Fish Catching Travel

The Best Baits on the Planet!

(The Shoedog has been on a road trip which included stopping in Arkansas, my old stomping grounds.  He and out buddy Clyde fished Norfork Lake yesterday, where I tournament fished and guided for over 20 years.  He was there to find a place to stay that could accommodate a number of folks and was hoping to fish a day or two.  Well here is report #1 and it looks like we might be moving our trip up a week or two.)

Norfork Lake Arkansas – Day 1

Clyde and I got on the water about 8:30 today. We left out of Buzzards Roost boat dock on Lake Norfork. We went back almost into the back of that arm of the lake as Clyde had been catching some there in the days before the last cold front. It had been in the upper 30’s the night before and we were looking at high skies with a warming trend.

I started with the smaller 3 hook Smithwick suspending Rogue and Clyde started with a pearl grub. I caught a nice largemouth right off the bat and we then had an unusual thing happen. A kayaker that we had passed on the way back in the creek decided he would paddle down the bank and cut right between us and the bank. We had given him a very wide berth and had gone past a small cove and left at least 300 yards before we went to the bank, but for some reason, as soon as we stopped and started fishing, he felt some need to paddle right past us as we were fishing. Go figure!

A nice Norfork largemouth.  They love that jerk bait this time of year in North Arkansas.

Anyway- I caught another small bass and we crossed to the opposite bank and I caught another nice 14.5 inch bass. There were knocking the snot out of the Rogue and were pretty shallow for this early in the season and with the recent cold front.

We came on a dock and Clyde caught 2 beauty Norfolk crappies as I caught the dock, the dock cables and everything but fish. So in the first hour we had 3 bass and 2 nice crappies, not a bad start.

The nice solid crappie Norfork is known for.

We were expecting to catch some white bass back there, but nothing doing. Clyde had been catching them and some nice stripers as well, but in the morning we had no takers.

I caught a few more almost keeper bass and by noon I think we had 6 bass and 2 crappies. Then Clyde caught a nice Kentucky on the same size Rogue, but the 2 hook model, so we had 3 species and a nice first half of the day. We hit the same dock again and I caught a real nice crappie.

Now those are real crappies.

Then we headed out of the back of the creek a bit. We hit a little deeper banks in Fall Creek and I caught 3 or 4 more bass. Then we headed out into Panther Creek.

We hit a dock and I caught another fat crappie and then we decided to throw the Alabama/umbrella rigs and see if the warmer water temps had the whites and stripers up and at it. When we first got out the water temp was 46 and into had creeped up to 51-52 at this point.

I had limited practice with the umbrella rig, but as redfishlaw can attest, Clyde has been singing it’s praise for years. Well, I can say I am a believer now! On the first bank, on my 2nd or 3rd cast a nice 16 inch bass tried to jerk the rod out of my hand!
Then down at the end of that bank Clyde caught a nice Brownie on the rig also.

Shoedog catches his first Alabama Rig bass.

We decided to head back into the back of Buzzards Roost to see if the whites and stripers had come up and maybe catch a few more crappie. Somebody was on the crappie dock, so we went done the bank with umbrella rigs and we caught some bass, I added 2 more keepers to the well.

We crossed over again and I caught more bass on the rogue. Then we headed out to an area where he had caught some fish last week. Both throwing the umbrella rig.  Clyde caught a nice white and then I caught one as well. I think I caught a nice largemouth and we were having a good time. Light was fading and a nice breeze came up as we neared a deep bank where he had hammered the stripers a few days before.

Those big Arkansas whites love that Bama’ rig.

Clyde rears back on a big fish and had a tussle with a sweet 10-12 pound striped bass. It was cool. We had orders to bring some filets back to Texas for the CEO of Team Nancy, so that was taken care of. Next I had a nice striper of my own on, about half the size of the first one, but a nice one nonetheless. Another white bass or two and we called it. Fish to clean and a long day of fishing done.

Striper madness!

In total, I think we had 6 species- white bass, largemouth and Kentucky bass, crappie, smallmouth and stripers. We had to work, but for 16 bass, 4 nice crappies and 2 nice stripers and all the rest thrown in, it was a great day on the water.

Tomorrow we will head to the Big Bull, Bull Shoals Lake. We will have some wind an afternoon clouds, so who knows what will happen? Check back for details.

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Now that is what I am talking about right there.  It really brings back the memories, and makes me itchin’ to hitch up the boat and head that way.  The only thing they did not add to the stringer was a walleye.  That is what makes the fishing up there so fun and interesting, you never know what may be next.  And if you have never visited or fished the North Arkansas area you are missing out.  Norfork Lake, Bull Shoals, The White and North Fork rivers, Crooked Creek and the Buffalo National River, truly the great outdoors and worth a trip anytime of the year.

Thanks for the report and we will be looking for one on the Bull Shoals day.  It can be sooooo good this time of year, especially in the 45 – 65 degree water temperature.  Time to set our dates and get a plan.  My casting arm is itching just reading your report.  The rest of you keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

If you want to know a little more about the area read the Twin Lakes article in the travel section of the blog.

Fish Catching Travel

The Best Baits on the Planet!

Sorry you salt heads but things conspired against me and I never made the salt this week.  But do not despair, I will make up for it this week.  But until then it was the lake again after I got up Friday morning not feeling quite up to snuff.  Finally about 9 I decided to give it a go.

On arrival at the ramp the wind was blowing 10+ straight out of the north right in the ramp cove.  The water temperature had dropped at least 5 degrees or more all over the lake since I was there on Tuesday.  There was quite a crowd at the ramp as an out of town bass club was just getting there for their Saturday tourney.

As I got ready to launch the guy in the boat in front of me came over to chat.  He had never fished Coleto and wanted to know if I could help, right down my alley.  So I showed him what I am using, the Strike King Swimming Jig and a Rage Craw trailer and said follow me.  He tailed me up lake and on the way I stopped so he could mark those coves he needs to be fishing.

That one will do on a tough day.

I started on the south bank up river and he started on the north bank.  When we talked at the ramp I thought he had a swim jig, but when we got together a while later I had put 8 in the boat including a nice catfish, he struck out.  So I solved that by giving him a Swim Jig and he promptly caught one.  That was the last I saw of him that day but hopefully I showed him enough to have a respectable weekend.

The Strike King Swim Jig was the ticket today, though most were small.

Fishing was a little slower than earlier in the week, it was still one here and one there.  Before the day was over I put 14 or 15 in the boat but it was clearly tougher than it was.

A sure sign spring has sprung on Coleto.

Whether it was the back end of coves or points leading in to them, the fish were still in the same type areas, just not biting with the same purpose they were.  Though the Swim Jig was definitely their preferred bait for the day, the only fairly ok fish came on the spinnerbait out of very isolated bushes.  I did lose one good fish running the Swim Jig by a bush, but as far as  better bites they were on spinnerbait, there just was not enough of them.

I did catch 2 on the Strike King Bleeding Bait spinnerbait today.

As it was getting late in the afternoon I started on a point leading into a really small pocket/cove off the main lake.  As I got to the point headed in a tourney boat I had seen at the ramp was idling towards the pocket, definitely going to cut me off.  What prompts someone to blatantly cut someone off like that?  This cove was small, definitely not a 2 boat place, and they were a perfect example of what has given bass fisherman a bad name over the years.  It was the old I take precedent because my boat payment is bigger than yours.

But then Karma, God, or the what goes around comes around thing, reached out and did something awesome – They drove up on a submerged tree and got stuck.  It was a thing of beauty.  There was no way they did not see me, or could not tell where I was headed, and they were determined to screw me.  So boys, I hope the rest of your weekend goes just like that.  You are the jerks who are the stereotype that hurts all of us.

Headed to the fry pan.  This guy thumped the snot out of the Swim jig.

So in spite of water temps in the mid 60’s the fish are still somewhat shaky.  I kept alternating quite a bit with the spinnerbait and some with the topwater, but in spite of water temps that would indicate they should be eating it up, it is still slow by spring standards.  I am sure there are some on the beds, but it is still not the wholesale spring bite.  The bite is just good enough to keep it interesting but not the all out spring madness.  It looks like the next moon will be the real spawning run so hang on, it is coming.

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 I got this comment, and believe me it is something I have thought about doing quite a bit over the years.  But it boils down to more work.  (Insert whining here.)

Really enjoy the reports. Since you are so thorough about everything you do have you ever equated your trips to the solunar tables? It would be interesting and informative to see a report start with>>>>>> I went fishing on Monday and the solunar tables were showing major feeding from XX to XX and I caught fish from XX-XX. For us working stiffs only being able to fish on weekends it would be great info for someone to actually verify the tables really work.

Thanks
John in Austin

Well John from Austin, thanks a lot for making me feel guilty.  Over the years I have noticed one thing as far as the solunar tables are concerned:  Just because it is a major period does not mean you will catch squat, but many of my memorable catches come during the major period.  So I guess it is time to add that to the days reports.  I think a basic weather report, tide times, and solunar times.  Actually folks who do religiously keep a log always document that stuff.  So lets see how long I can keep it up.  And thanks for reading this drivel.

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I really, really, really want and need your comments.  I have never really solicited advertisers and would like to hear from you.  The layout of this blog is simple and easy, for me to work and I hope for you to read.  There are several ways for me to get ads on the site but am interested in your take on what I am seeing on so many sites now.  Do the ads usually covering websites bother you?  Do you just ignore them?  How about non-fishing related ads I see on so many sites now.  So before I change anything, or even make a change at all, I want to hear from you.

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The Shoedog is up in Arkansas making some plans for our trip and getting in some fishing, hopefully a fresh report will be coming in the next day or two.  And as busy as the lake and bay have been I know some of you are fishing this weekend so drop me a quick report.  You can put as much or as little in your report, we just like hearing how other folks are doing.

And on a couple of house keeping matters, I often get a question on how to receive alerts or notice of a new post.  To do that just look to the right on the home page and sign up for email alerts, the best way to get notice.  That came up when I met a reader at Academy the other day.  I really do appreciate folks coming up and talking fishing when they recognize me.  I learn something from meeting you all so feel free to holler at me.

I on the other hand have friends camping at the lake so I will head out there for a little bit.  They are wanting to catch a few white bass so I just might hop in one of the two boats and supervise the whole operation.  My next real fishing should be the bay.  It all depends on the rain we have coming early in the week.  We are going to have some warming after these cool nights, and I may actually stay down at POC a night and get in a couple of consecutive days of fishing.   And last but not least we are about to hit 500,000 visit.  That seems almost impossible.  I can not thank you enough for making this what it is.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Swimming Jig kinda day!  Man I love spring!

A Real Spring Bite

Today the fish started acting like spring.  Like I told you last week this day was coming, warm, calm, and misting, just what the doctor ordered.  It was drizzling lightly when I got to the lake and it was like someone turned on the switch, time to bite!  There are not that many days when you can call your shot, but this one was a no brainer.

The first picture is my first cast.  Often catching one on the first cast is bad luck, today it was an indication of things to come.  The water temp was over 65 everywhere, in fact it hit 70 in a couple of places later in the day and the bite was on.  I caught fish in the first place, the last places, and everywhere in between.

The topwater bite was on.

I started with  a topwater Rapala and they were smoking it along the edge of cover in coves.  Just twitching it along, they were rolling up and eating it.  To make a long story short, it was a real spring bite on a day that I could see on the weather report last week was going to be the day, and the fish did not disappoint.

                 But they would hit a spinnerbait too.

It stayed cloudy most of the morning and the fish bit like it was spring.  I took pictures for a while then stopped and concentrated on catching fish.  A little wind, throw the spinnerbait, good cover, alternate between the Strike King Swim Jig and the topwater.

And then the Swim Jig turned on.  They averaged better on the jig.

One thing that became apparent pretty quickly, the bluegill colored Swim Jig with a watermelon Rage Craw trailer was the ticket.  A simple slow retrieve with occasional hops was the ticket, and it was definitely a set the hook if you feel anything bite.  And if you bumped something as you reeled it along it was hang on time.

            The afternoon fishing was almost as good.

The only thing that did not happen was a really big fish, which surprised me.  It did not help matters that it cleared off and got sunny, but even then the fish did not stop biting.  I try to let you all know where I caught them, today it was classic spring fishing, flat spawning coves, flat main lake banks with cover,  the back of creeks, everywhere they should be I caught fish.  The lake though still has areas up lake that have some crappy color, I am not sure where it came from, and it looks like the lake is falling ever so slow.  And while the better places were a little clearer, I did catch fish everywhere I tried.

Finally stuck a good one!  My best limit was on the Swim Jig.

I know I said last post that I thought the fish had not really reacted to the quick warming trend, well they did today.  It really was a classic spring fishing day on Coleto.  Most of the fish I caught were females with big bellies looking for a place to get with the spawn.  A good sign of things to come, I saw a couple of beds and a few tilapia swimming around, always a good thing on Coleto.  The topwater caught lots of fish, most on the smaller side, the spinnerbait a few, but the better fish came on the Swim Jig.

As you can see from the pictures it was hot and heavy with the smaller fish in the morning and the better ones came as the day progressed.  I have no guess how many I caught, but I fished from 7 – 4 and there were very few periods where they were not biting.   Which brings us to this comment I got from Andrew.

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Great article! Got a tournament there soon. Any advice would help considering I’ve never fished it! In particular areas to fish. Thanks for posting.

Andrew

If you have a tourney coming soon it should be good.  If you have never fished Coleto before the best piece of advice I can give you is do not get enamored with the timber.  It will really be a classic spring pattern and there should be lots of fish on the beds.   And as far as baits, it should be fish what you like and are good at.  Keep reading as I will be fishing it at least one day a week.  I appreciate your commenting.

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I got several of these comments, almost spammed, but I did want to post this for you folks who might be interested in fishing tournaments with vets for a good cause.

The ArmyBassAnglers & the Coalition are not content with just fishing the toughest team tournaments in Texas. More importantly, they use their ability to fish in national team tournaments and the support of some nationally acknowledged sponsors to increase the awareness and generate help for some very note worthy charitable causes and events. More details at http://armybassanglers.com.

So thanks to all of you who sent me this link.  We appreciate your service and I am happy to have you guys aboard.

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Our Arkansas trip is right around the corner and I got a fresh report from my buddy Clyde. The water is warmer than normal right now on Norfork and coming up on Bull Shoals.  They are catching whites and stripers and he sent me this one he caught on a umbrella rig.

Now that will stretch your string!

And they are also getting them at night.

The Shoedog is actually up there right now scouting out our place to stay.  When we go, probably April 1, he will staying a month, I will at least be fishing a week.  We are really looking forward to this trip fishing with old buddies.  It is just a month away and it should be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

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And last I got this comment from my buddy Bobby after I had a little round of losing them on the Swim Jig.

Doug, I had the same problem losing fish!! So I had a thought I put a small treble hook as a stinger hook. I will see how it works next Thursday!!!

I had no problem with losing them today, I think it had more to do with their willingness to eat the other day than any operator error.  I really do think they have been somewhat confused this winter but they seem to be settling into a good spring bite.  So if you try it let us know and we will be looking forward to your report.

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As I write this the front that brought us rain with a lightning and thunder last night is blowing off clear.  With that comes what it projected to be a good 25 – 35 mph winds, gusting to over 40 mph today.  In fact, the weatherman said there will be gale force winds on the coast today, which is why I am sitting at the house.  What will come next I am not sure but it looks like Thursday should be great for the bay and I will be headed to POC.  Tomorrow is up in the air, but hopefully it will be fishing somewhere depending on the wind.  And to any of you with something to say, lets hear it.  Will all love your comments and reports.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Voe put the smack down on this one the second place we fished.

It was still cool and the fog had just cleared and we were anticipating really getting after them.  After the first couple of places we left them and returned to the big cove we caught them in 2 days before.  We specifically waited until later in the morning so we could be there mid day for the big bite.  It was about 2 minutes after we got there that I caught my first small one.

My first one.

Then a small disaster ensued.  I always say it is the little things, and today was a perfect example.  One thing I intended to do, and didn’t, was retie as soon as we hit the water.  After catching a nice bag the other day I should have done it, but did not.  The next bite I broke my line setting the hook.  A minute later the fish jumped trying to throw the Swim jig and it was not much.  Simply a mistake on my part.  We kept working the cove and I had another bite and this one made the boat.

Things were looking up.

By this time we have been fishing about 3 hours and put only 3 in the boat.  I kept swimming that Strike King Swimming Jig in bluegill with a watermelon red trailer and finally managed to catch another one.  But it was slow, a real disappointment considering what I though would happen.

And it was all down hill from here.

Then disaster reared its ugly head again.  As I slowly reeled along one starting swimming away with it, and was behind a stump when I set the hook.  It was definitely a big one, and it wrapped the line on the stump and broke it right off.  So now I am 3 in the boat and 2 broken lines, both basically my fault.

Voe on the other hand did his usual work with other baits and while he missed a couple it was just not happening.  To make matter worse the wind, which had been blowing 20 decided it was time to ramp up and see if it could make 30mph gusts.  So with the water temp way in the high 60’s all over the lake we fished a couple of windy banks with spinnerbait, with no success.

So we started hitting my usual spring places hopping over quite a bit of the lake and they just were not biting.  We finally quit at 4 after about a 3 hour stretch without a bite.  Voe had one and I caught about 5 and that was the size of it.  I really am puzzled.  Conditions are right but there seems to be something off.  My only guess is that this warm stretch has actually happened so fast that the fish have not really reacted to it yet.  And one thing I am not seeing is the tilapia yet.  So it may seem like spring but the fish sure are not having it.  I wish I could be a little more definitive about what is happening, but right now opinions and rear ends, I have both but I am not sure my opinion is worth anything.   But that is what makes fishing what it is.

On a lighter note I often check the trash can at the cleaning table and there is one thing I know for sure on Coleto, the crappie are getting after it.  There were a ton in the can and they were big ones.  So if you like fresh crappie filets sizzling in the pan now is the time.

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Jim dropped me a note asking about one of my favorite subjects, the Strike King Swim Jig.

I’ve been meaning to ask but keep forgetting. Regarding the Strike King swim jigs you use:
1) which model do you prefer? The KVD swim jig, the KVD Heavy Cover swim jig or the Hack Attack Heavy Cover swim jig?
2) is there a particular weight that you notice that seems to preform better than the others?
3) do you add a trailer? If so do you prefer a craw worm type or paddle tail type bait.
4) and lastly, do you ever fish them by themselves without a trailer?

Thanks in advance for your time and opinions.

Jim

Great questions and in my case the answers are pretty easy.

1.  I primarily use the Tour Grade in a bluegill or blue/black, and of course white.  I fish it on 12 or 15lb line most places I fish and it is easier to sink the finer wire hook on the Tour Grade with lighter line.
2. As our fish spend most of their lives shallow due to grass I like the 1/4 ounce.  And I think that using it shallow you can reel it fast enough with the Rage Craw to get great action.  The few occasions I use it deeper than the 5 foot or so range then I use the 3/8 to get it deeper and still reel it fairly fast.
3. I generally use the Rage Craw trailer, though use the Lobster and the small Rage Craw on occasion.  On the white, I use a swim bait or paddle tail like the Caffinne Shad in white.  Do note though that in really cool water I alternate with the KVD Chunk which is not as aggressive a paddler as the Rage Craw.
4. Always, always, always.
5. I am headed out here in a little bit and hope to fish the new 3/8 Strike King Swinging Swim Jig today.  We are expecting to face high winds today and it will allow me to keep better contact with the heavier jig.  I had some trouble losing fish the other day and the word is the new Swimging Jig keeps them hooked up.  Report to follow.

Thanks for the questions, and basically I try to keep it simple.  In the winter or if I see shad jumping or spawning in the spring, then out comes the white, but basically I like any of bluegill type colors.  Last year when the bluegills got on the beds I caught several big bass shallow in the summer that were up there eating them.  It really is not rocket science, if the fish are shallow it is Swim Jig time.  Like all bait choices, it still comes down to location, location, location.  It is funny how fishermen feel about fishing different baits.  The Shoedog finds it somewhat boring, I find it really subtle and natural, and love the anticipation.  It catches fish, and at times big fish.  And I really can assure you I have thrown multiple other brands and the Strike King is clearly hands down the best of the bunch.

And Jim followed it up with this comment on the current Fayette conditions.

Great report! I have been fishing Fayette every Tuesday for a couple weeks now and agree with you. It’s going to be on the next full moon! Been catching “smaller” bass shallow and bigger fish in deeper (10-15ft) water leading into eastern coves. Water temps have been in the mid 60’s. Can’t wait for the top water bite to kick in.

Am heading up to Toledo Bend Friday for a Fishers of Men tournament Saturday. Weather is warming and has stabilized so there should be some big stringers caught. Hope one of them is mine!

Have a good one.

Jim

First good luck on Toledo this weekend.  5 of the right casts there and 30lbs will be flopping in the floor of the boat.  It will take a big sack, hope you get yours.  The water temp and conditions on both Coleto and Fayette are similar and my observation this year is our pre-spawn period may be a little shorter this year due to the cool water temps and then this couple of week warming trend that may put many of them on the beds this next week.  So folks if you can go, go, the time is now.

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On the trout front the rivers are not quite done yet.

Fished the Lavaca last saturday. Tides real low, kind of a grind on the fish. they were staged on the drop off from 3-6 feet in the river, never found any reds. Ended up with 5 keepers and a bunch of throwbacks. fun day none the less, where to go this weekend, hmmmmmm!!

Thanks Remmy.  That is a report anyone can use to put a few trout in the boat.  With a pretty good report from Garcitas and now yours from the Lavaca there is still a chance to put a few in the boat in either place.  But the end is near so if you like fishing either for trout better hit the water quick, full on spring is here.  Thanks again and comment anytime the mood strikes you.  And the rest of you, a simple report on your fishing can help other folks and we all need a little help on occasion.

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That about catches us up for today.  It really was a disappointing day on the water yesterday.  I am not sure what is going on at the lake right now, but like so many years in the past, it is different than the expectations.  But I will get it figured out, and there will be a day coming soon when it will be crazy good.  So it will be  a weather watch to see what is next at fishcatchingtraverl.com.  No matter what it is fishing time.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Line

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Swimming Jig kinda day!  Man I love spring!

After a veritable smack down on the reds at the Gulf last week it was time to get on the big bass band wagon.  The water is warming, the weather is unbelievable, and I can feel a big one calling my name.   This is my favorite time of year, fishing is good and getting better everywhere, and it can be tough just deciding where to go.

But my buddy Voe was back in town and up for some bass fishing so Coleto it was.  We got there about 7:30 and it was beautiful, warm, sunny, and dead calm.  I immediately caught one on my first cast, and the curse took hold.  If you catch one on your first cast you need to catch another pretty quick or fishing can suck, and it did, sort of, until after 2:00 in the afternoon.

We fished spawning coves, main lake, flat banks uplake, wood, pretty much all pre-spawn areas we could think of and it was slow.  There was the occasional small one, but it just was not as good as it seemed like it should be.

After catching one on my first cast it was quite a while before I caught another.  Voe was getting bit occasionally, but nothing to write home about.

This was it for the first few hours.

Though  I occasionally threw a spinnerbait or plastics, it was the Strike King Swim Jig in a bluegill color with a watermelon red Rage Craw that finally did the damage.  It was a funny morning.  I think we caught around 10 until the late afternoon, and I lost a couple, but it sure seemed slow.   We finally went in a big cove up lake and found them about halfway back on the channel areas.  Though I lost a couple more they started eating it.

Things improved pretty fast late afternoon.

The second one up there was a fatty, around the 5 lb. plus class.  They wanted the jig swimming fairly steady and not with a lot of action.  By the same token I caught a couple when the jig hit something and they bit.  Voe kept trying different baits, buzzbait, blade bait, crankbait, wacky worm, but none really got them going.  Much of the time we kept the boat sitting in 6 or 7 feet of water.  The fish did not seem to be positioned any place or distance from the bank, and some came the first crank and some halfway back.  They just came when they did.

The last couple of nice ones.

We fished the area twice and had bites and fish on the Swim Jig both passes.  It would have been a great tournament place.  Just reel it along close to the bottom and be ready.  I was clearly out of practice with the jig, but by time afternoon came around I was catching them right along.   The water temperature was as high as 68 degrees in some of those places today.  Initially we caught nothing in the back ends, or we caught one, and I mean one small one, most places we tried.  But none were the size we were looking for.  The fish are going to hit the beds with this full moon.  The water is warm and they should move to the banks with a vengeance.

I would guess it was about 15 today, which was ok.  The late afternoon bite saved the day.   One thing that did not help was no wind, it was almost dead flat everywhere.  And the water color up lake is poor, and while we got several bites up there, clearer water helped the bite.   I am so looking forward to the next couple of cloudy days, it has real potential if the water temp stays like it is.  The lake has fallen some and that could have a big effect on things if it continues.  But over all the fishing is ok and it is just a matter of when it really ramps up.  I think I will head that way one more time this week, probably tomorrow.

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Johnny got a chance to fish Amistad and it looks like it went about like the reports I have read elsewhere.

Fishing at Amistad was slow. Went up the Devils river and caught a few on crank baits and swim jig. My best luck was using the drop shot with Watermelon Red Fluke. Caught our biggest fish at a stream coming out of some rocks in the Devils river. Fished around Black Brush.

Amistad is one of my favorite lakes just for the sheer beauty.  We fished it quite a few times several years ago and caught some big fish.  Out last trip a couple of years ago was ok, the Shoedog did catch one big one, but the fishing has declined noticeably the last several years.  Hopefully it will cycle back around soon.  It is such a cool lake.  At lest Coleto is coming on.  Thanks for the report, better luck next time.

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Then next week I will be looking for a light wind day and may try the flyrod for some reds.  They were definitely in my short range off and on for days, and as long as it is just a riffle on the surface they are pretty easy to see.  In fact, standing in the right place would lend itself to plenty of shots.  But who knows?  And the topwater fishing should really be coming on as this weather rapidly warms the water.  Like the lake, get a good cloudy day and it should be game on. How long those reds will  stay ganged up before they spread out is beyond me.  What prompts them to spread out I do not know but if you know the answer let us know.

That will do it for today.  Another trip to the dentist is messing up my day, but tomorrow it will be back at it.  And if you have anything to say drop us a note, we always love to hear from you.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Time to throw that Strike King Swimming Jig!  Man I love spring!

First we have to start with important stuff, Korbin, the Bass Master Champion in 2030.  He and his dad have been on a quest for him to catch species of fish he has never caught before, and he added several this weekend.  It will be fun to follow his fishing adventures.  And they also report catching about 20 white bass on Coleto in the upper arm on shad colored crankbaits.  They are still up there to be caught, but won’t be for long.

#1.  The mighty sheepshead!

#2.  A white bass headed to the grease.

#3.  CPR on his first largemouth.

Look at his face in these pictures.  What could be better?  A dad and his son spending time together.  Fishing is an activity that really can be shared with your children and in Korbin’s case he is consumed with it.  I so see myself as I was the same age when the bug bit me, and look how I turned out.  So take your kids fishing and we are excited to follow Korbin’s quest.  I will try to put him on a redfish in the near future.  So way to go Dude!

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My buddy Bobby got out a day on Coleto and reports a pretty fair day.

Man it was a good day. The strike king swim jig was the answer. White with the rage craw trailer. Found the fish in the back of coves.

Jim dropped me this comment after my rant the other day.

I just read your post and can relate about the feelings you were/are experiencing. Over the years I have had many knock down drag out discussions with one of my wife’s uncles about over limits. He used to brag about all the Reds, trout, flounder, bass, white bass he and his buddies would catch and it was always over possession and daily bag limits. I would listen to his stories and get so upset that I couldn’t say something about what he was doing was wrong and it was people like him that causes fishing license fees to increase. He always came back with “well nobody was around so”. And every time he said that I thought what character and integrity! Idiot!!! I have to laugh now because whenever there is a family get together he avoids me like the plague which is fine with me. All I can say is what comes around goes around.

I appreciate your comment and your experience is actually a good teaching moment for all of us.  I tend to rant at times, maybe excessively, but fishing and hunting can best be described as a privilege and not a right, no matter how we like to think.  And every little opening we give the anti’s will be taken.  And your ragging on him worked.  Not only did it work out for you personally, it made him think, hopefully not only about what he says, but what he was doing.  So thanks for the comment.

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Doug:

Still reading, just haven’t found the time to comment lately. Now that hunting season is over I will try and find the time to say more. Ha! Man do I appreciate the
venting! That problem you wrote about is the reason we don’t have the fishing community we ought to. Idiots abuse it. Not only do they abuse the shared information, but they tout about it and break the law. Unfortunately all the people out to stop fishing/hunting don’t look at the majority of ethical sportsman. They use these morons as ammunition to further their cause. It makes you sick. It pisses me off. May the hull of their boats and the props of their engines find the sharpest edge of an oyster reef!

Wow! I love hearing about POC! My buddy and I are planning a trip (kayak bay fishing) sometime in May. Its the soonest we can get out there. Hopefully the fishing holds up until then! Its been too long since I’ve been chasing reds/trout. (I blame all the hunting!)

Whenever we get down there we gotta meet up for some food/beer! Maybe I’ll hit you up for some hot fishing spots so I can keep a LEGAL limit of reds! LOL

Have a great week and catch all the big ones!

Evan

Good to hear from you.  It is so important for sportsmen to remember that a moments indiscretion, much less blatant stupid behavior, paints us all and anything anti’s can use to attack our sports does not help.  I guess what really did PO’ me was that is exactly what it was, a misuse of information.  No wonder some folks don’t share fishing information and techniques with folks.  Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me. Please let me know when you will be down, if I can help point the way I sure will.  And I rarely refuse a cold one with a fisherman.  My stories are so much better after a couple!

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Steve sent this report a couple of days ago and it makes me want to hitch up in the morning and head that way.

Fished Fayette yesterday. Planned on being on the lake at sunup but a blown tire on the truck doing 65 on I-10 put a bit of a delay in the schedule. Nothing like changing a tire on the shoulder of the freeway with semi’s blowing past! (Called AAA but they couldn’t get there until 7:30 and we couldn’t wait that long).

Fished the bays, trees, points, and dam. We ended up with 17 total fish, with 9 coming from bays in about 6-8 ft of water, 5 on deep diving crank baits in 12-15 ft of water, and 3 on a Carolina rig also deep. Fish were healthy, fat, and good size except for maybe 2 dinks, and included a 6.10 on a deep dive crank bait and a 4.11 on a wacky worm. Water temp still cooling – was about 60 when we got on the lake, and 70 by the time we got off at about 2.

All in all, not a bad day, even considering the early morning tire problem!
Keep up the good work, love to read your stuff.

A great day considering the start, and nice numbers for an early quit.  I really, really, like to fish Fayette.  It is a consistent fishery and you all ways have a shot at a good one, what we call a Fayette Fatty.  So thanks for the report, keep them coming.

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Bold Prediction for the Month.

You heard it here first.  I just looked at the 10 day forecast and if it holds true there is a day coming in a little over a week that my past experiences on Coleto have shown it to be one of the best fishing days of the year.  It is getting right, daytime warming into the 80’s and then a front with cloud cover.  Front day it drops into the 60’s for highs, but as long as it isn’t a norther type front it should be awesome.  We should see occasional fish making beds and moving up.  Like I always say there are times when you need to be doing a specific thing based on weather and time of year, and we are about to hit one of those times.  Big bass are in my future and they are coming in 7 or 8 days from now.

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It is so great to hear from all of you, keep those reports and comments coming.  The fishing is hot in both fresh and saltwater and it is time to get out there as much as you can.  My plans are up in the air but include catching a couple of big bass and I intend to hit the bay and take the fly rod.  I have had it a while and got it with the intention of catching redfish.  Well the way they were acting last week it is time.  In fact both Pete and John of the Austin Boys fish with the buggy whip and commented on how easy it would have been to catch one.  I can not thank all of you, whether readers or fishing buddies, it takes all of us to keep this blog going.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Time to throw that Strike King Sexy Dawg Topwater!  Man I love spring!

A Tale of Two Days.

You could not find a better couple of days to illustrate how significantly water movement and a little cool front affect the fishing and radically change it in one day.  More on that later.  I was lucky enough to get to fish with the Austin Boys when they were down at POC the last couple of days.  Todd, Pete, John, Ro, Don, Perry, and the rest of the gang arrived on Thursday night for 2 days of having at it.   So there would be 2 boats with 9 guys, some serious hardcore waders.

The first day saw both boats off at daylight for the long ride down the island to fish in the area of Cedar Lake, Twin Lakes, not to mention a little Big Pocket and assorted other drains basically wherever we fished.  Let me set up day 1 to illustrate the conditions.  The day followed a nice 4 day warming with the water temperature rising from 56 to 58 over the couple days leading up to day one.  Tide was high around 7 and falling, basically all day.  In other words, from this table the water was moving most of the day.

The tide was perfect.

A perfect set of winter conditions set up the perfect storm.  The 5 in our bunch all bailed out and I caught a keeper red on my third cast with the KVD Sexy Dawg topwater.  Now after our success 2 days ago I thought it would be a killin’, well it was tough in a weird sort of way.  We all caught a couple of fish, and one or two whipped on the rats, but there were plenty of reds, and reds, and then more reds.

While we were all trying to get them to bite like you might think they should, the other guys are wading down the bank towards us, from almost 2 miles away.  All around us were groups of reds, maybe 5, or maybe 25, going around all of us at times, but that was nothing.  We heard someone yell at us and way down the bank here comes a couple of our guys behind us and they are yelling.  And there it was, a massive school of reds, I mean giant.  Hundreds of them in a huge dark spot pushing water like a tugboat, it was cool.  The guys had been following them for over a mile just knocking the snot out of them.

Pete had a couple of good days, probably catching the most fish on this trip.

Got them cornered.

Why the reds around us were not eating as well who knows, but that other school was something to see.  I don’t know exactly, but before it was over they had limits or close to it.  And while we had some fish, it was not as many as we should have.  Just one of those anomalies that happens, but we were catching them.  But things finally turned our way.

So the other boat hit the road for other places looking for trout, we stayed working any drain in that 5 mile stretch.  Then around 5 in the afternoon we got another good tide movement and the bite was on.  I do not know how many I caught out of 1 drain without moving, but it was in the 25 – 30 range with some ok trout, reds, and good eating size black drum.  Early in the morning John had been catching them basically dragging it on the bottom and I varied that some.  You could actually feel them pecking it so I started reeling it as soon as I felt a peck, and they would jump it.

This is what happens when you find a few, like hundreds, of redfish schooling.

Everyone was catching some and before we called it a day we put a big ass pile of the works on the cleaning table at Froggie’s.  Most of us caught a red, flounder, and trout slam, even if they all were not keepers, and a couple of us added a black drum.  Slams all around is good fishing any day.  The other boat never did have any more real hot luck, like they needed it, and quit a little early.  On the other hand by time we got fish cleaned and dinner made it was 9.

Boudan, roasted oysters with parmegean on crusty bread, soup, all a thing of beauty.  We traded stories and plans for day 2.  For both boats day 1 was a solid day of fishing with all 9 of us catching fish, a couple of us catching a bunch.  And John, below, was making his first trip with the boys and after a little advice, you know how fisherman are, full of advice or something else, began to catch a few.

John’s first trip to the salt with the boys, and he started getting the hang of it.

The first day was filled with reds, flounder, blacks, and trout, though the trout were few and caught late when the water was running.  Only a few fish were on topwater, and darker plastics ruled the day.  Any particular companies plastics seemed to be irrelevant, as long as it was dark.

Everybody got in on the act.

Day 2

When I got to their place the next morning Ro and his bunch were already outside getting ready to go.  My bunch was sleeping.  (Wait, haven’t I repeatedly said what a hard core fishing bunch these guys are?)  So I rousted them up and by time I got done herding cats it was around 8:30 before we jumped over the side.  We were still fishing drains on the Matagorda Island shoreline past the First Chain, while the other boat headed for Big Pocket.

So now to the punch line about different conditions = different days.  After 5 warm stable days there was a small cold front that blew through in the middle of the night, which really affected the weather none as far as I could tell.  But look at the water movement predictions.  (Let me take a second and make an observation:  I really try to not read to much into the tide tables, I mean it is good to know high and low times, but that often is not the important thing.  So I google water movement predictions and get a much better indication of where to be and when.)

Look at the difference from the day before.  The water moved for hours between tides the day before, and then again right before dark.  Day 2 the water moved a little in the morning and then flattened out for hours during most of that tide.  Luckily we got a little falling late in the afternoon and they finally started biting.

The other bunch went to Big Pocket and fished it hard and by time we spoke with them around noon they were having no luck.  We had a few fish, but I don’t think I had one before lunch, in fact 3 of us didn’t.  Those herds of redfish were gone.  From days worth of big schools to just plain not there, we fished drains, points, long shorelines until afternoon, and we struggled.  The water just sat there, and obviously even that little front that blew through the night before affected them.  It was a good teaching moment for me.  When the water is border line cool in the winter a little front we may not feel will hurt them much more than any other time of the year.  And make it a high pressure with bluebird skies and you get the picture.

But finally the water started moving.  Heading down a long sand flat in knee deep water, mullet started swimming by, and I realized I was right in the path, so I moved really shallow and here come the fish with the mullet.  The bank was bare sand and it was really shallow.

I just liked the spots on this one, we caught tons of rats like this.

Let me put in a plug right now for the Cocoons.  The sun was super bright and the mirrors were the ticket.  It was easy to spot the fish, and to tell them from the mullet.  It so reminded me of bonefishing.  I started tossing the light jig head with dark plastics right in their face and finally started getting bit.  I caught 6 in short order, a mix of trout, reds, and a small flounder, and should have had twice that.   Funny how watching them hit is not all it is cracked up to be, I was clearly premature on the hook set with about as many as I caught.  No matter what it was cool.  The others got in on the act and you could feel the bite was coming.  It was my first real experience with slow fishing and then to find trout in a foot of water on bare sand.  But the mullet were there and as it is their primary forage right now they were where their supper was.

Our last wade took us in front of a back lake and we fished the drain, finally put a few more on the stringer.  It wasn’t quite as crazy as day 1, but it was a good day of fishing.  Lots of rats were caught both days and on day 2 I think our boat kept maybe a dozen trout, a couple of reds and flounder, give or take a fish.

I did my part.

We started winding down and John was the last one in the boat.  While we watched him and enjoyed a cold one he caught the last couple of redfish on a bone Spook Jr. throwing into a drain and working it out while we watched and enjoyed a cold one.  The other boat struggled in Big Pocket but kept after it and finally in the afternoon like us they located reds in a drain and put the hurt on them, though they did not catch any trout to speak of.

Pete and John.  The hits just kept on coming.

Turn out the lights, the party’s over.  This is what it is all about.

So it was really an interesting 2 days, and they could not have been more different if they tried.  One really interesting observation was plastics clearly ruled the day and out fished live shrimp hands down.  It drove Todd nuts as he could actually see groups of reds the first morning swim right by his shrimp.  And the second afternoon as soon as the water started falling we started catching flounder.  Most were small but if you want a good indicator of what the water is doing you can rely on the flounder.  The water falls, they bite.  And the catch coincided with the water movement predictions.  The tables are such a good indicator allowing you to place yourself in the right place at the right time.  All days are different, but sometimes it really is as simple as that.  And last this was my first real experience catching them that shallow in a place I would never have guessed, gotta’ love those mullet.

Headed to Austin.  Our boat from day 1.

I really enjoy fishing with the Austin Boys.  For them it is time off from stressful work doing what they like best, fishing.  Some are accomplished bay fishermen who have been doing it for years, and they stay in the water as long as it takes to get the job done.  And let me tell you we all waded some miles the last couple of days.  Good food and drink, good fishing and good friends, it does not get any better than that.  There are a couple of fishing reports and other comments I want to share with you and will get to that later today.  Tomorrow it is the dentist and then Tuesday some fishing.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Time to throw that Strike King Swimming Jig!  Man I love spring!

I have been placed in a really bad position.  What was one of the best days of redfishing I have had in a while has turned into a complete feeling of revulsion.  How did it come to that?  I do this blog so that I can help you all catch a few more fish, and as much as I can I put you on them.  Well for the first time it has been misused in a really bad way and I feel terrible.

We caught reds, and caught reds, and caught reds.  When we cleaned them at a friend of Chris’ he told him where we caught them, and apparently he told his son.  From that point the story makes me sick.  He sent a text telling how he found (BS – he did not find shit) a big school of reds and he strung 15 keepers.  That make me sick.  To think that someone would take a tip like that and then abuse it really troubles me.  And what makes it worse, he claims to be a guide.  How f’n low can you go?  And the reason I went down there  today was to check it out for back up when my buds are here Friday and Saturday.

I am troubled by this from many points of view.  As a former defense attorney, if he strung them, which he did, he was 5x’s over the limit and is a criminal, at least that is what they are called in court.  As a sportsman it makes me sick to my stomach that someone would even think of doing something that would not only put us in a bad light, but is the sterotype we fight against every day as our fishing and hunting rights are assaulted after actions of irresponsible folks like this.  And as a former guide if he would string 15 reds what else will he do?  And last, as a person it pisses me off that he would take credit for how he found the school of redfish, which is a flat out lie.

Thanks for letting me vent before I tell you about our good day.  I try to take the high road here as best as I can, this just sticks in my craw.  If this is the kind of person you are I do not want you reading my stuff.

Redfish Madness

Chris did not even make it out of the boat, then it was game on.

Chris and I headed out about 8 from Froggies and ran over to the island. The tide was low, and I mean as low as I have seen it this year.  How low you say?  We saw 2 folks pushing their boats off when they tried to get into Pringle.  And the water temperature was only 56 and was as clear as Baffin.

Our first stop was past Pringle on the main shoreline where there were birds working pretty hard, along with dolphins and a few gulls.  Chris headed out and I stayed in.  He kept going out, and going out, and going out.  The tide was so low I thought he was going to wade back to POC.  I stayed in and for our first hour plus wade I was the winner, I caught 2 pinfish.  It was hard to tell what  fish were working there, but no matter what they were not having it.

So next we headed down the island looking for likely spots.  It was so clear and the water was so low that we just kept going looking at the bank and back lakes and pockets for anything that looked right.  We ended up in San Antonio bay, in front of a back lake that I was particularly wanting to fish, and as we idled in it was maybe a foot deep and as we got to the mouth there were reds moving.  I can’t remember for sure if Chris had even jumped out of the boat but he tossed it in front a a bunch and from then on it was game on.

His limit, there is a 25″ behind that big one, who made it under by a hair.

We could basically see redfish moving all around the opening and the oyster bar at the mouth.  Chris make a long wade all around the area, I on the other hand moved about 50 feet from the boat and camped out.  I was using the Down South on the 1/32 jig head and 8lb fluro and it was a blast.  First there were lots of small ones, then the hosses moved in and it was fantastic.  They were knocking the snot out of it and we caught several doubles and several times two or three on consecutive casts.

Chris made a wad out the mouth and down the bank and he said at one point there were waves of redfish crossing in front of him.  Meanwhile I still had not moved and could see them rolling over as they ate and we even saw a couple tailing.  It was just ridiculous.  And both of us were surprised we did not boat a trout, not one, in spite of all the bait.  So after catching a bunch it was time to move on, my arm was actually getting tired, not.  The conditions were perfect.  A back lake with a softer bottom that you could feel was a little warmer.  A light east wind combined with the tide going out flushing the warmer water and bait all combined for the perfect storm.

Here is my limit, who knows how many I caught.

The last place I wanted to check today was Shoalwater,  By now the wind was up so we crossed the bay and on arrival there were about 5 boats in there.  They were drifting so we got in line and made 3 drifts.  Chris caught one small one, and we both missed a couple.  People started to leave one boat after another so I have a feeling we were a little to late.  We did see a couple of folks catch small ones on shrimp and popping cork.  I am pretty sure they are some trout in there, just not sure if it will justify a run down there this weekend.

But as days go, it was pretty funny, 2 strike outs places and then one flat out wailing on them place.  If I was guessing we caught around 40 easy.  And we did it right, we kept our limit and let the rest go as soon as they made the net or boga.  I fish because I love it, not to make some big mark, nor to notch my rods with kills, and what happened after we left is everything that is bad about fishing.  So my joy over a great day is tempered by what happened later, to bad.

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Remmy sent me this comment and I have about half an answer.

Is that launch ramp on garcitas creek good for a 22′ boat with top? can a ttop get past the railroad tracks? I can see a launch at Bennet park but it either looks private or there is a gate in front there that maybe a boat with a ttop cant get in. Thanks for the info, fish the lavaca river all the time just thinking about trying something new. When you fish the Lavaca river, I’ve always went south, never north. Do you fish up the lavaca side or the navidad side?

I put in off the highway and not at Bennet Park, and it is fine for a bigger boat.  Bennet is open and some folks put in there, but I have not done that.  But I did heard a good trout report from there last week.  I have been told that you need to be careful coming back down the creek from Bennet due to logs and shallows.  As far as whether your t-top will fit under the bridge, no clue.  I would put in off the highway first and you should have no problem and if you want to go up creek just take it easy.

When I fish the Lavaca I love the area down, past the high lines.  But I will sneak in the Navidad on occasion, but this year the water was off color enough that the bite did not really materialize like it has in the past, but I sure have caught them there.  Hope this answers some of your question.  Just remember that Garcitas is not the Lavaca, it is a creek so caution as you learn it.  Thanks for the question and if you go let us know how it went.

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And I heard from Johnny who is headed to one of the lakes I have not fished in a couple of years but really love to fish, Amistad.

Was out on Coleto Lake on Saturday. Caught fish on main lake points and on the way in to the back of the cove. Used Senkos…never felt them bite. Also caught them on the 38 Special Spinner bait.

Is that the new Strike King Swim Jig in the picture above? Hope your daughter wins her race.

Will be heading to Amistad Lake this weekend. Any tips?

Keep on fishing!

Sounds like you are finding basically what I have been finding on Coleto.  It is so close and with our weather staying stable and warm it can only get better.  And the Swim Jig in the last post is not their new Swinging Swim Jig, though I got a few and will be fishing them next week and will report.  That thing really looks mean.  But that color and Rage Craw are my favorite.

And thanks for shout out for the kid, she won and I am proud to be her dad.  And last, Amistad.  I fished it quite a few times in the past before switching to Falcon.  It so reminds me of our lakes in Arkansas.  If I have any advice is head up the Devils arm.  Not only can you catch bass but we always added a few bonus smallmouth.  And be sure to throw that jerkbait some.  Our very last trip a shallow running Shad Rap jerked put the hurt on them in that clear water.  It has a good population and fishing up lake always seemed to add a couple of stripers to the string.  So good luck and let us know how it goes.  Here is the story on out last trip there.

Amistad – nothing like a little wind to make a bass fishing trip fun.

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Next it will be waist deep in the bay for a couple of days.  I feel good about our chances, fishing with the boys from Austin is always a dawn to dusk affair. And there is nothing like fishing with Todd since he caught the popping cork disease.  Music rocking, a few cold ones, and good guys.  That is what sharing the outdoors is all about.  So have a great weekend, and if you fish let us know how you do.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Time to throw that Strike King Swimming Jig!  Man I love spring!

The week begins.  Today it was Coleto, tomorrow POC, maybe Thursday Coleto, Friday and Saturday definitely back to POC.  It is time to fish, our best fishing of the year is starting, and today it got a little closer to spring time  bass fishing.

First off it was a main lake spawning cove.  Starting with topwater, not even one made a pass at it.  I got a new rod the other day and wanted to try it out on the Swim Jig so out it came but it was still awhile before I got a bite.  Finally as  I let it fall one smoked it and I missed him.  A little while later I put one in the boat, but it was small.   Next it was a main lake bank and not a bite.  So up lake I went.

The run of the litter.

I caught one on the senko bait but went back to the Swim Jig and they started to bite.  I was throwing a bluegill color with a watermelon red Rage Craw and I finally started to get the hang of the way they wanted it.  Basically slow, ticking the bottom, and boy were they hard to feel.  Just crawling it along and then feeling the slight difference in hitting something and having one on.  So I started pointing the rod straight at it and making sure it bumped bottom.  If I felt anything, especially if it moved, I set the hook.  Funny when it turns out to be a fish!  And it sure is nice how rarely the Swim Jig actually hangs up.

The big one for the morning.

From about 10 until I quit at 1:30 one would jump on almost everywhere I tried.  Points with some wind on them were the best, and nothing came from the back of a cove.  But from a point to about halfway in seemed to have a fish or two.

As the day progressed they got on that Strike King Swim Jig.

Before I had to quit 8 came on the Swim Jig and 2 on the senko style plastic.  It has been a while since I have caught that many on the Swim Jig, but it is just getting time.  The water temp was from a low of 57.2 on most of the lake to a high of 60 in one cove.  But basically it is the same over much of the lake.  I did not throw a crankbait today, but the last couple of times when I have they wanted it bumping bottom, which is the best way to describe how they wanted the Swim Jig today.  The lake fishing is really about to get started.  We have a moon coming and it will depend on how warm it stays the next couple of weeks.

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Jimmy sent me this last week.

Sounds like you had a great day at Coleto. I sure enjoy reading all posts and a really good job on the saltwater lures 101 article. Just wondering, have you heard any updates on the Lavaca River or Garcitas Creek?

I heard a good report from Garcitas in the Bennett Park area so there must be a few trout left in there.  In fact, the report was more than a few.  It may not be over in the rivers yet, if any of you get there give us a shout out and let us know how you did.

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As I type this we are watching election results online.  My daughter is running for school board in Oklahoma City.  She has a 30+ vote lead with 33% of precincts reporting.  It will be off to bed when she wins.  It will be up early to head to POC so the reports will be coming fast and furious the next 4 days.  And if you have anything to say drop us a line, we love to hear from you.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines!