FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Chad and Pops on Keller Bay

As I surmised when I got the picture at 4:45 am yesterday of the Hogie that Chad is using on the bay, he was headed out fishing.  And even better his “Pops” was with him.

Doug, i really like what you had to say about boats, and gear, name brands. And how many people act that have them. I am blessed to have a fishing partner with a great boat, a 22ft gulf coast. Myself I own a 14ft flatbottom. I notice a big difference in how people talk and treat me at the ramp. All I can say is 60,000 dollar rigs dont catch fish, people do! For me they are simply a water taxi.  Now lets get to the fishing, I cried last post about little trout, but with the water temp dropping back down. The good fish showed up.

We left the dock and idled over to the shell mouth to make a drift waiting on the sun.  And on the second cast my dad ( aka) pops hooked an oversized red. No need for sunlight, when you got adrenaline! We anchored and bail out. Woo wee it was chilly! We all own waders but, we knew it was gonna warm up. The trout bite started and ended quickly, so off to next spot where we put ten in the box, 19″ was the big one for the day. After a few wades we decided to drift and boated a few more. As we were headed to the ramp we did one last drift. Pops hooks another monster, so after 45 min of wondering , we finally see the mighty jack crevelle.

They are probably the best catfish bait I’ve ever used. The meat is bloody and oily and has texture that doesn’t turn to mush when you bait a limb line or jug line. The big blue cats love it. So it was an eventful day . Oversized red, 25lb jack fish, 14 nice trout, only burned $8 worth of gas. Lol.  Now you got me wondering about the duck hunting at lake gonzales. Hummm woodys and mallards oh boy, gonna have to look into that. Thanks chad

Funny you should mention mallards on Gonzales.  My buddy Jeffish mom’s boyfriend John and I were talking hunting last night at a birthday party, and that is exactly what he thought.  John is a big time hunter and fisherman who says he knows you.  He was telling me about your interesting approach at times to duck hunting the Keller area.  I won’t give out your secrets, but your approach to things is a little different than most folks.

Sure is great you get to fish with your “Pops”.  Not everyone is fortunate enough to get that pleasure.  And Jacks get a bad rap from some folks, my only complaint is they take so dang long to get in on trout gear.  But pound for pound they are right up there as far as fight.  Heck my wife and I both got a blue marlin to boat side and tagged quicker than you can tame a big jack.  So congrats to him for landing that one.  And I am glad to learn how good a catfish bait they are.  I like to occasionally drift fish for blues on Coleto in the late winter with cut bait.  Guess I will box the next one I catch.

Looks like your trout were really solid, I will take that average any day.  You can just tell right now, they are dying to come shallow and get to feeding.  And when you jump over the side first thing in the morning you can feel how much the water temp in that shallow water has dropped overnight.  Good things are coming and I look for an epic winter.

And last your experience at the ramp is my experience.  I fish out of a Mako 18LTS with most of the bells and whistles, and a 16 year old, rode hard and put up wet Carolina Skiff, about equally.  Not only is there a difference in how people view me at the ramp or cleaning table, but also on the water.  As you know I am a lifetime bass fisherman, it is still my first love.  I really hate to say it, but it is the truth:  There is a huge difference in the way bass fisherman treat me, and other folks on the water.  In my skiff, get cut off.  I hate to diss my brother bass fisherman, but they really are the worst.  One of my buddies from Arkansas started Champion, Hawk, and Viper boats.  I owned the 4th Champion ever produced, the old pad boat, and then upgraded to one of the first 16.8 that would blow the hair off your head.  My tournament partner was the production manager for Ranger Boats and always had the best of the best.  Additionally Mtn Home is the home of Bass Cat Boats.  So I have been there, done that.  One day when I was mowing the grass at home I had to laugh, the boats and trucks in the yard costs more than my house.  Not telling you this to toot my horn, but to illustrate your point.  Believe me, showing up at the dock in your buddies latest and greatest Ranger boat fresh off the line sure gets you treated differently.  Unfortunately it has absolutely “freaken” zip to do with who is the better fisherman.  In so many cases it is simply who can make the biggest payment.  And once I got down here I found it was exactly the same.  I can not tell you how many times folks in the big fancy boats run me over when fishing the bay out of the skiff.  After cleaning fish at Froggie’s over the last 8 years I have learned this simple truth, the boat is definitely not indicative of fish caught.  You said it best, a boat is simply a water taxi, once you are in the water things equal out immediately.  I really appreciate your reports, and contributions to the discussion.  (If reading these comments and observations irritated you, time to look at yourself.)

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Masked Flounder Assassin

I got the following from the Masked Flounder Assassin.  Not sure of any specifics but I knew they were headed out gigging last night, looks like it went just fine.

Some good eats!

Now if they would just clean themselves.

These guys do some serious gigging.  But whether gigging, or rod and reel, the fishing is getting better by the day.  I can only imagine what is coming the next couple of months.  Thanks for the pictures, enjoy the fish fry.

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One Good Story Deserves Another

I got this cool memory from Jim after he read my POC post from the other day.

Doug,
I was just sitting here on my back patio enjoying the awesome weather, watching college football and reading your blog and all I can say is life has s good! While reading your blog I suddenly remembered you mentioned Mule Slew in passing in your last writing. It back memories of a fishing trip there with my salt water fishing buddy a few years ago. On the way down to POC he explained that would be fishing in a place called “mule slew”. He said being fall that the redfish should be in there. Now let me tell you that the closer we got to POC the heavier the fog got. When we got to the ramp you couldn’t see past the front of the boat. I was shocked when my partner said let’s go. Now let me add it was still dark! I immediately asked him if he was crazy? He assured me that we would be ok and that he knew where he was going. Now let me add to the story that he had no gps or other electronic mapping to utilize so I started to write a note for my wife when the authority’s found us. Away we went into the dark fogginess. Now as any fisherman knows, fog brings out a certain increase of senses but with the dark mine was pegged!! I sat in the front of the boat to serve as a lookout as we putted across the water. After what seemed like hours and biting all my fingernails off he announced that we were at mule slew. How he knew I had no idea. All I could think was “thank you lord”! About that time it started to lighten up and I could actually start to see water. When we stepped out of the boat it was only shin deep. He told me to tie on the biggest chrome colored Zara spook I had which turned out to be a chrome/Chartreuse beast. We fished in mule slew for a few hours and it was a thing to behold. The reds were in there and would periodically show themselves with an emergent tail. Just cast that big plug past them and walk the dog back past them and hold on! We both ended up with limits of 3 to 27″. I would venture to say we each caught 15-20 reds each. It was by far the best topwaters redfish action I ever experienced.

So that’s my Mule Slew story. Thanks for reminding me of it in your blog.

Great story.  I have been in some fog in my life, but one afternoon at POC topped them all.  The sea fog rolled in about 2, I started getting nervous, but my fishing partner said no problem.  By time we finally headed back to Froggie’s it was ugly and scary.  A mistake I will never make again, it was not only foolish to stay, but dangerous.  The next day when we pulled out to head home we stopped at the car wash.  While I was washing the boat he talked to a woman who was there with her husband washing their boat.  She said they had the “pleasure” of sleeping all night in the boat waiting for it to clear.  She was not a happy camper.

My best fog story is years ago from Lake Norfork.  My tournament partner and I headed down lake and when we got to the creek mouth it was a huge fog bank.  This was long before GPS, but I knew that lake like the back of my hand so the famous no problem.  At the mouth there were 2 creeks running side by side.  After slow motoring in I finally said we should stop and fish as I was not sure where we were.  Turned out we entered the wrong creek and were around 10 miles from where I thought we were.  I sure have learned my fog lessons and treat it like any other inclement weather, with caution.

Last, redfish smashing topwater like that is a thing of beauty.  And that period is upon us.  For the next couple of months we will have our best red fishing of the year.  Visions of that kind of fishing is what motivates me in the fall.  So in my wildest dreams we will have a day like that.  And one final word, I think Mule “Slough” might be right, but I had to look it up to be sure. Like I have said in past, we do not give a hoot how you spell it, or if you have a clue where a comma might go, we just want your stories.  As usual thanks for your long running participation.  I always say it what makes this blog what it is.

