FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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Crank It Up!

I had no plan today until waking up at 4:45.  It was drizzling and the forecast was for some clouds and possible rain.  Can’t resist that set of conditions.  With it looking good I hitched up and was dropping the boat in as it was just cracking daylight.  The water has clearly come down just since Monday, the temp was still in the 89 degree range, and there was no change in the color.  And it was flat beautiful out there.

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Weather

76/94.  Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain in spots.  Wind  SE 7 – 15mph.

Lake Level

Today  93.81 msl.   Monday  93.87 msl.

Solunar Periods

Minor  8:34 am to 9:34 am.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smacked it!  

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I decided to fish a bunch of places that I have not fished in a while.  So from daylight until around 9:30 it was slow pickens.  4 or 5 midgets jumped on the buzzbait and one good one pulled off.  I threw plastics on a couple of points that should have some, and it produced exactly one small.  The sun came out big time so it was up lake to pitch to cover.

On the way it dawned on me I had not thrown the swim jig in a while. and with the water up lake off color a Knockin Tail with a chartreuse tail made sense.  After trolling the other day and not seeing big bunches of shad why not the swim jig for something a little different?  The first one that ate smacked the snot out of it.  As did the next one.  I was running it on a steady straight retrieve.  It was nice to catch a couple of little better fish after the run of smalls.  And they were shallow.

Fishing the swim jig with a Knockin Tail rattling along is a no brainer.

Several other smalls also made the boat but the 2 above were nice ones.  They both came near a piece of brush and there was no doubt it was a bite.  After fishing a few more places the rain started.  Not being sure what was coming I decided to get a little closer to the ramp.  On the way there is a great point with standing timber that holds them at times.  Glad I stopped.

That is a good one!

I was sitting in 20 and tossing into around 10 feet and dragging it off the point.  I had a couple mess with the mag finesse worm but no takers until the one above hit.  When you are working a plastic on the bottom any bite could be a big one, and then there are ones like this where you know, she thumped it hard.  Of course I was just whining about the lack of big fish, so it was nice to have a pretty good morning.

One the way in stopped at one more point with some deep cover and with my superior skill managed to break one off.  I have switched to 15lb from 20 on the pitching rod and obviously did not have the drag set right.  So on that note I called it a morning.

I did want to comment on the wildlife.  The deer were literally everywhere, and as I have noted before lots of little guys.  Saw one bunch of pigs and it is amazing how spooky they are.  Of course tons of herons and egrets fishing the bank and I even saw 3 coons on one bank and another one later.  Stuff was out and about this morning and I love seeing it.  I try to never take it for granted and  know just how lucky I am.

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I have heard of using a “thumper” on the bottom of the boat for attracting white bass, but have never had the pleasure to see it in action.  On my morning trolling of boats for sale this one was on Craigslist.

Interesting.  Fancy.

I am sure it works as several different folks have told me about it.  My only question:  Who was the first person to bang on the bottom of the boat with a mallet thinking it would help the fishing?  Most of the time when fishing is tough we want to hit ourselves in the head with a mallet!

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And from interesting reasons for you to pay what I am asking.

 This is a 24,000 dollar boat new.

So.  What does that have to do with the fact that this is a 21 y/o boat?   Over the last few months of the pandemic one side effect I would never have guessed was the rise in used boat prices and sales.  Looking at them like I do there is a shortage of good used, reasonably priced, boats.  There is still the random high dollar “man I wished I had not bought it” boat for sale, but the price on used seems to have risen.  Many prices seem to be quite high considering the boats age.  But all it takes is a trip to some ramps to see folks are fishing.  And who knows, it would also seem that the price of new,  often in the $60k range, might finally be getting to the point where a good used is more within folks price range.  Consequently the price rise on used.  Good time to sell a boat, not a great time to buy one.

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According to folks who fish Fayette frequently there has been a serious uptick in crime on the lake.  This from TPWD.

A recent game warden academy graduate was enjoying a weekend of camping and fishing at Fayette Lake before reporting to his first duty station later this month in Starr County. One Sunday morning, the new game warden came across a small aluminum boat that was abandoned at the dam. He called local dispatch and gave them the boat registration numbers, then towed it back to the Oak Thicket boat ramp and secured it. When the local game warden arrived, a park worker told him that a boat had been stolen during the night from one of the campers. After talking to the campers, it became apparent their missing boat was the same one the new game warden had found on the other side of the lake that morning. The campers were overjoyed and grateful for the recovery of their boat.

When this kind of thing happens, along with the drownings, what is becoming a netting problem, AND the other assorted nonsense, one would hope the wardens would be visiting Fayette constantly.  I know they have lots to do and big areas to cover but a constant presence will help keep that stuff to a dull roar.  Nothing worse than not feeling safe at the ramp.

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Our buddy Chago and his family were back out in Colorado at their cabin in the high Rockies and from the looks of it what a trip.  And the boys have been wearing the fish out in both the rivers and lakes.  That is the one thing that surprised me as we spend more time out there, the number of fishing opportunities.  Primarily known for the trout fishing there are tons of lakes with just about any kind of fish you would like to catch.  His pictures just make me want to go back, so looking at September.  Let the crowds thin some.  There are lots of places I have not fished yet but am really looking forward to trying.  Add in the wildlife viewing and what could be better.

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And this on the flip phone front.  I have had the same one for years.  It has been in the water, dropped, you name it, and it kept on working.  Of course I have taken a little guff for having a flip, and at times it can not translate the texts I get.  But those days are gone.  ATT sent me a notice which basically says your old phone sucks and with the new network it is finally obsolete.  Tomorrow it is the I Phone thing.  Going to miss that phone.

So there you have it.  Maybe not the numbers this morning but the size was a major improvement.  And catching a few on the swim jig leaves me thinking about all those places where I will fish it next trip.  That would be Friday.  With our weather having some real rain in the forecast it will remain up in the air where.  But no matter what I will be back on the water.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines