Fish Catching Travel
The fish know the difference.
It was an interesting morning. Besides some really good fishing there was a little excitement. I have been thinking about putting a “cow catcher” on the front of my 4Runner and this morning just reinforced that. It was not daylight yet as I headed to the lake and when I got about 5 miles from the ramp a deer was standing on the shoulder and almost bolted in front of me. What stopped her I do not know, but she started in front of me and turned at the last second. One of those missed by a hair things. That possibility always exists when driving at the crack of daylight, I just got lucky.
Next was one of those fiascos. The sun was still down when I started on the first point and had one smoke the buzzbait, I set the hook, missed, and the line got in the trolling motor. I got it stopped before it ate the rod tip, so I cut the line, untangled the mess and retied. The very next cast a really good one jumped all over it and the line broke. Then the fished jumped and tossed a brand new Strike King buzzbait 3 feet in the air, great. When I got the line back the knot where the braid joined the mono slipped off. Clearly my fault, one of the little things that can make or break your day.
The last crazy occurrence happened while I was pitching and the boat bumped into a dead tree branch, it broke off, and here came the bees! They were after me so the trolling motor went on high and I was jumping around and swatting like a mad man. How I did not end up getting stung I do not know. If someone had been watching I am sure I looked like a crazy man. It sure could have been worse. Now on to the fishing.
The last few trips the buzzbait has been slow, but not today. They were biting on the first main lake point I stopped on and unfortunately only one came over the side though I had 5 bites. From there I just started hopping from point to point looking for deeper grass, and the fish cooperated.
They were hitting it like they meant it this morning.
I ended up fishing main lake stuff from the ramp to way up lake. After the first couple of misses they started eating it. They wanted a medium retrieve and as usual when they are in the grass it was slots and outside bushes, though most came from right off the bank.
No real big ones today, but a nice average size.
The buzzbait bite lasted until around 9 or so. By then the wind was up fairly high, and so was the sun. I think I caught 11 on buzzbait and it was a good time. As you all know I love that bite as much as anything. I kept after it for a while after 10 and then switched to pitching the lizard. First was a long channel bank up lake. That bank has a flat that drops into the main channel and there is lots of cover and grass on it. The wind was pounding and while it made it tough, they were willing to cooperate if you made the right pitch.
A couple of the better ones.
The wind can make it tougher to pitch when you are using a light bait. While I have pitched assorted plastics the best combination the last few weeks has been a smaller 6″ watermelon red lizard on a 5/0 worm hook and 3/16 slip sinker rigged Texas style on 20lb Big Game. I am also pegging the sinker to the head to help work it through the grass.
It is real important to make a perfect pitch into any hole or slot. and the fish are real shallow. And always pitch to the shade, whether it is back in a slot or the shady side of the bush. Once that sun comes out they love that shade. Line watching is critical as while some tick it, they will just start swimming with it right after it lands. If you feel something set the hook. And once you set the hook keep them coming. This is hand to hand combat and you need to get their head up and moving away from the cover. This is not a wimpy rod technique.
Not cutting my teeth on waters where pitching shallow to cover in the middle of summer I am not an expert by any means. But it really is a fun way to catch them on Coleto right now. There is no sign of our deeper grass growing yet so the fish have adapted to what they have, shallow cover. I caught 6 in last 2 hours I fished, and if the wind had not been such a hassle, and I was better at it, it would have been several more. So take advantage of what is shaping up to be some pretty good fishing right now, but get out early, it is sure worth it.
**********************
On a totally different note if you ever wanted to take a cool trip for some great fishing now is the time. Airfare has dropped dramatically to both Belize and Costa Rica, I mean cheap. You can have the trip of a lifetime if it is bonefish and permit you seek in Belize, or sailfish, Mahi Mahi, and marlin in Costa Rica. The permit I caught in Belize was one of the hardest best fighting fish of my life, not to mention the tarpon and bonefish action. And putting my first sailfish in the boat was a lifetime goal, not to mention putting 10 20 – 40lb mahi without a break, which was only the second time in my life I wanted to put the rod down and have a cold one. There are several articles on my site, just search it, it will get your fishing juices flowing.
*******************
Muskie Bay Resort, Crow Lake, and Lake of the Woods is only 4 weeks away, and I am consumed with catching musky, not to mention smallmouth and walleye. A musky bite is such a ferocious bite that any attempt to describe it pales in the telling. Along with that I got my first order of musky baits. I just want to give a shout out to Musky Tackle Online. I have bought a lot of tackle in my life, from lots of places, but they are the real deal. Great prices, I checked lots of sites, shipping was free, and it came in 4 days and the order was correct. So I wanted to give you a look at the first of the baits I bought for the trip.
That is a big dives to 20 Rapala crankbait and regular size buzzbait between the musky baits.
We are looking forward to night trolling for big muskies, but you know me, I love that buzzbait. We have a spot on Lake of the Woods that has held some really big muskies but going early we were unable to actively pursue them, but they would follow a small buzzbait to the boat. All I have to say is it will keep me up at night as visions of a real giant smashing that buzzbait plays out in my dreams. I can not wait.
If you want to see some cool baits, and some great videos, visit Musky Tackle Online. Just be advised I am not responsible for explaining to your wife why you are packing up and heading to Ontario.
https://www.muskytackleonline.com/index.php?route=common/home
******************
And while I am plugging stuff just cause I want to say something about Yeti. As far as their claims about how long ice will last in their coolers in the law it is called puffing. (In English, stretching the truth just a hair. A perfect example is: Our coolers are the best in the world. Who is to say they are not?) My experience with several sizes has not been whole lot better than other coolers I have owned. Ice does last a little longer, but that seems to be all. But their new cup is another story. That thing will keep your coffee hotter longer for hours, and I mean hours. That thing is great. I was a little hesitant to pay that kind of bucks for a cup, so the boss bought me one for my birthday. You know me, if it sucks it sucks and I will say so, but in this case it is worth every penny. Coffee is my drug of choice and I could not be any happier.
*********************
That is all I have to ramble about today. The Shoedog will be making an appearance sometime and we will do a couple of bay days. And if he does not make it soon I think a trip to the Powderhorn is in order. Though the winds have kept blowing some, it is actually protected from our current SW prevalent winds and there are some redfish just waiting. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
