of freshwater fish to catch, and the bay is just a short drive away. So hitch it up and go fishing.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
