FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

Weather

69/80.  Fog, then cloudy with a 50% chance of rain.  Wind S 15 – 30 mph.

Lake level

Today  94.19 msl.  2 days ago 94.19 msl.

Prime Periods

Major 11:07 am to 12:07 pm.   Only relevant time.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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First and best bite of the day.

Cooked the Boss breakfast this morning and really did not get in any kind of a hurry as the afternoon bite seems to be best.  It was 9:30 before I got on the water and the wind was blowing fairly stiff right out of the south.  The lake at least seems to have stabilized and the fish are definitely biting.

That is a real one!

As a side note I meet Jeramie at the ramp today and we talked fishing.  He caught a bunch today but they were smaller.  He did have a pic of a real big one  (See above.) he caught yesterday using a crankbait when he hammered them.  The real interesting thing was that he saw bedding tilapia!  This is real early and is a real indication of how far along things have gotten.  Today I was in a couple of places with 70 degree temps.  And as it has been for me, slow roll the swim jig, and if there is some cover toss the plastic in there.  It was about 50/50 between the swim jig and plastic today.  I am fishing a 1/4 bluegill swim jig and a Rage Craw and a watermelon stick worm for pitching.  With Jeramie catching them on crankbait there are several ways to skin the cat.

Just nice solid fish.  It was work but the occasional good one makes the day go away pretty rapidly.

Of course I am still throwing the swim jig at “stuff.”  Stump, past a lay down, over a point, and then reeling it nice and slow.  The bite is so tricky when you use it like that but they do not want it hopped or twitched for some reason.  They just come behind it and eat, and today I missed several, one of those deals where if you think it was a bite you already missed them.  The wind blowing right along at 15 – 20 mph did not help matters.

And speaking of wind, as I have the spinnerbait got a bank or two but they just are not interested.  Not sure why that is but that’s fishing.  And I tried one bank with Bang O Lure and had a small one miss it, but that is definitely not a tactic when it is windy.

The current “run of the mill.”   Happy to have them!

First thing I headed up the plant arm to fish a couple of places.  As I got a little ways up the plant arm the water temp dropped to 66 and stayed there.  Fishing 3 places without a bite I said heck with that.  That is by far the coolest area on the lake.  It is in the high 60’s everywhere else and 70+ in some places in the Coleto arm and some coves.  Unfortunately there were several places I did not/could not fish due to the wind but still managed to boat an easy 15 with a nice average.

And my second catfish of the year on lures.  Starting off just like last year.

FIshing is a little better up lake, but with the wind blowing right down the pike it was hard to keep good boat control and still reel the swim jig slow enough to present it properly.  And some coves have fish and some don’t, but if it stays like this that will change as they move to the bank to spawn.  But the weather was good again today and given the choice I will take cloudy and windy over calm and clear any day.

The weather the rest of the week looks good but there is a small cold front coming this weekend and the 80’s will be a thing of the past.  It will be interesting to see how that affect the fishing.  Tomorrow I have to take a day and get my stuff back together.  All those things that need doing when you fish 6 of the last 10 days.  And the boat is a mess as is the truck.  So time to get back it all back in fishing shape then back on the water Friday.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

Disturbing!

The creepiest trash on the shore, ever!

After staying up late watching the game I slept in this morning.  Really did not have a plan for anything particular.  It had drizzled and rained a little all night, and but as I was finishing the prior post the sun made a little peak out of the clouds.  It was already 11:00 so I headed to the lake and was fishing by 12:00.  So no forecast, no fishing times, just go.

Probably the biggest change is the water temp.  It has really jumped up, and up lake it has come up 7 to 9 degrees to 69 degrees in some places.  That is a lot and it made my choice simple today.  Head to the coves where they spawn, concentrate on any swing area, or edges near secondary points.  That is as classic a pattern you can get early spring.  Starting with the swim jig nothing in the first cove, but in the second they were there.

They are definitely in pre-spawn.  Whether that continues is any buddy’s guess.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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From that point on I fished 3 more coves before I quit at 5:00.  One was just loaded, swim jig in, then re-fish the same water with the stick worm pitching to cover back out.  5 or 6 going in, and then 5 or 6 going out.  Nice to catch fish re-fishing an area.  Now there were no big fish, I did break one off setting the hook, it is where they were as much as what they were.  If it remotely stays like this we could have fish on the beds at the next moon.  And most of the lake is clear as it continues to fall.

They wanted the bluegill swim jig at a slow roll.  The stick worm, right in any top.

I caught a bunch, and maybe 3 or 4 actually “hit” either bait.  Almost every one I caught on the swim jig  just started acting different as they swam with it.  None hit it after a hop or any kind of twitch, just a slow steady retrieve.  Made getting a hook in them pretty easy.  The one that broke my line wacked it close to the boat and I wacked him back just a little to hard.  And it was the same with the sinko, several just started swimming out from the bank with it right after it hit the water.  Really cool bites, most coming within 5 foot of the bank.

There were 5 gators warming in one cove, the one with the most fish.  Makes sense.

I did fish a couple of main lake stretches without a bite.  This big warm front has them confused.  It has not been the usual fall, winter, then the slow warm up.  We are talking the water temp coming up almost 10 degrees on the lake in the last month.  A little early for that kind of thing.

The last place.

I did miss a couple that were more of a fast tap, as in maybe crappie.  It really might be time to crappie fish shallow, but just like the bass, it could end as quickly as it has started.  But since the weather is a fickle mistress it depends on her.  But for the moment they are biting.

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And I got this nice offer from SA Joe.

