Fish Catching Travel
After the complete lack of success on our last trolling trip I just could not let it go. So with that in mind my buddy Jeff and I headed back to give it another try. As Jeff is still recovering from his motorcycle wreck and unable to cast, it was as perfect opportunity to see if we could rectify our last trip mistakes. And since I got the Mako LTS back the other day I wanted to take it out and make sure it was all running fine, which it was.
Once we got on the water we started trolling with paddle tails using the big engine as slow as it would idle. We trolled about a half hour, had 3 bites, but only put one in the boat. After last trip it finally dawned on me, we are moving to fast for the water temp. So we made a change, and boy did it work out.
Now we are talking.
Using the trolling motor we started back over the same bank we had our bites on, and from that point on it was a consistent bite for the rest of the afternoon.
They got bigger after we found them and got the color down.
We kept changing jig heads and colors until we found the perfect combination. Today it was a 1/8th jig head with a Salt Water Assassin 4″ Sea Shad paddle tail in Chicken on a Chain. We were running it around 50 feet behind the boat and using the trolling motor on about 50%. Once we got the speed and color down it was game on.
Just wanted to show you the color.
We used several weights and colors, but clearly they wanted that particular plastic. Why? The fish are clearly feeding on mullet, and one thing about that bait is the paddle is wide compared to other plastics, which at slow speed gives it a wider, slower, wobble. Just like a cold mullet. With our current water temperature everything is slowed down, the fish’s metabolism and their little pea brain. Once we got our own slow brain wrapped around that concept we were in luck.
Trolling was the obvious solution to letting Jeff catch a few fish without casting. As he is recovering he is suffering from being stuck in the house, so it worked out well. The first time I saw someone troll for speckled trout was at the Cayo Costa anchorage in Florida. It is a place near Boca Grande that live aboard and cruisers stop and anchor. The guy hops out of his sailboat into a small inflatable, threw a spoon out behind the boat and went to trolling. In one pass around the small bay he had supper and was back on deck.
Over the years I have done a little trolling for speckled trout, but I really wanted to give it a more serious go. It has worked for me in Keller Bay and Big Bayou. Trolling is a great way to put kids on fish, maybe grandpa who can’t get around like he used to, or people who are just not real fisherman.
Of course plastics are a great bait to troll, along with spoons like the Little Cleo, and rattle traps. You can use the big engine or the trolling motor, but speed is the key. Of course faster when it is warm, slower when it is cold. If you are not getting bites slow it down, and once you find the right speed you are in business. And when you let line out find a way to replicate the distance each time. Start about 50 feet back and then work from there, making sure to repeat the distance when you start catching them. Once you figure the whole thing out it can be a very effective way to fish.
It is particularly effective in rivers and deeper bays. If I was guessing, trolling would probably work like a charm right now in the barge canal as the fish are concentrated there with the colder temps we have had this winter. And I know all you hot shots, it is not the most glamorous way to fish, but it can be very effective and is just another bullet in your gun to catch fish.
In the 4 hours we fished we put around 40 in the boat, and though only 5 or so were keepers, once we got it down, we started catching the bigger fish. It was one of those days if we had started at daylight instead of noon we could have narrowed the better fish down. But that was not the purpose of the exercise, it was to first figure out why we did not get them the other day. Now that we have that down I will give it another shot, probably in the barge canal.
On a seperate note I got a text from my fishing buddy Chris saying to check the January Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, we are the centerfold. Not sure what the heck he meant, I got a copy and there he was, page 23, in the Billy Sandifer article on the Sharkathon we fished in October. There was his picture with the sailfish we captured, and it looked great, so if you get a chance pick up a copy. It was a once in a lifetime happening, and one I will never forget. Then of all things, his lovely wife called and asked about a potential anniversary present, and also said she was getting the article and picture framed, which I thought was nice. She sent me a picture of how it turned out, and I know he will like it.
A great way to remember a once in a lifetime event.
Tomorrow is Christmas, and the Captain of Team Nancy will be curing the sick in ER, and I will be on the water somewhere. She has worked Christmas day the last few years and I have fished. Talk about having it to yourself. So with no fishing pressure, and wide open choices, I will spend today trying to make up my mind on just what I am going to do tomorrow. It is a tough life when the biggest thing I am worried about is where I am going fishing. So keep stopping in and there will be new report in the next day or two. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
