FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Hit it early!

Weather

87/79.  Partial sunshine; breezy this afternoon with a 5% chance of rain.  Wind   SE 14 – 30 mph.

Lake Level

Today   96.38 msl.   Last Wednesday   96.55 msl.   (It is dropping fast.  We need rain.)

Bite Times

Major   11:52 am to 1:52 pm.   (And there was a little flurry then.)

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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 dead calm at daylight, the water temp was 79 over most of the lake, and there are spots where the color is not to hot.  But it is buzzbait time, and boy were they on it.  The fish are starting to move out from the back of the coves and off the beds.  The small ones are hungry and beat up, but they sure were willing.

There are tons of this size and they were aggressive. 

It was funny bite early with them softly pulling it under, but before the sun came over the horizon they started smashing it.  And I had my chance.  I went to turn the boat around and go the other way after a little point and of course I made a cast and the big one smoked it and I was so out of position that I lost her.  A couple of things on the buzzbait bite:  Never look away and do not give up on it until it is close to the boat.  You just never know.

The just kept smoking it until the sun got full out.  

Plenty of this size but after losing the big one I did not have another big bite.

I am using a 1/4 ounce chartreuse and white skirt buzzzbait reeling it with a moderate retrieve.  We are slowly losing our cover but if there is some on a point and going in to a cove you would get bit.  Not sure there was even one bite back in a cove.  The majority are done spawning and feeding up.  This should continue for a while, and as long as you get out early there is a chance to smack a big girl.

Of course, as the morning went on the wind came up.  I switched tactics and went with the spinnerbait and only managed one small so time for the 5″ Knockin Tail in the Smoke Shad.  It took me a little to find the pattern.  For some reason they were not on the windy banks, which makes little sense, but as we all know fish do what they want when they want, end of story.  But I stuck with it and ended up boating 8 on the KTL in the last hour I fished.

One on the 5″ Dinero Knockin Tail.

 After having no success in the wind I switched tactics and headed to a main lake bank that had little wind but stumps, and they were there.  Over the next hour see a stump, catch a fish.  While nothing to big, there is a pattern there, and it might be better for the bigger fish early.

A couple on the 5″ Smoke Shad.

They wanted it just out of sight, the closer to the stump the more likely the bite.  I am using a 3/16th swim bait screw lock hook, and if you mount it right the hook is just out of the body.  Since the fish were on banks with no real trash the hook can stay out, but if there is still some stuff I skin hook it.  It was funny today in that when they started hitting the 5″ KTL they were just bumping it, and of all things when it got to the prime period they were eating it.  When I finally lost the Smoke Shad there was another rod already rigged with the Dinero color which they seemed to like it just fine.  Location. location, location.  I have never been a swim bait guy but I am learning.  And all I have to say if you have not added the 5″ Knockin Tail to your arsenal you are missing out.  It flat catches fish.

The days grade is a B, and if I had boated the big girl it would have been an A.  For the next month they will be feeding up to recover from the spawn.  Lots of them are beat up, amazing how they get injured like they do during the spawn.  The only complicating factor is the water is dropping fast and much of the good cover is out of the water, and much of it I fished today was not the ticket.  But no complaints today, anytime you can boat 25 in a morning it is a good day.  And when combined with yesterday on the bay it has been a good couple of days.

Not sure what is next.  Looking at the forecast into next week it is kind of disheartening to see the wind is forecast to blow over 30 mph every day.  Can you say sick of it?  But all is not lost as the next real trip is only 6 weeks away.  We are headed to Alaska for 20 days on a bucket list trip.  King salmon, rainbows, float plane, halibut, chasing brown bears with biologists, and more.  This trip has it all and I am starting to get excited.  And then if it works out I will be working ICAST with Michael in Orlando, then off to the Everglades.  This will be the last big tow to south Florida.  I have made that trip many times and it invokes visions of jumping snook and tarpon.  Trust me they will eat the 5″ up!  Looks like it will be a great summer all the way around.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines