Fish Catching Travel
Sorry there has not been a post for a couple of days, but my lovely wife just finished a long stretch of work and was in some serious need of some R & R. So we went to the art festival in Corpus for a couple of days. We had some fun and frolic but it is back to work for her and for me. If you can call what I do work.
The weather report is the kind I dream about for fishing the Gulf. It is going to really warm up tomorrow, there is supposed to be little wind, and the tide will be high first thing and then start falling. Sets up a set of perfect conditions for catching some trout early and then the redfish when it falls out of the drains and grass. So it will be up early and gone tomorrow for a long day at POC. I hope to get a shot or two at reds on the fly rod tomorrow, only time will tell. But with a couple of days of stable weather I intend to get after it.
Coleto Creek 5/2/13.
I did get a chance to get out last week the day the big front blew through. It was supposed to hit about noon, and it came at 11. The wind picked up to gale force and it started to rain, and the day was over. I really thought they were going to bite, but it was slower than I would have guessed. I did manage to put about 10 in boat, but it was slow.
This is the only one worth a hoot Thursday morning.
The one above was the best of the lot. All my bites came on the main lake or a point. The coves are beginning to play out as the spawn ends. Over the next month the bigger fish will be resting offshore and slower baits like worms and football jigs will start to be the bait of choice. Of course if we get a couple of days of stable weather with clouds, you can still catch them on buzzbaits and topwater.
It has been a good spring on Coleto, and while I did not catch as many big fish as I did last year, the numbers were good. The swim jig produced steady catches and should remain a good choice for the rest of this month. But with summer on the way it is time to fish the Gulf, and I am so ready.
Arkansas
Arkansas’s good fishing is right now. My friend Clyde has been sending me a few pictures now and then and I wanted to share a couple of them with you. The Ozarks lakes, Bull Shoals and Norfork both have a good population of big white crappie, and when they are biting in that clear deep water it is a thing of beauty.
Now those are some nice Arkansas Crappies.
And sometime in the 60’s I believe Arkansas started stocking walleye in those lakes. Over the time I was there, the late 70’s through the 90’s we caught them here or there fishing for other stuff. No one really targeted those fish, but they were there. In the early 2000’s there was an explosion of fish, and a professional walleye tournament was won with a better than 5 pound average. Since then fishermen have targeted them with a good bit of success and it is a viable consistent fishery.
A great Arkansas walleye.
One thing about the highland lakes of the Ozarks, there is a variety of fishing. Solid largemouth and smallmouth, good crappie, some serious striper fishing, rainbow and brown trout fishing on the White River, floating the Buffalo River for smallmouth, it is all there and more. If you ever wanted to take a fishing vacation, the Ozarks is a fine choice. There are still small nice resorts on the lakes and rivers with docks and there are plenty of good ramps. While I love the salt, if I had to go back to just freshwater fishing it would be back to Arkansas in a minute.
I have been slowly getting things laid out for Belize. I am sure I will be packed a week before, but it is hard to not get excited. And having my brother and Clyde along for their first real out of the country fishing trip will be a blast. But until then, Gulf here I come. So thanks for reading my stuff and stop by soon for a couple of new reports.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
