FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Check out the KnockerB.  If you like a one knocker you will like this as much as the trout do!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD – YOU MADE IT 88 YEARS IN SPTIE OF US!

(Please excuse the late post.  I am on the road headed to see the grandkids, and that is priority number 1.)

Coleto Creek

With the wind supposed to be 20+mph it was time to hit the lake.  I am sick of the wind, and it is blowing up to 30 as I write this.  But that aside I dropped the boat in the water around 8 and fished until 1:30.  It was one of those interesting days that come around on occasion, and it took me, or the fish, a while to get the hang of it.

The water was just a little higher than last time, in fact it is almost to the top of the small loading dock.  The water temp was 76 degrees and is still off-color.  And unfortunately I am still not seeing any emerging grass coming off  the bottom.  Hopefully we will get some grass back, but what has me more confused, is the water color has remained the same even when we have had no rain.  Makes me think something is going on up stream somewhere.  I know there is a big housing development and maybe it is runoff.  Will just have to see how it goes as we progress into summer.  But back to the fishing.

In the first cove I missed 6 or 7 fish, most on Bang O Lure and a couple on buzzbait.  But no big deal, it just must be one of those things.  And then a couple of hours later after maybe boating 3, and missing a bunch, I finally put 3 or 4 in a row in the boat.  Notice anything in the picture below?

Three in a row in the side or back.  And the other problem, of the 10 or so I did catch they were all this small.

They were rolling on it, boiling it, nipping at the buzzbait, they just were not aggressive.  A trailer hook on the buzzbait did not result in any more coming over the side.  In fact it was probably 1 out of 5 give or take a couple.

They were a little more aggressive in the afternoon. but I was still foul hooking them more than the old in the mouth stick.  The thing that is probably more important was they were all small.  I might have had one good one roll it, but they all looked the same.  That is probably the last day for serious topwater fishing unless we get one more cloudy day with drizzle and no wind.  I did catch several walking the dog with a white topwater, but most were on the Bang O Lure.  I tried windy banks with spinnerbait without success.

With the water level where it is right now it is time to start pitching and flipping that lizard.  There are plenty of banks with access to deep water that have great grass and cover.  And if the lake is going to have little grass this year rest assured they will take up residence in that thick stuff and stay there as long as there is water.

The day was hardly a success, especially since I had not fished in a while.  It will be interesting to see how the lake progresses this year, like last it will be different.  But I hope it is while before find out, I want to be fishing the bay.

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Shoedog spoke with whoever it was in Austin concerning the Lake Fayette closing and they told him that it will be closed for the time being and may be for a while longer.  So those of you who fish it are just going to have to keep checking to see when it reopens.  Hopefully it won’t be much longer.

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The Bassmaster Elite Series final day was on Lake Norfork with 12 competitors.  All but one caught a limit but Randall Tharp topped 16lbs to take the title and $100,000 in cash.  They caught about what I figured as to weight, and really big fish just did not appear at the weigh in.  The fishing there is just another animal compared to other areas of the country.  It was interesting how they went back and forth between lakes and it really did set up a different finish.  Often the guy leading the last day has found a pretty consistent place and pattern that allows him to hold on.  With this one they were back on Norfork where they had not fished for 2 days and it really was back to square one, a cool challange.  So congratulations to Randall Tharp and I am sure Mtn. Home is glad to be back to normal.

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Speaking for Bull Shoals Clyde was able to slip out for a few of hours and sent me a couple of pictures.

Now that is a smallmouth!

Caught this one on that Maribou jig on Sunday afternoon along with some smaller ones ,a keeper Kentucky  ; and a Bull Shoals crappie.

Nice Black Crappie – and I mean black during the spawning season.

With the  variety of species available in the Twin Lakes area Clyde has spent a lot more time fishing light line and maribou jigs, which will catch almost any fish anytime, anywhere.  Clyde could truly be labeled a multi-species fisherman in the mold of the guys at In Fisherman.  He never met a fish he did not like.  Thanks for the report Dude and we are 1 month to Canada.

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And Jim dropped a comment on the Chris and Clay gator story.

That was a great story; thanks for sharing….. It had everything in it including a threat message from the Boss about the picture taking.

Thanks for your comment, it was actually tamer than a few I received which normally included at least one or two expletives.

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I have more including a report from Shoedog amongst other things.  It will be good to see the parents and then my daughter and her family.  The two granddaughters are growing up fast.  We will also see the Shoedog as he is headed back to Arkansas for a couple of more days of fishing.  I sure hope the wind is down next week, I am really ready to get back topwater fishing.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Check out the KnockerB.  If you like a one knocker you will like this as much as the trout do!

GATOR MADNESS!

(Here is the story of the big alligator hunt straight from the horse’s mouth.)

So here’s the short version of the story.

Friday we meet out at his place around 1pm.  It’s a beautiful warm sunny day.  The kind of day we see gators sunning themselves all fall/winter/early spring, but about 20deg warmer.  We make a couple trips around the lake checking known haunts and see nothing.  We realize we don’t really know what gators do when it’s hot outside, but it obviously isn’t lay on the levy.  We hatch a plan to put out some decoy baits.  We hack up a couple of the chicken quarters and hang them off the poles on plain mono about two feet up.  We put out a few around the known haunts and the sites we found sign.  Not more than 15 minutes later we notice a 6 after checking out a drumstick.  Not quite what we’re after.

Having depleted the bait stores, we leave the decoys and round up a couple fresh jackrabbits.  It’s getting near sundown, and we haven’t seen any activity other than a solid 11 incher under the bait around the most sign.  We hoped for increased activity with the cooling temp and made another round of the lake.

We see him as we come up on the opposite side of the lake from all our baits.  He’s hanging out on the opposite side of the canal in the shallow water unintimidated by our movement on the bank.  We estimate he’s about 10′ and set to putting out a bait with a hook.  A full chicken quarter and and a healthy chunk of beef liver with the blood from the bottom of the package poured in the water.  Through all the inexperienced bumbling of two rookies on the bank, he’s come into the canal and is watching us closely about 10′ off the bank with just an eye above water, for some reason not spooked by a couple guys stomping around his lounge.  We feel confident he’s going to eat, so we leave the bait less than a foot off the water, hoping a little guy doesn’t swoop in and take big daddy’s dinner.

We back off to set another hooked bait across the lake.  We go back over to check on biggun and find him with the cane bent over, bait in his mouth, but the line hasn’t released from the slit in the end of the cane.  The shank of the hook is sitting on his nose and he’s sitting there motionless.  I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to get him hooked, so I try to ease down and tip the end of the pole up so the line pulls out the other end so he has some slack to take the bait down.  I get the zip ties holding the pole cut and it drops down, he takes off and takes the line about 5′ with him, but then it goes slack.  The bait is gone and so is he.  Rookie mistake, the line didn’t release easily enough to let him take the bait and swallow it.  We still have a jackrabbit so we quickly half it and get our bait reset.  The legs are hanging just off the water.  The line is wedged in as lightly as possible to still hold a 3lb bait up.  We back off just as the sun sets.  We’re hanging out BSing about 30yds away when we hear the unmistakable cracking of a 15′ bamboo pole being bent over.  We wait a few minutes the ease back over there to find the line off the pole and disappeared into the depths moving quickly down the  canal.  After a little happy dance we head home with plans to meet early the next morning to get the beast pulled up and get on with our duties for the day.

I asked the brother in law if he wants to tag along, and he gladly joins to avoid a morning of dress shopping with the wives and daughter.  Excitement is high as we head off down the 60 mile route back to lizard town.  A quick stop at whataburger for some breakfast and when we get back in the truck to turn the key, nothing.  The starter whirs, but there’s no cranking.  Crap.  We’ve been threatened with death if we don’t make it home in time for a family portrait sitting this evening.  Luckily there’s a Napa a half mile down the road and a good samaritan that runs me down there to pick up a new starter.    Luckily they have one so its back to the parking lot to throw it on.  As I have always done, I connect the wires first, then go to twist it up into place.  Apparently they don’t make solenoids like they used to and the whole area around the post breaks and twists off.  Wonderful.  So it’s back to napa to buy a second starter, because apparently if it breaks there, the warranty is void.  Get back and get it bolted up and get greeted shortly by the sweet purr of a 7.3.

Made it back to the ranch and find the gator still solidly hooked hanging out in the same spot we first saw him.  He rolls of into the deep water as we approach.  Through no small amount of pulling and wondering when he’s going to launch at us quicker than we can climb the levy, we have a giant head at waters edge.  It’s covered in lily pad and cane and impossible to tell exactly where to shoot.  I throw a loop of line around the post and my buddy sets off to find a stick to try to clear off the debris.  Big guy hasn’t been trashing at all, until I threw that loop and left him with about 6′ of line.  I was sure he was going to pull that hook.  Luckily it held and he had cleared off his lily pad hat for us.  I lined up and put one behind his skull looking straight at him.  He went immediately limp and we stood there for a second waiting for the mayhem.  He just sank.  We pulled him up as far as we could and realized how huge he really was.  We also realized he didn’t have the required blood pumping and he was starting to writhe a little, so I put a few more in until the blood pumped.  There’s a 6ft levy behind us and there’s no way we’re pulling him up that without the tractor.  We get him up to the top and try getting him into the truck with three guys and a girlfriend.  Ha.  Not happening.  We tried everything we could think of, but without some machinery, no way.  Thank God we were able to recruit some friends of cousins and four high school football players.  That made it a quick lift and slide and off to the taxidermist.

Don’t worry, we made it home in time for pictures.

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Glad you made it home on time.  I am not sure which is worse, a 12′ angry gator or a pissed off wife.  But really Chris, thanks a lot for taking the time to tell us the whole story. For a couple of rooks looks like you did just fine and nobody but the gator died.  Funny how a couple of .357 holes in the head seems to quite the down.  That must have been all it was cracked up to be.  So congratulations to Chris and Clay for what had to be a bucket list moment.

And from the Shoedog:   Way to go Chris!

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Folks I love letting you tell your stories here.  It is not near as hard as you might think and we don’t care if you are not Earnest Hemingway when you write, we just love to hear your stories and see your pictures.  So if you ever feel the need to wax poetic drop a comment and I will let you know how to get pictures to me.  Thanks again Chris, great story.

As you read this I am on the lake.  I can honestly say this wind is almost depressing me.  It would be the Gulf but it supposed to blow 15 – 25 today with higher gusts, then 20 – 30 on Tuesday.  But May is on the way and the winds will start to die and it will be back to the bay. So if it is that rough the lake it is.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Check out the KnockerB.  If you like a one knocker you will like this as much as the trout do!

So here I sit, waiting for a few more customers for our garage sale.  Our neighborhood is having one and it was really busy this morning.  The weather is great and I want to be out there, but the Boss is at work and I am trying to squeeze a last couple of bucks out of this extravaganza today.  I sold some fishing stuff, but trust me, if I didn’t want to save it you did not miss anything.  Never knew broken rods and froze up reels would sell so good.  I think the guy who bought most of it has an ongoing garage sale.

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I got one of the most interesting comments I have gotten yet.  Mac has been a part of this with his comments for years, and I always appreciate hearing from him.  He is exactly the person that defines why I do this, and this is just plain awesome.

Ripley’s believe it or not

Woke up this morning to steady rain in Bastrop. After 5 days of rain and Cabin Fever, I drove to Aransas Pass to fish for one day. It rained all the way there, but stopped on my arrival. The flats were still clear waters and I was hoping there was still some salty water around. I fished till 3 pm with nothing to show, but came across a dead seagull and my thoughts centered on a recent article of yours stating how a few feathers could enhance your top water plugs. Doug, from now on feathers are a staple in my tackle ensemble. With the feathers from this dead bird , tied behind a Zara spook, the fishing vastly improved. Two 23 inch trout and 3 slot reds fell to a birds white feathers. Just got home and tired to the bone but thrilled to be on the salt water again.
Thanks for your info– and the seagulls better look out!!!!!!

Mac

Nice fish!  Hopefully to many seagulls will not have to kick the bucket for us to put more fish in the boat.  And definitely do not raid the neighbors chicken coop. But seriously, I really believe it makes a difference, and your experience is a perfect example of that.  All a person needs to do is next time you are at the tackle store or fly store just pick up a bag of chicken feathers and you are ready to go.  Any thread will do, just put a little on, wrap it and then a couple of knots and glue and you are in business.  It does not take much and if they eat it off just put more on.  I can not say it enough, it is the small things that really make a difference.  So thanks for the great story and all your other comments.

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R U FEAKIN’ KIDDING ME!

I got this on my phone from my buddy Chris.  Not only does he like to fish, but he likes to hunt just as much.  He was hunting with Clay his duck hunting buddy and this one was baited with half a jack rabbit and dispatched with a .357 magnum.  It was 11’9″ and they estimate it was well over 600lbs.

As Troy says – “That is a dinosaur!”

All I have to say is that is a real one.  Congratulations guys, that is about as big as they come in these parts.  And it should be some good eating.

Note:  Just got the whole story and some other pics that will be up tomorrow so stop in.

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I have been watching the Bassmaster Elite Series weigh in live online on their website.  They do an updated tracker as they weigh in.  They are doing something new.  Day 1 on Norfork, day 2 on Bull Shoals, then cut to 50 and fish one more on Bull Shoals, then the final 10 back on Norfork.  It is the first time the Bassmaster has been held on 2 different lakes this way.

Thanks for the picture ;Maria found some rod holders at BASS weigh in; will send you a pic; KVD and Mike Ikanelli Never made the cut 11 pounds each day to make top 50.  Clyde.

Nice rod carriers – Buy More Stuff!

Of course I was really interested in the weight, and it was about what I expected.  Several pros struggled on one or the other.  You know it is tough when Ike and KVD can not average 12lbs a day.  Now I remember why guiding there was so tough.  I got used to this Texas bass fishing in a minute. When those lakes are tough they can try your soul, but of course a couple of guys figured it out but the top weight is still barely 30 for 2 days.  And the big fish on Norfork was a 6.1 and Bull Shoals was a 5 something.  Clyde said one of the pros at the weigh in said he had nothing but respect for the locals who catch fish on both lakes.  But if you like catching lots of other stuff, walleye, stripers, white bass, and crappie with your bass you can usually catch a nice mixed bag.  So I will be watching today to see who makes the finals.

And when I found that picture it was about 20 years old and you, Nancy, and I smoked the nice hybrids on topwater.  They were just flushing that thing.  Of course Clyde called this morning and we are both getting the Canada fever.  Now that I got rid of so much junk I actually got my tackle room back, so it is time to start the Canada pile.

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Somebody had some fun today, but it definitely was not me.  Tomorrow I will be giving stuff away, though the good stuff sure got picked through.  So I will be dreaming of fishing, hopefully not dreaming of that big a$$ alligator trying to eat me, boat and all.  So keep those comments and pictures coming.  And keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Weather

Thursday 50 % Precip. / 0.18 in   Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 81F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Tides

Th  21     High   8:28 AM  0.8   Low  11:54 PM  0.3   (At least it is supposed to fall some)

Solunar Times

• Best Times     10:40A – 12:40P  (Should be around the time the water is really moving)
•                          4:30A – 6:30A
• Good Time     4:51P – 6:51P

Check out the KnockerB.  If you like a one knocker you will like this as much as the trout do!

EMERGENCY NOTICE

I got this from Rusty who is the resident Fayette guru……..Pass It On!

Doug, thought I would let you and your blog followers know that Fayette Lake was closed today indefinitely.
I went to fish this afternoon and they were chaining off the boat ramps due to high water and many floating large logs. The water level is crazy high, all the docks are submerged a good foot or more. I was told they want the water to come down 3-4′ before re opening and most of the logs back close to shore.
I will try to keep you up to date when it re opens. There are going to be a lot of unhappy fisherman who get up early to drive to the lake from Austin and Houston this weekend to find it closed!
Tight lines, Rusty

Wow.  Thanks so much.  If you all know anybody who fishes there regularly let them know.  Spread the word…Imagine driving and hour or two and the lake is closed.  Thanks again Rusty.

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The plan was to head out first thing and hit the bay, but when I turned on the radar you could see it coming.  Now here I sit in the house getting extremely tired of our current weather pattern.  We are stuck in what seems to be a long period of higher winds and lots of rain.  The ditch in my yard is overflowing so we must have gotten at least a couple of inches in the last couple of hours, and it is thundering as I type this.  Sorry for the whining but I really wanted to fish today.

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Since Cocoons was kind enough to send me a selection of fit over sunglasses I have really had a chance to fish the several lens in a variety of conditions.  And I have come to several conclusions.  My all around choice for all conditions if I had to choose just one would be the amber.  They provide great contrast in low light and are great in bright sun.  But the biggest advantage of Cocoons is not only how great they work, but in their cost.  And that is not because they are cheap, they are not.  They provide more bang and options for your buck.  They have proper tool for the job.

I have a $400 pair of prescription polarized sunglasses in the standard grey and they are ok, but they are not wrap around which I consider to be critical in fishing glasses.  And of course the other disadvantage, it is one pair, clearly not suitable for all occasions, especially low light.  And when your prescription changes you are out big $$$.  And when was the last time you got a lifetime frame warranty?  With Cocoons you can have multiple pairs for all conditions, and have enough $$$ left over to buy a nice rod and reel.

For me there are 3 lens that cover all conditions most of us will face.  First I love the yellow for low light cloudy conditions.  And one thing I have noticed is they also help quite a bit when the water has that light brown tinge to it.  Not only do they help with spotting cover, when you fish lots of topwater like I do you see fish that otherwise you would not see.

Next I really like the mirrors, either in the smoke or the amber.  It really helps when the sun is blazing down.  The biggest advantage besides the obvious, which is seeing deep in the water, is the reduction in eye strain when you spend a long day in bright sunlight.  Cocoons fit overs let 40% less light get to your eye, important for a multitude of reasons. You do not notice how bright it is wearing them until you take them off, then you get a real appreciation for how much light they block without affecting your in-water vision.  I like the blue mirrors for super clear bay water and the smoke for lake fishing.  Wading one day this fall the mullet were streaming down the bank and I was actually able to see the speckled trout trailing them.  Sight casting to fish is probably one of the most exciting ways to catch fish, and watching those trout eat my plastic was a thing of beauty.

And last is the plain ambers.  I love those things.  In fact my fancy prescription pair has remained in the case and I honestly can say I wear my ambers daily.  The amber has become my go to pair for all conditions and are the best all around pair for any time and any water.  They provide great contrast, which in fishing is critical, especially for spotting those bits of cover that hold whatever fish you are after.

Since I started this blog I have strived to not feed you a line of stuff, either about the fishing, the baits, or any other products I use.  And those of you who have read this stuff the last 5 years know that I am not beholden to any particular company.  Both Shoedog and I have been wearing Cocoons long before they were kind enough to provide me with some.  I have always liked the fact that they come in 7 sizes to fit over my glasses no matter what size of frame I was wearing at the time.  If clip on is your thing they have a line of those too and I have some in the truck for an emergency.  And they are not just fit overs, they look fine whether you wear glasses or not.  So go to their website and check them out.  So if you wear glasses, or even if you don’t, try some you won’t be sorry.

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I think he had a bite!

If I can’t go fishing at least I can show you a fish.  And I mean a fish!

Talk about a prehistoric monster.

I have to admit I am embarrassed that I can not remember the guys name who fixed the AC at the house but he caught this 82″ 120 lb alligator gar on 20lb test out of the San Antonio River.  One this size is on my bucket list.  Congratulations, that is a dam fish.

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Red on Yellow!

And this next picture actually has a connection to fishing.  My buddy Jeffish and a couple of friends were cleaning up the back yard and turned over the old Lone Star boat and…….

Red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black venom lack.

That is the easiest way to tell the difference between a Coral Snake (above) and a King Snake.  This one was actually smaller than 6″ as most of them are.  Like everywhere in South Texas remember not to reach in or under anything in the yard before you turn it over, you never now what kind of creature is lurking there!

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A little bird told me that he had a couple of friends who put a boat load in the boat on Coleto the other day.  Watermelon red lizards and spinnerbaits.  Sound familiar?  They both worked for me the other day and is what makes Coleto so good right now.  Pick your poison and throw it.  He let me know that when he wondered what tournament was this weekend.  My bad, the big one was last weekend.  So thanks for letting me know.

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That is all I have today.  It is hard to believe that we are only a month away from our annual Canada trip.  I am really having to keep myself under control and not start piling stuff up already.  One thing about going early is you never know how far along or not the fish will be.  Looks like an early ice out so they may be all out when we get there.  Not sure when I will fish again but it will be soon, it is making me crazy.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Weather

80/66  Wind 10 -20 SE  Cloudy  Chance of rain 40%  (Missed by a mile except temperature)

Tides -Thursday

19     High   6:18 AM     0.7     (As flat and high as we occasionally see.)
19      Low  11:02 AM     0.6
19     High   4:19 PM     0.7
19      Low  11:13 PM     0.5

Solunar Tables

• Best Times     9:13A – 11:13A  (The bite was a little later due to the wind laying)
•                          9:34P – 11:34P
• Good Times   3:02A – 5:02A

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They are eating that Bang O Lure on Coleto right now.

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It was cloudy and the wind was blowing when I got to the ramp at the lake around 8.  It was supposed to be sketchy in the afternoon, and the weatherman could not have missed it any more if he tried.  The water is still coming up, and unfortunately the water color  still leaves something to be desired.  I am worried that if it does not clear some we may not have our deep grass again this year, which not only affects the fishing but could have some affect on recruitment of this years fry.  On the other hand there is lots and lots of new grass and cover on the edge of the lake and the fish are there.

So with a 15mph+ wind I headed to a couple of protected coves, and though I picked up one here and there, it was slow.  But keep in mind, if I have learned one thing on Coleto is that most of the year these are the laziest bass I have ever seen.  They like to sleep late and as the day wears on they bite better and better, with the good bite usually coming in the middle of the day, and today was no different.

Did manage a couple of nice ones on spinnerbait while the wind was blowing.

I basically hit a few coves on the way up lake, catching one here and one there on both buzzbait and the Bang O Lure.  I stopped on a windy shallow bank and caught a couple of ok fish on spinnerbait.  Buzzing it, when they stopped it they stopped it.  But it still was not all the good so I headed up river.

It is downright off-color up lake.  So relying on last year I decided to pitch a lizard to the shallow cover and caught a couple and missed a couple on the only bank I fished.  Basically keeping the boat next to the bank just underhand pitching a 5″ watermelon red lizard with a 3/16th weight pegged was the way to go.  There are fish to be caught shallow there if you are a pitcher of flipper.

And then it was Bang O Lure the rest of the afternoon.

Not being a big fan of that really off-color water, and with the wind laying it was time to head back down to coves near the dam and toss the topwater.  The first  cover I caught a couple, the next 4, and then 5 or 6 in the last cove.  Today they wanted it just twitched basically right along on top, with several of them blowing up on it.  There were no real good ones today but once they started to bite it was on.  Most of them were in the back half of the coves near the grass, some in a couple of feet of water.  I am not a bed fisherman so I do not even explore that, but there are beds everywhere.  Whether those good fish are on or done I am not sure.

When I left the house I forgot my phone and had no watch so I saw a boat headed to the ramp so it was time to figure out what time it was.  It ended up being 3 and though the bite was on I called it a day.  If I had to guess it was over 15 today, and it was an easy measure limit, just not a big one to go with the others.  If I had manned up and went back out I probably could have added that big fish.

The big bass tourney is this weekend and it should be interesting.  Finding the pattern to catch what should be the around 20lbs to win will be tough but doable.  There are lots of ways to catch fish out there right now and someone always figures it out.  So if you are fishing this weekend good luck

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I got this comment from Rick and wanted to share it with you as it made me think about the solunar times.

I really like the addition of the weather, tides and solunar table information. I’ve often wondered how accurate the solunar times are and by watching your reports we ought to get a pretty fair idea of how well they work. Keep up the good work.

Thinking about the solunar times and just watching the moon it got me to thinking.  Over the years I have not been a big watcher but one this is become apparent, just because it is a prime time does not mean you are going to catch them.  But by the same token I have noticed that when I wacked them it is usually during that period.  What we can take from that is if you are planning on fishing several places, especially on the Gulf, it might just pay off to be on your best spot during the prime period.  As we watch this year we all just might learn something.  As usual, thanks for your comment.

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A big shout out to my buddy Jeffish.  He ordered me a embroidered fishing shirt with my logo on it.  Really a nice thing to do and I really appreciate it.  I have not really marketed myself or the site to speak of, but it might be time to get some business cards.  It is always a battle to decide whether to stay like we are or try to up it a notch.  But no matter what when I have the fancy fishing shirt the fish will jump in the boat!  Thanks Dude.

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And now for the tip of the month, which may actually be the tip of the year.  The Shoedog’s son has a cool early 60’s Chevy and he found some really nice chrome Cragar spoke rims.  They had a little rust on them so before they had them mounted he bought some stuff to clean them up.  It worked like a charm so the Shoedog came up with the idea, why not take some of those old saltwater lures that were trashed and toss them in some and see how it works.  He said it cleaned them up fantastic in about 5 hours!  It even took those little rust spots off the body of hard baits.  If you have tried to get that stuff off you know it rarely comes off without sand paper, and I hate those rust spots.  The name of the stuff is Evaporust.  I have not tried it yet but if takes that stuff off old baits it is worth every penny.  Change hooks and it is good as new.

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It must suck at times to be the weatherman.  It has not rained or stormed anywhere near what they were saying it would this week.  It looks like it will be spotty on the Coast tomorrow so I am going to try to sneak out before I spend the next few days doing the garage sale thing.  The best thing about that, besides a little extra $$, is I got most of my tackle room floor space back.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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

The Best Balsa Bait on the Planet.  And that ain’t all!  Check out their website.

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

The weather this morning was rough, but it is not near as bad as the Houston area, where the rain has pounded down.  We had a pretty good rain this morning but it seems to have calmed down a little bit.  Unfortunately the forecast this week gets wetter and wetter but I am going to try to get out at least for a few hours tomorrow on Coleto, at least if it gets ugly it is close to the house.

This morning was chores around town and it actually went well.  When your duties involve the city and some of the departments you never know how it will go.  But after making the rounds it was all accomplished.

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

I took the time this morning to tie some feathers on the back of several of the topwaters in the box.  The first time I saw a topwater with feathers on the back hook out fish a regular topwater was the Spook Jr. in the bone.  Over the last year it really has shown how those feathers on the back hook really do help.  And the last 2 days at POC confirmed what a difference it can make.

Easy does it with the feathers!

We have learned a couple of things that are important should you either tie your rear hooks like I do or add a commercially produced hook.  It is real important not to put to many feathers on the hook.  If it is to heavy, or some of the nylon prepared hooks, it will flatten out the bait and reduce the movement when you walk the dog.  If when you use it the first time it deadens the action some just trim a little off.  It is ok to use a little longer feathers, but the bulk has to be reduced.  That is where real feathers come in,  It does not take much, a couple of feathers to make a difference.

I think the biggest benefit is when the fish are willing to hit it on a more stop and go retrieve.  As the bait sits there and bobs the feathers wave, and the trout eat.  So if you have not added that to your arsenal give it a go.  I always say it is the little things, and if those feathers add just a fish or two every trip why would you not do it.

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

Good to hear from Ed with a couple of comments and questions.

Hi there, good to see you made it back to the salt. The trout from the last two days were nice to see. I also would like to know if when catching the reds in Big Bayou, are you using the red fish magic spinner? or something else?
Can you tell me what type of wading box you use, it looks like the right size to hold about 8-10 lures. I cant wait to get into the water, hoping to get there in May, due to some other commitments. Is water still cool? noticed yall still in waders?
Thanks, I enjoy reading your stuff.
Ed

As far as the Redfish Magic it is always the bait of choice in Big Bayou, especially if the wind is blowing like it was the other afternoon.  It is great for rough water and very effective if the water is a little more off-color than we would like.  And like any area with grass not matter where it is on the coast, when the tide is up and then beginning to fall it is time to throw that thing.

The wading box I use is part of the best wading system I have found.  Both the Shoedog and I use the Wade Right Fishing Belt system from Coastal Fishing Gear.  And several other folks have bought them since we started talking about them and everyone is happy.  I love the box as it stays out of the water on a wade unless you really wade deep.  I really recommend getting the whole nine yards.  It is great to have the front rod holder to retie or hold your rod while you unhook and string a fish, and they even have a back support for folks who may need it.

And having the extra rod on your back serves 2 very important functions.  First you are a half mile from the boat and with your superior skill you manage to backlash, get spooled, get the line under the spool of your spinning reel, or a host of other screw ups which force us to wade back to the boat.  It is as simple as trading rods and keep on fishing.  But to me the real advantage is by letting me carry 2 rods as I carry my spinning rod with plastics and my baitcaster with a topwater or Redfish Magic.

And last they are good folks and will help you when they can.  When the Shoedog lost a buckle they shipped it to him pronto and he was not out of action.  So if you buy one let them know we sent you.  Great product and we have had ours 3 years and it is still good as new.

http://www.coastalfishinggear.com/osfm_wade_right.php

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

And one last note.  I got a mailer from BoatU.S. today that is a real deal.  I am not sure if this offer is open to all but it would be worth your call to find out.  I was able to get unlimited towing and unlimited trailer assistance for $113 for the year, a real deal.  Getting stuck out there can be a real hassle and this is worth every penny.

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

That is all I have today.  I hope those of you who got that massive amount of rain weathered it ok.  Remember – TURN AROUND DON’T DROWN!  And if any of you have any questions or comments please chime in.  If it turns out the way the weatherman says I will be home bored out of my mind.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Weather

Friday 10 % Precip. / 0 in   A mainly sunny sky. High 84F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph.

Tides

F   15      Low   7:26 AM     0.3
15     High   5:29 PM     0.8

Solunar  Times

• Best  Times   6:32A – 8:32A  ( What bite we had was in this period)
•                         6:56P – 8:56P
• Good Time    12:20A – 2:20A

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

The Best Balsa Bait on the Planet.  And that ain’t all!  Check out their website.

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

I got a call from my buddy Chris last night wanting to know if we had an extra seat and he met us at Froggie’s at 7:00 and we were off.  Like yesterday the tide was real high on the low, if that makes sense, and it just went up from there.  And with a feisty north wind it was a little rougher and got a lot rougher as the day went on.

We headed back to Barroom Bay to wade the protected side but the wind was basically blowing right down the bay out of the east.  I dropped Chris off, then the Shoedog and I finally anchored the boat and we were fishing.  It was a lot rougher than yesterday and it reduced the number of bites, but the quality fish were there.

This fish is 23″.  Look at the one he caught yesterday it was under 23″.

Shoedog like yesterday put a 23″ incher on the stringer, this time with plastics throwing out in deeper water.  I on the other hand did not boat a good trout today.  The one below was my best, but it was not the trouts fault.

17″ was the best I could do today.

I was throwing a bigger topwater today as it was so rough.  As I was working it along in water about waste deep a really big one boiled behind it 2 or 3 times so I kept it coming.  The water being rough and somewhat off-color she followed it all the way to my feet and it was almost like doing a muskie figure 8.  My bait was almost completely to the rod tip and she was on it I swept the rod to the side and she smoked it!

Now muskies will do that, and even stripers at night or bass on certain baits, but I have never had a big trout hit it like that, and this was an easy 6.  When she did I swept the rod up and she went nuts.  Unfortunately no line stretch, to short, and no drag slippage, and it was just her and I with her jumping and thrashing on 8″ of line and then she pulled off.  Darn it!  That was the biggest trout I have had on in a while.   So while there is no picture that picture will stay with me forever, what a bite.

After that my superior fish detection skills took over and I managed to put a nice red in the boat, this time on the edge of the grass in less than a foot of water, I don’t have to tell you what kind of strike that was, way cool.   What tipped me off was a very subtle clue – There was a white shorebird feeding when the water exploded and it jumped a foot in the air.  I think both were after the same baitfish.

But I did have my moments.

I think I caught 2 that would not measure and that was it on that bank for me.  Shoedog also added another nice red and I think had a short.

The few we did catch were good ones.

Chris was feeling snake bit but he soldiered on.  He finally found some and caught a keeper and maybe one or two shorts.  I think his was on the Maniac Mullet but I am not sure.

Everybody got in on the act.

So though the action was not nearly as fast today, there are big trout to be caught right now.  We finally picked up and moved, fishing a couple more places before we quit.  The traffic was quite a bit heavier today.  Though there was only 5 trucks at the ramp Thursday morning it was Friday at POC, so they emptied the asylum.

We fished a reef on the way to Grass Island without a bite, then fished the drains coming off the island.  Chris put a keeper trout in the boat and said the one following it was the one that should have hooked up.  Shoedog and I went with out a bite.

At this point it was blowing POC style so we decided to stop back on the intial bank and see if we could raise another good trout.  Rarely can I get them going on the windward banks but we gave it a go without success.  So we called it a day early with I think about 8 keepers or so, but I left the fish cleaning to them.

We probably made a bad decision when we kept wading later and not fishing out of the boat in Big Bayou today.  That area is jammed with reds, but we were hoping to find some more of those better trout.  One observation I would make right now is wade the places with a little softer bottom with grass.  The hard bottom we waded did not have the grass up yet and the fish just were not there.  And of course this time of year you need bait, plain and simple.  But I tell you what, we boated some nice trout well over 20″ for the 2 days, and the actual keeper to throw back ration was great and you have to give speckled trout their due – When they want a topwater it is a thing of beauty.

I did forget to tell you my little screw up that happened Thursday.  I dropped Shoedog off and made a wade and when I decided to move I idled past him, watching the locator and when it hit 1.5 I dropped the anchor, let the wind turn the boat and down with the Power Pole.  What could possibly go wrong.  When the boat swung around it lined up perfect over a 3+ hole and instead of checking the depth I jumped over the side and water went in my waders.  Nice.  Remember if you are not sure you can see bottom before you jump out use the fancy depth finder, your rod tip.  Not only does it tell you how deep it is but what the bottom consistency is.

One tip I want to pass on to you is what Shoedog and I both are doing that has seemed to add some bigger trout.  We both have been adding a small feather to the rear trebles.  It seems to help, and if we think it does, it does.  It does not take much, in fact if you put to much on there it really reduces the walk the dog motion, which reduces it’s effectiveness.  So keep the bulk to minimum but a little teaser sure seems to help.

And if you get chance to hit the bay move your topwater right along.  With the water temp in the mid 70’s and plus in some places they are willing to chase it.  So be sure to vary your retrieve and do not be afraid to move it right along.  And if there is wind on the bank like there was the last couple of days make lots noise and splash, they will come for it.

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

Obviously my buddy Clyde found someone to take him crappie fishing, he could not have possibly found these all by himself.

Now those are crappies!

All kidding aside, these are the slabs that Norfork is known for.  It may not be what many people consider the classic crappie lake, but it has the big ones.  Congratulations, I am sure they tasted great and keep those pictures coming.  And see you in Canada in a little over a month for two weeks of fishing till you puke!  And  try to organize all that stuff in that disaster you call a boat!

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If I had to give the last 2 days a grade I would give it a B+, only because today was a little slower than yesterday,  But with the wind I can live with it.  The next month or so will see some great topwater fishing and I sure hope to take advantage of it.  There is just nothing like finding those quality trout in the 20+ range in shallow water and having them blow up on that topwater.  Wading is such an intimate way to fish and hand to hand combat with a big trout is a thing of beauty.

Not sure what is next.  Don’t know if you have seen the weather report, but it looks like it could rain for the next 6 days.  In fact the 5 day forecast has an 80% chance of rain for Monday thru Thursday.  It could be sketchy, or if we get lucky and get a day of clouds with little rain, the perfect topwater day.   Keep those cards and letters coming, we appreciate your comments, reports, and photos.  There is no such thing as a bad question or comment.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Weather

Thursday 10 % Precip. / 0 in  Mainly sunny. High 83F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.

Tides

Th  14      Low   6:12 AM     0.2
14     High   5:18 PM     0.8

Solunar Times

• Best Times     5:43A – 7:43A
•                          6:09P – 8:09P
• Good TImes   11:31A – 1:31P (pretty dang close – when the moon was coming up)

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

The Best Balsa Bait on the Planet.  And that ain’t all!  Check out their website.

The Bagley Knocker B  –  Not just for freshwater.

Ok all you old salts.  I know it might have seemed like I had deserted the Gulf, but not true.  Just waiting for the right weather and for the topwater bite to get serious, and today was it.  Now do not get me wrong it was not fast by any means, but when it was on it was one of those really cool deals.

We hit the water about 8 and with the N wind the protected bank was the west side of Barroom Bay.  We burned about a 1/2 gallon of gas before we jumped over the side.  And just to make a long story short, it is late and I am tired, we just hopped over each other and moved the boat the rest of the day.  You can burn all the gas you want, but it is all about keeping the bait in the water.

I did not have a bite for 2 wades and meanwhile Shoedog found them.  He caught 5 reds before he found the trout.  They were in about 2 foot initially, but then they moved out to 4 or 5 foot of water.  They were just blowing up on the topwater.  I finally moved in on him when I could not get a bite.  We stood side by side and when I say they were having it, they were just exploding on it.  He actually had a real monster, mouth open, plowing water that missed it, and folks it was a real one.

So time to talk about the Bagley Knocker B.  Last fall I found some in OKC and they looked great.  So of course I bought one, long before I started dealing with them.  I have been catching them on it since fall, and today it saved my day.  It has a small tail, and I put a new feather tail on it after they ate it off this fall.  Suffice to say I love that thing, it has put some real nice trout in the boat for me the past, and today it put a couple of real nice ones on my stringer.  Try it some time, you will be happy with the result, I am.

They were smoking that Knocker B by Bagley.  One of 3 nice ones I boated on the Knocker B.

When I moved over by him this is what he had on his stringer.

He had it going on!

Now that is nice trout.

We ended up catching on plastics and topwater.  By time we finally went to catch a few redfish we had 8 nice big trout.  We moved to the old standby, Big Bayou, and caught several small trout and then I caught a nice founder.  The tide was high and ripping in the afternoon and it was a little tougher but if you could make a good cast with the wind and tide you could get a bite.  And just for you info, we are using the 1/16th Bagley Shaky head on our plastics, and the more we use it the more we like it.  And remember, use the super glue, it really helps save on plastics.

I wanted to add a keeper red to the stringer, and this was number 6 in nothing flat on spinnerbait.

We finally made one half pass in Big Bayou and the redfish were on the really shallow banks on the outside edge of the grass.  We just slow rolled the spinnerbait and after catching 5 or 6 rats Shoedog topped off his day with this hoss.

A nice flounder – everybody always shows the other side.

To put a finishing note on things, the topwater fishing lasted until about 1 and then quit.  We switched to plastics and caught a few, and then finished it off with spinnerbait.  For the day it was 8 keeper trout, and I keeper red and founder.  We caught at least twice that many over all so it was just a dandy day.  And Shoedog actually lost a couple of 18 – 20″ at the net, so it was a good day for big trout.  Anytime you can boat fish this size is a good day.  And I wish I could adequately described how explosive the bites were on top.  I had one knock that Knocker B 2 feet in the air.  Awesome!

We will be back at it in the morning first thing.  Our buddy Chris is going to join us and it will be a wading extravaganza!

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First I would like to thank Bagley one more time.  They put a link on their facebook page to my blog and I really appreciate that.  And we are discussing other baits in their line that we can use both in freshwater and the coast.  So look for more stories using their baits.  Funny how after using then since 1974, yikes 40 years, and now working with them.  Funny how life works out.  They have a great story that we will explore more in the future.

Second, I would really like to thank one of my regular readers Billy.  We have emailed a time or two but we actually met today and had a great chat.  He is, and has been a hard core Gulf fisherman most of his life.  A couple of things stuck out from our conversation.  He has fished with the Blacks who guide on Baffin for the better part of 13 years.  What makes it interesting is they are the folks who got me fishing the super light jig head, one of them the Bagley 1/32, a true light weight head with a big enough hook.  But even when he fishes with them while they are throwing it he will not put down that topwater.  He fishes it 95% of the time year around.  Now that is man committed to his topwater.

But the reason we met was he found a couple of the original foil Bang O Lures.  Where he did not say, but when he gave them to me it was a really kind gesture.  They have gotten so hard to find and it is rare to find some so they are good as gold.  I can promise you they will not see any water that has any kind of toothy critters.  So thanks Billy.  The baits are great but it was even better to meet and talk fishing.  Hopefully we can end up in the boat together soon.

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As I am writing this part Wednesday before we hit POC the next couple of days it will be real interesting to see how we do tomorrow.  I read lots of reports and they are all over the place.  Some fairly good, some not so hot.  Of course the wind is the major complaint, and I really appreciate that.

The reports that are consistent are from the guides (duh – never seen a bad one from a guide), Baffin is giving up large trout on top.  Not sure if I can make it down there next week, but it sounds like time to get there while the getting is good.  Our last trip was stellar and a repeat of that sure would be nice.  So let us see how tomorrow/today goes/went.

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

Sorry about the disjointed writing and possible poor editing but I wanted to get this up before I nod off.  It is good to be back on the Gulf and today is motivation to keep after it.  I am not sure of the real reason the fish are getting bigger but I have a sneaking suspicion that the 5 fish limit is really starting to take hold.  If this is a sign of things to come it makes me all gooey just thinking about it.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Weather

76/65  Cloudy with a 20% of showers.  Wind 20 – 30 out of the SE.

Tides

M   11      Low   2:44 AM     0.0
11     High   2:20 PM     0.9

Solunar Times

• Best Times    2:27A – 4:27A
•                         2:56P – 4:56P  (They got this right on today!)
• Good Time    8:41A – 10:41A

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The Bang O Lure Puts Them in the Boat. The best balsa baits, period!

Since Don at Bagley Baits was kind enough to send me a couple Bang O Lures I have been itching to get back to Coleto after a week off, and today was it.  Cloudy and warm with the fish shallow, it was almost perfect.  To say the wind conditions were not very conducive to topwater is putting it mildly.  The wind was forecast at 20+SE and they were right on, except when it gusted higher.  It really restricts where you can efficiently throw the Bang O Lure, or many other baits for that matter, when it is that windy, so I basically fished coves facing NW which had at least some protection from the wind.

The plan was to fish the BOL around isolated deeper brush, and the first place I fished I missed one and then it got to windy as I got to the mouth of the cove so I picked up the buzzbait and promptly missed 2 that blew up on it.  The addition of a stinger hook cured that and the next 3 or 4 made it over the side.  But that was not the plan, it was throw the BOL so I stuck with it.  Fishing it is one of my favorite spring techniques and today it worked like a charm.

She came up with it wedged sideways in her mouth, awesome.  Love it when one like this sucks it under.

The lake is still on the rise and quite off-color.  But there is tons of new cover with fish bedding everywhere, including about a million tilapia.  Even I might be able to shoot one with a bow, they are everywhere.  So after fishing several places the pattern was clear, just hop from the back ends of coves to back end, hoping for some clearer and calmer water.  And one important point, if one side of the cove was deeper with the other flatter with isolated grass, the grass was the ticket.  Some of the fish were in as little as a foot.  It also took a little while to get the cadence down but once I did the bite was on.

It was awesome to watch them roll up out of nowhere and eat it.

Before I get to the punch line let me say this about the Bang O Lure.  Where it beats the Rapala balsa minnow all to hell is you can actually cast it fairly accurately in higher winds.  It is not so light and that contributes to much more accurate casts, which is necessary for this technique.  The other part of fishing the Bang O Lure is good optics.  Today with heavy cloud cover and off-color water the yellow Cocoons gave me the contrast absolutely necessary to see both the bait and the strike, in spite of the dark water and heavy ripple at times.  And for me it is best on a medium heavy rod with 12lb fluorocarbon line.

There is one thing about fishing the Bang O Lure when fish are shallow, you will get bites and you will see most of them, the question is whether you put the hook in them.  Today I only had one blow up on it while it was on top, the rest rolled over on it when I pulled it under.  After the cast you need to twitch it on top, the goal is to make that same sound you hear when a shad flips.  Then jerk it under with a little harder jerk and wait for them to roll up and eat it.  It requires absolute concentration.  It never ceases to amaze me that you can miss them even though you see them.

There was probably 15 like this today.  A good solid topwater bite.

Today they wanted it twitched a little easier a couple of times then pulled under a couple of inches.  You want to twitch it under and take up enough slack to have a fairly tight line, but not enough to restrict if from floating up freely.  It is just plain awesome to see them roll up out of nowhere and eat it.  When I say it requires concentration I mean it.  Occasionally you will see what the Shoedog calls a “disturbance in the force”, which in the Bang O Lure’s case means a funny looking boil or swirl around the bait even though it does not look like a bite and you do not see the fish, but trust your eyes, he is there.  Often I jerk it under a little more aggressively after I see that.

And if one misses it throw it right back in there.  As long as he doesn’t feel the hooks they will often come back for it.  When I do miss one and throw it back in I like to leave it sitting just a minute longer, then jerk it under pretty aggressively, often provoking a pretty substantial bite.  It is hard for me to put in words all the scenarios that can and do happen fishing the Bang O Lure on top.  Now is the time, the best topwater fishing of the year is happening right now.  And you can use other baits and catch fish, but nothing beats the excitement or results of fishing the Bagley Bang O Lure balsa minnow.

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

I got this question and comment from Johnny, a regular around here.

I have been having trouble keeping fish on rattle traps. Have tried changing hooks to bigger hooks but this hasn’t helped. Do you or any of your readers have any suggestions? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

By the way we are having our annual Invitational Tournament this Saturday, April 16th at Coleto Creek Reservoir. If anyone is interested, they can check out the Coleto BassMasters page on Facebook for further information.

Thank you!

First here is the link to the tournament information if any of you are interested.  Looks like fun to me.  https://www.facebook.com/Coleto-BassMasters-166315410059747/?fref=ts

I belonged to the Lake Norfork Bass Club for years.  A part of the Bass federation our club won the Arkansas Championship like 6 out of 7 consecutive years back in the 70’s.  One of the former members was Rayo Breckenridge, the second Bassmaster Champion.  One of my fishing buddies in the club was John Story, founder of Champion Boats and later Viper Boats.

It was a tough row to hoe to win even a monthly club tourney.  My sad luck story was John gave a Champion boat to the winner of the club several years.  It was the total weight for all 12 tournaments.  I led off and on for most of the year, actually losing it the last tournament of the year.  What really hurt was the guy who beat me was the local Champion dealer.  How screwed up was that?

Now to your second question.  To keep them from coming off you might look at 2 things.  First, mono is probably a better choice than braid, it is a lot more forgiving if you are having trouble with them pulling off.  And maybe more important, the rod.  I like either a medium or medium light in graphite or a soft glass rod.  When combined with the mono it should help your problem some.  And any of the rest of you that have suggestions on this one let us know.  And thanks for your comments and participation, it is appreciated and let us know how the tourney comes out.

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

And Jim dropped the following comment and question.

Good to read a report about my favorite lake Fayette. I am planning on fishing there again this coming Friday with my brother who is flying in Thursday from northeastern Ohio to get a break from the cold weather. I already have jerk baits tied on and hope to show him a good time.

I do have a question regarding Coleto though. I have a club tournament on the lake in a couple weeks and have been studying the lake with Navionics free WebApp. If you have never used it you should check it out. It’s just like being on the lake and looking at your sonar while sitting in the comfort of your own home. It’s a great tool to use to develope a prefishing plan. My question is have you had much luck fishing deep, 15-20ft, points? I read all your posts and reports on Coleto but haven’t seen much on deeper water fishing with Carolina rigs or football jigs. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE shallow water fishing with top waters, swim jigs and spinner baits, but I have been working on fishing offshore deeper points and have had good success. I just want to know if you have done it there and if you feel it is a good pattern to explore on the lake?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advise on this technique.

Best regards

Jim

I know it is a good pattern on Coleto, and should be even better as we still are lacking much grass in that shallower water.  That is probably why over the last few years I have stuck with the shallower baits, the fish were reachable and holding in that 5 – 10 foot range year round with all that cover.  Plus I have always been a sucker for the visual spending all that time on the clear highland lakes of Arkansas.  But I will say I have fished deep in both summer and winter off those points and it works.  It would take to long to talk about all the possible places so watch your email, I do have a few suggestions.  And thanks for the heads up on the app.

And good luck on Fayette, we love that lake.  It may be one of the most consistent fisheries around.  Not being sure how accomplished your brother is, we have had great luck with folks by fishing the Rapala Shallow Running Shad Rap.  On light line it is easy to jerk, and with shad clearly the primary forage on Fayette it rarely fails us.  Hope you put him on some good fish and good luck in the tourney.  It should take some serious weight right now, probably 20lbs plus.

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

I was real happy with yesterdays results.  The Bang O Lure did it’s job and for a 6 hour trip it was successful.  Anytime you can put 15 – 20 in the boat on top is a good day.  In fact, if I could have fished those places I really wanted to but could not due to the wind it would have been a real killing, especially on the bigger fish.  Unfortunately the weather here is going to suck for a couple of days so it will be next week before I get back there to do it again.

 And for all you salt guys who are itching for reports that is about to change.  The upside is Shoedog is coming in Wednesday night and it will be 2 days out of POC topwater fishing for trout Thursday and Friday.  We will stay down there Thursday night to keep from having to make the drive back and forth, and get an early start Friday without having to get up so dam early.  Hopefully I will be picking up the LTS today and load the saltwater stuff.  All I have to say is I love spring fishing, fresh or salt.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The best balsa baits on the market.

Sorry there has not been any saltwater reports in a while, but that is about to change.  But today the wind is supposed to hit up to 30mph so will stay home today.  Topwater time is here and it has been awhile since I spent any time on the bay.  The stuff is ready, new line on all, and baits organized.  Time to do something about it.

The last couple of days was spent catching up on stuff.  Going through rods with a missing guide, or busted tips, and either got them ready for a future garage sale or stripped them.  There were actually 20 of them and the last 5 I just removed guides for replacements and then threw the rods away.  I also went through reels, where does this stuff come from.  Looks like I have about 20 of them that are old, messed up, missing parts, so I sorted them all out.  Same with a bunch of tackle I know I will not use.  I am not a real pack rat, but there is a time to get rid of stuff you are never going to use.  I look at some of that stuff and think, “What were you thinking when you bought that?”

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This guy has a real fishing problem.

My buddy Clyde posted this on Facebook so not sure where it came from.  From the looks of the fish, and what appears to be centimeters on his leg, this is probably not a US picture.

I should not talk, I have a redfish on my calf, but this is something.  No matter what or where you can always be sure you have the ruler.

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Lake Mojave

It was good to hear from my buddy Voe who fishes those deep clear desert lakes in Nevada.

Went fishing on Lake Mojave Tuesday and had a very good day of fishing.  Caught a nice 4.5 lber smallmouth and another 17lb carp on grub.

Nice smallmouth, beautiful color!

Nice one.  And congratulations on another carp.  You probably need to go on the professional carp circuit.  Hope to see you when you close on the house here in Victoria.  Keep in touch and keep those pictures coming.

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I always watch a little fishing on the weekends and this weekend I saw something that blew my mind.  There is a lake in California where the world record spotted bass had been broken 4x’s in the last year, Bullard’s Bar.  Located in the Tahoe National Forest in California it has about 60 miles of shoreline.  Mark Zona was fishing there and on the show they caught a 6 and an 8.55 spotted bass and topped it off with a 7lb smallmouth.  All I have to say – that is insane and if it was 8 hours closer the boat would be on the truck and I would be out of here.  These things happen here and there, take Falcon and Amistad as perfect examples.  When it happens if you can get there do it, it may be over.  My first bass over 7 in Texas came on Amistad when it was hot, then the 3 biggest of my life in 24 hours on Falcon.  And like Falcon and Amistad, Bullard’s Bar is one of those happenings that won’t last long.

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We don’t call Nolan “fish face” for nothing.

Shoedog’s grandson with what is called an Ozark Bass.  I remember maybe catching a couple and they resemble what we called either  Warmouth or a Rock Bass.  Just one of the amazing variety of fish you can catch in the Ozarks.

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The fishing is going to begin tomorrow, somewhere.  The real news is Shoedog is wanting to hit the bay and he has read some good reports on the topwater fishing in Baffin.  The water temp is up enough and the trout are starting their spawn.  There is no better time to catch a big fish on top.  The wind reports look somewhat shaky and there is supposed to be thunderstorms off and on this week.  So not sure when that is going to happen, but it is going to happen somewhere.  So whether it is 3 days down there or out of POC time to get after it.  I hope the flats boat is back on Monday.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines