FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
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Tip of the Day
Remember when fishing plastics on the lake or the bay that weight makes all the difference in fall rate and action. If they are biting but acting “hinkey” like today, change weight, it may change the way they eat the same bait you thought they did not want. And it gives you a reason to re-tie.
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Sorry no weather or other info, I just decided to go around noon after it warmed up some. The cool weather has definitely affected the fish and the water temp was still in the high 60’s in most places after what has been a series of cool nights. One cove I was in was 64 degrees, it was 71 last week.
The plan for today was to spend the afternoon pitching soft plastics on hardwoods adjacent to spawning areas. I figured those that are done are resting there, and a few who have been chased out of the shallow water are holding waiting for it to start warming back up again. And as my pitching leaves something to be desired a little practice was in order.
She just about ground her tail off by time she was done spawning.
I started with a stick worm on a 1/8th ounce slip sinker. For the first hour it was slow, I missed more than I caught but finally managed to catch a couple. As you can see in the pictures they are totally beat up from the spawn. I missed as many as I landed, after a while it became apparent they wanted a quicker fall, so I upped the weight to a 1/4, and it helped. But the high pressure seemed to have them not really wanting to eat, and of the 8 – 10 I boated in a quick afternoon trip maybe 2 actually thumped it, the rest were just there. If you did not set the hook quickly they were gone the instant you thought it might be a bite. And as I am learning it needed to be “pitch perfect”, right in the stuff.
During the afternoon I offered up the topwater, spinnerbait, crankbait, and other than a couple of half hearted nips on the swim jig, it was all plastics. The best bait turned out to be a craw/creature style plastic I picked up in the bargain cave at Cabela’s to use as a trailer on the swim jig. But it had lots of wigglers on it, and they seemed to want a little more action. Which seemed counter-intuitive, but hey, it is what it is. But the shallow fish are definitely cover oriented, pitch it close.
A little better, and as tough as it was I was happy to have her.
So that covers a slow afternoon. After catching some really big fish in January, they are few and far between now. I really do not know what to think about what is to come this year, but one thing is real apparent, we need some rain. The lake continues to fall slowly without warming any appreciable amount this month, in fact the water temps continues to drop at night without getting the daytime warming we need. One of the things that makes fishing what it is is the difference year to year, day to day, hour to hour. It is up to the fisherman to make changes, I just seem to have “lost it” right now. But when it is all said and done, no worries, there is always the next trip, the next cast, and hope springs eternal.
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I did spend the last couple of evenings fishing from the bank with Jeffish and his son Korbin for catfish at their campsite on Coleto. Sunday night we strung 6 eaters but it was tough with a 25mph+ wind pounding right on us. And Monday evening the fishing was really slow and we did not catch one while I was there. After 2 days of a north wind pounding into the cove it cooled it way off and muddied up the water. It has been awhile since I bank fished, to bad the weather did not cooperate. It reminded me of the “old days” where I cut my fishing teeth bank fishing. And while they were camping they adopted a woman and her son who were camping, the son was autistic and a funny guy. Jeffish was so good with him, and he was excited to catch a couple of fish. Says a lot about my buddy.
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The ramp at Coleto was flat nuts all weekend. There were some crazy loading and unloading, boats not starting, folks yelling, it had it all. After watching a guy and his wife struggle trying to put their big Lund on the trailer I finally could not take it and went over and with another guy we finally got it on the trailer. Not sure what was wrong, but something was twisted. I know the wife was happy to see us, she had just declared she was done. Always an adventure.
But the thing that I saw that needed to be addressed, kids on jet skis. The whole cove is a no wake zone, which apparently does not apply to jet skis. It there had been a warden there it could have been a ticket writing extravaganza and along with an opportunity to educate. Boy it was nuts.
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Funny how things are coming together on the next few month’s fishing trips. I got a note from Tim at Wade Right with the info on the trip to the Chandeleurs. As I said before, that trip has been a bucket list trip for me and I could not be more excited. Nothing like getting back from one trip and turning around the next week for another great adventure. Check out their site, looks good to me. Can we go ahead and leave tomorrow?
And the Austin Boys are all a twitter about the early June trip to Port Mansfield, it was epic for them last year. But every day is a new day when you are fishing, so we shall see. It is turning into a big group as a few more reprobates are joining in, and as usual with those guys it will be interesting.
And then we got an email from the guide service in Peru. We need to send them a copy of the front page of our passports, this happens lots of places we go, and the best thing is it lets you know they are keeping up with the program. It always gives me confidence when we hear from the operators we use when we travel a couple of times before we go. It is 5 weeks away and we are chomping at the bit to hit the road. And who knows, maybe another marlin for me! (I really am spoiled!)
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And a shout out to Faye (One of my most loyal readers.) and her husband who after a long absence from the bay are headed to POC next week. Good luck and it is good to see you back on the water. Nothing improves anyone’s attitude more than the anticipation of a trip to come. (See above!) We will be looking forward to some pictures.
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I had a great time fishing with Fred and David Saturday and it brought back some memories of fishing tournaments. Tournament fishing is a different beast. What I have seen over the years is the guy who is a terror on his home lake, and begins to think that it is no big deal, until they have to do it against some of the best sticks around on unfamiliar water. You have to be able to do it all no matter the conditions. When I was with the lure company in the 70’s he supported a great local fisherman. BASS came to Bull Shoals and he won, which was a freakin’ big deal. And when it came time to hit the road he never won again. It is a tough life, home sweet home it is not. And funny how some of the tourney guys post when they win, then not a peep when they don’t do so well. That is one thing about the blog, when it sucks I am stuck with it and you have to listen to it. With that said I plan on fishing the local jackpot tournaments on Coleto this summer as soon as I find a partner. Guess I am a glutton for punishment.
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Tomorrow I will be joining Glen, another reader, for a day of wading at POC. He reported catching some fish, but had trouble with shorts. He is interested in lure fishing, which is out of his comfort zone. Not sure what I can do to help that along, but no matte what it will be great to fish with another reader. I have met some great folks through this blog. either in person or through comments, and I appreciate it. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
