FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Put your favorite Knockin Tail under a Four Horsemen popping cork and hold on!  A deadly combination.

I am preparing tonight so I will be ready to hit the road first thing in the morning.  As long as it is not lightning or raining cats and dogs it will be fishing a soon as it is feasible in the morning, hopefully at daylight.  The forecast is one of those that may help the fishing, or it could suck.   It is my favorite forecast for Coleto in the fall and winter.  Clouds, drizzle, wind.  But that is what makes fishing what it is, you never know.  I am happy, at least we get a taste of fall.

Weather

60/70.  Shower in the morning then clouds breaking to sun with a 58% chance of rain.  Wind NE 12 – 17mph.

Lake Level

Today   93.24.    Wednesday  93.26 msl.  (I sure hope we get the rain tonight as the lake continues to drop.  And with GBRA not giving a crap about the annual pass holders when we can not put in it will be screw job #2 this year.)

Solunar Times

Minor 7:08 am to 8:08 am.   Major  1:13 pm to 3:13 am.

Conditions

Blowing out of the north with white caps.  Water temps down to around 80 degrees and there was some color based on the wind.  It was blowing right in the ramp cove and it was not easy loading.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

All your wading needs.

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Today was a real put on your big boy pants day, it was rough.  With the direction it was blowing at daylight I decided to fish some in the plant arm of the lake.  It was cloudy and the air temp was 64 when I started.  First up an all white spinnerbait buzzed right on the top.  4 smalls jumped on and a couple just missed it on the first main lake point.  I tried the buzzbait on one more place in a deeper  cover next to the channel where another small jumped on then my brain finally started working.  If there is shallow smalls time for a bait change.

That will work.

I changed to a bluegill colored swim jig with a Pumpkinseed Knockin Tail trailer.   It is a great bait on Coleto from late fall through late spring.  The first bank produced 3, and from then on it was one here and one there.  A couple just knocked slack in it, one of my favorite bites, they have eaten it.  A couple felt like it was ticking bottom, and a couple surprised me when I set the hook and they were there.  The rest just softly stopped it, none of the bites were hard, but they were biting.  And I did not break my line setting the hook, which happens at times with the swim jig.

It was a good day.

They were shallow, and of the dozen or so that ate the swim jig none of them were more than 5 foot off the bank, and of course a little wood nearby did not hurt anything.  The speed was moderate and since it was a quarter ounce it never got below 5 feet deep on the retrieve.  And the Knockin Tail rattling right along is the perfect addition to the swim jig.

Definitely a size improvement across the board this morning.

As far as color on the swim jig it was a bright bluegill 1/4 ounce, which is what I generally fish.  I have no real preference as to manufacturer, if it looks good I fish it.  With the water color like it is fishing it on 12lb seems to be the best combination.  And while I already had the Pumpkinseed Knockin Tail trailer rigged, there are enough Knocking Tail colors to match any jig.  You can swim it steady, or hop, or drop it, but they did not want any of that today, just a nice steady retrieve.

Today was the day that they almost had to bite.  Fall is late and dropping water level and increasing water temp was just not to their liking.  Today should help move it along.  The water temp dropped a couple of degrees while I was fishing.  I thought the front was already here when I put in but around 1:00 it really started drizzling hard and you could feel it cooling off.  So I called it a day.  When I backed the truck in to load the boat it was 57 degrees, 6 down from when I started.  I would have fished a little while longer but wanted to get home and see the Boss off as she headed to the airport.  I have been waiting for a month for a day like today, and with a little cooler temps, clouds, and maybe a little rain, it can only get better.

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Another reason to not fish partner tournaments.

I have repeatedly said partner tournaments are just not safe, cheats are everywhere.  This case is a perfect example.  2 anglers (using the term loosely) were originally charged with felonies after being found to have cheated in a fishing tournament in Utah by catching a big bass in another lake.  They were sentenced to 2 years probation, no hunting for 24 months, and basically $3000 in fines and restitution.  They were the first people convicted of cheating in a Utah fishing tournament.

First.  They should not have reduced the charges.  These guys are slime at best.  They were stealing from everyone else in the tournament, and why it is not viewed that way I do not know.  They were trying to steal $2500, a felony most everywhere.  Lots of folks have gone to jail for less.  This plea was a big break.  (Understand one thing, the ultimate disposition of any case via a plea bargain can only come from an offer by the prosecutor.  Why defense attorneys are criticized for any plea is a mystery.)

Second.  I have reported on cheating quite a bit, and it almost always happens in partner tournaments.  If they kept to the original felony charges these guys would have lost their gun rights, as well they should.  And why their fishing rights were not reduced/taken away makes no sense.  Maybe it will not deter others but it will keep them from the rest of us in the outdoors.   A felon is a felon, no matter the underlying reason, or who they are.

So does my opinion seems pretty rough on these guys?  What am I, some kind of meanie?  Well how about this.  In 2018 these same slime balls finished 1st, 2cnd, or 3rd at 8 other bass tournaments in the same year!  KVD or Roland would have loved those results.  All that needs to be said about that.

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In my daily perusal of boats for sale I came across one that is just amazing.  It was for a 1999 Triton bass boat, in other words 21 years old.  It has a dead cylinder on a 200hp Merc.  And they want $11,000!   So the engine is worth zip and you want that much for an old hull?  Dream on.  And if you are looking at a deal like this good luck.  If the boat was worth it he would have had it fixed.  Do not buy someone else’s problems, boat ownership is tough enough as it is.

And it is amazing what has happened to new boat prices.  Lots of folks whose eyes were bigger than their stomach bought big, then they end up for sale in a year or so.  See them all the time.  Often buying used like that can be a good deal.  If you ever think about doing that the first question is:  How many hours and can I speak to your mechanic.  If they can not document that and have a problem if you speak with their mechanic run away.  And as I have learned from my mechanic working on my 2 boats, the hour meters on most consoles are not absolute, to be accurate it has to be taken off the computer during maintenance.  Plus, if it is one of those $50k and up boats request a copy of the rpm history, that will tell you a lot.  (Think about it:  If you were going to buy a used car, say a fast one, and the guy you meet with is wearing a street racer shirt and tells you it will run like a scalded cat would you buy it?  Same with a boat engine, you need to know if it has been run wide open most of the time.)  It is your money.

And on a side note when you get your engine serviced make sure you find out the hours and the rpm history, you just might find it informative.  The majority of  my rpm’s on the 90hp is either less than 1,500, trolling or idling, or 4,000 to 5,000, cruising speed.  My guy always says, easy on the way out, “git it” on the way back in.  Has worked for me for over 900 hours and still going strong.

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Really happy with this mornings fishing.  And fortunately I am finally not feeling sick.  So the next couple of days will be weather watching before a week of fishing.  The lake looks good a day or two, POC a day or two, and I definitely want to take a run to the river/creek and see if that is starting to go, it is about time.  This weekend will be a real boat cleaning, some football, and then off we go.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines