FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

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The new Knockin Tail is catching fish!  Try them today.

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The St. Joseph Bass Fishing Club.

This is actually very near and dear to my heart as it sure would have been great when I was a kid.  Trust me, it would have had a real positive influence on my terrible high school experience.  Here is a note Chago sent explaining where they are in the process, and it looks like they are ready to go.

I just wanted to update you on the St. Joseph Bass Fishing Club.  We are now an official club member of the Texas High School Bass Association.  The club will fish the Hill Country Division, including Buchanon, LBJ, Travis, Canyon, Belton, and Palestine Lakes over the upcoming school year. The enrollment is open to interested students, but they must understand bass fishing requires input to produce a good return on investment.  The sport allows everyone to compete on an equal playing field, and the fish don’t care about a particular political stance.

Additionally, we have a strict no pass, no fish policy.

The rest of the story.  The startup cost for such an organization is steep but not ascertainable. We have sent out several letters regarding sponsorships and donations.  Of you, I am asking for a simple request.  If any of your followers have any unused fishing products such as lures, line, hooks, reels or rods, the club would be interested in a donation. Unfortunately, social media sometimes portrays fishing requirements of high monetary value, but we all know otherwise.  I know which push button combo I started with, and boy did I love that rod and reel.  The best thing for these young men and women is to get them out on the water and allowing the “tug of the line” to do the rest.  Please don’t’ misunderstand my comments.  I know times have changed, and so has the industry, but the sense of belonging is part of our program and indeed the beginning.

If this may be to forward for your readers, I understand.  If you believe some of them may be interested, I can provide a mailing or drop off address.  I know we would even cover the shipping if it is from out of town.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity.

Respectfully,

Chago

I did fail to mention one of the more essential items for the club is time.  If anyone is interested in being a captain for one of the tournaments, we would be honored. The club will cover boat fuel expenses and a night’s lodging if necessary.

Thank you for listening and providing the jumpstart exposure.

The high school has set up an email for the club as listed below, great for asking how to provide specific help.

stjbassclub@stjflyers.com

Mrs. Ann Brogger is the high school counselor and one of the advisors . I’m the second by default.

The high school will provide a tax donation form.

Even better – A tax deduction.  Another reason to help.  Please think about it, or maybe someone you know is a big tournament bass fisherman and send this along.  Every little bit will help and the investment in these young fishermen and women will pay dividends for a life time.

The Future!

In only one other time in 9 years have I asked anyone to do anything.  This time I am.  Share this with any local fisherman you know, then give a little.  I know exactly how these kids feel.  Thanks.

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

******************

Trout on the Fly – Nathan Anderson

One of the things I wanted to be dang sure I did while I was there was fish the Yellowstone in a drift boat, and was lucky enough to get it done.  With lots of fishing travel under my belt you never know how it will go and in this case the plan came together and it was a good day to be alive.

Never forget to stop and take it all in.  It is not just about the fishing.

The Boss and I met our guide Nathan at the ramp at 8:00 and it was not long before we were on the water.  As those of you who read this stuff know the Boss and I are really fly fishing neophytes with lots to learn and Nathan was a perfect guide and teacher for our day on the water.  He has fished those rivers for 35 years, was patient, technically proficient, and just an overall good guy to spend the day with.

My first Brown on a dry fly.

As I noticed in the park there were lots of grasshoppers and it turned out to be our plan for the day.  In my case catching any particular fish on topwater is the bomb, and we spent most of the day fishing larger hoppers with a smaller floating “something or other” on a dropper around 8″ behind.  And it was so interesting to see the fish react.  A few smashed it, (At least for a trout.)  most barely slurped it under, and others could not resist rolling on it, or just taking a look.  It took me a bit to get the hang of setting the hook like you need to and after a while I managed to toss a couple of small rainbows completely over the boat.  It really was a new way to fish for us and it took a while to get the hang of it but I intend to put those lessons to work in Colorado when I head there this fall.  Since this was our 5 or 6th run at it the Boss commented that each place and method was different, it is all part of the learning process.

Catching on a dry fly is not as easy as you would think.

I probably went about 10 for 20 with one whitefish, the Boss struggled.  So late in the day Nathan put us on a nymph rig with an indicator.  (Or as we regular folks call it, a bobber.)   He wanted to be sure the Boss caught a fish and she finally boated a rainbow and a native whitefish.  But the Boss was happy just sitting in the back and enjoying the day and the view, but I give her credit, she kept casting like a trooper.  He was so patient as we tangled, crossed, casted like the rookies we are, and he just continued to act like the professional he is.  (Except we all laughed like crazy when at one point when we were thrashing multiple messes he said; “Stop casting!”)  Of course I told him I would trash him here so let me do it now – One of the best guides to spend the day with I have had the pleasure to fish with.  So take that homie.  From the Great Barrier reef, Belize, Colorado we have fished with our share and today was one of  the best all around experiences we have ever had.

The fishing was not fast by any means, but the bite was consistent.  I was not surprised by the number of refusals with the traffic and it being late in the season.  Nathan made several fly changes during the day until we finished the day with the nymph rig and put the last couple in the boat.  He worked hard to put me on a little bigger fish and his efforts were appreciated.  Probably if I would have bullshitted less and fished harder I might have boated one of the better fish I missed, but I could have cared less as numbers were not the reason for the day

One of 6 or 7 Rainbows.

Being a Saturday there was quite a bit of traffic, but it is a big river, and when compared to Froggie’s on the weekend no big deal.  Of course we had a few incidents where both guides and the public cut us off, or were just plain were clueless.  (Sound familiar you coastal boys?)  As you know one of my rules to live by on our busy waterways – Be nice, be the bigger man, and just because you have the right of way let them go.  Nathan naturally lives and practices that making our day on the water pleasant and fun and he is a credit to the profession.  I can be pretty hard on guides.

Whether drift boats or rafts, there were lots of folks on the river.

It really was comfortable fishing from the drift boat.  The Boss loved the safe manner he operated and being able to stand up and cast from the leaning post, or whatever it is called.  I learned a lot about the drift boat and how it preforms on the water.  As we accelerate our search for our place in the mountains Montana has made the list.  Of all the places I have fished Montana gets an A+ for the access available to the public. (So thanks Nathan for offering to be my new best friend and take me fishing all the time if we end up in the area.  At least I thought I heard him say that!) 

The end of a great day.

And a big thanks to Johnathan of Captain Experiences, https://captainexperiences.com/ , for booking and following up on our trip.  The home of Damn Good Fishing Guides, they have guides all over the country and they lived up to their name when they hooked us up with Nathan.  Nathan guides for Trout on the Fly, LLC out of Bozeman, Montana, fishing the Yellowstone, Madison, and a couple of other great Montana rivers..  The owner of Trout on the Fly, Nate, kept us informed with a full written itinerary, with constant follow up both before and after the trip.  It was a professional job all the way around.  So if you are looking for a guide anywhere, or wanting to fish the Yellowstone area, give Johnathan a call and he will put you with the best.  Overall a first class trip.

So when it is all said and done it was a great way to spend a day along with our park expedition.  And here is a taste of what is next, as soon as I organize all of the park stuff.

God Bless the mountains, the park, and the great outdoors! 

We saw almost everything we wanted to this trip and were so fortunate to see the wolves everyday along with enough wildlife to keep us happy.  (For a while!)  And to Nathan, I have added the Madison to my bucket list.  And the rest of you keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

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The new Knockin Tail colors are freakin’ stunning! 

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Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

I had the best intentions of fishing on Monday but life got in the way.  And Tuesday the old shot in the ear drum was up first thing, treatment or torture, depending on which end of the syringe you are on.  Today is pack day,  making sure everything is organized and by Thursday afternoon we will be on the wolf/grizzly expedition.  Both are the great predators of the northwest and it is always thrilling to see them.  And word is the Bison are in the crazy rut and very aggressive as the elk will be soon.  Plus wading and fly fishing equipment for our float and maybe another wade or two.  So camera and optics ready, time to get some great shots!

Weather – Or in a few short words why I gave it a rest this week.

Partly sunny and nearing record 104, dangerous heat.  (Are you kidding me!)

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The new Knockin Tail colors are freakin’ stunning!  Order some they are going fast! 

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After posting my POC trip I got the follow comment from Anonymous.

I’m jealous! I have not commented on your site but I enjoy it. Just like reading a book it takes my mind to the coast. If your ever around powder horn and indianola I would love to get your opinion. I usually fish around arransas pass but my wife and I spent a couple months on the weekends there and loved it. Great folks. Stay safe and good fishing to you sir.  Just one more thing. Kids! Wear your ear protection!!!

First, when I get comments like this it keeps me fishing and writing.  I really do appreciate hearing from folks, especially when they learn something, or in this case, like to read my ramblings.  It has actually turned into a long running book, which is now  a 9 year labor of love and the feedback is what keeps me going.

And no better advice on the hearing protection.  My tests have revealed that my hearing in my right ear is down about 25%, the left is completely deaf.  Now they are still not sure what is up with the left, but the right is a product of loud ass rock and roll in my younger days, and of course no hearing protection when shooting guns, mowing grass, etc.  So take our advice and save your hearing or you too can get a shot in the ear drum.  Thanks for commenting and sometime let me know when you will be at Indianola and maybe we can get together for a chat.  And the rest of you love hearing your comments, good, bad, or indifferent!

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And this from Rusty our resident Fayette Guru on his morning the other day.

Got out this morning with y cousin. It was very slow, but caught 8 by 10:00. Then to hot very slow. Water temp 92.

At least he put a Fayette fatty in the boat.  All I have to say is please cool off!  It is hard on us old guys.

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It is time to get a new hunting or fishing license, which went on sale Saturday the 15th.  Remember they expire on the last day of August.  But one word of caution, if you get it at Academy look it over super close,  After my experience a few years ago, along with my buddy Chris and his adventure, you just might get something you don’t want, or nothing that you did.

I rarely complain about the cost of fishing licenses.  Probably the only complaint is when you have to buy an annual on long range trips and it will expire before you return.  But other than that it not only funds our Game and Fish Departments, but in my case the per hour cost is a great deal.

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On the travel front we decided to cancel our Africa trip.  There is way to much money and effort at stake in making that kind of trip, with the way things are we are not ready to risk that kind of commitment.  If I had a crystal ball and could see the future who knows what might happen.  Until this pandemic is over no massive travel plans outside of the US, much to the displeasure of the Boss.

But on that note I am planning what I might call my last great tow job.  I hope to be headed to south Florida next spring as soon as it is tarpon time.  Making that tow is not easy by yourself, but once there staying a couple of weeks makes it all worth it.  The area has lots of good trout and snook fishing, and is a short hop to Boca Grande, where starting in April an estimated 60,000 tarpon stop in for a quickie.   Then the Boss can fly in and out one week and I can hardcore fish the other.

And last it will be a week or two in Colorado come late September or October.  Lots of places we have scouted have me really wanting to get back when the water is down as is the fishing pressure.  As usual. so many places so little time.  But changes of pace instead of the same old same old keeps the interest up.   And it definitely makes you a better fisherman.

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There are a couple of things that I will be posting soon, and one of those concerns the new St. Joseph Bass Fishing Team.  Time to give them a hand as they embark on the program.  So stay tuned, and open your wallet and help out.  And the review of the Four Horsemen Popping Corks is almost ready and will get it up next week or two.  Other than that excited to see the Boss catch a few more trout along with all Yellowstone has to offer.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

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Just Killing Time

Where I caught the last really big fish a couple of weeks ago.  But more than that, I love how the standing timber looks in the morning when the light is right.

I am just killing time as our heat wave continues.  It was just shy of 80 degrees when I hitched the boat up, and it was 92 when I called it a morning at 11:00.  The first thing when off loading the boat at daylight was how the water has receded past the end of the ramp, and there was a clear water line where it dropped.   And to make matters all that much “better”, the water temp was 91.5 at the ramp, and most of the rest of the lake.  So again knowing it was going to be short morning I got right to it.

Weather

79/96.  Very warm with a 60% of late morning showers and an afternoon thunderstorm.  Wind SSE  10 – 20.

Lake Level

Friday   93.61 msl.      Today  93.49 msl.

Solunar Period

Major  6:23 an to 8:23 am.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smack it!  

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It really is a matter of throwing it at the right tree.  Today the best one came in 10 foot of water, and the others less than 5 foot.  Still tossing the watermelon red 5″ stick worm on 15lb test with a pegged 1/4 tungsten weight and a 3/0 wide gap worm hook.  Not sure if the wide gap makes a big difference but it works for me better than a standard worm hook.  It was a morning of them swimming with it, I actually only felt 2 tic it, the rest were just there.  One when reeling it in it just kept coming back to the boat with no shake, and finally right beside the boat I realized it was a fish.  It was that kind of morning.

When it is tough I will take this size any day.

The bite was not fast and furious by any means, but any area with brush had a least one on it, and a couple of places 2 jumped on.  As the water falls this will definitely change up lake as it gets smaller.  Down lake not so much as there is plenty of wood out deep that holds fish.

     The only other good fish this morning.  The lake has lots of crappies.

As it has been it was 8 or 10 mostly smalls, and I easily missed that many.  As I said yesterday when they are coming to you on most bites you have to be sure you have enough slack out or they will jump off.  The good thing, until 9:30 when I switched to trolling they bit consistently.

On getting back down lake the shad and fish were a little deeper on the locator today than Friday, most in the 8 – 15 foot range.  It is pretty simple, get a shad looking crankbait that runs around 10 foot or so, toss it out about 50 feet and troll at 2.5 mph trying to fish the edges or breaks off flats and the river channel.  Of course the locator with the map are critical, it is not just dragging a bait around randomly hoping for a bite.  Now that I have trolled the last 3 times I have a better idea of where they are.  If it is a flat, or an underwater hump or point, they tend to gang up there if there are shad.

Today the wind started up and they were on the windy edges in the 15′ to 20′ of water.  The white bass were a little more cooperative, 4 jumped on, but still no size to speak of.  I guess I will just remain puzzled on why the lake does not produce bigger ones.  Also 5 or 6 bass easy, and 2 crappies.  I have always wondered why folks make fun of trolling, or any other specific way to fish that they do not do.  (As a perfect example – various opinions on croaker soakers.)  My only question to them:  Did you catch 20+ this morning?

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You all know that I really like Bighorn sheep.  Have been watching the Big Bend area as the sheep count was scheduled for now and was hoping to glean some info for a trip to see if I could spot some.  Unfortunately the helicopter crashed with a TPWD Vet and 2 TPWD employees who were the sheep guys for the department.  A tough loss for the department, and a much tougher loss for the families.  My condolences.

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The Knockin Tail gets it done on any saltwater fish anywhere they swim.  How about a nice Snook!

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One of our skilled local fisherman won a tournament at POC the other day and that I liked.  It was a jon boat invitational.  It does not take a $65k fancy boat to be a great fisherman.  In fact, often that has nothing to do with ability, simply a matter of who can afford one.  And to go along with that the best trout fisherman I know catches big strings most of us dream about out of his aluminum boat.  Would love to see more of this style of tournament for the average guy.  On that note there was a 90hp limit bass tournament on Fayette this spring.  Would be nice to see more of that in the future.  Not only give some folks a chance to tournament fish and maybe expose a few more younger fishermen.

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Tomorrow I get the hearing test, at this point I am half deaf, just ask the Boss.  So will get that out of the way, buy the hearing aids, and go on about my business.  Finally got a few new things in so the bay is on the table.  Really looking forward to it and reporting back to you.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

Love the morning ride!

POC – Wednesday.

The Boss was wanting to do a little practice with her fly rod before we head to Montana next week so she asked if we could hit the water.  She was good with doing it at POC so we dropped the boat in at daylight and headed to Big Bayou.  The water temp was 86 degrees and the  water color was not anything to write home about.

Weather

81/9o.  Mostly sunny and hot with a 20% chance of showers.  Wind SSE 9 – 15 mph.

Tides

High 10:49 am  1.04.    Low  1:36 pm  0.97.   High  3:13 pm  0.99.

Solunar Period

Minor  9:28 am to 10:28 am.  (Only relevant period.)

When we got to Froggie’s it was just breaking daylight and there were folks everywhere.  The parking lot was full and by time we got in Nancy had to park almost behind the new steak house.  According to TPWD license sales are up 26%, and with folks still having spotty work issues, they are definitely fishing.  The last few times there was as many folks out during the week as a normal weekend.

We fished my old standby’s as it was going to be a short fishing morning, then a little practice with the flyrod.   It was beyond slow.  The Boss tossed plastics and missed a couple in Big Bayou.  I on the other hand tossed a topwater until the sun came completely out, which was a total bust.  So time for a move.

The Boss actually came fishing.  I on the other hand did not do my part.

We headed to the Oil Cut and at least we boated a few, around a dozen or so to be exact, but nothing to write home about.  The Boss was tossing a Knockin Tail on a popping cork, (A whole bunch more coming on that subject.)  and it was the most consistent as far as bites went.  She actually caught a few good ones, and had one break her line in a humorous effort to boat flip it.  I found a Pearl Limetreuse Knockin Tail and put it on her popping cork and it was by far the most productive.   Looking forward to Michael at My Coast Outdoors getting restocked.  Amazing how much of a problem it has been in the fishing industry to keep stocked and you see it in any tackle store.

I stuck with the Red Shad Knockin Tail and caught more fish, but they were smaller.  I did catch the rat red above, but other than that no reds.  Big change from last trip where it was basically all reds.  But it was not a total surprise with the high surface temp  combined with the influx of fresh water.  Really needed to be wading but this was for the Boss, she has been under a lot of stress dealing with the virus at work and needed a mental health break.  It has been tough in Victoria and lots of folks have died.  But I digress.

Around 10:00 we had a little practice with the fly rod as she is concerned about fishing out of a boat on the Montana float, something we have not done yet.  After a half hour of that she had her fill, and it was hot, so we called it an early morning.   Nice to have her in the boat and she wants to go again one more day next week.  We were just drifting in the calmest water I could find for her practice, who knows, maybe try to really catch one next time?

It was awesome watching the sun pop out!

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I want to take a minute to chat about something I saw on Facebook.  A guy posted a picture of a sunrise and was making fun of folks who post them because they probably did not catch any fish.  Sad.  He is really missing the point.  Occasionally I look back at some of the sunrises I have been fortunate enough to experience,  and capture, and they are amazing.  And that it comes with the fishing makes it all the more special.  If it is just about catching fish then you are missing out.  Be thankful for every sunrise you are lucky enough to see, they don’t last forever.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smack it!  

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One beautiful morning.

COLETO CREEK – Thursday

Not sure why I went this morning as I was just not feeling it.  Both me and the fish are suffering from the dog days of August.  All I can say is I can not wait for fall.  Occasionally I need something different to keep it interesting, an itch that will get scratched floating the Yellowstone in 2 weeks.  Plus when it tops 90 degrees unless the fishing is great I am headed to the house.

Weather

77/95.  Partly sunny, hot, with a 50% of precipitation.  Wind  SE  9 to 16 mph.

Lake Level

Today  93.61 msl.  Monday  93.75 msl.

Solunar Period

Minor  10:21 am to 11:21 am.

The water level was down a hair, unfortunately looks like it is starting to fall again.  The temp was still in the 88 degree range and the color was just a little off from Monday.  Today’s unmade plan, get right to the point – go pitch the good spots, then troll some, and home for lunch before the Boss heads to work.  I stuck to the plan, with mixed results.  The dink fest continues, which is probably a function of the way I am fishing.

Best I could muster pitching today.

I pitched for a couple of hours, and the results were the same as it has been.  Now today was not all the fishes fault, as I had a big one break me off in a pile of brush.  Not sure what I would have done different, but this time the fish won.  Other than that, same old, same old, pitch it close and be a line watcher.  And if it even twitches set the hook as they have it.  It can be a little tricky getting some of them to stay pinned when they swim right at you and you do not get tight enough on them to make a solid hook set and they shake off.  But it is a fun way to fish.

And one thing I am learning, weight makes a big difference.  As an example pitching a 1/4 vs. a 1/8.  Often times it seems to not make a real difference in the number of bites on each, but with the way it feels when they do.  Using the lighter weight, which obviously falls slower, they seem to eat it and swim, and it is harder to feel the bite but your line swims off the cover.  The heavier weight which falls faster leads to harder bites, more thumps, as they have to chase it down and suck it in.  But no matter what size it is all about the pitch, put it in the right place and you will get bit.  And the plastic can be any color as long as it is watermelon/red.

Trolled up a few.

Around 9:30 time to do a little trolling.  After catching a couple of small whites in one area I started there.  I trolled for an 1 1/2 hours and caught 3 whites, 1 crappie, and 6 or 7 bass.  I think it was a big catfish that broke me off, the 12″ of slime on the end of my broken line was an important clue.  (Sucks to break off the only 2 big fish I did have on today.)  One thing that increased the trolling bite was using lures that ran in less than 10 foot.

Finally caught a white bass that was a keeper, but it was not near any others so still wondering where the good whites are.  And again caught a keeper crappie.  When I posted something about crappie on Coleto a reader who knows commented:  They are everywhere, and I believe that.  As an example today had a couple of bites on plastic that were probably crappie around wood in less than 10′.  And watching some of the regulars who crappie fish they are being caught from 8 – 20 feet, most on minnows.

Much of the activity was in the 8 – 15 foot range and if there was scattered shad it was a bite.  It seemed the fish were a little shallower than they were last trip.  And one good thing for the future there are plenty of bass in Coleto.  Tons of 13″ and smaller, and they are fat and sassy.  So when I complain about the dink fest it is only a half hearted complaint.  The fishing is ok for numbers, and when you can catch 20 before lunch it is hard to complain just because most are small.  And I did have a couple of chances today and it did not happen, not the lake’s fault.

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Under the “Yada Yada” file, or the “Dream On” file.  TPWD is trying to get folks to voluntarily quit trashing the sea grass in our bays.  Sorry TPWD, that is not going to work.  Fishing for 15 years in Florida before I started fishing here I was used to regulations and areas that required idle only.  And if you tore up sea grass you better hope they don’t catch you as there will be big time fines and ugly restitution.  I got used to idle in and idle out and still practice that most of the time.

Once I got here and started fishing with folks I was almost appalled at where we ran and often how we got on plane.  And anybody who tells me folks are going to modify their behavior voluntarily has not spent much time actually looking, wading, and fishing grassy areas.  There are prop scars for miles, some areas are just trashed.  With the prevalence of boats that run “really really” shallow there is no way that any voluntary program is going to help.  Folks are not going to spend $60K plus and not run shallow wherever, and whenever, they feel like it.  All you have to do is be on the water a couple of days on any weekend to see how folks really act.  So as long as there is no teeth to running on sea grass there will be no change in behavior.  But maybe they will make some posters.  Yea, that will help.

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Though no great shakes in the result departments, no complaints fishing 2 days in a row and sharing one with the Boss.  Guess it is just auto pilot for me waiting for fall to get here.  I am no big fan of some of the serious heat we have been having, but it is just a matter of letting it play out and soon enough it will be cool mornings and shorter days.  And Yellowstone, with some fishing and wildlife viewing, will be a nice break and help kill off August.  Hope to see a grizzly and wolf, or two, both amazing animals, along with a few zillion bison and elk.  But of course I will keep fishing until then.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

Folks it is flat hot and looks like the week is not going to get any better.  By time I quit at 11:30 it was completely calm, humid as all get out, and just plain hot.  We really are in the middle of the Texas summer doldrums of August.  It is hard to get to excited when you know it is going to be seriously hot, so nice to have the lake right down the road for short trips.  But I am ready for fall.  With the Boss ordering up a fish fry for tonight time for another short morning.

Weather

75/98.  Mostly sunny and very warm with a 10% chance of showers.  Wind NNE 6 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

Today  93.75 msl.   Friday   93.78 msl.

Solunar Period

Major  1:38 pm to 3:38 pm.  (No way will I be out there then!)

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smack it!  

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It was dead calm at daylight when dropping the boat in.  The water color is stable, the water level is stable, and the temp continues to be 89, give or take a degree over much of the lake.  As usual started with a buzzbait for the first hour until the sun came out and the shade left.  4 small ones jumped on and then a really big fish just blew up all over it and never even touched it.  So I grabbed a swim jig and tossed it in, she ate, and before I figured that out she let go.  There is no excuse for missing a throwback like that.  All the fish were around wood, and as it has been not all wood is created equal.

This was a good one.

After having every buzzbait bite next to wood it was time to put that down and get back to the pitching.  Today it was the 4″ Berkley Power Bait Pit Boss in some darker color.  They claim the fish will hold on to it 18X longer, and while I do not know about all that, they definitely do hold on to it longer than other plastics.  And that is actually what makes it all that for pitching to cover, especially thick wood.

It was a tug of war to get this one out.

It really helps when you are pulling it against branches and your line comes tight.  The question – fish or wood?  Because they hold on to it a lot better than regular plastics just hold your rod steady, don’t move it at all, and give it a second.  If it is a fish it will almost always start swimming off or you will feel a light tug.  If it is wood you can often ease it over without getting hung.  I have been using it for over a year and it has proven to be a first rate pitching bait, and also works just fine fishing deeper.  And pegging the tungsten slip sinker keeps it nice and compact and the fish don’t care.  Generally for shallower cover the Pit Bass with a pegged 3/16 or 1/4 sinker works best with a 4/0 hook.

After catching the ones above along with the usual smalls and close to measure, time to make sure I had enough fish for the Boss.  With 2 small legal bass in the cooler I headed down to where the catfish and crappie were the other day.  After trolling that area it was apparent they were not there  (They do have tails you know.)  so I started working down to the dam.  It took a little while but I finally found a little more shad and caught a keeper crappie, a couple of white bass, and several largemouth.  That is the first whites I have caught this summer, and they were both small.  Never have quite figured out why Coleto has no really big white bass, but who knows, maybe next year.

So Deja Vu all over again.  The fishing on the lake has been nothing if not stable.  Results just depend on tossing it to the right piece of wood.  And trolling as it does will put fish in the boat.  I talked to a couple of guys who put in when I did, and took out when I did, and they caught over a dozen in the 15 foot range, which is actually where I am seeing fish trolling.  There are several ways to skin the bass on the lake right now and the crappie are definitely biting.

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It has been a while since I have seen a good ramp fiasco, but this morning produced a real extravaganza.  There was a big fancy Skeeter putting in in front of me as I got the boat ready and as they backed down I think the driver got it turned some almost hitting the pier so he put on the brake and bam – half off the trailer it goes.  It is now sitting on the skeg and one corner, about half way down the hull on the end of the trailer, so the nose it almost sticking straight up in the air.  It took a little banging and clanging to finally get it in, and the engine did some serious dragging on the ramp.  But looks like the only damage was to the skeg but it sure was painful to watch.

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By the end of the week should have some new stuff to try and will start the bay fishing.  Until then when it is this freakin’ hot it is to hot to fish all day  (Not as mad at em’ as I used to be, plus hunting season is coming.)  and to far to drive for a few hours so will wait until then.  And with the Boss headed to an 8 day stretch will probably stay at POC a couple of days, hope this heat wave will be down a little by then.  But it will be nice to have some new stuff to fish with, it all looks good.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out the new Madre Sling

Out early to beat the heat.

Just cracking daylight when I dropped the boat in the water,  The water temp today was 88 – 89 degrees over the whole lake and the water color is great, including up lake.  So up lake to start and it turned out to be a fishy day.

Weather

78/96.  Partly sunny and humid with a 50% chance of afternoon showers.  Wind SSW 9 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

Tuesday  93.79 msl.   Today   93.78 msl.

Solunar Period

Major  10:55 am to 12:55 pm.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smack it!  

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It does not get any prettier than that!

My best bite of the day was interesting,  The perfect pitch to the perfect piece of cover.  It sinks right in the middle of the tangle and when it gets to the bottom in 4′ of water the line jumps 6″, I set the hook and game on.  It is a titanic struggle trying to pull that big fish out of the pile.  Visions of a big bass are running through my head and then…..

I catch one on lures every once in while, in this case the beaver style plastic.  This one will not be adding to the population.

The morning started off with a nice one about 4lbs smashing a buzzbait, he came straight at the boat and it was an easy boat flip – right over the boat and back in the water on the other side and off he came.  Not the best start but it happens.  As soon as the sun started peaking out switched to the swim jig, caught a couple of smalls and then on one bank missed several.  So turned around and pitched the mag finesse worm and it was game on for a while.

Had several like this first thing, and lost more than I boated.

They were really shallow and any piece of wood bigger than your arm seemed to have a fish on it.  One thing that often lets you know that there are a few fish on the bank is when it hits the water and one grabs it and just takes off.  A little competition.  On one spot boated 4 or 5 and missed several.  Seems like right now if you find some there are more.

It was pretty consistent until around 10:00 on the plastics and since a tilapia made the boat time to do a little trolling and add to the number of species.  It took me about an hour to find them but finally did.  Not sure where the white bass have gone, but the catfish were smacking the crankbait.

Ended up putting 4 catfish in the boat.  Should have kept a few.

One thing that is interesting is I just did not see tons of shad schools while trolling.  I covered quite a bit of water before finding the area, and everything was there.  They were liking a shad colored crankbait that ran about 10 foot.  One thing about the catfish, they smack it, but it was not all catfish.

I caught one bigger crappie but the camera battery died.

It is interesting how trolling gets a bad name.  It is efficient, and allows you to cover water, then hopefully get them cornered, and put the hurt on them.  Probably an easy 10 jumped on once I got them, and the area, figured out.  There were scattered shad but no big schools, but see a few fish on the down scan and here came a bite.  Great way to end the day. and also a good way to put a few on the dinner table if you are so inclined.

The fishing was good today, they definitely wanted plastic pitched to cover, I think now that the water has stabilized they have started to return a little shallower.  But if you were not on your toes they were not holding on to it all that well, feel a bite and set the hook or they were gone.  But the action was consistent this morning early, and when I headed back down lake to troll I left them biting.  Any time you can catch the short side of 20 and back on the trailer by noon is a good day in my book.

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On the travel front of course we had to cancel our trip to Africa.  We were so excited about seeing the gorillas and spending 4 days on the Zambezi River catching tiger fish, which just happens to be one of the great places in Africa to see leopard.  That would round our seeing the big 5 as we have seen the rest.  And one cool thing about the place we will stay is they do walking safaris, which sounds awesome.  Still haven’t made up my mind on the dugout canoe trip in a river with tons of crocs and big hippos.  So that one is re-scheduled for next year, hope to God things are quiet a year from now.

But there is a trip coming soon, as in a short couple of weeks.  Will be staying right outside of Yellowstone for a couple of days of photos and animal watching.  Grizzly bears and wolves being the main quarry.  One day will be a float/and or walk and wade, depending on the water level.  We will be hiring a guide as we are still rank amateurs with the fly fishing thing, but we are willing.  So time to get the stuff out and do a little organization.

And if things go well will be heading to Colorado sometime in September or October for a week or two.  Have found lots of water to fish that I have not even made a dent in around Pagosa.  There is something cool about standing in a mountain stream with only the sound of rushing water and not a soul in sight.

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We be getting a couple of new toys which means time to give the bay a serious work out.  Will fill you in after a couple of days on the water.  Of course now have a blinking trailer light on one side so this weekend time to get that fixed.  If it is not one thing it is another when you own a boat.  With that comes the responsibility of keeping things working, especially trailer lights and boat running lights for the safety of others.  But will back at it next week.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out their new CFG Madre Sling

Not sure what the weather will bring tomorrow but I will be up early and on the lake as long as it is not pouring or lightning.  It has been a little sketchy here and there in our area, and it is pouring (77 degrees outside.) as I write this.  We sure needed it, to bad it came at the expense of those south of us.  But as Capt. Mac told us before we moved here, it is not a question of if there will be a hurricane, just a question of when.

It looks like the lake has come up just a little but surely there is more to come.  And since it has been a cooler rain it should help drop the lake surface temps some, but as far as water color up lake it remains to be seen.  Hope I can get out first thing, could be good.

Weather

75/91.  A 60% chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the morning but otherwise mostly cloudy all day.  Wind SSW 8 – 14 mph.

Lake Level

Today  93.79 msl.   Friday  93.80 msl.

Solunar Period

Major  7:21 am to 9:21 am.  Minor  1:54 pm to 2:54 pm.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smack it!  

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Well that was hardly worth the effort.  I was out at daylight, and while it was not really foggy, it was actually wetter than that with serious suspended moisture.  It was apparent at the ramp the lake is rising and the water temp was around 85 in most places, a 3 – 5 degree drop.  And up lake the color is still fine and things were looking good, as long as it lasted.

Started on a main lake point close to the ramp with a buzzbait which produced one small and several misses.  So next up was a deep point with plastics, same result.  So I headed up lake to toss the swim jig, and see if the water color had changed.  It was around 8:30 and so far major non-productive but at least 2 smalls came on the swim jig and one on plastics.  The bite was clearly not on and then off in the distance it started thundering.  I gave the Boss a call and it was raining hard in Victoria so time to get closer to the ramp.  On came the raincoat and then came the rain.  With it thundering around me time to call it a short morning.  (It is thundering as I write this.)  Sometimes it just does not happen and today was a perfect example of that.

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Local News

Hurricane Hanna turned out to be a little more than it looked like, but most of it went south of Corpus Christi.   Port Mansfield on down to South Padre had high winds and it will be raining for days, some areas have already had over a foot.  We have only had a little more than an inch in the last 24 but it is expected to to continue for a couple of days.

In this area sad to report that the Indianola Marina caught fire, according to the news maybe in the bait room, and ended up with a partial roof collapse and it looks like it is a total loss.  The surf was super high but the fire trucks got through, hopefully they will be back on their feet as soon as possible.  And from the pictures there is still a bunch of water on the roads down there.

And on a tougher note one man was killed and 3 taken to the hospital after a boating accident at midnight Friday out of POC.  According to what was initially reported they were on an SCB going fishing when they hit some kind of marker on the intercoastal.  My condolences to the family and a sobering moment for the rest of us.

And on that note I rarely come back in the dark on the bay.  Though I night fished for decades on freshwater lakes the bay is a whole other animal.  It only takes a minute and you never know what might be floating, semi-submerged, or in the case of the many channel markers, what might have moved or fallen over.  It is dangerous on the water anywhere after dark, and the bay has its own special hazards.

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Since I wrote the above I have seen the pictures from the scene of the accident that night.  They are sobering.  I will not be sharing them out of respect for the family of the man who was killed, as I would not share them if it was your family or mine, it is only fair.  Plus I am sure there is a serious ongoing investigation.  Over the years as a medic we ran some boat accidents, including a Champion that was 30 feet up the bank in the woods after hitting the bank at night, or the Boss working a boat/swimmer accident at daylight that turned out be a nurse friend of hers who was horribly mangled by the prop, just to name a couple of the more serious ones.  These pictures were in that same vein – terrible.

As I eased out this morning I thought back to those pictures.  No matter what it was like yesterday, or where you thought/think you were or are, that has nothing to do with the current moment.  All it takes is an instant and in this case it had a horrible outcome.

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As you all know I am regular reader of the TPWD website, where you can learn all kinds of interesting stuff.  One current issue that TPWD is taking comments on is statewide catfish limits.  As far as the basic proposals I only have one problem, it is becoming increasing clear that you almost need a law degree to decipher each particular body of water.  If  catfish are your thing, and you have an opinion, check out the proposals and comment.  If you don’t no complaining if it does not go your way.

Of course these area/lake specific regulations are a good thing for our wildlife, but man it can be complicated.  After reading over the Colorado hunting regulations  (South of this road, north of that road, with Boot Hill as the west boundary.) it reminded me of the Ontario fishing regulations, which seemed to go so far as –  “If it is Tuesday after lunch and you are fishing on this particular body of water in spring you can only keep 1.4 fish between 11″ and 12″ before it gets dark.”  Now that may be a serious exaggeration, but you get the point.

My favorite Texas regulation is the 13″ inside spread on whitetails.  And what is, or is not, a buck, or legal depending on where you are.  It is not a simple matter by any stretch.  Arkansas is much easier to decipher – If it has 3 points on one side, kill it.  Simple enough.

I guess my point with this ramble is it has become more complicated to be sure we are in compliance depending on where and what we are doing.  (Case in point:  Missouri requires a paddle.)  It has gotten to the point that you better have an annual book in the boat or pack to double check just in case.

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So today was a wash, but at least the boat got a good soaking on the way home.  It looks like it will be Friday before I am back on the water as I will be spending the day tomorrow with the Boss, and then a quick trip to Austin to get the car serviced.  You would think a retired guy would get to fish more, but life follows you no matter your age or station.  On the bright side there are a couple of goodies on the way and am looking forward to sharing it with you next week.  So keep stopping in and thank for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

*******************

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Check out their new CFG Madre Sling

**********************

Of course with Wednesday’s successful bass trip, and now a major front on the way, there is no way I will not be dropping the boat in the lake at daylight, depending on when “it” gets here.  It was nice to catch a big fish, and the conditions sure could help with that tomorrow.  How about clouds, wind, and drizzle.  (But looking at the forecast wind is coming, just a case of what time it gets here.)  Perfect bass catching conditions.  But by the same token you never know and the only way to find out is to go.  If it is not nuts out there.

Weather

78/93.  Cloudy with a 60% chance of rain possible flooding.  Wind  NE 18 – 29 mph.

Lake Level

Wednesday  93.81 msl.   Today  93.80 msl.

Solunar Periods

Minor  10:44 am to 11:44 am.

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The Knockin Tail is the perfect trailer for the swim jig.  They smacked it!  

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Tale of Two Days

Think it was early when I hit the lake?

Today could not have been any more different from Wednesday if it had tried.  The water was down a little, much more of it was 90+ degrees, and the front did not really show.  But a big difference, other than a couple of gators, there was no wildlife moving.  And not seeing any deer is rare on the lake. But the bigger difference – I managed to lose an expensive pair of Costas.  They were on my hat, and not around my neck, when going around a corner into the wind my hat blew off, and obviously the Costas went directly to the bottom.  And since it was basically dark it took me a while to find my hat.  Hate it when that happens but lessoned learned.  And last, no big fish.

The plan was to give the swim jig a serious go, and it caught fish, but it was back to the dink fest.  They were hitting it but I just could not find that sweet spot.

The bluegill looking swim jig with a Knockin Tail trailer was the ticket.

I fished way up lake, midlake, and even went up the plant arm and tried a couple of places I have not fished in a while.  Of the 10 or so on swim jig most came tight to some kind of cover, and nothing came off the bank or without some object close.  I did re-fish one area where they were biting with a buzzbait, and though a couple jumped on, again all part of the dink fest.  Of course it did not help that shortly after the sun came out it slicked off and the clouds left, real pleasant with no sunglasses and hard to see sunken cover.

To bad I did not get all of him, he was massive.

I did have a close encounter with a big gator.  He was way down the bank and instead of hitting the road he swam right over to the boat and when I took this picture he was maybe 10 feet from the boat.  He had no fear and was eyeing me like a cold beer at happy hour.  He finally lost interest and swam away, but he was the kind that I have a healthy respect for.  Love those things.

So after fishing from around 6:00 until 11:30 I called it a day after catching a dozen plus.  The lake was quite a bit busier with lots of folks fishing.  In fact 2 of the places I wanted to fish had a boat on it, rare during the week.  And there was an amazing almost accident between 2 boats in the middle of the lake without another boat around.  Clearly stupidity on one party, maybe both, but they were way to close and both pulled up.  And if you like crappie I saw folks catching them, and some of them looked pretty solid.  One thing on Coleto is they are available year round and not all are deep.

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Got these from our Fayette Guru Rusty who is up in the north country.

He took his son and son-in-law on Lake Michigan for some lake trout action.  They had their limit in 4 hours and he reports a fun time with the family.  Congrats on the successful trip and those are some really big lakers!

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After my comment on ATT and my flip phone SA Joe sent this along.

FLIP FONE UPDATE. Coming from a Phone Man, 20+yrs in Communications….

All you need to do is go buy an ATT FLIP GoPhone that is 4g access. Take out your sim card and put into the new phone. If the sim card is different go to the story and they will transfer the number to a new one. Make sure you copy all your contacts…

I got the same notice that our 3g phone is going out of service. Right now I’m using a 4G alcatel 4052R

DONT GO TO THE SMART FONE DARK SIDE!!!!

Thanks for the advice but since I posted that there has been a revelation.  The new service will not affect our phones until February 2022.  They literally said they “forgot” to include that relevant fact.  My problem with that is sending this crap out during our current state of affairs to sell phones is tone deaf.  This was nothing more than an attempt to sell some phones by leaving out that important  piece of information.  Doing that to customers who might be on the edge right now is just plain slimy. Shame on them.

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Now we all sit back and wait to see what this storm will bring us.  Obviously we are going to have several days of rain, whether it is a few inches or a flood remains to be seen.  It seems to have slowed down some, it is forecast to take 2 days to move through, but is building strength.  They are closing Corpus beaches as I write this.  So be careful were ever you are.  Turn around, don’t drown!

So I will hang this weekend and wait it out.  We desperately need the rain.  Just want to thank you all for continuing to read this, it has been a tough year all the way around.  The best we can hope for is this virus will start to drop some and my wife will not risk her life every day at work for this “Fake or Democratic” virus.  Feel that way, try working a few days in the ER or ICU and see what is really going on.  And in my wildest dreams it will start to decline and we can have some good fall fishing.  Hope springs eternal.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines