Fish Catching Travel
Sorry I have not posted in the last couple of days but with the day trip to Baffin, and a short overnight in Corpus, I just got home today. So lets catch up, the fishing report is as sketchy as the weather.
Coleto Creek – Wednesday
Tuesday we had another big cold front come in, with a little sleet, cold ass rain, and a high north wind. We are caught in a cycle of 40 degree temperature fluctuations, and the fishing has reflected that. So though I was headed to fish Baffin Thursday, I just could not take another day in the house, so in spite of the post front conditions with mile high skies, I headed to the lake.
The first thing I noticed was the water temperature, it had dropped anywhere from 7 to 10 degrees everywhere on the lake. And the clarity had definitely dropped also. I started late, hoping with the afternoon warming trend they might bite a little bit later in the day. First I hit a couple of coves I have been catching them in, and they were gone, which did not surprise me. So I went ahead and concentrated on the main lake, and as they day wore on they bit a little better.
I stayed with the Swim Jig, though I did throw the jerk bait some. The jerk bait did not even produce a bite on a couple of points and a channel bank, so for the rest of the afternoon it was the Swim Jig.
This is the size that has been eating that Swim Jig.
Though I tried points and deeper channel banks, which seemed logical with the post cold front conditions, surprisingly that is not where the fish were. Often times I tell you to listen to the fish, and today I did. They were in real heavy grass on flat banks, and I mean in it. So it was a matter of tossing it to the top of the patch, letting the jig bump the grass, and then slow it down after getting to the edge, letting it swim down the face of the grass and back to the boat.
The Strike King Swim Jig is made for swimming it through grass like we have on Coleto. So if you want to try it remember a couple of things that will put some fish in the boat. First, just reel it real steady. It is simple as that, just swim it back. Maybe that is why it is called a Swim Jig. Let it bump the grass, and anything else it hits, and be super ready when it hits something. Second, they will often track right along with it, and you will see them follow it to the boat. So rememberas you reel it along to occasionally give it a little hop, and one may eat it.
Last, and most important, is they can be a real bear to feel. Of all the lures I fish it is maybe the one that requires the most concentration. As the bait is just swimming along at a nice steady pace the fish have a habit of just swimming up behind it and eating it, and then they just keep swimming with it. Occasionally one will smack it or tick it, but the majority of the time you will feel a little weight, or see your line move to the side. To combat this sneaky bite point your rod directly at the bait as you swim it in. I try to keep my line in a straight line with the bait. It helps you feel that little bit of additional tension, and believe me, some of the biggest bass are just there. So set the hook if you feel anything. Remember, there is no additional cost or penalty for setting the hook, whether there is a fish or not. The more you fish it the better your feel will be, and it is amazing how often when you react there is one there. As my friend John Storey, the founder of Champion Boats said about fishing, feel is everything.
For the afternoon I ended up putting 7 in boat, not a bad day for post front conditions with a water temperature drop of 7 to 10 degrees. I would have a few other pictures, including one quite a bit bigger than the one above, but my camera battery failed me.
I have noticed a very few beds that were made and abandoned before these last couple of fronts. There were also a few Tilapia beds, also abandoned. But that is a good thing, it means spawning is on their mind. We have a moon coming up and if we do not have any real ugly fronts the spawn will start soon. And with it our best fishing of the year.
Baffin Bay – Thursday
I feel like Forest Gump when he would say “that’s all I have to say about that.” In this case it says it all about our day at Baffin. My friend Chris was wanting to fish for a big trout, and of course I am all about that, so we headed to Baffin. Well the anticipation far out did the fishing.
We got to the Bird Island ramp about 8:15 and it looked awesome. It was overcast and there was barely a breath of wind. It was one of those days that just said big trout, and it never got any better for us all day.
First we got ready to put the boat in the water, and the only thing we had was the ability to start the boat, and nothing else. No lights, no bilge, no jack plate – you get the picture. And hour and a half later we were able to fix the problem. For some reason a single spot on a panel that all the accessories ran off of failed. Not the whole panel, just one screw. So after basically rewiring the whole electrical system we were off .
As we headed to Baffin of course the wind began to slowly pick up. And pick up it did, from dead calm to almost 20 mph out of the Southeast before the day was over. Now that is not always a trip killer, but as we were headed to the Tide Gauge and then the Badlands, it was blowing directly on both places. The water temperature did not help matters, as it was 47 degrees, cold by any standard.
To make a long story short, we made long wades on both places and I had something happen that I do not ever remember happening to me on the Gulf – I did not have a bite all afternoon. Zip, zero, nada. We waded from knee deep to chest deep. We waded sand, mud, grass, and whatever else came along. Chris did miss a couple and catch one keeper flounder, but I might as well have been fishing from my couch. Corkies, big plastics, small plastics, fast, slow, cover lots of water, fishing slower than dirt, it did not matter.
I am still trying to figure out how that happened. That was my third trip down there, and I have always had a good trip, but this time it just did not work out. But one thing about it, it just increases my resolve to go back and do a better job. What I did wrong I do not have a clue, but whatever it was I’ll try not to repeat that. This was one of those days that puts me in my place. We all get complacent at times, thinking we are all that in the fishing department, and then we are reminded that fishing is never a sure thing. All I know is we did not fish properly for whatever reason.
So good bye to January and good riddance. It has been an up and down month. I have had some really great days, and some real stinker. But for a January it was not to bad. And the good news, here comes the good fishing. So keep stopping in. There will be a report shortly on Shoedog’s trip to Fayette County, and it looks like he did ok. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
