Fish Catching Travel
I had something to do this morning, so it was noon when I hit the water. I really did not think I would get to fish today, but boy am I glad it worked out. It would have bee a great day to be on the Gulf, and I can only think the great trout topwater bite is right around the corner. So I will try to get some things done and maybe take a run at it on Sunday.
I can only describe the bass fishing as great. For a 6 hour trip I put more bass in the boat than I can remember in a long time. Only a couple were good ones, and lots were small, but at least 15 – 20 of the ones over the side measured. And what made it extra special, is they hit basically anything you threw at them.
Up lake was on tap first, and so I went above the bridge and around the bend and started with a topwater. Catching them right along, I mixed in a spinnerbait whenever there was a little chop. And though it did end up putting 5 or 6 in the boat, topwater was definitely working. With only 1 big Bang-O-Lure left it was only a matter of time before it bit the dust. I stuck a nice one and she took me in a bush, and not only ended up getting away, but broke the bill of my last bait.
Take a good look at this Bang-O-Lure, today’s teaching moment.
So I have lost my good bait, out comes one I bought on clearance that has been in the box a while. I toss it out there, and it no way works as good as the foil wrapped silver Bang-O-Lure. I twitch it and it is heavy and slow, but still floats. So cussing it I try another cast, and dang if I don’t catch one. Then another, and another, and for about 2 hours I am catching one every couple of minutes. Just tossing it to the grass edges and sweeping it about a foot forward and under about 6 inches, then letting it float up. The fish came from right on the bank to right beside the boat, you just could not give up on it. It was just a matter of sweeping it under and letting it float up. It was nice to use that bright Chartreuse bait, you could see it move sideways when they hit it under the surface. I listened to the fish, and boy was it a good bite, and while plenty measured, I was wanting to catch some better fish.
The mighty Strike King Swimming Jig.
For the rest of the afternoon it was a steady to fast retrieve with the Swim Jig, in bl/bl with a green Rage Craw, and the size of the fish improved. I wish I could tell you how many fell for it, at least a dozen, but it was right in the middle of the day, around shallow grass. As far as numbers go, the time is now. It will be interesting to see who boats the kicker fish in the big tournament next weekend. But no matter what there should be a ton of limits.
Nothing special, just a good keeper.
Around 6 I was hot, way overdressed, and ready to hit the road. So on the way back I hit a main lake bank near the dam with grass on it and managed to catch 2 more, with the kicker for the day.
A good way to finish the day.
It is fun to occasionally have to work your way thru lots of little ones. I was fairly sure a real big one would appear, but it just did not happen. If I had stayed to dark that chance would have improved greatly. Generally it did not matter where, as long as it was shallow and had grass. It is a real easy pattern right now, so if you want to catch a bass or two give Coleto a try. So no great big bunch of big girls, but it sure was fun.
As a side note there are some pretty nice crappie being caught near the bridge. There have been folks fishing the 3 middle piers and they all seem to have fish on them. Add to that the Tilapia sqawning and the catfish starting to bite, the lake can only be described as really good right now, no matter what you like to catch.
Oil
Shoedog and I were actually fishing at Grand Isle in Louisiana when the oil came ashore during the big spill and they closed the area to fishing. It was ugly, dirty, and stuck to the boat immediately. We walked the beach the evening before it closed and it was disgusting. Now I am not one of those stop the drilling kind a guy, we rely on oil and drilling whether on land or sea, but the spill was an ugly deal. While it took way to long to contain it, they have learned a lot.
So I was not happy to hear the oil from the Houston Ship Channel had made it all the way down to our area, and was coming ashore on Matagorda Island. And from what the news says, it was trying to make it’s way in the jetties. Of course the Coasties, along with other mitigation crews, are on it, and it should not be a real disaster. But it is hard to not be worried.
I guess my bigger concern is how it got out of the Houston channel, and made it’s way all the way down here. Since it was characterized as a “medium” spill, it made me wonder how it got all the way down here. My only thought on the matter is that we need to be able to respond faster and contain any spill better. And I do believe that the companies involved should bear all the costs of mitigation and not the taxpayers.
Texas A&M Corpus Ducks Unlimited Banquet
It was a real pleasure to get to fish with Jonathon Voilte on Coleto last month. A college student, and aspiring tournament fisherman, he was a good guy to spend the day with. He is a committed duck hunter besides the fishing. They are having their banquet on April 3 at the Bluff’s Landing in Corpus this coming weekend. I appreciate the invite, but somehow I feel I might get in trouble if I attend instead of spending the weekend with my wife on our 25th anniversary. Dang her anyway. So hope you all have a great time, and if you are in the Corpus area attend. The price is right and it is for a good cause – more ducks.
http://www.ducks.org/texas/events/33551/texas-am-university-corpus-christi-dinner
Trolling Motors
Back in the early 70’s my first trolling motor was a Motor Guide. Back then they were know for rattling and banging due to their mounting system. I switched to Minn Kota a few years after that and have used them ever since. But after buying their 3X, which is discontinued for obvious reasons, I decided to give Motor Guide another try on the skiff.
Way back I told you I would let you know what I thought of it compared to the Minn Kota on the other boat. Let me put it plain and simple – It may be the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. It still rattles and shakes as you use it compared to the Minn Kota. They say it has 55lbs of thrust, but there is no way it was as powerful as the last 55lb thrust Minn Kota I had on the boat.
When the reverse quit working, and we had to open it up on the water, we found that when they put in the 2 back screws that hold the cover on they managed to break the plastic the screws go into, something you would never find until you took it apart. And of course that meant the handle was lose in the head. And once we opened it there is a magnet on the handle which controls forward and reverse, and it is f’n glued on to the handle. Of course it fell off. Then the clip that holds the handle in position came lose, and the handle slips and slides in the head making it hard to control forward and reverse. And the final straw, the handle fell off and in the lake when I hit a big wave. Are you kidding me! So there is my .02 worth. If you are thinking of buying a new trolling motor think twice about a Motor Guide, you just may get a piece of crap like I was unlucky enough to get.
It is out to the garage to work on the Carolina Skiff. It is a great thing to have 2 boats, especially with the Mako in the shop for it’s annual checkup. But as all of you know boats take time and money to keep in good operating condition. So every once in a while you just have to take the time to go over things from stem to stern and fix all of those little things that have been neglected. And I have to deal with the trolling motor handle thing. I know one thing for sure, I will not buy a new handle, so it will be one of those hillbilly engineering things. It will simply be a matter of using it until I finally toss it in the trash. No reason to toss good money after bad.
There are a few other reader comments I will add to the next post. I love getting stuff from you folks. While I might not get to all of them as fast as I should, I try. So keep them coming and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
