Fish Catching Travel
A I sit here this morning the wind is flat out howling out there. We took the dog for a walk and nearly got blown over. I will give the weatherman one thing, he has been right on the last two days, it was going to be windy.
So yesterday I decided to keep it to Coleto due to the high winds, I just could not get to motivated to fight it at the coast. When combined the high winds with this cold that will not go away after a week, it was the logical choice. I am going to finally get back to the coast in the morning when I head out with Chris.
The fishing on Coleto could only be described as slow. With the wind howling there were some places that were just to windy to fish effectively. I caught several on crawdad colored crankbait last time, so I threw it some. Unfortunately that did not work at all, in fact I did not have a bite on one. So I stuck with the jerk bait, and while it was consistent, they were small. I think I ended up catching about 10 on the Rogue Jr. in a shad. With the wind up I decided to throw a red Strike King Red Eye Shad.
Red rattle baits like that have been a Texas spring grass pattern for many years, and it was the case on Coleto. From about 10:30 until I quit at 1 I probably put another 10 in the boat. Most of those were small, but they knocked the crap out of it.
This is the way most of them had that Red Eye Shad.
With the wind I was just not able to fish all that deep, and any points on the main lake were rough. I am not that hot a deep water plastic guy, and with the wind I just stayed shallow. But I can tell you right now that this very unstable weather pattern has the bigger fish backed off waiting for something that suits them better. So if you are fishing a tournament, or looking for bigger fish, get off those deeper banks and points and drag some plastic.
The fish I caught yesterday all came out of big grass patches in about 4 – 6 feet of water. I would make a long cast and crank the Red Eye Shad at medium speed, and then just stop it. As it was drifting down, they would smack it. It was not one of those Gee did I have a bite things, it was a solid whack. One of the real differences with the Red Eye Shad and other rattle baits is the way it sinks. It actually vibrates on the way down, and when they want it, they smack it.
I saw this guy who was sunning and these coots decided to head out of the cove between me and him.
He lunged and they freaked, it was awesome.
So the fishing report for Coleto is just what it has been, plenty of small ones with the occasional good one mixed in. The better fish were moving about 3 weeks ago when we had the stable warming trend, but this unstable weather has moved them way off and they are not inclined to move back in to the bank. Now I am not the final word on Coleto, and as primarily a shallow water fisherman, my take on things right now is clearly not the best way to go.
There are schools of fish in 15 – 20 feet of water near the points. That is where the bulk of the good fish are. So if you want to catch fish shallow, you can. But if good fish are on your radar, look deep, or wait for some stable weather. Listening to it howling out of the northwest right now I am beginning to wonder if spring will ever get here.
My friend Aaron, who is back in East Texas, sent me a picture of some supper. Aaron is not only an accomplished bass fisherman, he is a fisherman period. He loves to catch them all, from crappie to redfish. So he sent me this from a recent trip to Lake O’ the Pines. You can see what is on the plate for supper at his house.
That will work.
According to the weather forecast the wind is only going to be blowing 10 – 15 mph tomorrow, so Chris and I are headed to the coast somewhere. I intend to fish about 4 or 5 days this next week, with only time out for a trip to the Houston Fishing Show. My main goal will be to pick up one of those wading harnesses that allow you to carry an extra rod while wading. Love that, save return trips to the boat at times.
So thanks for reading my stuff. I think I have finally whipped this cold, and if the wind will quit for a freakin’ second I will get back to the fishing. So keep those comments coming, I love to hear from you.
Good Luck and Tight Lines.
