Fish Catching Travel
Every once in a while your mind starts working and things come together. Amazingly it was on Friday the 13th. Initially I was headed to the Gulf to fish a small creek I have been wanting to try, and I will get there next week, but the Boss was not feeling well so I stayed around until she went to work. By then the forecast was for rain with possible thunder storms so I decided to wuss out and head to Coleto in case it got ugly.
If you read my stuff you know that my last trip to the lake was in the middle of our last big cold front and I did not do so well, as in not a stinking bite. Today it looked like it might be a repeat. I headed up lake and from about 10:45 until 1:30 I had one bite on topwater, and nothing on crankbait, jig, and spinnerbait. I was starting to get a little worried when I had a moment of insight, and down lake I went.
That moment of insight was the fact that the water up lake has cooled a ton, so the logical thing to do was head back down and start fishing below the hot water discharge. Now that was a good idea.
Now we are getting somewhere.
Looking back on old posts helped me make the right choice. On Coleto as we enter the early, and I mean early, pre-spawn they get on topwater. For me it has been the Bagley Bang-O-Lure and the Rapala balsa minnows. Now I have nothing against the hard topwater minnows, they work, but there is something about the subtle flash and wiggle of a balsa bait that tiggers them.
Normally I work it in twitches, then pull it under which makes them roll on it and eat it. Today was not that day. It took me a couple of fish to finally figure out that is not they way they wanted it. They wanted it right on top, twitched right along with no stops. As soon as I started using it that way the bite was on.
The bite was on.
The fish are definitely on the points and insides of the big coves. In fact I caught this one in the very back end of big cove.
Topwater time.
It was one of those days when you caught one, you would catch another, often on back to back casts. They were obviously all male, and other than one a little bigger than these that pulled off, they were mostly the same size. Fishing those deeper points down lake, where there is deep clear water, led to some really cool bites as they came up and sucked it under.
The last one before I quit.
I ended up catching around 15 before I quit at 4:30, and they were still biting. There are several points to take away from today. First, we are not that far from the fish beginning to move shallow, and today was proof of that. Second, they are feeding on shad, and if there were some dimpling I usually got a bite. Third, they are staged on the points of some of the spawning coves just waiting to get after it. Last, while I was using that bait erratically on top, I was moving it slow, if that makes sense. The whole day hinged on making that first good decision by seeking out stable clear water, and then by recognizing how they wanted the bait presented. So even though no real big fish came over the side, for me it was the joy of knowing how close we are. The great lake fishing is just right around the corner.
Random Thoughts
I know most of you are southern boys, but if you like big fish check out a couple of muskies that may have broken the world record 2 days apart. Catching a big muskie is right up there in my memory as one of my coolest fishing moments. Seeing these big fish just gets me all excited about my return trip to Lake of the Woods in Canada this year. So check it out.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/
Capt. Perry Rankin, who also works at the Tackle Box the only real fishing store in Victoria, guides on the coast. He guides both wade fishermen and Kayakers. I wanted to let all of you Kayakers in the area know that if you want him to transport you to some great fishing off the beaten path, he is the man for the job. So put it in your memory bank.
So there you have it for today. Next it is duck hunting Monday with some Barge Canal fishing. Tuesday or Wednesday it is off to try some trolling on the Lavaca River. I have caught trout trolling before, and with my friend Jeff laid up following a motorcycle crash, it is the perfect way to catch a few without having to cast. Then one of those days I will be headed to that creek that has been on my list for a while. And last, it will be a 2 day trip to Baffin when the wife is out of town. It is shaping up to be a great week. So join me and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
