FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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Who knew a “small” cold front could reap such havoc. I was so excited to be back on the water after our big front last week. I mean, it should get the white bass going, right? Well, not so right. Not only did I not catch a one, but they were not going by any stretch.
It was 64 degrees when I dropped the boat in the water, and it never warmed up, or cooled off, all day. The front was coming by in the morning so I was not overly concerned when I did not have a bass bite on the 3 places I fished as I headed up lake.
The lake level dropped just a hair, the water temp was down from the mid 70’s to the mid 60’s with the color was not quite as good as it has been. When I got up lake I put out 2 crankbaits and waited for what I was sure would be some fresh white bass for the fish fry. Wrong again grasshopper.
What made it so interesting was on both down scan and sonar, which I ran simultaneously, it looked like someone had taken a ruler and drawn a line at 10 foot. The fish were below and there was not a blip above the line, including the shad schools. It was like from the surface to 10 foot was completely empty. The fish were just not having it, and though 4 small bass did jump on not a white bass. I spent way too much time trying to make them eat covering lots of water for several hours but it was not happening.
I did fish one of the banks where I have consistently been catching bass on crankbait, and though I caught 2 really smalls on back to back that was it. And one of the bass was a Kentucky so I finally emailed the biologist for this region and asked if he knew what was up. Will be waiting to see what he has to say.
So after giving up on the fish fry idea I decided to head back down lake and fish 2 places. The plan: Get a bite or catch one and stay a while. If no action call it a day, which is exactly what happened.
It might be counter intuitive to call a poor day interesting but it really was. Though the front was hardly noticeable other than it did not warm all day the fish had other ideas. Every day on the water there is something to be learned and today was no different.
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I got this interesting comment from Matt on Oklahoma’s new bass rules.
People have been releasing bass for so long now that there are lots that don’t think they taste good.
We have ponds at the ranch where we do exactly what Oklahoma does. Those little bass sure are tasty.
Not sure why some folks think bass are not good eating. I have been eating them for over 50 years and since I came to Texas they have only gotten better to eat. Before Texas I never saved fish by going from the water to directly to the ice until I fished the salt. Now that is my regular practice and it really works on freshwater fish. So firm and tasty.
Bass fishermen deserve most of the credit for bringing back the population by practicing CPR. It was almost a sin to keep bass but times they are a changing. Oklahoma did not come to that decision without the science. It seems like these days we have tons of biologists, doctors, lawyers, and a host of other professionals that are being ignored. Plenty of wannabes who know it all but did not tote the note to get the education, or even understand the science. Anecdotal evidence is not science, nor is it really evidence. It does not hurt to eat small bass, end of story. And many bodies of water need some thinning out. So time for bass fisherman to respect the science, it will only help the fishing. Plus who does not want to catch bigger bass?
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And a few other folks commented along these lines.
Happy New Year! And thanks for everything you do…I enjoy following you on your trips. Ervin.
I will not post the others, it seems to be to self-serving. But thanks Winfred, SA Joe and the rest of you, thanks for your support. I want you to be sure I read every single comment and cannot thank you enough. As long as I am writing I will always appreciate your support. Thanks again.
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As soon as I post this I am headed for a laser treatment on my right eye. Over the last year my vision has gotten worse but I just lived with it until a serious problem arose. I can cast a crankbait up your nose, pick a nostril. And as a bass fisherman at times casting accuracy is important and I started to either throw it short or in the bush as my depth perception slowly declined. Now we can’t have that. The Doc told me it is scar tissue where the eye tries to make a new lens after cataract surgery, not an uncommon happening. And he also said after the eye test I could not have passed the driver test. Good grief. It is a 1-minute procedure that will fix it, no problem. I can’t wait to see how much he makes a minute.
And right before I hit send I get a call and my sister had a kidney burst. She is in ICU until stable enough to remove it. She is doing ok considering so will just have to wait and see. It is hell getting old. And then not 5 minutes later I get notified my buddy who is going through cancer treatments has covid. He is doing better thank God. (And for those of you who have not been vaccinated if he had not had his with the booster he would probably be dead right now.) These are the times that put fishing in perspective.
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Not sure what is next. We are headed out the middle of next week for a few days of adult fun since she has the time off anyway. But she has already picked a new place to visit, Ashville NC. Being right next to Rocky Mountain National Park we will be there about the time the bears come out so really looking forward to that. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
