Fish Catching Travel
Sorry there has not been a post this week. We took a couple of days off and went out of town, and the only fishing was 3 hours before the last big front on Coleto. Nothing came of that, though I caught 8, it was slow, the fish were small, and it just did not peak my interest enough to post. In fact, sometimes I guess I just need to take a little break. But then a couple of things happen that remind me why I keep posting.
Yesterday I went to Keller to catch a few reds and see if the trout fishing was as good as I had it in POC last week. Well I am not sure if the fishing is as good there, but the trout catching left a little something to be desired. But as usual, the reds came through.
The tide was low when I got there about 7:30, and the water was fairly clear. Of course the wind was blowing out of the NE right down the bay from the back end out. I started on the bank past the docks with a spinnerbait. It was a good thing I took the skiff as it was really shallow. The water was completely out of the grass on the bank I like to fish. I let the wind push me down the bank and ended up catching 3 on the first pass.
Here is the first one. I usually take a picture of the first one in case there is not another.
Of the first 4 the one above was the only one that would have made it if I was keeping fish. I did notice one thing on that first pass, they were on little oyster patches. It was a matter of throwing to black spots and reeling it by and holding on. Today it was the Redfish Magic in the electric chicken. After I got to the end of that bank I stopped at the oyster reef at the mouth of the back bay across from the ramp, and put one more in the boat and missed another one.
Then it was off to trout fish. My favorite trout bank is in the big bay on the north/east bank on the pasture past the last house. I started on the sand point and let the wind blow me down the bank, which was not a problem, cause it was blowing. The only thing that made it bearable was it was coming over the bank and the trolling motor kept me in position. Though you had to fight the wind, I ended up drifting that bank almost all the way to the very back end.
I threw plastics, topwater, and popping cork. Topwater produced nothing, it was a little to windy with a cold edge to the morning. Popping cork for some reason did squat, which surprised me. The 5 trout I did catch all came on paddle tails, a couple on a grey with silver flake, and the others on electric chicken. About 3 foot of water was the best, but when you only catch 5 it is hard to know if that was the depth. One thing that was funny is I only missed one. Why I had no more bites drifting that long bank I do not know. I did catch one out of a slick, and one out of an area the gulls were diving, but that was the size of it.
Not a bad one, and of the 5 I put in the boat 4 were like this. I really like how healthy they look this year.
Now I could have stayed on that bank and kept drifting down it and probably filled a limit, but it was just to slow for me, ADD you know. About this time the tide started to move a little, and while it was no real monster by any means, the water did start to come up a little. With that it was time to head back in the back bay and throw some more spinnerbait. I figured they would be moving up with the tide.
I started on the grassy bank past the docks and let the wind blow me down the bank. It was interesting how the water finally made the edge of the grass, but the fish did not. They were still on the small isolated oyster patches off the bank. That bank has small shell patches scattered on it, and most of the bites I had came off it. On the next pass I ended up catching 7 more redfish to finish off the day. As the tide did not amount to much, you had to keep the bait moving. I was often in about a foot of water and could not reach the bank. The nice thing about that is you could see some of them smoke it.
The best one of the day.
A nice representative of the size for the day.
I finished out the day catching 5 trout and 11 redfish. It was one of those days where I could have waited until the tide was moving to go fishing. Then the reds would have been biting when I got there, and I think I could have had some better luck on the trout later in the evening. It cleared off and started to get warm about the time I quit. But all in all a good day.
Now as to why when I get a little tired of keeping this thing up, something will happen that re-invigorates me. As I slid down the bank in the back bay I met a nice gentleman who was netting mullet. He has been catching some really big redfish back in the bay on the mullet, and with the clouds of mullet I am not surprised, We had a nice chat and then he asked me if I was that guy. I confessed and then he said a nice thing to me, keep the stories coming. When something like that happens I am so appreciative. And kind Sir, just so you know, I put 7 more redfish in the boat right after I spoke with you.
Also this week I got a really kind note from one of my readers. He and his wife are new to the POC area as weekend residents. He thanked me for the posts and turning him on to some potentially new areas. There is nothing nicer than compliments on my writing. I do it because I love to fish, and I want to share not only the stories, but also some real information. Hopefully some of that real practical information might help someone put another fish in the boat. So thanks to both these folks, I am humbled.
So now it is time – Belize is right around the corner. The spare bedroom floor is covered in rods, reels, and tackle. The fishing clothes are laid out, and tomorrow the final pack job takes place. I am excited and apprehensive. I have had a couple of Belize dreams in the last week, and the thought of putting a couple of tarpon in the boat is really starting to get me excited. And taking my brother and best friend, neither who have been on a trip like this, is making me a little apprehensive. I so want them to both catch a tarpon and a bonefish, and who knows, we may even knock off a permit. This has been a long wait for my Christmas present, but what a present it is.
So thanks for reading my stuff. It looks like I will top the 46,000 visits I had last year by the end of June this year. Not bad for a blog that started of with 60 some visitors the first month we were here. So keep on stopping in, and I will just have to keep fishing. Sounds like a plan.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
