FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

After taking a little time off from the blog it is time to put the daily conditions back on.  Not only is it important information, but any fisherman should at least have a clue before we go.  Warming or cooling, water on the rise or fall, and where the bite times might fit in with all this.  And of course, it is also totally irrelevant if you do not care, to each his own.  But anything that might help me put a fish in the boat is good to me.  So, from now on they will be included.

Weather 

38/67.  Warmer with periods of clouds and sun with a 22% chance of rain.  Wind NNE  8 – 17 mph.   (Have just about had enough of this north wind period.  Plus, it will soon be complaining about our spring SE winds.  Typical fisherman.)

Lake Level

Today    97.40 msl.

Bite Times

Major 5:41 am to 7:41 am.  Minor   10:59 am to 11:59 am.

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It was colder than snot when dropping the boat in at 8:00.  How cold was it?  When the Boss went to the library this morning it sleet/snowed on her.  Crazy Texas weather.  The wind was blowing a good 15mph out of the north right on the ramp but the rest of the conditions were interesting considering it was a cold last few days.  The water temp at the ramp was 60 degrees and I found some in the 64 – 65 range.  Though I have not checked the level for a while it definitely came up just a hair.  And the clarity here and there was clear to dingy.

With the wind blowing like it was first up was a big cove with a sharp channel.  Today the plan was to fish the 5″ Pearl Knockin Tail on a swim bait hook, and once I saw the temp it was time to commit to it for a good bit.  And it worked out ok.

To bad the pic sucks.  This was a big fish and she crushed it!  It was just a touch cool this morning.

So now to a little pattern education.  They slowly get off the A Rig as the water both creeps up and warms up as they head to the spawning grounds.  The fish on Coleto are ready to spawn.  Now.  So as they move shallow the swim bait in the coves slow rolled begins.  With the 1/16 swimbait hook it let me swim it along at a slow steady pace, the tail on the Pearly just wobbling.  I prefer the VMC Drop Dead, the weight is a little further back and it acts like a keel.  Generally just a nice steady retrieve, no jerking or hopping, just swim it along.   And the 6 bites I had before they quit were all a big thump, a thing of beauty.  It can be slow fishing but when they commit you miss very few.  And of course can swim it through cover which helps.

The good one and another one that just flat smoked it.

All were in coves, which is where this set up shines.  They migrate in the channel to the back end and start looking for a place to spawn.  So find a bank that is flat but has a drop into the channel.  Today they were all in 8 foot of water in the coves and most hit it off the bank.  I tried to run it on a steady retrieve where it was just out of sight.

It was a good bite while it lasted.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to a big string, they quit biting.  3 jumped on in the first cove.  Then 1 each in the next 2, then no bites, then one more.  I am not sure what to make of this.  The fish all came down lake, which surprised me.  At this point I am thinking big fish so I work my way up lake and after about 10:00 not a bite.  And these were historically great places chosen so I could add a couple of big fish but it just did not happen.  Seemed like the farther up the slower the bites, surprising since the water temp way up the Coleto arm was 63 and 64 degrees.  Just might have to add a little Bang O Lure to the mix tomorrow, and really check a couple of places for beds. The weather may hold it off some with a cold front coming, but it is on.

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Attack of the killer leaches!

And this from Robin.

I too was fishing Coleto last week and found numerous leaches in the mouth of a bass. I pulled them out with needle nose pliers and smashed them. The fish did not look sick. It was on the left arm of the lake close to the grass and hit a knocking tail. I find it interesting that someone else had a similar experience.

What is going on at Coleto?  Kentucky bass, leaches, Russian Stellar’s Se Eagles, big old Arkansas crawdad, that is some crazy stuff.  Glad you dropped a note.  So one in both arms and the fish looked fine.  Just not sure what this is all about.  The only question is what has caused this?  Looking back at the last 11 years fishing it weekly I have caught my share of bass and other fish and have never seen leach one.   I appreciate you letting us know and always good to hear from someone new.  And anyone else that catches a fish with leaches let us know.  Hard to believe it is a coincidence.  That is just weird.

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But I did learn a couple of things at the cleaning table.  The Boss wanted a fish fry tonight so I kept a couple of the smaller ones for the table.  I met 2 guys from Wisconsin who are here camping, and will be fishing another week.  They were telling me that a guy camping was wading with his fly rod and catching crappie shallow on the campground shoreline.  If you need any more confirmation the spawn is on not sure what it might be.

Stunning!

But the interesting thing I learned is they are the guys who discovered the Stellar’s Sea Eagle on Coleto last year.  The got great pictures, he showed me some on his phone and they are stunning.  It was just sitting on a tall bare tree.  TPWD and assorted bird folks came and definitely confirmed it was a Russian Stellar’s Sea Eagle, literally flew here from Russia.  They blew up a couple of pics and they are in the office.  And now it is quite possible it is the same one making a big hit it Maine.   I looked it up and it started being seen in Alaska, and is documented including in Goliad TX, and is now in Maine.  I am so jealous, that is a once in a lifetime sighting and a couple of guys camping recognized right away it was something special.  Thanks to this site for the pic – check it out,  Interesting  information.

Steller’s Sea-eagle | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants

A couple of different guys I spoke to were saying the discharge cove has been producing tons of whites.  Maybe they will finally head up lake.  The Wisconsin guys have been catching catfish and bass.  I tried to help them on the crappie, just might try a little of that myself but it was definitely bass fishermen out today.  There was maybe a dozen trucks at the ramp, as many as I have seen on a weekday in a while.  Spring has sprung.

And one last note, one of the bass I fileted had a classic big green crawdad with orange on his back.  The first one I have ever seen.  Just a little more info to make it hard to decide what to do in the morning.  I am thinking Knockin Tail swimbait early and then some Wiggle Wart, the killer on Arkansas highland lakes.  Whenever it came out, maybe early 80’s we beat the fish sensless, and it still works up there like it did.  One killer crankbait.

It will be up and gone in the morning.  With a cold front coming tomorrow evening it just might be the pre-front bite.  It is good to be back on the water so keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

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(From this point on any off topic will be listed after we are done with the fishing, which is a concession on my part to spare any of you with sensitive feelings.  As a perfect example this comment has nothing to do with politics as usual it is on the legal issues.  For those of you who wish to silence me, or you get your panties in a wad because for some reason you turned it into politics do not read this.)

It always takes the first one.  The first defendant who refused to plea in the Jan 6th cases was convicted on all 5 counts by a jury in Federal Court, in 4 hours.  Guess what, he was convicted in a jury trial by folks just like you, which I hope you all support, as it separates us from most of the world.  Unless you think the constitution is not the law of the land, which always puzzles me.  This was a slam dunk, a first-year prosecutor could have made that one.  This is the kind of man who threatens his children, scaring them enough they testify against him.  As my favorite (Love/Hate) Judge used to say to guys like this:  You like to fight, well I am sentencing you to a place where you will have to fight and see how tough you are.  Since his time will be served in the federal pen basically no parole, he will do almost day for day and it is not pretty.  Not sure what each charge carries but I think the gun charge carries 10 years and the obstruction of the proceeding carries 20, so it will get ugly at sentencing.   All I can say is good luck on appeal, there may be some issues.

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