FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

Merry Christmas!

Sorry for the few reports the last week or two, but family duty called.  With Christmas taken care of, and the Boss working her usual holiday schedule, time to look at the weather as I have a few days to myself.  And it looks fine so I am headed to North Padre for a couple of days.  I thought about staying down at POC but it is not the same.  I have no preconceived notions how this might go, that is what makes these short trips what they are, but the activity periods look good coming in the middle of the morning.  Time to pack and organize as it will be up real early in the morning for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Bird Island Basin.

Weather

Monday  70/40.  Mostly sunny with 0% chance of rain.  Wind E 5 – 10 mph.

Tuesday  72/53.  Partly sunny and pleasant with 3% chance or rain.  Wind 5 – 15 mph.

Tides  (At Bob Hall)

Monday  Low   6:25 AM    -0.5  High   3:19 PM     1.7.

Tuesday   Low   7:07 AM    -0.6   High   4:16 PM     1.8.

Activity Times

Monday   Major  10:12 am to 12:12 am.  Minor  3:47 pm to 4:47 pm.

Tuesday   Major  11:07 am to 1:07 pm.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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A tale of 2 days – figuring it out.  Day 1.

 Dropped the boat in at Bird Island Basin at 8:00 and headed to my favorite area on the King Ranch Shoreline.  For the next 2 hours I tossed it all, and I mean all of it, without a bite.  Topwater, plastics, soft jerk bait, and could not buy a bite.  So after wading for what seemed like a couple of miles I finally headed back to the boat for a move.

A couple of miles down there is a flatter area with grass that usually holds a few, with “usually” being the operative term.  At this point I am getting concerned, not a touch.  But I kept after it working shallow to deep.  Changing  colors, alternating baits, zip.  From above my waist to ankle deep I could not get anything going even with bait flipping in the whole area.  So across the bay to the island side and a bank with a good drop that has been known to have a red of two.  But guess what?  Nothing, I mean I can not get a bite.   This is starting to be a problem.  I am not that experienced there, but this is going really bad.  To add to the pain there is not really any wind.  But still, the water temp was 61 and clear, which is ok, but at this point I am really puzzled.

Nothing big but finally.

With the wind barely blowing I decided to change tactics.  I decided to drift and use the popping cork.  The last bait I thought I would use was a popping cork, but it is one of the best trout locators there is.  And I happened to have one from the creek with the last of the cheap ass plastic shrimp they like so much.

I tried to stay out farther than I could wade and it only took a little while before I found some.  To make a long story short it was an easy 25, most like the smaller one above, but I was catching fish.  I did throw some plastics but I kept moving until I found the place where I would start in the morning.  And day 2 was a much better day.

Day 2

Day 2 started off completely different for several reasons.  On the way to Bird Island at daylight it was foggy, but on arrival the bay was clear.  So quickly in the water and headed to the waypoint from yesterday afternoon and as I got close the fog blew in big time.  Since I was running the shoreline I just slowed down and stopped on the waypoint.  Since quitting time was early to get home and get organized for travel it was a make it or break it wade.

That’s more like it.

It was only 42 degrees on leaving the ramp, and the fog really made it chilly.  It took me a little to get on them, and while the bite was not fast by any means, the fish were more like the size you expect there.  They were in water a little more than waste deep, and wanted plastic fished on a light jig head, a 1/16 seemed to be the best.  When you flip the smaller jig head off the bottom it falls slower and more erratically, giving them a chance to smack it.  And the ones that did bite thumped the snot out of it.  (Note:  There was bait everywhere I fished both days and that did not seem to be all that important there was so much.)  Both the new Knockin’ Tail in pumpkin and the 3″ DOA Cal in Chicken on a Chain thing got bites, but it sure seemed the smaller the better.

Before I quit at 12:30 a nice limit jumped on with a few others in the same range.  Unlike the day before, no small ones, which may just have been a function of the popping cork.  A rat red finally jumped on but that was the size of it as far as redfish goes.  it was interesting how as soon as the fog started lifting they bit a little better.  And I kept trying the soft corky style jerk bait and topwater, but they were just not having any of that.

So I call the day a success.  It was nice to figure it out some and why on the few times I fish down there I stay at least one night.  If it is tough, or you don’t figure it out on day 1, you still have a fighting chance.  And if I was going tomorrow I know exactly what I would be doing and where.  But tomorrow is Christmas Day, and I had to get back so I can do what?  Go fishing on Christmas Day like I have done off and on for years.  No better present than that.

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And this from Facebook.  Here is the Coleto schedule for the year, good information to know when the lake might be busy on a particular weekend.

Coleto BassMasters 2020 Schedule:
January 11&12 Bastrop
February 15 Coleto
March 21&22 Stillhouse
April 18 Coleto Open Invitational (tentatively)
April 19 Coleto
May 23&24 Somerville
June 13 Coleto
July 11&12 Choke Canyon
August 15 Coleto
September 12&13 LBJ
October 17 Coleto
November 14&15 Fayette
December 12 Coleto

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We leave for Vegas and the Boss’s birthday present.  It will be Lady Gaga in concert, which should be spectacular, then off to Zion National Park for our last trip of the year.  Talk about a contrast.  Vegas, then a cabin in the mountains without TV, lots of snow, and hopefully some good wildlife viewing.  This will be the 4th or 5th trip west this year, we love the outdoors and mountains, and the more we go the more we like it.  Should be a great way to wrap up the year.

But first it will be off to Coleto in the morning.  No big early start but as it will be the last day of fishing this year maybe I will stick a big one.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.  I hope you and yours have a safe and Merry Christmas!

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.

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

The last 2 days have been fun.  First up was the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge with the Boss to see the whoopers and whatever else was out there.  Then this morning I ended up fishing the lake for 4 hours while the cleaning lady was at the house.  I try not to get to  close to work, it might stick!  As far as the fishing goes it was going to be a short morning so I could get the truck detailed for the trip to see the grandkids.  It turned out to be not to bad considering.

The turkeys were running amok this morning.  Girls on the left and boys on the right.

Weather

81/69.  Low patchy clouds with 20% rain.  Wind S 15 – gusts to 40 mph.  (I did not look at the forecast before I went so I was a little surprised how windy it was.)

Lake Level

Friday   94.43 msl.   Today  94.37 msl.  (Back to dropping like a rock.)

Activity Periods

Minor 10:17 am to 11:17 am.   (Only time I was out this morning.)

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

I followed a boat in as it was just peaking daylight, and we were the only 2 there.  The water continues to drop but the temp had come back up a couple of degrees, in to the high 60’s, which is nuts for this time of year.  The wind was basically howling and it was nice and cloudy.  With only  a few hours to fish I headed up lake, got out the spinnerbait, and never put it down until I quit at 11:30.

When this size eats a spinnerbait they smoke it!

It was blowing hard enough that all you had to do was point the boat down the bank and off you went.  It was not fast by any means, but it is good to see a few more of the “medium” size bass.  For a while there it was all small with the occasional big fish.  They are still next to cover, but where continues to change as the water falls.  The decline is slow but steady and the fish are definitely moving with it, it has/is just a matter of figuring out where they have moved to.

The only other one out of 7 that would have measured.

I could not ask for a better spinnerbait day.  While it may not be the best bait right now, one: I love it, two: Easy to fish in high winds.  I am fishing a 3/8th tandem with a big willow on the back.  Still making a wake, the best bites seem to come when I get it up making a bulge, and then slow it down as much as possible.  They really are not interested in chasing anything fast, but as windy as it was today pitching was basically out of the question so spinnerbait was it.  At least the ones that did bite whacked it.

As it got later in the morning I headed down lake and it was a total bust.  For an hour and a half not a bite in the clearer water.  The fish I have been catching down there have flat disappeared.  So keeping to the schedule I called it day at 11:30 to be responsible.  But for a short morning, and not fishing all the places I have been catching them, not to bad a result.  But hey, I was fishing!  Like I said the other day not wishing for a blizzard and 10 degrees, but it needs to cool off a little to get to the “real” winter fishing.

I forgot to tell you something about the other day.  The  critters were really moving around, saw big gators, deer, an eagle, and a couple of ospreys having a good day fishing.  But that was not the highlight.  As I moved down the bank there was a couple of big boils, thought it might be a gator then a little head popped up.  It was an otter!  What a cool animal, the first one I have seen here.  Not sure if they are rare or common in Texas, but whatever, it was a great moment.  We all need to remember that it is not always about the catching, and seeing all that the other day made my day whether I caught fish or not.

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Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

The weather was beautiful Saturday and the Boss wanted to hit the refuge and see the whoopers and take a hike.  It was our second time going, and as usual we saw lots of wildlife.  And thank goodness we bought real binoculars, if we had not had them we would not have been able to spot them.  So we ended up seeing 2 pairs of whoopers, along with all the stuff below.  They are one awesome bird.

Real tricky!

Birds, birds, and more birds.

The Refuge was full of ducks.

They may not be much for eating but they are cool looking.

We are not big bird watchers, prefer things with hoofs and paws, but it is amazing the number of different birds.  Every kind of duck, shore birds, herons, egrets, and tons we could not even guess what they were.  For real bird lovers this has to be a bonanza and a bucket list place to visit.

This guy was cool whatever it is.

There were a couple of big boys out today!

Last year we saw lots more gators, but this year is so dry that some of the ponds are gone. It looks like the 2 big boys above took over the big pond and ran the others off.  We did see a real giant, all we could see was his back as he was way across the lake.  But that thing was a giant, and I have seen lots of big ones.

The armadillos were out and we did see one snake.  And when we left we saw 4 or 5 deer including a little basket buck.  With the hunting going on there right now it did not surprise me to see them in the no hunting area.  Of course we hiked up the observation tower, and a couple of other observation areas, and there was something moving everywhere.  And there were several boats off the shoreline wading on what I could tell were reefs.  The wind was calm and it looked perfect.  A nice way to spend the afternoon as we continue on our wildlife viewing adventures.

This has been a good year in that department.  Wolves, grizzly, black bear, bison, elk, mule deer, coyotes, fox, gators, Bighorns, mountain goat, to name a few.  And our quest will continue at the end of the month as we will be visiting Zion National Park in Utah.  There are bighorns, lions, deer, and ringtails to name a few.  Who knows, we might just get lucky.

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I do not know if GBRA is noting reduced numbers with the fee increase, but it sure seems like there are a lot less people on the lake.  Of course with the fishing less than stellar it has probably affected the number of folks fishing.  And as far as I am concerned, great, it seems like I have the lake to myself, but that is purely a selfish reason.  I am still against $17 to get in, that is to much.  It will be interesting to see how it affects things this spring.

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It has been a good week around here.  Fished 4 days, caught fish, made the park, it has been all about the outdoors.  The weather has been fantastic most of the week, but looks like that might change.  But we desperately need the rain.  Still over 14″ down, it is dry as a bone.

We head out for a few days with the parents and then the grandkids.  Looks like the weather is not to bad up there which will be nice.  Seems like every winter when we head that way it is either nice, like last year, or nuts like the year before when they closed the interstate.  I like a little winter but do not miss that foot of snow, 40 mph north wind, and 10 degrees thing.

And when I get back it will back to hard at it.  This time of year only comes once and I will be taking full advantage of it.  Hope you all have a good week, we will.  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.

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

Ahh the best laid plans.  I stayed up a little later hoping to sleep in, which was a complete failure.  So at 5:30 I got up, looked out as fog was forecast, then  hooked it up and headed to the lake for a short trip.  The new plan was to fish until noon and spend a little time with the Boss who has been hard at it.

Weather

79/56.  Very warm with plenty of sunshine.  0% chance of rain.  Wind E 5 – 10 mph.

Lake Level

Monday  94.43 msl.  Today   94.43 msl.   (That little bit of rain slowed the descent a little.)

Activity Periods

Minor 8:27 am to 9:27 am.   (Spot on as it was over by 10:00.)

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

I dropped the boat in as daylight cracked.  There was no wind and it was real obvious that what rain we got added a little color.  Along with that the temp has dropped around 4 degrees with much of the lake around 65, with some less.  So with no wind blowing it was time to go pitch, which turned out to be a good choice.

Bite number 2 this morning.

And a little props to the Berkley Pit Boss.  Using it seriously the last month or more I really have learned to appreciate what a good bait it is for pitching.  They really do hold on to it a lot longer than other plastics, which gives you another second to get the slack out and stick them.  And when combined with a lighter tungsten sinker they just don’t feel it.

The Pit Boss getting it done.  The 3 best of the morning.

They are still really tight to any cover but of course not every piece has a fish on it.  Most of the good cover has deeper water close, they don’t like hanging on the flat stuff. This is a cover water, pitch it to cover, hop it a couple of times, and if no bite reel in and do it again.  And if the cover looks to good toss at least 2 pitches to it before moving on.  And be very watchful as half of them just start swimming with it.  As the lake falls they are moving out with it and stuff I was catching them in a couple of weeks ago are now barren.

The bite started off pretty good and by 10:00 they literally quit.  I fished a few more places and called it a good morning.  It was probably around 8 with at least a couple of good ones, and I do enjoy the hand to hand combat.  When pitching it is important to retie often, the next bite might be a real one.   The last 2 weeks almost every one of the 5 days I have fished the lake there has been a shot at a “real” one.  This is the time of year to catch a good one and I intend to take every advantage, I love winter fishing.  And I am not hoping for some terrible weather but winter can get here anytime.

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This is the last of the cheesy flip phone picture, I finally sucked it up and replaced the camera.  And it was $60 off, when does that happen, and as it is the same one there is no learning curve.  Also I fixed the post from yesterday so those pictures are now up.  Hopefully that is the last of the photo issues.

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That is it for today.  The last 2 weeks have been good and I am really looking forward to the next couple of months.   Have a safe weekend and if you get to fish hope you catch some.  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

65/56.  Sun through high clouds with a 1% chance of rain.  Wind  NE 10 – 15 mph.

Tides

 Low  8:30 am. – 0.35.   High  9:27 pm.  +1.37.

Activity Periods

Major  7:28 am to 8:28 am.  and   12:49 pm to 2:49 pm.  

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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Knockin’ is Right!

Since I had a few of the new/prototype Knockin Tail Lures to try I decided the creek would be a good place as they are in there pretty thick.  I rigged 4, 2 white and 2 pumpkin, on a 1/8th glued screw lock.  That was all I wanted to take, plenty to know how well they work, keeping the others for the laguna.  Turned out 4 was plenty.  The lure could not be any better named, yes it knocks, but the better reason, they knock the snot out of it!

Did not get a new camera yet but did take a few.

The plan was to slow roll it, and it turned out to be the only way I fished it.  The first one smacked it, the last one smacked it, and it was game on in between.  Slow rolling it on a tight line it was not the usual bump, tic, trout messing with it, it was a full on eat.  They literally ate it, most with the body in their mouth.  And not only did I miss very few, the hook up ratio to bites was super high.  Get a bite, fish in the boat.

The Pumpkin was first up and after catching a few a “real” one ate right at the boat and I broke 10lb. line setting the hook.  (Dang it!) To keep that from happening again I loosened my drag way up.  When you are slow rolling you are in direct contact unlike when hopping it, so it is easier to break as the line is tight when you set the hook.  So I set the drag so that when setting the hook it would slip big time.  From then on, until I quit, I caught trout.

On my 19″ bass measuring board.  It was several like this today.

They liked the Pumkin a little more than the white, but they were not that choosey, and it may have simply been a function of water color.  There was a little slack period when the tide died, and though the fish got a little smaller, they kept on biting.  Today was an easy low estimate of 25+.  I fished for 6 hours and caught them everywhere I fished until I quit.

Once I got the speed down it was flat fun waiting for them to stop it.  I rarely slow roll but the new Knockin Tail is perfect for slow rolling and that was confirmed right away.  The tail works like a charm.  And one really nice flounder made the boat, plus a nice limit of trout or two.  Guess I never did throw it in front of a redfish.  Right before I quit I lost one more big fish of some sort, but they way they were hitting it  that was only one of a couple that came off all day.

This flounder whacked it!

I hate to tell you this as they are not available yet, but they are coming.  Wish I could show you a picture but not yet.  Sometimes we get to thinking the Texas Coast is the center of the fishing universe, but it is far from it.  There is a big world of fishing out there and today confirmed something else for me.  This is going to be a great swim bait for bass, killer on smallmouth and walleye, plus most anything else that wants to eat it.  This thing is something different that they have not experienced before, and it promises to be the real deal.  I don’t mean to gush like a girl, no offense to you ladies out there, but that thing works!

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The latest assault on our waters comes from San Jacinto River near Humble.  “It” turned the river “mysterious” white color for what appears to be a week.  It contained unknown “substances”, and TCEQ did not test it.  Why?  And with several possible places of origin it is another case of industry polluting from breaks in retaining ponds.  But in the article there is no final resolution, or maybe letting them get away with it was the final resolution.  This happens on a regular basis around this country and until we start holding folks feet to the fire things will not change.  If there is no real “penalty” what is the motivation to change and repair.  The bigger question is often what do we pay our state employees for if nothing really happens?  Just wondering.

