FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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This might give you a clue as to the second place we fished.

I admit I will never fully understand trout.  While there were ok numbers yesterday, there was my biggest in a while with several other nice ones.  Today the tide was right, it was out of the wind some, and the last stretch where I caught the good ones yesterday was perfect.  Today, not so much.

Tides

High  10:25 am   Low  6:23 pm.

Solunar Times

Major  9:04 am to 11:04 am.   Minor  3:32 pm to 4:32 pm.

*****************The new bait is coming.  Michael is headed to ICAST in Orlando for the unveil and it will be out soon.

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I figured (Maybe that was the problem.) if they were biting when the tide was perfect yesterday, I should be able to adjust my timing to be there at the perfect time, and we were.  The plan was to stay with the popping cork to see if they liked it as much, and they did.  But once we got to the drain the dink fest was on.  We easily caught 30 and not a keeper in the bunch

It was the first time I fished with Steve and we had a good time.  We kept after it, but keepers were few and far between, but at least we were catching fish.  Instead of heading right to the “good spot” we stopped way down the bank and made a long wade to arrive there at the perfect time.   That stretch has some pockets and drains, with a nice grass line and potholes.  I caught a couple when a slick came up and ended up catching a fat 20″ and another keeper behind it.  Even though we caught 3 keepers in that stretch we kept with the plan and waded down the bank to be there at the perfect time.  Mistake, never leave fish to find fish.

The first keeper.

We both caught a couple on topwater and I did lose a good keeper on it.  (As an aside I lost several good fish the last 2 days, operator error for sure.)  I intentionally started the day with the small bobber popping cork, glitter fake shrimp, about 2 foot below the cork.  After getting him down about 5 he started fishing the same thing and once we got to “the place” we smoked them.  They just did not make the grade.  So after working it over, and not stringing a keeper, we made another stop around noon, and another disaster happened.  I jumped out of the boat, made a cast, and hooked up a rat red.  Did we get another bite there?  Of course not.

Headed for the pan, 4 out of 30+.

To finish off the day I was curious if my old reliable spot in Big bayou had any fish on it.  Over the last month the water color in there sucked and it has been anything but reliable.  The water color was so much better in there than it has been. We boat fished it and I managed another keeper, a good sign.  Then Steve committed one of those “O’ Crap” mistakes.  Never try to boat flip a nice flounder!  It was one of those where the minute he did it we both went oh crap.  We all have tried it and we all have failed.  As usual he was not “hooked”, just simply hanging on and he took a third of the plastic when he flopped of.  That was our last place before we called it a day.

Back to the never really understanding trout.  When in them I can catch the snot out of them, but location is still at times a mystery to me.  I have often said that for me they are one of the easiest fish to catch/hook, but at time hardest to locate.  There are so many factors and putting it all together fails me at times.  Today was a perfect example, all things being equal the plan should have been a rip roaring success.  We were definitely in fish but where were the keepers from the day before?  Did using the popping cork work to attract smaller fish and keep the bigger ones from getting it?  It didn’t yesterday.  So the struggle is real, but I am not giving up.

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The new Mike Long big bass lure.  Thanks SA Joe for the laugh.

The stuff I posted on Mike Long, the alleged big bass master and dirty cheater, drew several comments, most which I can not post due to legal issues.  (I have to be careful calling someone a douche bag, crook, and scumbag.  You decide what he is.)  The world will judge him harshly but looking around online no mea culpa from the industry that promoted him (And made money.) and slavishly sucked up to him in spite of some preposterous  numbers.  Nice vetting guys.  He is everything wrong with bass fishing.  The number one clue, he was opposed to tournament polygraphs.  They are not perfect, but as long as cheating continues to occur in tournaments polygraphs will be necessary.  The honest guys spend big bucks, take time away from work and family to chase their dream, and it only takes one dirt bag to ruin it for others.

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Packing today for another expedition to Colorado.  The more time we spend in the mountains the more we love it.  We really like driving, hiking, and viewing wildlife.  Earlier this year we actually talked about seeing as many different critters as we can, and after Yellowstone we are going to have to work at it this trip.  But hey, spending time in the woods you never know.  And I might even wet a line for a trout or two so waders and stuff is going in the pile.

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As soon as we get back it will be back on the gulf for me.  Summer is historically a little tougher with lures but that is no excuse.  Location, location, location.  And might be time for a couple days out of Bird Island on the Upper Laguna.  Wear your kill switch, life jacker, and drink plenty of fluids, think about your loved ones if you won’t do it for yourself, don’t ruin their summer.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines