Fish Catching Travel
Here I sit at my computer on Monday morning, doing a post I meant to get done yesterday. Outside the wind is howling at 30 mph, and it is 31 degrees, plain awful. We got just enough of a taste of spring the last couple of weeks to forget that it is not quite over yet. But we in South Texas really have little complaint, folks up North are getting hammered again. Hopefully this is the end of it.
Friday I got the chance to fish with a bunch of guys who make the occasional pilgrimage to POC for food, fun, and fish. Some of them have been doing it for years, it was a real pleasure to get the chance to fish with them. I will apologize right now, there is no way I would ever remember 9 guy’s names, (I have a touch of old timers.) when I only knew one prior to fishing with them. Just maybe I will be asked back again and promise to do a better job in that department.
A little note here. Friday evening the group made it down late in the afternoon. They were able to get in a couple of hours of fishing so they stopped at Seadrift on their way to POC. One bunch headed to Welder’s and put a few nice reds in the boat on topwater. Todd met a guy at the ramp who showed him a nice limit that he had just caught at BP, so they headed up there. I think they put 3 in the box on the first drift, and then nothing but short fish after that.
Of course my day started like I somehow knew it would. My buddy Todd from Austin told me to be down at the house they were renting at 6 am for breakfast, so promptly at 6 I get to a completely dark house. I knock, hear a ragged answer, so I just pop right in. Of course being the smart ass I am, I yell, “Where’s the strippers?” You know how it is, old friends for a weekend fishing trip, a couple of adult beverages, what would you expect. But I digress.
So after a good breakfast the 10 of us load up and set off for a day of wading. Like a horde of angry barbarians we hopped out of the boat at a couple of reefs around South Pass, and the fishing began. It is interesting to watch the different wading styles, some slow and deliberate, others off to the races. When it was all said and done we caught a bunch there, but no real sack of keepers. I put a couple of good trout on the string, and caught 4 small ones, with several of the guys having the same result.
It was off to Cedar Lake next. The fishing was quite a bit better there.
That will work. Notice the cold beverage container. These guys had all the necessary equipment.
Actually the conditions there were classic. The fish were on the windward side. The water had that great color with a light haze that was an awesome green. The bottom was soft, but not to soft for good wading. The tide was falling out, and the fish were biting.
Before it was all over several nice fish were added to the box. I was able to put a couple of nice reds on the stringer when one of the guys said he was using a bait with a white belly, so I put on an electric chicken paddle tail, and started catching them right away. The guys were throwing a variety of plastics, from assassin style to paddle tails. None seemed to be preferred over another by the fish. Also during the day there were a couple caught on Corky. And while some of the folks, me included, tossed a topwater, we did not box a fish on it.
We had them surrounded.
The bite kept up for quite a while. Though not fast and furious, it was steady. As we basically surrounded the shoreline it was interesting to watch as one end of the line would catch one , then another, and it seemed to go up and down the line. The fish were just cruising and feeding up and down the shoreline. They finally slacked off so it was off to Shoalwater.
Gathering up the hoard for the move.
On arrival there the wind had picked up and was blowing right in. One boat drifted the left bank going in trying to find the trout, our boat waded the right bank looking for the reds. Our bunch only managed one rat between us, the other boat did not boat a trout on their drift. So as it was getting late, it was off to Welder’s for the last stand.
As most of you know, Welder’s is a soft bottom, or more plainly, a mud hole. I would sooner eat my own kidneys than wade there. Our boat drift fished, but a couple of the hardier members of the group waded, I think in the area where they caught them on top the night before. One of our guys caught a nice red, and we missed a couple of more. I think the other boat put a couple in the box, and then it was over. I actually spent that final part of the day having a cold one and enjoying being alive. I rarely have on one on the boat, but it was a fitting finish to a really great day.
Funny how it is easy to get everybody to catch them, but a little harder to get them to clean them.
Maybe not the prettiest picture, but it is another story when they are sizzling in the pan.
When it was all said and done, if my old mind has it right, we boxed somewhere in the vicinity of 20 trout and 11 reds. A couple of the trout were good ones, as were a couple of the reds. Now that is not a real huge bunch for a group that size, but with the exception of Shoalwater, we caught fish all day, and everyone got in on the act. Of course there was lots of BS’ing and fish stories. It was a great day, this bunch is one of the best I have fished with. Getting 9 guys going in the same direction can be like herding cats, I know, I have been on these trips. In fact, I swore not to do anymore that large due to some I have been on in the past. These guys renewed my faith that it can be done without a hassle.
This was ridiculously good!
Before I hit the road my buddy Todd cooked oyster Po Boys. He also made the sauce, which was fantastic. What a way to end the day. And as a side note, the smoked ribs, sausage, and chicken we had for lunch were cooked to perfection. Not only did those guys know how to eat, they knew how to cook.
That was our Friday, and a good Friday it was. They fished on Saturday, I laid around the house. I spoke with Todd and he could only describe the day as slow. They fished the same areas without real success. They managed to get the boat stuck, you know how it goes. Then when they left Sunday morning Todd had a flat on his trailer, and had another tire losing air. On the way back they got outside of Victoria and he had another tire blow. So before that mess was over he got the pleasure of buying a couple of tires on the way home. Ain’t fishin’ fun?
So now what? The wind is blowing in the 25 mph range. It is 30 degrees, a wind chill of 17 flippin degrees with the chill warning lasting until 11 today, with a high of 50. (Which I will believe when I see it.) Then a chance of some winter mix in the morning with a low near 30 and then a high of 47. And to make the whole forecast perfect, it will probably rain some. I am really sick of this winter. Not as sick of it as my Yankee brethren, but I moved down here for the palm tree thing.
I hope to get a few pictures and a report from Shoedog’s great trout fishing adventure on the White River sometime today. I will get that posted as soon as I get it. And like I have said before, send me some reports. All of us love hearing how other folks do on their trips. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
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