FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

After a week on the salt time to head to the lake.  I absolutely do not know what to expect on the lake in the morning as the weather is going to be a little sketchy with the north wind.  But fall being like it is in fresh water you can never know for sure.  But after spending today doing some stuff on the boat, that never ends, looking forward to tomorrow.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

For all your wading needs.

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On arrival at the ramp the wind was blowing straight out of the north at 20 mph, and it was cloudy.  The water temp is now in the low 70’s over the whole lake but the color is better up lake than down.  It was just one of those mornings that ended up being colder than it looked with the cool wind.

To make a boring story a little shorter it was 9:42 before I had a bite.  Before that I let the wind take me and alternated between crankbait and spinnerbait, and even trolled my white bass area without so much as a bite.  Finally a short jumped on the crankbait.  It really did surprise me how slow it was but it is the proverbial cold front, and while you may not feel it the fish sure did.

Best I could manage of the 7 on spinnerbait.

They were definitely not liking the conditions but as the clouds disappeared around 10:00 it was clear and the wind was still blowing.  So moved to a bank with wind on it and started to catch a few.  Over the next 3 hours I caught 7 on spinnerbait and only missed a couple.  The bites I did get were on banks with wind and clear water.  Except for 1 all hit it really close to the bank.  I was running at white with nickle blades right below the surface and it would just disappear.

I just could not get on a big one today but at least they bit for a little bit.

The first 2 places I fished once it cleared produced a couple, then it went dead.  It seemed like they were really active that first hour after it cleared, then I only caught maybe 2 more in a couple of hours.  So I finally called it a morning about 1:30. I almost went back to where I started but decided that the run way back up was not going to be all that good.  But considering the conditions no real complaint.  Plus as you all know who read this I love watching them eat.  And there was no way plastics were on the menu this morning.  But with the weather change coming things are looking up for the lake.

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Here is a comment from Matt on the river.

There’s a slight rise in the river from Sunday morning’s rain, might be muddy for a little while.

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=crp&gage=ngct2

Appreciate your comment as usual.  And thanks for the link, it all depends on how much rain we get tonight.  Thanks for reading.

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And I got this bay report from Tony who was in POC with a few of the boys.

Well your report was accurate for us. Well over 100 undersized trout each day for the group in Pringle and Big Pocket. I think we got 7 keeper trout, 4 reds and a 27 inch black drum which was plenty for fish tacos. Never found concentrations of reds, just widely scattered. Trout were just hanging in 4 feet of water over grass. They were biting aggressively but all cleaned fish had empty bellies. Most fish looked healthy. Bodes well for next few years. Everyone was happy with the large numbers. A good fishmas for sure, just wish a few more were healthy enough to fish with us, ie Ro and Ken.

Your report mirrors what I have been hearing, and what I have found on the river and creek.  Lots of trout is a good thing and it could be off the chain next year.  As you say it really does bode well for the system.  This is one time I am all about the action TPWD has taken post freeze.  At times it gets a little frustrating when you keep catching shorts, but it sure beats striking out.  So glad you had a good time, when it is all said and done fishing is something stretching your line.  Thanks for the report.

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And on the Rigging the Knockin Tail post I got this kind comment from Mark.

Very good tutorial. Thanks, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Enjoy your blog very much.

Thanks for the compliment and for reading.  Sometimes I take things for granted that folks know what I am talking about.  (About half the time I don’t know what I am talking about.) I will try to remember to take a few more pics and be a little more descriptive so folks will know what I am talking about.  Your comment is why I do this, and don’t ever think I do not appreciate each and every one of you.

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The Boss has been out of town the last few days so will spend some time with her tomorrow.  She goes back to work Friday and I go back to fishing.  Will be looking at the weather and water conditions, the color in river or creek before I decide where next, but there will be a next.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines