FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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I was not really planning on fishing today but wanted to be sure the Carolina Skiff was running ok.  It would not circulate water no matter how I tried at the house.  So yesterday I was headed to the shop when I decided to stop by Coleto and just back the trailer in and see if it would pee.  I started it up and it was not peeing when all of a sudden it started.  Yahoo!  Bob thought it might be the thermostat and maybe it was.  As it had not be run for 3 months it proves the old adage –  The worst thing for a boat is sitting.  Won’t let that happen again.  But to the fishing………

Come on clouds!  No such luck but it sure was spectacular!

******************The Knockin Tail Lure with a built in tail rattle!   Look for it this winter.

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Weather

Smoking hot and pool table flat.

Lake Level

Today   96.15 msl.     2 days ago  96.21 msl.

Solunar Times

Major  7:12 am to 9:12 am.   Minor  2:03 pm to 3:03 am.

It was just cracking daylight when I got to the lake.  It is clearly still falling pretty fast and the lower end is clear as all get out.  The color is a little better up lake, and since in the skiff no water temp today, but I do know one thing, it is hot.

The motor was acting right so my first stop was the main lake cove where they have been schooling.  Right off the bat I hooked what I thought was a good one on the Bang O Lure.  After a tussle no wonder, small enough that it was hooked in the mouth and the tail and came in U shaped.  For the first hour I fished that cove but they were not breaking and not another bite so time to get up lake and fish a couple of brushy banks.

The 2 best of the 5 that came over the side this morning.

As I knew it was going to be a short morning I went right to the 2 places that have been consistent and threw the watermelon red stick worm.  The first place 2 jumped on and I missed 2 or 3 more.  One of those deals where you set the hook and there is nothing there and your worm is gone.  Most of the time they are just picking it up by the trail and not actually eating it so when you set the hook off it comes.

The next place 3 came pretty quickly.  Again on the worm.  From that point on not a bite so at 11:00 I called it a morning, happy.  A good feeling to know I was not going to have 2 boats at the shop at the same time.  It would have been a OMG moment if both were down at the same time.  But with the Mako part coming it is going to be back to some serious fishing.

I had another one spit up a small bluegill while I was reeling it in.  The plan was to fish the bluegill swim jig as often as that has been happening but I just can not get them to eat it.  Of course it is a better grass bait, but still I have caught a ton of them over the years on it when the bluegill are spawning and it is a little surprising.  Who knows, maybe should be throwing a bluegill square bill.  The buzzbait got a chance on one bank, and other than a half hearted swirl not a bite, it was just to calm.

Around 9:30 time to fish a couple of deeper points and a ledge in the dam area.  Other than a worm eater that did not hook up the next 1 1/2 hours resulted in not a bite.  It still puzzles me why I can not catch them on a couple of good deep points with serious depth where I have historically caught them.  While fishing those old reliable places changes with conditions, there is no good reason those couple of places do not have any fish on them.   So with it hotter than hell, humid, and not a breath of wind, it time to head to the barn.

The same morning, just a different location.  What a beautiful morning!

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The Mako

A big thank you to Ivory H of customer service and and Shannon R, Pars Adminstrator .  I was getting worried that somehow the part might be hard to find and was having little luck on several fronts.  But within 2 days of speaking with her problem solved.  As you all know I love the boat for the flexibility to fish fresh and salt, along with the easy tow.  And since I just got it rigged exactly the way I want it sure is nice to know it will be back on the water soon.  So hats off to Mako Customer Service, you really do get customer service!

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“Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.”

“And to lose the chance to see frigate birds soaring in circles above the storm, or a file of pelicans winging their way homeward across the crimson afterglow of the sunset, or a myriad terns flashing in the bright light of midday as they hover in a shifting maze above the beach — why, the loss is like the loss of a gallery of the masterpieces of the artists of old time.”

President Theodore Roosevelt.

Hundreds of square miles of floating trash in the ocean, algae blooms killing millions of fish, sea life choking to death on plastics, the clock is ticking and if we do not take a stand disaster is on the horizon.  While we may not live long enough to see the end, we do our children and others who follow a great disservice.  Roosevelt was the greatest presidential conservationist in the history of the US.  He gave us the park system, and knew the value of what is a finite resource, one we should be protecting and expanding.  Sportsmen of all ilk have a sacred duty to participate in conservation.  We have no right to use it without paying it forward.  Each of us needs to give back in some way, no matter how small.  So do “something”, it is not that hard.

This is not to toot our horn, but to show how easy it is to do something small, too at least do something.  In the last year we have gone to all biodegradable cleaning products, no harder than grabbing a different product on the shelf, and we have quit watering the lawn.  My neighbors may not like it all that much but tough, water quality and quantity is fast becoming a huge issue in America and we have decided to not waste it.  And we try to use canvas bags at the store, the last thing the world needs is more plastic Wal Mart bags flying around.  The last thing I am going to do is ween myself from plastic water bottles.  Seeing the water bottle from the stomach of a redfish is enough for me.  It can not go on like this.  And one thing saltwater fishermen should do is help out on the Beach Cleanup next month.  There is no more “outdoors’ being made, help preserve it.

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Our hear wave goes on and we are doing something about that – Going to the mountains of Oregon.  A fly fishing lesson which the Boss is going to do, then fishing on the Deschutes River.  We will be doing some hiking, then to the coast for a couple of days, finishing up in Portland to do the big city thing.  If my diabolical plan comes to fruition the heat wave will be gone, the Mako will be back in play, and I will be hitting it hard.  So thanks for sticking with me during this slow period I promise there is lots of fishing to come.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines