Fish Catching Travel

Fish Catching Travel

It was good to get back to the Gulf.  I have not made it near as much as I would like but I am about to fix that one.  So this morning I headed to POC and was on the water by 9:30.  The barge canal was really off color, and as it turned out until you get farther from Froggie’s it is all off colored.

I started on the south bank of Barroom.  The last couple of years the trout seem to come there for a little while in the summer.  So I hopped over the side, starting in about 2 feet and working out to around 4 feet.  Working the area over pretty good I missed one and finally caught one about 15.  Finally I gave up and so before I left I waded the drain coming from Big Bayou into Barroom.  Though a good redfish spot, I think the tide was a little 2 low because I did not get a bite.

So then it was off to the old Coast Guard station to wade the big flat leading into the J Hook.  The first place was pretty far down that bank, and after wading some of that I finally put a keeper in the boat.

Finally put a keeper in the boat.

Unfortunately I did not catch another fish there.  So back in the boat and down to the edge area where the flat drops off near the old station.  That turned out to be a better choice.  It was a pretty good bite and I ended up  catching 11 trout and one rat.  They were right where the flat started falling off from 2 to 3 foot.  I was throwing a Sexy Shad Bass Assassin paddle tail on a 1/8th ounce jig head.

It turned out to be real important to throw against the wind, a hassle, but they wanted it coming with the current and they were right on the little drop.  Of those 2 more were good keepers, and I had enough for a nice fish fry tonight.  From there I went around the corner, not sure what that island is, and waded down the edge trying to fish the drop.  Not even one made a pass at it, so it was one more place before I quit.

The big drain out of Big Bayou near the last island was the next stop.  The water had cleared some, but it still didn’t look to fishy, and it wasn’t.  I waded a good bit of that, but it just wasn’t right.  So at that point I called it a day.  While the number of keepers left something to be desired, at least I caught some fish.  And the water sure is warm, which makes the wading so much nicer.

Wading was the order of the day, and as usual when you found them you caught them.  I do know that next time, which will be soon, keeping clear of the off colored water will be the first order of business.  I did not spend any time on the reds other than the one quick place, but a little spinnerbait fishing is coming.

So there you have it.  Six of one and half dozen of the other.  The fishing is good right now, it is just a matter of fishing lots of places until you find them.  I plan on getting on them, and will hit the Gulf at least 2 more days this week.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

The original plan was to hit the Gulf on Tuesday after I got the boat thing squared away.  So Monday while I was waiting to hear from the adjuster I came up with a good idea, lets cut down that tree in the back that is getting near the wires.  It has been on the short list for a while, so Monday was the day.  So what does that have to do with not fishing Tuesday?  Once I cut the dang thing down Monday it took most of Tuesday to clean it all up.  With that project done it was off to Coleto Wednesday.

Of course I went up lake and started throwing buzzbait, and just like last time it was about the same results, if that.  I almost made a mistake and did not take a picture of the first one, which is almost a superstition now.  So after fishing a lot of the way upper end I had one fish to show for it.  The first one was small and came on a buzzbait, but it did not take me long to realize those days are gone until this fall.  It is summer time and I just have to get over it.

From there it was Senko (2 bites), frog (1 bite), spinnerbait on a windy bank (0 bites), and even a couple of flips in heavy cover with out a bite.  The water color up lake is pretty ugly, and the grass continues to grow.  And like last time I even fished a couple of mats with frog and did not get a bite.  That is actually a little puzzling as it will normally work at least some with the mats we have.

So to get to clear water I headed back down, the lake gets clearer as you go down.  So with a case of frustration I went to the one go to bait on Coleto when all else fails, a Strike King Swimming Jig with a Rage Craw trailer.  On the first windy main lake bank I missed one, and the near a small point I finally put another one in the boat.

No giant but I will take it right now.

Then it was another main lake bank with a couple of small points.  On the first point a little one jumped it, and over the side he came.  The next little point produced a good bite, and thank goodness I did not miss that one.

Again no giant, but at least there may be something to learn here.

What made it interesting was these fish came from less than 2 foot of water, between 11 and noon.  In fact, I was throwing it right on the grassy banks, in the trash if I could.  So the issue is are there more, I only fished that way an hour, or is it just a few scattered here and there and I picked the right bank.  It was simply a matter or reeling it and they were eating it.  Sad to say I missed 3 or 4, they can  be tricky.  One of those “that is  a fish“, right after he lets go.  Most of the fish came between the heavy submersed grass and the bank.

There are still shallow fish, and there will probably be some all summer thanks to the big raise.  The clearer water down lake has been better for me.  Next time I will stick with the Swim Jig and see how it works out, there are tons of places on the main lake that are like the ones that were holding fish today.   Though I do not fish the bass assassin type plastics, it, along with a smaller swim bait, just might be the ticket on those grass edges.  And of course the points are still the best potential holding spot right now.  While I sure would like to catch a few more, today about half of the poor result was me missing them.

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I am still having a small case of delayed PTSD after hitting something with the boat.  The adjuster will look at it Friday, and we will go from there.  And not only was the doing a bummer, but not having the flats boat for most of the summer, I can see it coming, has me more worked up than the actual f”p.  Who knows, it may come out a lot better than I think, but we will see.

Speaking of things happening, after I told you about Chris and his broken axle I got this from Billy –

“Just saw your random thoughts post from 7/6. Couldn’t help but to reply. You say that you have never heard of an axle breaking. Not only has that happened to me, it happened to me with my…….Dargel 170 Skout with a Sportsman trailer. A buddy and I were coming back from fishing. Turned into a convenience store parking lot to get gas and heard a thump. Thought maybe we had a blow out. Get out of the truck and, nope, it was the axle. Wasn’t a very fun evening from that point on.

Sorry, also meant to say, I have another connection to this post. My son, wife, and myself just got back from Calcasieu this week as well. Caught a mess of reds and yes, the color on them was absolutely stunning.”

Interesting Chris’s was a Dargel.  I have to ask him if it was a Sportsman trailer.  Things happen with boats and trailers, it just comes with the territory.  But it sure does suck when it happens to you.  Thanks for the comment Billy, I love to know you all are out there and love hearing from you.

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And thanks for your kind comments Faye.  I can always count on you to have the right outlook.  When stuff happens you just have to keep on keeping on.  Be sure to let me know right before you come down next time.

Todd, if you have room and are going to wade let me know.  I would like to hook up with you guys this weekend.

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That is it for today.  Tomorrow is my birthday and I plan on spending the day with the lovely wife and a little adult entertainment, then it will back to the fishing grindstone.  So keep stopping in and I will keep trying to catch them.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

We all know the old saying that BOAT stands for break out another thousand.  The way things have gone lately with me and friends, it has never been any more pertinent.  First it was my friend Clyde in Canada and the Trailer from Hell.  Then on Wednesday I hit something with the boat.  Finally my friend Chris had something happen that just says it all about things that can do wrong.  If you are a friend of mine with a boat, be careful, it may be me.

I got the following message from Chris with a photo attached.  “Yep, the BoatUS tow insurance is worth it…….”

Boy I hate it when that happens.

He said he was just turning a corner when he thought the bearings went out on one side, but it turned out the axle broke.  I can actually say I have never heard of that happening before.  And he is so right about the insurance.  When you buy a policy from any of the boat towing companies you can buy a rider for anything that happens to the trailer while you are on the road.  I had that policy and let it lapse, time to renew it, you never know.

And speaking of insurance, the policy on our boat has a zero deductible, well worth the cost with what has happened.  Always carry insurance, it can save you money at some point, and helps protect you and others if the unthinkable happens.  In 41 years of boating I have never hit anything that required repair, but it happened.  Maybe the odds were coming around to my turn, but no matter what that policy we pay yearly is going to pay off.  But it does not make having something like that happen any easier on my pride.

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My friend Todd got to spend the weekend fishing in Lousiana.  He sent me these pics, and it looks like it was a good trip.

Todd with an 11lber caught sight fishing.

A nice mess for the group.

Todd commented on how “red” they were.  Love the color of marsh reds.

Looks like they had a good trip.  There is nothing like hitting some new water.  Makes success all that much sweeter.  Thanks for the pics.  And for the rest of you, send me some pics, we love to see them.

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 I got the following question from Joe, one of my regular readers:

“When you all say that Coleto Creek has risen, is there a way to gauge from the full pool line that runs around the lake? Or from the boat ramp platforms? Its amazing what 4-5 feet do to that lake . Thanks”

The best way to tell is by using the fingers of the docks at the ramp.  When the lake was around 4′ down the water just came to the ends of the fingers, and when it was at it lowest there was no water touching the docks.  Now it is about halfway up the docks and the lake appears to be at full stage.  Sorry that is a pretty simplistic measurement, but it works for me.

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When we were in Canada we met Troy and his son Logan.  I got a nice note from Logan telling me if I am ever in Oklahoma I have a fishing invitation.  Thanks Logan, since my daughter lives in OK City, and I get there a couple of times a year, maybe we can get it together.  The reason I bring this up is Logan got to Canada the second week we were there and the smallmouth went on the beds big time the day after he got there.  He was just pitching a beaver style plastic to them, and those nice big smallies were eating it up.

So he had his dad film him pitching to a big smallie, and like clockwork the bass did his part in that clear water, but dad turned off the camera before he got it all.  So Logan tosses the fish back in, dad turns on the camera, and Logan pitches to the same fish, and he eats it again.  Cool story.  Logan send me the clip, folks would love to see that.  One thing I found that was hard to get across to folks, especially you bass fisherman out there, just how amazing the smallmouth fishing can be when it was on.

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 I did want to tell you the best thing about my site, at least in my humble opinion.  And that is the ability to be able to search by month.  Just use the archive search box on the right hand side.  Select a month and year, and all the posts for that month will come up.  For me it has been a real useful tool to get a head start on what the fish were doing at the same time last year, and the years before that.

Now it is no guarantee that it will be exactly the same conditions, but it is close.  It gives me a place to start, and the patterns that worked in the past.  At times it also helps me to not repeat the same mistakes.  And do not forget to cruise the fishing boards, there is often lots of useful information to be gleaned from reading the fresh reports.

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 That’s all I have today.  It has been a quiet weekend here, but hope the rest of you had a great holiday.  Now I get to head to the Gulf and find out how the fishing is after a couple of million folks flogged the stuffing out of them.  Monday it will be making sure the boat situation is in order, and then a few days of fishing.  I knew I kept the Carolina Skiff for some reason.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel.

Sometimes you can not win for losing.  After not fishing the Gulf for a month I was excited to be heading out on a day when there was not a lick of wind.  I wanted to hit several bays to get my feet back under me as far as where the fish were and what they were doing.

After putting in at Indianola Marina it was off to the mouth area of Boggy Bayou.  There were a few boats in the area and I decided to fish the cuts and bars in front of Boggy.  It was 9 before I got to fishing, and it was dead flat calm.  For the next 2 hours I worked that area over, and then headed back down towards the marina on the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline and fished it.  I had exactly 0 bites, not even a pass on both plastics and topwater.

So next it was off to fish a couple of places in Kellar Bay.  After not being there for a while I headed to the long pasture bank on the north side.  Over the years that has been one of my better trout places.  There is grass along a drop into 4 feet of water and the trout are there somewhere, it is simply a question of finding them.

When I pulled up there was bait on the surface everywhere.  On my second cast I caught a keeper trout, put down the power pole, and caught another 3 smaller ones in nothing flat.  And then the surface activity stopped like someone cut off the switch.  I ended up losing a really good one and catching a few other shorts, and then it was over.  I can only imagine what it was like there an hour earlier.  So now it was time to hit one of my favorite redfish banks.

Since I wanted to fish the Powderhorn for reds next it was the bank on the way out of Keller.  Redfish Magic was the bait of choice.  I ended up catching one that just made 20″, but back in he went, then I caught 2 more short ones on that bank.

His lucky day, he just made the line, but with cooler shrinkage my rule is you either make it or not, no close calls.

One of two little guys.

So with that the total for that bank it was time to hit a couple of places in the Powderhorn I wanted to fish.  I will say this about Keller –  I did not fish in the back area for reds, but it should be awesome right now, especially around the docks and back in on that bank.  And for the trout I was just a little late, so Kellar is worth the day, a little effort and the fish should hit the cooler.

After a bumpy ride back across Lavaca Bay I headed back in the Powderhorn on the north bank and started throwing the Redfish Magic.  It was not 10 minutes when I had one of those classic redfish spinnerbait bite, a solid thump.

Now that is what I am talking about.  Why they desert me on the few tournaments I fish only the fish Gods know.

The tide was slowly falling out and it was getting real shallow in the back end so it was time to move out to the front and hit some off the trout places I have caught them in the past.  As I was running out, I felt the boat hit something, then the prop, but it wasn’t a solid hit, though I did feel the boat go over something, so on I went.  More on that later.

I love the grassy flat parallel to the boat lane, and when the trout are there it can be fast and furious, but not today.  I caught a couple of small ones on popping cork, along with a couple of trash fish.   It was now 4:00 and hotter than heck so I called it a day.  Not bad for not being on them.  4 reds, around 8 trout, and a few assorted get off my line fish.  It was just good to be back on the water.  With my love of spinnerbait fishing in both fresh and salt I am looking forward to the rest of the summer.  I know one of those reds just has to have a tag from CCA.

When I pulled the boat on the trailer I noticed the prop took a pretty good whack.  So no big deal, prop repair just comes with the territory every so often.  So off to the house but when I got about 2 miles from the bypass there was a massive blow out on a trailer tire, I mean it was loud enough to hear.  I pulled over and there was a car behind me and it started to pull over past me.  I thought wow, they are checking on me, but that was not the case, they also got a flat.  I never saw anything on the road but obviously it got me and them, and who knows how many other folks.  But I have the stuff for a quick change and in 15 minutes I was off.

When I got home it was time for a power wash and putting the boat to bed for the next couple of days.  When I crawled under to take the plug out there was a big a$$ gouge in the hull.  It is about 4 foot long and 3 or 4″ wide, ugly.  At least I fished after it happened and the boat was not taking on water, so that is something.  Over the years I have gotten stuck, hit a thing or two, but it has never resulted in real damage.  Unfortunately this is ugly.  So today I am off to find a repair place to see what the damage really is.  Oh well, as much time as I spend on the water I had one coming, it just sucks when it does.

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And with that happening it is time for the old holiday safety comments.  It is shaping up to be a big weekend on our area waters, and with it comes big traffic.  So as I have said many times in the past, take the high road.  Yield if you can, there are no points for winning a chicken contest, especially if the other guy does not have a clue.  If you need to move, just move.  If someone cuts you off, give them the evil eye but nothing more.  It is not worth it to end up in a hassle on the holiday weekend, and people end up dead from what starts as nothing more than a simple argument.  Just yesterday a collision by a pleasure boat and a bass boat on Conroe resulted in at least 2 deaths, it happens.  So be the bigger man this weekend, everyone will be safer for it.

Keep the kids in life jackets, and while we should all wear them when the boat is running I know that will not happen, so at least keep non-swimmers in them.  And the kill switch lanyard is not on the boat for decoration.  It can save your life and that of innocent boaters.  So clip it on, I put mine on my wrist, while the boat is on plane.  It only takes a second, and the thought of a boat still running fast, going in a circle chasing you down, is to frightening to think about.

And be smart about where you run.  It happened to me yesterday, in a place I know. but should have been more careful.  Just because you can run in 12″ of water does not mean you should.  Could I have avoided it?  Maybe, but it happened.  It could have been worse, a lot worse, so be careful.  Besides someone possibly getting hurt, nothing like a repair bill to increase the cost of the weekend.

And last, keep you throwable floatation device out and where you can use it.  Not only could you save a life, the Coast Guard are checking that.  And along with that, the life jackets must be easily accessible, not in some  compartment under the anchor.  And to go along with that how about a quick check of horn, flares, fire extinguisher, and registration.  Not only is it required we are right back to why pay a big ticket, it is cheaper to make sure you have everything.

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 You know how I love to hear from you folks.  It lets me know you are out there and reading, just looking at the numbers does not mean anything to me.  It is great I will probably top 150,000 visits this year, but it just does not mean the same as hearing directly from you.

Chad dropped me a note, which was nice, and nothing like hearing your last fishing experience was not an isolated occurrence.  Chad fishes Coleto and had been smoking them in the grass on crankbaits, until his last trip, where he blanked for the first time since he got back into bass fishing in 2006.  Ouch.  His conclusion was the same as mine, the rise in the water level at Coleto has them in transition.  It will be interesting to see where they settle.

I also heard from Aaron who fishes Coleto and the Powderhorn.  Aaron is lucky enough to get to fish with his dad.  He grew up fishing the Hill Country with his dad, and they still fish together.  They are kayakers who fish artificial and are just starting to get into saltwater.  And their experience mirrors mine, getting the reds figured out, but still struggling with consistent trout fishing.  Take heart Aaron, it will get better, though I am still amazed at how often I struggle with the trout.  And your Coleto experience is something I had not heard before.  Thanks for your kind comments.

Folks I really mean it when I say let me hear from you.  I will post what you want me to, I will keep the secrets you do not want me to tell.  Your comments make me a better fisherman and person.  So keep those cards and letters coming.  I keep up best I can.

Have a safe weekend.  Remember the reason for the 4th, it is why we can all be out there enjoying our freedom.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

After almost a month it was back to fishing in Texas.  I was real excited about hitting Coleto this morning and anxious to see how the fish reacted to the rise in water level.  So at daylight I was fishing.

My first stop was up lake, where the water was as off colored as I have seen it this late in the year.  That is a credit to how much rain we have had.  Of course the buzzbait was the bait of choice.  It is always a great search bait and you can cover lots of water fast.  But that is not quite how it went.

I stopped at the first bank, a shallow one with tons of grass and on my second cast I caught the one below.

A good start.

This one just blasted it on the outside edge of the grass.  On my very next cast I missed another one about this size, and then 2 casts later I caught another pretty nice one.  Now things are really looking up.  And an hour and a half later fishing the upper end I had one more hit, and caught a little one.

From there I fished all the way back to the ramp, hitting main lake areas I usually catch them on, without any luck.  I fished buzzbait, frog, and Senko, but just could not get the bites.  I fished a couple of big grass mats with the frog, and that was a complete bust.  I finally threw a Strike King Swim Jig and put an ok fish in the boat right off the bat.  So now I am thinking that may be the ticket, no such luck.

By now I have fished deep, shallow, and somewhere in between as Buck Perry said in his ground breaking book.  It was real apparent I have not fished the lake in a while, and thinking back on it, it is kind of a mystery why I did not do any better.  My best guess is it is probably time to go to soft plastics.  One thing is for sure, the lake will have more grass in it than it has had in a while.

I called it quits around noon not unhappy with the results.  I could have re-fished the first place but the plan was to cover water and see what could be learned.  One thing learned today is there must be a better way to catch them than I was doing.

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I get the occasional report from folks and one of the regular readers boated a 9+ largemouth last week.  Congrats, that is a good one.

I got this nice note from Andrew:

“Great write up! You really did red fishing the justice it deserves. Being from Louisiana I have the burden of dividing my time between redfish and bass. I leaned more towards the latter for years, but recently have found red fishing to be equally challenging, but more rewarding. Next time you’re in Louisiana give Delacroix a try. The water is always clean, the grass is endless, and both red fish and bass are amazingly plentiful. Again, I enjoyed the article, and will defiantly be giving wake baits a try because of it. Thanks!”

I am getting out the map and looking Delacroix up.  Give me some clean water and grass and the redfish are  coming in the boat.  Thanks for the tip.  I appreciate the kind words, especially from another redfish fanatic.  It is always nice to hear from folks, so send me your comments, I read them all and love to share them with my readers.

Tomorrow it is off to the Gulf.  And then maybe Thursday, depending on tomorrow’s results.  Friday is July 4th, and I will be leaving it to the rest of the folks for the weekend.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

I got one day at home quietly trying to recuperate from Canada when that came to a frenzied halt.  My daughter Carrie and granddaughter Mia came for the week, and we had a great time.  It has been a while since I spent some time with a 4 year old, and that I must say is something.

Mia really wanted to see an alligator and catch a fish.  Of course it rained everyday she was here, and we finally got to head to the lake for a little fishing and boat ride after two prior failed attempts.

Mia was really cranked up.

It was still dripping when we got there so we headed to the fishing pier and we caught one quickly.

She was really proud – for a minute.

At this point everything was going great, until the fish started flopping.  From that point on it was over, she was not having that fish flopping.  It scared the crap out of her, and the fishing trip was over.

At least I have $8 bucks worth of worms…….

So after the fishing disaster we had a quick boat ride, and that was the whole lake experience.  We did have a few other close water encounters including the zoo, Bubba’s to make pigs of ourselves, and the beach at Port Aransas.  The week finished off with meeting the folks and family in Austin for a couple of days.  I am rested and ready to fish.

The driving the boat was a lot more fun on land.

The lake was way up since I was there last, so I think it will be Coleto in the morning, so I can be back to watch the USA play soccer.  It will be interesting to see if the bass are in that new shallow grass so it will be buzzbait and frog for starters first thing.  Then Wednesday it will be the coast somewhere.  I have heard some good reports on the trout and I am hungry for a trout fry.

I have not fished for over a week and finally today got things back in place.  The right tackle in the right box, the right rod on the right reel, and line for everyone.  It took several hours to straighten the stuff up which had been in the tackle room sitting there since I got back.  All the salt and freshwater baits and tackle had to be separated and everything gone over.  Then off to get a gallon of Opti oil and I am ready to hit it.

So thanks for stopping in and the my regular posts will resume, and all will be right with the world.  And remember when you take the little ones fishing – when they are done, quit, leave them with a good memory.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Looking back on the Canada trip had to wait a couple of days until I was not so tired I was blind.  It only took 4 days to get my feet back under me and for my life to return to normal.

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The Trailer From Hell

It really is necessary to review Clyde’s trailering adventure in chronological order.  To see it all in one place give you some perspective on what a hassle it turned out to be.

1.     After a 18 hour drive they drop the boat in the water, stop at the first point, drop the trolling motor in the water all cranked up to fish, and then the cable breaks.

2.     Off to the shop, no repair cable, and it will take a week to get one, so he buys a new trolling motor,  Ouch.

3.     On the way back to the resort they get a flat tire on the trailer.

4.     When they want to buy a replacement tire they only have them on chrome rims, so instead of one tire it is tires and rims.

5.     When putting tires on the axle find bad bearings on one side so they fix those.

6.     But when tried to put boat on trailer the tires are a little to big, so final result is cutting fenders off with a torch.

7.     Now after we tow 20 miles to a new ramp we stop for gas, and one side of the new tires was not properly tightened and the lug nuts have come loose, wallowing out the new chrome rim and the lugs on the hub.

8.     Luckily Paul at Musky Bay brings us a new trailer and Clyde changes out and we still fish.

9.     Then we are getting ready to fish and someone has taken the key out of Clyde’s boat.  Everyone helps and the van, cabin, boat and everything else is sight is searched.  Jake even takes out the ignition before an hour later Clyde finds it in his pocket.

10.     Clyde and John pick up the new hub which was ordered and delivered and they do not check it until back at the resort, it is to big.

11.     So they tighten the old one on, and now since we are leaving the next day Jake welds the trailer fenders back on.

12.     We leave the next morning and Clyde and John will drive on the old hub the 70 miles to the US where the auto parts store has a couple of hubs and put it on there.

13.      They get to the store and the guys says ooops, thought the  caller wanted bearings.

14.     They leave and see another store and low and behold they have the hub, they put it on, and off they go.

15.     Outside of Des Moines Ia the van starts blowing fuses.  They get that resolved and make it home to Arkansas.

Through it all Clyde remained upbeat and never let it get him down.  He just kept fishing and like it always does for him, it all worked out.  But it was the Trailer From Hell and we were all on him about it – Time for a new boat.

Practical Information

If you ever want to take a trip to Canada there are a few things you need to know.  The Ontario fishing regulations were written by a crackhead after smoking crack and drinking a 40 of Old Milwaukee.  They are almost indecipherable.  There are multiple regulations, sometimes even for the same body of water, with Lake of the Woods being a good example.  So if you are planning a trip to pursue a specific species be sure to check the regs, and with the resort were you are planning to stay, to be sure that species is open.

And if you are planning on keeping fish, there is a difference between 2 types of fishing licences available to people visiting Canada.  And no matter what you need the Conservation card which is good for 2 years.  So again if you have any questions a good resort like Musky Bay will answer them for you.  Just this comment to Ontario – Your regulations are to complicated and there is a better way to organize them.  And on the flip side, the specific management practices that make the regs a mess is the very thing that preserves the great fishing.

A good GPS and the applicable map card is absolutely invaluable.  Lake of the Woods is a monster and with the card you can get around.  It is simply a matter of caution when heading into coves and bays.  There is so much water that you can fish for weeks and never even see the same thing twice.

One of the things that I so hate in Texas is that throwing trash out the car window is some kind of state sport, and most of Texas’s roadsides are covered in litter.  One thing you notice is the roadsides in Canada are far cleaner, and the lakes are pristine.  It is so beautiful there that it is just impossible to throw anything in the water.  It is so nice to spend your day fishing on clean water with the only sound eagles, beavers, and tree frogs.

Only one time did a boat come near where we were fishing that was playing his radio.  I have never really understood why anyone enjoying the outdoors would want to play a radio.  Might as well stay in the house and play a video fishing game.

Clyde’s motor would act up a little at the start of the day, and then it would run fine and not be a problem.  One day it died right after he took off from the ramp and while he was trying to start it the next 3 boats stopped to be sure they were ok.  People watch out for each other up there, it is a big place and you could be the one out there all night.  To bad many fisherman here drive right by folks.

Fork out for a good rain suit, you will need it.  It rains like the devil, then an hour later the sun is out and it is 75.  But you will never regret forking over for good rain gear and dry boots.

And last but not least, if you think you need it or want it, bring it.  Lots of stuff is just not available close or even at all.  And some of what is makes expensive seem like a deal.  An example – I bought 5lbs of charcoal, a small can of lighter fluid, and a $4 tube of hand lotion, and it was $20.  So plan well, we took multiple of things like extension cords, chargers, spare tires, and on and on.

Fishing

One of the great things about fishing for 2 weeks is we had totally different conditions and of course had the good days with the bad.

–     When the weather was bad we caught many of our big fish, when the weather was great we caught lots of fish, but they were smaller.

–     We boated 8 muskies, Clyde and John boated 4.  But we saw dozens and dozens.  And in our case when they wanted to eat they smoked it, otherwise they followed it to the boat.  We literally saw dozens of muskies and Shoedog and I both only lost 1 each of those that did hit.

–     Out smallmouth extravaganzas were beyond description.  First it was Bear Bay on the upper end of Lake of the Woods.  A 50 minute run, then idle two shallows, thru a small lake, and then smallmouth heaven.  Fish after fish, most really nice fish.   Then it was the portage from Crow Lake  to Cedar Tree.  Musky Bay keeps small boats and motors on the lake and you carry your equipment over.  Once there it is big smallmouth, and take my word for it I have caught my share over my lifetime, they are big.  It is one of the bass fishing days of my whole life.  When you add both boats and Bear Bay with Cedar we easily put over 250 smallies in the boat.  If you love bass fishing it is a bucket list trip.

It would be impossible to tell you how many fish we caught total, but between both boats it was hundreds and hundreds.  On a good day 50+ was the norm, the few bad days it was less than 10.  Even in this part of the country you can have a bad day, but they were usually our fault and not the fishes.

Read my lips – Rapala  4 3/4″ 2 hook gold Husky Jerk.  Fish it on a wire leader.  Hold on, something will eat it.  Use a light wire leader and be sure to bring at least 3.

The Great Outdoors

The scenery is spectacular.  So fresh and green, so quiet, so big it makes your head spin.  The Eagles were majestic, and the other birds, hawks, crows, ducks and who knows what else made our day.  A loon chasing a hooked musky, a mother otter and her baby, deer, you just never knew what you would see next.  And I have to tell the beaver story again.

Beavers are everywhere and we saw them and their handiwork frequently.  As we fished down a bank on Lake of the Woods we saw a beaver about 35 yards down the bank.  He was towing a branch of green leaves headed to the house when he went under.  After that we did not see him again as we fished that way.  Suddenly Shoedog reared back and set the hook.  He saw something green roll over and yelled it was the biggest musky in the world.

At that point I grabbed the net when the beaver surfaced, Shoedog had the beaver, or the beaver had the Shoedog, hard to tell.  The beaver is pulling on the branch, where the Shoedog’s bait was lodged, wondering what is trying to steal my supper, and the Shoedog is pulling trying to get his lure back.  That will always go down as one of the great outdoor experiences of my life.  The look on the Shoedog’s face was priceless, and the beaver  was totally confused.  It was awesome.

We were also lucky to hear an elk twice.  The second time it was a full bugle echoing across the hills, a real thing of beauty.  We also heard the wolves one time.  Clyde had been lucky enough to see a couple over the years, and it would have been a high point in my trip.  Maybe next time.

Musky Bay Resort – Nestor Fall Ontario

I can not say enough about Paul, Jake and the whole family.  The place was clean, well appointed, and they went above and beyond in taking care of us.  Situated on Crow Lake they are a short ride from various ramps on Lake of the Woods, and only 20 miles from Sioux Narrows, the musky capital of Canada.

And if you are not a crazy nut like we are, and do not want to trailer a boat all the way there, you can arrange a pick up in International Falls at the airport.  Rent the boat from them, and they will transport it to various ramps so you can fish different waters if you want.  Musky Bay will try to accommodate any need so you have a successful fishing trip.  Heck if you do not want to cook they offer lots of different options in that department.  They will do whatever takes within reason to make your trip one to remember.

The fishing possibilities are endless but they also offer hunting.  They hunt big whitetails, and some of them are monsters.  Paul tries to keep his hunters shooting only 145 and above.  Last year they had a 65% success rate on big whitetails.  There are also tons of wolves and Paul said hunters would have easily have had a 100% success rate on wolves  if they were hunting them.  Licenses are purchased over the counter and apparently can be purchased with no problem.  When he told me the price for a hunt I about fell over.  If you ever wanted a north country whitetail hunt check them out.

Final Accounting

When you add the 145 miles from home to College Station and then back, the trip was a total of 3400 miles.  That is from my front door, to Canada, driving to ramps, then back.  It took around 28 hours to get there, and then 28 back.  By driving over 16 day 1 we were able to shorten day 2 coming and going.

The Shoedog and I spent right at $1400 each on everything, which we felt was pretty good for 14 days of fishing.  Gas was the number one expense by far, both going and coming, and for the boat in Canada.  But on an adventure like this it comes with the territory so you ignore the pump, pay, then hit the ramp.

We all brought food, most of it prepared in advance and frozen.  In fact we used dry ice in the Yeti and our frozen stuff stayed frozen on the 2 day drive.  Thaw one each morning and we were ready to go.  We did not eat out once in Canada which saved tons of money.  All of us came in under budget (minus the Trailer From Hell).

So what a trip, it was a fishing extravaganza, and now we will put it to bed.  We fished hard and got our moneys worth.  John caught his biggest lake trout, Shoedog caught his biggest musky, lake trout, and smallmouth, I caught my biggest smallmouth (several), and Clyde had a real monster musky that John knocked off with the net.  This was a big boy trip, to little sleep, to long on the water, and then do it again.  We burned the candle at both ends and when the rewards came it was like a lightning strike.  And those are the moments that keep us coming back.  And we will be back.  Thanks for stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

I actually woke up this morning not sore and tired.  It just takes a little longer to recover, but that is sure not going to stop me.  I have been trying to catch up on things, emails, messages, etc., and it is taking me a little longer than I thought.  I did want to post a few things I got from readers while I work on the wrap up of the big Canadian adventure.

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I got a message from Johnny Kerr, alias Kerr_Kidd on 2cool, and I wanted to share it with you.  Their trip was an adventure like ours, and the times we get to spend with family and friends on trips like this are invaluable and can never be replaced.

“I thought you might like to hear this Canadian fishing story. I hope you do.
A couple of years ago my grandad, my dad, my uncle and I went on a 7 day fly in trip in Canada, in the quetico wilderness. We flew into international falls, Minnesota and drove up to Atikokan canada from there, we contracted with a group called Canoe Canada. It was an amazing trip, I like to call it the trip of a lifetime.
I was fishing with my grandad this particular day, we’d been fishing together all day, only seeing my dad and uncle when we had lunch on one of the islands on our lake. I call it our lake because we were the only four souls on those waters for 7 whole days. This particular day I had been in the back of the boat all day running the motor and trying to fish, not the ideal set up but when you’re fishing with grandpa, whose passion in life is fishing, you deal with it. Well, about 45 minutes before sundown, grandpa said “hey Johnny, why don’t we switch and you can come up here and fish” so I did. We were mainly after smallies and walleye, this particular cove we were in we had some success with the smallies every morning and most evenings. I decided to throw a topwater lure, a zora spook. I cast out into the lillies hoping for that topwater explosion, I got it, right away. Reeled him in and found that he was a northern, about 12″. We weren’t interested in keeping or even touching a northern of that size so I decided to play with him in the water hoping he’d get off my spook and I wouldn’t have to touch him. Well, while I was letting him play in the water just outside of the boat I felt a big tug on my line, I looked down and hollered at grandpa to get the net, which made him chuckle because he had seen the size of fish I had caught. The large tug on my line turned out to be a MUCH larger northern taking bites out of the smaller one that I had caught. When I finally convinced grandpa we needed the net, he grabbed it and I pulled both fish around the 14′ aluminum boat we were in and right into the net. I think this is the point where the larger of the two realized something was not normal, and he spit the smaller fish out, to no avail though because he was already in the net. We brought them into the boat, I unhooked the smaller northern off the zora spook and turned him loose. Of course we kept the larger one for pictures and dinner that night. My grandpa could not believe the way it had happened, he told me that in his whole life of fishing he had never seen a fish caught that way.
We lost grandpa on Sept 14th, 2013. This story is one I will tell forever, with pride. My grandad was an amazing man and a great fisherman.
I hope you enjoyed the story, which is all 100% true!! I’d like to send you pictures of this fish but I don’t think I can do it in a private message, I’ll post it in the forum.
Thank you for your post and your time.
John”

“Dad, Uncle, Granddad, and Me.”

“Granddad Johnny, the best man I have ever known.”

“Granddad and I”

“Johnny with a nice smallmouth.”

These kinds of trips build bonds that last forever.  You can tell from Kerr_Kidd’s report how much the time with his Grandfather meant to him, and the memories he shared with Grandpa will carry him for his lifetime.  I am sure Grandpa would have kept up with us and we would have been better fishermen for knowing a man like him.  Thanks for the share Johnny.

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Todd (tmart on the Austin Bass Fishing website and my POC buddy)  sent me a note that he had kept up on the Canada trip.  He is headed to Louisiana for a little marsh fishing and I will be so interested in getting a report and some pictures.  I love the LA marsh, pull out the Strike King Redfish Magic and go to whacking them.  And of course add the old popping cork with a Gulp and you have it all covered.

He has also been doing a little bass fishing, a real fisherman takes what he can get.  My rule is if there is a puddle and one might be there, I hit it, as long as it might hold a fish.  Variety is the spice of life as far as catching fish goes, and while we all have our favorites, nothing like a little change of pace.

Probably one of those Austin bass who lives in a cool remodeled bass condo off Congress.

So good luck on the trip Todd.  The fishing should be great and lots of folks will be waiting to see the results, so keep us informed.

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As long as I am rambling there is one thing I wanted to comment on that happened on the Canada trip.  I have been making fun of Power Pole folks lately, especially bass boats with 2 of them.  Well that was topped by the 18 foot aluminum bass boat at the resort which had 2 big poles on it.  Now we use ours on the flats boat occasionally, and while it is a cool gadget, the best use I have found for it by far is holding the boat while I get the trailer.  It has just amazed me how quickly they have spread and have become as much a part of a boat as the locator.  Not only have those guys have done a great job of marketing, they make a great product that they stand behind.

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 I got this comment form Dale and wanted to share it with you.

“Enjoyed reading the fishing report every day-I went to Nestor Falls when I was 13 in June 1964 and remember fishing Crow Lake for smallies -your adventures brought back memories -caught a lot of smallies on crow along with a lot of bites from deer flys -bays on lake of the woods full of pike-walleye shore lunches -and still remember one big Muskie blowing up a Shakespeare mouse -good to see some old guys having some fun!!”

Thanks Dale, I am already wanting to go back.

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I also heard from Rusty, the Fayette County lake master.

“I will be praying for safe travel home for you guys.  It’s been great reading each day.  I’ve been going to Canada for 32years and cannot go this year.  Your posts made me feel like I was there with you.  Thanks for the thrill of “being there”.

Thanks for the prayer for the home trip.  Towing a boat that far is an adventure and at times it seemed like disaster was just a swerve away.

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I am working on a recap which I should have up tomorrow.  My granddaughter Mia is here and we tried to fish the pier at Coleto but the rains came.  The weather will straighten up the next couple of days so I hope to get her some fish.  And with a 4 y/o you need to get em fast!  Their attention span is short.  And with catching a fish she wants to see the alligators, and that should not be that hard to get done.

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Of course while I am gone someone gets bit by an alligator.  If you spend any time at the lake you know better than swimming not only at night, but anywhere above the bridge.  I have seen some real giants, and as far as I am concerned the lake is for fishing and not swimming.  But no matter what I would hope most of us would be smart enough to not swim in there at night.  You are nothing more than tasty topwater to a 10 foot+ gator.  And why that thing let go of him I will never know.

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I will try to catch up on lots of things the next couple of days, with the recap coming later today or tomorrow.  And thanks to all the folks who send us comments and pictures.  If feels good to know you are out there, so keep those cards and letters coming.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Fish Catching Travel

Fish Catching Travel

Friday it was all over but the shouting.  We fished hard the last 2 weeks, harder than I have ever fished and that is saying something.  14 straight days, with the shortest being 4 hours and maybe one 6, the rest were out at 9 and in at 9.  We went fishing nuts, and my body is paying for it.

To finish up Thursday real quick, it was slow and the weather was not the best.  We bass fished and trolled for trout.  It kept raining and got cold and we decided to hit the most productive smallmouth place we had on Crow Lake.  We fished back into the cove on one side without a bite.  We fished the deeper side and Shoedog had a muskie hit but not hook up, the first time his whole trip he actually missed a big fish.

When we got to the back of the cove he caught a smallmouth so I put on a Rage Craw on a jig head and when I was reeling it back in a huge muskie boiled it at the boat.  We decided to motor back out and make one more drift in when I hooked a small muskie on a buzzbait but lost it.  Then a giant took a run at it and blew up but I did not hook up.  And then it was over.  That little smallmouth cove was full of muskies, probably eating smallies.

I want to remind you that it is illegal to pursue muskies before the opener.  We did not have to pursue them, it was the other way around.  The very bait Shoedog caught most of his muskies was the same one he threw for smallmouth and pike most of the week.  It would be impossible to not catch one if you cast enough.  Let me tell you, we did a little bit of casting, but I digress.  Here are a couple of pictures from the last couple of days that are not posted.

That was one big beaver dam.  They saw it the day before and water was running over so the beavers fixed it overnight.

It is so beautiful there, and quiet.

A fresh rock slide.

We did have several brushes with wildlife today, the first one was a momma otter and a baby.  They were messing around on the bank and headed to the water but saw us, turned around and headed the other way.  They are one neat creature.  There are so many things to see here and you never know when you will see them.  One of the places we heard about on Crow was The Meadow near Emme Bay.  We actually found it by accident, remember this is a big place.  We were quiet hoping to see some cool wildlife and we did see a deer.  I will always remember this as the most beautiful spot I never caught a fish.

“The Meadow.”  Possibly one of the coolest places I have ever fished.  We saw one deer there, to bad we did not catch a fish in there.

As we fished down this bank we came to a beaver hut, and is we caught a lot of fish off them, we moved in position for the perfect cast, and there she sat on the nest.  Loons can not walk worth a crap since there back legs are for swimming and not walking.  So they nest right on shore, and this was pretending we could not see her, but protecting her nest by laying all out.

That is a momma Loon protecting her nest.  One of those “if I lay real still they will not see me things.”

When we quit that day we saw Clyde fishing the resort cove so we stopped.  They had gone to get a part for the trailer from hell and when they got back John sat down for a minute.  Clyde did not have the heart to wake him up, and he was sleeping in the same place when we got to the cabin.  And as a side note the view from the porch was all outdoors.

This is what would happen to you if you ever sat down.  I never sat down.

Day 14

Today there was no problem with anyone getting up.  We all felt it, this is it, end of story.  Funny how after 14 grueling days all of us would have stayed if we could have.   This place is a fishing paradise, and whether you catch a big one or not, just the very anticipation of being on Lake of the Woods can not be beat.  The day was epic, but it was not the fishing and we will get to that later.

Shoedog and I started catching fish, and except for a couple of places, we caught fish all day.  There was a few nice smallies, and more little ones than we saw on the trip.  We caught pike off and on all day.  While some were ok, our expectations and goals were for a big pike.  We caught them on jerkbait, spinnerbait, and buzzbait.  It was one of those days where the fish just bit.

We caught lots bigger than this one, just a real great smallmouth area.

Most of the day it was small to medium pike and we found them from an inch deep to 15 feet.  Buzzbait and jerkbait were the ticket, but we just did not boat that last whooper.  Then I put the smallest one in the boat all trip.

I set the record on the last day for the smallest pike of trip.

For our final (almost) place we went back to where Shoedog caught his biggest pike.  We stopped the boat on the point and there was an Eagle in a tree with some kind of hawk or falcon harassing it.  We drifted past before I could get a picture and then he decided to fly right in front of us and land it a tree.  And there he sat, just to cool a bird.

They are usually wary and fly off.  This Eagle flew into the tree and landed right in front of us.

Eagles are all that.

We headed down the bank and I picked up a buzzbait and had a  big muskie follow it to the boat, again, for the umpteenth time without taking a swat at it.  As happened to me time and time again this trip they just did not get on.  Right before we left we talked to the some of the guys there for the muskie opener and they said the had a week with over 50 follows and only one taker.  Those big fish have a mind of their own.

Shoedog had a follow on the other side, but other than that we only put a couple of more pike in the boat.  So we decided to call it a trip in the big grass bed by the ramp.  So we buzzbaited through it and then I told the Shoedog to catch the last fish so I could take a picture, and it was over.

 The last fish of the trip.  How many did we catch as both boats in 2 weeks?  Literally hundreds and hundreds.

The following picture can not present the true condition of my hands.  Toothy fish, lots of trebles, thrashing pike, all of them a recipe for disaster and injury.  Other than Clyde’s little hooking episode there were no major human injuries.

My thumb and forefinger were tore up.  Everything you see on that finger is an open crack or cut.

We headed back to Musky Bay and the work began.  Boats to empty and straighten, lures to organize. (I just threw handfuls in a baggies for arranging when I get home.)  We got all the boat stuff done, covered it then on to the packing in the house.  Jake came up and welded the trailer fenders back on, if you remember they got taken off for the big tires, and the bearings and ……. tomorrow’s recap will cover all the Clyde stuff.  They even had car trouble on the way home, but they made it.

Jake welds Clyde’s fenders back on the trailer from hell.

So with both  boats basically ready to go, it was in the house to pack the rest and straighten the joint.  Clyde had some rib eye steaks that were as thick as a brick for the last meal.  Then it came, rain, big time.  When it came it got dark, pitch dark, and it started pouring and blowing, for probably an hour it came down like I have never seen it before.  Hail was mixed in and it was rushing down the road to the lake.  It was unbelievable, and it did it a couple of more times during the night.

Raining as hard as any of us had ever seen with a little hail thrown in.

When we got up the next morning the road was washed out.  There was no way it could be used, which meant that the guys on the waterfront cabins could not get up the hill and out, and the guys on the upper area could not get there boats in the water.

The next morning the road was trashed.

That was a huge canyon all the way down to the lake.

But between Paul and Jake, and the little bulldozer they have, I am sure the road was fixed immediately and everyone got to fish.  But it was impressive, it washed tons of gravel down that hill, and the water was still flowing when we left at 6 the next morning.

After pictures of the road it was time to leave.  Unfortunately some selfish callous fisherman had parked right in front of our rig.  Here it is 5:30 and we are ready to go and it looks like we can’t get out.  Bad enough we were leaving but if we had been fishing I would have really been irritated.  So we tried one way, and it wouldn’t work, so we tried another and we just squeezed out.  I would just like to say to them try to think about what you are doing, hard to imagine anyone that discourteous.

Then it was off right before 6, and before it was over we drove over 1000 miles in 18 hours to make it to our brother’s in Arkansas.  We got 6 hours of sleep, a quick breakfast with the parent’s, and it was on the road again.  9 hours later we are at Shoedog’s.  I transferred stuff from his boat and truck to my truck, and it was the last stretch.  3 hours later I was home, and it was all over.

This one was of the monumental fishing trips I have ever been on.  I was lucky to share it with 3 guys who went into a fishing frenzy on day 1 and were still consumed by it at the end of day 14.   14 days of up at 5:30 am, supper at 9 pm, bed at 11, and nothing but fishing in between.  It was not for the faint of heart, my body is in a state of shock right now, 3 days after my last cast.  So many things seen and done, some real unusual happenings, and those great Ontario big fish.  And Paul and all the extended family who live and work there run a first class operation, they will help however they can, and Paul wants you to catch fish.  I can not say enough about the hospitality, they were great.

It is not time to put this all to bed yet, and I will close it out tomorrow.  We took a few notes on the way home, and I want to review it all, get it in one place.  There is so much to tell about fishing there, and I can never do it justice.  And there are a few general things I need to tell you about if you want to ever take a trip like this. The place is massive, impressive, and imposing.  If a person is willing to work hard, and step out of his box, the fishing possibilities are endless, and the next big one is right around the corner.

So thanks for fishing with us, it was our pleasure!  Feeling like a tough guy?  Try 14 days of fishing madness out of Musky Bay if you are tough enough.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

This is going to be a short report.  This is our last day and here in a little bit we are headed out to Lake of the Woods.  We will probably be able to fish until about 4 before we have to quit, come back and load up for the long drive home Saturday and Sunday.  I will have time to reflect on the whole thing then, but here is Thursday.

The weather report was awful so we decided to stay on Crow Lake.  We ended up catching a few bass, and other than that we did not see a muskie all day, which is real unusual.  But as we were fishing the last place, Shoedog had  a big hit, and he pulled off.  We were in the back end of a little cove, and he caught a smallmouth.

Sorry folks this as far as I got on Thursday story, Friday morning.  Everyone got up early and off we went for the last day.  Then it was pack, eat a last night steak dinner, and bed at 11.  We got up Saturday morning at 5 and it was off to stay at my parents in Arkansas  on the way home.  Now I am bone tired this morning (Sunday), it is 6:30 and we are up, after a 20 hour drive (over 1000 miles), it was brutal.  Now it will only be 11 hours to my house, 8 to the Shoedog’s.  I promise tomorrow I will tell Thursday and Friday’s story.

So thanks for following our trip, it was an epic adventure.  There are 3 more chapters coming before I put it to bed.  So off to my parents for breakfast, and then back on the road.  This gives a whole knew meaning to tired. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines