FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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The weather guy (My favorite guy to hate.) said that Tuesday may be out hottest day of the year.  That is nuts.  What are we, a couple of days from the official start of fall?  So with that in mind I decided to just hit the lake for some bass fishing Tuesday, then head for the shade early.  Our temp will finally begin to moderate some by the end of the week.  And I still intend to get to POC and fish with Ken and his wife one day this week, so that is on the agenda if it gets below a 100.  Instead of fishing today (Monday) I got the pleasure of buying a new dryer.  Ain’t life grand?

Weather

97/71  Heat Index  105 – 110   Partly cloudy with stay thunderstorm or show  20% chance rain  Wind East 5 – 10  (It was ugly hot by 10.)

Tides

High   5:07 AM     1.1
Low   2:50 PM     0.5

Solunar  Times

Best times   2:14A – 4:14A  2:42P – 4:42P   Good Time   8:28A – 10:28A  (Not sure when the bite was.)

How hot is it?

I really had no logical reason for going fishing today, and I should have listened to that little voice in my head telling me to do something responsible today instead of baking my brain.  The forecast was for the hottest day of the year, and while I am not sure what the final high for the day will be, it was oppressive, and the fishing was not worth a crap.  (Note:  Just for back from buying birthday cards and the truck registered a 100, and it was in the garage.)

There was no question that it was going to be a short day, and it was.  So to change it up some I decided to head up the plant arm to fish some different stuff.   It was dead flat calm, a sign of things to come, when I stopped on the first bank.  There were lots of alligators cruising around, but almost no bait activity.  There is always that old rule, never leave fish to find fish, and in my case I know where a bunch are, but the pattern should be the same right?  Oh so wrong.  It was an hour before my first bite.

Here is what a grown man did all morning.

I pitched, flipped, cast, buzzed, hopped, dropped, and jerked, and some other stuff, but it was slow.  The one above came off wood in about 6 foot of water and I thought we might be getting there, but no cigar.  Fishing the same type of bank in the plant area as up lake was not productive.  In fact, the exact same structure that I am finding them up the Coleto creek arm had no fish on it.  Those flat banks that have fish on them up the main arm were devoid of fish in the plant arm.  Not sure whether I just didn’t hit the right place, or is the pattern just that different in the plant arm? That will have to wait for another day.

After catching 2 and struggling I tried some deeper banks, some timber points, a couple of shady banks, all of it different than I have been catching them on, and I only picked up one on a timber point.  I am pretty sure if you just point hopped on timber that there are some fish to be caught.  The water temp way up was 87, and when I fished the last bank near the dam the water temp was 92 freakin’ degrees.  Before it was over I had 5 bites, missing 2, and of the 3 that came over the side only the one above was worth a hoot.

It was getting ugly fast.  Totally drenched in sweat, not a breath of wind, and no bites for an hour all conspired to send me to the house.  For a fleeting second I considered running all the way up lake to the fish, but good sense prevailed.  It really was hot and it just took it out of me.  So at 11 it was back to the ramp and home.  All I know is I am ready for it to break, which it might do at the end of the week, if you consider a high of only 90 a cool down.

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I ran into Kevin, who fished in the surf with a guide the other day, and their report mirrors what Chad has been finding.  Kevin said the 4 of them had 19 nice trout, sounded like in the second gut, by 7:30.  Then they moved in closer and whacked the reds in the froth.  The surf season is lasting just a touch longer this year due to the water temp, and when you can get out there a limit on croaker is the order of the day.

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And the crappie are still biting right along on Coleto.  In fact, there were more crappie fisherman out today than bass fishermen.  I checked the can at the cleaning table, the crappie they are catching right now are good ones.  It crossed my mind to do that this morning, should have, would be having a nice fish fry tonight.

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Next it is the Gulf.  I have been in a catch them one time, then struggling the next, whether it is the bay or the lake.  Not sure whether waist deep in the Gulf is cooler, but it sure has to be somewhat cooler than standing on the boat.  But fall is around the corner, and it won’t be long before things settle down.  I am making plans for Baffin next month, and have visions of big trout smashing topwater.  In my wildest dreams we will get a cloudy cold front when I am there.  The nice thing is I have a 5 day window so maybe I will get lucky.  I appreciate all of you who stick with me, keep those cards and letters coming.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines