FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors

To say it is early when I am hitting the water is an understatement.

Weather

59/79.  A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.

Lake Level

Today 97.68.   Yesterday 97.72.  (Still on the slow steady decline.)

Bite Times

Major  12:21  pm to 2:21 pm.

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If this was not the biggest numbers day I have had on Coleto it was close.  Fish on from the first bank to the last.  In fact, I only fished one short stretch without a bite, but the rest of the day it was a constant bite.  What made it sort of interesting is they all looked like the ones below.  And other than swim jig only caught one other on buzzbait.  That bite is coming just not today.

They don’t get any fatter than this.  Definitely had not spawned. 

Normally when I catch that many on the swim jig I get the big bite but other than missing one here and there not a hint of a big fish.  The best places are still the long flatter stretches with bushes and grass.  And like yesterday throw it to the edge of the grass and slowly reel it out and hold on.  (I generally try to keep it about a foot of the bottom.)  First thing several came rushing it inside the grass and you could see the grass shake.  They were definitely biting.  It was an easy 20+ before noon, all slow rolling the swim jig.  I finally caught 3 on a spot that is a slam dunk spring place that just has not produced a fish this spring.

From almost the first cast till the last, one after another that looked just like this.

I fished up the main creek arm in the morning then headed to the plant arm after noon and caught 3 or 4 here and there, then finally got on the long stretch with a couple of pockets and the bite was on.  They definitely wanted it twitched and even dropped to the bottom on a slack line.  Bass often track the swim jig and a little movement, maybe a big hop or just letting it hit the bottom might trigger a strike.  Though in the afternoon they were not tight to the real shallow grass but off the bank on stuff in the 2′ to 3′ of water.

The watercolor is still clearing but it is not going to be long until most of the cover is out of the water so get it while you can.  I have not had the Bang O Lure balsa minnow out yet this spring but it should be time for that.  The only question is will I get a chance to give it a serious go.  It works best with really clear water, and we are not quite there yet.  I do have a theory about today, the fish that have not spawned, and it is lots of them, headed to the beds.  The falling water level might mess that up some but hopefully they will all spawn.  It was nice to catch a lot of fish, but I kept expecting at least one big girl to jump on, thus my guess on where they went with this moon.  Only time will tell.

After being responsible today it is a close call whether there is any fishing tomorrow.  They are calling for winds sustained at 22 up to 30 mph out of the SSE.  One thing Coleto does offer is a place or two to get out of it, but that means a bunch of it you want to get to are way to rough.  Guess I will go and work on my tackle and mull it over.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

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