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Yesterday my Hogs laid down and died, right after the kick off.  They got spanked with a 2×4.  The Aggies went from contenders in the first half to pretenders by the final gun.  It all goes through Alabama, especially after Ohio State losing, which always warms my heart.  Today the Cowboys have a bye, depending how things go with other teams in the division they could actually improve their current run.

But most of all – The Cubs!  My family and my wife’s have been Cub fans for a lifetime.  I admit I had given up, but no matter, it happened.  All I could think about during the game was Ernie Banks, Rick Monday, Kerry Woods, Jose Cardenal, Don Kessinger, and the cast of hundreds who went before for this current bunch.  And for the old guys like my Dad and father-in-law Jack, fans for over 80 years who never gave up hope, this is for you.  4 more wins and this season will go down in history.  GO CUBS!!!!!

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Just thought I would drop these couple of comments while they are fresh.  I love getting your reports and pictures, they really add to this deal.  So keep them coming.  And if any of these subjects moves you drop me a comment, just because I rant my opinion here does not make it right, and any side of the story adds to the discussion.  Next I need to get to the bay and do a wader repair test, and maybe catch a few.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Since the boss is gone, and the wind is going to blow, I have convinced myself to get off my butt and try a new lake.  Lake Gonzales is a small lake a little over an hour from here, so it is time for a little fish catching travel.  It has been a while since I just hit a new place blind.  So let us see how that goes.  It may be tough, but as it warms today there should be a bite sometime.  Hope springs eternal!

Weather

81/48  Sunny.  Wind NNE 10 – 20.  0% chance rain.

Solunar Times

Best Times   4:02A – 6:02A     4:31P – 6:31P  Good Time   10:17A – 12:17P

It was an interesting day.  The fishing was marginal, but that was a combination of post cold front, bluebird skies, and probably a little operator error.  I did not head out until 7:30, no big rush, for the 70 mile drive.  Looking on the map it was just off highway 90W out of Gonzales.  Simple right?  I didn’t bother to get the county road number, good thing the Boss was on the old IPhone.  There is no sign, at least nothing I saw.  You know one that said lake this way, ramp down here, go this way, something.  Suffice to say be sure to have your stuff together, it is different getting there.  But I found the ramp and got a little local knowledge.  I am not sure if that is the only ramp, but there was very little parking and 4 wheel drive was a good thing.  And of course have your $5 with you.

There were a couple of guys putting the airboat in to work on duck blinds and they gave me enough to figure out the lay of the land.  I idled out of the small creek from the ramp and just idled along looking at depth and bank.  There are 2 channels leading to the dam, one deep, the other shallow with an island in between.  (And there sure are some pigs on it.)  As it is on a river it was what was probably the run on one side with water 1o foot plus, and the riffle on the other, with water in the 5 foot or less.  The water was murky and there are multiple varieties of aquatic plants including lilly pads.  I picked one stretch out, caught a small one on my second cast, then another, and before I got to the end of that patch, a third small one on the swim jig.  Now you would think that would be a pattern.  Think again, it is often not that easy, and today it wasn’t.

I always take a picture of the first one to prove I was actually out there  just in case.  Today was one of those just in case days.

Over the next 6 hours I had one more bite on a buzzbait, in the shallow arm around vegetation.  It looked to be around 3 but got tangled in the lilies and pulled off.  That would be the last bite I would have.  I tried multiple baits, depths, and places, but just did not figure it out.  If you believe like I do that there is way to catch fish almost every day of the year, I try not to blame the fish.  The cold front was a factor, but it is not an excuse.

A couple of other guys were fishing and I spoke with them.  Their home lake is Coleto, they were just looking for a place with less wind, and the wind was not a problem on Gonzales, it is very protected.  They caught one on a Horny Toad and 3 on a Minus One, and that was their day.  They hit the road around noon, but I soldiered on.  Finally at 4 I called it a day.

I like the looks of the lake and it will definitely not be my last trip.  According to TPWD the fish run small, but of course big bass are caught there, but today they were small.  The last major stocking of bass was years ago.  They also say it has good crappie fishing, and there was ample wood to hold them.  The big flats covered in vegetation looked good, and I am definitely going to put the lake on my spring time list.   The day was not a waste by any means, it was nice to fish somewhere completely new, something I have done on a big and small scale the last 20 years.  You don’t know if you don’t go.

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We are so fortunate to have the participation of folks like Chad the Mad Trout Fisherman and Colby Sorrells.  They add experience and insight that we all benefit from with their participation.  So when I asked Chad to let us in on the plastic he has been using for those big strings of trout he dropped me a picture today at 4:47 am.  Any guess where he is this morning?

The old tried and true Hogies.  Lot less tail bite offs with this plastic.

In this day and age fishing seems to have veered off track into some kind of poser contest. Boats have become something more than a way to get to the fish, and some folks think that they are “better” fishermen than the other guy because of what they run, or the clothes they wear.  Where having money to buy the “stuff” makes you a better man than the guy in the aluminum boat without a stitch of high tech clothing.  You know who I am talking about, you see them at any ramp or cleaning table every day.  One thing I learned watching who cleaned fish at the dock where I lived and worked for 10 years, it ain’t about that.

Then there are folks like Chad.  A hard core fish catching machine, he has taken the time to share information, information others think is a big secret, simply because he can.  All the fancy stuff means nothing, it comes down to one thing, did you catch come fish?  So take his information for what it is worth – a freakin’ lot, and we are lucky to have his help.  Thanks again.

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On a much better fishing note than my trip to Lake Gonzales I got this comment on Fayette from Rusty, our Fayette and Bastrop guru.

Just to add to the Fayette report, buzz baits and frogs are hot too!! Headed to Broken Bow, OK area to do some rainbow and brown trout fly fishing for a much needed break. Almost excited as going to Canada!
Tight lines
Rusty

Have a good time in Oklahoma.  Living close to there, and fishing the White and North Fork for 25 years, a little dose of those other trout never hurt anybody.  My favorite time up there was drifting in the winter with the shad kill coming through Bull Shoals dam.  We caught lots of nice trout throwing bass jerk baits on high water, not really fly fishing.  I got me one of them there buggy whips things, just never have got going with it.  One of those things that I still have all good intentions of catching a redfish on this fall.  And speaking of Canada it won’t be on this years list.  I will be in Australia the month before, which will take a good chunk out of the fishing travel budget.  But what a trip it will be.  The only other big trip on the schedule next year is Louisiana for a redfish extravaganza.  So thanks for the report, I am headed that way soon.  I have never caught one on a buzzbait on Fayette, but if they are doing that they are biting!

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And it is always good to hear from Colby S.  His comments are informative and well thought out, just like this one.

Doug,
It wasn’t but a short two years ago when we were not catching any small trout because they were not there. Now everyone is catching small trout and moaning about it? Not me. I’m so happy to have small fish in the bay system. That means they have a future and we can all continue to be blessed with such abundant bays. If people don’t like catching small trout use a bigger lure, not bait. You will not get near as many hits. Or move to another location. Kind of like being in a mess of stingrays or sharks. There are plenty of other places. As for me I’m so excited about having small fish in the bay again I can’t wait to get back in the water with them. The future looks bright for at least 3-4 years now due to all of the freshwater inflow we’ve received. I fished the same days as you and saw more bait than I’ve seen in at least 7 years and maybe ever. So here’s to the small trout. You’ve got the genes I’m looking for and you’re doing everything you can (by eating our lures) to get bigger. Keepin’ It Fun! Colby S

Bait, fish, and more bait.  You have a lifetime of experience on the coast dwarfs mine, but in my limited experienc, the fishing is so much better than it was 3 or 4 years ago.  And the fishing the bait pattern is a slam dunk winner right now, especially for folks who are not on the water every day, find some bait and you will find some fish.  And I will be glad when we get out of this high tides pattern and starting getting those awesome lows that drain the back lakes as we slide into winter.  Every back lake we fished the other day had fish.  In our case the other day we were catching small trout because of what and where we were doing it.  But I am with you, it is nice to catch fish, no matter what the size.  I used to think I might be the worst trout fisherman in the world, funny how lots more fish made me a lot better fisherman.  So lets hear it for more trout!  I really appreciate your input and thoughtful comments.

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Today I get to have some real fishing related fun.  Korbin, Jeffish’s son and the future 2030 Bassmaster Champion, has a birthday party today.  He is eat up with the fishing like I was when I was a little pain in the ass.  So off to Academy to buy him something cool.  What 7-year-old boy does not like a knife and some fishing pliers?  I still remember what it felt like getting the first rod and reel to call my own, 58 years ago.  (Yikes!)  Lots of water under the hull since then, but it is my pleasure to help pass on our love of the sport.

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Fall has energized both me and the fishing.  It is so easy to keep writing when things are happening like they are around the Texas Coast.  So as usual, what is next?  That can be summed up with two words – More Fishing!   And any comments, reports or suggestions are so appreciated.  I keep telling you how much we all like your reports.  Your participation makes this blog what it is, so keep them coming.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines 

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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It is 6 in the morning (Thursday) and since I can not sleep I guess I will take a run at fishing the lake.  The weather is sketchy, but not bad, so the plan is to fish down lake as this cold front moves in.  There has to be other places and or ways to catch them, so that will be the goal.  And of course I hope there will be a big bite in front of our first real cool front of the year.  So we shall see how it goes.

Weather

84/58  Clouds with showers increasing in the afternoon.  Wind NNE 10 – 20  Chance of rain 60%.  (Right on.)

Lake Level

Last trip – 96.03 msl   Today  –  95.96  msl   (Quite a drop since Monday)

Solunar Times

• Best Times     2:59A – 4:59A
•                          3:28P – 5:28P
• Good Time     9:14A – 11:14A  (No big bite or activity until up lake.)

It was foggy as all get out as I drove to the lake.  The wind was not blowing, but it started as soon as I put the boat in.  The front was all around the lake and it was partly cloudy.  It was real apparent the lake has fallen even more since Monday.  We need some rain, simple as that.  And before it was over I did get wet, for a minute.

The plan was to fish down lake and try to develop at least a semblance of a pattern, and I stuck to it most of the morning.  Unfortunately I had a rough start.  The first point I fished had a fence on it and one ate the senko.  Great, a real big one, the first in a while, to bad he tangled in the wire and broke off.  Bad start.  From there I alternated between senko, swim jig, buzzbait, and topwater.  I put 2 small ones in the boat on senko, and had 2 really nice ones blow up on the bazzbait.  They ate it and were hooked up, but for some reason they jumped off.   Who knows, it may have been operator error.   So now I am “0” for 3 on good fish.   I was using a brand new Lunker Lure buzzbait and it got hung, I gave a big jerk and busted the blade.  Dang it!

     Thanks to my poor performance these guys made the blog today.

I had a couple roll on the topwater minnow, but I just could not entice them to eat.  No matter where I fished it was the same, a bite here, a bite there.  Flats, channel banks, points, no where had more than a bite.  I fished places I had not fished in months, and just could not pattern them.  Finally I said heck with it (In other words, wussied out.) and ran up lake to throw the swim jig.  And of course that worked.  In fact, my second cast one knocked a foot of slack in my line.  I love that bite.  This was all around noon or so, and it was interesting how when the fish were really biting the deer were out and feeding up a storm.

   Hoped for a big bite as the front rolled in, but it just did not happen.

The wind was blowing out of the north and getting a little stronger each hour, and the clouds were rolling in.  After I succumbed and ran up lake and caught 5 or 6 pretty quick to get my fix, it was time to work my way back down lake.  On the way back I fished 4 or 5 more places without a bite.  I finally decided one more spot in spite of showers off to the north.  Turned out to be a bad choice as I got poured on heading to the ramp and while putting it on the trailer.  Of course once I headed home it never rained another drop.  A perfect example of how my day went.

The water color has stabilized on the lake, from brown up lake to almost clear down.  The water temp is still stable, but hopefully this front will start to really bring it around.  Though if the lake continues to drop as fast as it has fishing might remain spotty for a while.

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And Chad the Mad Trout Fisherman was hard at it on Keller Bay yesterday.

Kellar bay , we fished hard today! Started before daylight, fished till 3:30 and it was a grind to find quality fish. Tons of mullet on the shorelines but other than big reds 28″ 26″ 25″ the fish were small . The little trout became a pain in the butt. We fished shallow, deep and in between. The wind blew in every direction, and the good trout were far and few. We boxed 12 from 16-19″ but we waded 3 miles for them.

I did notice the water warmed back up . Great day fishing, slow day catching . I did see some teal, shovlers and redheads buzzing this morning so it wont be long now and we will be doing the blast and cast. Thanks chad

First, as usual thanks for your report.  The small trout are an issue, great for catching, but it does get old.  Chris even commented on the number of small trout we caught yesterday.  Sounds like your day went about like ours did, a good day fishing but tough if you were boxing.  But any of us would be happy with that mess.  Obviously the last thing we needed was for the water temp to come back up, but the next couple of nights will change that.  We saw a few pintails yesterday, and I saw a couple of bunches of ducks flying over the lake today.  My buddy Chris is a big duck hunter, I am just not that mad at them like I am those fish.  I like to eat them as much as shoot them.  In fact, I am way better at eating them than I am actually hitting them.  This front should really bring them down and we will be looking forward to your duck reports this fall.   And I like the way you use the term blast and cast.  I always thought blast and cast was the right order of things, not cast and blast. I really appreciate your reports, and while I hate to ask, you have already done plenty, but how about dropping us a note on your plastic choice right now?  Most of us need all the help we can get.  Thanks again.

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And I got this report from Jim, and it looks like I need to head that way.  So many places to little time!

Cooler weather, gotta love it. I fished Fayette this past Tuesday as water temperature there have started to fall. Got to the lake at 6:45am and was met with overcast skies and breezy conditions. Got launched and headed to my first area with the intention of throwing topwaters. Water temperature was 83 and looked good. My first cast with the pop’r produced a 21.5″ 6# Fayette beauty. I always worry about catching a fish on the first cast but that one got my blood going. Worked the area over with the pop’r for 30 minutes with no more takers so I switched to a shad colored swim bait and put 4 more in the boat inside 30 minutes. The area I was fishing averaged 2.5-3ft with shoreline reeds. The lake is down about 1.5ft also so these areas are normally deeper. Working down the bank I saw some emergent vegetation coming up so I picked up a black/blue swim jog and started chunking. I caught 5 fish on the swim jig by just using a steady retrieve through the vegetation. 1 of the 5 fish was a 21″ 5.5# Fayette fatty. Beautiful fish! I rotated between the swim jig and swim bait until about 9am with no more takers so it was off to the dam. I fished the bottom edge of the dam where it flattened out which was 12-13ft with 1/4oz TR Berkley Havoc worm. This technique produced 3 more fish between 2-3#. By now it was about 12 noon and the bite had slowed to non-existent so it was time to leave. I think there was 10-12 boats on the lake. Gotta love fishing during the week! Can’t wait to go back next week with all the cooler weather on the way.

Great report!  All I can say is I love that lake.  When it is slow it is good, and when it is good it can be crazy.  And what is not to like about the average size you boated.  Fayette is one of the great fishing holes in this state.  There is nothing better than fishing during the week, one of the great advantages of retirement.  So thanks a freakin’ lot for your report, now I am going to have to head up there ASAP.  These cool nights will have all our finned friends on the move no matter where the live.  So many places, so little time.  Thanks for the report and I appreciate your continuing support.

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I am trying to wake up from this alternate universe I am living in.  I mean it can’t be real, can it?  The Hogs winning, the Cubs winning, the Cowboys are winning.  Just where in the hell did I wake up this week?  This is like some kind of dream, really!  It was not that long ago they were all losing like it was some kind of plan.  If this is a dream I will go ahead and sleep a little while longer.  All the way to the World Series and Super Bowl!

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And I want to send along birthday greetings to my mother-in-law Joy.  She is recovering from her second hip surgery and got some good news today on her recovery.  So keep working at it, you will be home soon.  I can only imagine how much fun my lovely wife and her dad Jack are having watching the Cubs together.  Both her dad and mine have been Cub fans for over 80 years.  So win one for the old guys, they have earned it.  But I miss her, no really, so send her on home tomorrow.  Somebody has to take care of me!

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It is 6am and I am awake and trying to decide if I am going to fish somewhere today.  With the wind expected to blow up to 20 plus out of the north I will pass on the bay.  There is this little lake outside Gonzales that I have been looking at.  Not really sure how the fishing is there, the TPWD website says the fishing is good, so as I drink my coffee I will read reports and the weather to make some kind of decision.  I know one thing, I love fall.  Jim and Chad’s reports just stoke the fire.  Stayed tuned.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Doing a little running around today to get the Boss ready for her trip to Iowa.  Once that is done it will be off to Academy for some plastics.  Looking at tomorrow’s (Wednesday) fishing forecast I am not going to make a guess as to how the fishing will be based on this information.  Looks like the tide will run pretty well, though there appear to be no sharp varations in the flow.  There is lots to learn about the effects of the tides on the fishing, and tomorrow should be interesting.  Chris is wanting to drift fish the back lakes for reds.  Looking at the second set of Solunar Tables we might get a little flow first thing in the morning, after that we will just have to wait and see.

Weather

91/68  Sunshine/clouds  stray rain possible  Wind SSE 10-15  Chance rain  20%

Tide

High 2:06 am 1.5    Low 2:28 pm  0.5    High tidal coefficient but fishing time is 4 – 6 am and pm, indicates slow day.  A confusing looking day.

Other Solunar Times

• Best Times     1:53A – 3:53A
•                          2:23P – 4:23P
• Good Time     8:08A – 10:08A  (Interesting how 2 different references have little similarity.)

Chris said the plan was to start off in the Lagoon and drift for reds.  From there it would be back lakes all day, and we stuck to the plan.  It was just dawn as we turned right off the cut from Army Cut into the Lagoon, and we ran all the way  down the Lagoon until it was open to the bay.  The wind was blowing in at 10+ over the bar and there was plenty of bait.

                           Fall = Drum Time.  Man they fight hard for their size.

We were just finding bait, then going up wind and drifting across any of the lakes we fished.  We started off mixing it up with topwaters, Chris threw the Wake bait some, and we both tossed an assortment of plastics during day.  We caught several reds, a drum, and some small trout.  That would be the way it went all day.  We made several drifts there and caught fish each time, and then it was off to Pringle.

Chris boating one.  And this was about the size of the trout today.

One observation on the tide, by starting in the Laguna and then going to Pringle, Conte, a couple of small lakes off Conte, Fish Pond, and several places in between, then working back towards POC we managed to stay in moving water basically all day.  It was one of those high tide days, almost over the dock fingers at Froggie’s, falling to what can only be called a “high” low.  So we were able to cruise a lot of the back lakes, and the fishing was consistent.

                                 They hit topwater off and on until noon.

Now don’t get me wrong, it was not gang busters by any means, but we caught fish everywhere we tried.  We would just find the bait, got up wind, then drifted through them.  We put plenty of small trout in the boat, but I doubt we had over 4 or 5 keepers. but since we were not keeping or measuring it would be hard to guess how many would have made the grade.  If I had to guess we caught a good 2o, but other than a few blowups we missed, the trout were on the small side.  But we were catching and would all the way up until we quit at 4.  And counting small rats it was an easy 10 on the reds, so not to bad.

                                               Chris with a couple of reds.

Pringle was probably the best of the back lakes.  (So Todd turn up the tunes, fill the cooler, grab some  stinking dead shrimp, and you will be in business.) We drifted in the south end of the lake, and whether it was plastics or topwater, if there was flipping bait, there were bites to be had.  The best results were by watching for flipping bait and then getting up wind and drifting through them.  It was probably as steady a topwater bite as long as I have seen it in a while, but we just never did get into the bigger trout.  My simple guess, it is to early (Read warm.) to draw the trout into the lakes heavy, but that is about to change.  And I was surprised at how late during the day they hit topwater.   It was easily after 2 or even later when the last one came on board on a topwater.  They hit the topwater on a steady retrieve, or on a stop and go, some of them right at the boat.  Lot of fun.

We were pretty sure we were ok with the tide as the grass was slowly coming with the tide most places we fished.  The last couple spots you really did need a weedless plastic as the grass was getting to be a hassle.  Chris was catching them with plastics on a weighted swim bait hook which allowed it to be fairly weedless.  I always enjoy fishing those areas with Chris.  His Dargel 17 runs super shallow, and with the “high” low, we fished lots of places  that will be a little tougher to get to as winter rolls in.  From the small lakes behind Conte, to exiting through Mule Slough to head back to POC, we were running and fishing shallow.

It was a fun way to fish, not my usual way, but I always like to fish those places with Chris.  He duck hunts with the airboat which has allowed him to maneuver through those lakes, and his experience allows him to get around in places that could be pretty tough.  We caught fish all day, saw some great territory, and it definitely got my blood flowing in anticipation on the fishing to come.

Today I will try to sneak out to the lake just a little this morning.  The front is on the way, and the wind may blow to 20 out of the north and there is a chance of rain.  Interesting to see how the fish react to this front.  It may slow it just a little in the short term, but with it will come the great fall/winter fishing, so no complaints from me on the weather.  Time to wrap this up, hook up the boat and head to the lake.  As Forest says, I love fall and that is all I am going to say about that.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Jeffish and I continue to find ways to not get on the water together.  I thought we would be fishing the lake this morning,  (Sunday) but since it did not happen I just messed around and watched a little football.  Looking at tomorrow’s (Monday) fishing the lake is down just a little and the weather could be better (worse) but I will hope for clouds and wind.  There are a couple of solunar periods before 2pm, so I have a shot.   I am not even going to guess tonight what will be working, but I am going to give it the old college try first thing in the morning.

Weather

Intervals clouds and sun.  Wind S 10-15. (Considerably more than 15.)  Chance rain 20%.

Water Level

Current    96.03 msl  –   Last Trip `10/6     96.28 msl – down .25

Solunar Times

 Best times   11:45A – 1:45P (Definitely when the good ones bit.)       12:14P – 2:14P      Good Time    5:59A – 7:59A  (Smaller fish and lots of misses.)

Coleto Creek

Every body was fishing today.

Even these guys.

It was my usual Monday trip to Coleto.  It was calm when I got to the lake at daylight and the dropping water was really evident this trip.  The water is coming down.  That would have an effect on today’s fishing, but once I got the hang of it was a pretty good day.  There was almost a really big screw up this morning.  All my stuff was in the tackle room so I put the 2 freshwater bags in the boat, and for some reason did not put the rods in the boat.  Real swift!  I got about a mile from the house and went, “did you put those in the boat?”  Stopped, looked, and back to the house.  Cost a little time, but a whole lot better than getting to lake without rods and reels.

First was up lake to fish the same general area I have been catching them.  It is getting time for buzzbait was first.  Over the next hour or so I had 5 blow up all over it, and not bother to get hooked.  Only one did I even feel it when I set the hook.  One thing became real apparent, the really shallow banks where I was catching them had lost much of the water and cover on them.  So with that state of affairs, I went to the swim jig on a little deeper banks, still making sure there is cover on them,  For the next couple of hours I caught one here and there.  Unfortunately I did lose a big fish because I was to lazy to reach around the console and get the net.

                     The Swim Jig bite has gotten better every day.

I tried a white on white swim jig without a bite.  So back to the bluegill with a Rage Craw and the fish started biting.  As I do not wear a watch it was around noon when the good bite started.  By now the wind was blowing pretty good, but it was fairly sheltered up lake so it was not a problem.  Just slow rolling it they were eating it pretty good and a couple hit it the minute it hit the water or on the first crank.  It was definitely a catch one, then catch another one or two in the same area.

                           The good bite was noon and they were eating it.

With the water falling they moved their location a little, towards deeper water, especially around points, but those I caught were still in a foot of so of water.  Several came off wood, though I did not pitch the stick worm today.  I did throw buzzbait off and on but after the sun got up that was over.  After boating a dozen plus on the swim jig the wind was blowing pretty good so it was time for a move to try something that should be working about now.

I have had no, and I mean not a stinkin’ drop, of luck down lake in the clearer water.  I was hoping that after letting the wind blow for a couple of hours on a long down lake bank it just might be time for the fall spinnerbait bite.  Fishing several places, I alternated spinnerbait and white swim jig without a bite.  It was not happening.  After fishing several places I called it a day, it turned out to be 2:00.  Guess one of these days I am going to have to stay down lake and try to figure it out, there is a way to catch them.

With the water still dropping, and the days staying warm, the good bite is just not happening on the lake.  There are fish to be caught, but we need some fall around here.  It finally looks like there may be a small cold front in our future, with a high in the mid 70’s on Saturday, which will really help the lake. But no complaints from me.  Fishing Coleto can spoil you.  Anytime you can boat a dozen with 5 or 6 nice ones in a long morning is pretty good bass fishing.  I am really looking forward to winter fishing the lake this year.

***********************

Next up is some back lakes out of POC on Wednesday with my buddy Chris.  He thinks there just might be a few redfish willing to eat a wake bait.  If you have never fished one you are missing out.  It generates some pretty awesome bites from redfish, and will boat the occasional trout.  So we will be putting in at Froggie’s as daylight cracks, from there who knows.  One of the things I like about fishing with other folks occasionally, lead the way!  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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I have been on the road with the lovely wife this week so there have been no reports, at least from me.  It is sad but true, she has a travel problem.  She never met a trip she did not like.  Monday night she just announced we are headed out of town tomorrow for a few days.  So it was load up the car and off we went.  But things are about to change around here, let the fishing begin.

********************

I was happy to hear from the Mad Trout Fisherman, who got to fish with crew along with his son Taylor, and as usual they worked them over.  But what is really important is this picture, it says it all about what fishing should be about!

My son taylor, who caught the big fish today. 24″ red and 21″ trout.

Great job Taylor.  It won’t be long before you are beating the pants off dad!

As I have been saying for several weeks now, the bite is on at the bay.  Chad has been catching fish in Keller, I even managed to catch a few there the last couple of trips.  It must be a real joy to take your son and have him put the hurt on them.  Even though my dad was not a fisherman by any stretch, he found time to take me, and later gave me rides all over the county, chasing fish in ponds and rivers.  It solidified my love of fishing.  So take a kid fishing, you can never go wrong.  And Chad, thanks for your reports.

********************

A big thanks to Tim and the folks at Wade Right.  I love getting stuff in the mail and he sent me some decals for the boat and a cool new Wade Right hat.  Funny how anxiety can over take me at times.  Will I get it level on the windshield?  Can the back window on the truck roll up and down without scraping the decal off?  Do I want to keep the new hat nice and new, or is it headed for the bay?  Decisions, decisions, it is a tough life.  I do know one thing, the belt is about to get the serious fall workout.

*********************

The folks across the street from Jeffish pulled in with the boat so we went over to say hi.  Actually just being nosey.  He reported a pretty good day drifting with plastics in the J Hook and Greens areas.  He said there was a ton of boats at Greens.  They caught lots of small trout and rat reds and they boxed a few.  Being from Kingsville he grew up fishing Baffin and the Laguna before moving up here.  His comments yesterday on the tide up here are so relevant to our tidal conversation.  Getting the hang of the tides here has been tough for him, there is a world of difference in how the tide works down there from up here.  In Baffin wind is really an issue, and can easily substitutes for tidal flow, or even reverse tidal direction.  Amazing what a difference a couple of passes make.

*********************

Today is fix the leaky waders day.  Leaky waders defeats the purpose, and in the winter just does not cut it.  Both my winter and summer pair are leaking so I applied the little trick Aaron showed me to my summer waders.  I filled up the left leg on the lightweight waders, where I got wet the other day, then squeezed the leg tight and immediately found the leak on a lower seam, about an inch long.  They are now hanging out in the fresh air drying, then it will be seam sealer.

The winter pair are a good quality hunting wader from Cabela’s.  Of all places for a leak it is actually in the lug sole, through the bottom of the boot.  That is the last place I would suspect.  I have fixed it before, it lasts a couple of trips, then starts leaking again.  So after watching that lunatic on TV build his boat out of Flex Seal, or seal anything on the face of the earth, I decided to give it a try.  It takes 48 hours to cure and then I will add one more coat.  We will find out whether he is as full of stuff as he seems to be.  The next couple of trips I will be sure to wear both and see if they are actually repaired.  It seems to me that once they start leaking it is only a matter of time.  Probably time to quit being such a cheap skate, get over it, and buy some Simms.

********************

I follow the Falcon Lake Tackle and Rod website.  Everything you need to know about Falcon Lake is on this site.  He blogs regularly and I love his style.  He does not pull his punches on any subject and is a strong advocate for Falcon lake.  I am sure that Texas Parks and Wildlife just loves it when he calls.  All I can say is go boy, they need to be watched at all times.  He just got back from the trip of a lifetime to Brazil for Peacock bass and if you want to read a cool story check it out.  That is one fish on my bucketlist.  That reminds me, time to make a new list.

http://www.tackleandrods.com/lake/Brazil.htm

********************

Though I give my lovely wife trouble about her “travel problem”, I am in the midst of planning several escapes.  First will be several days the first week of November at POC with the Austin boys, a trip that will be repeated a month later in December.  The December trip last year bordered on epic.  One morning was a redfish extravaganza, and if memory serves me right a couple of guys caught their personal best trout.  Those trips are a prelude to Fishmass, the annual Christmas fish fry.  So at least those dates are settled.

Now my problem, with a free week, is where next.  Initially it was North Padre and the Upper Laguna, but the weather is border line with a front on the way midweek which will switch the winds out of the north.  Then I thought why not make the trip to Falcon, the fishing is good and the weather is different.  The problem, the trolling motor is off the Mako and it will not be repaired before I wanted to go.  While I have fished Falcon in the Skiff, that is no boat for a big body of water if the wind blows.  It is a huge lake and once the wind blows it gets beyond ugly.  Who knows, I might do one of those 5 different places in 5 day things.

And back to the old question I keep beating around – should I sell the second boat?  If I did I would be out of action for fishing out of the boat with a trolling motor for what looks like almost a month.  Though I can still use the Mako on wade trips, bass fishing would be out.  So the Skiff will keep it’s place under the carport.  Sorry honey.

The only absolute decision made on the fishing is tomorrow morning.  My buddy Jeffish is going to fish with me on Coleto, and as we have not managed to get on the water together for a while I hope I can put him on some fish.  From then on it will be simply watching the weather.  I am flexible enough that the Laguna decision can be made on a moments notice.  No matter what it will be a stretch of fishing till you puke.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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I won’t be on the water until Friday, but I got this good report from Aaron and wanted to share it with you while it is fresh.

A Good POC Report

Here is a good report from, Austin Aaron who is a dedicated kayak guy.

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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First I want to really thank Steve for sending me to the Tide 4 Fishing website, which I had not looked at before.  It is one stop shopping for all the information I need other than the POC weather.   And when I prepared this for tomorrow’s fishing yesterday it was pretty clear where I would be heading in the morning.  So I am off to the Gulf, not sure where yet but I am going in the morning.  Now I have to think about where I want to be at daylight.

Weather

84/72  Mainly sunny.  Wind NE 10 -15  0% chance rain.  (Not that much wind.)

Tides

High  5:22 am  1.4   Low 7:21 pm  0.8  (At least 2+hours later than POC.)

Flow Projection + Solunar Times

The tidal coefficient is 43 – lower variation in tide height – small current.  There is a 2 hour high activity period from 8 – 10am when it appears the current will really start to flow on the falling tide.  (Later, and being so far from POC the water moved, slowly.)

Keller Bay

Due to the NE wind I decided to hit the pasture shoreline in Keller again.  That is protected perfect for that wind, and it worked out great today.  It was cracking daylight as I dropped the skiff in the water and headed down the shoreline to the high bank.  I found a wad of bait so I anchored and jumped in.

The tide was definitely up and the water near shore had just a little chill to it.  Of course it was topwarter first.  Right off the bat I missed a couple so I started switching back and forth, if they missed the topwater I tossed the 3″ paddle tail in white/red glitter.  Nice to have 2 rods on the Wade Right.   A couple of rats jumped on then I caught this one.

This was the biggest of the 5 reds I caught today.

It took me a little while to kind of figure it out.  There were small schools of bait fish making v’s, and the trout and reds were with them.  It actually turned into a game of target practice with either plastics or topwater.  Most of the fish were off the bank in 2+ feet of water.

The first one has been to the fridge a time or two.  Number 2 is what hit topwater.

There was nothing fast and furious this morning, and I think it was directly related to the low velocity.  They were just not going nuts, but they were catchable at daylight, and got better as the water began to move.  I caught a couple in a foot of water but most of the bites came standing waist deep plus and throwing way out.  Thanks Chad.  And with the high projected to be 5:22 and the good bite related to the flow to be 8 -10, I would estimate that it was at least 2 hours behind the projected times at POC.  You learn something every day

Initially the wind was blowing around 15mph, more out of the north and it was 60 degrees.  As the morning heated up it became more easterly at less than 10, which was blowing right over my head.  The ripple started about 4 feet off the bank and that seemed to be the best place to fish.

                   Nothing to big but no problem sacking a limit.

Before I quit about 1:30 I caught on paddle tail and straight tail plastics in 3 different colors.  The Nasty Baits Voodoo Shad in brown/chartreuse straight tail was the best plastic.  And 2 topwaters caught fish, the Knocker B and the Heddon One Knocker, both worked in a walk the dog pattern.  They actually hit both topwaters until almost noon, and the little better average came after 10.  It was mostly small up until then.  Unfortunately I had a real big trout for Keller jump off, bummer, and then had another good fish follow one I was fighting.  And I noticed the water was moving, you could not really feel it, by looking at the mud I was stirring up wading.  It was easily after 10 when the water moved, later than the POC projection by a good 2 hours.

Not a bad morning, and the best thing was really understanding and paying attention to how far behind Keller is from POC.  And watching my mud tipped me off when the water really started to move out.  So nice to understand a little more and add one more thing to the arsenal.  Plus, it was an easy 20 today, and the only downside was I did not stick a big red.  And unlike the last few trips, I did move the boat about 10:00, simply idling down the bank and watching for bait.  Once I found some about 100 yards from where I started the bite was consistent.  Don’t get me wrong, it was not a killing by any means, but the fish are biting and I am all about it.  Today bait was absolutely the ticket.

**********************

It was good to hear from Jim again.

Doug, I haven’t written you in a few months but that doesn’t mean I haven’t read every post you have made. I always look forward to seeing FCT in my email inbox. I have to commend you on your discussion regarding tides. It is the BEST discussion I have ever read. I love technical fishing and mathematical stuff so I have thoroughly enjoyed the reading. Keep up the good work!!

Jim in Cypress

Thanks for hanging in there with me, I appreciate it.  There may never be an absolute way to project where and how the water is moving, but the discussion has sure helped my understanding and I am glad you liked it.  Hopefully this discussion was a little improvement on some of my content.  Comment anytime.

*********************

And Steve added another comment on the tide stuff, and it further refines what we have been talking about.

Good Morning Doug
After reading all of your research information and others, it really comes down to finding water movement. The same guide, who explained the tide as a bubble of water, also explained how to fish in the winter when we have very low tides and hours of no water movement at all. Some of the things he mentioned were fishing places with a narrow drain that really funnels water and windy shore lines . All of that makes good sense; wind does make for some current. The most interesting advice he gave was to fish the spoil inlands along the barge canal. When looking for water movement, barges create tons of water movement in and out between these spoil cuts. I would have never looked at it that way, but it does make perfect sense. This whole topic has made me more aware of how fish move. Now I realized why when I went from place to place it was hit and miss.
Steve

Commenting on the narrow drain in winter, last December when the Austin boys were here we had a day like that, super low tide, emptied a back lake, and the fish were in a channel that you could cast across blindfolded.  There were reds, trout, flounder, and black drum in the center of that small channel eating, and we put a bunch in the box as it got dark.  And I have actually had a spoil pile moment in the Upper Laguna.  They were tight on the piles, and we were sitting in the barge canal tossing topwater in 90 degree weather with 20″ plus trout smoking it in the middle of the day.  We had to move once for a big double barge, he went by us and promptly grounded.  After much banging and clanging he finally managed to get off and get moving.  And last, I am so with you on the hit or miss thing after a move.  Often a great move was nothing more than sheer luck, and there were just as many times when moving was a complete failure.  The key is moving water, and being there when it does no matter what day or time it is.  Would seem easy wouldn’t it.  This discussion will continue, and in the next week or two I am going to put the tide stuff together in one article.  I appreciate your participation, comment anytime.  And if the rest of you have anything to add to the tide conversation, speak up, we can all learn something.

**********************

A good Monday.  The skiff did not suffer from 6 weeks of inactivity, though it still initially starts like a bear, then just hit the key after that.  Have to get that looked at.  And I am still waiting on my trolling motor for the flats boat, have to check on that tomorrow and see what is up.  Other than that if any of the rest of you have anything to say send it along.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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********************

I figured the tide post would generate a few comments, and they started right away.  Like I said, my post was an attempt to try to find a simple way to try to get to the right place at the right time.  But there is obviously way more to it than that. In fact, this subject will be discussed for a while and I will combine everything with the first post.  This comment from Colby is from a guy who has obviously done his homework on and off the water and I am happy to share it with you.

Doug,
Without a doubt the best book to learn about tides is Beyond The Moon by James Greig McCully. Chapter 12 – The Tides and Saltwater Fishing is especially helpful for coastal anglers. Texas coastal fishermen need to remember a couple of things. First the tide only changes about one foot along the Texas coast. Other locations around the world have a much greater tidal change than does the Texas coast. Also the wind plays a big roll along the Texas coast. With a wind of 15 mph or more the areas away from the Gulf openings may not feel a tide change at all! Ever notice how Rockport might have 4 tides while POC only has one? How can that be? Tides are a very interesting part of learning how to fish the coast. And now to really make it confusing the velocity of the tides is actually slowing down right now! Let me know how to send you a graph I did showing tides over the last 20 years and how the velocity is actually slowing down. Big subject. Fun stuff.

Colby

It is fun stuff for sure, and your comments are great.  The graph sounds cool and informative so an email is on the way so we can take a look at it.  I will be interested in any comments you may have on the velocity slowing down.  Have to think about that.  In my reading it was real apparent right away that the farther you are from the opening/pass the less you may feel the tide.  And I am with you on the 15mph plus wind, those are the days the wind keeps the water up, or empties the bay.  So in other words, big wind beats a weak tide in water a long way from the openings.  Last, I fished Florida quite a few years before I started fishing here.  At first I asked a couple of people what happened to the tide.  I was out there a few days my first trip before I realized over a foot was it.  I was like that’s the tide?  In Florida it might be a 4′ tide that hauls butt, here there are times a good ripple is the size of it.  Thanks for your informative comments, I am going to add them to the tide post.

*********************

Colby followed up right away with a really interesting and informative chart.  Look at it closely and then read his comments.  It will get you to thinking and also shows how uninformed many of us are.

(Sorry the words are not readable.  I attempted to fix it but for some reason it is not clear on the site.  So for clarification the numbers on the left go from 0 at the bottom to 30 at the top, days of the month of June.  The small words on the right are on the line where the days fishing was  excellent, very good, or good during that month and year in June.  The bottom line is the years.  When the jagged line falls below the small words on the right there were none of those “Good Fishing” days, only fair or poor.  Sorry for the inconvienance.) 

Doug,

Here is the graph.

The information presented is:

The (jagged) line represents the number of “Good Fishing” days for each June for the years 1997 through 2016.  “Good Fishing” days defined as Good, Very Good or Excellent days as shown in the Gulf Coast Fisherman magazine.  The poor or fair days are not included.

Each day of the month is represented as being one of these five categories for potential fishing success.  I’ve used these calendars for over 25 years and always found them to be accurate.  I became concerned when I noticed fewer “Good Fishing” days in the month of June.  As the graph shows in earlier years there were numerous “Good Fishing” days each month.  Now there are some June(s) when there are none!

I contacted Gulf Coast Fisherman Publisher Gary Ralston about this graph and he told me he had been noticing the trend for several years.  He did confirm there is an 18 year cycle that takes place that has some effect on this but he also confirmed that in fact the velocity ( what gives us the good, very good and excellent days) was slowing down.  He also told me that Florida was even worse than Texas.

I use to always plan on trips in June on the triple XXX days because that’s when the tide moved at enough velocity to cause some great feeding activity.  But now with the slower velocity things have changed.

So far I haven’t been able to find out the reason for this change but I haven’t given up either.

I think it is also very important when discussing tides to realize when a tide starts moving that it does not move at a steady rate.   The tide builds and has a greater velocity at certain times during the tide.  The tide chart activity actually looks more like a set of stair steps instead of a smooth bell curve.  This important detail is discussed in the McCully book I mentioned.

NO DOUBT students of tides will catch more fish.  Fish are simply more active when the tide is moving whether it’s an incoming or outgoing tide and less active during slack tide.

The best tide to fish?  Whenever you can.  Tides simply mean during the day you can fish there will be more active times and less active times during that 24 hour period.  Use the tide charts to help you decide where you want to be during those more active times.

Colby

**********************

Considering Colby’s comments before, water velocity is a prime factor.  Here is a really interesting point by Steve along with a great site.

Thanks a bunch Doug! You did a really good job at of explaining a complicated problem. WHEN WILL THE WATER MOVE AGAIN AT MY LOCATION? There is a website that I use that shows tidal coefficient and puts a number value on each tide. In other words how much water will move on that tide compared to other tides? This website graph shows the progression of the tidal coefficient in the month of October 2016 for POC. Large coefficients indicate important high and low tides; major currents and movements usually take place on the sea bed. But bear in mind that this tidal amplitude may be greatly affected by the weather. (WIND) An east wind will over power the low tides around POC and tend to stack water.
http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/texas/port-o-connor
I watched an animated video once that showed the tide as a bubble of water moving across the bay. The most interesting part of the video showed how the fisherman can follow the bubble of water and either fish an ebb tide or a flood depending on what part of the bay he chose to fish. If you were really sharp you could find a falling tide, somewhere on our bay system every day depending on where you chose to fish.
Thanks again, you are always helpful.

This is a much better explanation than mine the other day when I tried to get that concept across.  Thinking of the tide as bubble is the perfect way to look at it.  And when you think about it, if the time difference from the furthest point from the opening remains basically the same, give or take a little, it should be possible to make an educated guess on following that bubble.  For me, if I could fish a falling tide the rest of my life I would be thrilled.  So thanks for the great information, and the site.  And as far as being helpful, I just hope to moderate and encourage the discussion.  Thanks, I appreciate your participation.

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And then after reading my rant on the tides my buddy Todd said it best about the way many of us approach the tide.  There is always someone out there who can interject a voice of reason.

Great read Doug! Someone once told me, go to a local store and pick up a local tide chart. Then when you get to the water, crumple it up and throw it in. Whichever way it floats, that’s the way the tide’s moving

So true. If I would have know that it would have saved me all this effort trying to understand these pesky tides.  Other than that just wondering if we are going to see you boys down here in December.  If you get a date let me know so I can be sure to be around.  Good to hear you are upright and taking nourishment.  And having had the pleasure of eating your cooking I am sure the nourishment is delicious.

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And it was great to hear from one of my “oldest” readers. His comments probably more accurately reflect many of our real life experience with tide and weather.

Doug, after reading your dissertation on tides, I now will call  you” professor Salt”.

As usual, we all get answers from you on whatever the question is asked and this helps all, including novice and experienced anglers. You did some “homework” on Steve’s inquiry on tidal flows. All of this shows your love of fishing and sharing it with others.

Me, living in Bastrop, always hit the bays with a wing and a prayer. Many trips have been wind blown when the forecast was winds up to 10 mph. Other times tides forecast high ended up with me arriving up to a mud flat. Sometimes my return trip home is without fish, but like you fishing our coastal waters is a passion. Just getting out on a quiet pristine back bay makes life bearable. Fall fishing makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when a pod of Reds crosses my path. The wind is calm and many are deer hunting. I wish deer season lasted all year long!!

As for tides. growing up in Port A, I hung around many guides and learned that 90% of the fish are in 10 % of the water . I learned that according to Totsy Belcher, who was a top guide there said” there will be Reds in most tidal flats with turtle grass bottoms when the tide was 1.5 ft or higher and if he tide was moving in or out, the fish would be moving about. It would be just locating them”. Many of these old guides have passed on and often there secrets went to the grave with them. “Betty of the jetty” in Port A. was a regular old crusty women who cursed all who fished near her. She always caught trout and Reds in any kind of weather. Her secret–she never fished with an artificial bait, but she told me –“Mac, you got to fish often and use bingo lures while you are young, because one day when you are old you will have to fish like me with nasty old shrimp. Well Betty “rest your soul” cause I am old and I can still toss a topwater.

We all meet special people, and Doug, even though most of your readers have never met you , we all are literally in the boat with you, when you fish. Do keep doing what you do. I used to look foreword to the daily newspaper but computers have replaced em’, but your late night or early morning tales take the paper’s place.

Thanks, Mac

PS- I, myself, never pay attention to tides-I thought Tide was a soap!!!!!!!!!!!

It is good to hear from you, when I have not heard from you for a while I notice.  So much to comment on.  First the loss of the “old ones.”  I can only imagine how the real old salts filed it all away in their mind without the use of a tide chart from years of experience.  Truly reading the water.  To bad so much knowledge has not been recorded for posterity.  We may have all the stuff but they were the real foundation of our sport, it really is a loss for all of us when their stories are lost.  And I am so with you on the deer hunting.  Now don’t get me wrong I love me some venison, but that opening week is my favorite to be on the water.

As far as answering questions I try to do it the best I can.  When you have a witness on the stand and are cross examining them you learn real quick about answering questions.  Making stuff up is as bad as lying, maybe worse as you look like an idiot.  So I try to answer the best I can with what little I know.  There are times I feel like I am on the “stand’ when I write something.  Not sure I like being on the other side of the equation. Last, you know me, fall and redfish go together like the 60’s and tube tops.  My favorite time of the year.  And your kind words humble me.  It keeps me writing when I really want to watch football and drink a cold one, though I have been know to do both on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  So here is to you tossing that topwater many more falls.  It keeps us alive.

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And Ed had a question related to the post.  Lets see if we can answer it.

That’s some interesting stuff. Makes sense to be where the water is moving.
I use the site called tides4fishing and use the high and lows as my point of reference.
I just never figured that the times were so spread out. I like to fish the areas of mule slough, boggy bayou , coast guard, bayocous and bar-room . So an example for myself is if low tide is at 10am (that’s for the jetties?) then I should be setup at coast guard by 6? Or 2pm. Did that make any sense?

Ed

Good question.  Lets think about it this way.  First remember that you can use the POC times, which is the little jetties, or the surfer site for Pass Cavallo, both which are relevant to where you fish.  I don’t think there is a time for the big jetties.  If you use the example from the 4th the high at Pass Cavallo was around 8:25, so if you think about it your are literally almost there when you set up on the old coast guard station!  So if the low is at 10:00 at the pass, you really should only have to look at a tide graph looking for the big change in water flow to be there at the right tide, depending on which tide you want to fish.  It is why when I looked at a map to get it in my head where the tide monitoring stations are related to the rest of the bay, did it finally start to make a little more sense.   So based on where you like to fish, looking at both the Pass Cavallo times and the POC times you should be able to figure it out close at most of the places you fish.  If you are like me it might take a while, but keeping track of what the water is doing where you are fishing,  related to the tide times, will really begin to sink it in.  Let’s hope!  Thanks.

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Trying to figure this all out is giving me a headache, but it is a good one.  There are so many factors concerning the tide that have to be taken into account any time you hit the bay.  To tell you how dense I can be we fished a day last fall with one big tide.  Our first stop was around Pringle and the tide was running out perfect, then it started to slack.  Our third stop was way down the island past the first chain.  We set up on a drain and the water was again running out just perfect.  In my ignorance I am thinking what is up with the second tide?  From what I now know it was one of 2 things.  First, the falling tide was that far behind POC and we made the perfect move taking advantage of the long run.  Or the other option, there were a couple of periods of good running water, and when it slacked at Pringle it was just a pause and had not gotten to low tide yet.  Both of these posssibilities would have been answered with just a review of tidal flow and times before we went that day.  The old saying is so applicable to the tides  –  “Poor planning equals poor performance.”  Or in my case every once in while you just get lucky.

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And further thinking about tides, it is no wonder I have always liked Big Bayou.  There is a 12 – 15″ deep hole that has been scoured out by water draining from the flats adjacent to Big Bayou.  Big Bayou should probably be called Big Bayou Pass.  It funnels water from the vast flats that surround it, and it has hollowed out one of the deeper channels in our local bays.  That deep water offers protection and comfort for the fish, plus the heavy flow that rings the dinner bell.   If you think about it, it empties directly into open water and out Pass Cavallo it goes.

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There is so much to digest and when readers participate we all benefit.  I will sit down and try to rewrite the original article using this information and comments.  And all of this really has me thinking about planning moves based on getting where I want, which in my case is falling tide.  Getting there a couple of times most days would be a thing of beauty. Be it flounder on a steep grassy shoreline, trout in the middle of a drain, or reds scouring the edges as water falls out of the grass, falling tides are my favorite.  I am going to try to pay a lot more attention to the tide and flow projections, and then do a little more planning on projected moves.  Who knows, it just might pay off.

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Hope you have all learned something with these to tide posts, I know I have.  If any of you have anything to add, either technical or your on the water experiences, please chime in.  We are far from done with this subject.  Tomorrow I will be on the water somewhere.  I am about to check the weather, tides, flows, Ouija board, and my granddaughter Baby Wren to decide where and how.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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There was one thing I knew for sure about today, if I did not do something responsible this morning that would be it, I would never get out of this recliner.  So I emptied the skiff and power washed it inside and out along with everything in it.  Amazing what you might find in the bilge.  Glad I did it, now I will probably fish out of it some this week.  But the reason I wanted to do something early is college football.  As I write this the Red River Showdown is on.  As a Hog fan it is hard to root for either one of them though I am leaning to Texas.  I like what Charlie Strong has done with character issues.  Then next it is A&M v. Tennessee, followed by Arkansas v. Alabama.  Our season either starts or ends today.  All roads lead through the Crimson Tide.  So with that lineup it will be a football day.  GO HOGS!!!

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I want to start with this comment I got from Jim this morning, who is down from the big city.

I like it ! We have a little cool front in Seadrift this morning

Thanks for that.  I was beginning to think that those words were never going to be spoken.  Love whipping across the water on a nippy morning, knowing the fish are going to bite!  If you catch any let us know.  Have a good weekend.

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I hadn’t heard from Chad The Mad Trout Fisherman in a while, but looks like he is back at it.  He knows how to share a report.

Kellar bay topwater action today. After not getting to fish last week. I was eager to get my saltwater fix. We lauched about 6:50 am and headed down the shoreline looking for bait. A four man crew and one of our guest hadn’t ever used lures. So we rigged him up with softplastic and gave a few pointers as we eased in the water. The bait looked to be tight to the grass with the tide being way up. After a few dinks and a rat on the topwater i had the beautiful explosion. When a 24″ red comes all the way out of the water to inhale the super spook jr. Man thats what its all about,after getting the bite down on how they wanted it . It was game on! Walk the dog, walk the dog , stop! Boom! After a good thunder storm rolled in it dumped on us. I switched to the hogies minnow in whisky/ chart. Plastic tail. We got off the grass and waded out to shirtpocket deep. And caught trout after trout. Not much size to them. But were able to cull through them and ended up with some that would box.  21″ was the big trout for the day. All in all a good day. The final count on the day was 19 trout 5 reds and 2 flounder. The guy who hasn’t ever caught a fish on lures, caught a texas slam today. So kudos to him. My buddy Todd had the hot stick today. Finding them as he has become quite the fisherman. We did see some flocks of ducks buzzing the marsh this am. Mostly teal a few mottled ducks. Thanks chad

Great report and sounds like a fun day with your crew.  My problem when it is like that I don’t put the topwater down when I should, but I am all about the explosion.  And your results were what I found last trip to Keller, plenty of small trout, but at least your crew figured it out and found some good keepers.  And nothing like a slam on your first real go at it, so congrats to your buddy.  It still makes me happy to box a slam.  I also saw a few ducks the other day off the island.  Nothing works a duck hunter up like the first bunch of teal moving down.  Fall is my favorite time of year, seeing ducks working, nice racks feeding in a field, fish exploding on topwater,  what could be better than that.  Thanks for the report, keep them coming.

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And I got this comment from Bobby after our trip to Coleto on Thursday.

Tell ya what if you want to catch fish go with Doug!!! He has got it going on. I had so much fun today It was just awesome. He can put you on fish . Every time we fish together we always catch fish. So Thank you very much Doug for a great day of fishing. Gonna get the trolling motor battery replaced . And soon we are going to Fayette Thanks for a great day!!!!!
you are the man…..
Bobby

I am not sure I deserve all that, but thanks.  We did have a great time.  I must admit I am spoiled and often forget that results are relative.  So the rest of you need to remember there is nothing better than sharing the boat with a buddy.  Plus, when they put them in the boat you will just be happy to be there sharing a little knowledge.  You are welcome to fish with me anytime Bobby.  Especially when it is out of your boat!

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I have learned several things about gluing my plastics to the jig heads the day before I go.  I try to glue about a dozen, 4 in 3 different colors, half paddle tails and half straight.  Then I let the fish decide.  And if they want a certain one I have plenty of spare bags in the tackle box.  First, I really like how if they do not bite the tail off you can catch a whole lot more fish on each bait.  Not only do they not stretch them out, you are not constantly sliding the plastic up on the jig head.  It is real irritating when there is nothing really wrong with one other than it won’t stay on the head.   I have caught so many trout on one plastic that it ends up shredded, and the fish don’t care.  No way it would have survived without being glued on the head.

Second, you do have to be responsible with your jig heads.  As much as they cost these days you want to take care of them, I easily go through 10 or so in a day.  So when I put a new bait on after the plastic is trashed I put the jig head back in the box, take it home, clean off the old glue, and glue on a new plastic.  It just takes a little effort to keep track of the jig heads.  And last, there is the time savings in messing around with glue on the boat or in the wade box.  The end result of gluing them in advance is it saves time and hassle when wading, and my plastic use has gone way down.  And  as side benefit of doing that is I look at the rest of the stuff over so I am plenty organized the next day.

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I met Colby at Academy a few years ago, and then fishing a few night tourneys on Coleto.  He and his dad are serious sticks in fresh and saltwater.  I have become friends with him on Facebook and found out he is now guiding in the POC area.  His pictures say it all.  So I will steal a few from him every so often, and who knows, maybe he will drop us a report or two.  If you are looking for a guide in this area, he is the man for the job.

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I am posting this today because the Tide post generated some great comments and information.  So much so that another post on the tide is already a long one, so I wanted to keep it separate from this other stuff.  And I wanted to get Chad’s report up as quick as possible.  There are definitely fish to be caught in Keller, they sure figured it out.  The fishing and the weather has me in full fishing mode.  What a great time of year.  Heck I am not sure I can wait until Monday.  So keep stopping in, comment anytime the spirit moves you, and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines