FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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To get over my fishing frustration, tomorrow will be a bass fishing trip.  With the lake coming down, and high sky with a north wind, it might not be the best conditions, but I need to put yesterday behind me.  No better way than sacking a few largemouth.

Weather

88/60  Sunny skies.  Wind NE 10 – 15  10% chance of rain.  (Wind S after noon.)

Lake Levels

Last trip    95.96 msl      Current   95.78 msl     (A slow steady decline.)

Solunar Periods

• Best       8:46A – 10:46A  (Yep)
•                9:07P – 11:07P
• Good     2:35A – 4:35A

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To all my deer hunting buddies, Good Luck!

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Swim Jig Mania

Today the plan was simple, head up lake and throw the swim jig, and then throw it some more.  And I actually stayed with the plan.  I did not even get up this morning, in fact I got back in bed.  So it was almost 9 by time I got to the lake.  It is still dropping, and if we don’t get some rain it might be another low winter.  So up the lake I went.

Starting with a bluegill swim jig and watermelon red Rage Craw proved the best choice.  It was one of those days where the bites were few and far between, but by keeping it in the water the bites kept coming steadily until shortly before I quit at 3.  Probably half of them came off wood or some other form of cover.  Most when I reeled it by and then gave it a hop.  A couple of those smacked the crap out of it.

                                            A good mess of this size today.

They have moved off the real shallow stuff and are on more of the transition type banks where they flatten out from deep water.  About 11 a fish ate my pincers off the Rage Craw, and the spares were safely on a peg in my tackle room.  Nice.  So I switched to a Big Bite flapping type craw and the bit it about the same as the other trailer.  I also threw a white with a white swim bait trailer and caught a few, but the darker one was clearly the better choice.

This is how you get over a poor performance the other day!

I only threw the buzzbait a minute or two, and actually lost one bigger than the one above out of a log.  When I gave it a little hop right past the log he smoked it but I could not catch up to him.  He was coming right at the boat trying to jump and I wouldn’t let him, but did not get the hook set and it jumped off at the boat.  Cover around transition areas had a pretty high likelihood of having a fish on it.

Set hook, break rod in half (#3 this year), jerk nice fish in boat, throw rod in trash.  We are having fun now.

The one above came out of 2 foot and really ate the swim jig, probably headed the other way, and I gave it the old heave ho and snapped my rod right in half.  It really does happen to me several times a year, and it is crazy when it does.  I was throwing 12lb fluorocarbon on a medium rod with my drag set to slip some, and it still happened.  One thing I have noticed over the years, it invariably happens when I jerk without thinking about it, pure reaction.  Good thing I am a good rod shopper.

Last bite around 3 in the afternoon.

I liked the average today.  Even though 3 or 4 nice fish managed to jump off, it was a good day of swim jig fishing.  Not sure how many I caught, but it was steady enough to keep me going, and not all that bad for a late start.  I know I keep saying it, but if it will cool off some the fishing should really take off at the lake.  (I really do not have to worry we won’t have a norther of some sort this month.  The Boys from Austin being down twice in a month, will surely bring one.)  And it was nice to fish like I can, instead of the way I fished Tuesday.  So back on the up stroke in the fishing game.

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And this comment from Jim is driving me nuts.

Doug,
Sorry to hear about your woes down at POC. Maybe it’s tied to the Cubs, lol! You should have gone to Fayette. I fished there Tuesday with my good friend Big Ken. I guess I really need to get a new nickname for him since he has lost 150lbs. We mopped them up. Got on the water 25 minutes late at 7:30am due to “heavy fog”. Didn’t we just talk about fog? Anyways we boated 35-40 fish. The fish were eating everywhere we threw We caught them shallow and deep. On Carolina Rigs, swim jigs, paddle tails and shaky heads. We fished timber, the dam, the hot water discharge and the reeds. Water is still on the way down and running about 83. One thing I noticed this time was that the water clarity was very good everywhere. The best I have seen in a long time. I know you have been wanting to hit Fayette so I thought I would put some fuel in your fire. Hope to see you there soon. Tight lines!

That is the very fishing that makes Fayette what it is.  Good solid fish, and if it is in the stars, bite after bite.  I have fished some pretty good places over the years, including Falcon and Amistad when they was scary good, but when Fayette is on there is no, and I mean no, better place to bass fish.  It is now just a function of the weather.  The first drizzling day I will be there at daylight.  So thanks for the report, sounds like you and your buddy had a great trip.

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I want to thank a couple of folks for sending me some suggestions on where to get my trolling motor fixed.  Hopefully I won’t need it, they were working on it today.  With any luck that problem will be resolved before what looks like a month of some serious bay fishing.  I would hate to think how many of those dang things I have bought over the years, but it is a bunch.

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Not sure what, or where, is next.  I just might head out to the Lavaca River in the morning and see if the trout are there yet.  That is right around the corner but we probably need a little more cold weather.  Even if that doesn’t get done tomorrow it will be in the next few days.  The boys from Austin, who are coming in a week, like to stop there on the way to POC and get in a quick afternoon trip after driving down so it will save them from trying it if the fish are not there yet.  And of course some revenge on the trout and reds is in order somewhere.

On a side note both my waders have a leak, and I tried the summer pair out the other day and the fix did not work.  Will try the winter waders next and see if that fix worked.  I am struggling to not just shell out the big bucks and get some Simms.  Guess with the amount of time I end up in the bay they would be worth it.

And I really like the stuff you all have been sending me.  It keeps me writing and everyone likes seeing your comments and reports.  I know there are lots of you out there who have never commented, but give it a go some time.  Reports, bitches, rants, pictures, we don’t care, send it along.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines