FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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The weather looked good for the bay, so at 6:30 it was off to POC.  It was foggy, real foggy.  Fortunately by time I made the dock, unloaded, and put on the waders it was starting to clear.  The wind was right out of the East, and was blowing pretty good right down the pike.  So off to the island and in the water.  But first …………….Gaff – ocide!

Weather

64/72.  Cloudy with a 30% chance of showers early.  Wind ESE 10 – 15mph.

Tides

Low 2:54 am -0.1     High  1:26 pm  0.3.

Solunar Times

Best 3:05 pm to 5:05 pm.   Good  8:54 am to 10:54 am.  Day classed as poor.

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

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There were thousands of them everywhere!

The water temp was 66 degrees, it was fairly clear at the dock, and from that point on there were dead gafftops everywhere.  I have seen some fish kills over the years but this was different.  They were all the same size, I saw no little ones, and they stretched from Froggie’s to the island and everywhere in between.  No great loss as far as I am concerned but it is puzzling and not a good thing.  There is nothing to say about that other than what the hell happened?  Not a clue on my part.

That second one was a good one. 

The first drain had the wind blowing in the wrong direction, making it hard to fish.  They did not want a topwater, not a touch, and the way the wind was blowing it made fishing the Controlled Descent a hassle.  Nothing like making a cast and getting it blow back as fast as you can take it up.  So in a moment of insight I went back to the DOA Cal but used a 1/4 ounce jig head, heavy for me, but at least I could cast in to the wind and get it on the bottom.  From then on the trout kept biting.

The first one, run of the mill for the wade.  The second, boat fishing for reds.

As they were last trip they were positioned in a drain on a drop of about 3′.  The tide was moving so they were facing into it, which of course was right into the wind.  But as usual, listen to the fish, which I did.  They were right off the edge, so it was important to land the bait next to the bank, then a big hop, letting it fall down the edge with the current.  It was tough to feel, but most of them were smacking it on the first or second drop.  After catching a nice bunch, it turned into catching them just cause, I moved out of the drain to where I saw lots of bait.  Only one more jumped on, other than that no other bites there.  Definitely not a “find the bait, find the fish”.

Since I have not caught any reds lately I thought about spinnerbait and the Oil Cut so off I went.  Usually spinnerbait is the ticket in there, but not a bite.  But I found 2 more places with trout in a couple of the fingers, catching 5 or 6 in one place and the same in another.  (See the best one above.)  I kept alternating between spinnerbait and plastic, and the trout cooperated but not the reds.  So time for one more place.

Next my favorite redfish bank in Big Bayou did not produce a bite.  Another place the same.  It really did surprise me that nowhere gave up a bite on the spinnerbait, pretty unusual.  It is not to often I can’t catch a red and keep catching trout, usually the opposite.  So around 2:30 I called it a good day.

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Just a Random Thought

One thing that seems to be consistent is looking at various fishing forecast/tide sites are the projections.  I look at 3 or 4 when I prepare the days conditions for a report, and one thing is clear, when the day is forecast as poor, they all agree.  And whether fresh or saltwater there is a direct correlation between tidal movement, moon phase, and the days projection.  Of course all of that is irrelevant to a fisherman, especially most who have a job, they are going whenever they can, dam the conditions.  I have never not gone due to a bad outlook, but do admit to specifically going when the stars align.  Does a bad projection mean bad fishing?  Of course not, just as a good one does not mean you are going to load the boat.

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Welcome to Crazy Town

The following is a statute proposed in the New York legislature:

It shall be unlawful for any person to organize, sponsor, conduct, promote, or participate in any contest, competition, tournament, or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes or other inducement, or for entertainment.

The proposed punishment would be up to 1 year in jail and/or a fine between $500 to $2,000. The bill was read on the floor, then sent to the Committee on Environmental Conservation for further review.

Yikes!  Now I will agree that on some bodies of water, like Amistad does, there is a need to have a tournament registration requirement to keep it to a dull roar.  And it is nice to be able to look it up and not go when BASS is there as an example.  And a perfect example of too much was when we fished a tourney out of POC and there was 3 others the same weekend, including one at the ramp at Froggie’s.  Hardly a great outdoor experience.  In addition, this would end all the tournaments that are done for charity, which many tournaments are.  Heck, if you raised pheasants on your farm you could not just release and shoot them for the fun of it – entertainment?  And the old attorney in me is coming out:  So as long as we are participating in a contest with the specific objective of eating what we get then if someone gives us a prize for it we would not be breaking the law?  The statute is not the well worded, always wiggle room.  It is incumbent on sportsmen to keep informed, we need to watch them like a hawk no matter where you are.  This is flat nuts!

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The last 2 weeks I have made 3 trips to the bay and the trout have cooperated each time.  It has not always been easy, but good numbers.  Whether they hit topwater seems to be weather dependent.  Trip one the weather was perfect, and they hit topwater and every thing else in sight.  Next trip it was post cold front and they were gone, but finally found them bunched up on a drop.  Today, the weather was so-so, a little windy for topwater, but they cooperated, first in the drain, then the Oil Cut.  3 different days, 3 different ways to catch them.  Which tells me one thing, they are biting!

Looking at the weather as I type this includes the following at POC this week:  Wind to 25mph with a 40% chance of rain, wind to 30 with 80% chance of rain, wind to 20 with 80% chance of rain, followed by wind to 30 with a 10% chance of rain.  So there you go.  This has been one interesting spring.  So looks like it will be the lake if possible.  Who knows, might be able to get in a few hours.  But one thing is for sure, POC will be out for a few days.  So keep stopping in, if there is any way to get on the water this week I will be going.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines