FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
One look and I decided to not head to South Pass. Good Call.
There were isolated thundershowers, the wind was around 10 mph out of the SE, and the water temp was 85 and the color was ugly in Big Bayou when I got there at daylight. The initial plan was to fish shell in the South Pass area but as it cracked daylight I could see that was not going to happen. It turned out to be the right choice, unless you don’t care about getting drenched.
Weather
78/86. Partly sunny with a 40% chance of thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon. Wind S 7 – 13 mph.
Tides
Low 7:27 1.21 ft. High 8:59 am 1.23ft. Low 6:05 pm -0.22 ft.
Bite Times
Major 9:12 am to 11:12 am.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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A funny thing happened on my favorite topwater bank in Big Bayou. 4 blew up on the Skitter Walk and none hooked up. It was exactly what happened the other day on the same bank. So of course I stuck with the topwater to long. But I did fish some places in there I have not fished in a while, but without success. So time for the old honey hole, and like it is want to do they were on it.
Now that is a trout. On the Pink Ice Knockin Tail. CPR.
Since they were liking the Pink Ice last trip, and it was already tied on, started tossing that and on my first pass on my deep trout hole (Not sure what else to call a place I have caught buckets loads of fish this size.) I put 4 or 5 rats on the deck like the one below and a couple of trout until I got to the very end of it. When I lifted up, it had just fallen off the drop into 4 foot of water, the one above just started swimming with it. Thought it was a red at first since I was using light line and a spinning rod. Then she did the mouth shaking thing and in the net she went. So no matter how the day went before or after this made it a success.
5 or 6 like this, all on the Pink Ice Knockin Tail.
I re-fished the first bank, and not a bite. So while I was fishing another shell edge here it came. It was a couple more smalls up to that point. Now maybe in the old days I might have waited it out, but it looked big enough to at least head to the ramp around 10:30. I had seen several showers around me this morning, so discretion being the better part of valor, time to put it on the trailer instead of trying to dodge them. As soon as I pulled out it started pouring and rained for about 10 miles as I headed out of town, then started clearing back to pockets of showers. We have enough rain!
Then here it came. Since I am older and wiser, and not near as “mad” at them as I used to be, time to head to the dock.
I have been fishing the Knockin Tail on 10lb line and a spinning rod, generally on a 1/16th jig head. And once the water gets over a couple of feet deep on a “heavy” 1/8th ounce screw lock. Of course I threw other KTL’s colors, and had a tail bit off one when a lady fish smoked it at boat side while I was reeling it in. While the last couple of trips to Big Bayou the numbers have been down, the water color has not been the best, but there are fish there. So not heading to South Pass turned out ok, will get there soon. But looking at the forecast we have rain 2 of the next 3 days.
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Knockin Tail – Not just for the salt.
Michael got this picture from one of his customers. It is a nice big muskie caught on the Mansfield Magic Knockin Tail. You can just see the white tail sticking out of his mouth. The guy also sent along a few smallmouth pictures to go along with it. So while the Knockin Tail has caught most fish that swim in the salt this has to be one of the better fish yet. Anytime any way you can put a muskie in the boat is a great thing. It you are not fishing it in freshwater you are missing out, and definitely anywhere there are smallmouth and walleye. And it should catch the snot out of lake trout early in the year. Not sure who this is but congratulations, that is a real one.
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I still do not get it. So far in the Tampa Bay area over 791 tons of fish have been killed by red tide. They basically know what causes it and where it comes from, and of course the state has done zip other than making fishing catch and release in the area. Treating the symptoms instead of the cause is just plain stupid and irresponsible. My bigger point, and an issue I have with every Game and Fish in the country, including the at times toothless actions of TPWD, why do they let things like this continue?
State Game and Fish Departments are charged with the protection of our wildlife, but they move at the speed of a snail. Take the current CWD in Texas commercial deer farms, it almost took a freakin’ disaster to get TPWD moving, and still no guarantees we will not have an outbreak . And for the love of GOD Florida- 791 tons of dead fish! Your response is catch and release? Just what in the hell does that do to resolve the issues and hold whoever accountable? Instead of laying the blame, and the costs, at the feet of the polluters, lets just have fishermen not keep any, that will work. And since it has happened repeatedly over the years it is no freakin’ surprise. Nothing but lip service most of the time to commercial interests. Exaggerating? How about they let a private company dump 200 million gallons of pollution into the bay in March and April! What do we pay these folks for?
Update: DeSanits, the governor of Florida has denied any aid and says there is enough money to clean it up. What a pin head, he exhibits a complete lack of understanding of the problem. Or should I say a complete knuckle under (Or bought and paid for? Who knows.) to commercial interests like the phosphate mining companies that dump pollution in the bay. Bars, restaurants, resorts, and other business are now suffering their second punishing year after covid. Seriously folks, how have we gotten to this point? Nobody gives a rats ass until it is their house. Think about it, if this stuff was in your front yard you might think differently. And until you see something like that with your own eyes you can not believe how flat out nasty it is.
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One of the things I always wondered about when I was guiding is why the license was so cheap. You, the taxpayers, gave me a place to work and a crop to harvest. So my feelings that guides have a higher responsibility to the resource continues to evolve over the years. So good to see Bay Flats moving away from plastic bottles, which is the kind of thing I am talking about, a company using the resource and responding in a responsible way. Very few days on the water you don’t see one floating somewhere, plus they are part of a larger problem. It is incumbent on those who are using our resource for their personal financial gain to do something, anything. If everyone did just a little something, the water would be a better place. Good for Bay Flats. And good for them for not posting trout pictures right now, think they are in catch and release mode for the time being. And speaking of that we should be hearing something on the net surveys at some point. That will be a defining answer to what were the real repercussions of the freeze.
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OFF TOPIC RANT
Mtn Home, my old stomping grounds made the New York Times due to the massive outbreak of Covid and the folks who got it were not vaccinated and bitching. Ok, you think you know more than the medical community? Think you have some constitutional right not to take the vaccine? So don’t take it. But the time has come to then be sure to get a medial directive stating you do not believe, you know better, and do not want to be taken care of when and if you get it. Don’t go to the ER, stay home and tough it out. (I did and boy did that suck!) And when you end up on a vent please have enough money to pay the $10,000 a day to save you so if you croak we the taxpayers are not left with the bill. I have seen enough stories of folks saying I wish I had taken it, or family members whining when pops kicks the bucket because he was smarter than the rest of the world. We all make choices in life and then live. or die, with the consequences. Sorry, but I feel strongly about taking the vaccine.
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So while it was a short morning at least a few jumped on. Tomorrow looks like real rain so not sure if I will get back out. But unless I get a better offer it will be back on the water no later than Wednesday. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
