FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Glad to be headed back to the lake tomorrow. The weather looks good, which can only help. Will be up early and on the water at daylight.
Weather
51/73. Rather cloudy and warmer with a 10% chance of rain. Wind ENE 7 – 1o mph.
Lake Level
6 Days ago 93.94 msl. Today 94.01 msl.
Solunar Periods
Major 6:13 am to 8:13 am. Minor 11:25 am to 12:25 pm.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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It was non stop gobbling all the way until afternoon Lucky to get this shot.
The area that I fish the most has lots of turkeys, and I see them regularly. Today they were in full strut. The gobbling was steady, and the one above came to the bank to strut in the area I see them fly down, or fly across the lake. Cool creatures, I can see how folks like to hunt them, something I have avoided as it takes place during spring fishing. But I digress, on to the fishing.
The lake is definitely up, the water was off color in most places, probably from our rain, the temp dropped 4 – 10 degrees, and the fish bit just like they have. My regular hot point was fished when I got to the lake so I just got it over with and ran all the way up river. The first couple of places produced zip pitching and spinnerbait, so I headed into a cove and started catching them. And then I got the good bite.
This was a freakin’ beast!
With the water color like it was it made sense to throw the blue/blue swim jig, and when she hit it there was no question. Then she was kind enough to thrash on the surface, not sure she could actually jump, making for a great fight. From that point on, which was about 9:00, it was all about the swim jig. It kept producing those ones you have seen here, which is why I spared you any pictures of the smalls today. The good thing, I got a bite everywhere I tried. I actually came back down lake and fished a spawning cove and only caught one, so time to head back up and make a stand.
I started down a flat bank with lots of wood and it was not 5 minutes before I had another good bite. This one was the same size, big, and she managed to get under the boat and just pulled off. Really disappointed, but when you already caught a big one it is not quite as bad, but it was a big fish. It has been while since 2 big fish in the same day, but that was not the end of it. They slowed some around noon so I headed down lake to fish coves close to the ramp. The wind had picked up and I switched to buzzing a spinnerbait in the little clearer water. One just took a big run at it right by the boat, (No trailer hook, my bad.) and came off. Dang it, it was another big fish. The 3rd big bite of the day.
And what made it interesting is 5 or 6 jumped on over the next hour, all on some really flat stuff. One literally almost ripped the rod right out of my hand when I stopped it by the boat and when I went for the trolling motor. And several chased it, I could see them flash at it. So here is the punch line.
Maybe just maybe the bite is on. It was steady until I quit at 2:30 and I had my chances. It seemed the water color has helped things, and once the wind blew they were definitely interested in the spinnerbait. And though I did not toss the Bang O Lure it would have worked in the clear stuff. If I had managed to boat all 3 of them it would have been a great day. It was definitely fisherman error but nice to finally feel like you have a shot. (Here is what it seems like right now. We have some big fish, and tons of smalls, but I am still having trouble catching those mid sized fish. We seem to be missing a couple of year classes, but that remains to be seen.)
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I was pleasantly surprised at the number of kids who are fishing nuts, especially the young girls. My favorite was Isabella. Maybe 6, going on 21, she had her fishing hat on backwards, tournament shirt with her name on it, and the picture of her big flounder. It has taken a while for women to invade what has been a male dominated world, but look out, change is coming and it is a good thing. (You young guys, there is an outdoor girl for you out there somewhere. ) Another young man was just waiting to finally be old enough to get his captain’s license. His dad makes custom rods and guides in the Toledo Bend area. Like I told him, do well in school, and good things will come. So many of the kids were ate up with it, I remember that feeling like is was yesterday. So take your kids fishing. But the best thing, was the open bins of Knockin Tails were irresistible to anything in the 5 years old and younger group. Nothing like grabbing a handful and shaking away. And when they got a say in the color choice it was always one of this and 2 of that. Really gives me hope for the future of fishing.
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Really enjoyed meeting the Line Cutterz guys at their booth, you might remember them from the Shark Tank show. Great folks, I enjoyed trading fishing information with Darran Greene, their Director of Sales, who also fishes the walleye tour and guides for muskies. It was really interesting to hear his technique with the Knockin Tail, which has been wearing the big walleyes out on the upper Mississippi River this spring. Some of the upper pools have been on my bucket list for a while and he will be a great resource if I make the trek. Will send along a little of his technique to my buddy Clyde to use if they actually make it in to Canada this year. So take a minute an peruse their website, cool product.
Line Cutterz – Patented Fishing Line Cutters & Innovative Fishing Gear
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It was really nice to see the reactions to the Knockin Tail. Folks who purposely came straight to the booth, they have already been fishing them, and another group that heard about it at the show and searched them out. A couple of cool things happened, one of them Thursday. As I was walking in a young guy saw the hat and said he caught his first Texas Snook on one. The next day he stopped by the booth and scored a hat from Michael for his comment. Then yesterday a guy stopped by, picked up a Red Shad Knockin Tail and said: “My customers and I limited out on reds with this yesterday.” Dropped it back in the bin, then just walked off without another word. No my name is, love your baits, etc. Neither of us knew who he was. No matter what, the Knockin Tail is catching on with more and more guides, along with the rest of us, which says a lot.
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And this from SA Joe.
The only bass boat capable to handle 450hp is the BASS CAT !!! All others are junk !!!! hahahahhahahahaaa..
I have a 19ft Pantera Classic Bass cat with 200 Merc. Fast enough for me.
Joe San Antonio
After watching them grow when I was living in Mtn Home they are now one of the premier boat manufacturers. So I do not blame them for building a quality boat that can handle that big a hp. My complaint is just basic, we do not need to go any faster. Most bass boats, and many bay boats, will make the hair on your head stand straight out, which is fast enough if you get tossed. As usual enjoy hearing from you.
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The countdown begins. A week from now we will be in Grand Teton National Park and I will be lucky enough to spend a day floating the Snake River, one of those bucket list trout streams in America. And we are really excited about the grizzlies being out with their cubs. There have been tons of sightings almost daily and it is so cool to see a really big ass bear. Sadly a guy was mauled last week and they had to kill the grizzly. Then yesterday an experienced guide who was fishing was killed, and then the grizzly charged the wardens when they came to investigate and they were forced to kill it. Both probably related to them have a kill close by, which you never know. This time of year they are really out and about and we will not be hiking any trails this trip. It is their house and not ours. The elk have begun to migrate out of the wintering area back into the mountains and the parks. There is also a possibility of seeing a Bighorn. The trip has real potential and it is getting hard to wait.
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Tomorrow will find out what the hold up with the LTS is. I try not to bitch, but we are headed to 7 weeks, which is long enough. So that is priority number 1, ready to get knee deep on some shell on the bay. But no matter what it will be hard at it this week. So keep stopping and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
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A Better Cork built a Better Way
If you fish a popping cork and have not tried the Four Horseman popping cork, or even if you are currently using them, here is a GREAT DEAL. They have been kind enough to give my readers a discount. It will be a 20% discount so get them while the getting is good. What a deal. Use the code 4H6 at check out to save some serious bucks. No better time to stock up. (I will leave this up for the time being, you never know when you will need some new corks.)
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