Fish Catching Travel
Having a good day on the flat above the old Coast Guard Station last trip out of POC made today’s choice easy. Last time I fished the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline I did not even have a bite, so it was time to remedy that poor showing. The plan was to stay put and work it out, like I did last time. I paid the fee at the marina and headed down the shoreline. I stopped about halfway towards the Ranch dock and idled in to about 2 feet.
When I jumped in it was about 8, the wind was light, and the tide was coming up. After catching some nice ones on the topwater last time I started with it. Not even one made a pass at it until I was in waist deep water throwing out. The first one missed it, but this one got it.
The nicest trout I have caught in a while.
This fish hit it a couple of times so I finally stopped it and she smoked it about 15 feet in front of me. After that 1 more keeper smashed it, but other than that the topwater bite was over. By then I had fished from knee-deep to over waist deep, and the only bites were in the 3 – 4 deep water. Where the flat drops on that shoreline is about 3 foot give or take, and it is where the grass ends, and just like the last trip they were on the edge. With the sun out, the wind beginning to blow, and topwater not producing any more bites, it was time for plastics.
Again a 1/16 ounce jig head and a 4″Chicken on a Chain paddle tail with the chartreuse tail. They only way I could catch them was to hop if up off the bottom.
This picture does not do this one justice, she was a fatty.
I put a couple of more in the net, and then with the tide up I headed to the actual shoreline looking for some redfish. That is actually quite a wade from 4 foot deep to the bank. There was some bait on the bank, I worked it over good, but never did have a bite from a red on either plastics or topwater. In fact, I only saw one redfish wading that really shallow water. So to finish the morning it was back out to the deeper water.
With the tide full high and the fishing slowing down, it was time to head to the deeper edge to throw that plastic at the deepest grass patches I could see. I probably put another 5 or 6 trout in the net, all on that plastic. About 1 the wind came up and started blowing right on the shoreline and I called it a day. While the bite was slow it was consistent. The final count for the morning was 11 or 12, and of that probably 5 made it, 3 or 4 of them nice ones, so not a bad morning while only burning 1 gallon of gas.
This is the second trip in a row where the plan was to go to an area and move as little as possible, stay in the water, and work the area over until I found them. It has actually worked, and I have not fished out of the boat the last 4 trips. In fact the fish were about the same depth and location on the Ranch shoreline as they were the other day at POC. Today once they quit biting they nosed up in the grass and hopping that plastic through it triggered the occasional strike. And the fish were a nicer average, and I love releasing good ones. I can only imagine what the guys who fish croaker are catching, the better fish are in that little deeper water and it would be a killing to fish that same type of place with croaker.
Now that the weather has settled down the bay fishing is getting more consistent, though the reports are still spotty. It has me wanting to keep at it, and I intend to. So where to next? Not sure, but it will be a different place next time. And I think the plan will stay the same, pick a good likely area and make a stand.
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The Shoedog has not bee able to fish any since we got back from Canada. He has been on the run and now he has his grandson Nolan at his house in College Station. And with a pond and a lake on the property I am sure they will catch some fish. In fact here is Nolan with a nice one.
Good job Nolan! I am not sure who was prouder, Nolan or Grandpa.
The Shoedog retired this January and now with the grandson here for a week he can fish up a storm. And Shoedog, there is schooling activity on Fayette early, if you think he can take the ride. Either way have a good week and then come on down for some trout fishing, I might even have it down by then.
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J & J Bait and Tackle
For a while now I have been meaning to stop at the tackle store on Magnolia Beach. Going to Indianola without driving down beach drive I do not usually go past it, so I made it a point to stop after I finished fishing. And I was pleasantly surprised.
Folks it is a really nice store, that has a few groceries, beer, smokes, picnic supplies, along with other stuff. But what it really has is tackle, good stuff, and frozen and dead bait. They are also a top shelf Shimano dealer. Selling not only reels but rods, and even better, they do cleaning and repair of both. And if they have the parts they say they can often do a one day turn around, which is awesome. And to top it off, they are open 7 days a week from 6:30 in the morning until 10 pm weekdays, and until 11 on the weekends.
It was nice to meet the owners, they are good folks, so if you get down to Indianola please stop in and say hi. I know I have some reel cleaning that needs doing so I will give them a try. Plus it makes for a good excuse to fish the Powderhorn. Their phone number is 361/552-2724.
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Not much else to say today, except now is the time. The bay fishing is good and the weather has been cooperating. Try to be nice out there, there is room for all of us. I will now be waiting with bated breath for the weekend reports. So if you caught some let me know. I will share or not, I just like to hear how you all are doing, so drop me a line. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
