Fish Catching Travel
I am sitting here now trying to decide if I am going to head to POC tomorrow. While the fishing on the lake has been ok, a little redfish action would be just what the doctor ordered. The winds are supposed to be 15 – 25, which is usually the 25 on the bay. Of course it is early spring, and I remember last year it seemed to blow pretty hard all the way into summer. So we will see where I go tomorrow.
Having been gone for a few days I was needing my fishing fix, but it was a really cold morning so I decided to go about 3. When I got to Coleto it was blowing just right, but there was a mile high sky, and the wind was out of the north. Another pretty abrupt front, the kind that usually affects the fish pretty strong on day 2.
I started across the lake on a big flat and figured if they were a little slow I would throw the jerk bait. The one below was my first bite and he almost jerked the rod out of my hands. And he was the last one who did that.
He was hooked up! I had a heck of time getting that bait out of his mouth.
Now this was on the main lake, and it should have told me something, but I did not listen. So of course I headed to a couple of coves to see if they were back there. Bad choice. The front knocked those fish out and they were not interested. I think I caught 3 or four more on jerk bait, most of them I barely felt them hit it, and they did not amount to much.
Notice how calm it was behind me?
I left the cove and put down the jerk bait. I was beginning to see small shad popping on sunny calm banks out of the wind. It might seem counter intuitive to throw a spinnerbait there, but with the shad I gave it a try. They like that wake sometimes when the conditions are like it was today. 2 or 3 more rolled on it after I caught the one above, but never really got it. By now it was pretty clear they were just not feeling it, and I had more short strikes than I normally have in a week. But that is post cold front fishing.
Now it was getting a little late so I went to a big cove before the bridge and threw the Strike King Swim Jig some. As it got later and later they started to bite a lot better, but I still had them nipping at it no matter what I threw. From then on, the side of one point or another leading into a cove had fish on it. I finished the day in the ramp cove and caught 4 headed to the swimming beach.
The best of 4 I caught on the Strike King Swim Jig.
They really liked the 1/4 brown with the Hard Candy small Rage Craw. One of the tricks that my friend Aaron showed me was trimming the skirt back right below the hook, so that the trailer action worked and they could see it better. Using it at a medium speed is working well, but the problem is you have to work through some small ones to get to the good ones. Of the 8 or so I caught in the last hour came on the jig, most were undersized, but even then I stilled missed more than usual.
So all in all not a bad fishing trip considering the adverse conditions. I ended up catching around 13. It was simply a matter of down sizing to the small jig to get the most bites. It should really pick up when it warms up this time. I saw one fish on the bed, which surprised me, but it is time. And of course the alligators were trying to warm up on sunny banks.
If I hide behind this bucket no one will see me.
Where in the morning? I do not have a clue, but it will be somewhere. My friend Aaron has been after me to fish Lake Texanna. Now I have not even the slightest idea what that lake is all about. With it so close it seems like maybe I should give it a go. Guess I will have to do a little research. But I am still having a redfish moment.
Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