You ever want a ride in a BassCat, all you have to do is tell me. Brought/Bought mine in Dayton ohio in 2003 and love it. 2001 Pantera Classic with 200 Merc. Most expensive fix is going to be the ECM that has been failing me last couple of months. Hope CDI fixes the problem..

Thanks for the offer.  I have actually ridden in several.  Many of the early tournaments I fished were partner with a draw.  Each team would have a boat and a no boater.  Whatever team you drew the no boaters would swap.  So I ended up fishing in lots of different boats over the years.  The Pantera is a great bass boat and I am sure with the 200 it hauls.  Maybe I will take you up on that sometime.  Good to hear from you.

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And Jeramie sent along this one after putting the hurt on them.

I was one of the other boats today. White bass were on! Limited out quickly and started fishing for fun. Caught 4 largemouth bass also had over 15 lbs on 4 fish! Missed one that easily was over eight pound, shook off at boat! This week has been great on the lake.

Nice job!  The bite is on, the big question is will it last?  My real fear is not cold fronts, it is a big cold rain.  If it leads to a massive raise I have seen it ruin a spring or two when that happens.  But a nice warm rise is another story.  But any time you can limit on whites and catch some good bass is a big deal.  Congrats.  And I did learn something cleaning fish the other day.  The can had a nice pile of whites, crappie, and bass.  Folks are catching fish, great to see after a slower year last year.

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1,149th Post

I used to care about the numbers, how many folks, what time, and on and on.  Now I rarely look, as long as I am fishing this blog will exists.  But occasionally I notice what post this is, and this one is my 1,149th post.  That is a lot.  Wonder how many of those are actually days on the water?  The majority for sure.  Good days and bad, it is what fishing is all about.  And today was one of those nice days when the fish bit and the right decisions were made.

Not sure what is next, haven’t even contemplated that.  I need to do a little maintanance on rods and reels, much less give the boat a good cleaning.  And it needs to go to the shop for a quick fix, trying to decide when it can be skiff time for a week while the Mako is gone.  But for now that can all wait, time to fish.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

Tomorrow there is only one plan, the Boss wants a fresh fish fry for the big game, so tomorrow I will actually be keeping a few.  What flavor I have no clue, it will depend on what is biting, or how I choose to fish.  But this time of year has one thing going for it, if you want some fish they are usually biting enough to get it done.  Probably should not have said that, but no matter what it will be a good day on the water.

Weather 

67/71.  Mostly cloudy with a 60% chance of afternoon rain.  Wind ENE 5 – 10 mph.

Lake Level

Today  94.19 msl.  Thursday  94.17 msl.  (Down over 4 feet since last year but we got a drop from the last rain.)

Activity Periods

Major 2:31 pm to 4:31 pm.   Minor  8:59 am to 9:59 am.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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It is foggy here in Victoria this Tuesday morning, and like yesterday morning when I fished, it is raining.  The plan yesterday was simple, troll up supper, quit early, hit happy hour at our favorite establishment, then enjoy the game.  And it worked out perfectly.

To make a long story short I trolled up about 15 or so, cleaned 3 for supper, and called it a morning.  The real interesting thing was the timing of the bite.  I putted around an hour or two, getting a half hearted bite here and there until about 10:00 (See Minor time above.) then the bite was on.  Bass, whites, and crappie.  Since it is just me and the Boss I only needed 3 so I kept one of each on purpose.  Time for a story.

When I was living and guiding at the boat dock on Norfork we used to have fish fries in the summer.  We would have everything from bass, walleye, striper, crappie, whites, catfish, and on a couple of occasions we added a ringer to the mix.  Spearfishing was allowed on Norfork and Jerry would shoot a couple of carp.  Clean them carefully and add them to the mix.  Funny, folks ate fish until they foundered and not one person ever asked or said this is carp.  Not one.

If fish is properly cared for, and even on the lake when I am keeping them they go on ice immediately. We almost always eat them that day, prefer to never freeze fish though again, if done properly is ok.  Then cleaned/fileted properly and back on ice in the fridge until cooked.  So with 3 different fish obviously there was a difference in texture and shape, but when it came down to it, no fishy taste, it is all good.  And last night was delicious.

The only thing I did forget as it was raining and they were not all that big, I decided to take a dead fish picture which I do on occasion.  That picture was going to be them on a platter but there was one problem.  We started “testing’ the first piece or two and then the full fledged feeding began.  And of course cleaning up I went “rats”, forgot the picture.  Trust me they were goood!

As a side note on catching white bass in the early spring, sunny days are usually better than cloudy.  Not to say don’t chase them on cloudy days but there is a little difference.  On our area lakes the bite is going to be on big time in the next month, this is just the precursor.  But I am sure our fish are a little confused with the wild water temps swings.  Up lake the temp was as high as 64.9, up almost 4 degrees in the last week.  And as I type this it is 73 degrees outside and projected hit 77.  This has been one wacky winter.

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A big congrats to LSU.  What a game and it was so nice to see Ed’s face.  No bigger dram could come true for him than winning it all, much less in New Orleans!  There were lots of LSU fans, you know who you are, who hated the hire.  But he has grown and adapted to the changing game.  And the players love him, what more could you want?  So hate all you want LSU is the national champion.  It does not get any better than that for a football fan.  So now when you are talking bad about him at some time in the future just remember – He took you to the promise land.

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Oops, there will be an abrupt end to this drivel.  It is 11:00 and the sky is clearing some so time to put this down and load the boat.  So hopefully there will be a good report in a few hours.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

Boat show, fishing show, outdoor show, call it whatever you will, I like attending them.  The Boss was off this weekend, something unusual, see we headed to Houston for the boat show, and her usual trip to Trader Joe’s.  The show always has some good stuff and I often meet some good folks, and this visit to the Houston Boat Show was all that.  Plus, I never met a boat I did not like and was really looking forward to seeing some nice ones, and with the Boss in tow no chance I was going to buy a new boat.  But there is always hope!

And as far as the boats went there was anything your little wallet was big enough to tackle.  My “when I win the lottery” boat was there – Yellowfin.  But first I have to live on the ocean with docking and blue water close.  So that ain’t happening.  I enjoyed chatting with the Bass Cat guy, as they are made in Mtn. Home and I watched them grow up.  And of course the Skeeters looked good as did the Rangers.  There were a couple of smaller/lighter/cheaper salt boats that were not so hard on the wallet.  But of course there were the top end Majek, Shoalwaters, Shallow Sport, and Dargels, all with the price tag of a small house.

My personal preference is the Majek Extreme.  Most at the show were the 22′ models.  The 20″ is more my speed but they do not generally produce them, it is a special order boat.  But as far as a really good looking bass/salt boat it fits the bill.  The only reason I have not taken the plunge a while ago,  I own 2 boats that do what I need them to, and no boat payments.  The internet is full of nice fairly newly  (They wish they had not done that.) purchased boats for sale.  The grass may seem greener, but we need to be happy for what we have and not what we don’t.  Plus, as I have learned owning multiple boats over the last 50 years – the boat does not make the fisherman.  But it sure is fun to look.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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Dennis Chafin – Coastal Bend Fishing

Find of the Day!

If you like to fish new places on the coast you need this site!  I really enjoyed speaking fishing with Dennis at the show.  A sales consultant with Ron Hoover Marine we had plenty to talk about in both boats and fishing.  When we were talking about websites I mentioned how in the beginning folks gave me a certain amount of crap for giving up “spots.”  My site is blog, an ongoing story that mentions places and methods as part of my ramblings, but when I looked up his website I was blown away.   What he has done is a credit to sharing information.  So before I rave any more I want to make it simple for you.

Go to his site.  Then as an example click on fishing maps at the top of the page, then click on wherever you want to fish, then look at the legend when the page comes up.  It includes all the places/names you have ever heard about on a Google Earth overhead.  You can not get any more accurate than that.  It is just plain cool.  Additionally there is plenty of fishing how-to, seasonal trends, etc.  Amazing.  I want to give him big props, the work it must have taken to get this done is something.  Wish I had found it a long time ago.  I have always taken pride doing it all by myself on trips, but a resource like this is invaluable and it should be in your favorites.

(Tip of the day  –  If you are planning a trip to visit one of the places on the site for the first time it will be a real resource.  Choose a couple of places you would like to explore in the area, then organize your route based on hitting them with some kind of order as part of the plan.  Then do a Google search using the name of the “spot”, like Panther Reef, Mesquite Bay, as examples.  There are tons of articles and fishing reports out there, you might be surprised not only at the hits, but what you can learn.  Can give you a real head start to your first visit to an area.)

https://www.coastalbendfishing.com/

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Marker 54

Joshua having a good time!  The reds were lovin’ his baits.  They were freakin’ eating his plastic shrimp, but once he got on his 3″ Hard Shrimp under the popping cork it was really game on!  (From our trip to the Chandeleur Islands 2 years ago.)

The new hard shrimp, a little bigger and just as tough.  It looks real and acts real, and whether tied off to fall forward or backwards, the fish love it.  

I got a chance to chat with Joshua, owner of Marker 54 lures who I fished with in Louisiana.  His booth was hopping, and as I am want to do at times I started helping sell some baits to the crowd.  His hard shrimp is easy to sell as I have seen it and his soft shrimp in action.  He has improved the hard shrimp and in the water it looks even more real, end of story.  Plus it is really durable and generally will last until you lose it, they are stout.  Put it on a popping cork and if there are redfish, or trout, around it will be fish on.  If you have not checked him out before have a look.  His baits really work.  (He does not give me anything to say this, other than some shit!)

https://www.marker54.com/

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Knotty Hooker

I fought the urge to buy tackle, that will come at the Fishing Show.  And though there was not a lot there, I did pick up some jig heads.  I have seen the Knotty Hooker jig head before, to me they seemed a little high, but all jig heads are.  (But since I am an old man who poured thousands in my day everything seems a little high!)  But after giving them a closer look I picked up a bag.  They have all the characteristics I like when trout and red fishing.

This style is often called a stand up jig head.  I have been fishing jig heads on plastics since the 70’s and have come to the belief that shape has more to do with how it falls or swims rather than how it lays on the bottom.

Their 1/8th has the right size head for light line fishing like I prefer for trout.  And with a screw lock, (I am using them more and more.) once you glue the bait on your plastic could last all day instead of continually tearing them at the head.  Nothing like only using a couple during the day instead of a bag when they are biting.  And I like the 3/0 Gamakatsu hook, not to thick as I am often setting the hook a long way out with a spinning rod, tougher on light line.  Apparently that brand does not have a website but you can find them on the Baad Marine Supply website.

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Captain Experiences

I met the owner of Captain Experiences, I think his name was John, (Sorry if I am wrong but will get it right.) who after getting out of the oil and gas business started a guide finding service.  His service is innovative and I love the concept.  After speaking with him and understanding how he is different I would not hesitate to use his service for guides when traveling.

Time for a little story.  As we are headed to Africa, when we first started looking at guides I contacted a guide on FishingBooker.  They claim the captain will get back to you usually within a day.  No response, another email, no response, then contact FIshingBooker x2, “we will find out why”, then no response.  Before it was over nothing from the guide or the company ever.  Think about it – You are planning international travel, shall we say Africa, and you have booked a guide with them and something comes up and they can not even pick up a phone and call the guide?  You want to bet your vacation fishing trip on that kind of shoddy customer service?  You think they would help you in Africa if they could not even help you before you went?  I have had good and bad experiences hiring guides out of the country, you never know.  Captain Experiences is a great way to reduce the chances of a bad choice/trip.

What I like about his service is you tell them where you want to go, they contact their guides for you, then some quotes, and then you make the decision.  Each guide is personally vetted by them and only reviews by folks who actually fished with them are allowed.  No bots or guide’s family members or other bullshit reviews.  They set up payment in a really safe and easy way and they guarantee your trip.  And the best thing – You pay them nothing for their service.

So take a minute to check out their website.  He booked multiple trips for folks at the show and next time we are looking for a guide (See the Boss and flyfishing.) we will definitely use his service.  Nice to see some innovation and they have clearly done that.

https://captainexperiences.com/

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Capt. R. Corey Vinson – nofishnocharge,com

When I walk by a booth with tons of pictures of nice stripers it is hard for me not to stop and chat.  One of the great freshwater gamefish, I caught my share in the 70’s and 80’s.  Hard fighting and great to eat, there is nothing like catching a big fish.  Capt. Vinson and I shared a couple of stories and it was easy to see he and his service are great guys to fish with.  Brought back some good memories.  (I could barely lift these 6!)

They fish Whitney and Richland Chambers south of Dallas/Fort Worth, and should you get skunked they have a no fish no pay guarantee.  But from looking at their pictures and chatting with them there is little chance of that happening.  Many folks who fish the coast have never experienced fishing for stripers, or eating them.  If you have never done it you need to give it a try.  And it is one of the best fisheries for getting the kids and the wife on fish.  So take a look at their site, no better way to fill the cooler.

http://www.nofishnocharge.com/index.html

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Of course there was lots going on but these are my highlights.  It was fairly busy and folks were definitely buying boats.  There were some good deals, and if you were in the market and willing to stand your ground, it looked like a good time to buy a boat.  And being the last of like 10 days of the show the folks had to be getting tired and burned out.  Maybe an easier “yes” when arguing price?   Heck you would be doing them a “favor” by towing it to your house.

I talked to lots of folks, imagine that, easy when everyone speaks the same language, boating and fishing.  So now I can’t wait for the Fishing Show.  And maybe the Fishing Classic at Cabela’s.  Plenty of stuff going on in the fishing world, spring is coming.  For me it will be back on the water in the morning.  First the lake for some fresh fish for the Boss.  Then Tuesday the bay, and the rest of the week will shall see.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

After Mondays post I got this comment from Jeramie.

I was on the lake today as well! I hit the water around three and by 5:30 i had caught 20-30 bass all on crankbait. Ive never tried trolling but after reading your post i think im gonna try it. I ended up with a nice crappie and one of the biggest white bass ive caught on coleto. Keep up the good work on keeping me informed on coleto. Today was first time ive fished it in months

First thanks for the comment and kind words.  I love it when folks send them, it lets me know you are all are out there.  And what makes it even more interesting, the last couple of days as I am trolling it is running through my mind – crankbait.  And though I did not throw it any, just trolled, it will be first up tomorrow.  Clouds and big wind, should be perfect for crankbait so thanks for the tip.  So as I prepare this the night before I reminded – Sometimes when you are fishing listen to the little voice in your head, unless it is telling you to break your rods and jump in the lake when it is going badly.  Nice job on the bass.  Go to the top of the page and click on techniques, there is a new post on trolling for whites.  Good luck, and if you give it a go let us know.

Weather 

62/79.  Mostly cloudy, breezy, and very warm.  25% chance of rain.  Wind SSE 15 – 25 mph.

Lake Level

One Year Ago  98.28 msl!   Tuesday  94.22 msl.  Today  94.17 msl.  (Down over 4 feet since last year and the decline continues.)

Activity Periods

Major 10:34 am to 12:34 pm. Minor  2:28 pm to 3:28 pm.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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Wind, wind, and more wind!

This was a big girl!  The watermelon red stick worm strikes again.

Can you say windy?  It was blowing pretty hard when I dropped the boat in the lake, and it continued to pick up until it achieved “my” critical mass.  But time I finally gave it up it was an easy 25 mph+ with higher gusts.  And coming from the SE there was not many places to get out of it, and most of those were not the “right” place.

Starting up lake fishing a crankbait parralell on channel banks it took me an hour to catch a bass, and it was not much.  The first one hit a DT10 Rapala crankbait.  The wind was pounding right up river and right on where I had been catching them.  So I kept after the crankbait as the wind blew me along until I was almost where they were biting so time to switch to trolling.  To make a long story short, 6 jumped on trolling.  And of those 6 not a one even made me want to get the camera out.  And they were just scattered at that.  So time for one more stretch of crankbait so switched to a 1.5 square bill which only produced one really small bass.

Then anther boat came up and basically fished the same stuff, who knows, maybe a reader.  If it was sorry about that but the wind clearly changed things.  They were just not there like they were Tuesday.  It only took an hour and a couple of passes to get sick of that so time for a change to the swim jig.  And of course caught a small one on my first cast, and then it took over an hour to get my next bite.  It was a little surprising that they were back in a cove, but with the water temp 63 up lake they could be anywhere.  Then as I passed a tree top I tossed the stick worm into it and wham, fish on.  And as you can see from the pic above it was a real one and turned a marginal day into a success.  Winter fishing is inconsistent at times, tough to figure out occasionally, but it does produce some big fish.

A nutria, or one big swimming rat!

After catching the good one I only had one more bite over the next hour, and with the wind howling at this point it was just no fun.  So at 1:00 I tapped out and headed to the ramp.  I was first out this morning and there were 2 boats taking out at the ramp when I got there.  The only other boat was fishing the hot water discharge, where several big strings have been caught lately, and is always an option on any power plant lake.  Other than the couple at the ramp I only saw 2 boats when I was fishing all 3 days this week.  Not sure if that is a function of the fishing or the new $17 entrance fee.  As you know I opposed it, but it looks like one side affect is I have had it to myself.

Looks like this wind will not quit and is expected to blow 30 mph again tomorrow and into Saturday.  There were small craft warnings on the coast, and will be again tomorrow,  rightly so.  It really was humping along today and when the hassle outweighed the fun time to call it a day.  So tomorrow will be a get my stuff together day, new line, check boxes, organize the boat and baits in preparations for another 3 or 4 day fishing next week.    The weather includes clouds and the possibility of some showers, and the wind will be ok.  But they are forecasting a record high in the low 80’s Wednesday.  This has been one crazy winter.  Have a good weekend and if you get out on the water be nice, be safe, and catch em’.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

As I was trolling along today I thought about how much I like trolling.  Whether on the open ocean fishing for sails or marlin, crankbaits for white bass, or gigantic baits for muskie, stripers, it has always kept my attention.  I guess it is just the anticipation and not really knowing what is coming next.  And today was a perfect example of that.  And for you folks who think trolling is just dragging crap around you could not be more wrong.  It is a technique like any other method to catch fish.  Depth, color, speed, location, just like any other technique there is a way to do it, and if done right puts fish in the boat.

Weather 

37/67.  Sunny with a 4% chance of rain.  Wind  NNE 10 – 15mph.  (Small cold front blowing in.)

Lake Level

Yesterday  94.22 msl.  Today  94.21 msl.  (The slow but steady dropping lake level.)

Activity Periods

Major 8:50 am to 10:50 am.  Minor  2:28 pm to 3:28 pm.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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The wind was blowing 15 mph right out of the north when I dropped the boat in at 8:30.  It had cold front written all over it.  Not sure how much farther the lake can fall but it is coming down and the changes are really apparent every day.  First was up lake to hit a couple of spots and then check on the white bass.  Little did I know that after catching 4 on plastics it would be another 24 trolling.  I love this time of year.

The boys are back just waiting on the girls.

With the wind blowing fairly hard out of the north and a mile high sky I managed to come to the right conclusion.  At times in early spring when the whites move up they go to the softer banks, mud, clay, that hold the heat and are out of the wind as much as possible.  I think it probably has more to do with the shad.  Still running a shallow Shad Rap on 10lb line that gets about 4 1/2 foot deep, and the smaller Shad Rap with a bill that runs about 7 foot, and both caught fish.  Trolling about 2.5 mph, it was best right on the edge of the river channel.

2 of the 4 crappies.

They are not as far up as usual, a combination of the white bass hoard is not there yet and the falling water, which is leaving the “good spot” less that 5 feet deep.  Once I figured out the depth, 6 was good, with a few out of the channel in 10ft+, it was consistent.  While not fast by any means these fish are the vanguard, it will only get better.   The bank I was fishing was as protected as it could be from the north wind and fairly calm.  You could occasionally see a shad flip, and of the 24 I caught trolling about half could be seen on the locator.  I like that, see fish, then a little while later whap!

Best of 4 on plastics.  And of the 9 bass trolling this was a good one.

I kept after it until about 3:00 and ended up catching 10 whites, 9 bass, 4 crappies, and one gar trolling.  It is so close to “on” that with the good cold front we have coming, and the next moon, it will be as good as it gets on Coleto.  The white bass are never all that big on the lake, which is puzzling.  The numbers are usually ok, but of all the places I have caught them Coleto just does not have the jumbos.  It is not the Nueces River by any means.   And speaking of that I will be headed that way in a month, or sooner depending on the reports.

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Got the new Bass Pro Master Cataloge and there is nothing particularly new worth mentioning.  They send this one and that one, which I look at a couple of times, save all year, and then in the trash they go.  I rarely buy anything out of the cataloge, usually at the store.  Now if there is something I like a lot and it turns up on the Bargain Cave, maybe, but I like to put my hands on stuff before I buy.

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Tomorrow is installing the new stove.  Then the weather looks like it might go to crap, with high winds forecast.  And once that passes it will be back on the water.  The year is starting off with a bang and the next couple of months will be the usual epic.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

This guy hangs around a trail were the hogs come down to drink.

This year started off with a bang.  Not because of the numbers, but every once in a while you get a “real” bite.  It has been years since I caught a flathead and today a nice one jumped on.  They are basically live bait eaters and I guess I hopped the plastic just right because he smoked it.

Weather

50/70.  Times of sun and clouds with a 2% chance of rain.  Wind  S 5 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

11 days ago  94.31 msl.  Today  94.22 msl.  (The slow but steady dropping lake level.)

Activity Periods

Major 8:05 am to 10:05 am.  Minor  1:52 pm to 2:52 pm.

That was a tussle.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

The water temp was 62 at the ramp when I put in, the fog was lifting, and the wind was dead calm.  The drop continues, and as I have not fished there in a couple of weeks it was real evident how far the lake has dropped.  There was only 2 plans today, first was to check and see if the white bass are there yet, then try some new places.  I got both done.  First was up lake to pitch to a couple of good places, then troll for white bass.  While it is a little early, they are coming.

A couple of nice ones.  Stick worm and Pit Boss.

The Bass were not having it early so I started trolling.  The area the white bass normally go is now only in the 6 foot range and after trolling with Shad Raps I finally got a couple of bites farther down the creek.

Not big but telling.

I spent more time doing that than I should have but did not want to miss them if they were farther down.  Making a couple of passes about a mile long, from 4 foot out to 15 foot the only bites were quite a bit farther down than normal, which  I suppose may be a function of the water level.  So while they did not add up to much it won’t be long and every time I am out I will check them because I love catching them in the spring.  And you never know, crappie and bass hit the Shad Rap so something is usually tugging on the end of the line.

The wind came up and from then on it was hunt and peck.  They would not touch a spinner bait, a couple jumped on the bl/bl swim jig, the others all came on either a stick worm or the Pit Boss.  And I finally fished a white swim jig but not a touch.  Next time it will be back to the bluegill colored one as even in plastics dark colors has been best.  But the Pit Boss has been the most consistent for me and will get bit almost any bank you fish.

The best bass for the day.

For me the wood is still the ticket, but of course not all the wood.  And with the water dropping which piece of cover has fish changes each trip as things  get shallower.  Over the rest of the morning until I quit at 3:00 it was same old, same old, a bite here, a bite there.  Then one thumped it pretty hard and when I set the hook it felt like it was caught on some brush, and then it started moving.  It was real apparent it was a big fish so I took it easy, kept it out of trouble, and then put the Boga to it.  Flatheads are one cool fish.  Huge mouth, they love live bait.  I had a run a few years ago in Arkansas where I caught quite a few one summer on crankbait, though most were small.  It sure was fun catching a big fish no matter the flavor.

So not a bad day, just real spotty.  This warm weather is not helping things along, and when combined with the ongoing drop it is just not “spring” yet.  If the water temps stays in the 60’s, 61 was the lowest I saw and it warmed though out the day, we might have an early spawn.  And the white bass are probably a little confused but the next moon will get things going.  It was around a dozen fish the hard way today, hopefully it will be a little better in the morning.

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For the last 8 years I have done a resolution/plan for the blog in anticipation of the year to come.  Not happening this year.  Of course there are travel plans, new places, and hopefully some new faces.  But there are a couple of goals, but as I get a little older the nature of those goals has changed significantly.  Here is my hope for this year.  Nobody dies, the boat keeps running, and I remember every day on the water is a blessing.  The big adventures we will do this year will take care of themselves, it is the little things that make every day a success.  But most of all the simple plan – Stay happy to be alive and getting to spend it outdoors.   (It has taken me many years to realize the fish will come in spite of my worst efforts.)

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I had a deja vu moment watching Major League Fishing this weekend.  They were on the mighty Bull Shoals Lake and the fishing was good.  The winner was throwing a buzzbait most of the day, I cut my buzzbait teeth on Bull and Norfork, and it brought back tons of memories.  The biggest – When they got ready to take off the comments were “I can see bottom clear as a bell” in what is considered deep water in Texas.  Mid summer it often looked like you could see a dime in 20 foot of water.  And to add to the Bull Shoals moments this week one of my Facebook friends caught the heck out of them there.  Since I am going there early spring it got my blood running.  Throw in a little fly fishing for trout on the White and you have a perfect multi-species trip.

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The only holiday regrets are I was hoping to fish with a couple of folks, one was gone then we were gone, the other I had things to do.  So hopefully that will get remedied fairly soon.  I will be fishing up a storm the next couple of months.  It will be back to the lake tomorrow then Wednesday I have to hang around waiting on the new stove.  And after that it will be back on the water.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

Talk about 2 different sides to the same trip, this one had it.  The Boss wanted to see Lady Gaga in concert in Las Vegas for her Christmas present, and since it was close to Zion National Park in Utah plans were made.  First up would be Las Vegas.

Now I did not know all that much about Lady Gaga other than a few of her songs and she was in A Star is Born, which I did not watch.  So I had no clue what was coming other than it would be extravagant, and it was.  In fact, it was one of my favorite concerts ever and I am an old (Me.) rock and roll dude.

The Boss was not to excited.

The only description of her I can give is she is freakin’ fierce.  For over 2 hours she rocked, and after attending concerts for over 50 years and seeing the best, it was tear it up rock and roll.  As the Boss described it, “Road warriors on steroids.”  The band rocked, and she literally pounded it out.  I can not tell you how surprised I was.  She added personal comments through out and if I learned one thing about her, besided her musical prowess, she is a good person.  And her “Monsters” as she calls them were in full roar.  Another life lesson, remember to not judge the book by its cover, you just might be wrong.  What a concert and I would go again in a minute.  And then it was off to Zion.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

ZION NATIONAL PARK

It is about 3 1/2 hours from Las Vegas, you actually cross the corner of Arizona on the way, to Springdale Utah, the entrance to the park.  When we got there our first surprise, it was really, and I mean really, busy.  The weather was in the low 30’s at night and 40’s during the day, which combined with the holiday, had folks flooding the park.  And other than a little snow on a bigger mountain range there was none in the park.

We stayed at the Lodge in a cabin inside the canyon.  There was almost no internet, phone, etc, it is one big canyon.  It is so busy that they run a shuttle most of the warmer part of the year to get into the canyon, and if motel and lodge reservations are enough it runs over the holiday.  That meant we could not drive to the end of the canyon, but no problem.  We were there to hike and see the park, and we did just that.

The first morning we hiked a short mile hike, which was rough and high, with cool cliffs and a view to die for.  It was not real tough, but you better be in shape for many of the trails.  Then in the evening we did another mile on a different trail, which went along the Virgin River.  We then did a 3 mile easier hike at daylight the next morning to get some mule deer pics, and that was a real success.  With the varying colors of the cliffs and mountains it made for a sunrise that no picture could do justice.

We also made a long drive out of the park and through the country side to see the rest of the area.  It is cool country, basically high desert, with lots of mule deer.  And the surrounding towns are small, one of those areas you have to want to live there.  But the folks were nice and we enjoyed our stay.  I will say, it was way to busy for us, not a real outdoor experience, unless you like sharing your hike with a 100 of your closets friends.  But we can knock that one of the list.  We have really enjoyed visiting our National parks and will continue to visit new ones as often as we can.

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We had made all of our reservations early like we always do when Frontier Airlines threw us a curve ball.  They moved up our flight back to Austin from noon to 8:00 am, which was a problem being 3 /2 hours away.  So we came up with a plan, we decided to drive to the edge of Nevada and stay in a small casino for New Years Eve.  The lodge did not charge us for leaving a day early, nice of them, so no big deal.  So we did the morning hike and then headed to Mesquite Nevada.  Then we had a brush with greatness.

We check in and head to the bar to have a cold one and play video poker.  It was really crowded so Nancy got a seat and started playing and I was just standing next to her.  I start yacking with the guy next to me, a local, when he goes “Here comes Robert Duval”, which turned out to be a friend of his.  Turning around it really was him.  They chat a second, and he pats my shoulder and then Nancy’s and says hey.  As the Godfather is my favorite movie of all time I just hope my jaw was not hanging open to far as I was speechless.  A brush with greatness.

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There are a few other observations on this trip.  Frontier Airlines is cheaper, but you pay for everything, and the seats do not lean back and give a new meaning to hard.  And the leg room is short, so like all things, you get what you pay for.

And they fly out of Austin at the South Terminal, which reminds me of terminals in Jamaica or the Amazon jungle.  Obviously they are upgrading with all the traffic out of Austin, and the road in is a breeze from this side of town.  And being able to park right across the street was great.  But if you fly on them be sure to look up the South Terminal or you will have a bus ride to it from the main terminal after your ride from parking.

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We stayed at New York New York in Las Vegas, it was very busy being the holidays and there were lots of families in town.  And one of my pet peeves then reared its ugly head.  I just do not believe in taking kids on gambling trips, period.  I have always believed it is a bad idea to have your children thinking gambling areas are places for “family” vacations.  If they want to go down that road later in life fine, but we go to have adult fun, and your kids are not on our schedule.  Plus there is lots of “visual” information that is not the best for kids if you get my drift.  (In fact I saw a new one that was raunchy even by Vegas standards.  Nude Bed Dances.)  But as we headed from the hotel to the concert the door we went out had a disturbing sight.  As kids are not allowed on the gambling floor there were probably 25 kids all sitting on the floor along a wall, waiting.  Just seems wrong.

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

One evening we had dinner reservations at Hell’s Kitchen.  Talk about over rated, and super expensive, it definitely is the all time disappointment in fine dining.  It is a big place and they run them through there by the hundreds every night.  It is assembly line cooking, the Boss gave her meal a C and mine was only a little bit better.  To be fair the service was top notch and personal.  We have eaten some fabuous meals in our travels, and this did not even make the top 25, even giving it a break.  When it is all said and done, if you are headed to Las Vegas save your money, all hype and little substance.

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That about does it for this trip.  Overall it was a great time and a great way to end the year. Of course once we got home there was some significant catch up including heading to Lowe’s to buy a  new stove Friday.  Now that we are finally caught up fishing will return to the forefront.

So life goes on, which for me means back to the fishing.  Of course I will be watching the NFL playoffs this weekend and then back at it Monday.  Looks like the weather pattern is going to remain fairly stable and nice even for South Texas this time of year.  Not sure that will get us any closer to “real” winter fishing. but it could bring us an early spring bite as far as the bass are concerned.  And I will be doing the wind watching thing as the Upper Laguna and I have some unfinished business.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

Another year in the books.  It had it’s highs and lows, some great travel, and I am thankful to be able to share it with you.  While at times it seems it is all about the fish, but that has never been the point with me.  After fishing for decades I have learned a very important point – It is in the doing!  And looking back I did my part.

January

The best big girl of the month and a good start to the year.  This is a real one.

I had a good trip to Falcon but no real giants.  But always an adventure.

Spent several days chasing white bass, one of my favorite spring activities.

And you never know what might jump on when you are trolling.

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February

The white bass continued to bite but the bass were really tough.

 

  But I started catching catfish and that would happen several times this year.

And I made the bay a couple of times and it was good. 

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March

The trout fishing was good at POC.

The bass fishing on the lake sucked and the whites slowly quit.

But I did manage on big girl this month.

We went to Big Bend, our pursuit to see as many animals as possible this year began.

The cactus were in bloom.

Always a great trip!

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April

Falcon Lake fattie!

And a couple of more.  When she is good she is very, very good.

The were biting some on Coleto but it was the beginning of a slow year.

And I caught a couple of lake trout in Montana.

And we saw some cool animals.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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May

Yellowstone with the Wolf Trackers.  One great trip.

Ain’t nothing but a grizzly!

A true bucket list trip.  But there was more to come this year.

The Chandeleur Islands and the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad.  Another great trip with the Wade Right boys!  Can’t wait for this years trip.

The fish just keep on coming.

And there was a catfish explosion on the lake.  Crazy!

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June

And other than a few trips to the bay it was a slow month.

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July

And we were back in Colorado.  The Continental Divide from 11,000 feet.

Hiking with my best friend.

The bass fishing remained slow on the lake but it was still possible to catch a nice one.

Fayette County did not disappoint.

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August

Slow on Coleto but some beautiful sunrises this month.

It was another slow month around here but Fayette coughed up another fattie.

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September

Ocean run salmon from the Columbia River in Oregon.

Astoria Oregon, one cool town.

And the Boss with a Deschutes River rainbow.  It was a good trip to Oregon.

The awesome sunrises continued on Coleto.  The fishing?  Not so much.

But I did manage one good one this month.

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October

Good start to the month.

The fishing on the lake was slowly picking up.

Got to test the new Knockin Tail prototype and in spite of high winds put a bunch in the boat.  It is going to be a killer.

And the winter creek and river bite started.

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November

The Lavaca River turned on.

And the lunatics escaped the asylum for a couple of good days at POC.  Good times with good friends.

And my first real one on my own  fly rod trout fishing in South Fork, Colorado.  Doing it by myself like a big boy.  One good time.

It was an easy dozen the next day.  All browns.

Then the Boss got in on the act on the Thompson while we were visiting Estes National Park.

And the animals in the park cooperated better than we could have hoped for!

And we did a little hiking in the new snow.  This trip was another great outdoor adventure with my buddy.

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December

The lake was still producing the occasional big girl.

And the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad produced my biggest trout this year!

No giant but the lake is finally worth the trip after a slow year.

And we finished the year with a morning hike to the overlook in Zion National Park.

And I never forget how lucky I am to be able to share it all with my best friend.

Zion National Park.

Water soothes my soul and every day I spend in the outdoors is a blessing.  We only get one run at this folks and I never forget how lucky I am.

It is hard to put last year in perspective, and even harder to tell the story in pictures.  My photography skills will never do some of these places real justice. but I try.  As I put this year in the books time to look forward to the next one.

The Chandeleurs is already set, and the then other biggie, back to Africa.  A few days on the Zambezi River chasing the mighty Tiger fish, then off to Uganda to spend two days in the jungle viewing gorillas in the wild.  This trip will be a true bucket list trip but it will not be the only trip in our future.  We are already setting a date for a return to Colorado and more fly fishing.  Falcon is calling me as is my old stomping grounds in Arkansas.  Along with the lakes it will be some fly fishing on the White River.  When I used to guide there I never thought I would be fly fishing the river.

So a big thanks to the Boss for being my best friend and travel agent.  And thanks to those of you who came along with me.  Never forget every day in the outdoors is a bonus day not subtracted from your days on this earth.  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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

Weather

74/56.  Areas of fog early then partly sunny and warm with a 3% chance or rain.  Wind  SE 5 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

10 days ago  94.43 msl.   Today  94.31 msl.  (Steady dropping like a rock.)

Activity Periods

Major 11:05 am to 1:05 pm.   (No early morning for me!.)

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

For me fishing Christmas Day is becoming a regular thing the last decade.  It is always nice and quiet and it was today.  The Boss was working today so time to hit the lake as I won’t be fishing the next week.  It was really foggy this morning and I waited as long as I could stand it.  The lake was almost fogged in and I hung out and drank coffee for a half hour until the sun started burning it off.

The lake is noticeably lower, if that is possible.  There is brush I was catching them in just a week ago that is now on land.    And boy has it cleared.  The water temp was 62 – 65 degrees and there was a light breeze.  I hit a couple of pitching spots and caught 3 or 4, all small.  I did have a couple hung me up today, one was on quite a while but I just could not get him out.  Comes with the territory.

The 2 best pitching.

And I figured since I was up lake time for a quick trolling pass just to be sure the white bass are not there yet.  And they weren’t but 3 bass jumped on and a couple of more missed it.  That is about par for the course this time of year but it won’t be long.  I look forward to the white bass run every spring and have been chasing them 40 years.  After a while I gave that up, but will check on them every trip until they get there.

A deer swam the lake.                           The biggest bass trolling.

The wind picked up so time for windy banks.  Spinnerbait, buzzbait, and a shad looking crankbait did not produce a bite.  I hit several places and just could not get them going.  At this point no bites so I picked up the blue/black swim jig and ended up catching 7 and missed several more.  They were on windy banks, half came right on stumps or cover, a couple near nothing, and a couple more way off the bank cranking it real slow.

Love that swim jig.

The only problem with that was most came on 2 banks, then I went over an hour without a bite.  At 3:00 I called it a day.  It was one of those run back in the other creek and fish out but there was not enough time to justify it.  The day was interesting and after that little swim jig run I have a few ideas on places that might hold them.  And I did not fish it up lake at all so it was by far the best bait today and has real potential.  Might be time for a white swim jig, it was always a good bait in the winter when we had grass.

So fishing Christmas day is in the books and another year has gone by the wayside.  Funny how the days may seem slow but the years fly by.  I consider myself beyond lucky to be able to fish as much as I do.  It becomes more and more about being outside and less and less the end result.  I’ve caught a couple of boat loads in my life so nothing left to prove in that department.  Time this year for some more fly fishing, catching a Tiger fish on the Zambezie, and who knows what else.  So many fish so little time, nice thing about it, fish live in cool places.

Hope you all had a great holiday no matter what you did.  2019 is in the books and I will be back with you with more fishing fun.  Spring fishing is right around the corner in South Texas.  And definitely time to head back to the Laguna and catch a big one.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines