FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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The plan is to meet Topwater Billy at around 6:00 and be on the water at first light.  Conditions look good, it is rare when there are 2 major periods in the same morning.  While it is no guarantee, at least it gives you hope.  So after getting a new trailer plate and putting it on, followed by putting the tire back on the trailer and remounting the spare, I am caught up with boat “stuff”.  A little tackle prep later and it will be game on.  Topwater will be the order of the day and I hope to at least fish thru both prime periods tomorrow.

Weather

89/80  Partly Cloudy.  ESE 10 – 15.   10% chance rain.

Tide

High  11:00 am   +0.5.

Moon Set

6:30 am.  99% visible.

Solunar Time

Best  4:37 am – 6:37 am  and  10:49 am to 12:49 pm.

********************Get inhaled!  

There is something innovative and new coming!  

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It does not get any better than this!

Tale of Two Places

When I got to Indianola Topwater Billy was ready and waiting.  The plan was to fish the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline where I caught some nice trout a week ago.  As we idled into the bank there was a tell tale sign – the tide was out, way out.  It was just barely daylight as we jumped in and started chunking topwater.  Billy headed out and I stayed in.

There goes Billy.

I had high hopes, unfortunately the tide conditions should have warned me, it was just to low and the bait was not “acting” right.  If I were guessing it was two bites for me and I am not sure if Billy had one or not, but it was not happening.  I did catch one short red, but after an hour and a half my thinking cap kicked in and it was time for a move.

Small but love that topwater bite!

As I found last trip there are trout on the drops, especially if it is a good couple of feet or more off a good flat.  So the obvious choice, the ranch shoreline in Keller.  It has been quite a while since I fished Keller, but one thing for sure, the shoreline has a good drop which should fill the bill.  So bailed out in about 2′ of water and it was immediately game on.

They were smoking that Controlled Descent Paddle Tail!

Literally as soon as we jumped out of the boat it was topwater mania.  We had bite after bite on topwater, the interesting thing – They were on the drop where it went from 2′ to 6′.  Many of out bites came at the end of our casts, they were coming from the deeper water.  Billy put a couple of keeper trout on the stringer, I never did sack a keeper.  One of the times when my it either makes it easy or not probably led to not keeping a couple which were on the line, but I was just happy to be catching fish.

So to go along with what I learned the other day I put a 1/8th swim bait hook into several different colors of the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad, started letting it sink close to the bottom and then just slow rolled it.  They were thumping it and over the next 2 hours it was fun.  That slow roll works, end of story.  We literally had bite after bite.  This is where the Wade Right comes in to play.  It was great to be able to catch 2 or 3 on topwater, and then bait and switch with the Controlled Descent.  Carrying 2 rods pays off.

Not sure how many we ended up catching there but it was an easy 30+ as the bite was on.  Billy had a real hoss miss the topwater at his feet and I had some kind of sea monster just flush it and not hook up, so there were a couple of better trout there.  Another big one of some sort flushed me again and immediately broke my line.  But luckily my topwater floated up and I got it back.

We made one move on the shoreline but the wind was up and the tide was running and the water colored up.  On the way in Keller I told Billy about catching spinnerbait reds on one of my favorite banks in Keller and as he had not caught them this way he wanted to give it a go before we called it a day.

Just some nice keepers.

Billy stuck with the topwater and it wasn’t long before a good one jumped on.  It acted like it did not know it was hooked and after a brief struggle came off.  Then one jumped on the spinnerbait, a classic spinnerbait bite, one of my favorites.  Billy put another in the boat on topwater, I missed on that slammed it, then I caught one more.  I forgot how much I liked fishing that way in that place, and will be back this week.  But I did have one more bite and boy it was a good one!

That thing was massive!

As I was reeling my spinnerbait along one knocked the crap out of it.  After a big tussle it showed itself, a big alligator gar.  That thing was an easy 5′ long and thick as a concrete block.  So I took it easy and we finally got it to boat side.  We were talking as I fought it that it must not have it all the way in the mouth or it would have easily broke off.  When it got close we could see the bait outside of it’s mouth.  What made it interesting – The hook was not in the fish, it just had the blade!  So I rustle that thing close and easy up on the slack and out came the spinner.  It looks like when it hit a tooth got caught in the eye in the blade.  Weird!  A perfect example of keeping the line tight when fighting fish.  Obviously I won big fish today.

The last fish of the day.

So about 2:00 we called it a day.  The temp was pleasant and it was nice to catch a bunch of fish.  We waded through a whole bunch of trout for just a couple of keepers, but it was one of those days where we were not going to leave fish to find fish.  Obviously there were some keeper trout mixed in, and thinking about it there might be some options to deter the little ones and get to the better fish.  It is just plain tougher this time of year on us lure fisherman, croakers are the way to go if that is your thing.

Today was good thing for my fishing psych, nothing will improve your attitude like catching a bunch of fish.  It was not so hot as to be oppressive, and I really enjoyed catching a couple on top, then on the Controlled Descent, then moving 10′ and doing it again.  And fishing with Topwater Billy is always a barrel of laughs, and the boy can catch them on that topwater.

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One of my pet peeves is folks who pass up people having motor troubles.  It can happen to any of us in an instant, and if you are to “busy” going fishing to help then when your turn comes good luck, you earned it.  The reason I bring this up is when we got back to the ramp there was a brand new big Shoalwater on the trailer and a Freedom 15′ scooter tied to the sea wall.  The Shoalwater engine decided to crap out and the guy in the scooter towed them in.  All the way from Port Lavaca back to Indianola against a big head wind!  It was rough.  The scooter could not tow the bigger boat so he tied off on the side and that little boat did the job.  When I talked to him he was waiting for his wife who was bringing him the trailer from where he put in.  It was so rough I am sure it beat a ride back down the bay in a scooter.  Now that is a great guy!

Jarrod  (sp?), a local guy who is now a game warden, was at the ramp and it was good to see him.  He was on the boat that broke down and they were preparing for a tourney this weekend, hopefully they will get the boat going.  He reported they caught a bunch of trout on croaker, of course I made a face.  Good luck this weekend, if you make it.

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Looks like our weekend plans are shot.  Reservations made, all ready to go, and she gets a subpoena involving a criminal case where she treated someone.  The problem, like all trials, trust me, it may or may not go.  Unfortunately it came right in the middle of our plans so not sure what the fall back position is.  If she does not end up testifying then our weekend is screwed for no good reason.  But you answer subpoenas like it or not, I sent enough of them.

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Now I have a little case of the trout fever.  After yesterday I got the feeling that something a little different, like a BIG swimbait just might catch a big trout right now.  There were definitely some where we were fishing, you just had to catch a bunch to get a keeper.  So my theory, they are there mixed in but since the little fish are fast and stupid it is tough to get it to the bigger fish.  That’s my theory and I am sticking with it, which means it will be back to Keller soon, depending on the trial or travel.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines