Fish Catching Travel

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

Fish Catching Travel

Every once in while we just get lucky.  And by luck I don’t mean that we are lucky to catch a fish, but that when it all comes together it turns out to be one of those fish.  And the picture Clyde just sent me of the smallmouth he caught today in the Ozarks is one of those fish.

What more needs to be said about this one?  This is a hoss!

This is one of those fish that just makes it all worth it, and Clyde said it fought like the devil. It came on a firecracker grub on light line, one of the great smallmouth techniques in Arkansas.  It came of a main lake point at the mouth of a creek on Bull Shoals Lake, a  classic place for smallies now that the spawn is over.

As those of you who read my stuff know we were there a month ago, and this is the reason we go.  I can not emphasize enough – if you love to fish and have never fished the Twin Lakes area in north Arkansas you are missing a great experience.  The mountains are great, the water clear, and the fishing is fine.  What more could any fisherman want.  If you ever think of going drop me a line, I will hook you up with information and contacts best I can.

The Shoedog and I are meeting Clyde and our buddy John Bauer in Ontario at Muskie Bay Resort next Saturday, and we are all getting excited.  Clyde has his boat worked up for the 2 week trip, the Shoedog hopes to get his back from the shop tomorrow.  I am piling up stuff and will be ready, probably 2 days before it is time to go.

Thanks Clyde for sharing that good fish with us.  We all love to see nice fish, so if any of you catch a good one and want to share the picture or the story, drop me a comment with your email address and I will get back with you.  I am off to the Gulf and hope to have a report later today.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

There is lots to talk about today, but lets start with a trip to POC yesterday.  Chris had contacted me last week wanting to know if I would want to go to POC Tuesday, which I said sure.  Then we had our big rain, and I mean on our side of town it was big.  In fact according to the local totals our house was in the 5 to 10 inch range, and when it  rained about as hard as I have ever seen for 2 hours I knew we got at least that.  And thanks for checking Faye, nothing flooded here, but since we were almost 8 inches down it is a God send.

This was taken after it stopped.  It is the first time water topped our ditch and ran in the road.

So when he said he was still wanting to go Tuesday I texted him back asking if he had seen the weather report.  What he was looking at was not what I was seeing but I decided to go so we met at his place at 7 Tuesday morning.

We had to pick up his boat after major repairs in POC.  It had been at the shop for 2 months so I am sure he was more than happy to have it back.  So off we went with warm temps and cloudy skies.  The wind was barely blowing as we passed the J Hook and headed into Fish Pond to cut through to Mule Slough.  As soon as we got into the Slough the wind changed direction, got cold, and it started raining.  So back to Froggie’s in the rain we go to wait it out.

After around a half hour we decided to stay a little closer as the wind had picked up and rain was still lightly falling.  The Lagoon was his choice so we headed to Army Cut, followed the stakes in and did a little drifting.  Shortly after I lost a real nice redfish on a paddle tail.  It helps to set the hook.  We moved farther in to the small islands and openings into the bay and drifted across The Lagoon.

Chris managed to land this fish stick.

The wind was really howling in the bay as we made multiple drifts.  Before it was over we caught one more trout and I caught this red.

The only fish I managed to put in the boat this afternoon.

All I can say is we were lucky The Lagoon faced the way it did.  The water, unlike most of the POC area, was fairly clear.  Now there were not lots of fish in there, but at least we were able to fish while the wind was howling.  One thing about The Lagoon, you better have a boat that runs shallow, and I mean real shallow.  Even with the tide in there was barely a foot of water in most of it.  While we had a few other hits, we only put 3 in the boat.  Want to know how rough the bay was, take a look at this.

Nice to have the barrier island protecting the Lagoon or it would have been fishing in chocolate milk.

Around 3 we decided to make a run and check out the Mitchell’s Cut and the  Big Bayou area in case there might be some clear water to fish.  As we ran back down the Barge Canal I was telling Chris since it was the day after the holiday weekend obviously there would be no wardens, cops or other authorities out after they all put in a long weekend.  So what a good day to break the law.  Not 3o seconds later…….

Point your boat east and prepare to be boarded.  Good thing we had already dropped off the illegals, drugs, and guns we were running.

The minute they saw us they turned on the lights and we were boarded.  We laughed and so did the guys when I told them what I just said.  You know the old saying God will get you for that?  Well this is the perfect example.  They did the requisite safety and equipment checks, and Chris got a compliance check ticket which he can use for a year if he gets stopped again.

Love it when you get a ticket that does not cost you anything.

The only area that we were not technically in compliance was the throwable device.  The basic rule is it must be readily accessible, in other words not in a compartment.  So just keep that in mind, it must be where you can throw it.  And a side note, I know that if you get checked and your life jackets are covered up, hard to get to, or just not in an easily accessible place you may also get a ticket.  So while Chris’s was in a compartment on top of stuff and easy to get to, technically it was not in a position to throw.

