Fish Catching Travel

                                        Fish  Catching Travel

The last fishing I will do in 2013.  And while it may not have been the most productive as far as keepers go, it was a great time.

I met Todd (alias tmart on the Austin Bass Fishing Forum) and his buddy Orlando at the ramp in Seadrift Monday morning.  They fished the day before on a local river, and while they put lots of trout in the boat, keepers were scarce.  So with high anticipation we headed up the canal to fish BP and a few other places.

It started off slow, but as the day wore on it picked up considerably.  As to how many trout we actually caught, around the 40 number is a  good guess.  But of those 40, only 5 made the grade.

Headed to Austin to be the guest of honor at the fish fry.

We made multiple drifts in the dock area, and though we caught them every time, the better ones eluded us.  We also fished the bank above and below it, with marginal success.  We caught on Gulp, Sea Shad paddle tails, and a green pumpkin assassin type plastic.  No matter what we threw we could not get the quality bites.

The weather sure did not help things.  It was about 25  degrees colder than the day before, and with the wind was blowing steady and cold out of the north the weather was not all that pleasant.  At least it did not rain.  The only thing I think we might have done better was leaving the dock earlier and hitting some of the drains and openings into the barge canal from Mission and a few other places.  But you make you make your decisions and then you live with them.

So not such a great day huh?  In fact it was a great day.  We told stories, laughed, and just generally had a really good time.  I always have a good day fishing with tmart, and adding Orlando to the mix, who I had not fished with before, just added to the day.  I hope to share a boat with Orlando again real soon.  Though we sometimes get caught up in the catching, and we did plenty of that, or the number in the box, it is not all about that.  It is about meeting new folks, sharing time on the water, and just being happy to be out there.  Yesterday was one of those days.

So the 2013 fishing season ended on a fun note.  Thanks Orlando and Todd for a great day.  Now it is time to sit down, which I will do right now, and take a look back at 2013.  We fished lots of cool places, had some really awesome experiences, and even put a few fish in the boat in the process.  It is also time to reflect on how much fishcatchingtravel.com has grown.  Pictures, stories, and videos will tell the story of 2013 and bring back all the memories.

With that project, which will be posted tomorrow, the year will be wrapped up.  I can never express my appreciation for all you folks who have made the website such a success.  You are the ones who drive the website, I just put the words to paper.  And I look forward to an even better year ahead.  New places, new folks, and even a few new fish are on this year’s plan.  So come along and lets just see where it takes us.

For you, your family, and your friends – Happy New Year.  My best wishes go out to all of you.  I can never thank you enough for your friendship.  So keep stopping in and I will keep putting it down.  Who knows, you just might be keeping this old man alive.

THANKS FOR READING MY STUFF

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

We had the pleasure of meeting family and friends at  Mt. Magazine in North Arkansas to celebrate my mothers 80th birthday.  A good time was had by all.   The lodge burned down many years ago and has been rebuilt.  The place is great, the staff fabulous, and the park is so beautiful.

At the top of the highest mountain in Arkansas, it is a beautiful place, and if you ever wanted to spend a great weekend, or do some camping, I could not recommend it any more highly.  The food was great, the scenery awesome, and the only way it would have been better was if we had seen a bear. So here are a couple of pictures and if you want to see more hit the link below.

Sunset from any room in the house.

The picture do not do it justice, beautiful anywhere you look.

The highest concentration of bears in Arkansas.

 Many great overlooks in the park.

My lovely wife enjoying the great weather.

Don’t fall off, it is a long way down.

Sunset day 2 from our balcony.  That lake was driving me nuts.

The park has miles of trails, activities for the whole family, and really cool lodging and camping.  With a restaurant, bar, and facilities for events, it is a full service park in the middle of the mountains.  So if you want to spend some quality time in the Ozarks check out the link below.

http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/

A little Arkansas Hunting.

It was nice to see my buddy Clyde and his wife Maria at the party.  They have been doing a little hunting and sent me these pictures.

 The lovely Maria with a little meat for the freezer.  Nothing like a fish catching, deer chasing, great wife with a job.

Clyde had to leave the party early and drive to East Arkansas, one of the great duck  hunting places in the country.  Looks like it went ok.

To bad we don’t get some of those Mallards in our part of the country.

There you have it for today.  Tomorrow it is back to work.  It will be a little trout fishing with my buddy Todd from Austin.  The weather looks a little sketchy, but that won’t stop us.  So stop in, we are going to fish the barge canal tomorrow, with what looks to be fairly high winds, so I hope to have a good report when I get home.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

I want to wish you and your family a safe and Merry Christmas.  Since my Christmas will be this weekend I was able to slide out for a little fishing.  The original plan was to head to the Gulf, but when I got up it slowly clouded up, and by time I got ready to go it was calm and cloudy.  After that it really wasn’t that much of a decision, time to go throw topwater on Coleto.  Plus, I have been on a lake then Gulf then lake then Gulf kick right now, and since it is working why mess with a good thing.

I love it when I get to the ramp and there is only one truck there.  In fact, other than a couple of guys in kayaks, I never saw another boat.  So I headed to a big cove up lake where I got them the other day and started there.  It was great, 6 in the boat in the first cove, and I missed another 3 or 4.

Nothing like starting with this one.  It was the first of well over 20 today.

The fish started up right where they left off last time.  They were in the coves and on the points.  It was simply a matter of twitching the topwater on top in short jerks, keeping it moving, and watching closely.  Like I have said many times, Polaroids are a must.  While some hit it right on top, today about half of them would hit it right after you jerked it under.  And do not give up on it to early, some of the biggest bass I catch all year come on topwater, many of them well off the bank.  In that clear water they can see it a long way, so keep it coming.  I did catch one today right next to the boat.

Love that Bang-O-Lure.

Today the fish were a little more active due to the perfect set of conditions.  One here, one there, then a run of 4 or 5.  It stayed good until about 3, then it really died off.  There were a couple of interesting things that happened today.  First, I always wondered if alligators in the water would affect the fishing.  Well apparently not.  There was small grass point sticking out in a cove, a prime spot right now, and you could see his nose and eyes as he was buried up in the grass.  It was not that big a point, maybe sticking out about 10 feet, and about 4 feet wide.  I caught one on both sides of him, and he never moved.  Like I said in the last Coleto post, find an alligator and you will find fish, both of them are seeking that little warmer water.

Another thing I find interesting is that there seems to be a lot more Nutria at the lake.  Though they are not real common, I have seen more in the last year than the 3 years before put together.  As I eased down a long bank there was something furry on top of a stump.  When I got close I could see it was a Nutria sitting right on top of that stump.  He let me go right by him and never moved a muscle.  Thinking about it now, maybe there was an alligator in the water just waiting to eat him.  Maybe he had to choose between letting me get close or getting back in the water.  Weird.

On the learning side, they are not in all the coves.  2 of those today had lots of fish in them, and they were aggressive.  A couple of more I fished, including my favorite spawning cove, did not even result in a bite.  The only thing I can figure is that it was starting to get colder later in the day, maybe they were just done.  But one thing for sure, pick the right cove, and you will catch them.  And one other point, they really liked the calm water today.  Not much was happening where it was windy.  And I did not catch a fish on a spinnerbait all day.  And I caught them from right outside the ramp cove to pretty far up lake.

They are slowly getting bigger as we approach real pre-spawn.

I really did think I was going to put a big girl in the boat today, but it did not happen.  I did miss one that might have made the grade, but the rest of them are males.  Like a bunch of guys at the bar 2 hours before lady’s night starts, they are up hoping to get lucky.  The fishing is still a month off, but if we get a real warming stretch it should really get good.  Just remember to look for those sunny days we have coming, then start looking at flat banks out of the wind.   And topwater is not your only choice.  A Bass Assassin weedless and un-weighted would probably put fish in the boat right now as well as the topwater.

Not a bad day all in all.  I quit counting around 15, and caught a bunch more after that.  And it did not get cold until well after 3, and the wind was kind enough to not blow until later.  Until then it was a real steady bite.   Next it will be the Gulf somewhere.  My buddy tmart from Austin is coming down and I hope to meet up with him.  It will be nice to let him put me on some trout.  Looking back at old posts I really caught a lot of big reds in January last year, so it is time to work them over also.  I love this time of year.

I hope you all had a great Christmas, I know I did.  And I want to take a moment to thank my wife, who is seeing patients in the ER.  I appreciate what you do, it is hard to work the holidays, but our Christmas is right around the corner.  I am a lucky man, she is a great wife who puts up with my BS, and still likes me anyway, though I have never been able to figure out why.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

After the complete lack of success on our last trolling trip I just could not let it go.  So with that in mind my buddy Jeff and I headed back to give it another try.  As Jeff is still recovering from his motorcycle wreck and unable to cast, it was as perfect opportunity to see if we could rectify our last trip mistakes.  And since I got the Mako LTS back the other day I wanted to take it out and make sure it was all running fine, which it was.

Once we got on the water we started trolling with paddle tails using the big engine as slow as it would idle.  We trolled about a half hour, had 3 bites, but only put one in the boat.  After last trip it finally dawned on me, we are moving to fast for the water temp.  So we made a change, and boy did it work out.

Now we are talking.

Using the trolling motor we started back over the same bank we had our bites on, and from that point on it was a consistent bite for the rest of the afternoon.

They got bigger after we found them and got the color down.

We kept changing jig heads and colors until we found the perfect combination.  Today it was a 1/8th jig head with a Salt Water Assassin 4″ Sea Shad paddle tail in Chicken on a Chain.  We were running it around 50 feet behind the boat and using the trolling motor on about 50%.  Once we got the speed and color down it was game on.

Just wanted to show you the color.

We used several weights and colors, but clearly they wanted that particular plastic.  Why?  The fish are clearly feeding on mullet, and one thing about that bait is the paddle is wide compared to other plastics, which at slow speed gives it a wider, slower, wobble.  Just like a cold mullet.  With our current water temperature everything is slowed down, the fish’s metabolism and their little pea brain.  Once we got our own slow brain wrapped around that concept we were in luck.

Trolling was the obvious solution to letting Jeff catch a few fish without casting.  As he is recovering he is suffering from being stuck in the house, so it worked out well.  The first time I saw someone troll for speckled trout was at the Cayo Costa anchorage in Florida.  It is a place near Boca Grande that live aboard and cruisers stop and anchor.  The guy hops out of his sailboat into a small inflatable, threw a spoon out behind the boat and went to trolling.  In one pass around the small bay he had supper and was back on deck.

Over the years I have done a little trolling for speckled trout, but I really wanted to give it a more serious go.  It has worked for me in Keller Bay and Big Bayou.  Trolling is a great way to put kids on fish, maybe grandpa who can’t get around like he used to, or people who are just not real fisherman.

Of course plastics are a great bait to troll, along with spoons like the Little Cleo, and rattle traps.  You can use the big engine or the trolling motor, but speed is the key.  Of course faster when it is warm, slower when it is cold.  If you are not getting bites slow it down, and once you find the right speed you are in business.  And when you let line out find a way to replicate the distance each time.  Start about 50 feet back and then work from there, making sure to repeat the distance when you start catching them.  Once you figure the whole thing out it can be a very effective way to fish.

It is particularly effective in rivers and deeper bays.  If I was guessing, trolling would probably work like a charm right now in the barge canal as the fish are concentrated there with the colder temps we have had this winter.  And I know all you hot shots, it is not the most glamorous way to fish, but it can be very effective and is just another bullet in your gun to catch fish.

In the 4 hours we fished we put around 40 in the boat, and though only 5 or so were keepers, once we got it down, we started catching the bigger fish.  It was one of those days if we had started at daylight instead of noon we could have narrowed the better fish down.  But that was not the purpose of the exercise, it was to first figure out why we did not get them the other day.  Now that we have that down I will give it another shot, probably in the barge canal.

On a seperate note I got a text from my fishing buddy Chris saying to check the January Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, we are the centerfold.  Not sure what the heck he meant, I got a copy and there he was, page 23, in the Billy Sandifer article on the Sharkathon we fished in October.  There was his picture with the sailfish we captured, and it looked great, so if you get a chance pick up a copy.  It was a once in a lifetime happening, and one I will never forget.  Then of all things, his lovely wife called and asked about a potential anniversary present, and also said she was getting the article and picture  framed, which I thought was nice.  She sent me a picture of how it turned out, and I know he will like it.

 A great way to remember a once in a lifetime event.

Tomorrow is Christmas, and the Captain of Team Nancy will be curing the sick in ER, and I will be on the water somewhere.  She has worked Christmas day the last few years and I have fished.  Talk about having it to yourself.  So with no fishing pressure, and wide open choices, I will spend today trying to make up my mind on just what I am going to do tomorrow.  It is a tough life when the biggest thing I am worried about is where I am going fishing.  So keep stopping in and there will be new report in the next day or two.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Today I have been adding a couple of pages to the site.  It is the first of the revisions that will come to make fishcatchingtravel.com more reader friendly.  I created a Video page, accessible below the banner at the  top of the site, and put most of the videos I have made in the last couple of years.  So if you are a new reader check them out.  I am no Francis Ford Coppolla, but I enjoy making them and plan on making more in the future.

Today the LTS returned to the house with a new coil.  Funny how I still fish out of the Skiff most of the time, but not having the LTS was causing me some anxiety.  With it back in the garage I can now fish some of those places on the Gulf I have not been able to access with the Skiff.  A great excuse to make a long run.

Hope where you are the weather is not to bad.  It looks like storms are sweeping across the  country and we may even get a taste of it here.  Shoedog just sent me a text that they are having some sketchy weather in College Station and the temperature is dropping fast.  And the boss of Team Nancy is in Iowa today and their weather is going to collapse fast with a foot of snow expected.  I can sure say I do not miss that.

So thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

With great intentions of heading to the Gulf to fish that creek I have been wanting to fish, it did not work out that way.  The wind was forecast for 20 mph plus, and it blew every bit of that.  And with it coming out of the south it would be blowing right in the creek so I headed to Coleto.

Last trip to Coleto turned out pretty well with the fish hitting topwater, and today with no different except with one exception.  First off it was a big main lake cove that was out of the wind, at least as much as possible.  It was just daylight when I started and the fish were up.

As it has been the last 3 years in early spring, it was a topwater minnow twitched right on top.  In the first hour I put 6 in the boat, with 2 being keepers.  I slid into the next cove and put 2 more small ones in the boat.  It is real apparent we have been warm, the males are in the coves trying to hurry the spawn along, but with the little front coming this weekend it should knock it back to where it is supposed to be.

After the couple of main lake coves I headed up lake hitting any point with no wind on it, but there were not that many.  Though I caught one here and there it was not what I was looking for, so I kept going up.  I stopped in a big cove way up lake, and on the point going in I missed the first real big one that has made a pass at the topwater the last couple of weeks, encouraging.  About halfway back they started biting.

No whopper, but before I quit 5 or 6 this size came in the boat on the Bagley Bang-O-Lure.

The fish are definitely getting ready to get after it.  The points going in some of the coves have fish, and I caught them from the points going in the coves to a couple of small ones all the way in the back.  While you can catch them in a little wind, the really calm places if you could find some, were clearly better.  I think it had to do with 2 things, one the water was warmer there,  and that put the bait fish there.  One cove had shad dimpling, and I probably got 10 bites in there.

When I worked out of that cove the point had wind pounding on it, and deep water right off the edge.  So though I have not caught to many on spinnerbait in the last couple of weeks I picked it up, and caught 3 in nothing flat buzzing it right below the surface, and they were whacking it.  I missed a couple of more there, and due to a small fubar, no others came in the boat off that point.

A nice fish, mainly because they are starting to really bite.  The spring bite is right around the corner. and buzzing that Strike King Pro Model spinnerbait will really come into it’s own.

I really think I could have put several more in the boat there but I wanted to take a picture of this one.  So I laid the rod on the deck, and of course with the wind pounding on the point I left the trolling motor on.  So as you might guess the spinnerbait was hanging in the water and got wrapped up the in the trolling motor prop.  Good thing I noticed it or it might have been 2 rods in the lake in 2 trips.  After that I left that point and moved further up lake trying different places.

Fishing never did get any better after about 10, and seemed to really slow down around noon.  Other than a couple of little ones on long banks, all the good bites came around the points leading into coves.  Right where they are supposed to be.  They are staging for the spawn big time.  While one big fish did take a pass at it today, the topwater is still taking males looking for a date.  But that is why I throw it.  It won’t be long when the day will come that the big girls will show up, and it will be game on.

And don’t forget if you have to fight the wind, get out a spinnerbait and fish the windy points.  By alternating with the topwater where it is  calm and the spinnerbait in the wind you  can maximize your fishing time in the spring.  And do not forget your polaroid sunglasses, they are a must for fishing the topwater as many of them take it  below the surface.  Additionally, you will see some roll on it, it helps to let you know what they are interested in, and how they want it.

Best I can remember around 17 came over the side before I quit around 2.  Not a bad day of fishing considering a 25 mph wind which started to blow even harder around noon.  By time I put it on the trailer there were only 2 other trucks at the ramp.  I love winter fishing, folks are still hunting, the weather is usually less than desirable, but when you find them, fresh or salt, you can whack them.  Of course the opposite happens too, when it sucks, it really sucks.

Random Thoughts

A sure sign that spring is in the air is gators soaking up the heat on mud banks.  While you will see them year round on Coleto, they seem to take a little siesta when it is really cold, and then reappear when it warms up.  I love those things.

Your Coleto tip for the day.  Remember where you see them this time of year is the warmest place they can find, and it usually is the same for the fish.

 The next best thing to a dinosaur.

Finally it has been tough without the flats boat this last month.  It quit working and has been at the marine shop, it is finally fixed.  Bob told me that some of the Opti’s had an occasional problem with coils, and that turned out to be it.  So the part came in and I can pick it up in the morning.  This time of year with some of the winds we have the Skiff just does not let me make those long runs on the bay that are necessary to get at some of the trout hot spots.  So with the LTS back I am sure I will be hitting some of those places I have not hit yet this winter.

Right around the corner the website will hit a mark that in my wildest dreams I never thought I would see, 100,000 visits.  It seems surreal that it will happen tomorrow.  I can not thank you all enough, and just today I got another kind note from a reader.  It is humbling and keeps me working to keep it fresh.  With the help of my friend Jeff there are changes coming in the future that hopefully will make this an even better place.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

No matter how often you fish, or how good or bad you are at it, sooner or later it will happen, you won’t do worth a crap.  Usually the fish are not the only ones to blame, and today several things combined to make it a less than successful trip.

My good friend was injured in a motorcycle accident several weeks ago and has been mostly housebound since.  He has been dying to get out on the water.  So I came up with the perfect plan, go to the Lavaca River and troll for trout.  All he would have to do is sit there and crank them in.  And it is something I actually wanted to spend a little time doing.  Great plan huh?  Not so much.

You would think after my last couple of posts if anyone would know that was a terrible idea it would be me.  With fish coming from deep water, using baits slow, you might figure I would know trolling would not be the tactic of choice.  So with head up you know where it was off to the river.

We trolled down the river, up the river, up the Navidad, and everywhere in between.  It became pretty apparent this was a bad idea.  Though at times there were fish covering the locator, not a bite.  Jigs, spoons, and crankbaits all got a chance.  Finally it dawned on me, I stuck my hand in the river, and immediately knew it was a bad idea, it was way to cold.

So we decided to throw plastics, and though I caught one and missed 3 in the first place, he just could not fish.  Recovering from a couple of compressed  vertebrae in his back, along with a fractured collar-bone and orbit, it was just to much pressure holding the rod out.  He watched me as I hit a couple of more places, where I managed to miss one, and with that total lack of success we called it a day.  The trolling thing will work in the river, but it needs to be done before the water gets down below 60 degrees.  So I will not give up on it, it is something that needs to be done in November before the big fronts hit us and cool that water off.  But that is not the complete story for the day.

Right before we quit I did something I have not done in probably 10 years, I tossed a rod and reel in the river.  It was crazy.  I made a cast, got a backlash, and propelled the rod and reel into the river like a shot.  It did not sink, it went in like an arrow and was gone in a second.  Oh well, I was due.  So at that point with him being uncomfortable it was time to call it a short trip and head back to his Dad’s house.

I was going to treat his family to a fish fry, good thing I already had the fish or that would have been out the window.  I fried hushpuppies and fish for everyone in his family, including his 94 year old grandfather.  That old man ate fish like there was no tomorrow, he loves his fish.  The day was not a total loss by any means, good friends and good food makes up for a lot.

Arkansas Fish

I did want to show you this picture my friend Clyde sent me from Arkansas.  Highland lakes like Bull Shoals and Norfork have great crappie fishing in the winter, and every once in a while you get a bonus fish.  He was fishing 6lb. line and a Road Runner crappie jig when he got a big bite.

A nice Arkansas Hybrid.

The addition of the hybrid and regular striper worked out great on those highland lakes.  They occupied space not used by other fish, and provided a year round fishing opportunity.  At the time of stocking there were voices claiming they would eat all the bass, ruin fishing, etc, etc.  Of course that has not proven to be true.  Not only is it not true, they are great fish to catch.  Over the years we caught lots of them up to 30lbs. on topwater, downriggers, and live bait.  They proved to be a great thing for the guides, and I was happy to fish for them with customers.  If you have ever guided you know the pressure that comes with that, fish in the boat is the only  acceptable result, no matter what.  The old we had a great day thing is really B.S., people hire you to catch fish.  The stripers provided a fairly reliable big fish.  If you had 2 fishermen with you for the day, and you got them on a couple of big fish, everyone was happy.

It was a beautiful day and we still had fun.  This weather sure beats what we have had the last couple of weeks.  Tomorrow is a new day and I will definitely be on the water.  Tomorrow it looks like it will be almost 80 and it will be off to the water somewhere.  So thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

It had been awhile since I duck hunted, so when my friend Chris called and asked if I wanted to do a Cast and Blast it was a no brainer.  So we launched at the dock in Seadrift and headed for Mission Bay.

It did not take long to get the decoys out, and by time shooting time came we were ready.  About 5 minutes after legal time a nice group of redheads came in hot, but did not set their wings.  Whether they were spooked, or just looking, they bombed by but we did get a couple of shots off.  2 bit the dust, so not a bad start.

To bad the rest of the morning was not as successful.  Over the next couple of hours they came in, mostly singles and doubles, with very few actually setting their wings.  Chris did whack a Gadwall, and unfortunately my shooting, as it usually does, left something to be desired.

Chris and our few ducks as we head for some trout fishing.

While our morning shoot is probably not a real success by big time duck hunter standards, it was great by me.  With an absolutely dead calm wind, and mile high sky, it was far from a classic duck day.  But all in all we saw more ducks than I thought we might, we did some shooting , and the breasts are in the fridge marinating for tomorrow’s supper.  What is not to like about that.

I want to say a little something before I get to the fishing.  Those of you who read my stuff know I often post on online fishing boards so folks can get a fresh fishing report.  Well the report for today is just for those of you who read me regularly.  So enjoy.

We left Mission Bay and headed up the Victoria Barge Canal to the BP Dock.  It is quite a ways up the canal, but being in Mission cut the drive quite a bit.  If you read the fishing information post the other day you know I told you about a big catch some other guys made, and the important point was those trout came from 12 foot plus of water.  And it was not from the BP dock.  With the really cold weather the trout are seeking warmer water, a place they can drop off and stay warm.  Well, the Victoria Barge Canal is such a place.  There are lots of rivers, inter-coastals, canals, and harbors on our coast.  When we get weather like this – they are the place to be.  So get out your map and go to looking.

When we got to the dock there was about 6 boats in there, and we saw them catch one here and there, so we just started drifting.  It took about a half hour to get them going, the fish were right on the bottom in 12 foot plus water.  For about an hour they were smaller, and we were only catching about 1 keeper for every 10 trout.  After a few changes in our presentation things picked up.  Then about 2 pm our presentation, combined with the better fish bite, put some nice trout in the boat.

Chris with a nice one.

There are a couple of important points about the fish we caught.  One, we switched to an 1/8 ounce jig head, which fell a lot slower.  Two, we did not work it as aggressively as usual.  And three, they wanted it on the bottom.  With the water temp there about 48 degrees, it was important to think like a trout, a cold hungry trout.  When we slowed down, and made sure to bounce it off the bottom, they really began to eat it.

For me it was a dark body, chartreuse paddle tail, for most of the fish.  But my bigger ones came on a paddle tail in Electric Chicken, my favorite color.  Chris meanwhile dug out a slug looking bait, a small straight tail, in a red flake, that almost looked like it was a copper color.  Once he got on that color with the smaller jig head he put it on me for a while.   Additionally, he did put a couple of the bigger fish in the boat on a Corky fished super slow on the bottom.  Finally with a long ride back to the ramp, we called it quits about 3.

A nice bunch of trout.

Some of the 15 we kept were pretty good trout.

When we got back to the ramp and were cleaning fish a guy came over and asked if I was Doug, of course guilty as charged.  It turned out to be Matt, a friend of Todd my fishing buddy from Austin.  Todd has spoken highly of him and that we needed to meet, and of course where else but a cleaning table.  We also met his dad who was fishing with him, and they had a nice mess of trout. I am looking forward to fishing with him in the future.   In fact, since he also bass fishes in the Austin area I wanted to let him know here, I would love to fish a lake up there with you some time.   Nothing like inviting myself.

Today was a success, but how could it not be with some duck hunting and trout fishing.  Winter is my favorite time to fish both fresh and salt.  Once you get on the fish, you can easily duplicate that pattern in many places.  The rest of the week will be a day trolling for trout in the river, and then either Baffin or drifting one of our local bays.  Like I said before, find the soft bottom with scattered shell, and you will find the trout.  And you might be surprised how shallow they are.  Not every trout on the coast goes deep, they seek warm water wherever they can find it.

It looks like my website will top 100,000 visits for the year this month.  I can not thank you enough.  I can not tell you how much I appreciate you reading my reports, rants, and often times, senseless ramblings.   It keeps me writing this stuff even when I am up at 3 am, home at 6 pm, just wanting to sit on my butt and chill.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Every once in a while your mind starts working and things come together.  Amazingly it was on Friday the 13th.  Initially I was headed to the Gulf to fish a small creek I have been wanting to try, and I will get there next week, but the Boss was not feeling well so I stayed around until she went to work.  By then the forecast was for rain with possible thunder storms so I decided to wuss out and head to Coleto in case it got ugly.

If you read my stuff you know that my last trip to the lake was in the middle of our last big cold front and I did not do so well, as in not a stinking bite.  Today it looked like it might be a repeat.  I headed up lake and from about 10:45 until 1:30 I had one bite on topwater, and nothing on crankbait, jig, and spinnerbait.  I was starting to get a little worried when I had a moment of insight, and down lake I went.

That moment of insight was the fact that the water up lake has cooled a ton, so the logical thing to do was head back down and start fishing below the hot water discharge.  Now that was a good idea.

Now we are getting somewhere.

Looking back on old posts helped me make the right choice.  On Coleto as we enter the early, and I mean early, pre-spawn they get on topwater.  For me it has been the Bagley Bang-O-Lure and the Rapala balsa minnows.  Now I have nothing against the hard topwater minnows, they work, but there  is something about the subtle flash and wiggle of a balsa bait that tiggers them.

Normally I work it in twitches, then pull it under which makes them roll on it and eat it.  Today was not that day.  It took me a couple of fish to finally figure out that is not they way they wanted it.  They wanted it right on top, twitched right along with no stops.  As soon as I started using it that way the bite was on.

The bite was on.

The fish are definitely on the points and insides of the big coves.  In fact I caught this one in the very back end of big cove.

Topwater time.

It was one of those days when you caught one, you would catch another, often on back to back casts.  They were obviously all male, and other than one a little bigger than these that pulled off, they were mostly the same size.  Fishing those deeper points down lake, where there is deep clear water, led to some really cool bites as they came up and sucked it under.

The last one before I quit.

I ended up catching around 15 before I quit at 4:30, and they were still biting.  There are several points to take away from today.  First, we are not that far from the fish beginning to move shallow, and today was proof of that.  Second, they are feeding on shad, and if there were some dimpling I usually got a bite.  Third, they are staged on the points of some of the spawning coves just waiting to get after it.  Last, while I was using that bait erratically on top, I was moving it slow, if that makes sense.  The whole day hinged on making that first good decision by seeking out stable clear water, and then by recognizing how they wanted the bait presented.  So even though no real big fish came over the side, for me it was the joy of knowing how close we are.  The great lake fishing is just right around the corner.

Random Thoughts

I know most of you are southern boys, but if you like big fish check out a couple of muskies that may have broken the world record 2 days apart.  Catching a big muskie is right up there in my memory as one of my coolest fishing moments.  Seeing these big fish just gets me all excited about my return trip to Lake of the Woods in Canada this year.  So check it out.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/

Capt. Perry Rankin, who also works at the Tackle Box the only real fishing store in Victoria, guides on the coast.  He guides both wade fishermen and Kayakers.  I wanted to let all of you Kayakers in the area know that if you want him to transport you to some great fishing off the beaten path, he is the man for the job.  So put it in your memory bank.

So there you have it for today.  Next it is duck hunting Monday with some Barge Canal fishing.  Tuesday or Wednesday it is off to try some trolling on the Lavaca River.  I have caught trout trolling before, and with my friend Jeff laid up following a motorcycle crash, it is the perfect way to catch a few without having to cast.  Then one of those days I will be headed to that creek that has been on my list for a while.  And last, it will be a 2 day trip to Baffin when the wife is out of town.  It is shaping up to be a great week.  So join me and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

Hello all.  It looks like I will not be hitting the water until Friday, but I do have some fishing news that may help you if you are planning on hitting the Gulf anytime soon.

One of the nice things about writing a blog, and knowing lots of fishermen, is that I get some inside information.  As you know my general policy is to tell you exactly where I am catching them.  But when others tell me it is not that simple.  So while I can not tell you exactly where, I want folks to keep telling me about their trips, at least I can relay some information that may help you with your search.

It comes down to 2 places right now, deep, and a big back lakes.  One of the reports I got this week was of over a 100 trout and reds in one place, and they all came from 12 feet deep.  They were caught on plastics and gulp.  With this ongoing second front you can expect those fish to remain right where they are, protected.  The other day I was telling you about the guys out east who catch the big trout in the inter-coastal, so if you get out, think deep.  Think about places that drain big bays and open water that have the type of deep water access that would allow those fish to drop into that protected and stable water.  And when you try those type of areas, fish slow.  Getting baits down to that depth is not our usual method on the coast, but if you find them it will be awesome.

The other area holding fish right now is back lakes and bays.  Some of them are stacked with trout and reds.  So what are you looking for?  Soft bottom and scattered shell.  There are lots of places like that on the coast and now is the perfect time to drift those areas.  It allows you to cover lots of water, without making lots of noise, and it is nice to not have to wade those soft bottom places.  If you have not tried the drift sock, now is the time to add that to your arsenal.  Even if the wind is blowing hard, it will allow you to slow down your drift and turn what would be a rough day into a successful day.  Just set up your drifts to cover the area systematically, and once you find them it will be game on.

If you are headed to the coast get out your map and look it over real good, it should not be that hard to find places like I talked about above.  It is on my list later this week and I will get the report to you as soon as I can.  So it is off to finish the Christmas shopping, and a little R & R in Austin.  As soon as that little chore is over it will be back to the fishing.    And if you have any reports, or want to share a comment or suggestion, please let me know.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines