FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
“SAVE OUR WATERS”
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt
Brought to you by
The Best Wading System on the planet
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We had a fun time in Florida, and it was worth the trip. The place we were looking at is called The Villages. A big retirement community of over 100,00 in central Florida it has a lot to offer retirees. But the purpose of the visit was to see if it was for us, it isn’t. One, we do not golf, and second, it was full of old people. We are not ready to call it a life so the search continues. No big hurry.
As far as fishing we visited both coasts and went by hundreds of bass lakes, many with not a boat on them. So much water and except for the well known places there is a world of places to fish without the crazy pressure. We did visit an area on the west coast that I will be fishing next fall. Tarpon, reds, trout, all the southern fare. And speaking with the guy at the dock late October is the time to be there. It has a reasonable motel with cooking facilities, a bar, and a ramp with a place to leave the boat in the water. What more could a guy need on a fishing trip?
With my tackle store addiction as we were driving through Crystal River we noticed a store and of course we stopped. Sodium. Salt, get it? We stopped and they are great folks. Picked up a few things including the requisite fishing shirt and let me tell you it was a big hit. I wore it to an art fair and then the Stone Crab Festival and folks commented on it all day. What does it say?
I like fishing and a maybe 2 people.
Love it! Wish I had bought 2. And if I had a dozen with me at the Stone Crab Festival I could have sold them in a minute. It was a real hit all the way around. And for some reason the ladies loved it. I had 3 ask if they could be my friend. It sure wasn’t because of my masculine persona!
The store also has C.A. Richardson as a new regular as he has moved to the area. He is the star of Flats Class and a guide who I watch regularly. Along with the store they also have a line of cool fishing clothes online. Check them out. And thanks for the tickets to the Stone Crab Festival, we loved it, I never knew how freakin’ good they are.
It is going to be a busy week around here. Tomorrow Coleto, Tuesday the Lavaca, then Thursday through Sunday POC with the Austin Boys. Let the fishing begin!
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Weather
66/82. Mostly cloudy with slight chance of thunderstorms. Wind ENE 5 – 15 mph.
Lake Level
Today 94.92 msl. 15 days ago 95.07 msl. (The steady decline continues.)
Solunar Times
Major 6:45 am to 8:45 am. Minor 1:50 pm to 2:50 pm. (Please note these are only close, lots of minute variations out there.)
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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon. Now I am really excited.
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It was cracking daylight when I dropped the boat in at the ramp. The lake has really dropped. It is a period where a small drop leads to really making the lake smaller. The water is just about to the end of the piers, and if it continues at this rate it could be tougher to put in later without dropping off the end of the ramp, so be very careful. There is a sign on the pier telling you how far the drop off is.
The water color has declined some, especially up both arms. The further up each arm the murkier it gets. The water temp was 64 first thing, as the day wore on most of the lake was 68 when I quit at 1:00. And I continue to wonder why in the hell I look at the forecast. It was for clouds, and other than a few light ones here and there it was sunny all day. And the wind was almost non-existent until around noon, and then it was really light at best
Best I could muster out of a dozen or so.
Those conditions combined to really make it tough though I did catch 3 in the first 10 minutes. I may bitch about the wind at times but no wind is probably worse, in fact usually is, than to windy. At least when it is to windy they come a lot shallower and get quite a bit more aggressive. So today all the fish I caught were on the Pit Boss, most coming really tight around cover. I did have a little stress today as the Boss ordered a fresh fish fry for tonight so the pressure was on. Funny how fishing a tournament is less stress than her order! But with a plethora of small ones a couple to eat was no problem.
Whether it was topwater, crankbait, swim jig, buzzbait, or Bang O Lure, they were not having it. I tried them all off and on but with no wind it left pitching the Pit Boss to wood as the best option. Berkley claims they will hold on to it 18x longer and I believe them. Over the last couple of weeks since I started using it I have slowed down after the bite, making sure they have it, then they tend to swim away with it. The hook up ratio is definitely an improvement from other creature style baits I have used. I picked it up at Anglers Arsenal and using a couple of colors has not seemed to be the difference. Get it right next to cover and sooner or later you will get bit.
So the fishing for me remains the same. They will bite, and there are fish in lots of places up lake and down, it is just hard to find that sweet spot. But that will change as winter sets in and the water temp continues to drop. Today was the last lake trip till the next week at the earliest. Tomorrow it is off to the river to lay the smack down on the trout. Should be fun!
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Basically the plant at Coleto is accused of polluting adjacent ground water. Their response – No sir. Seemed their defense was so what, it doesn’t hurt you. So I am sure you would not mind it in your well. Read it and you decide.
I will continue to comment on water quality issues, it is critical to the future of our sport and to the health and safety of our family and children.
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And speaking of that issue let me make the following analogy. Should you take even one fish over your limit, or a short, you will be ticketed and fined. But when a polluter kills hundreds of fish in a river or stream apparently TPWD does nothing. Imagine the fine and loss of your license if you killed/caught a couple of thousand fish. And if you can show me a case where TPWD did anything specifically to a corporate fish killer please send it along. I would love to be educated and would be more than happy to take it back. And don’t give me that it is not in their purview or enforcement abilities. Nonsense. Try dropping a grenade in the lake and see what that gets you, it is the same thing. Again, follow the money.
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That is it for today. Tomorrow the river, Wednesday making sure all the boat “stuff” is good to go for POC and the Austin Boys. And after this weekend it will be more fishing and more fishing until I head to Colorado for some animal watching and fly fishing. As I repeatedly say – Winter fishing is my favorite time of year and I will be hard at at. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