I would like to compliment the guys who checked us this time.  I have been boarded in POC, Florida, and Louisiana, and the guys are usually nice guys.  These guys, unlike my last boarding a few years ago at POC, were nice, professional, and the whole thing went the way you hope it would go for everyone.  Last time I was boarded in POC the guy was flat out nothing but a jerk, plain and simple.  And to make matters worse he flat out lied to me.  I kept my mouth shut that day, but as an attorney I checked the law and this guy was nothing but a stinkin’ liar.  Like yesterday when we treat “our” law enforcement with respect we have a legitimate expectation of being treated the same.  These guys restored my faith in the Coast Guard after that lying jerk a few years ago.  So thanks guys and keep up the good work, you are saving lives with every check.

After that we made a pass in the Big Bayou area and Barroom but it was just to windy and we did not have the heart to fish in the chocolate milk.  We called it day, and though we only fished a few hours Chris was happy to have the boat back, and we did manage a couple of fish.  I know I have been whining this spring, but this is exactly the way my luck has run with the weather and POC.  The water temp was only in the mid 70’s, really low for this time of year.  But I can promise you as soon as it settles down, and it will, the trout fishing is going to explode.

Random Thoughts

I love to hear from readers and try to get back to as many as I can.  First to Ken and Cindy, how your email from a month ago ended up in my trash file I do not know.  For those of you who know them they are serial beach clean up folks and the Gulf needs more folks like them.  So my apologies.

Jeremy, I have not forgotten your kind offer.  As soon as I post this I am going to get the fly rod out and start practicing again.  I will get ahold of you sometime this month when the wind finally starts acting more normal and I get back from Canada.

 I would like to thank Jeffery for his kind words after I was whining like a baby about my troubles with braid.  He suggested I check out Shaw Grigsby’s video on a style of uni-knot for braid.  Well I watched that, and about 4 or 5 others by Shaw on other types of knots.  We all get stuck in “our” ways of doing things and it is nice when someone points us the way to something that helps.  So thanks Jeff, and if you all want to watch a couple of informative videos just search Grigsby and knots, it is worth the watching.

Vivien from Houston dropped me a note telling me she reads my stuff.  Thanks for your kind words, it means a lot to me to know that you folks are out there.  It makes it a lot easier to sit down and write when I know you all are listening.

And last, Jeremiah, when you guys come later this summer for your kayak trip let me know.  If there is someway I can maybe point the way I will be glad to help.  A kayak is still on my to do list, but like lots of other cool outdoor things I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head.

Canada is looming and we are headed north in about a week.  I will get in a few more days of fishing, hopefully on the Gulf, before we hit the road.  Till then there is planning and packing to do.  Last time we were there the wireless at the camp was down and I did not get to post from there.  According to what I hear things are all good, I hope so, because I will post regularly, and that would include daily fish pictures.  Since I download every time I get in I hope to let you all fish along with us.

That is it for today.  Tomorrow, depending on the weather, it will back to fishing.  I can not thank you enough for reading my stuff.  And I love your comments and suggestions so keep them coming. And anytime any of you want to take a shot at writing something about fishing please let me know.    I would love to share that with my readers, we can all learn something new.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Jack Mellinger

When I married my lovely wife Nancy over 25 years ago I was lucky enough to get a great father-in-law to go along with it.  Jack Mellinger turns 90 years old today and I wanted to take this time to thank him for being a good guy.

Jack and his lovely wife Joy.

But most of all I want to thank both him and Joy for raising such a great daughter.  Sorry I could not be there with the rest of you and the family in Iowa today.  Don’t party to hearty Old Timer.  Happy Birthday Jack, may you have many more.

Mia

And I got this today from my daughter Carrie.  Here is the joy of my life, my granddaughter Mia.  She has her Oklahoma City Thunder Cheerleader uniform on and she looks so cute.

We love you Mia.  And yes I really did get a JD.

They are on the University of Arkansas campus today and found my name which is carved into the sidewalk.  Everyone who graduates from U of A gets there name in the sidewalk.  And just like I got my name in the walk when I graduated from law school, and my daughter Carrie did when she graduated, there will come a day when Mia has her name inscribed on the walk.  Go Hogs!

The Old Days

While looking for a good picture of Jack I did find this one.  It was taken about 35 years ago at the dock at Panther Bay where I lived, worked, and guided.  I may have needed a haircut and a shave, but I sure did not need another striper on that stringer.

Now that is what I am talking about.

Those nights were some of the best fishing of my life.  Big stripers smashing topwater baits, it just does not get much better than that.

This was all off topic, but I am leaving the fishing to everyone else this holiday weekend.  Hope you have all caught a few fish and had a good time doing whatever it is you did this weekend.  Tuesday it will be off to chase some Reds in the back lakes so keep stopping in.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines