Fish Catching Travel
The weather report was looking great and I was anxious to get back to POC for a little fishing. After my last trip to the Gulf I was hoping to redeem myself and put a few fish in the boat, and maybe even keep a couple of trout for a fry on Sunday when the Captain of Team Nancy would be home from work.
I wasn’t in any hurry so I got a late start, arriving in POC about 11:30. Of course I forgot one real important thing, it was Spring Break. The parking lot was completely full, there were boats and kids running everywhere, and it looked like any other holiday weekend at POC.
Of course I headed to Big Bayou to throw a Redfish Magic spinnerbait for reds. It was one of those crappy 2 high tide days when there was no real water fluctuation. The water was a real off colored brown, and the first grass bank did not produce even a bite. In fact there was not really any bait. So I keep going and fished the first exposed oyster bar on the left, and started catching them.
This was the first nice one I caught. 3 like this went in the fry pile, the rest had a better day.
Initially I was throwing an electric chicken paddle tail, and it was working ok. But due to the water color I went to the old standby: Clear water/Lighter colored baits. Dark water/Darker colored baits. That turned out to be a real good decision. Also, the off colored comgined with the wind, I went to a little heavier jig head, from a 1/16 to a 1/8 Strike King jig head. And on it I put a Gambler Flappin Shad in a dark pumpkin with a chartreuse tail. For about the next 3 hours I caught trout and reds pretty consistently. Probably a dozen reds, and a few more trout, came over the side. Most of the reds were rats, but the trout were a nice average. I also managed 1 flounder and also got my line broken once.
A nice red and another shot of that Gambler. It has been a consistent bait for me this winter.
I was using a Texas Two Step retrieve, double hopping it off the bottom and then letting it sink all the way back to the bottom. Most of them were just there when I lifted up, but a few knocked the snot out of it. One great thing about snapping it up off the bottom is, if one is on there you are also setting the hook.
The pattern was exposed oyster bars with a little deeper water around them. And though the exposed oyster was the best, there seemed to be trout here and there. One thing that was important, it seemed like the clearer water that was a little better. I did try a little drifting in Barroom without success, as the water was off colored. I do not know if it was a lack of confidence on my part or what, but it did not work for me.
Also I tried the popping cork tied a new way, but did not get a hit on it. That new method would have to wait for another day. But as most of the fish I caught came out of 3 foot or more, it wasn’t surprising. I did throw topwater just a minute, but the wind was blowing right down the Bayou so that did not produce, and surprisingly enough I did not catch a red on a spinnerbait.
So all in all a fun afternoon. I quit about 4:30 so I could be home for the Razorback basketball game. When I got back to the ramp it was the usual zoo, but everyone was playing nice. There was a ton of kids at the dock, and everyone was having a great time. Nice to see kids fortunate enough to have parents who take them to places like POC. You get one chance to raise them, and if you can instill the love of fishing in them early, they will be hooked for life.
Now to another of my favorite topics as the fishing pressure increases in the spring and into the summer, it gets just plain crowded. But as I have said before: Be Nice! I preach about it all the time, we have to play well with others. Like it or not the 60’s are gone. It is not your daddy’s bay or lake any more. And I got a chance to be nice, and I did.
As I drifted down an exposed oyster bar a jon boat with a guy, his wife, and two kids, pulled up on the end of it. They anchored in front of me as I moved down it with the tide. Now folks I mean right in my way, and close. So as I approached him I am thinking what an a$$, but I am determined to keep quiet. As I get to him, he apologized and said he thought I was anchored and not using the trolling motor. So it was a simple mistake.
I have repeatedly said you have to cut people slack, you do not know their motivations for what they do. So since I had just caught 3 farther up the bank instead of being an a$$ about it myself, I told him how to catch a few. He was anchored in the wrong place, so I helped him get it right. So instead of having it upset me and ruin my day, I did a good thing that made me feel much better about things. Time on the water is too short to waste. The next time something like that happens to you, take a breath, and try to make chicken salad out of chicken s&%^%.
Tomorrow it is off to Coleto to catch a few catfish. We have the punch bait, the small trebles, and the slip corks. I have told you for some time that I have been catching cats while bass fishing. They are up shallow and aggressive and now seems to be the time to catch them. So stop in for that little story. Thanks for reading my stuff, I appreciate it more than you know.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
