Fish Catching Travel
Sorry there has not been a new report the last few days, but it wasn’t intentional. When I started this blog almost 2 years ago it was with no other purpose than to record my fishing trips. It really was written for myself as a kind of journal, and it surprised me when some of you decided to read along. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that over 100,000 people would stop in and read fishcatchingtravel.com.
With that traffic came a certain responsibility I put on myself, to get out there and catch fish, and then record it here for you folks to read. The blog slowly grew from a labor of love into a job, one that doesn’t pay worth a crap. So now with the cost of running the blog, not to mention the cost of fishing, going up all the time, it is time to make a decision one way or the other about the future of fishcatchingtravel.com.
After weighing everything involved I have decided to close the blog. As to what will happen to it after I close it is another thing. But for me the fun is over, and when it starts turning fun into work, it is time to get another hobby. So thanks one and all for reading my stuff. Or maybe this is a bunch of crap and it is the kind of thing you hear on April Fools Day. So April Fools!
Actually I have been sick for the last 4 days. I made it all last year without getting the flu, and had it made this year until Saturday. Unfortunately I have been laying in the recliner 4 days and whining about not being able to fish. Of course, I have not heard anything from the boss of Team Nancy about my failure to get a flu shot. By tomorrow I should be upright and taking nourishment and should be fishing somewhere for something. In the meantime I have received several bits of information from readers that I want to pass on.
Keller Bay
Keller Bay is one of my favorite places to catch redfish. Some of the best videos I have made came from Keller Bay reds. And now to have Dave from the Keller Bay RV Resort sending us reports on Keller is a treat. Here is his latest:
Keller Bay update:
“Just wanted to let you know the reds were hitting this morning in Keller Bay. Caught 7 in about 2 hours time, kept 2 X 25″ and a 22″. The others were undersized from 19″- 16″, but still fun to catch. Water was a murky chocolate due to the 15-20mph ESE winds but still a beautiful and comfortable morning on the water. Caught them all on live finger mullet. When cleaned, I noticed that none of them had anything in their stomachs, they were empty! The 22″ was cleaned, garlic salted & lemon peppered and pan fried for a tasty lunch. Pretty good Sunday morning I must say!”
Nothing like a fresh report straight from the horse’s mouth. Live finger mullet are really the ticket this time of year and Dave’s report is sure proof of that. So thanks Dave, we appreciate your report, keep them coming.
Texana
Steve sent me a note last week on his first crappie trip to Texana. Well folks you do not need a better report on where and how to catch some crappies. He followed that up with this report from the other day.
“Another good day on Texana. I had a limit by 10:15, same basic pattern as last week. One great thing about this lake is that I never saw another boat.”
And for your reviewing pleasure here is his first report from last week.
“I fished Texana for the 1st time today. Finished with a limit. all fish came from less than 2′, some as shallow as 10″. Used a 10′ pole, red/chart solid body tube type jig, dabbling around wood. I was there a little late for the spawn, most of the fish were males, the females were spawned out or almost so. Lots of bumps and short strikes, finally had to pinch off about 1/2 of the tail to get hook ups.”
I would love to get over and do some of that, guess it will depend on where the Shoedog wants to fish the next couple of days. This is a pattern that will end, probably soon, so if you want a panful of tasty filets, head to Texana before it is to late. And a big thanks for the second report Steve, it could not be any clearer.
Falcon Lake
I have heard from several folks lately on Falcon Lake. Most were just comments, but I did get this from Roy and he was kind enough to let me share it with you.
“I’ve been in a bass club in Austin for over 25 years and have done well considering I don’t fish as often as my colleagues. However these last years my only fishing has been on tournament day and it shows in my results. Even then, I still expected to figure out Falcon on my last trip. Our club fished there Mar 1 & 2 and many of us traveled there Wed Feb 26 and had 2 1/2 days of practice. When I read your Falcon report, it sounded so similar to my experience, even the fishing times. In 25 years of fishing Falcon, I’ve had trip with 7lb bookends…8lbs each day and my personal best of 9.75lbs. On this trip…5 days of fishing, I had 1 bite…and missed it at the boat. My brother had 1 fish about 4 lbs on a crankbait in the same cove where I had my bite. I have never had such a rough day. On Mar 1, day one of our tourney, out of 28 fishermen, 18 did not have a keeper fish! And these are good fishermen, many fishing TTZ and Bass Champs and winning money at those tourneys. The father / son team that won the tournament took it all….big bass both days and heavy stringer both days. They had similar struggles until they started using 1oz weights in 4 ft of water right down the middle of the salt cedars. They picked up one here, one there, following same pattern.
I have a buddy that convinced me to go to Falcon on a guide trip, leaving Sunday April 6. I was hopeful, thinking we were victims of the weather changes, but after reading this, and other info, it sounds like it’ll be the same thing again!”
I hope it won’t be the same thing Roy. In fact I hope you whack the snot out of them. And it will be interesting to hear what your guide has to say. So please let us all know how your trip comes out.
Random Stuff
I also heard from my buddy Aaron who is still working in PA but wanting to get back to Texas. He is suffering with snow on the ground while we are in full spring bloom. Better start looking around up there, maybe there is a smallmouth lake or two. Isn’t that what Yankee’s catch?
We are 2 weeks away from the Arkansas trip, and I am starting to get excited. Their spring is late and with the cooler water temperatures we may hit my favorite time to fish the highland lakes. At the 55 degree range lots of techniques will work, and in my experience it is a good time to put big fish in the boat. It could be anything from jerk bait, night fishing for bass or stripers, trolling for walleye, maybe even some trout on the White River. Who knows but what more could a traveling fisherman want?
Chris sent me the following question:
“Looking to get a good hand held GPS unit to use when not out in my boat to mark way points, then load into my HDS7 at a later time. Would like enough screen size to use as a stand alone at times…do you have any recommendations?”
I am flattered that you think I might be some help in that area, but that is way above my electronics pay grade. I must confess that as far as my ability to use all the great gadgets we have now it comes down to one thing, does it get me home. So I was not ignoring your question, I am just no help in that department. But thanks for reading my stuff, guess I am not as smart as I look, which is scary.
Larry Dahlberg’s “Hunt for Big Fish” is my favorite fishing show. He is on the cutting edge of cool fishing travel, not to mention techniques for catching huge specimens of whatever he is fishing for. He says there are 4 stages of fishing:
1. I just want to catch one.
2. I just want to catch a limit.
3. I just want to catch the biggest one of them there is.
4. I just want to catch them the way I want to catch them.
I so agree with him. Fishing is supposed to be fun, and when you can catch what you want, the way you want, when you want, life is good. That is what keeps me fishing.
Jeffish got a chance to get back out on Coleto this weekend to try for some more Tilapia with his bow. Of course the weekend traffic was heavy, but he did manage to shoot 3. The Tilapia should be up for awhile, so if you ever wanted to shoot a few, now is the time. I only wonder if it is easier at night?
So after 4 days basically down and out it is time to get off the couch and get to doing something. The last healthy breath I took the other day I was going through a bunch of stuff in the boat, and that project is about half done, so out the door I go. Plus I need to get the gear together as it will be on the water somewhere tomorrow. Thanks for stopping in and reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