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I want to thank Michael, owner of Controlled Descent Lures, for letting me have a small amount of input on the new Knockin’ Tail.  It has been fun and if today is any indication there are good things to come.  Now it is a matter of waiting for the final product.  It not only catches trout, but looks like it will have real application for those of us who are multi-species guys.

We will be visiting the my parents, then the grandkids, for a few days then it will be back at it.  Can’t wait to get to Bird Island Basin and chase some big trout.  Can feel the thump just thinking about it!  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.

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

The forecast could not be any better Monday for bass fishing.  It is a warm blast, maybe our last, before a big cold front blows in tomorrow.  The low Monday night looks like it will just be the high on Tuesday with breezy winds. (An interesting feature of the front Tuesday will be winds WSW to 25 mph in the morning, and the weather dude just said potentially 45 mph on the coast, then switching to the ENE up to 25 mph.  Crazy.)  I really do expect to have a good day tomorrow, but you just never know.  But having the conditions in your favor never hurts, and clouds with a little wind is as good as I can hope for.  Time to go check the stuff and make sure I am ready to go in the morning.

Weather

80/52.  Fog in the morning but mostly cloudy with a near record high temp. 12% chance of rain.   Wind S 10 – 20 mph.

Lake Level

Last Thursday 94.50 msl.   Today  94.43 msl.  (It just keeps falling.) 

Activity Periods

Major  9:28 am to 11:28 am.    Minor 3:21 pm to 4:21 pm.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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

My first comment, the more things change the more they stay the same.  The fish on Coleto are biting, the only problem is getting a good one, some of that is unfortunately on me.  Last week I landed a big one and lost one.  Today it was exactly the same.  Except the “boating” part.  I had one easily over 7 right to the side of the boat and as I was getting down to lip her she jumped and off she went.  One of those where I was already trying to imagine how to get all of her in a picture with my phone.  There are 2 nets in the boat, which are not out and rarely used, but from now on 1 will be out.  Landing that one today would have made it 2 big fish in 4 trips, not counting the other one I lost.  Love that winter fishing but you have to take advantage of your opportunities.

Will replace the camera tomorrow, until then this is the size of it.

It was cloudy, fairly warm, with no wind at 7:30 when dropping the boat in.  The water temp has actually come up the last week 2 degrees over the whole lake, and I have fished from one end to the other.  Most of it is from 76 to 78 depending on where you are.  Sticking with what works, pitching the beaver style baits on a pegged 1/8th tungsten.  It gets bit as long as you throw it where there is a piece of cover.  The seem to have deserted the stumps as the water falls, but if there is a good piece of cover there is usually one there.

I did spend a lot of time alternating that with the spinnerbait and swim jig.  While 9 made it to the boat pitching, 3 each came on the spinnerbait and swim jig.  It really is tough to get a definitive pattern other than the beaver style baits.  And one comment on that.  I have been using the Strike King Perfect plastic and the Berkley Pit Boss and it is no contest, the Pit Boss last a whole lot longer and the fish definitely hold on to it longer.  The Strike King is soft and tears fairly easily.  And I hav3 not noticed a difference in either as far as bites goes, throw either to the right place and get bit.

Actually the spinnerbait bite has slacked off also, even when it is perfect for it like it was today.  But the ones that come for it usually get it, which is an awesome bite.  But if you do not get bit within 5 feet of the bank it is game over.  It really is a reaction strike right now, they are not chasing by any means.  And I have not boated a fish the last 4 trips on the Bang O Lure, not sure what is up with that.  But hard to complain when you are catching them, and since it was 15 today I can live with that.

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In my sweaty little hands I now have a few of the new Knockin Tail Lures.  Going on looks and feel alone this thing is going to be a killer.  It took Michael longer than he would like but good things come to those who wait.  As soon as this front passes it is off to the salt to give them a go.  And if I were guessing, and I am, this bait is going to catch fish to beat the band.  More on that as soon as I get back on the water.  Wish I could show you a picture but no yet, but they look sooooo gooood!

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Tomorrow looks like a real ugly as a “norther” is going to blow in after midnight tonight.  And I am pretty sure the weather dude said up to 45 mph on the coast and also used the term howling.  So no fishing tomorrow.  The forecast is the reason I have several things scheduled for tomorrow, good use of time, then if it straightens up in a couple of days it will be off to POC.  Not much else to say other than appreciate you all.  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.

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

Friday I had decided I wasn’t going to fish.  The weather was going to be cloudy and foggy first thing, but then a cold front was going to blow in the middle of the morning with mile high skies and 20 mph north wind.  So I hung out and finally the Boss said go anyway so around 10:00 I loaded up and hit the lake.  No weather report or anything else, I just hit the road.

There was 2 plans with the wind, spinnerbait and crankbait on windy banks.  The only question, would the wind help or would the cold front have a bigger affect?  It turned out that they did not want anything moving very fast, and after alternating with both for over an hour it looked like the front won.

As I headed down lake I stopped at a timber point and found a few.  They were on the hardwood in the 5 – 8 foot range, and were smacking the Pit Boss pitched tight to cover, which has been the real consistent pattern on the lake.  I caught 5 and missed a couple in that area.  So with renewed purpose I moved and caught another on it.  After catching a couple on the bl/bl swim jig the other day I decided to give it a try.  It took me a little but I finally figured out how they wanted it – slowly reeled with a real erratic, but not fast, rod tip twitching.

Over the next hour or so 6 jumped on and I definitely missed several more.  Primarily the ones I caught on the swim jig were on the points or channel turn areas.  They were not aggressive so you had to be totally concentrating as they were just eating it and swimming with no real “bite”.  When they are eating the swim jig that way I actually like it.  A subtle presentation and a subtle bite, it is a cool game of cat and mouse.  My friend John Storie,  owner of Champion, Hawk, Viper, along with his other boating fame, always said:  “Fishing is all about feel”.  And when it is like it was today no truer words were ever spoken.  Love tricking them like that.

I quit at 3:30, and for the middle of the day, post cold front with mile high skies and north wind, it was a productive short trip.  The fishing is so much better than it has been and my week was a total success.  Can’t wait to see what next week brings.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  Now I am really excited.

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On the new bait front it looks like the Controlled Descent Knockin’ Tail Lure mold issues are solved and things are moving right along.  Michael is sending me a few of the first ones out of the test mold and says they are looking, and fishing, fine.  So when I get them in my grubby little hands it will be a couple of days of bay fishing, nice to have a purpose to the day besides just catching them.  With the production mold in the works it won’t be long so stay tuned for that.

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

After my good bass fishing report the other day I heard from David.

Great report. I have the bass itch!

Well come on down!  We caught some good fish on the bay a couple of weeks ago and had a good day.  I will be headed your way soon and maybe a little Travis action?  And the offer is always open here, get down here and off we go.  Looks like our fishing is going to remain fairly consistent.

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The flounder fight is on.  According to TPWD  “Overall, there is a long-term decline in both recreational and commercial landings. Therefore, tools like a decrease in the bag limit, an increase in the minimum size limit, area closures, time closures, and gear restrictions are being considered.”  Other than catching a few I know little about flounder and their history on the Texas Coast.  The regulations have been tinkered with in 2009 and 2014 with very little results according to TPWD.  As with so many of these issues involving coastal fish resources this involves recreational and commercial fisherman and the who, what, and how the resource will be managed.  Of course it has raised a ruckus and after a recent Facebook post it looks to be ugly before it is over.  So here are the meetings in our area.

And if you are unable to attend you can send you comments to:

cfish@tpwd.texas.gov.

If  you are a stakeholder in this issue make your voice heard or accept the consequences without complaint.  TPWD works for us, though it seems they often forget that.  So let them know your 2 cents worth, how it is weighed, and whether they ultimately give a crap, remains to be seen.

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

And just for shits and giggles I thought I might do a little research on the TPWD Commission and it is interesting to say the least.  These are not all their interests but you get the point.

Chairman – CEO of an oil field product company.

Vice Chair – CEO Buc-ee’s.

Commissioner  –  CEO well service.

Commissioner  –  labor relations company, former employee Mobil Oil.

Commissioner  –  VP and operating officer of several oil and gas companies.

Commissioner  –  CEO Energy company and formerly with Exxon.

Commissioner  –  Trustee for family oil and gas intersts.

Commissioner  –  Finance company in various industries.

Commissioner  –  Co-owner railroad transportation company.

Commissioner  –  Board member on several companies including one who gives to social causes.

Commissioners –  Auto industry.

As you know I occasionally rant about TPWD and what I feel is a real lack of understanding of the common man’s concerns.  Looking at the board it is not surprising.  You think any of them have a problem with access to the best hunting and fishing?  Where are the regular dudes on the commission?  Where is our voice?  How about maybe a biologist?  I am sure these are all fine folks, but to a certain extent we all make decisions somewhat based on our own best interest.  So don’t tell me your voice is heard when many decisions are ultimately made.  Yes you can go to meetings, write letters, but from the last few rounds of trout regs obviously the decision was made and much of it was lip service.  (Don’t get me wrong I was a big supporter of the 5 fish limit.)  I am sorry, but I find it hard to believe that the interest of the oil and gas industry are not antithetical to the interests of OUR game and fish in Texas.  And one last guess – It sure would be interesting to see how much money was donated to each governor who appointed them to the board.  As usual, follow the money.

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

The internet strikes again.  TPWD ticketed a young man who was pictured on Snapchat shooting off the road at some pigs.  Nothing like recording your illegal activity.  But breaking the law does not exactly equate to smarts.  Think before you post, or maybe try just not breaking the law.

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

And I got this comment from SA Joe on the Cowboy’s big loss Thursday.

DA BEARS !!!!!!!

Dont hold it against me, I’m from Chicago 1!!!

Guess what?  I grew up in Illinois and Iowa and my whole family, and all the other smart folks, were Bear fans.  I remember listening to the radio at Grandpa’s house as Y A Tittle and the Giants  (I think.) beat the Bears one snowy winter day.  That was a LONG time ago.  Ditka, the Fridge, Butkus, Gayle Sayers, Fensic, the list goes on, but last and not forgotten, my favorite player of all time – Walter Payton.

I have 2 pictures of him in my office.  What makes him the best running back to ever live is how he did it.  Over much of his career they were flat awful, and he played for like 10 different quarterbacks, most of them marginal.  But he put the team on his back and he ran, and ran, and ran.  He hit defenders first.  And once down he placed the ball a yard forward every play.  He fought for every inch, never complained, and was one of the great gentlemen of the game.  So I won’t hold it against you – Bear Down Chicago Bears!

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

And a couple of short bay reports.  A couple of boats full of the Austin Boys fished Friday and they reported catching over a 100. but only had around 16 keepers, not hard to figure with the cold front blowing through.  But the 21lb bone in ribeye they ate last night sure looked good.  Hopefully they will have a better day today.

Neighbor Jesse reported on Facebook that the first 5 trout he caught the other day were keepers.  Love it when that happens.  An after speaking to several fishermen and the guy checking fish at the ramps on both the creek and the Lavaca keeper fish have slowed down but with lots of smalls being reported.  So fishing remains good both fresh and salt, and while this is a busy season make time to go, the best great holiday stress reliever.

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

That is about enough random ramblings for today.  Nice to fish 4 days this week and plan on doing my best to repeat that feat.  There is a big cold front coming Tuesday and it looks like that day will be ugly so time to take the 4Runner in for service when I know I won’t be fishing.  Then it is about to get busy around here, Arkansas to see the parents, Oklahoma to see the grandkids, Vegas for Gaga, Zion National Park, all before the end of the year.  But every day I can squeeze in time on the water I will.  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

79/62.  Patchy morning fog otherwise mostly cloudy and very hot.  Slight chance of rain.  Wind  SE  5 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

Monday 94.55 msl.   Today 94.50 msl.  (It just keeps falling.) 

Activity Periods

Major  7:23 ,am  to 9:23 am.  (It was on!)  Minor  1:47 pm to 2:47 pm.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  Now I am really excited.

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

It was so foggy this morning I could barely see across the street.  Of course I was up early wanting to be on the water at daylight so finally about 7:30 I decided to head to the lake and if I had to wait, oh well.  But once I got close there was not a lick of fog, none, and it looked perfect on the lake.  It was dead calm with light clouds, perfect pitching morning.

I caught one on my second or third cast and it went on from there.  Took a picture of the first one, put the camera in my coat pocket, and on my next pitch in the lake it went, into 15 feet of water.  That thing has lasted quite a while, has been lost at the ramp, dropped in the water a couple of times, and even cracked the screen setting the hook, so all I could do was wave goodbye and use my flip phone.  It is good for something.

Today the mediums were on the chew, and the average was a lot better than it has been.

Between 8:00 and 11:oo I pitched to any thing I could see and they were biting.  Used a 1/8th tungsten slip sinker, a 4/0 worm hook, and a beaver style bait, both  the Pit Boss and Strike King Perfect plastic in the watermelon red, they both worked.  About half of them tic’d it, others just got on and if you picked it up and felt anything I just let them swim with it and set the hook.  It was really consistent and a nice change from the way it has been.  I even picked up the spinnerbait and caught 5 or 6 on that.  After I worked the upper areas over pretty good I headed to the plant arm, and they bit just as well.  I kept alternating between both, and even picked up the swim jig and caught one.  Never did get a bite on the Bang O Lure, but it is coming.  But when the wind came up the spinnerbait started catching fish, which made for a good pattern.  Plus I love catching them that way.

It was the best bite I have had on the lake in a while.

From then on it was fish the windy points with spinnerbait and  get a bite, then pitch to anything going down the bank.  And it did not matter how shallow it was, if it was a bush or brushy pile of sticks there was fish in it.  Make a good pitch and they often hit it first drop or hop.  Later I hit one point and caught a couple then the big one thumped it.  It was in a trashy tree and she got wrapped.  I worked for 15 minutes trying to let her swim out but the line was in a crack of some sort and when pulled up to the snag, she would swim back down.  It was a heavy fish for sure.  Finally she got off and I was still hung.  But no big deal, when the bite is this good after the way it has been not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

So day 3 of this week has been another success.  Not sure how many I actually caught but it was an easy dozen in the first stretch and it went on from there until I quit at 3:00.  I continue to say it, love winter fishing and hope it is just going to get better.

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

And now your first daily water wake up call.  It is estimated that approximately a half a million hermit crabs have died when mistaking plastic for shells.  We are killing our ecosystem and if we do not start to make some serious changes soon this kind of thing will snowball, and then the other things that eat hermit crabs start to starve.  It all works together and this is another example of our declining water quality.  Sad.

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

And one other water related comment.  The Keys are starting to feel the rising water level brought on by global warming, or whatever, it does not matter it is happening.  One area on Sugarloaf Key is estimated to be under water, maybe as early as 2025.  The cost to raise the road will be 10’s of millions and quite possibly will not be raised, and from there on that area of the Keys will be cut off, maybe for good.  I am not sure what the answer is, or the cause, but time for all of us to do something no matter how small.  Change is coming no matter what, ignoring it will only make it worse.

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

A successful week so far, not sure if I am going in the morning but hard to stop when fish are biting all over the place.  Now time for some Cowboy football tonight, not sure which team will show up, they have been so inconsistent.  Not sure what the answer is but I am not betting on Jason Garrett surviving this year.  Other than that the weather is great, the fish are biting, and I don’t have a job.  Life is 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

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

My buddy Rusty is still catching them on both the creek and the river so today it will be off to the creek later, slept in the morning for some reason but usually no problem on the creek or river. The day looks beautiful so off I go.

Weather

50/76.  Partly sunny and pleasant with no chance of rain.  Wind  ENE 5 – 15 mph.

Tides

Low 1:52 pm.   (Only tide today.)

Activity Periods

Minor  1:16 pm to 2:16 pm.  (Only period when out today.)

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  Now I am really excited.

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

About halfway through the day I made a cast with a DOA Cal paddle tail and when I lifted up it was a “red’ and it was fighting like crazy.  It was heavy and unfortunately I just kept reeling and never did set the hook.  So I reached down and picked up a white Controlled Descent Paddle Shad on a 1/8th swim bait hook which was ready to do a little red fishing, and started reeling.  One smacked it and the fight was on.

That is no redfish!  Hard to get her all in the picture.

CPR and back she went.  No crappy pictures can do this fish justice.

Initially the plan was to fly fish some, but the big girl above put that one to bed.  There is a real chance that the one that got away on the prior cast was also a really big trout.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to catch another big girl, but it was not to be.  But the fishing was really consistent.

Putting in at 10:30 the tide was really low and the water had that copper color to it.  The wind was fairly light, but since I was in the skiff no water temp.  First up was a bank that always has them on it and 3 came over the side which started things off just right.  And until quitting at 3:30 there were fish everywhere I fished.

Other than the big girl all the fish came on small 3″ paddle tails, with a dark back, fished on a 1/8th, and hopped off the bottom.  Hard as I tried they just did not want the reeled Controlled Descent.  Most came around half way back, and often it was just a little twitch, or a funny feeling, few smacked it.  On one point alone I caught 8, which were basically fish sticks, but they were biting.

This is what most of the 30+ caught today looked like.

You could squeak out a limit, all were CPR, but you had to wade through a bunch.

As hard as I tried to catch another big fish it just would not happen.  With the low tide it really seemed they just wanted a smaller bait, and if it was not hopped off the bottom the strikes were few and far between.  And the fish were positioned a little differently than normal due to the low tide.  Today it was the steeper banks, some straight up and down, that had the better fish.  You really had to slow down to keep contact with the bottom with some of the steep drops.  Many of the flatter banks I like only had little ones on it, and it seemed the farther down I went the smaller they were.  Wish I would have had the other boat with a temp gauge, it might have been instructive.

Only 2 reds today, but as usual they were appreciated.

Other than the 2 reds above, I did add a small flounder to round out a slam.  Always nice to have that happen even if they are small.  While the bite was consistent they were tricky today, you had to be on your toes, and that certain sweet spot off the bank let me get ready cause the hit was coming.  So at 3:30 I called it a day.  I seem to have a trout “limit”.  After catching a ton it reaches the point of pointless, if that makes sense.  When it is an easy 30+ that seems to be my go home limit, but it sure is fun to catch release a bunch.

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

And another horrible water story.  A sperm whale stranded and died on the Scottish coast.  And in the stomach was “Fishing nets, bundles of rope, plastic cups, plastic bags and other garbage were found in the whale’s stomach, according to a necropsy done by SMASS.”  A total of 220 pounds of trash!  We are destroying our waters and have polluted the ocean to the point where they are finding all kinds of stuff in mammals, birds, and fish.  It can not keep going like this.  So if you fish this is important and time to do what you can, when you can.  No clean water, no life, that is how it works.

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

And I managed to do it again, I inflated my self inflating life jacket.  Almost exactly one year from when I did it last time it happened again.  I toss it on the seat when the boat stops and this time when I went to put it back on the pull cord got hung on the backrest and it inflated.  Nice.  At least I had another re-arm kit so no big whoop, other than the $20 for the kit.  So now I have put the pull cord in the edge of the jacket where it does not hang down looking for a reason to inflate.  But it is nice to know it works just fine, it may save my life.  But another lesson learned in a 50 year fishing life.  One thing we can say for many of those life fishing lessons, they always cost money.

And speaking of costly lessons I broke a spinning rod today, my favorite trout rod for light line and small baits.  I hate it when that happens.  And then when I decided to quit I reached down and pulled the trolling motor cord and it broke and I almost fell on my ass.  Oh well, just the cost of doing business.

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

Rusty fishes Fayette regularly and he let me know there was a fish kill on the north end of Fayette recently.  He reports that the fishing has been slow, same as Louis told me the other day.  Not sure what the fish kill is all about how about a quick uneducated guess:  They killed the grass on Fayette and I wonder if the loss of grass led to a much lower oxygen content when the lake reached it’s peak warm temperature causing the die off.  I continue to bitch about what is happening to our waters but a fish kill is a symptom of something.  And my usual question:  Does TPWD give a crap?  And did they investigate? Seems that might be something biologists would want to know.

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

So another good day of fishing this week, as far as big fish go.  A big bass on Monday, a big trout on Wednesday, can’t wait to see what is coming the next 2 days because the plan is to be on the water somewhere.  Big fish are what I like about winter.  It is not as fast as spring can be, but the odds for bigger fish go up.  And it helps when you get a little lucky like I did today.  But it proves the adage, the more I fish the luckier I get.  So keep stopping 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 looking at the weather it is bass tomorrow and trout Wednesday, at least for a start.  And on the lake I decided to change things up a little.  First thing in the morning has not been all that special on the lake, and with the periods running in the afternoons, I decided to go late and fish until dark and see how that goes.  They should be a little stunned in the morning anyway with this small cold front.

Weather

40/68.  Partly sunny with 0% rain.  Wind N 5 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

Friday  94.57 msl.  Today  94.55 msl.

Activity Periods

Major  4:52 pm to 6:52 pm.  Minor  11:28 am to 12:28 pm.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  Now I am really excited.

Got it Done.

I was on the water at 10:30  The air temp was 55 and the wind was blowing 15mph straight out of the north.  With a mile high sky, falling water, and a cold front I expected it to be tough, and it was.  The water temp remained the same as it has been and the color was not all that hot, combination of wind and falling water.

So first was up lake and not being sure what to throw today I pitched the Pit Boss, swim jig, Bang O Lure, and spinnerbait.  And of those only the Pit Boss and swim jig produced fish.  In fact, I fished 7 hours and ended up boating 8, 4 on each bait.  And as a side note fishing in the afternoon was about like it has been fishing early in the day.  But it was the Pit Boss that made the day worth it.

This was a toad, big and healthy.  One of those you could get your fist in her mouth.

I pitched the California color Pit Boss right next to a brushy tangle and instead of sinking it just started moving to the right, once I set the hook she did the big mouth open wallow like the good ones will do at times.  Then a half hearted jumps by the boat and I put the lip job on her.  No guess how big, but she was a good one, nice and thick.  She got CPR’d and off she went.  Nice to get a good one in the boat.

But as far as the rest of the day it was literally one here and one there.  And as it has been for a month they basically all look the same.

They have looked like this for weeks.

I wish I could give you a real pattern, hell I wish I knew one, there just does not seem to be anything or anyplace they like more than anything else, at least as far as I know.  One on a channel bank, a couple on points, 2 near brush, one with no reason to be there, it was spotty.  But considering conditions I will take it.  After losing one like this Friday it was nice to redeem myself.  One thing about sticking a big one, some may fool you, but when it is a real one there is no question.

It really has surprised me how slow the Bang O Lure fishing has been so far, normally one of my favorite patterns on Coleto in the winter.  But winter has just arrived here so it remains to be seen how the fishing goes.  I know one thing, until they quit dropping the lake the fishing will remain spotty.  But all it takes is a big fish and it is all good.

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

I met Jeff and Louis from the bay City area at the ramp when I took out.  They were the only boat who fished as long as I did and their results were about the same.  Had one about 3 1/2 and the rest were small ones like the ones above.  We got to talking about the grass being gone and Louis said they asked about it and were told it was “natural” order of things.  Which Louis said is actually the name of the herbicide they used on the lake.  “Natural Order by Monsanto.” Good one and so true!  (I am not buying the natural thing either, which I was told over 3 years ago.  Everything is gone, including the hyacinth, which is basically impossible to get rid of.)

They were headed to Fayette today until a buddy called who is a good tournament fisherman and advised them to change lakes.  They fished Fayette for 5 hours yesterday without a bite, which I guess is unusual for them.  Then they told me about a fish kill that happened late summer on Fayette, which I had not heard.  So Rusty – what do you know about that and have you fished the lake lately?  So it was nice to meet them and talk fishing, and the rest of you if you see me at the ramp say hey

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

Unfortunately there are a couple of things that need doing tomorrow so no fishing tomorrow.  But after that it will be back on the water.  I want to do at least one more day on the creek, or maybe the river, with the flyrod before that slows down.  And time to plan a little fishing trip before heading north to visit the parents and grandkids.  If it would cloud up and be relatively calm it will definitely be the Laguna.  With the water cooling big trout time is right around the corner.  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

79/72.  Warm and cloudy this morning with a 65% chance of a shower.  Wind Calm then clearing with gusts to 30 out of the SE.

Lake Level

Today  94.57 msl.     Yesterday  94.62 msl.

Activity Periods

Major  3:09 pm to 5:09 pm.   Minor 9:52 am to 10:52 am.

I really did have high hopes for the fishing this morning, and in one respect it was good, to bad I did not get it done.  Started with the spinnerbait but I made a change.  To make it stay on top slower making a big wake I went with a #6 and  #3 tandem which was easy to run slower making that good wake.  I had not been fishing 10 minutes when a big one jumped all over it.  I have to admit it caught me by surprise and I just did not get a good hook set.  She jumped a couple of times and on the last one right by the boat off she went.  To bad, it was the best one I have had on in a while.

This is what all 7 of them looked like this morning.

Not totally bummed out but that one hurt.  Of course that led to me throwing the spinnerbait a whole lot more than I intended to.  The problem was I only caught 3 more on it all morning.  And that happened in a 30 yard stretch.  As hard as they are hitting it to bad I did not get more bites, the ones that come for it are smacking it.  There was only 1 or 2 that did not get it once they came for it.

If I were guessing, and I am, this water falling thing has them a little hinky.  The weather was perfect, it basically drizzled all morning with light rain, and the wind was not to tough even when it came up.  The water was not quite as clear as it was yesterday, again from continually falling added to a little rain, and the temp had just dropped a degree over the whole lake.  They just don’t like it or there would be a lot more shallow.

Finally putting the spinnerbait down led to a few more fish, in fact 4, I should have stuck to that all morning.  The bunch I caught in one place yesterday were gone so it turned into a hunt and peck morning.  Then disaster number 2 reared its ugly head.  Reeling the swim jig along nice and slow letting it fall with the contour and one thumped it big time.  I set the hook, felt  some serious weight for about 10 seconds and the line parted.  Not even “break” it just let go softly.  That is exactly what you get when you do not retie.

The only good to come of that was I switched to blue/black swim jig with a glitter blue craw trailer and ended up catching a few.  2 of them hit it on the fall after a big hop.  They will track the swim jig and for me that is the easiest way to provoke them.  Generally I straight reel for about 5 – 10 feet as most bites come close to the bank, then I try to give it a big hop and let if fall on a slack line.   They usually hit it on the first couple of cranks after you tighten back up.  All of that leads me to believe that pitching the beaver style plastic to wood is probably still the best bet as long as the water continues to fall.

There were a few folks out but like yesterday the majority had hit the road when I got the ramp at 1:00.  Today was a miss more than I caught day and 2 were in my control and I just did not get it done.  This is my favorite weather and time of year and the fishing is disappointing right now.  Coleto historically has great winter fishing and hopefully it will improve if the lake stabilizes.  There will be some new locations as the water falls making some areas to shallow and some just right.  So it will be an interesting winter on the lake.

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

The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  Now I am really excited.

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

I must be nuts but I quit fishing Friday to come home and watch the Razorbacks, guess I really am a fan.  But something has to change because they are bad, really bad.  So lets see if it makes my day or ruins it.  Well not to bad.  It was one of those bad games by 2 bad teams that actually was pretty entertaining, nice after repeated ass whippings.  So now the new coach hunt goes into high gear and we shall see.  The AD hired the new basketball coach and we are now 8 – 0.  Maybe, just maybe, he will hit another home run but only time will tell.

The Aggies just got killed.  I switched over to another game after they got down 28 – 0 in the first quarter.  LSU and Ohio State are clearly the 2 best teams in the country.  Just have to see how next week comes out for both of them when they play in the respective conference championship games.  I sure hope we get to see them play each other before it is all over.

And the Alabama – Auburn game was one of the best games I have seen in a while.  And Saban bitching about Auburns trick punt play was priceless.  I would suggest that getting 13 penalties hurt them way more than that.

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

Looking forward to this week.  The weather looks great and the Boss is working all week so I will be free to hit the water.  And while I won’t be spending all weekend at POC with the Fishmas boys I will be headed down there for at least a day.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines