FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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The Boss got one of those killer colds so I decided to be responsible and stay home and make sure she didn’t suffer to much.  I guess working in the ER has it hazards.  So instead of fishing it was time to get the Skiff back in action.  It sat for 4 months, the longest period in its 19 years.  After doing a couple of things on the boat the plan was a short trip to Coleto and make sure all is good.  Nothing is worse than letting one sit, especially the old style 2 stroke.  I wanted to run up lake, do some trolling, run back down, use the trolling motor, and of course take a rod or two.

A good one.  This happens every once in while trolling for white bass.

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

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I took it easy on the way up, and the boat ran fine.  Mercury has been my brand most of my 40 years of boat ownership and I have no complaints.  Do the maintenance, don’t run wide freakin’ open all the time, and they will last.

First it was to see if it would troll fine, so I tossed out a Shallow Shad Rap and the chartreuse  rattle bait.  Right off I got hung and lost the Rapala, my favorite trolling bait.  Replaced it with a yellowish shad thing that runs about 8 to 10″, and the bites started.  It took 4 passes to find the sweet spot but they were still there.  Without a temp gauge on the boat not sure if it was up or down but it was a little slower than it has been for the whites.

The Coleto average.

And a solid bonus bass jumped on it while the whites were biting.  In years past when the bass started showing up in the same area as the whites the better fishing is not far behind.  So after a quick 6 or 7 in a half hour time to go for another boat ride. But right before I quit one of the baits came to the top and rolled with something on it.  Once I reeled it in there was my Rapala.  What made that interesting, it must have come unstuck when the line broke, and then drifted down about a mile before I snagged it again.  Weird.

The goals was to make sure the motor trolled fine without bogging down or acting up, and it ran great.  So time for some bass fishing.  The plan was 3 places with 3 different baits then call it a day.

1 took a pass at the Bang O Lure in a cove and missed it.  A main lake bank with wind produced nothing on the spinnerbait.  The last bank was main lake with deeper brush when a good one ate a swim jig and headed for a big green bush, and made it.  I let it go slack hoping it would swim out, nope.  Then I pushed, pulled, jerked, slacked, and everything I could think of but could not get that fish out.  It finally broke, but it gave me some hope.  I hadn’t fished the swim jig much but it might be time.

So for short trip it was all good.  Still hate the water color, and with another cold front on the way I wouldn’t make any bets fishing will improve much in the near future.  But the boat ran great, the trolling motor was good and the locator worked.  The trailer lights worked, the tires are fine, so the results of todays plan was all good.  Time to fish the skiff a little more, if it is not ready to go on a moments notice it wouldn’t be much of a back up now would it.

Nothing much else going on right now, just sitting back and trying to decide what is next, of course weather dependent.  We are looking at another cold front coming in a couple of days so warming on area lakes will continue to stall.  Hopefully the wind will lay some this coming week and I can hit the salt.  And we are meeting some family in South Padre soon and as long as the wind is not blowing a hundred I will be taking the boat.  Head up the Brownsville Ship Channel and try to boat a snook.  But as we know the best laid plans ………..  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines