Fish Catching Travel

Fish Catching Travel

Since it went so well in POC on Friday, I decided to give Keller Bay a try.  I had not been there is quite some time, and with a forecast of light winds, it seemed the thing to do.  It turned out to be the wrong choice.  And by the wrong choice, I mean I just didn’t catch them like I wanted to.  But no big deal.  Trying different places  keeps it interesting, and you never know.

I started on the east bank, about halfway down.  There are lots of grass beds there, and it has a nice flat, leading to a drop into 5 feet.  Usually there are a few trout there no matter what the season.  I started with the bone Spook Jr, and of course caught a couple of reds right off the bat.  While fun, they were not the size I was looking for.

I alternated between a Caffine Shad paddle tail, the Spook Jr, and the Redfish Magic.  None of them worked any better than the other.  I fished that bank quite as ways down, and got a bite or two here and there.

Wanted to show you the Caffine Shad.  Normally a bass plastic, I have been catching a few on it every time out.  Still not sure I have the color down yet.

I fished there for almost 2 hours, and ended up with 4 trout and 4 reds.  I missed several on top, and a couple more on plastics, but it just wasn’t a consistent bite.  So off to one of my favorite banks for reds, the bank at the mouth of Keller.  Even though the wind was barely blowing, that bank was real off colored.

I spinner baited it without so much as a bite.  So then off to the bar at the mouth of Cox Bay.  I fished it, and then down the bank, without so much as a fish, not counting Lady Fish and catfish.  So it was time to head back into Keller, and fish the area in the back bay near all the docks.  I spinner baited that without a bite.  So at this point I decided to fish the area by the stakes and the pole out in front of the private ramp.

I drifted that whole area, throwing plastics and popping cork.  The catfish would not stay off the popping cork, so I put it down.  I kept alternating plastics without success.   This is another area that usually has a trout or two, though not always the right size.  Even that did not produce.  At this point it is 1:00, about a 100 degrees, and either the fish are not biting, or I am doing it all wrong.  But either way, I called it a day.

So the sum total was the 8 I caught on the first bank, and not another good fish the rest of the morning.  I did not fish some of my other favorite areas, not sure whether that was a mistake or not, but as I said Friday, fishing is about choices.  I obviously made a couple of bad ones today.  But deciding to quit was not one of them.

So believe I will give it a rest tomorrow, then hit it hard a couple of days.  Maybe I can have a better report for you for the weekend.   I intend to stay off the water this weekend.  No need to add to the confusion.

Random Thoughts

I am finally going to do a little work on the site.  I actually liked it better the way I did it before.  It is simply a matter of sitting down and re-organizing things.  So if you come one day and and it has changed, hopefully it will be for the better.

When you have the fishing disease like most of us do, it is all about the fishing.  And by that I mean it is in the doing.  When fishing sucks, I like it.  When fishing is great, I love it.  But either way, I still get excited, and wake up way before I should, just for the chance to catch another fish.

 I want to say thank you for reading my stuff.  I appreciate it.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

If you read me yesterday you know that I heard the fishing report on TV and it said the redfish are good.  And my response was hopefully they will be jumping in the  boat.  Well guess what, they were.

I intended to stop and fish Big Bayou on my way to other places, but the fish put a stop to that.  The tide was high, winds calm, and there was bait in any drain.  So out came the Zara Spook Jr. in bone with a feather tail, and it was game on.  Over the next 6 hours it stayed really consistent.  Every so often a nice red would blow up on it.  There is nothing like being in a fishing funk, ie: Coleto, and remedying that with a bunch of redfish.

That was the best of the bunch.

Where is this guy when you are fishing a tournament?  He just made 27 3/4″ and was heavy.  I ended up catching 11 reds and 6 trout.  Of those 2 were caught on plastics, 3 on Waker, and 6 on top.  I kept my limit of reds and one good trout who just wouldn’t have made it after the hook removal surgery.  It was just one of those mornings when it all went right.  With the tide high and in the grass, combined with cloudy conditions most of the day, it made it one of those days when it went like it is supposed to.

All of the fish came from shallow water, and I mean in some places I could not reach the bank.  And grass, either standing, or submerged, seemed to have some fish on it.  I just used a steady walk the dog with the Spook, and medium with the Waker.  The trout were just a bonus.

And let me tell you a couple of observations from my limited experience on the coast.  First, if you like to catch redfish, now is the time to throw the Waker.  The Waker is a big crankbait that only runs right on the surface and is a very visual bait to use.  Buy  a gold one, reel at a medium retrieve out of the grass, and hang on.  The last couple of years I have been throwing it, August, September, and October have been the best.  I think because it is a fat bait, and leaves a big wake, it imitates the wake of a mullet.  The fish are definitely around the mullet right now, it is time.  Just use the trolling motor and stay off the grass as far as you can reach.  It is a real addictive way to fish, and when a big one slurps it off the top with barely a ripple, and then rips off a bunch of line, what is there not to like.  And of course there is the opposite, they absolutely blow up on it.  Even I do not miss those!

The second thing is that the reds seem to be bunching up.  Now feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but the mature ones are getting ready to hit the open Gulf this fall.  There is no better time to catch some really goods reds.  As most of you know, I spend quite a bit of time chasing them, and rightly so.  Nothing like a big fish, with big heart, that will whack a topwater.  A fish after my own heart.

So there you have it.  Like I said yesterday, you have to have a plan.  Yesterday it all went wrong, today I went with what was working, and it stayed that way.  I changed my plan to fit the conditions.  Fishing is a guessing game,  and there are no right answers.  It is simply a matter of going.  So, go.

I do want to take the time to say that I meet a couple of my readers at the dock cleaning fish.  I do want to apologies as I did not get you names.  My bad.  So when you see me next time, say high.  We are a faternity of brothers and sisters with a terminal habit.  Next time you get a chance share some knowledge, say hi to someone at the dock, and take someone fishing, do it.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Fish Catching Travel

Well the best plans of mice and men are often that, simply a plan.  That sums up my today, I planned to catch some fish.  After I managed a few the other morning, I was up bright and early and throwing the Rage Shad.  But so goes the plan.

For the first couple of hours I religiously threw it in both light and dark colors, and the ones that hit it seemed to be blind in one eye and not able to see out of the other.  I had over 10 hits this morning on the Rage Shad, and only 2 made it to the boat.  Now I can’t lay all the blame on the fish, I obviously missed a couple I should have caught.  But it can be like that when throwing that type of bait.

So next I had this other great plan, throw a worm.  After a half hour of that, it was time for a new plan.  Not even a bite.  My next plan was a Rage Craw in a red glitter with a small pegged sinker to toss in the trash.  That started off well, with 2 quick ones out of adjacent trees, then not another bite.

At this point I am getting pretty discouraged, but not being a quiter, or having a lick of sense, I fish on.  Of course it was time for a new plan.  Out comes the 2.5 square bill in red chrome, and low and behold I catch one right off the  bat.  Over an hour later I catch another.  And that was to be the size of it.

When you think about it, fishing in the summer is often that way.  Hot and humid, high sky with little wind, and water temps at the highest they will be all year.  What it has done to the fish on Coleto  is kind of beyond me right now.  It has turned into one of those did I choose the right bait, right time, right place?  Or did I get those out of order?  Hard to tell

In fact I got a good laugh while eating supper and watching the news when the fishing report came on and they said the bass fishing at Coleto was fair.  I thought that was a glowing compliment compared to my last couple of trips.  So it is them or is it me?   I have found a solution, head to the Gulf.  So it will be up early and over the side first thing.  According to that same fishing report the reds should just be eating it up!

I sure hope so.  Maybe if I am lucky they will be jumping in the boat.  Thanks for reading my stuff.  I know I have been a little lax lately, more travel than fishing.  But as summer winds down and the water begins to cool, I will be hard at it.  I look forward to a great fall and I hope you join me.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Fish Catching Travel

Coleto Creek

My original plan was to head to the Gulf this morning, but as I have plans to fish there later this week with a 2Cooler, I headed to Coleto.  Now it has been awhile since I bass fished, and this is the summer doldrums, but there is always hope.

As daylight broke I was headed up the Coleto arm and stopped right past the bridge, and started with a frog and a buzzbait.  The first place I got 2 strikes on a grass covered point, but that was it.  So up lake I went.

I headed quite a way up the lake and started on a long bank with good depth and lots of grass.  I managed one small one on a buzzbait, but could just not get them going on the frog.  I crossed the lake and tried another little more shallow bank, and again managed a small one on buzzbait.  At this point whatever I was doing was not working so I threw the jig for a while.  I managed another couple, and missed a couple I should have caught.  At this point I am quite aways up the creek so I changed to a Rage Shad and finally caught a few.

 This was the best of the morning.  Notice the rod tip?  He was going one way and I was not having it, and apparently neither was the rod.

One thing about that Rage Shad, when they wanted it they smoked it.  I caught another 5 on it from about 9:30 until 11 when they seemed to quit.  If you have not used it yet you should give it a try.  It is basically a plastic buzzbait with a completely different sound.  I rig it on a 5/0 worm hook Texas style with no weight, it cast plenty far.  If you get it on there just right, the barb will be right on the bait but exposed.   And then reel it fairly quickly.  Even with the tip of the barb exposed it is one of those wait just a second before you set the hook.  That was not a problem today as they were smoking it.  The strike by the fish above was one of the best  bites I have had in a long time.

Just wanted to show you the chartreuse Rage Shad.

Most of them came on deeper banks with grass, and hit it off the grass a little way.  Color did not seem to matter as I caught 2 on chartreuse and 2 on purple metal flake.  I did catch one by stopping it about half way back, but could not replicate that again.  So over all a fun morning considering it is 95 degrees and the wind did not blow.  I wrapped up at noon and headed home.

I think I will give it a try in the morning.  Once I got to throwing that Rage Shad I started getting good bites.  Hopefully that will translate into some better fish in the morning.  Not putting anything good in the boat until 9:30 when I switched, leads me to believe I can whack them at daylight.  We fisherman are a bunch of real optimists!

Thanks for reading my stuff.  It is good to be back.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Fish Catching Travel

 Africa Notes 

After being home a few days I have had time to reflect on our trip.  And now realize the shear numbers of photos and videos I have to work on.  So keep stopping in, I will keep posting stuff as I go along.  And tomorrow it is back to the Gulf, not having fished in 3 weeks has left me ready to go.  It will be one of those mornings where I wake up before the alarm ready to go.

South Africa was an interesting trip besides the safari and the mission.  We found most folks to be very friendly and helpful, and as most people had at least a basic understanding of English, there was only the occasional communication issue.  Money was not that hard to deal with as it worked out to 8 Rand = $1, give or take a cent or two.

The only thing I had a real hard time with was driving.  Though people there would say folks did not drive all that well, it was no worse than the Dallas area at 4 Friday afternoon.  The issue was they drive on the wrong side of the road, or is it us?  Either way it took some getting used to.  Nancy drove most of the time, but I finally got in the action.  There was no left turn on red, many street signs were icons or symbols, and the parking thing was somewhat confusing.  In the city there would be a parking official who noted your plate and collected the parking fee.  In other areas you would be approached by someone who would watch your car, a common thing in South Africa, so you slipped them 10 Rand ($1.25) and they would watch your car.

And many of the lots had guys who washed cars.  That ran about $5 and when you got back from shopping or dinner your car was shiny, nice touch.  And many of the private lots, at shopping centers and strip malls had parking guys.  Some expected a tip and some were paid by the stores, it just depended.  Nice to have the son in law to help out with who was who.

The food at almost every place we ate was good.  And as a bonus, was relatively inexpensive.  We ate several meals that would have been  $100 plus at home that ran under $50, and I am talking wine, drinks, meal, desert, and coffee.  If you are traveling there you can easily budget your money and still eat like a king.  Drinks were also a deal.  And my wife loved it when as a habit they brought a glass of ice with her Chardonnay wine.  Oh the little things.

And speaking of eating the “braai” is a staple in South Africa.  Braai is basically what we call grilling out, or barbecuing.  And like the US, is cause for a party.  One thing that is different though is that many restaurants supply you with salad, bread, plates etc., and you bring the meat.  Most places you do the cooking on their grills.  We did that one night on the beach around the fire, a great evening.

One thing that was hard to get used to was the amount of security.  Almost every store, motel, condo had the large armed security protection sign.  You saw the guys everywhere.  But the most disturbing was the fences around almost everything.  Many of them with barb wire rolls, glass shards along the top, and other serious looking sharp things.  In fact, to get in our apartment took 4 keys, it was safe.  I do not want you to get the idea South Africa was not as safe as most places I have been, it was.  The security seemed to be a remenant of the past.

And then you would go to the townships, which for a lack of a better term are slums, and they were generally walled in with fences around them.  The seperation was obvious, the message clear.  If you are black, or colored (their term) and poor, stay behind your wall, and we will keep you away from us with our fences.  I found this to be a stark expression of the way things were in days past in South Africa, no matter how things have changed politically, it still comes down to if you have it, things are good, if you don’t, to bad.   I saw quite a few folks on South African TV talking about the plight of the townships, but after seeing folks on the news who have been trapped in some of the townships for 15 years, with no realistic chance of getting out, most of it was talk.  There is no excuse in this day and age for there to be a township without sewage facilities, period.  Until the walls, and the attitudes that accompany them, are down, South Africa will continue to struggle.  So some of the talking heads on South African TV need to put their money where their mouth is.  The situation is not hopeless, but it has been long enough.  Like the rest of the world, poverty is the issue.

Now that I got that off my chest back to the good stuff.  Cape Town was a modern city with everything you would expect.  We stayed in the Sea Pointe area, with lots of restaraunts and shopping within walking distance.  The area was relatively safe for a big city, and I get panhandled 10X more in Austin that I did anywhere in South Africa.

In fact, the group of us was having lunch at a cool place on the Quay in Knysna while outside the weather was awful.  As the restaraunt was on the bay, they had a deck, and on that deck was a guy fishing.  I went out to chat with him and found out he was new to fishing.  He had only started in January.  He was out of work, had walked from Cape Town in search of work, and the only money he made besides pan handling was from catching fish.  He asked nothing of me, and was excited to show me his book so I could see what type of fish he caught.  As we huddled in the rain and wind he hoped it would slack off.  If he caught fish, he and his dog ate, but no fish, no food today.  His bait was a salt water crawdad, very similar to ours.

I went back in the restaraunt and had a nice hot lunch.  I ordered him a wrap and a hot cup of coffee.  He never begged, he did not complain, but was thrilled to teach me about the fish he caught.  I gave him his food and hit the road.  I hope he caught some today.

Sorry about the rambling, I am having a hard time putting the whole thing in perspective.  So to help put it in perspective here is a cool video for you.

Stop in tomorrow.  There should not only be new fishing, but some new pictures or videos.  Thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Elephants of the Shamwari.

It’s Africa!

You hear that a lot in Africa……..”It’s Africa”.  It has a generic meaning like, “stuff happens”, “oh well”, “no big deal”, and “get over it” all in one expression.  The reason I lead with that saying is it perfectly explains why I did not fish while I was there.  So how did I end up half way around the world, along one of the most beautiful coasts in the world, and never wet a line, and I can tell you, it was no big deal……It’s Africa!

So here is the short course….and while I will fill in the blanks over the next couple of days, here is just a taste of why I never did catch a fish.

 Let’s see  ….  fish, or stalk on foot to within 25 feet of 2 sleeping Cheetahs as night falls on the open plain?  One of the most exciting moments of my life!  (sorry about the dark picture, it is hard to get those darn Cheetahs to cooperate)

 Fish, or watch mama take care of business?

Or get so close you could almost smell this guy?

The point here is this, instead of heading back to Cape Town and possibly getting to fish the weekend, we changed plans in mid stream so that we could stay for 3 more days of Safari.  And it was worth every minute.  I will sit down the next few days and show you the whole thing, but suffice to say, what an experience.

And there were other things that conspired to keep me off the water, and let me tell you the ocean there is not the Gulf, it is a rip roaring, wave pounding, freezing cold juggernaut.   It was so awesome the pictures can never do it justice!

That is NOT a mountain range in the background….the waves were flat out awe inspiring!

And how about the reason we went in the first place?  They have so little and we have so much.  To see the reactions of the students and the schools was priceless. 

I hope you get the point.  I can fish tomorrow, and the next day, and the next if I want.  But what I can not do is what I did.  See the penguins, watch a whale blow, sit in a herd of elephants, drive over a mountain pass and stop to get coffee where they have to keep the door locked because the baboons crash the joint and steal food and dishes.  Those are things I did, and it was the trip of a lifetime.  So if you came for fish, there will be some in a few days when I hit the Gulf, but right now it is putting the whole trip in perspective.

But for the next couple of days stop in,  I will document the trip and publish some of the hundreds of photos we took.  So next will be Safari at Rippon’s on the Shamwari Game Reserve.  So come on back.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Fish Catching Travel

I decided to fish one more morning before heading to Africa.  With the last couple of trips to POC ringing in my ears I decided to go and catch some redfish and the Powderhorn was the choice.

I was there a couple of weeks ago and the conditions were the same.  The wind was out of the southeast at 20, the tide was high and beginning to fall, and the water was still somewhat off colored.  And when I say that, while it was off colored, it was not muddy.  Just the lasting effects of all the rain we have had.

First I waded my favorite little place on the south bank.   With my superior skill I managed to have a really good red break off my bone Spook Jr, and I was glad I had another, for all the good it did me.  I tried for trout for just a little and had no luck at that.  By now it was about 9 and the sun was way up so it was time to hit the back end.

I headed to the north bank, starting in the area where the duck blinds are strung down the bank.  The water had a little muddy to it where the wind was blowing on bare bank, other wise it was just that nice copper color.  And as you can see from the guy below, spending time in that brown water will color a redfish right up.

Now that is one beautiful redfish!

For the next hour and a half, long enough to work to the back end of the Powderhorn, they bit pretty regular.  It was definitely like bass fishing.  I just kept the boat a medium cast off the bank and let the wind help with the trolling motor.  Of course I was throwing the Strike King Redfish Magic.  As I have said in the past, it is one of the best hook up to bite ratio baits ever.  When a redfish grabs it they almost always eat it, and then they stay on at a higher rate than any other bait.  And the best thing is they love it.

Today it was an 1/8oz. dark body with a chartreuse tail, dark water = dark colors.  It was simply a matter of throwing it to the grass and then basically slow rolling it at a less than medium speed right off the bottom, and most of then got it in the first couple of feet.  One thing that was a little unusual was that they were just getting on.  Normally you feel them thump it nice and hard, but today they just ate it.

On that pass I caught 13, had one break me off in an old duck blind, and added 2 trout for good measure.  Now do not get me wrong, over half of them were rat reds, and 3 or 4 were nice ones.   At that point I decided to try to catch a few trout before I quit.  No telling how many I would have caught if I had fished the other side from where it narrows all the way to the bridge.  They were definitely on the chew.

The trout fishing went about like it has for me.  I am not on them right now, and that has been a little frustrating lately, but the redfish can save a day if you stay on them.  And right now, they are on those grass banks in various bays and lakes.  It is simply a matter of throwing that Redfish Magic and covering a lot of water.

So all in all a good day.  Caught some fish, saw a bobcat, and had the biggest sea turtle I have ever seen swim under the boat.  Amazing how fast they can move with those big flippers.  So time to clean the boat, put stuff up, and begin our African adventure.  I could not be more excited, catch some crazy fish, go on safari, and help some really poor kids at that.  We found out that the school were are going to be helping is for kids who do not have any money to go to school, and up to 40% of them have some fetal alcohol syndrome.  You know there are times when I have it tough, as you do, but there are folks out there who have it way worse, and it will be awesome to help.  And if you want, stop by the Vilakaze web site, it is my daughters non-profit and will let you know a little more about what will be doing there.

http://www.vilakazi.org/

So stop in next week, as soon as I can I will blog, and download pictures from the safari,and hopefully some fish.  Thanks for reading my stuff.  It has been a long summer, but fall is right around the corner, and with it some of the best fishing of the year.  And this marks the first year of Fish Catching Travel, it would not mean a thing without you.

Good Luck and Tight Lines.

Fish Catching Travel

The summer continues on.  Luckily we have had a lot of rain, in fact the Nursery area north of Victoria had more rain in one day than they had last year.  In fact, I was able to get out Tuesday and that was the first time it did not rain on me in 5 trips.

My friend Chris called wanting to go and I was happy as we had not fished together in quite a while.  Also he was taking me, which is always a treat, I do not have to do the thinking.  We got out first thing and headed to Welder’s Flats.

The fishing there was a sign of things to come.  We drifted the area several times and had a few good blow ups, but only managed to boat one redfish.  We tired of that so off to Shoalwater Bay.

We drifted the areas in the left that drain from the bay.  In multiple trips we only managed a red and a trout, and I believe they were all caught on plastics.  There seemed to be very little bait and other than those 2, we did not have another bite if memory serves me.  So off the first island outside the bay for some wading.

That went about the way the rest of the trip went.  Other than one small trout and 2 skipjacks, it was also a bust.  We just were not getting the bites so we decided to move to South Pass.

We made 2  drifts there without a bite.  The water was not moving worth a darn, and we sure weren’t fishing any better than that.  So another move was in order.  Now I wish I could tell you which back lake we went into, but I had never been there.  It was further down the bay from South Pass Lake, and we got there in a winding marsh channel.  Chris said in the winter in an air boat the trail is just a mud track.

The fishing back there was some what better.  Plastics accounted for around 2 or 3 trout and 4 or 5 reds.  Of those only 2 were keepers, maybe.  All in all it was the slowest day I have had in a long time.  So why did that happen?

I thing we were just fishing to shallow.  With the hot weather and high skies it seems the fish want a little more depth close.  At least for me right now that seems to be the pattern.  But even with that it was still a good time.  Any time on the water is a good time, and I really believe that old saying that time spent fishing is not deducted from your life.  In my case I could live to be 100.

Random Thoughts

Those of you that read my stuff know that I have really been preaching about civility on the water.  As it gets more and more crowded out there we just have to try to be nice and share, it is alot easier on the blood pressure.  And face it folks, it will only get busier.  So to the story.

I was headed down a bank with the tide.  As I was going along the edge of an oyster bar, headed right to a point throwing a topwater, a couple of older gents in a cool old Grady White idled towards me as I got to the point, and they just pulled right in front of me.  Now I do not mean like 100 yards, it was less than 100 feet!  They drove right on the bank in front of me on the edge of the point and tossed an anchor.  It was awesome.

So it was be nice time.  I just smiled, went on by them and kept on fishing.  It could have gone different, I could have said something, but why?  So I took the high road and spared myself the aggravation.  I nodded as I went by them and just kept on fishing.  In the end both of us had a better day because of it.  So if you can, just go on about your business it just is not worth it.

Africa

Africa is right around the corner.  Most everything is packed and I am ready to go.  I have the Temple Fork breakdown rod in the suitcase, and I will take a few rattle baits, jigs, and a couple of plastics.  What research I have done there is a bay with fish that like lures, but looking at the pictures I have no clue what they are.  I hope to have at least a half day guide trip while we are on the mission.

The tuna are apparently not there right now offshore, but my son-in-law’s uncle has a boat for fishing the bay so that should happen.  Add in a safari, possible shark cage dive, with other adventures and it should be great time.   I will post some pictures as I go whenever I get the chance.  So keep stopping in and I appreciate you reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

Fish Catching Travel

The weather finally quited down enough to make the drive to POC worth it.  The last 3 times I have been to the Gulf it has stormed.  And in spite of one pretty big thunder storm, which I was able to drive around, it was a great day to be on the water.  I finally had a good day.

I started off in Big Bayou like I usually do at POC.  It was pretty calm and the water was not off colored.  When I started at daylight the water was just starting to move so I hit a couple of drains off Bill Days.  For the first hour they hit that topwater pretty well.  I know I caught 7, reds and trout, in the first half hour.  I am still using that Super Spook Jr. in a bone color, and when they want it there is no doubt.

They stayed on it for about 2 hours, and basically I was just fishing grassy points with water moving around them.  None of them had a bunch of fish, but most of them had at least one or two that were happy to cooperate.   They all came with me as I just used the trolling motor and eased down the bank.

This was the best red of the day, and I had 3 or so that would have kept.  And how come no matter how well I look them over there is no CCA tag?

Next I headed into Barroom to do some wading.  I stopped at the big drain that comes from Big Bayou into Barroom.  Now the reds have been there pretty consistently, but not today.  I waded the cut, and fished topwater right up in the grass without success.  So I headed out to waist deep hopefully to catch a trout as I worked back to the boat.  There was not even a bite on the way back to the boat.  At this point 2 things became obvious, the fish were done with topwater, and if I did not do something I was about to get wet.

The thunderhead was coming from the southwest, so I headed back to the intercoastal and went to Army Cut.  It got me on the back side of the storm, and I wanted to check the trout that have been there consistently the last couple of months.

Since there are so many sardines, or menhaden, I went with a silver/white Bass Assassin on a 1/8 jig head.  The water there is 6 – 8 foot in the channel, with a nice ledge running along the grass flat on the side where you enter the back end of The Lagoon.  For the next hour it was really good.

I stayed off the drop, and worked the plastic in the Texas Two Step, and let it fall down the drop.  Some would hammer it, some were there when I picked up, but either way they were cooperative.  I fished the whole Lagoon side down and back and caught fish regularly.  Some were small, some were really nice, and I even had one break my line, something that I try to avoid.

Probably 20 or so came over the side in that time.  While I caught a couple on a paddle tail, they clearly liked that Assassin better.  The best “spot” was the drain out of The Lagoon.  There is a little cut in the flat, and they were right where it empties into Army Cut.  One of those flip it in there, let it sink, jerk, and set the hook things.  After a couple of passes there it was time for 2 more wading spots.  As a side note I have seen boats fishing farther down the bank on the right leading from Army Cut out into the bay.  That whole side is covered with grass patches.

From there I went down the back side of Dewberry and stopped at the grass bed with all the pot holes, near the back lakes on the island.  It was slow there and I could not get a bite on plastic, so I switched to a popping cork and the Rage Shrimp.  It accounted for 3 and I missed a couple.  None of those were keepers.  Even though I have said it several times, I will say it again, that Rage Shrimp is tough.  Very few plastics on the market that you can use for days instead of lasting a couple of fish.  It is perfect for that popping cork and for me, if there has been a pretty good bite on and it really starts to slow, I can usually add a couple of bonus fish on it when they slow down.

On the way back down the bay I stopped at the point in Barroom.  Again more of the same, I caught a couple of small ones, but nothing to write home about.  So I called it a day.

So for the day it was a dozen or so on top, and a few more than that on a Bass Assassin, and a few on popping cork.  It was easily a trout limit.  Of the total, 5 were reds, and maybe a limit of them.  To bad I was not keeping fish, but it sure is nice to load the boat and hit the road without having to clean them.  So not a bad morning.  The only hassle was the mosquitoes, not only at the ramp, but at the gas station filling up.  Other than that it was nice to get back to my fish catching ways.

A Few Random Notes

So you think we have been dry.  The last couple of weeks have been a blessing.  Well if you live in Nebraska things have been a little dry.

 The Platte River near Grand Island Nebraska.

I got this from my friend Terry Roth, who went with my brother and I to Falcon a couple of times.  Good thing there are quite a few lakes up there or he might be fishing in a bathtub.

The ramp was really busy at 6 this morning.  Though Froggie’s is often busy most summer days, there were 3 waiting when I put in, and more kept coming.  It only took me about a minute as I ran up the intercoastal to realize it was Poco Bueno weekend.  The big offshore boats were lined up.  For some reason I can not get my wife to sell it all and live on an offshore boat and fish her life away.  What is wrong with that woman?

And last a bit of sad news.  My sister Lee’s husband, Ralph, a full professor at Marquette, got some terrible news.  He has angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.  He found out a little more than two weeks ago, and has been given only weeks to live.  At this writing he is failing fast.  They have 2 great kids and he is a good man.  So if you pray, or meditate, or dance by a fire, please take a moment for them.  This is one of those moments that reminds us how precious life is.  Love your family, appreciate the days on the water, and take some time to smell the roses.  Life is short.

Good Luck and Tight Lines