Fish Catching Travel
Sunday was the last day of our 4 day fish till you puke trip. 2 days on the Lavaca River, followed by one day on Coleto, and the big finish at POC. The weather looked perfect and it was.
Jeff was wanting to put a couple of flounder in the boat, and Clyde wanted to catch a couple of reds. The flounder fishing has been slow this fall, but with the big cold front this week I figured it should have improved some, and from some reports it apparently has all over the coast.
Normally we do not “fish” for flounder. We just have several places where we normally catch them in the fall. So we stick with our plastics and Strike King Redfish Magic to catch them, along with trout and reds. We started off with topwater but it did not take me long to go to plastics, which I fished most of the day. I was the first one to get lucky on a big flat that has a fairly soft bottom.
A nice thick flattie.
For the rest of the day we caught trout and small redfish around grass. We had bites on top, spinnerbait, and plastics. After the tide stopped running there was plenty of water on the flats as we headed to Barroom Bay. We started on the POC side on the big flat and went from the big point all the way to Fisherman’s Cut. It was a long drift, but the fish were there. We were actually seeing trout roll as they fed on small mullet and some kind of tiny baitfish. Clyde was throwing the Redfish Magic when he got a big thump in about a foot of water.
That was one thick and long flounder. I thought mine was a good one until he caught this.
With the tide staying high we caught trout, reds and this flounder down that bank. I kept the boat right on the edge of the drop and we threw as far as we could, basically keeping the boat in 2 foot of water and throwing into 8″. We got consistent bites all afternoon, and they hit anything we threw at them. In fact, we never really did find that one bait that out did the others, though plastics were the most consistent.
Then we headed into a couple of drains, and while we caught small redfish, the really good one eluded us. Shoedog missed a couple of big explosions on topwater, and Clyde lost a real hooter on spinnerbait. So for the day it turned out to be no keeper reds, but quite a few small ones. With the bigger reds moving out to sea, the jetty is loaded with them right now. I spoke with a guide who is killing them out there. So if you are looking for reds right now you probably need to be further out near the pass.
The trout were consistent all day, with plastics being the bait of choice. I would like to be able to tell you how many keepers we kept, but we did not count, but it was around 8 trout and those 2 flounders. But that number is not a real indication of how good the fishing was. It was consistent, and we did not have any trout in the box we had to measure. The lure fishing is really coming into it’s own right now, and for just shear consistent action all the time we fished this was a really good day. They bit all day long and it was fun.
I promised you the video of Shoedog’s fight with the alligator gar on the Lavaca River the other day. I have to give props to the line and the Carrot Stik, they were not made for that.
Here is the Shoedog and the Lavaca River Gar
So what a successful trip. The fishing was good all 4 days, and we could not have asked for better weather. Sorry I did not take some pictures of the trout we caught in both places. It is really awesome this year how much larger they are across the board. We really did catch some great trout. They were fat, sassy, and just plain bigger than the last couple of years. Fishing is great right now.
The hick-up with the Mako on day one was easily fixed, thank God I have 2 boats and we were able to switch to the Skiff and save the trip. Since it started to malfunction after I ran down river, and then would only run at 3000 rpm and I had to limp back to the ramp, it could have been a real problem if we had gone to Falcon like we originally planned. Sometimes things just work out in spite of trouble, and this trip was that.
It is good to spend time with family and friends on the water. We only have so many days on this earth, and even less on the water. So remember to make the best of every day.
It Makes Me Sick
When we were done fishing the boys were cleaning fish and I went to get the truck and load the boat. As I was walking down the line in Froggie’s lot a truck had left, and in it’s space were 2 Redhead ducks that were laying on the parking lot. It made me sick. I thought about picking them up, but did not want to be seen carrying them to the trash can. Next thing you know someone calls the warden, or he drives up, and there you go. Do not get me wrong, I respect our wardens but it would have been a fiasco, we all know he would not have been hearing that when I explained what happened. They are not the most understanding bunch. Reflecting on it I should have called and stayed there until they came. And that is the last thing they need to be responding to.
So what happened? The best scenario, and the most unlikely, was they fell off the truck or boat when they pulled out. Possible, but where they were did not fit that scenario at all. The most likely, they tossed them there. This actually happened in the POC area several times last year. We even found some in the can at Froggie’s last year. It has to stop.
Now if it was an accident, I apologize for what I am about to say.
1. You are the reason hunters have a bad name.
2. You are such a poor hunter you could only kill 2 Redheads when the area is over run with ducks.
3. You are a slob. You want that thrown in your yard to rot? You are so lazy that when you were breaking the law you could not even bother to at least throw them away somewhere out of sight?
4. You are a criminal. Wasting game is against the law, you are no better than any other common criminal.
5. You are not an outdoorsman. You should not even have the right to share the woods and waters with all the honest sportsmen out there.
We all have to act responsibly in the outdoors. There are plenty of folks out there who wish to restrict our rights, especially hunting. We do not need to give anyone an excuse to further not only the anti-hunting crusade, but the very real attack on our Second Amendment Rights.
So here is my solution – 5 year ban on all license rights. Complete confiscation of anything used to facilitate this violation, including guns, boat, and truck. Financial restitution at about a $1000 a bird. And how about 200 hours of community service with the Parks and Wildlife folks to give a violator a better feel for the life they lead trying to keep us in wildlife.
Think that is to much? Remember folks, I was a defense attorney who handled over 1000 major felonies including death penalty cases in his career. It always amazed me when folks broke the law and felt like it was no big deal, and then were shocked when they got arrested. If I learned one thing from that experience is that the penalty must really deter the conduct. Jack up a few hunters who do despicable crap like this and folks will get the message. Hunting and fishing is a privilege, not a right. You want to play the game like that, you should pay the price. That conduct hurts us all, and I do not appreciate it. Sorry for the rant – but it makes me sick.
Now it is back to the regular fishing schedule. I am still recovering from early mornings and long days. But guess what? It is cloudy with a light breeze today, and I wish I was out there right now. But it is time to catch up on a few things in my life. But who knows, I may slip out tomorrow. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
