Fish Catching Travel

Fish Catching Travel

It is 10:30 pm, we just got done with a fresh walleye fish fry, I am tired but I wanted to at least put a few things on here for you.  It is a good thing I brought the Shoedog with me.  He is on a roll with the nice ones.  Of course when he front ends me for a week it is bound to happen.  It really is not that bad, it would be hard to front end someone here to keep them from catching fish here.  It is just his time.  And I am not complaining.

It was windy and cold and raining like a son of a gun so we did not start until 12:20.  We ended up catching around 35 pike and bass.  The Shoedog put the big pike for the day in the boat, of course on a jerkbait.

Not as big as yesterdays but still a great Lake of the Woods Pike.

I caught my biggest of the day and did not take a picture because I was sure I was going to catch a lot bigger one.  Mine smashed a buzzbait, and during the day I had 4 more real hooters chase it or miss it.  The water is reaching the low 60’s so they are just a couple of days away.  Later this happened which surprised us.

(Sorry the bass pic will not load)

He caught another largemouth and then a little later I had one smack a jerkbait and it looked like a good one but he was coming my way so even though the Shoedog said do you need the net I said no.  And of course when I went to lift him in the boat he was over 5, hit the side of the boat and flopped back in the lake.  So no picture of what I am sure will be the biggest largemouth I ever catch here.  Oh well, my fault.

This is the best pike I landed for the day.

Funny how you get used to these and want them bigger.  But boy do they smack it.

We caught on spinnerbait, swim bait, buzzbait, and jerkbait.  But jerkbait is catching the most fish, but it is one of those throw what you like, something will eat it.  Tomorrow it will be a morning troll for walleyes, then back to pike and bass fishing.   The afternoon bite has been by far the best so we are going to maximize our time.  Plus our hands are needing a rest, it is tough to throw big baits for days on ends.  Like I am complaining.

So I need to hit the hay, I am tired and hands and back are hurting.  Real tough life huh?  So when I get up in the morning I will get the rest of today’s pictures (have some lake pictures and another fish or two)  loaded before we hit the road.  So keep stopping and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

It is 5:30 am and the knuckleheads are all still sleeping.  I on the other hand am wide awake.  I have this internal clock that plagues (or helps) me on trips like this.  If it feels like daylight is out there somewhere I am awake.

Yesterday was tough with the rain.  One of those days that you had to fight through it to keep your concentration.  We should have boated several more big fish, but it is hard to concentrate in a driving rainstorm.

This morning the wind is howling at 20+, it is still raining, and here I am wide awake trying to decide what the day will bring.  Luckily the weather is set to clear and Friday is going to be perfect.  Today – hard to tell.  So as soon as these panty waists get up plans will be made and who knows, it may be a put on your big boy pants day, or it may be a little sightseeing.  I vote for fishing and I will bet you the boys will too.

You can not believe the tackle that 4 hardcore fisherman bring on a 2 week trip.  Totes, bags, tackle boxes, it is amazing.  We easily have over 50 rods and reels, it is just plain crazy.  Somebody will say anyone got a blue jerkbait?  Of course we have lots.  Need some plastics, how about 50 bags.  Line?  Spool after spool.  Want braid or mono?  We got it, tons of it.  With the price of baits up here it pays to be prepared.  And it is great to be fishing with guys who will give you their best bait, maybe.

I do want to say a few words about Ontario and their regulations.  I do have a little experience at reading the law, but the fishing regulations are something,  It is great the way they are protecting the resource, and what a resource it is, but there has to be a better way.  Maybe they could simplify the regs.  If you come here to take fish, you can have some.  But this is not a harvest trip, what makes it what it is is the quality of the fish.

If you have never been up here before there are multiple open and closed seasons on the fish depending on species.  Right now muskie is closed.  It is illegal to pursue them.  I understand that, and we are not targeting them.  Same with bass in some areas, wish I could figure that one out. but I have one word for you – jerk bait.  We have caught bass, walleye, pike, muskie, and lake trout on them.  You do not have to pursue anything – just toss it out, jerk it some, and hold on.

And with that comes what happened yesterday.  Though none of them ate, for me the real crux of the deal is watching a huge muskie follow a bait.  What a predator.  I mean  some of them were those real giants you see in the pictures.  While I did catch a big one last time, 3 or 4 of them that followed our baits were monsters.  And the one that rolled on the small pike I was bringing in was an apparition, so big it could not have been real.  Top of the food chain, no enemies, unafraid,  They remind me of the lions of Africa.  Regal, royal, and downright deadly.  Show a little weakness – to bad, you are lunch.  What a fish.  They are a fish that dreams are made of.

Of course we are sending a few pics to friends to harass them.  And on that note thanks to our families for being so understanding.  The 4 of us, who have been fishing together for 30 – 50 years are all afflicted with the disease.  Nothing can cure it so they understand.  Thanks.

Think I will step outside, check the charger, make sure all the stuff we got ready last night is ready to go. maybe bang a couple of doors.  We are about to find out who the big boys are.  You would think with over a week yet to go a day of rest would not hurt any of us.  Not!  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Welcome to Canada and spring.  Rain and cooler temperatures, in fact it rained on us all day until we finally called it a day to get ready for the next round.  Shoedog and I headed to Lake of the Woods for our first day over there.  The plan, we hoped, was to catch some nice pike.

We had no bites the first place so we moved on to a place were we had great luck 2 years ago.  We put a couple of small ones in the boat when I had a nice one follow it all the way in, he opened his mouth and ate that inline spinner.

A nice one, not the size I was looking for, but it will do.

I caught this one right before it started raining, and once it started it rained harder and harder as the day wore on.  When it poured they they did not seem to want it.  Though we caught about 15 during the day, it seemed like it was not real feeding time.

We went to another place were we caught fish 2 years ago and boy were they there.  In one small channel between islands we saw around 6 big muskie and pike follow our baits.  I actually hooked a small pike and a huge, and I mean huge, muskie tried to eat him.  We caught a few small ones in there when Shoedog got “the bite”.

Folks this is a big pike, and it is what you fish Lake of the Woods for.

He was jerking a small KVD gold jerk bait.  When we got it in the net there was just a little of the wire leader sticking out of his mouth.  If it had been any bigger it would have been tough luck.  I noticed that gold jerk bait looks like a little struggling smallmouth as it flashes and darted.  If you are a bass fisherman who likes to throw jerk bait these lakes are the place for you.  It is just like bass fishing, only you can never tell what may jump on.  And when you see a big fish like that eat a bait right in front of you it is a thing of beauty.

We also caught a couple of smallmouth today.  I put this one in the boat on buzzbait.  We could have stopped and fished for them but pike was on the menu so we kept on going.

 These are just flat out fun to catch.

I think the day’s total was around a dozen pike, a couple of smallmouth, and around 6 close encounters with muskies.  I saw more big muskies today than I saw the whole week we were here last time.  After I caught a smallmouth and a couple of pike on the buzzbait I continued to throw it, and before the day was over at least 4 muskies, a couple of them over 30 lbs, followed it to the boat.

We got a late start, and quit before 5 when the first trolling motor battery died, as it was pouring, we called it a day.  So an early venison supper, lots of BS, tackle fixing, bait preps, prop repair on Clyde’s boat, and general drying out of stuff.  Tomorrow there will be wind and rain, then clearing late afternoon or Friday.  As we get them more patterned the anticipation is rising.  Both boats will fish near each other and as we further pattern the fish it will only get better.

For the first 5 days Shoedog is on a roll.  He has boated his lifetime biggest pike, biggest muskie, biggest lake trout, and biggest smallmouth.  What more could you want from a fishing trip.  And still 9 more days to fish.  I on the other hand am just muddling along catching a few, but my turn will come.  But that is only part of what a trip like this is about.  Good fishing, good eats, and good company, all in a beautiful place.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

I had a feeling today would be an epic day, and for me it was.  I have caught some big smallmouth in my life, and have had a couple of days where we caught a boat load, but today was both.  Lets just get right to the point.

It may not have been my lifetime smallmouth, but if it was I would not be surprised.

This morning we headed to Cedar Tree Lake.  It is at the upper end of Crow Lake where Muskie Bay is.  Paul has a couple of v hull boats with 15 hp motors on Cedar tree and you just have to portage a little ways and carry your gas and all your stuff.  So we loaded up Clyde’s boat and off we went.

Shoedog, John,  Clyde, and I as we got ready to head up lake.

We asked Clyde if he had enough gas and he said of course.  Well you know if you have read the last couple of days he is not having the best of luck.  Of course we ran out about half way there, his gauge does not work.  But we had the 2 6 gallon tanks for the boats on Cedar, and he had a 2 gallon spare.  So in about 2 minutes we were back on our way.

After portaging and getting all the stuff we loaded the boats and off we went.

Water pouring out of Crow Lake and into Cedar at the dam where you portage.

From there it was in to the bigger arm and we headed all the way to the back.  From there we each took a side and for the next 9 hours it was game on.  We caught on jerk bait, spinnerbait, Rapala Shad Rap, but nothing even came close to the Strike King Caffine Shad in a neutral color.  Using it on a jig head we started catching them just reeling it.  Some of them ate it before it hit bottom.  They were shallow.

The pattern was any point, with flatter points with grass on them being the best.  We had no trolling motor or graph so it was keep the small motor running and working with the wind.  We ended up fishing the whole arm and a little more before we quit.

So here is the highlights, but it was an easy 40 fish, with a couple of walleyes and pike thrown in.

A nice walleye headed to the fry pan.

Shoedog gets in on the act.

They fight like a mofo.

This was Shoedog’s biggest.

Last smallmouth I will show you.  We probably caught 15 in this category and above and another 25 smaller ones.

A small pike.  Though the lake has them in it and I did try for some, I will get that itch scratched on Lake of the Woods were we are heading tomorrow.

It was a real fishing pleasure.  Clyde has been going there for years and telling us about how good smallmouth fishing was, and he did not exaggerate.  They were biting when we started and biting when we quit.  We had to quit about 6 to portage the stuff back and then the long ride to Muskie Bay.

On the way back Clyde’s boat ran out of gas again.  We ran out going and coming.  But we had plenty in the spare tanks so it was a quick fill and off we went.  When we got back Clyde went to put the boat on the trailer, a bunk fell off, and the tires are to big so they hit the fenders.  So now there will be more work on the trailer.  You have to feel sorry for the guy, but by time we leave his trailer will be in tip top condition.

Tomorrow the plan is Lake of the Woods.  The weather is looking a little sketchy, and that is a big lake, so it will be a wait and see deal.   Either way I will keep you posted.  We just pigged out on red beans and rice and home made sour dough, it is 10 pm, and folks are sinking fast.  This hard core fishing is work.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Let me start out by getting this out of the way.  I fished like crap and that is the very reason to stay as long as possible when you go on adventures like this, you can afford a day where it does not go so well.

We headed a long way up lake to Penisula Bay and started in the first cove on the right.  On Jeff’s second cast a nice muskie followed his jerk bait to the boat and did not take.  Then we caught 4 really nice smallmouth.  In fact I caught my biggest one of the trip by far, and because it was so fast and furious I did not take a picture.  To bad it was my last big smallmouth of the day.

We fished a few other coves and then we came to a beaver hut, Jeff tossed his jerk bait in there and a muskie charged out.  He came right to the boat and took a swipe at it and missed.  Then he ate it right in front of us.  One thing I will say about muskies is they are not afraid of anything.

The Shoedog strikes again.

One thing you do need to know about muskie fishing in Ontario is the season opens later in June and it is against the law to actively pursue them.  That is what makes Crow Lake such a good place to fish before the opener.  There is not a lot of traffic which is nice.  Second, it has smallmouth and they love jerk bait.  So we just fish for smallmouth and the muskie just come along with it.  Nice to have a fish like that “get in the way.”

We did not catch any lake trout today but Clyde and John caught a couple.

Clyde with a great laker.

Clyde and John caught a good mess of smallmouth and a couple of muskies.  The Shoedog caught a few smallmouth but after that we just did not do that good.  We had multiple muskie follow our baits but they just refused to eat.  We went to re-fish the first cove we caught them in and did not do any good.  Turned out those guys had just re-fished it and caught 4 smallies and a small muskie.

From there we did a little lake trout fishing and only had one hit but it did not hook up.  We did catch a couple more smallmouth and saw one more muskie, but he did not take.  So that is the size of it for today.   We did get rained on, but it was gone in an hour and it was beautiful.  But there were grouse drumming, eagles everywhere, and the scenery is just awesome.

Tomrrow we had way up lake, take a portage, and there will be a couple of jon boats at a lake with no access.  And it should be great from the reports we are getting.

And one more Clyde story.  He went to get tires, and the only thing he could get was nice radials with chrome rims, so now another couple of hundred on the boat.  And when they went to put the tires on they found the bearings were bad on the trailer, so those got replaced.  That is actually a good thing, better than a roadside breakdown.  But then the tires are an inch to big and were hitting the fender.  So now the fenders have to be raised.  When it rains it pours.  The only good thing is Paul the owner and Jake his son redid the bearings and are going to fix the fenders while we are at the other lake.  Tell me when you stayed somewhere to fish and got that kind of service.  Muskie Bay is a full service resort.  Guess that is part of coming to a place for years.  What great folks.

One last word before I hit the hay.  I will try to sit down and see if I can download Clyde and Johns pictures and get them up in the next day or two.  Tomorrow will be an epic day and I will get it posted tomorrow night. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Today was not quite as good as yesterday, but with the cold front, it was 41 this morning, it was not surprising.  We decided to hit a new place today so both boats went to a big cove and we fished one side and Clyde and John fished the other.  I managed to catch one small muskie, see below and Shoedog struck out.

John and Clyde caught a few, and had multiple follows for muskies, but other than hooking one, and a big smallmouth, it was slow for them.  So after that we headed up to a cove we caught multiple smallmouth yesterday and they were there.

One nice brownie.

Love that jerk bait.

Shoedog and I put 7 in the boat there, so we pulled out the morning.  The water had dropped 5 degrees into the low 50’s and you could really tell it hurt the fishing.  I have not caught a fish on spinnerbait yet, so I tossed it a while and managed to put a nice one in the boat.

My biggest for the day.

After that it was back to the cabin for lunch which was leftover Gumbo from the night before, and it was actually better if that was possible.  So then it was off to do some trolling for lakers.  They are shallower than normal, so they have been catching them flat lining with small jerk baits.  Clyde and John put a couple in the boat and we only managed one, but it was a nice one.  The ones we are catching are running about 10lbs, nice fish.

Clyde and John trolling for lake trout.

Trolling is the way to catch them.

I think we only had one strike, and just did not get the trolling thing right this afternoon.  And for the day the Shoedog and I both lost a couple each on jerkbait bass fishing.  They hit hard, but twist and roll and you just can not horse them.  And though we messed those up, we will have plenty of time to get it right.

They don’t call these loons for nothing.

There are lots of Loons around.  They have a cool call.  We also saw an eagle today and are still waiting to see a bear or wolf.  While the odds on that are long, they do see both of them up here, and it would be one of those cool things.

They only muskie for the day.

 So while it was a little slower, it still was a good time.  The weather is about to straighten out for a few days so it should really get going.  Tomorrow we are headed over to Lake of the Woods to try out some pike fishing.  If you like action, and love the feel of a fish slamming a bait, Pike are the fish for you.  And we will also try out the walleye fishing some.

The next day we are off to Cedar Tree.  It is a lake only reached from Crow Lake via portage.  Clyde caught the biggest smallmouth of his life there, and that is saying something.  The guys next to us went yesterday and caught 55 including 2 smallmouth 24 inches long, and folks that is a huge smallmouth.

Before I sign off and head to bed I have to tell you a story on Clyde.  As you know he had to buy a trolling motor, then had a flat.  Today when we went to go out after lunch we get to the boat and he could not find his boat key.  Everyone looked everywhere, the house, the sofa, the boat, the cleaning table, I mean everywhere.  The owner and son helped, even tried other keys, the whole works.  The owners son came up and said, ” Did you check your pockets?”  His dad told him to keep quiet, of course he did.  And where were they, in Clyde’s pocket.  So after an hour of blaming kids and the man in the moon, he missed it when he checked his pockets about 5 times.  Paul, the owner said he was about to line up all the kids and torture the truth out of them.  We love our Clyde, never a dull moment.

It is 11 now and time for bed.  It gets light at 4:45 and it wakes me up, so I make the rest of the animals get up.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.  And if there are some editing mistakes sorry, I am to tired to proof read.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Well all I have to say is there is a reason we drive 27 hours to get here.  This is one great fishery and when it is slow it is good, when it is good it is awesome.  Today we did not catch a ton of fish.  In fact, we caught 12.  But it was the kind of fish we come here for.  And we have just got started.

The Shoedog gets it done.

I am going to tell the story a little out of turn, but this muskie, besides being his biggest, it was one of those things that was meant to be.  We were smallmouth fishing when Shoedog said look at that lake trout.  He had his jerk bait about half way in as the fish swam towards his bait and just ate it right in front of us.  He played it cool and it was in the boat.  You talk about cool – that was cool!

Paul the owner of Muskie Bay Resort told us when we got here that the smallmouth fishing had been good so we started with that.  Our buddy Clyde who is here and has been fishing this part of the world for over 20 years turned us on to using the regular jerk baits we use for bass for just about everything that swims.  And today it was the bait of choice.  Of the 8 smallmouth we caught, 4 came on jerk bait and 4 on the Strike King Swimming Jig.

Not the biggest of the 8, but this is a good representative.

Though the smallmouth were a little slow, we are in the midst of a cold front so that will change shortly.  It is so cool to see them in this crystal clear water.  When we would catch one and you could see the other ones following him in.  While we were bass fishing I had 3 lake trout follow my swim jig in.  That is a good thing as it means they are still up thanks to the late ice out, so we decided to troll some.

Love those lake trout, they really put a bend in the old rod.

After this guy we headed in for lunch.  We invited this guy to supper tomorrow night, to bad for him.  About 2 we headed back out and we just could not find the bass.  The wind was blowing cold, and it just seemed it was not happening.  Now I threw the box at them, Shoedog stayed with the jerkbait.  I wanted to be sure there was not something they wanted better, but it was clearly a jerkbait day.

 This one tried to jerk the rod out of his hands.

So though it was a lot slower in the afternoon, Shoedog put the muskie above, this lake trout and one more smallmouth in the boat, all on jerkbait.  After fishing spinnerbaits, inline spinners, and rattle trap, it was clear, the jerk bait was the ticket.  with most of the water in the mid 50’s the fish are just not interested in chasing.  So I pulled out the KVD and I think it was about 10 casts when……..

This is what I am talking about.

If you are a fisherman and have never been to Ontario you need to put it on your bucket list.  And if you think about doing it some time give Muskie Bay a call.  Besides a nice resort with clean rooms, Paul is a fisherman and helps everyone all he can.

So not a bad day.  This little cool front is going to blow through and warmer temps are on the way, and the fishing should really pick up.  Funny after a day like we had to say the fishing will pick up, but it will.  While we did not catch numbers today, I would settle for results like this any day.  Every cast could be the one.

We have not seen Clyde and John yet, they got in this morning and are still fishing so will add their results tomorrow.  We will stay on Crow Lake another day or two, then it will be Lake of the Woods, which is just right down the road, and some other lakes we have not even decided on.  But no matter what we will be having a great time.  Good food, good friends, and good fishing, what more could a guy want.  So keep stopping in, there will be 13 more days of it and I will get something up every day.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

http://muskiebayresort.com/

Update:    Well we had a great day – John and Clyde had a little different day.  They got here while we were fishing so they decided to head over to Lake of the Woods.  The first point they stopped at the trolling motor decided to bite the dust.  So off to a marine service, but when they got there it was closed.  They banged on the door and the owner was in the back and answered the door.  Unfortunately they did not have the needed part as the motor was an older model and it would take at least a week.

There was no other place close to get one so there was no waiting.  The end result was a new trolling motor.  So $800 later it was off to the lake.  They got a little ways down the road when they had a blow out, a total trash job.  So now it was a $150 tire.  The only good thing was that hopefully they got all of that out of the way.  So a grand later they actually fished for a little bit before coming to the cabin.  Oh well – as they say – “Shit happens.”

Keep stopping in – it might get ugly!

Fish Catching Travel

We are here.  After days of preparation, hundreds of bucks, the boat is in the water, it is 10 pm, and we are getting ready to eat.  The drive ended up being 27 hours, tough.  And of course when we got close it was over an hour to get across the border.  Of course that is not surprising as it is Friday evening and the folks who work in the US were heading home, and hundreds, and I do mean hundreds of boats were waiting to cross.  We finally crossed at International Falls and headed to Nestor Falls about 60 miles away.

Muskie Bay Resort is on Crow Lake.  Crow Lake is known for muskie and smallmouth.  and talking to a couple of guys who have been fishing it looks like the fishing is pretty good.  Also the lake trout fishing is on, and that will be a real bonus.  And right down the road, a couple of minutes away, is Lake of the Woods.  65,000 mile of shoreline and 15000 islands will give us all we can want for the next 2 weeks.

We are also planning on exploring other lakes in the area, and will just play it by ear.  The water temp, 62 in the cove and 54 on the main lake, is about 10 degrees colder than last trip 2 years ago.   We went out for about 45 minutes and just fished a small cove right around the corner, and Shoedog caught a nice smallmouth on a jerk bait.  With the water temp like it is it should be the bait of choice, but as usual we will let the fish tell us what to do.

Clyde and John will be here from Arkansas around noon tomorrow, and the serious games will begin.  Of course it gets light at 5:15 and stays that way until 9:30 so there will be all the fishing we could ever want.

The wireless is working great unlike last trip and I promise to post pictures and at least a little story every day.  We are so excited with visions of big fish dancing in our head it will be tough to sleep no matter how tired we are.  So please join us on this adventure, it has all the makings of an epic trip.  Thanks for reading my stuff, I appreciate it.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

The world has rotated back on it’s appropriate axis, it is now in the 90’s, humid, and the wind is down to a dull roar.  All is normal for South Texas as we hit June.

I had a pretty good day last week at POC, and there are more and more reports of good fishing.  The water has warmed dramatically, sharks and rays, I saw a huge ray last week, have returned to the shallows, and the fish are beginning to bite topwaters for some folks.

My buddy Jeffish sent me this picture from a couple of friends of his.  They are committed founder giggers.

Yummmmm!

These guys are dedicated to the sport and one of them had an interesting observation after their last couple of trips which were about a month apart.  After gigging several messes, he reported these averaged a little smaller than normal compared to past years.  I wonder if the cool spring had something to do with that?  Either way the flounder gigging is good for folks who like it.

I really hoped to be fishing right now, but that is not going to happen.  With a 2:30 dog appointment the timing could not be worse.  So with that controlling the day it will be the store, finish the tackle packing, get the following extra’s to add to what the Shoedog already has – charger, extension cord, spare tire, 2 gas tanks, and I am sure some other things.

It takes a lot of preparation to take a trip like this.  Muskie Bay Resort is in the woods, and it is one of those deals where if you don’t take it and have to buy it, or sometimes if you can even find it, it can be a hassle, so we try to be as redundant as we can.  I think I have whittled it down to 9 complete rod and reels, that should be enough, I hope.   So I just got up and here is a picture of the spare stuff, it is not the tackle boxes or open baits, this is just the spare stuff.

I love getting it organized.

Though it is impossible, we try to account for as much as we can.  I always have some foolish thought in my head like – maybe I will take it easy a day, relax, right.  It will be 2 weeks of all day fishing, and it takes work, and lots of tackle to get ready.  Last time I went through over a dozen spinnerbaits – those pike just jack them up.

To go along with that is some food prep so it will be making some red beans and rice and breakfast tortillas.  They both freeze ok, and with each of us taking 3 meals the food thing works out great.  And with plans to fish some other lakes a late supper will be common.

Yesterday Jeffish and I basically totally rewired his boat.  From a fuse panel, ground panel, and the taking out of tons of worthless wires and splices, every thing is wired properly.  We also got the motor timed and the carbs set and it started up and idled like new.  So it won’t be long before he is back in operation.

From here it is off to the store.  I really had hoped to finally meet Faye and husband at POC today, but that ain’t happening.  So good luck Faye, can’t wait to see your pictures, hopefully the fishing will be good for you.  I may try to slip out to Coleto for a couple of hours, the water is way up and it will be interesting to see how the fish have reacted to that.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

t

Fish Catching Travel

There comes a time when you just have to dance with the one you brought to the dance.  For the last couple of months, and it seems longer, I have just had a heck of a time catching fish on the Gulf.  Today I fixed that.    I fixed it by doing exactly what I am good at, and that is using the trolling motor, fishing deeper channels and banks, and tossing that spinnerbait.

Maybe it is my bass fishing past, but I love moving along, working the drops, and trying to pinpoint exactly where the fish are.  One side benefit of fishing that way is that there are always some fish on those type of banks in the POC area.  Today I stayed with the program and they did not let me down.  Or put another way, I did not vary from the plan.

The first of 6 or 7 reds today.

Where did I catch them?  On the deeper channels from Big Bayou to the Oil Cut.  Today I made up my mind I was going to fish a Strike King Redfish Magic and catch a limit of reds, and for most of the afternoon I stayed with the plan.  When I got to POC around  11 the water was not moving, the wind was calm, and it was slow until sometime after 1.   From then until I quit at 5 the fish bit pretty consistently.

I had barely turned the handle when this one jumped it.

As the water slowly moved up the reds moved right to the bank.  It was one of those days you had to throw that Redfish Magic right on the bank, and I mean shallow.  The fish were on isolated oyster, and most of them that hit got it in the first couple of cranks.

 The Redfish Magic also catches the occasional trout and flounder.

This guy made the picture grade so you could see the color of the bait.  And as an aside, most of the trout I catch on it come when I stop it and jig it near the end of the cast as it gets close to the boat.  It will often give you a bonus fish by stopping it and twitching it, and it does not affect the redfishing as most of them hit it near the bank.  And flounder like it also, just be sure with them to reel it easier and use the net.  They often just have a hold of the plastic, like the one that jumped off today when I tried to lift him in the boat.

Another good red falls for the Redfish Magic.

After I caught a limit of reds I did throw plastics and topwater some.  I still have not been able to corner them on the topwater, but the water was noticeably warmer today, and the topwater bite can not be far behind.

I threw plastic some after I put the reds in the boat looking for trout.  Finally a few actually fell for that, though only 1 was a real good one.

A really good trout on a paddle tail.

Like I said in my post the other day the fish will really start to bite, and it looks like it is on.  And today was a perfect example of how to handle those tough periods you might be having.  Go with what you know.  When fishing is tough it is not the time to experiment, it is time to settle down and go what you are good at, what you have confidence in.  The time to experiment or throw the book at them is when they are biting.  Today I stuck with the plan, did what I am good at, and the results were just what I needed.

Random Thoughts

 As you know I think fishing is about sharing information.  We all love to fish, and nobody did it all by themselves.  In fact one of the things that makes me cringe is when I see a big shot guide/writer use the term potlicker.  Remember, I have been there done that with around 20 years of guiding, so I know how it goes.  It can be tough when folks see you fishing and then the next day you get to your spot and there they are, sitting right on it.

But when I see a big shot use that term in their writing it makes me wonder who they think they are, and who they think “owns” the water.  They were not the first person to fish the bay, they did not find that reef first, and they did not learn everything all by themselves.  In fact, they are using the water for monetary gain, water that belongs to all of us, and not them.  A big boat and fancy shirt does not give you the right of way.  They are lucky that we let them use our resource to make money.

So in that vein I was in Academy the other day and a young man was buying lures and he asked me about a couple he had.  So I took the time to show him and explain what he needed and why.  I got this note from him yesterday.

Thanks Justin for your kind comments.  I know you are just getting back in to fishing, keep it up.  I kept you email address and let’s see if we can hook up and go to Coleto some day.  Fishing can be a lifetime hobby, or in my case a lifetime obsession.  Glad you caught some fish.  Folks this is not a contest and if people would respect each other more on the water it would be a better experience for us all.  Share what you have learned and be nice, the shoe may be on the other foot someday.

Spam

 I just want to take a minute to rant about spam.  You would not believe the amount of spam that comes to this website.  I do not wear women’s clothes, or shoes, or carry a purse.  I do not speak Chinese or French,  nor do I care a rats a$$ about some website that will bring billions of fake readers to my site.  I think online degrees are a BS way to get an education, I have a girlfriend (my wife), and I wish you would stuff that Viagra up your you know what!  Just saying.

That is it for today.  I hope to get a few things done today and then it will be back to the water.  Today got my blood going, nothing like fighting a few redfish to remind you what you like about saltwater fishing.  And with the water warm enough for wet wading it will be game on.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines