Fish Catching Travel
Here I sit, an off and on rain with a forecast which includes flash flooding – a great day to be bass fishing. It is so hard to tell if it is worth the drive to the lake, not because the fish will not be biting, but because it might just rain like crazy and be way to ugly to fish. So I will sit here and stew, and who knows, I may still load up the boat and head to the lake.
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It was off to College Station and the Shoedog’s house for a little deer hunting and maybe some fishing. The deer hunting was good, but it ended up being strictly hunting, not killing. The fishing on the other hand was pretty dang good.
We set up on Shoedog’s lease Sunday afternoon and did not have deer sighting one. It is a great property with lots of deer. It was plain to see as we drove out and there were deer all over the dang place. Monday morning we were back in the blind at daylight, and before the morning was over we had 4 deer close, but none had horns.
So while it was my usual deer hunting luck, it had been 10 years since I last gave it a go so I was just happy to be there. Not having a place to hunt has been hard since I have been in Texas, and sitting in that blind watching the world around me reminded me how much I liked it. And congrats to Shoedog on his opening day buck – Nice birthday present.
And I want to say one final thing about the wording in the Game and Fish Hunting Regulations. As I read the regulations for Brazos County deer hunting I realized that as an attorney I could decipher it after 2 readings, then a third for confirmation. That is flat out ridiculous. How about folks with reading issues? The rules are way to complicated. I know there can not be a be all, end all, rule for such a big state as Texas with its diverse landscape, but the rules can be written in a plain and simple format that lets everyone makes some sense of them. So come on TPWD, remember you are serving everyone, not just the rich and smart. Oh yea I forgot, that seems to be how it works in Texas. Just check the fish stocking records.
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Fishing Shoedog’s Lake
When we got back to his house the front coming our way tomorrow had clouds moving in and the wind was blowing. So we dropped his boat in the 40 acre lake in his subdivision, nice buy Shoedog, and went to fishing. It is a great little lake and it takes about an hour or so to fish the whole thing. Shoedog was buzzing a Booyah spinnerbait, and I was thowing a swim jig.
Good start to a good day. They were crashing that Booyah.
We started catching a few and they kept biting and biting. We made 2 rounds and before it was over we boated an easy 25 or more. They were really active with the front and we had a couple of awesome bites. One of them smashed his spinnerbait from the top down, and I mean completely out of the water and then down on it, crazy. And I have seen a bass or two jump in my life, but I had a 2lber jump higher and farther than any I have ever seen. It was amazing.
Most of this fish were this size and bigger, a great balance in his lake.
I think he was front ending me!
We caught on spinnerbait, buzzbait, crankbait, and swim jig. As we finished our first pass around the lake Shoedog said usually when I catch this many I get at least one over 5. And of course the minute he said that a big fish jumped his crankbait. All the way to the boat no problem, then it pulled off at the boat. Funny how they stay on single hook baits, but give them an inch on the crankbait off they come.
Of course I threw the buzzbait some!
The condition of the fish, and the lake, is a testament to what can happen when a small lake is well managed. They paid for a professional study and then implemented the recommendations. Killed much of the vegetation, but not all, and stocked some specific bream for balance and bass food. The bass population was good at the time of the study, so by having a plan, and following through with it, the lake and fish are healthy and mean. He is lucky to have a place he can drop the boat in, catch a bunch of nice ones, and be home in 1 minute.
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Booyah Lures
We had an interesting thing happen with the spinnerbaits that day, and it was something we rarely see. I have been throwing spinnerbaits regularly since 1973, it has been my go to bait for years, and I have seen it all.
I picked up a bunch at Academy when they closed them out. With fall here I threw it some last week and I had one break right at the tie bend, the hook stayed with the fish and the arm with the blades threw off. Well it happened to us twice on Shoedog’s lake. You would get a big bite and come back with the knot intact and no spinnerbait.
I am sure it was just a bad batch of wires, it happens. So I contacted Booyah to let them know and within an hour I got a response from them. That alone was amazing. They are going to replace them. Folks that is a great company who values their customers. It is rare find in many lure companies today. As you know I only recommend lures I use and believe in, and the Shoedog and I have used Booyah spinnerbaits from south Texas to Canada.
I love waking a spinnerbait at high speed, and the vibration on the Booyah definitely makes a difference. So next time you are standing in the aisle looking over the spinnerbaits buy a couple. The great customer service is important, but the most important thing is they catch fish. So a special thanks Stephen Biggerstaff of Booyah. Nice to find a tackle company that truly values their customers. Here is the link to their company, take a minute and browse their catalog and site, they earned it and you might learn something.
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I have been getting a few comments on the last days post so thought I would share some of them with you.
From Joe –
“I forgive you for losing my Coleto Creek fishing email. But you remember most of it. I have had alot of stuff happen to me also since 1993 when i took up Bass fishing. Never had a boat before that. Just a couple for me, Not really !!!! a shit load of stuff.
Caught 2 bass on a crank bait, a catfish on a rooster tail, a trout on spinner bait.
Cant tell how many ducks,loons, water birds i have caught with the line or bait.
Lost poles, glasses, scales etc… over board also.
Times i have launched the boat with no plug, or the tie-downs still holding the boat,
My worst was at Lake Okechobee. Going in after sun down and getting hit with millions of mosquitos. Next day caught a baby gator on a fluke. Then decided to go back into a cove on plane. Realized we were in 1-3 of water and stuck. Put down the motor and got completely covered in mud trying to push us out. Got out and started pushing the boat. Hit a hump and thought it was a gator. My friend in the boat saw me turn white and i thought i was a goner. Got into the boat fast–didnt care if i blew up the motor, buried it in the mud and gunned it. Finally got out. The boat looked like it was a 4×4 truck”
Thanks Joe, your adventures will trigger others in all of us. One I would add to my list was the time the door of the small trailer we were staying in at Chokoloskee in the Evergaldes came open during the night. We woke up with 10.000 mosquitos in the room that were the size of small birds. And your the stuck thing, I feel your pain. So the rest of you, lets hear it.
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And I heard from Mac, a long time reader –
“Doug, thanks for sharing your out door life with us. We all have moments we remember and cherish. I will sit down during the upcoming rainy period and share mine, but now a story not so attractive.
Last week my son and I fished Cavasso creek on St Charles bay. On putting on highway 35 we noticed a family bank fishing , eating,and drinking. We said hello and moved out into the bay. We had a very good morning with topwaters in a drain. We called it a day and headed back. The family had departed, but left all their trash– dirty diapers, paper goods, beer cans etc.
My own son said he felt like crying and it was then I mentioned an old commercial I had seen 30 years ago about a single tear from an Indian experiencing the same thing as us. We cleaned up what we could and returned to our homes. Matt called me later and said he found the commercial on the internet. I went back and looked it up–powerful. The American Indians care for this great land. America needs awakening!!!!!!!!!! Mac”
It is so sad that we have not progressed any further in our respect for Mother Earth. That people are so uncaring for the land that we will leave our children is sad. And I remember that commercial, it was the year I graduated from high school, and for those of you who have not seen it here is the link. Thanks Mac, it says it all.
https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AtUE4MFYe_i..C_3Skm2eTubvZx4?fr=yfp-t-901-s&toggle=1&fp=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&p=american%20indian%20crying%20commercial Please do not litter!
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So thanks guys for your comments. I have received a few more and will post them soon. And come on the rest of you, we all would love to get your stories. It can be whacky in the great outdoors and we all love a great story. As they say all fisherman are liars except me an you, and I am not sure about you. So lets hear it.
No matter what it will be off to the Gulf on Friday with the Austin boys. Todd called yesterday and wanted to know why the last 3 or 4 times he has come down we have had a big front of some sort. Well Todd I don’t know, maybe it is you? I am excited about fishing with them and look forward to the shrimp and grits! And one last word, the readership is growing here at an astounding rate and I have no one to thank except all of you. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
