FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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January

It was a great month.  Lots of reader reports and comments with good fishing many places.  We had a big freeze with a trout kill in some areas of the coast with a couple day closure.  We hit Colorado, and I put a new trailer under the LTS.

This says it all about my month!  That is the biggest fish I have caught in a while.

The white bass were hard at it.  Great to take Steven and Corbin for their first white bass trip.

Wasn’t catching big numbers on Coleto but there were some big fish.

A Colorado big boy.

And I caught a nice rainbow with my buddy Aaron on the San Juan outside of Pagosa Springs Colorado.

February

The lake was generally slow this month.  And when I fished with the Austin boys at POC the highlight was we got stuck 3 times.  I caught the first of what would be a wad of catfish on lures this year.

Warm early spring days brings out the big boys.

Aaron and I (Read Aaron) put the smack down on some Falcon bass.

And I had a pretty good day on Coleto.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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March

March I was lucky enough to fish with several readers, Fred and David, on Coleto, and Glen at POC, where we had a good day.  The lake was spotty with slow fishing but still produced the occasional big fish.

Had a fish filled day at POC on topwater and the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad.

Catfish and more catfish this year. It was a good day on the lake.

And Coleto produced the occasional big fish.

That is a big gator.

Another nice one from Coleto.

And I caught this girl on Dan’s quest for a Share-A-Lunker.

APRIL

There was an early morning shad spawn on the lake, find it and you were in business.  And I had multi-day bass fishing this month.

Good buzzbait fish though they were biting most anything this month.

And we made a trip to Texoma and caught a few stripers.

And I had one of those days at POC where it was topwater all day.

May

The month started with an ok day on Coleto, but when a big soft shell turtle knocked the crap out of a swim jig it made the day.  Of course the highlight of the month was our visit to Peru.  And it was topped with a trip to the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast.

The Black Marlin in Cabo Blanco Peru.

Papa Hemingway made this place famous.

Local fishermen.

The Chandeleur Islands with a great bunch of guys.  We are headed back in May and I can not wait!

And I made it back to POC before the end of the month.

JUNE

The fishing on the lake stayed consistent.  And I met the Austin Boys for a good time in Port Mansfield.  A blown lower unit, the flat tire fender rip off, and a trolling motor tearing off the boat at 40 mph, never a dull moment fishing with the boys.  And I finished the month off with a few at POC with Topwater Billy.

A great way to start the month on Coleto.  This was a real one!  And several other really good fish came over the side that day.

And we had a big time in Port Mansfield with the Austin Boys.

A big headed Coleto post spawn female.

The rain started but the fishing remained ok.

And Aaron and I managed a few in the Baffin area.  Also the day the boat got away from us.  Real pros!

JULY

And who could forget our car got stolen this month.  The heat got real ugly and I did not fish quite as much.

And the bite was on pitching to cover.  Good times!  And I lost a huge one this month.

And everything was hitting topwater on the Powderhorn Ranch Shorline.

And I trolled up a few white bass on Coleto.

And I caught more tilapia on lures this year than ever.

And ended the month catching a few in Keller Bay with Topwater Billy and tussling with a 5′ alligator gar who liked the looks of my spinnerbait.

AUGUST

It was the blogs 7th Birthday, something I could never have predicted would happen.  I have posted over 1050 times in the last 7 years, and it has been a labor of love.  And that there would be over 700,00 visitors is mind boggling.  It can be tough keeping up, fish all day, eat, clean boat, and then get something posted in case I am going the next day.  But it is now just a part of my life.  While it is not who I am, it is what I am, if that makes sense.  So thanks to everyone who has visited this blog.

It was hot this month, end of story.  I did take an impromptu first trip to Calaveras and struck out big time.  But Colorado was cool and a day on Fayette was epic.

They were smoking the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad at POC.

The lake was slowing but there were still a few good ones.  And the pitching to cover continued.

And I had one of those days on Fayette with jerk bait that you dream about.  This is just a sample from that day.  The next trip, NADA.  You never know.

And my buddy Chris and his lovely wife Jamie had a great trip to the Everglades and Keys.  Love that place.

And Dan’s adventure fishing with me made the cover.

And I caught a few trout on the Rio Blanco in Colorado.

And we visited Mesa Verde.

And what trip out west would be complete without the big bull Elk.

September

I spent a couple of days on Lake Dunlap with friends and while I caught a few they were small.  But at least one was a smallmouth and another was a Guadalupe bass.  I got the new electronics mounted front and back on the LTS.  For the year, new trailer, new graphs, new trolling motor, new bilge pump, new upholstery, and rebuilt Power Pole to name a few.  This fishing thing is expensive.

The photographer was kind enough to send me some cool pics from Dan’s quest this spring.

And I had a great rainy day of fishing on Coleto.

And Grand Isle Louisiana did not disappoint.  What a fishing hole!

And the lake started it’s rise, which has not helped anything this fall.  And today the water is up to the edge of the walkway and you can not see the piers.

The fishing on the lakes was slow but steady, but the mornings were off the chain.

This was it on the lake as the month wore on.  But this fish did lead to one of my favorite questions I ever received on the water.  A nice bass boat pulled up and the following came out of his mouth:  “Where the *&%$ are the big fish?”  By time the month was over, my sentiments exactly.

October

The lake fishing settled into slow with lots of smalls, but the big fish were no where to be found.  The bay on the other had was easy.  So nice to have 2 totally different fishing situations close.

The rut was on.

It was on at POC.  A great day wading and boat fishing.  The reds are schooling up.

The Controlled Descent Paddle Shad hurt them the next trip.

And while the fishing was slow it was a fun day on Fayette with David and Joey.

I love this shot, he was about to blast off.

It might have been tough on the lake but these are the mornings we get up for.

Good ones were hard to come by but the Controlled Descent pearl Jerk Shad was the bait of choice this month on Coleto.

And while the weather ran me off it is always fun to fish the Upper Laguna.  And never have seen a Robin fish this big.

NOVEMBER

November says two things, The Lavaca River and Garcitas Creek, and I fished both a couple of times.  And the bass continued to bite the Controlled Descent Jerk Shad.  It was overall a pretty good month looking back at it.

And I had one of those fish after fish days on Coleto.  They were eating the pearl Controlled Descent Jerk Shad.

And I caught a few good ones on buzzbait.  Still no big girls for a while on the lake.

And this is just a few of the big redfish I whacked on Garcitas Creek.  It was one of those days.

So of course I went back to Garcitas for more.

My favorite fish of the year.  A nice snook out of the Lavaca River.

And it was nice that everything else cooperated.   This was the day I managed to pull the cord trying to get the self inflating life jacket on.  Nice.

And the winter Bang O Lure bite began.  This was a nice one.

And I finished this month fishing the Lavaca with my buddy Ken.  We caught fish and caught fish all day.  Hell, he was catching them 2 at a time.

DECEMBER

I missed the Fishmas this year at POC due to scheduling something else.  I have already blocked off 3 weekends next year so it does not happen again.  And it was slow around here this month.  We were gone a few days, and are headed out again shortly.

Rub a dub dub, the Austin Boys in a tub.  To bad I missed it.

The lake remained the same, alternating between ok and flat out tough.

And my buddies John 1 and John 2 joined me for a day at POC.  We managed to sack a few.

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At times this year it seemed like the fishing just did not go the way I wanted.  To hot, to cold, to muddy, to lazy, it was all in play.  But looking back on it how could I complain about life?  Falcon, the Chandeleurs, Peru, Colorado, Upper Laguna, Grand Isle, La, all great places to wet a line.  And several big bass came over the side, and this fall the bay fishing was almost to easy if there is such a thing.   To those of you I met this year or fished with thanks.

So now is the time to put 2018 to bed.  There are already several trips planned this year and we are really looking forward to 3 days in Montana with biologists tracking wolvesTalk about awesome.  And for my Christmas present the Boss got me a guided trip for pike on some lake near Glacier while we are there.  Many of those western lakes have huge pike, all getting fat on trout.  Should be fun.  Of course the Chandeleurs and Grand Isle are on the list and there are several other places on the menu.

So I want to take this time to thank all of you who have supported the blog.  So many of you with me from the beginning, keeping me writing when I am not feeling it.  And to those of you who have become friends, it is my pleasure.  Thanks to Michael from Controlled Descent and the boys from Wade Right, see you guys at the Houston Fishing Show.

So with another interesting year in the books only one thing left to say:

THANKS!  OFF WE GO TO 2019!

Good Luck and Tight Lines