Fish Catching Travel
I just could not take it. So even though it was raining I loaded up and headed to the lake for an afternoon of fishing. While it was not as hot for the bigger fish, I still caught at least 20 during the afternoon.
I started out with spinnerbait, of course, but after a couple of banks I had only had one bite. Since I was on a calm bank I pulled out the Bagley Bang O Lure, which is a 5″ balsa minnow, my favorite topwater. And it was 2 casts before I caught the first one.
A sign of things to come the next 3 months.
They were on a long deep bank and you had to throw it right next to the bank. Twitching it along on top, and an inch under with the twitch, when they came for it you could see the boil as they ate. I did not bring my sunglasses, a real mistake when fishing a topwater minnow as they usually take it while it is under the water. From there I alternated between spinnerbait, buzzbait, and topwater. Though they were not as big, they were just as willing.
My first spinnerbait fish of the afternoon.
Again they were in the calmer waters near grass. I think the cold front pushed them into the grass and they were not chasing like they were yesterday.
This one smoked it.
With the fish not as active I fished a little slower. If it was calmer water, I threw the topwater, if it was a windier bank it was spinnerbait and buzzbait. Today they were clearly not interested in chasing it off the bank and you had to make a precise cast. They were definitely in the clumps of grass right on the bank.
As you can see the topwater fish were a little smaller, though I did lose one hoss in the grass.
I basically worked main lake banks down lake, and never did find any one that was particularly better than any other, but it was catch one, catch a couple. Of the 10 or so on topwater only 2 smashed it, the rest hit it right after I gave it a twitch under.
The best one of the day it came out of a stump in 1 foot of water and absolutely crushed it.
I have had some great November’s on Coleto throwing buzzbait, so since I was tossing different stuff I threw it some. I caught a couple of small ones, missed a couple, and caught the one below.
It was just a little to rough for the buzzbait.
The biggest bass ever over the side of my boat on Coleto came in November on buzzbait. It has been a consistent producer for me in November, and there will be days ahead when it works for those big fish. As it gets later in the month you will not catch lots of fish on it, but throwing it in the evening can put a real big fish in the boat.
So for a 5 hour trip not to bad. It was clear that the cold front had knocked them back some compared to the day before. That is why it is so critical to fish those fronts when they move in. And if it has a little drizzle and light wind it can be awesome, like it was yesterday.
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I got this from Mac one of my dedicated readers. Now folks I have been known to tell a tall tale or two, and I thought I had heard it all, but these are 2 of the best stories I have ever heard, bar none.
“Doug, Laughter is the best medicine. I guess I have been a court jester all my life.
I won’t bore you with a lot of word salad, but will tell you about 2 stories I regret but then again we all do stupid and crazy thinks during adolescence.
When I was 14 A busy highway 71 went by our farm and Mary’s creek ran through our property . One summer my brothers and I caught a 6 lb bass in the creek. It had rained hard the night before and it created a large mud puddle beside the highway. A light bulb went off in my head on the way back home. I took the bass, hooked a Lazy Ike to him and tossed him in the puddle. As cars drove by I pulled the fish out like there were fish in the puddle. Motorists stopped and were amazed. We told them there were lots of fish in the water.
The next day my dad saw our mailman fishing in the puddle!!!!!!!!!!
This next tale is an example of college students, including me , up to no good A couple of us had been fishing a farm pond during a very dry year. other than this pond the whole area was dry. The couple of times we fished it we noticed a bobcat drinking and not even paying attention to us. A week later my buddy, a vet student, said he needed to trap or sedate an animal for a class experiment . We went to the pond and waited for that cat. He shot a dart that hit the cat and in a minute the animal was asleep. We put him an old suitcase and drove back towards the vet barns. On the way we got a change of heart and did not want to see this animal cut up for study. Stupidity followed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We took the suitcase and set it out on the highway to Snook Texas . We then sat and waited for cars to go by. The second auto stopped, threw the suitcase in and drove off. we followed and 5 minutes later all hell broke loose. The car started swerving and stopped and lo and behold, the occupants and the bobcat scattered in all directions. I know that from then on, those in the car will never travel anywhere with a suitcase and the poor bobcat survived the ordeal but probably wishes he was used as the original plan called for.
I have grown up since then but, again, I really believe a good laugh is as good as medicine
One last story–Better not tell it. My wife and children read your blogs. Mac”
It is so cool when readers send me stories, and these are 2 of the best. I can imagine the folks in that car thought they hit the jackpot, and in a way they did. Nobody got hurt, and I am sure no one believed those folks. And one final word Mac, you are showing your age if you were using a Lazy Ike, and I am right there with you cause I know what you are talking about. So thanks for the share, these will be retold.
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If you live on Coleto I need your help. The last 2 days there has been a kayak stuck on a stump in the middle of nowhere, and it has been filling with water. So I drained it, put it on the boat, and brought it to the house. So if you are missing a kayak, or know someone who is, drop me a comment and identify it, I will be sure it is returned to the rightful owner.
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I am off to POC this morning. Todd put a nice trout and a keeper red in the boat according to the texts he sent me. So it should be a good day, and even if the fishing is slow, I really like fishing with those guys. On the weather front it looks like showers will be clearing out in the morning, and thank goodness we have received over 2 inches of rain. And I can not help it, Costa Rica is less than 3 weeks away and counting. I have visions of jumping Marlin, Roosterfish, and fresh Mahi Mahi for supper. Yahoo! So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
