FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Tip of the Day

If you want the occasional good deal on rods be sure to check the combo department at Academy.  When a reel is stolen, a common occurrence, they have a chart for the price of the rod alone.  I got another great rod today for $22, and had a nice Lew’s that I got last year for $28.  It pays to take a quick look.

No matter how much I want to do some wading I just refuse to fight what will be another day with winds to 30mph on the bay and beyond.  There will be plenty of wading to come. And unfortunately we here on my side of town have not gotten much of the rain that fell all around us the last week, and the lake is already on the decline.  It was tough to cross the Guadalupe this week and see it is high from the rain up north, it just did not happen in my back yard or help the lake.  So back to the lake to fight the wind, at least I will be fishing.

Weather

83/65   Scattered thunderstorms early, cloudy and windy as a mofo.  Chance of rain  40%.  Wind  S 20 – 30.  (Projected to be a straight 20 all day.  And as usual they were correct.)

Lake Level

Today  96.42 msl   Tuesday  96.45 msl

Solunar Periods

Good  10:28 am to 12:18 pm.  (Only relevant period.)

********************Get inhaled!

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The wind was blowing right along when I got to the lake at 8:30 and it only got worse as the day wore on.  They sure got the 20mph correct, and much of the lake was white capping.  The water temp continues to be in the mid to high 70’s depending on where you are, some places have a little bit of color but I have not really noticed a difference in the bite no matter what the color, up lake or down.

Love is in the air!

First up was a cove I have not fished in a while, and it was a strike out.  So next to a bigger spawning cove with standing hardwoods, and as there has been, there were fish on wood.  6 jumped on, and I missed several.  Pitching a 5″ watermelon red stick worm on a 1/4 oz sinker with a 4/0 worm hook was the ticket, and works most anywhere there is cover.  But they were all small so time to move on.

Not a giant but I never look a gift bass in mouth.

As I did not hit the bank with the shad spawn I headed there.  It produced exactly one, and I missed a couple.  That really is a first thing in the morning thing, and the fish were just not there like they probably were at first light.  I stayed with the spinnerbait for an hour exclusively, but only a couple of small takers, so time for the swim jig.   Whether white or the bluegill, they will eat it shallow.  But cover is still the ticket for shallow fish no matter what bait you use.  Like I said last time, you can fish what you like right now.

As long as this size keeps jumping on I am happy.  And note one consistent thing in each picture – No bait hanging.  Not because I unhooked them but because it is still in the mouth.  They were eating it.

Sticking with the swim jig at least 10 jumped on, the bite was consistent, but the majority were small.  Some where ok, and after breaking off the bluegill jig I went to the white and they were definitely eating it all the way down.  In the white I am using a 1/4oz Strike King Swimming Jig and a white Zoom Craw Jr.  They wanted it hopped and dropped occasionally on each retrieve but if thrown right by cover just a steady retrieve provoked a bite.  Again, lots of smalls, but it is tough to put down when they are biting.

And the wind, it really does limit some places when it is this high, at least for lighter techniques.  A “little” is ok, but this is getting crazy.  So it was the old fish where you could and not always where you want.  After catching a wad up lake I decided to finish in some of the coves near the ramp.  It was time to try something a little different, at least for Coleto.  On Fayette I have had good success throwing shallow running shad baits and basically working them like jerk baits, only quicker.  A pull or two, a jerk, stop it, repeat.  Erratic is the ticket.

My mastery of all things catfish on lures continues this spring.

Down lake there is one pattern that is a no brainer right now, you just have to believe.  If there is a stump there is a fish on it, and some are literally less than a foot deep.  In fact a couple today came on the bank side of a stump, it was shallow. You have to make the perfect cast, but when you do it is a bite.  So right in the middle of the afternoon 4 came out of one cove, and 2 out of the next before I quit.  I was just jerking it along, erratically, and there was no problem telling you had a bite.  And if you made that perfect cast to visible structure you could see them roll up and eat.  Really a cool bite.

So about 3:00 I called it a day.  The numbers were there again, and 20+ has been the rule the last couple of weeks.  There is usually a shot at a good one every day, you just have to work through all the smalls.  My limit today was solid, but no kicker to go with it.  That’s what I get for being lazy and getting to the lake late.  There is definitely a daylight bite, and if you are in the right place it can be fast and furious.  But overall nothing to complain about, the fish are biting and really that is all you can ask.

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The next couple of months are going to be epic for fishcatchingtravel.com.  The Boss and I  just spent the day getting somewhat organized for the Peru trip which comes at the end of the month.  And to add to Peru, The Chandeliers, and Port Mansfield, my buddy Jeffish and I are off on another adventure next weekend.  We are lucky enough to get to fish a day on Texoma for stripers and huge cats, followed by a day on the Red below the damn out of the airboat with Terry.  We meet when his fishing plans fell through and I took him a day on the bay on short notice.  He is a good fisherman who can catch dam near anything and guides on Texoma.

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You have seen some pictures on here of the piles of stripers and massive catfish he catches, and we could not be anymore excited.  I look forward to blogging about that trip.  And it will be the beginning of 4 cool trips in the next 7 weeks.  I really am spoiled.

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As I look at the weather forecast for the week to come it looks like we have a couple of days where the wind has a chance to be below 20mph, and with it will come a day or two on the bay, finally.  Time to feed them some Controlled Descent Lures.  I also heard there is a good topwater bite for those that are fishing, but from some of the comments I have seen online the getting back has been a little tough.  So I will be glued to the weather and if it all works out some trout and reds are in my future.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines