Fish Catching Travel

Baits that catch fish!

No I have not been kidnapped by aliens, though I was just in Roswell New Mexico.  But the only little green men we saw were on the billboards.  What really happened was once the weather forecast for this week went to crap the lovely wife just forced me to go to go have fun in Ruiodosa NM by way of Alpine TX.

She had just worked a long stretch and was wanting some sunshine, so I put down the computer and we headed out west.  We love the high desert.  So big, so quiet, it is a real testimony to how expansive this great country of ours is.  While we did not see the usual amount of wildlife, we did see mule deer, antelope, and turkey.

We had a great time in Ruiodosa, it was our second visit and will go back again with the 4 wheel drive so we can really explore the mountains and parks.  Hope fully it will be during the Elk bugling this fall.  And there is always a slight possibility you might see a bear.  This trip the weather sure was nice, it was mid 70’s in the day and low 50’s at night.  With the low humidity the weather was flat wonderful.  We ate, maybe had a couple of adult beverages, and even played a game of chance or two while we were there.

The trip was great and it was nice to have a break from the website.  But tomorrow it is back to the business at hand.  Not sure how the water looks at the Gulf, and from what I hear it probably did not help the lake any either.

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I heard from Jeramie and here is his Coleto report from the 15th.

Went yesterday , caught several. Bite was slow , biggest  going around 3 pounds . Fished  flooded grass . Pitched a small black craw with a heavy weight to punch through the heavy grass, a lot of the bass had crawfish in their throats! As it gets hotter the bite will get tougher. You were right the deeper grass is almost non existent.

Glad to hear you were punching with the craw.  With the ones that came out of the thicker bushes for me last time I figured that would work some.  As far as the grass who knows?  We just may not get the heavy stuff if the water does not clear and things will get a lot tougher this summer.  It will be interesting to see what patterns do develop.  Thanks for touching base.

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Not absolutely sure what, or where, is next, but I am sure I will think of something.  So if any of you would like to help a brother out, send me some water condition reports on the bays or the lake.  While we were gone the reports on the news and weather channels made it seem fairly bad this week, but talking to a couple of folks back here it seems like we weathered the storm just fine.  Thanks for sticking with me while I took this little break, I promise it will back to some serious fishing this week.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Baits that catch fish!

Korbin Strikes Again

Over the last year I have helped my buddy Jeffish work on his boat.  After basically rewiring the whole thing, then some motor work, and finally a paint job, it is running great.  And the best thing is his son, Korbin, had developed a bad case of fishing disease.

Korbin reports he caught these slabs 10 foot deep in his secret spot on Coleto.  It is a great thing that they are fishing together.  It was about at this age when I went fishing crazy, and look how I turned out.  So congratulations big boy, the Bassmaster Classic is next!

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I just spent 3 hours putting a new crank on the skiff, among other things.  Then a complete clean and repair of the trolling motor wiring, followed by my favorite boating job, greasing the hubs.  Having two boats is double the headache, but I should not complain.  No matter what happens we can fish, and having a couple of problems with one boat with friends here, it was just a matter of hopping in the other, saved the trips.  So there will always be a certain amount of whining with money spent and the ongoing challenge of keeping up both boats.  And this afternoon will be the mandatory getting tackle organized.  Fishing 8 times in 2 weeks takes it toll on stuff.

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I got an interesting comment from Steve and I wanted to share it with you.

Good Morning Doug
Last weekend we spent 3 days off shore loading up on red snapper. My girlfriend and myself ended up bringing back about 60 lbs (our share) of snapper filets home to Waco. I was just wondering do you ever fish Green’s Bayou, Middle grounds or Cotton Bayou. I know it’s a long boat ride, but the fishing can be awesome. It’s a huge flat with 13’ of water nearby deep guts and grass. I never hear anybody talk about these places. Must be top secret! LOL  Keep writing and I’ll keep reading. In the past year I have turned a few dozen people on to your blog. For us we can only go to the coast about 10 times a year and YOU do a great service. Thanks
Steve

From what I have seen at Froggie’s, and heard from friends, the snapper fishing is going hot and heavy.  So sounds like you seriously got in on the action.  Red snappers are probably my favorite fish to eat, and you will be eating lots of them.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  I have waded the Green’s area several times, with moderate success, but it is fished a lot by the POC crowd.  The other places I have not for a couple of reasons.  First when the wind is blowing pretty good the run back to POC can be an adventure as you cross the mouth of Lavaca Bay in a flats boat, it really gets up a head of steam.  The other reason is if I am going to make a long trip for the day I head to the Island and down into San Antonio Bay.  I fish a lot by myself and just get lazy and don’t put out the effort I should at times.  Sometimes I fall into that trap fisherman do, take the sure thing, kind of a bigger version of don’t leave fish to find fish.  So thanks for the comment and now I am going to have to try those other places.

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I actually did get to the Coleto for 5 hours Friday.  The boss headed to the sweat shop around 9;30, there was some clouds with rain west of here, so it was time to see if I could get in a little bit before some real rain came.

The last few trips the fishing on the lake has been later in the day so it seemed like the thing to do.  The double fluke rig and an umbrella rig were the plan.  If they are eating shad the umbrella should imitate a school of shad and get a bite or two, and with no deep grass it made sense. Well not so much.  I stuck with both baits for 2 hours and not a hit, zip.  One of those little lessons, they are in the grass knucklehead.  So it was time for a change, back to the KVD Sexy Dawg.

It was raining off and on, the wind would blow one way then another.  One of those put on the rain jacket, then take it off a couple of minutes later.  Then it just cleared and got steamy hot.  But it did not affect the topwater bite.  Until I quit at 3:30 it was at least 10 hits.  Unfortunately there is no big fish picture, but not for lack of effort on their part.  Jerking it by an isolated bush on the tip of a flat point my Sexy Dawg disappeared in one of those no splash and it was gone bites.  I reeled tight and she came out up and here comes the topwater back at me.  Dang it.  Another one just exploded on it and flat missed.  Where were those guys when Voe and I fished 2 days ago?

The white Sexy Dawg catches them.

One did eat a buzzbait, and that one also came out of an isolated bush off the bank.  When the fish are holding to cover like that, combined with the bright sunshine, it is probably time to pitch a Rodent or some other compact plastic.  And the water is finally clearing a little more each day, hopefully the deep grass will start to grow.  From what the weatherman says we may get a long period of rain, 4 or 5 days, and some may be heavy.   The last thing the bay and the lake need is any more dirty water added to the mix.

There are tons of beds right now, with tilapia all over.  If you are a bow fisherman just head into a big cove and you will see the beds all over in the back ends.  And it is finally clear enough to see them and the fish.  For the middle of the day not a bad little outing.  5 on topwater and 1 on buzzbait.   Anytime you can catch bass in the middle of the day in the Texas summer you are doing ok.

This week will be very weather dependant according to the weatherman.  After painting his house and then being on a jury for 3 days he is really wanting to fish.  And the Austin boys are at POC Friday and Saturday and  I hope to pre-fish a couple of days, maybe cut down on their search.  And I love the comments I have been getting.  We all learn something from each of them, so keep them coming.  Thanks for stopping in and reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Baits that catch fish!

We are fishing now!  After a couple of months of crappy weather and rain I have been hitting it pretty hard lately.  I think it is 7 times in the last 2 weeks, and who knows, I may just do it all over again tomorrow.

Sometimes when I go fishing I just hate fishing.  Why you say?  Because just when you think you have it going on the fish remind you it is their world.  The other day it was a pretty good day of topwater fishing on Coleto.  So when Voe and I left the ramp I really was expecting to catch some good fish, and maybe even put that big girl in the boat.  So we started walking the dawg with the KVD Sexy Dawg.  First was the 3 places where I wacked some big ones, but they were not having the same bait they smashed 2 days ago.  So the hunt was on.

Finally a frog fish, I figured the white was the way to go.

We started throwing the book at them, and most things worked, for 1 or 2.  We worked up lake and back down.  There are still fish in the coves, and as long as the water does not fall much they should stay there.  One point on Coleto, it just seems it has never been that killer of a morning lake as a rule, and today was no different.

Voe with a nice one on a scrounger head and lizard.

Voe threw the scrounger head with various plastics and had some success, he even put a small squid used for offshore fishing behind it and caught one and had one break his line.  I kept with the big 4, buzzbait, swim jig, frog, and the KVD topwater.  Though it was slow at daylight it got better as the day wore on.  We started catching one here and there, then a couple in a cove, then 3 on main lake bank, and so it went.  The one thing that was consistent was grass.

Of course one on the Swimming Jig, what has become my go to bait.

If I had to say what I have learned the last few trips on Coleto is that while they are in that grass at times, they do not want to chase it.  Right before we quit Voe put on the double fluke rig and had a couple of bites in maybe 15 minutes.  While he did not hook either of them up, it was promising.  Not having fished that rig it looked mean, and Voe said when there is a big shad feed it can be really effective.  Which brings me to the shad, if there are lots of shad flipping around, those fish are close somewhere.

Finally a good one absolutely smashed that topwater about 10 feet from the boat.

Really watching the locator close there does not even seem to be any deep grass emerging off the bottom yet.  While a little more rain will be ok this week, we do not need any more color in the lake.

And I just had to show you one on a buzzbait.

So as you can see, we caught them on lots of things but just did not find the best choice.  Who knows?  There just may not be a best choice.  And some were deep in the grass and do not appear to want to move very far to eat.  But no matter what we tossed they were in the grass, so choose your bait accordingly.

By 2 it was over 100 heat index again today so we quit, actually when they seemed to be biting the best.  And folks, stay hydrated and cover up.  Not only is it necessary, it can extend your fishing day.  Summer is here to stay.

For the day it was probably around a dozen fish, all on different baits.  I mean almost every single one.  I really was surprised that the topwater fishing was not any better than it was.  Heck my buddy Jeffish stopped yesterday and got some advice and went our for a couple of hours and put 5 in the boat including a good one, all walking the dog.  Fish can be fickle, and today they were.

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I get a lot of nice comments and I read each and every one, except the spam.  I really appreciate those nice job, love the info, that kind of stuff.  Every once in a while one comes that keeps me writing.

Doug- I want to thank you for sharing the details of how you fish and the locations.  It is really helping me feel more confident about testing different spots out in POC.  I have been fishing  POC for years (but only a couple of times per year and usually the same spots (ceders area along the peninsula).   Thanks for being so open.  You are definitely a fishing mentor.  Brian.

One thing that happened to me when I came here was it was all on me.  Other than a couple of guys, I really got no help.  It was keep at it, range out more, and learn what I could.  That has been one of my pet peeves for quite a while.  This is not some secret scientific formula, it is fishing.  So here you have a fishing nut like me saying it is only fishing.   But that is all it is.  We should enjoy every day on the water, and helping other folks catch a couple of more fish is good thing, it makes you a better person.

Spreading out in the POC area does have it’s hazards.  But if I had to give people one word of advice I have learned exploring the Everglades, Louisiana, and other shallow bay areas of the coast, just take it slow.  And if you do not know it like the back of your hand idle in and out.  It only adds a minute to the day and you can never go wrong as you explore different shallow areas.   So thanks Brian for letting me know reading my ramblings have helped, that is the point.  And the rest of you, I love to hear from all of you.

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I heard from Aaron out of Austin who was down here last weekend for a couple of days.

Hey Doug,

Thought I would shoot you an update from the weekend fishing.  I started Friday at Indianola and fished the PH ranch shoreline from 6-9AM.  There were probably another dozen waders scattered on the shoreline.  I caught only one 15” trout on topwater.  The other folks were slinging bait and I didn’t see any of them catching fish either.  I moved to the hurricane cut and picked up some small reds in the area but the bite was slow.  I loaded up and drove to the other side of PH to see how it looked but it’s still chocolate milk on the other end.  I saw plenty of gators on both ends of PH just as you did. Nice to be on the water but a slow morning for sure.

I tried Coleto Saturday morning and landed a 20” on topwater on my third cast.  Over the next 3 hours I only added two more fish.  Sounds like you had a similar experience.  I don’t have any better theories than yours about the abundance of bait fish killing the bite.  I hope to redeem myself with a better trip next month.

Aaron

The fishing has improved some since you were here last week.  And as you can tell from the report above, the bass are still not settled down, but at least they are biting.  (It doesn’t look like you are suffering from lack of bass from the pictures you have passed along lately from up your way.  It is not like you haven’t caught some big bass in the last month.) And the trout fishing from what I am hearing can still be spotty, but at least in my experience this week it is also improving.  So by time you get back down here again it should be quite a bit better, I hope.  Thanks for the report.

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I am really looking forward to next Friday and Saturday.  Ro, Pete, and John, along with a few other guys, will be down from Austin for a couple of days of fishing.  Those 3 are waders who keep after it so I plan on hitting the POC area near the island a couple of days next week.  Maybe I can find a few fish to help out the cause.  A couple of the other guys are going to soak a little bait for tarpon.  I hope they get that done, it is one thing I really want to do some time.  And it was funny when I got the text from Ro, I had just finished wrapping him a little present.  So Ro when you get that package in the mail it is just a thank you for helping me out.  It will be a good time, they are good fisherman and great guys.

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That is the size of it for today.  Maybe a early morning trip back to Keller Bay is in order.  I did not wade last trip, but now that I know the fish are there it might be a good quick trip to boat a few more trout.  The Captain of Team Nancy complains that I cook fish while she is at work and she gets to eat them on day 2.  That is a legitimate complaint.  Know matter how good it tastes day 2, nothing compares with fresh out of the Gulf and into the grease.  So I guess I am having to go trout fishing and get her a fish fry.  A fisherman can rationalize any reason to go fishing, especially when it is to help others.  Right?  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Baits that catch fish!

It has been quite a while since I have been to Keller Bay.  High winds and dirty water have been a plague the last month.  One thing about Keller is if the wind is wrong it gets flat out rough.  Today was not that day.  There was barely a breath of wind, or there was no wind.  It was hotter than hades, and by time the wind quit and the tide got full at 1, the bite was over.

Generally in Keller the first stop is the pasture where the high bank is.   When I got there bait was moving and so were the fish.  The only problem was it was 8:30, 2 hours to late.  The water had a brown tinge to it so it was the popping cork first.  That is one of those techniques that has it moments and I do not throw it as often as I should.

A Rage Shrimp 20″ below the popping cork.

The bank there goes out to 4 feet plus and so the trolling motor kept me in 3 foot.  3 or 4 like this one took off with it.  Just popping it along and letting it rest.  Since I was not keeping them it was time for some experimentation.  I threw watermelon red paddle tail, a copper sand eel, and an electric chicken paddle tail, all on a Strike King 1/8th ounce Flats Jig.  I also gave the topwater a couple of tosses, but with no wind and being late, no one was interested.  A couple of small ones hit the MirrOLure hardbait, but I did not have the right rod for it so that didn’t last to long.

The first plastic fish.

I worked the whole bank all the way down until it really flattens out and caught one here and there the whole way.  There seems to be a pretty good mullet population because they were all over that bank, and everywhere else I have fished the past week.   But it was pretty evident that the bite was slowing down.  To bad I was lazy this morning.  If I was keeping them it would have been a limit, and that was out of a dozen or so that I caught before it was time to redfish.  And the popping cork was much better for the nicer fish, but again, I only caught the tail end of it.

There are two banks in Keller that hold reds consistently for me, the dock area and back past them on the grass bank, and also the right bank as you come in at the mouth of Keller.  So I fished them both with a Redfish Magic.

And this was the big one.

The bank at the mouth had more color to it than the pasture, though it may have been due to the tide.  I fished the whole thing and only caught the one above and had a flounder knock the crap out of it but not hookup.  Next it was from the point by the ramp to past all the docks with the Redfish Magic.  One rat jumped it by the first dock and I put him in the boat, and then not another bite.  The water back in Keller is really off color, but I think it also had to do with high tide, no wind, and the water just not moving.

At this point, 2:00, it was 90 degrees plus with a heat index of 100 so I called it a day.  Texas summer is back with a vengeance.  Could be worse, it isn’t a 100 plus.  The best I can say is there is a reason to get up at 5 in the morning and be there at first light.  As good as the trout fishing was when I got there it must have been great the couple of hours before.  A little reminder – get up –  the fishing is better and when it gets hot it is hot.

It is so nice that the area waters are returning to normal.  The bass fishing is picking up and the bay fishing has been pretty consistent.  I haven’t really wacked them, but for as little as I have trout fished it has been all right the last couple of trips.  A few more trips and I just might get the hang of it.  But tomorrow it is back to Coleto.  It should be cloudy and little wind, perfect topwater weather.  I am thinking big one.  So picking Voe up in the morning and fishing at daylight until we give up.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – The KVD Sexy Dawg works in both fresh and saltwater, see below.

All the way until I opened the garage at 5:30 I was headed to the Coast.  The boat had the freshwater stuff still in it from Friday and for some reason I just changed my mind and headed to the lake.  The old saying don’t get mad, get even, was the plan for today.  After having a bad day on Friday, and talking to several people who also had the same kind of luck, I wanted to find a way to catch them, and I did.

I was tired until I put the throttle down and headed to the fist bank.

All weekend I was thinking there had to be a way to catch fish shallow.  There is no deep grass so it made sense that with this much bait some of those bass would be in that shallow grass, and they were.  So with the lake clearing the plan was topwater.  I started in one of the coves right by the ramp and caught one on a topwater first thing.  Then I caught a small one on a buzzbait, and then I made the best decision of the day.  They are feeding on shad so I put down the buzzbait and stuck with with the topwater.

Before I left the house I grabbed the rod with the KVD Sexy Dawg, it was the same bait I wacked the trout on Thursday, to specifically mimic shad on the surface.  Using it at a moderate walking the dawg speed, I started to get one bite here, and one there.

That will do.  Things are looking up.

When  I say I kept after, I mean my hands were killing me, my back was starting to hurt, but they started eating it.  They bit until I quit at 1:30.  If you love seeing a topwater getting blown up then this morning was for you.

They were crushing it.

So now the good news:     They are smashing a Sexy Dog.

The bad news:     They were no where particular.  I caught them in the back of a cove, the side of a cove, on a deep main lake bank, points, really flat banks with grass.  The point is there was no place any better than anywhere else, and I never caught more than a couple in a place.

The good news:     They are in that shallow grass.

The bad news:     They are not in all the shallow grass.  But no matter where I caught one she was related to grass.

The last bit of good news:     There are shad everywhere.  If you could combine just a little breath of wind, with some grass and shad, you would get a bite.

After Friday this was a little redemption. 

The more I thought about it all weekend it began to sink in, shad are the forage of choice so a topwater should work, and it did.  I lost several good fish, which just pulled off in the grass, but even they knocked the crap out of it.  The bite was consistent, but I threw that thing for 7 1/2 hours without stopping, and covered lots of miles.  It was not easy by any means, but by sticking with it I had some great bites.

It was just a great bite.

Occasionally the Swimming Jig would come out, and I did put one good one in the boat.   I only threw it on real deep banks with grass, and when this one hit it was with the same gusto the rest of them ate the topwater.

When Coleto is good, it can be so good.

It was hard to pick out the best five for showing you my limit.  While it was never hot fishing, it was steady.  If I had to guess it was probably 12 – 14 or so over the side.  If I could do one thing over I would throw it on a little stiffer rod.  A couple made their escape because I couldn’t winch them out of the grass fast enough.  But other than that it was simply a matter of perseverance, keeping the bait in the water and covering the miles.

If we could concentrate like this guy we would all catch more fish.

If you do the math it only works out to about 3 bites an hour, but when I got a bite it was a thing of beauty.  And if topwater and messing with grass is not your thing, a white fluke style bait rigged weedless should work about the same.  And if you are good with a silver/black back minnow it may be a really good choice right now.  And possibly if you are on the right bank right at dusk it could get ugly.

I hope the topwater holds for a little while, but the lake is falling and a lot of that grass will be out of the water if it drops to much.  And again today watching the locator I did not see any deep grass beds, but I expect that to change, if the lake ever clears up.  Other wise it will be plastics on drops, channels, and point.  The bulk of the fish are not shallow, so they have to be somewhere.

When  I got back to the boat I met one of my readers I had not met before.  He and his buddy fished the same grass pattern and only boated one good one on a frog.  The frog should come on some, but without the good mats it may not be as good as it has been in the past.  And with the fish on shad it just may not take off.  But if I were going to throw one it would be white.  It was good to talk to them and if you see an old man in an old Carolina Skiff that have both seen better days it is me, so stop and say hi.  Just talking to them I learned something, and I hope they did too.

The weather looks pretty good the next few days so it will be burning the candle at both ends.  With rain coming later in the week it will be back to the lake for a serious day of topwater fishing, bring on those clouds.  And little wind is forecast for the week so it will be off to the Gulf tomorrow.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – The catalog is the only thing we did not throw at them today.

To start today’s report I wanted to share a note I got from my buddy Bobby.

Doug, went to coleto Thursday and did not catch a thing. I guess I have lost my touch I could not find any grass except the new flooded stuff. Tried everything I had. Guess that’s why they call it fishing and not catching!!

Don’t feel bad!  Voe and I hit the water at daylight and I actually had a good feeling about the day.  Apparently it was actually a delusional feeling, because we barely did any better than that.

It was funny, while I thought we were going to whack them, I was somewhat confused about where and how.  So we stopped on a main lake bank with grass leading to a big point and started fishing.  No bites.  Then the big point between the 2 arms, no bites.  Then the first cove in Coleto arm and I actually missed one on a white Swimming Jig.  Then another cove, no bites.

At this point I am getting a little discouraged, it is like 9:30 and we have thrown the book at them.  Swim jigs, buzzbait, scrounger head, frog, all the Coleto staples.  So up the lake we went.  Voe had thrown a buzzbait most of the morning and I picked it up and caught a small, and I do mean small, one right off the bat on a point, and had another take a pass at it.  It would be hard to remember the places we fished, but it was also the works.  Flat banks with grass, channel banks, a couple of coves, we fished them all as we both alternated different baits.  Nothing was working.

Next it was a main lake bank right before the big bend up lake and Voe finally put an ok one in the boat on the Scrounger head on a point.  Then I managed another one on a point on the Swimming jig.  A short time later Voe had one break him off on the blade bait.  And that was our flurry for the trip.

Now it is 11 and so back down lake and the flattest, shallowest bank I could find.  Followed by a deeper channel bank, both with no bites.  I have had a slow day or two on Coleto, and this one was right up there.  We caught 3 and missed 4 for the day.  In fact none of them worth a picture.  Though since I violated my take a picture of the first one rule the day may have been my fault.  So lets theorize about why the fishing has gone from great to crap in about a week or two.

First, the lake is finally falling.  All of the areas today had a lot more water on them last week than they do now.  Falling water and flat places are not bass friendly.  Second, a point you made, I actually spent quite a bit of time watching the locator as we fished and where historically there has been grass beds I am seeing nothing.  What that means I do not have a clue, but it is not a good thing.  Is it coming?  Has the high water combined with the color hurt it?  Maybe when it clears up it will start to grow.   I really do not have a clue, but I am not seeing the grass on the locator.

Third, we have had a massive shad spawn, and if you noticed there are dead shad everywhere.  Who knows, with the amount of shad schools out there lots of our fish may be chasing the schools and nowhere near the bank.  The one I caught today puked them up on the boat.  Maybe that has something to do with it, the 3 we caught were sure fat and sassy.

Here are my thoughts on all of this.  Maybe as soon as the water clears up that deep grass will start to grow.  One of the things that those of who fish Coleto are fortunate to have is those deep grass beds that hold those fish.  It keeps them shallower than they might be if there was no grass.  So with that fact in mind there are a couple of things that I will be doing next trip.  We are probably going to have to fish deeper than normal.  Crankbaits in the 5 or 6 XD that get down there in a sexy shad is a possibility, something to imitate the ton of shad they are feeding on right now.  And without the deeper grass beds it will be a lot easier to get it back without grass all over it.  And plastics, a worm or sinko fished Texas style with a 1/4 ounce slip sinker to fish that 10 foot plus range.

And where would be off points, channel turns, rocks, any type of deeper structure that hold bass.  And who knows, they may actually spend a lot more time related to wood if the grass does not come back.  If any of you who fish Coleto have any ideas, or anything to comment on the current fishing on Coleto, please drop me a note.  I may be way off in my thinking, and not having years of experience there, my thoughts may be dead wrong.  So don’t feel bad Bobby, something is going on.  But I will figure it out one way or the other.

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I got this note from Rick a regular reader.  It was hard to decide to publish it, but hey, it is nice to hear from folks who read this stuff regularly.

In my opinion, the #1 reason your blog is so successful is because you give such accurate information ( tide, wind velocity, almost exact locations, lure choices, etc.) I have fished Big Bayou for over 30 years, but every time I read your stories on Big Bayou, I learn something new. The folks that accuse you of giving away secret spots need to chill. Big Bayou, Coast Guard Flats, Oil Well Cuts are’nt “secret spots”. They have been popular places to fish for long before we came around. FYI, the most valuable tip that I have received from your blog is using the trolling motor. Just by covering more water, you’re going to catch more fish. Thanks for all the great information.

Aw shucks.  You make me blush.  But seriously it is nice to know that someone learned even one thing here that helps them catch more fish.  As I preach constantly, share information, it makes all of us better fishermen and it don’t cost nuttin’.  I appreciate your comments and that you choose to keep reading.

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Sorry about the proud grandpa but I had to share this photo of baby Wren, the newest addition to the herd.

Accompanying the picture was the following question:  Do you know why babies have pockets?  To keep their little hands warm!  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

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After 4 days on the water I might take a break, and then on the other hand if I get a good offer who knows, probably back on the water somewhere.  I know one thing, as good as the wading was yesterday I can not wait to get back out there.  I am hankering to get down to the Cottonwood Bayou and Ayers point area.  It was good last year at this time and the water condition is improving by the day.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – Click on the logo and browse their catalog.

Public Service Announcement

Before I get to the fishing there is something that I have been thinking about lately, and today just proved it.  With all the fresh water that has come in lately the alligators are on the move.  They will go with the flow, and the point is, if you wade an area with a marsh close you need to keep a sharp lookout.

This was a big gator.

When I went to take out this big guy was at the ramp.  So just a word to the wise, a little more caution if wading areas near a marsh with gators.  I have seen some way back in the Powderhorn, but not this far out by any means.

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Having had some pretty good days on the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline this time of year I was excited to get out today.  The tide was going to be high after lunch so an early start was mandatory, and the water is high anyway.  Getting up at 4:30 was tough, but it turned out to be worth it.  So I put in at 6:30 and went halfway down the shoreline and could see rafts of mullet coming down the bank with the tide so out I jumped.

By 7:30 I was one frustrated fisherman.  I had 5 great blowups on the small 2 hook KVD topwater in bone, and only 1 made the net.  2 more were on, including what would be the biggest of the day easy, and they just pulled off.  So then it was a little smaller Skitterwalk with no bites.  So with the mullet as big as they were I went to the big KVD, which I have taken the 3 smaller hooks off and replaced them with 2 bigger trebles.  That helped quite a bit.

Just wanted you to see the KVD Sexy Dawg.

It was not really fast, but it was very consistent.  They were not big, but I could have sacked a limit on top, so I decided to toss some plastics every so often.  And the like that too.

Another topwater fish. They weren’t big, but some were nice.

A nice fat one.

From 8 until I left at 10:30 or so I alternated between plastics and topwater.  It was one here and there, but they bit consistently.  Several reds blew up on the topwater but unfortunately none hooked up.

Basically I stayed in knee deep to waist deep and worked the areas over with the bait.  You could see them bust when a trout or red went through them, so I stayed with the schools of bait.  That really wasn’t that hard, that bank is loaded with bait.  They were moving with the tide, and when the sun really got up, and the water too as the tide came in, the activity ceased and so did the bites.  I really think if a person was there with live bait it could be ugly.

With the tide up after lunch it was really important to be out there at daylight and they were biting when I got there.   And there were other boats there, several shortly after sunrise, so be there early.  But I am sure there are some really good places out on the island with similar characteristics.  As usual find the bait, find the fish.

I want to take a second to plug a company who does not give me anything to say what I am going to say.  I waded for 3 hours before I went back to the boat to take my waders off.  If you notice on the picture above I am wearing the Wade Right by Coastal Fishing Gear.  I have been using mine over 2 years and it has held up fine.  And when the Shoedog lost a buckle they sent one to him immediately.  A good product and good folks.

But the point of this is by being able to carry a spare rod I did not have to go back to the boat to change rods and was able to switch from top to plastics which made the morning.  And my favorite thing is the tackle box is clipped on high enough stuff does not get wet.  So if you do a lot of wading check them out.  Tell them I said hi.

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

So I decided to head into the Powderhorn just to check the water color and fish one of my redfish banks.  So it was the big cove near the mouth and the Redfish Magic.  I know I harp on that bait, but why not?

This was one of the best fights I have had in a while.  What a pig!

The water was a little copper color, and so was that red.  I just fished the cove to be sure that the fish are biting in the lake.  When I got to the end of it, in front of the point with the duck blind on it, I decided to do one drift.

The size is not important, but the fact I caught him inside the Powderhorn is.

When the water is off-color like that the popping cork is the way to go.  A Rage Shrimp in the clear brown with a charturese tail 20″ below the cork was the ticket.  I just let the wind take me and put 4 quick ones in the boat in 2 foot of water.  I just kept drifting and if I had worked it over there are surely some better fish there somewhere.  All 4 were small, but that wasn’t the point, the fish are in there, and with a little effort a guy might be able to sack some.

A very good morning.  Lots of blowups, having them eat the plastics, and then catching a big red about covers a good day of bay fishing.    I quit at noon a happy camper.  Catching trout on topwater is one of my favorite ways to catch them.  I wish I had brought a couple of chug bugs, popper style topwaters, I think they would have smoked it.  Isn’t that just like a fisherman, I had a great day, but still have a case of the “what ifs.”

The plan will be to fish several days on the Gulf next week.  I really want to get down to the Panther Reef/Cottonwood Bayou area.  The fishing is settling down on the bay but I will let them have it this weekend.  There is lots of folks fishing but we are lucky, there are lots of places to fish.  Today (Friday) it will be Coleto at daylight.  It has the potential to be a heck of a day on the lake.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – home of the Redfish Magic.

This is actually a little bonus coverage.  I had a big list to get done today and lo and behold I got it all done.  If I had been that productive my whole life I would be rich.  So once it was all done it was time to slip out for a little afternoon trip to Coleto.

As I am going to give it a serious go there on Friday there was one thing I wanted to know before then – What was the water color way up lake?  When I backed it in about 3 the water was getting to be a clear off-color, which may sound funny but you can see your bait, something new and different.  Almost a tannic look to it.

They like that white Swimming Jig.

For the first 2 hours I threw the book at them without success.  I was way up lake, and though the water is really starting to clear, nary a bite.  I even flipped a little without success.  Finally the one above jumped the Swimming Jig right on the edge of the bushes.    It was the middle of the day, so slow fishing was not unexpected.  Re-fishing that area with a frog produced 3 bites but no hooks ups.

With a 6 quit time I headed down lake and fished one short bank before the ramp and had one smoke a buzzbait.

Love catching them on the buzzbait.

So for a less than 3 hour trip the burning questions were answered – Can you catch them on a buzzbait?  And – Is it clear enough up lake to make it worth it?  The answer to both questions is yes.  If I were guessing we may have a pretty good run as the lake clears and the weather stabilizes.  There are shallow fish, and lots of ways to catch them.  And there are lots of dead shad all over the lake, not to mention big schools everywhere.  The future looks bright with all the cover and bait, the keys to glory.

It sets Friday up to be a pretty good day to fish.  But today (Thursday) I am fishing the Powderhorn area.  Should have a report up pretty quickly.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – home of the Redfish Magic.

Our flooding may be done, but you can still see the effects of all that water and wind we have had the last 2 weeks.  When I got to Froggie’s at daylight the water in the barge canal was off-colored,  but the wind was not blowing and it was not raining.  Yahoo!

The original plan was to wade but I got sidetracked and never did make it in the water.  Of course I could not drive past Big Bayou on the way to the old Coast Guard ruins.  It was dead calm so I decided to toss the small KVD topwater in a bone color.  It was a bank or two before I had my first bite, and it was a 17” trout.  (Note; 2 keepers went in the cooler for supper so no dead trout pictures.)  I ended up having 6 blow ups in the Bayou, all on the shallow grass side, at the end of the small islands.

The tide was really high when I got there, and was to top out around noon, so it stayed high all day.  Of the 6 hits I caught 4 and 3 measured, and it was number 3’s lucky day, I had my 2 for supper.  (Which I just ate and were fabulous.)  I did have something happen that may have happened before, I just did not know it.  As  I worked the topwater out of the grass a nice big red jumped all over and I missed him when I jerked.  The plug hopped in the air and landed and one of those trout smashed it.  Cool.  I did not throw anything else in there and left for the Oil Cut.

Rounding the bend in the Saluria there was a sight not often seen, millions upon millions of what I think were good size Menhaden on the surface for probably a half mile.  It was something, they were thick.  If you are heading offshore or to the jetties you need to stop there, one throw of the cast net and you probably would have hard time lifting it back in the boat.  But I digress.

I could not get them to bite a topwater as the sun was full up and it was almost dead calm.  So time to catch a redfish.

A nice 24′ red on the Strike King Redfish Magic.

The first cast with a brand new Redfish Magic resulted in a great bite, and my line broke where the mono joined the braid.  So out came a new one and off I went.  It was real important to throw it right into the grass as the water was so high.  The guy above came on one crank off the grass.  Before I decided to trout fish I caught a rat, and missed a couple of trout I saw roll on the spinnerbait.

I then threw some plastics with absolutely no success.  With the water a little off-colored even there it was time for the popping cork and Rage Shrimp.  I was using a light brown with a Chartreuse tail about 18″ below the cork.  Though I caught 5 or 6 in there none measured.  So it was time to head to the Coast Guard ruins and wade.  Of course when I cam around the corner there was a couple of croaker fisherman wading right where I wanted to fish.  So I headed way up the bank a did a drift the whole length of it and totally struck out.  Plastics, popping cork, and topwater could not coax a bite.  So to finish out the day it was back to the Bayou.  It was about 2 when I got there and the water was way up in the grass.  I had a couple of flounder smack it and not stay stuck, then I boated this 16″.

The Redfish Magic catches flounder too.

The only purpose of going back there was to see if the redfish were moving, and they weren’t.  But fishing about half of it I had several flounder bites, you can always tell on the Redfish Magic when one whacks it real sharp and does not stay on.  But the more important point, the water was full up and getting ready to start moving out.  When that happens the flounder move up against the grass on those muddier banks where there is a drop.  If a person wanted to fish the 3″ Gulp New Penny on a popping cork in front of the grass right on the falling high full moon tides they could probably sack a few.

The last bite of the day.

So for the day not so bad considering.  3 reds  (2 keeper sized), 9 or 10 trout (4 keeper sized), and 1 keeper flounder.  If I had boated everything I should have it would have been a little better than that.  Just looking at the water it will be a few days before it really settles down.  Even the Coast Guard flat was not what I would call super clear.  And Barroom and Big Bayou are definitely off-colored.  Not having lived here for these set of condition I have no clue how soon it will clear up, but it looked better by time I quit than it did when I started.

It was good to get back on the salt.  I really do love how a redfish hits a Redfish Magic.  It is probably my favorite lure off all time, and if you throw it they will eat, it is just a matter of covering the water.  And the keeper size seem to love it, almost as much as I love catching them.

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 When  I saw Nick and his dad the other day his Dad was planning on fishing the Powderhorn yesterday and they said they would send a report, and he did.

Hey Doug, I was going to let you know that my dad and sister went to Powderhorn today and the fish wanted live bait and live bait only. The mouth of Powderhorn was brackish looking and when they started going into Powderhorn near that big sandbar by Hurricane Cut, they said it was a peanut butter color. My sister ended up catching two keeper trout on shrimp. There were pods of bait out front along the ranch shoreline and quite a few redfish tailing there as well.

Thanks for the report.  I figured the Powderhorn was off-color and it sounds like it really was.  Who knows how long before that clears up.  While all the freshwater may screw the trout up a little the reds sure do not mind.  And funny they fished the ranch shoreline, that is actually where I am thinking about fishing next.  So stay tuned for that.  And tell your Dad thanks for the report, it might save someone from driving to fish the Powderhorn and then having it to off-color to catch fish.

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One thing about the last few days calm winds is the offshore boats were out at POC.  When I put the boat on the trailer the guys were cleaning a couple of boxes of nice big red snapper and had a couple of cobia mixed in.  With the wind expected to blow 5 – 10 again tomorrow conditions should be good.  So if you have an offshore boat, or know someone who does, get it while the getting is good.

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I think the rest of the week will be split this way.  Tomorrow will be the Powderhorn Ranch Shoreline, at least depending on the wind.  I never did get in the water yesterday, and that is a good wading bank where I have caught them this time of year.  Then Friday it will be Coleto, it will be interesting to see the water color by then.  I have wanted to fish the Wednesday night tourney but I need to get on a few fish before I do that.  And hopefully the bay will really begin to settle down.  And I want to fish Baffin a day, but with sunrise at 6:22 it requires one early get up time.  Maybe we will get that done as soon as Shoedog gets his house painted.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Strike King Lure Company – plain and simple they work.

I wanted to sit down and take care of a couple of comments today before the fishing gets real serious around here.

Rick sent me a question about night fishing for trout and I wanted to further explain what I was wanting to do.

Just curious about your trout night fishing that you mentioned. Were you going to go wading, chunking lures or setting up some lights, or what.

When we fished with Kevin Cochran, one of the most respected big trout guides in the Baffin area a couple of months ago, I was a little surprised that we were starting an hour before daylight.  Now I am sure part of that was to beat the crowd, which we did.  But the more important point was that big fish bite best in low light conditions, which is almost any big fish of any variety on any water.

We were throwing topwaters and corkie style baits, and though we did not catch a big one while it was still dark, we did catch fish.  So with our water warming, and more traffic on the bay, I want to get out during the full moons we will be having this summer and throw topwater.  I have caught a few nice big rainbow and brown trout at night on topwater in the White River, so it will be interesting to see if my results will be the same on the bay.

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Kevin dropped me line concerning the Powderhorn and bigger boats.  (I have edited this one a little to protect the innocent.)

Hey Doug,

Anywho, I’ve come back to your blogs because I have really been trying hard to pattern the fish as best I can and these blogs are a tremendous help.  What I wanted to ask you though was that a friend recently traded in his haynie for a 24 foot El Pescador.  I wanted to ask you if that was too much boat to navigate Powderhorn?  I know that lake can be sneaky on you if you are unfamiliar.  I’m also trying to get him to get a trolling motor on it somehow so we can fish big bayou effectively as you do.  Kinda hard to fish all the drains if you have to swim across them HA!  Thanks for your time.

First, your comment that my blog helps you catch even another fish is why I keep doing it.  It really warms my heart to know that this thing is actually helping real folks catch fish.

Second, the Powderhorn can be tougher to navigate than lots of other places in the bay.  Those of you who read my stuff know that I hit a pole of some sort and did some damage to the boat.  As far as a bigger boat like the El Pescador, I see folks with larger boats in there all the time.  Entering the Powderhorn is not to bad as it has a line of posts that line the huge oyster bar on the right as you enter the Powderhorn.  Those posts mark the channel and keeping them on your right entering, and on your left exiting, takes you to good water.

It is important to remember that on your left entering is a big sand bar with grass, which hold fish at times and does get real shallow at low tide.  It extends almost all the way to where the posts end on your right.  Once you get past that, basically to that old working point that sticks out.  In the Powderhorn most of the dead center is 3 -4 foot deep.  The area I hit the post is over halfway back in the middle where I think there is an old railroad track.  There is an obstruction that has multiple flags on it, and that is where you need  extra careful.

Basically I have found that running in the center, and then idling to get to the shorelines is the only way to go.  Both sides can be really, really, shallow, and once the tide begins to fall it can get dicey.  All that aside it is one of the really good redfish places around.  I have not had a report in awhile from there, but with the influx of fresh water who knows how it will fish, at least until things settle down.  My best advice, study a good map, stay close to the posts entering and leaving, and take your time, the fish will still be there.  Idling as you learn somewhere is never a bad thing.  Hope this helps some.

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My old buddy Bobby sent me this request.

Dude I need you to show me how to use a jerkbait!! And which one to get.. Gonna try to go to Coleto on Wednesday what should I throw??

Thanks Bobby

First it is a jerkbait, and a jerk like you should instinctively know how to use it.  Just kidding!  Of course I would suggest the KVD jerkbait, either the 2 or 3 hook works fine.  They might be a little more expensive, but they get the job done.  Others we use are the Rapala Husky Jerk and the Smithwick Rogue Jr.  As far as color, we have had success on lots of different ones, but silver with a black back is the standby.

As far as jerking, the Shoedog has been using it in a quick jerk/jerk – then pause, then jerk – pause, then repeat.  We are not moving the bait more than a foot or so, it is more of a twitch.  You want that bait to stay in their face.  Of course the speed is totally dictated by water temperature, the colder the slower.  But the real important thing is to remember exactly how you jerked it when you catch one.  Once you get the pattern down it is usually game on.  And probably the most important thing I have learned from fishing it for 30 years, it is a clear water bait, period.  That flash will call them from a long way in clear water.  In fact, during really early spring on the highland lakes of Arkansas once the water temp got to 40 we would throw it super slow, and we could often see fish on the locater in 20 foot of water come up and eat it at boatside.

How long have I been using it?  Back in the 70’s we were catching fish on Bull Shoals and Norfork lake on a 3 hook topwater Rebel Minnow.  We had some high water one year and a guy who was a good fisherman, Buddy Meadors (Who I am sure has passed now.)  decided he wanted to make the bait sink really slow in front of the buck brush.  So he got some solder wire, and working it in his bathtub, found out how much solder it took to suspend the bait in front of the bushes.  He came back to the dock the first time he tried it with a big bunch of fish, and it was game on for all of us.  Now I do not know if he started it, but jerkbaits did not exist then, and we were all doing it ourselves until the companies started making them.

That is why it is so successful on Fayette, and it does have its moments on Coleto, especially post spawn before the grass is way up.  We have also had great luck on Amistad with a jerkbait as it is a deep clear lake much like Arkansas.  And who could forget the Shoedog catching 3 bass that weighed over 23lbs off one bank on Falcon with the Husky Jerk.  So I guess it all boils down to us setting a day this fall and you coming with me to Fayette, who knows, we might even catch a few.

As far as Coleto if I were fishing it Wednesday I would slow roll a white spinnerbait, throw a buzzbait fairly slow, and fish a white bass assassin weedless.  And I have still been catching a few on swim jig.  The fish are in that shallow stuff, you just have to take it slow and work an area over.  Lately what little I have fished there the green grass has been the best, and they have still not vacated the coves.  With the big shad spawn, lots of cover and dark water color, there is no reason for them to back way off.  Good Luck and let me know how it goes.

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It is funny how many people I have run into at Roy’s Bait and tackle in Corpus that read my stuff.  I bumped into Nick and his dad there yesterday and they were giving me a hard time about Down South Lures not coming through for some reason.  But folks I still use them and recommend them, they work.  So I showed them which color I like (watermelon red) and also hooked them up with my favorite Redfish Magic.  (a croaker color with a blue tail – RMG18-866)

His dad told me a great story, the kind that keeps me writing.  While fishing the Lavaca River I told folks to throw the bait TO the bank and then hop it up and lot it fall down the drop.  Apparently one of my readers took it literally.  On his first cast he tossed it ON the bank, then hopped it in the water and one ate it.  Awesome!   It makes me laugh as I write this.  It was good to see you guys and shoot the bull.

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In one of the coastal fishing magazines the writer was talking about telling folks about a place, and how he had been fishing it without any competition.  Then the word got out and folks were all over it.  So he recommended thinking about it before you spread the word.  I get the occasional comment like that when I mention certain places that some folks would prefer that remain nameless.  I understand that, but times have changed.  Most of what I have learned about the areas I fish came from map study.  I can not emphasis enough how important that is.  With great maps and GPS the whole coast is no secret.

The secret is figuring out how to get the job done in spite of the traffic.  Todays boats and motors, combined with the electronics, have left no place unturned.  You and I are not the first ones to fish there, and we won’t be the last.  People who share information should not be criticized for sharing any more than folks who keep their secrets.  It is personal choice, this is America, right?

The first time I came across that was in the 80’s when I was guiding and tournament fishing full time when I lived and worked at a boat dock.  There was a couple of old guys who drank coffee and hung out at the dock all day who rarely caught fish.  So as I was cleaning a massive stringer of big crappies they sauntered over and asked where I caught them.  So I told them go down 2 coves on the right where you will see 3 trees down.  Off the end of the middle one is a bunch of big crappies.  So they hopped in their boat and out they went.  An hour later they were back real happy with a few nice ones.  And one of them said to me we thought you were lying.  How did fishing and fishermen get this way?  I made them happy, and guess what, there are probably lots of nice crappies in that same place 30 years later.  So no matter how you play it, it sure is nice to help folks catch a few fish.

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That’s enough old stories for today, but I am a fisherman and we all like to tell stories.  The wife had a couple of days off so we spent the weekend on South Padre.  I fished for about an hour on the beach but did not catch a fish.  But we had a great time and she got a break before a long stretch in the ER.  Now what that means to me is she starts a 2 week stretch, so I am free to act like a guy.  Which means tomorrow it is off to the Gulf.  The wind is supposed to be 10mph, no rain, almost like living in a parallel universe compared to what we have been having.

So today was all about getting my stuff together, getting the truck serviced, and finishing a few other things so I can fish, and I mean fish.  Tomorrow I will be waste deep in the bay.  From there who knows, but it will involve water, water, and more water.  And I appreciate hearing from each and every one of you, keep those comments coming.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines