FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The boys came out when the sun shone.

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Weather

61/75.  Patchy morning fog; otherwise, clouds giving way to some sun with a 10% chance of rain.  Wind  NNW  6 – 12mph.

Lake Level

Today  93.68 msl.   Monday  93.60 msl.

Solunar Periods

Major  7:31 am to 9:31 am.  Minor  1:07 pm to 2:07 pm.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

Check out their new tackle box and plier sheath.

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The weather looked great and I could not resist, so when dropping the boat in the lake at daylight my spirits were high.  It was cloudy, dead calm, and the water temp was at least 4 degrees or more over the whole lake.  I headed to a consistent cove right off deep water and a small jumped on the swim jig  From there in 4 different places with swim jig and Bang O Lure only  really sma2 more really small ones jumped the swim jig.  So far January has been so disappointing,  there has been no Bang O Lure bite.  January and February have produced some of my biggest bass over the years but so far it is not happening.

The first places were down lake, so with no luck I decided to head up lake.  On the way I stopped at the discharge, caught a 3 or 4, one of them being this beast.

I catch a few tilapia on lures every spring, this was probably the biggest .

I was throwing the Pearl Knockin Tail and slow rolling it when it jumped on.  As a side note I saw several tilapia here and there today. that usually means the bite in on, but I am here to tell you it is not.  From there I headed up lake and fished the works, coves, brush, main lake, it did not matter they just are not shallow.

Typical Coleto white bass.  Never have understood why they generally do not get much bigger than this.

After a couple of hours without a bite it was time to at least catch some fish.  So I trolled from where the white bass had been, which was way up, and found them quite a bit farther down river.  I guess the last cold rain has run them off as it is still quite a bit cooler than it was.  Once that happened it was a good dozen in an hour, and most would have been keepers if you were so inclined.  The ticket was clearly the Pearl Knockin Tail on a 1/4oz head trolled 6o feet behind the boat, and they were stopping it.  After that I fished my way down lake.

I just could not get bit.  Once I was down near the ramp I tossed the Pearl Knockin Tail and caught a couple more, and they were really small.  At that point I called it a day.

Best I could get in the bass department today.

The punch line – The water temp was in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s, fairly clear, and they are just refusing to come shallow.  I really did cover some good springs spots, which produced just those few smalls.  Normally when you start seeing the tilapia on Coleto the fish are also biting.  It really has to change soon, spawning is coming and we are headed to a full moon.  So who knows. maybe that will get them moving.  But getting there has been tough, and the lake has left me as nothing more than a glutton for punishment.

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Moving to Northwest Arkansas in the early 70’s I was around as Bass Pro exploded.  It was a 2 hour drive to the store, which still had a Brown Derby liquor store on the end of the building, and was the mecca for bass fishermen.  My favorite was the return store, which was actually across the big street and basically nothing more than an open warehouse with stuff piled up, and the deals were great.  That is where I bought my first Tarpon Wear, the precursor to all the modern warm weather fishing wear.

Of course over the years they have gone from a tackle store to a department store.  The first big change was when they bought Cabela’s to give them over 150 stores.  They are at it again with the purchase of Sportsman’s Warehouse and their over 110 stores.  This is not a good thing for the fishing industry.  Who knows?  Academy could be in their sites.  The problem is like all industry when one major player is involved things change. It leads to reduced options, lower quality, and lure manufacturers end up beholden in order to sell baits.  Additionally overseas manufacturing takes over and the little guy does not have much of a chance.  I shop there at times, and have for almost 50 years, but realize it is so important to shop local if possible.  So support you local guy whenever you can.  (Plus their stuff is not cheap, most is available at other places at a comparable price, some ever cheaper.)

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And as an old bass fisherman it warms my heart to hear 2 bass over 13lbs were landed in Texas last week.  One on Lake Austin, there are still a few around, and one on Sam Rayburn, which has been hot the last couple of years. A DD is the goal for most bass fishermen, 13lbs is a dream.  Congrats to both anglers.

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Michael, owner of My Coast Outdoors, home of the Controlled Descent and the Knockin Tail, has started a new Facebook page.  So if you are a saltwater fisherman check it out and join for all things Knockin Tail.  And we all love to see your pictures.

(2) Knockin Tail Lures | Groups | Facebook

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I keep track of the goings on at Falcon Lake and last weeks Bass Champs results were something.  There were 105 entries and the winning team weighed in 27.8 with an 8+ kicker.  A respectable showing on Falcon, but from there things deteriorated rapidly.  The 14th place team cashed a check with a total of 8.24lbs!  17 more teams caught at least one, and 74 did not weigh a fish!  That can only be described as crazy for what is still one of the best  bass fishing destination in the country.  So my itch to head that way, and it has been strong lately, will be put on hold for a little warmer weather, which will get those Florida strain moving.  And still waiting to hear if a few of the Austin boys have figured out if a Amistad trip is in the future, I am all in on that.

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One thing I wanted to comment on was how it went on the bay Wednesday.  On my unproductive wade I did catch lots of fish, pinfish.  (I hate it when they bite the tail off, usually not a problem with the Knockin Tail and did not happen to me.)  They were everywhere, a bad omen for the trout fishing, but cudoes to the Knockin Tail’s durability and one of the reasons to glue the bait to the jig head.  And here is  the perfect example:

The Purple Demon Limestruese Knockin Tail – It caught 25 – 30 trout, reds, and flounder yesterday.

And this is the result of all that.

Here is why I glue a few in multiple colors and 2 different weights before every trip to accommodate different depths.  And if the jig head is painted it really helps keeping it up on the head as it will slip much easier on a painted jig head, though I apply a drop even if using a screw lock.  If you look right behind the head you can see what that many fish did to the  Knockin Tail.  By using super glue what would have been a torn bait in the area of the collar and slipping down all the time lasted the whole day.  (I hate when a bait keeps slipping down.)  This one stayed intact and even though it was getting major chewed on it was still catching fish.  Plastics rarely last with that many toothy critters, but doing a little work before you head out will save money in the long run.  Plus it is great when wading, lose one and reach in the box and tie on a new one.

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I may be slow but I am not crazy, at least to far gone.  If the lake is going to be mean to me like that then it will be the bay.  Looking at the weather next week it looks good so after the weekend warriors are gone think I will go down and stay a couple of days  I really like not having to make the drive so dang early in the morning.  Plus, the fishing is a whole lot better.   So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines