FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

It was cold and clear at daylight and it sure was pretty.

I crawled out of my warm bed at 4:30, which is not my favorite thing to do by a long shot.  But there was a method to my madness, and it worked out great.  The tide was going to be going out at daylight then a slow up most of the day, not my favorite tide.  I am a good trout fisherman on the falling tide and wanted to be on my old stomping grounds as it started to run, and my timing was perfect.  It was falling fast and for a while I smacked the snot out of them.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

For all your wading needs.

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This was a real solid.

How early did I get to Froggie’s this morning?  I was the second truck in the lot after dropping the boat in.  It was really nippy but with no wind it was tolerable.  The water temp was 54 and it was dead slick.  On the way out I knew I was going to smack the snot out of them.  Every bird in POC was on the wing and feeding.  And not all in one spot but everywhere.

Starting with the Honeydew Knockin Tail on a 3/16th screw lock jig head got an immediate response.  (You can take the Honeydew from fresh to salt and not miss a beat.)  They were biting right along but I was missing as many as I was catching.  Now we are talking like a dozen over the side.  The bite was a sharp whack, and lots spit it before I could get a hook in them.  Here is a pay attention moment:  There is one thing I do know, when the hits are like that downsize the jig head.

It was a good run on the Knockin Tails.  You have fished the rest now fish the best.

So I dropped down to a 1/8th on a Purple Deamon Limestreuse Knockin Tail and it was game on.  Being calm it was the bite I love, sometimes it just did not sink, other times I could see the line twitch when they bit, and those are coming over the side.  Now the color may have had something to do with it, but I was not stopping though I did occasionally throw the Honeydew and they were still hitting it. If I were guessing, and I am, with their little brains at 55 degrees they were not that aggressive and just wanted to suck it in.

Good thing for them I was not needing a fish fry.  CPR on the whole bunch.

I really want to empathize the downsizing the weight trick which I learned wading really shallow water.  Once I got started fishing the 1/32 jig head I learned real quick that if they are smacking an 1/8th or 1/16th and not hooking up, go down a size.  Once I did that today they ate it and I missed very few.  You have to be easy releasing some of them, they just suck it in like a bass.

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I know they are small but hey it was a “little” slam.

After catching plenty I tried 3 other places as the tide really got low and started to stagnate.  On one bar 3 rats jumped on, that was it for the redfish.  It really is easy to tell when they are taking a break and once the tide dropped out they were done, probably until later in the day when the water comes back up.  As it got low, I started to see lots of mullet on the shallow spots with the sun shining on them so it was beginning to heat some.  I am sure the fish would follow them to flatter places once the water comes up.

Called it a day at 1:00, happy with the results as I have not been To POC in a while.  Catching a couple of dozen qualifies as good in my book.  (And I did not lose my original Honeydew or Purple Deamon, or get them torn up in spite of having lots of bites.)  But that is what makes this time of year what it is, the fishing can be good and consistent both fresh and salt.  This time of year is great to not be a one trick pony.

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And this from SA Joe.

Ive seen some BIG SHAD, big catfish and bigger bass eating them….

CRAP 75K for a study, STATE RUN offices are idiots….for that much can have billy bob put in a ramp……..same fiasco with i-10 closed down when it got cold. divert traffic to one lane on the other side of highway with both lanes open….Idiots !!!!

Have fun fishing, might make that run this week or beginning of next. Havent been on coleto in alot of year. 19ft Bass Cat, white. Grey 1500 Dodge hauling it

The fishing has been fun, now I am getting greedy.  Just waiting for “that” day.  Cloudy, drizzling, following a warm trend, and that day will happen anytime in the next couple of weeks.  The only downside, it is that same day I will be looking for on the bay.  Tough choice.  And the ramp thing should be a no brainer.  Here is my feasibility study results:  Falcon needs more ramps period, much less at this low level.  Just build it.  Falcon has been a little off for a few years, but when it comes back, and it will, there is no such thing as to many ramps.  If you fished it during the heyday you know what I am talking about.

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Tomorrow I have the pleasure of taking the Boss’s car to Cedar Park for service.  Not sure that is a day of rest or not but it will not involve fishing and will give my trashed hands a break.  Driving through Austin the long way can have its moments, but since we are less than impressed with the Toyota dealer in Victoria it is worth the drive.  In spite of that I will be thinking about fishing and where or what is next but there will be more trout in my future.  Time for a little wading.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines