FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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Times a wastin’!

Of course after having a pretty good day Tuesday, finally, on the lake I was interested in seeing how it would go with conditions completely different than Tuesday.  I would have gone Wednesday but the Boss and I spent the day at the beach on PINS.  And wonder of wonders I only spent $9 at Roys, I must be slowing down.  Tuesday was perfect, clouds, drizzle, and low wind, it does not get any better than that for bass fishing.  Thursday was completely different.  High sky and light wind, much more a summer time pattern.  The water temp was 89 near the dam and as low as 84 way up both arms.  Today there are only 2 fish pictures, neither of them worth a hoot, but they do have a purpose.

Weather

62/93.  Sunny with 0% chance of rain.  Wind NE 5 – 15.

Lake Level

Today   96.95 msl.  2 days ago  97.08  msl.  (The steady decline continues.)

Solunar Time

Best 8:28 am to 10:28 am.  (Right on today.)

*******************The Knockin Tail Lure with a built in tail rattle!   Coming to a store near you!

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There is a reason for the stunned look on my face, other than I am an old man and it is to early to be alive!

Dawn was cracking when I got to the ramp.  The plan today was simple, fish the Bang O Lure, plastics, and throw the Whopper Plopper some to see if I could coax a big one, and I stuck to it.  (Intentionally did not throw the buzzbait today.) As I was to lazy to put the running lights in I decided to go ahead and retie today’s baits waiting for a little more daylight.  There was a clip on the Bang O Lure so I cut it off, it works better without additional hardware.  So after retying I flipped it out next to the boat, gave it a jerk and kaboom, one smoked it 5 feet from the boat.  Interesting start.  (It has me planning a night trip next week.)

First up was the bank that has held some nice fish, and while they were biting, none were any bigger than the one above.  In fact of the 10 I did catch today they all looked the same.  And like it was 2 days ago all of them came right on the bank, a little different from the normal Bang O Lure bites, which often come off the bank.  Of the 6 on Bang O Lure none came later than the first couple of twitches, they do not seem to be in the chasing mode.  The water is so clear down lake that it is perfect for the Bang O Lure and as you move up lake the color increases.  There just might be several topwaters that will catch fish right now.

After fishing a couple of down lake banks I headed up lake to throw the Whopper Plopper and see if I could get a real bite.  On the first place I had “the” bite.  Not sure how big she was but she literally exploded on it, one of the best topwater bites I have had in while. Unfortunately she missed it by a mile but trust me, it was a big fish.  So I kept after it for a couple of  hours off and on without another bite.  Probably started throwing it to late.   I was throwing the big Plopper, and when I went to change to the smaller one I realized they were in the saltwater box.  And as side note it was my favorite color – Monkey Butt, just the name alone makes it cool.

This is the size that is eating the plastics.

So while up lake I hit a deep place with cover with the stick worm, and like it has it produced.  It should have been more, I broke one off, missed a couple and caught 3 there.  I picked up one more later on the plastics but the bite slowed, as in done.  I did fish way up lake on a couple of places I have not fished in a while without a bite.  The water color way up is milky and no matter how hard I tried I could not coax another one on the Plopper.  By now, around 10:00, with the sun up the last of the shady banks were gone and so was the bite.  I kept after it until noon but did not have another bite.

So today was about what I expected, and really was not a disappointment for a summer morning considering how it has been.  What was surprising was it was only 62 degrees as I headed to the lake, a new record low for the date, and it was actually cool running, what a pleasure!

It seems counter intuitive that the fish are finally biting the more the water drops.  Hopefully it was just a perfect storm of conditions that kept the fishing down for the last few months.  The clearing seems to be the primary factor in the bite finally returning, but that is nothing more than a wild guess.  While the big fish are still few and far between the last few trips hold the promise of better fishing to come on the lake.  I am still worried about the changes over the last couple of years but at least I am not a complete pessimist.

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Sorry to all you hard core salt guys for the dearth of bay trips, I have just not been feeling it.  The getting up at 4:00 to make it on the water by daylight for what has been the best bite has kept me from going more often, of course that will change as the days shorten.  Being able to fish when and where I want can actually be a curse in some respects.  Trying to fish the best what and when for each “fish” can lead to the “wait” for the perfect time or conditions.  As an example if I was a bait fisherman it would be croaker mania right now, but I am a lure guy and always will be.  Plus with hunting season coming the bay empties compared to this month.  So hang in there some salt is on the way.  Plus with the new Knockin Tail Lure on the horizon it will be time to wear them out.  (As soon as it is out and the hotel price goes down after the holiday it will be a 3 day trip to Baffin to give it a real go.)

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My Whine For The Day

With the blog entering its ninth year, it and I, are getting older.  The costs and efforts to keep it up lead me to continually evaluate its future.  As far as what has been accomplished it far surpasses anything I would have imagined when starting this simply for the heck of it.  The people I have met, and the adventures I have been lucky enough to share with you, have been worth every penny.  So that has led me to the following conclusion.  Even though occasionally I want to quit, and it shows at times, I will soldier on.  It may not be what it was but I still enjoy the telling of the story.  To the hundreds of thousands who have read this you have humbled me.  It is a labor of love for the sport.  If you keep coming I will keep writing.

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Today is some things on the Honey Do list, a stop for some Merc oil, and then Angler’s Arsenal for a new buzzbait.  Wait, not sure any of these is on The Boss’s Honey Do list!  It is important for local fishermen to support your local store if you want the stuff you really need.  Try getting Academy to order you a rainbow colored 5″ wobbling fat bodied whatchamacallit when the fish are eating it up and see what that gets you.  As I have said before Wal Mart and Academy are not a tackle store.  I will be watching the weather and if we get some of the rain in the forecast I might even fish the lake on Saturday or Sunday.  From that point on who knows but it will involve a rod in my hand.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines