FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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I got this comment from Topwater Billy after the last trip.

Best trip yet.
Would like to have seen what that second spot was like first thing in the morning.
Redfishing that bank at the end of the day is a good experience.

Glad you liked it as I texted him and we are going in the morning.  I am very interested in how the fishing will be in the area we caught them last time mid day.  We had a couple of shots at some pretty big fish on topwater and just did not hook up, so the plan will be to remedy that in the morning.

Weather 

91/76  Sunny  Wind NNE 10 – 15 mph.  10% chance of rain.

Tide

Low   2:48 AM     0.0    High  11:21 AM     0.4.  (Very flat tide today.)

Solunar Time   Best 2:49 pm –  4:49 pm.   Good  8:48 am to 10:48 am.   (One source has this as a no “fish” day.)  (Note:  The good period was approximately when we caught them last time.)

********************Get inhaled!  

There is something innovative and new coming!  

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Keller Bay

We put in at the Olivia ramp at daylight.  We were third there with one behind me.  When we quit at 1:00 it was just us.  First up was the pasture shoreline where it ends in a flat point where we caught them last trip.  The bait was there, not as heavy at first, but there was a ton way out in the bay.  Of course both of us started with topwater, and it was not nearly as good as I would have hoped.

First red of the morning on the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad.  The other on the Hoover Shad from Academy.

The reason I showed you the second fish is that is the one that came on the Hoover Shad.  Academy sells it and I started using it last fall, both trout and reds like it.  It is a twitch bait and the smaller one is the only one I have used.  It is best worked with quick, really small twitches, on lighter line.  When they hit it they usually have it.  It is not as expensive as the other similar baits, and it is subtle, working for me in cold weather and hot.  Just saying.

Guessing, Topwater Billy caught 4 or 5, and missed that many on top, same with me, though I did some bait changing.  Two on the twitch bait, 1 on topwater, and a couple on plastics.  It never did feel right there and none of them were worth talking about.  The bait that was out in the bay, on a slight color change, was slowly working it’s way right towards us.  At times it would shower getting out of the way of something and it looked promising.

Slow rolling the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad in the pink limeade, though they hit all 3 colors I threw today.  CPR’d.

Unfortunately when it finally arrived in perfect casting distance, they were following the topwater, you could even see them below the bait at times, just not eating.  So I went to slow rolling the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad, in 3 colors, and while it was not fast and furious, they ate it.

So we made a move and headed back past Olivia to make a couple of redfish passes before quitting when I had an epiphany – There is a place back here where I have caught trout this time of year so why not stop and do a drift.  It is a mix of mud and shell in about 2’+ of water, which had some color to it.   On the first pass Topwater caught a keeper on top, which was followed by………. oh I don’t know, maybe 20 of the weakest, least impressive , not one bit interested in eating topwater bites I have seen in a while.  They were all over it, and just would not commit.

This should have been the start of something big for Billy, but it was crappy bite after crappy bite.  He even tried 3 different topwaters, same result.

I just kept slow rolling the Paddle Shad with a 1/8th swim bait hook with a rattle in the cavity.  Using it that way is very speed dependent.  When you would get it just right the better ones, like the days best above, would eat.  Keeping the rod pointed right at the bait worked best, and the bite is a little different as they come up and suck it in.  In fact, with the trout above I put the jig out of his mouth so you could see it, because if I left her hooked up you could not see the bait at all.  And if you look closely at the first red, you can just see the tip of the chartreuse tail.  In the second place I put a keeper in the box, needed 2 today for supper, and released the one above, and lost 2 good ones trying to flip them in the boat.  If we had been on the meat hunt that would not have happened.  I actually do have a net, but rarely use it.

And just for your info I read a report from one of the local guides that have also been slow rolling plastics, which I know the Mad Trout Fisherman has done this time of year.  So something to consider.

Not a great day by any means, way tougher than last Friday.  They were interested in the topwater, just not interested enough to smack it.  For me the good part has been slow rolling the bait in deeper water.  It is so speed dependent but when you find it you will get bit.  And the nice thing about the swim bait hook, when you stick them they usually stay stuck, minus operator error.  And of course it catches less grass, a good thing when the tide is moving.  And today it definitely was better for the good ones.  I figure we only caught maybe 15, only keeping 2 for supper, but with the amount of topwater bites it should have been a bunch.  It was weird but it happens.  I can’t wait to drift that spot again.

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I just spoke with my buddy Aaron and he got a good report from the Baffin area from one of the guides he knows.  They just had his best day ever on topwaters, so looks like the time is now, if you are not fishing croakers.  So there may be a Baffin trip coming, if it would just cool off 5 degrees it sure would be nice.  Aaron is working out of Alice and it has been a 100 the last couple of weeks.

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We took a few days off and headed to Louisiana for a little adult entertainment and I have a couple of comments.  First, we are not big $$ gamblers, but we go on occasion, and have for almost 30 years.  One thing I hate to see, and we saw it in 3 different places last weekend, is people taking their kids to casinos.  The casinos are encouraging this with pools and game rooms, etc.  My thoughts on kids there is that is not a place to teach a kid is “normal”.  If they want to indulge later in life by their choice, great.  But it seems teaching them from an early age that casinos are a place to “vacation” is like saying cigarettes are good for you, like they told me in the 50’s.

Second, I got $900 on a .40 bet, so I have no room to talk, except I never took my daughter anywhere near a casino when she was a kid.

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So it was a somewhat frustrating morning, especially for Topwater Billy.  I can honestly say it was probably the most bites on top I have ever seen with such poor results.  I was ok with the morning as I did catch a nice one, and as reeling plastics is not my regular way to use them it is fun, which I intend to do again, as in maybe tomorrow.  Today will be running down why the boat lights are not working, a pain in the ass.  And the GPS on the LTS has decided to go crazy, and it is getting worse, so it is probably headed to the trash pile. The joys of boat ownership but the beat goes on.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines