Fish Catching Travel
A Cool Way to Catch Them.
When I got to the lake the first thing I noticed was the lake had continued to warm. In fact, where the water temp was only 50 way up lake, it was 63 above the bridge. Great news but back to the fishing.
Of course it was time to start on the point separating the 2 arms where we whacked them Saturday, with crankbait being the obvious lure of choice. And you can all ready guess how it went – not even a bite on crankbait. Not one. So what was the missing factor? There was no wind. Simple enough. So with that start I actually used my head and things turned around real quick.
It was cloudy and calm, and even though we fished topwater off and on occasionally over 2 days without a bite, out it came. I started catching fish immediately. Just the typical twitch and rest pattern brought some really awesome hits. For the rest of the morning I caught fish everywhere I tried. The bite is so on right now.
Several this size came over the side. Love how far down that bass has that Bang-O-Lure.
As I decided to call it a day early to take my lovely wife out to dinner, I had one more thing that has been bugging me lately. When I was guiding in the 70’s and 80’s one of the periods I really looked forward to was spring fishing and the pink wacky worm. In the clear water of the Ozarks it was a great bait for my customers as you could often see the fish hit it. Though I had not tried it here, there was no doubt it would work.
So about noon I finally decided to hit one more spot and give that worm a try. Of course it worked, to bad I did not fish it earlier. In about an hour I caught 5 and missed a couple of more. Though no big ones came over the side, believe me it will catch big fish.
No giant, but there is that bubble gum wacky worm in his greedy little mouth.
The reason it will be really effective on Coleto right now, besides it is spring, is that they have been tight to the grass. And that is when it works like a charm. To use it you simply need a 2 or 3/0 weedless hook on line in the 15lb range. Most of the wacky worms have the bulge in the middle like a nightcrawler, so just put the hook through the middle of it, close the weedgaurd, and toss it without a weight. Most brands are soft, and if you want to make them last buy a bag and then stop at the hardware store for some O rings. Find some that fit tight and use them as a hook holder so you do not have to put the hook through the worm. They do not tear so often and last a whole lot longer. Plus you can use the same rings on Senko type baits to rig them wacky.
Next toss it right on top of the grass clumps, or around stumps or logs, and start to twitch it. You may see them hit it, but you do want to shake the grass, letting it fall down the edges. Now you can either twitch the rod, or I like to just do a quick half turn on the reel handle. It makes the worm collapse and then straighten back out. A quick crank, and then a 3 – 5 count, then another crank. Just making that worm u shape back and forth.
It is good to be a line watcher, you can often see your line jump, or move to the side. If you feel one, or see you line move, reel up the slack and let them have it. This is one time when a softer rod tip helps, it gives you that extra second before the fish feel resistance. The good thing about using it on such a slack line, they eat it and by time you get around to setting the hook, they have it in their mouth.
If you really want a fun way to catch them give this method a try. While throwing a pink worm may not be considered manly, as far as I am concerned anything that catches a fish is manly enough for me. Bass fishermen often get caught up in the latest and greatest, forgetting that some of the old ways will catch fish just like they used to. And one good thing about it, a pink wacky worm is something that the fish do not see on a regular basis.
A Few Random Thoughts
I am still catching up with folks, and I know I have some more of you, and I will get to it as soon as I can.
Shoedog and I had been hoping to make it to my friend Aaron’s camp on Lake Fork last month for some crappie fishing, but the weather was just to crappy to make the trip. Well I heard from Aaron and he is suffering. A land man, he is currently working in PA, where there is 14″ of snow and they have not seen 30 degrees all week. And worst of all, he has only fished 2 days since the first of the year. Suck it up big boy, better days are ahead. And I will be happy to keep catching them for you. See you when you get back.
I get blogging questions fairly regularly. The most common is how do I do it. Simple, commit yourself to learning an easy foundation like Word Press, then sit down and write about anything you want. But you have to write. A blog does not require a lot of intensive work after you get started, but it does requires daily attention. The rest of it, the basic site work, is just a learning process, and if I can do it anyone can.
Another is can I share your site, or put it on twitter. Twit away. Share away. If you know someone, or some site that this works with, be my guest. I love networking with anyone if it fishing related.
I heard from Chuck who also likes to fish the Swim Jig. The interesting thing was I read his comment the day I came home from Coleto after we whacked them on crankbait. In his comment he caught a bunch there, in the grass, on a X50 Excalibur. I assume that is a crankbait. He said they were hammering it. I love it when that happens. It just took me a little longer than Chuck to figure it out. Thanks for your report.
And Dave, sure I would love to trade links with you. I am actually working on that very thing, so when you read this holler when you are ready and lets see if we can get it done. And Keller Bay is in my near future, so if you see me fishing close, and I will be, say hi.
That is it for today. I am finally getting caught up, but there is still some work to do. But the weather report is great, and of course that means I will fish instead of doing what I should be doing. Oh well, guess I will just struggle along on this fishing adventure. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
