FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
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It Has Sucked to Be Me!
When I wrote about having a case of the flu/terrible cold last week I thought it was coming to an end. Well here it is Day 11 (Tuesday) and tomorrow I will finally be back in the boat. It just got worse and worse until finally a round of strong antibiotics have begun to work, I hope. (Interesting side effect – possible tendon rupture! Wtf.) I have only been out of the house 3 times in the last 11 days, and boy does that suck. This is the worst case I have ever had, and while I feel a lot better today, that is a relative term. When you felt like complete crap, feeling like partial crap is an improvement.
I was planning to fish today but deferred to the Boss. Since I am married to a medical professional, who treats this kind of stuff every day, it might be wise to take her advice to wait one more day, no matter how much I don’t like it. But back to my thoughts of last week, so much for getting the annual flu shot. This has happened to me 2 years in a row. But the bottom line – It is hell getting old.
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Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.
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Weather
75/68. Cloudy with a 20% chance of a stray shower. Wind S 15 – 25 mph.
Lake Level
Today 98.37 msl. 17 days ago 98.30 msl.
Solunar Time
Best 11:09 am to 1:09 pm. (Day is classed as average.)
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Fishing Was Slow…Or was It Me?
I give them credit. When a catfish hits a swim jig they smack it.
I felt like crap when I got up, and still feel like crap as I write this. As a result of that I finally made my way to the lake around 10:00. The wind was already blowing with white caps over much of the lake. The color still sucks, in some of the coves it was flat muddy. It really makes me sad to see it like that and after 3 years now apparently it will remain that way. The good side of things, the water temp at the ramp was 64 and for the rest of the day over most of the lake it varied between 64 and 70 degrees. With that came carp sloshing around in the shallows and tilapia sitting here and there, where you could see that far down. In a couple of covers you could not see a bait over a foot down.
Starting up lake the plan was to stay with the swim jig which I did for a couple of hours. My first bite was the blue cat above, and like his bro’s, smacked it and put up a great fight. Other than that not another bite. Part of the problem was the wind was blowing right up the lake. As a side note the color up lake is better than some coves, it varied widely place to place.
They have not moved.
Since I was up there I did make 2 passes on the white bass and caught one each pass. Again the 6 – 8 foot range was the ticket. But since I just wanted to see if they were still there I headed back down lake. They will be done soon so if you want a few whites for the pan get them while the getting is good. And a side note, the fisherman were hitting the crappie pretty hard today, always a sign they are biting. And the water temp is just right so that should be in play right now.
She barely sucked it under.
The next couple of hours I hopped around from spawning cove to main lake banks, all dependent on the wind. Most places it was way to windy to fish properly, and if it had been lighter I would have tossed the pink trick worm weightless, and will definitely be tossing it next time. Today was one of those fish where you can, not where you want, days. Running a spinnerbait was fruitless and not a one took a pass at the Bang O Lure. So I finally put on a buzzbait and managed to catch 3. They were in flat coves with little wind, of which there were not that many choices today.
Finally around 2:00 I called it a day. I just was not feeling it, so no blame on the fish. They should be on the beds big time right now, and the bites that did come were in the little clearer water around bushes in spawning coves. And the 3 bass I did catch all came between 1 – 2:00 this afternoon, staying until dark might have produced a whole different result.
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It was good to hear from Rusty, the Fayette/Bastrop guru.
Glad to hear you are better!! I had a upper respiratory bug couple weeks ago that had me down for a week. Fished Somerville yesterday to check out water conditions and if the fish were biting. Water was back down close to normal after being up 10+’. It was cold(53) and murky. I didn’t get a bite in two hours of trying. Started raining and then pouring so I left. Be back there in couple weeks to try again. You know it’s going to happen!
Fished today on Bastrop Lake, beautiful day caught 5 bass lost couple more. Water was clear and 54 on one end and 68-70 closer to the outflow. Caught everything on a smoke shad fluke. Pretty day to be on water. Bass should move up to spawn in March. Fun time then on swim jig. Well keep getting better, I’m on Fayette next week, fish should be shallow doing their thing!
The good fishing is right around the corner and I will be interested in any report from Fayette. And it is nice to see someone taking advantage of the many places we have to fish in our area. Some folks are happy to fish the same place in the same way, and good for them, easier that way. But some of us like the variety that comes spreading your wings just a little. Nothing more satisfying than fishing multiple places and figuring it out. Glad you got better, I am hoping for the same. Keep in touch.
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And Ed dropped this comment, which is right on point.
Hope you get to feeling better. Love reading your stuff. And especially when you get to the salt. Get well!
First thanks for the well wishes. Now to the salt while I have been sick, and today (Tuesday) is a perfect example, it is absolutely perfect for catching big trout. Warming trend, clouds, medium wind, it does not get any better than that and if I was able I would have been there today. But there is more salt to pour on my current whiny mood. In 2 days the weather is going to crap, 30 degree temp drop with winds in the 30mph range out of the north. Thursday nights forecast is for winds to 35 mph+ and the weekend looks terrible. So much for the boat to South Padre.
The Austin Boys will be here, of course, bringing cold fronts and high winds is their specialty, but I am going to miss them because we will be in South Padre. How can a retired guy with no job miss them 3 times in a row? Not happy about that. And to make matters worse I was going to take the boat in hopes of fishing the Brownsville Ship Channel Saturday but the forecast is the same, 25mph+ winds with a 1/2″ inch of rain. Hardly worth towing the boat all the way down there. Of course there is saltwater fishing to come, but it sure will not be before next week. Thanks for keeping in touch.
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I am really excited to see what the new tackle store in Victoria will bring to the table. It is on the corner of Airline and Laurent in the old Radio Shack store. The windows are papered up so you can not see inside. The only indication is there is a fly on their logo so I guess we will have to wait and see what their focus will be. But if it provides more competition it will be good for this community. So if you know anything drop me a note.
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One of the guys I have become friends with on facebook cleans reels and the reception has been off the charts. Kole Dixon is in the Houston area and the name of his company is Maxed Out Reel Repair, you can find him on facebook. The folks who use him love him and his turn around time is crazy. Often 24 hours, he will work with you and his price is right. I will be giving him a chance when it is time for the next cleaning.
What I hope to avoid is what happened with my last cleaning. On picking it up they said sorry we did not have the part, so it is still grinding, but we cleaned it anyway. Huh? So you charged me $$$ and returned it with the same problem it came with? Nothing like cleaning a broken reel and not fixing the issue. So now if I find another place to fix it I have to pay again. Thanks a lot. I just don’t get it.
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It was a little tough to take when I quit today. Being off the water for over 2 weeks and then finally getting to fish should have been a great day. Unfortunately I just did not feel that well. So as I recover at least the next 3 days or so are going to suck with major wind in the forecast so no big loss.
I would like to make a comment on the lake that I am sure you have heard before, the loss of the grass has been a blow. Coleto has gone from one of the better bass lakes around to something quite a bit less than that. The days where a 6lber was common, to now, is a sad comment on the fishing. I do not have an educated guess as to what happened to the grass, but it is not debatable, the fishing sure is not what it used to be just a few short years ago.
So time to switch to the salt when I get back. Plus it is big trout time so like other types of fishing get it while you can. I will be watching for the next 3 day calm and cloudy pattern for a return to the upper Laguna, and maybe a trip to Port Mansfield. And anyone with a motel suggestion for Port Mansfield drop me a note. Nothing fancy, just a place to lay my head. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
