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.

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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.

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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon.  

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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

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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.

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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

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

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

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and have a safe holiday.

The Boss is working the holiday as usual, which for me means fishing.  Fishing the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday has been a staple for years, and back to when we were on the ambulance, decades.  It is usually cooler and the traffic is light on both those days and I always enjoy the quiet.  I never forget how lucky I am.  So thanks Nancy, you are the bomb!

As I prepare this today the weather is looking like we just might get a few showers. which is not going to stop me from heading to the lake in the morning.  After fighting the blog yesterday I need to have a rod in my hand so it will be up and gone in the morning.  Time to make sure the boat and tackle is ready to go and get out the rain suit.  (See Todd below.)  And as I said on Facebook, I want to be home in time to see the Cowboys floundering around like a trout flopping on the deck.  It is back to real life and we shall see how the day goes.

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

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And speaking of Controlled Descent they have received what is the “last” pre-production mold on the new Knockin Tail Lure and I can not wait to get my hands on some.  Michael reports he caught some good trout on the prototype the other day and they were hammering it.  We are trying to work out a day of fishing together to give them a good go.  It is going to catch fish, end of story.

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Weather

72/66.  Mostly cloudy with a 64% chance of a few showers.  Wind NNE 10 – 15 mph.

Lake Level

Today  94.62 msl.   17 days ago  94.92 msl.  (It keeps on dropping, the ramp is headed to interesting.)

Solunar Times

Major 1:18 pm to 3:18 pm.   Minor 7:54 am to 8:54 am.

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A dreary day – Perfect!

It was raining pretty good at daylight so I hung out and watched the radar.  Finally about 8:00 the big stuff was gone so I headed to the lake.  This is the kind of day where you catch fish, cloudy, drizzle, and a 15 mph wind.  The ramp is definitely lower but still ok as long as you don’t back in over 25 feet.

The water temp was 66 at the ramp, 69 near the discharge cove, and 66 over most of the lake.  The water color is clear at the lower end with some color up river.  Which of course is my usual starting place.  Spinnerbait was first up and while not fast by any means the ones that did bite were stopping it.

The 2 best on spinnerbait out of 6.

I probably stuck with it to long but it is still the all time favorite.  Running right below the surface making a wake, the spinnerbait has to run exactly level, generates some of the best strikes in bass fishing.  I generally threw it on flatter banks with cover, harder to get them to bite buzzing it if the bank is to steep, the bite window is a lot smaller.  It seemed like a big one was coming on the next cast, but it just did not happen.  So time for favorite technique number 2, swim jig.

They were thumping the bluegill color 1/4 ounce swim jig with a Rage Craw.

While fishing the spinnerbait was getting bites it was time for a little deeper bank and the swim jig.  It only took about an hour until I hit one steep bank and caught 5 in nothing flat slow rolling it.  They were still near cover but I guess with the falling water they want some protection of deep water nearby.  The bites were those nice thumps that says they have it.  After that time to point hop down lake and see if one would eat a Bang O Lure.

Until I quit about 2:00 to watch the game it was slow “pickens”.  A small one did finally hit the Bang O Lure on top, but down lake it was just a hair to windy.  A couple more jumped on the spinnerbait on a windy bank with stumps, and I did not have another bite on anything else.  It seemed like they just slowed down, but I did not get to several spots that have been consistent as I tried to get a feel for what they are doing.  Of course the discharge can be really good this time of year, just not my thing.

For a 5 hour trip I will take it.  And the best thing about today is I just might have a clue so tomorrow is looking good.  Not even going to unhitch the boat.  The plan will be to throw the swim jig a lot more, it improves the big fish possibility by a good bit.  Can’t wait to see how it goes.

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I did miss my buddy Todd at POC last weekend but he sent along these pictures.

After his run to Conte he had it all to himself and he sent this picture on his arrival.  Take a close look at what might be missing.  Shit happens!  He ended up pulling the day out with a nice limit of reds so all was not lost.

That will work!

Of course it reminds me of a story.  On the way back from Florida the Boss and I stopped at a motel in Jasper Alabama.  The next morning we left and got about an hour and a half away and remembered I left more than a dozen rods behind the door.  Nice way to start a 10 hour drive back to Arkansas.  Having done things like this more times than I care to remember I now take a second and make sure I have my stuff together.  Sometimes the lure of just getting on the water is to strong, we are a bunch of kids once the boat comes out.  It happens to the best of us.

And last but not least on his weekend.

Pork is what’s for dinner.

Those of you who have followed this blog know about Todd and his cooking.  He is a great cook and fishing trips with him always include some serious eats.  Sorry I missed him!

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Hope you have a great day whatever you are doing.  Mine is going great, let us see how those Cowboys do.  As long as it is not just flat pouring it will be gone at daylight with the weather looking perfect.  I can feel a big fish coming.  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 is my 1, 149th post and all is right with the world.  If there ever was a time to call it a day with the blog this was it. What looked like a daunting task beyond my abilities updating the site was resolved with a little perseverance.  I am not done yet, there is way to much to tell, so many places to go.  The final way to check is to finish off the Colorado trip.  I wanted to fish today but fixing the blog took precedence.)

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Colorado

This trip had 2 goals, besides just generally having a good time, do some fly fishing, a big success, and see and photograph wildlife, another great success.  I drove out early and then picked up the Boss at Denver International on Pena Street.  Didn’t know neighbor Jesse’s fame spread that far!  As you know I was in South Fork fishing and my wildlife viewing started off with a bang.  A huge full curl ram, then mule deer bucks fighting, set the tone and it went from there.

We stayed at McGregor Mountain Lodge which could not have been better situated.  Only 2 minutes from Estes National Park, and 5 minutes from the town of Estes Park, all on the same road.  As usual the Boss made a great choice.  From seeing around 100 cow elk in town the first morning, to the big bull bedded down 15 feet from our porch when we  left, it was up close and personal the whole trip.  So without further blather here are the critters!

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

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Day 1

Each day was different.  On this day it was cold and below freezing.

Everything was laid up all day, but when we came around the corner we spied a set of horns on the hillside.  And from there on it was nothing but big bulls.  We basically dive and glass, looking for whatever we can see.  And if we are lucky the 600 lens can reach them.  It takes patience but if you take it slow amazing what can be seen.

How many do you see?

We would see lots more of these big boys over the next 3 days.

Though we saw a few mule deer does, until the big warm up the next few days the bucks were few and far between.

Mid afternoon the big boys were out of their beds and feeding.  It was really something seeing big elk that close, and we spent plenty of time watching them.  The guy on the bottom right was a hoss, and his horns were broken and worn down from a tough fall rut.  He was obviously the boss.

As the sun began to set they started to bed again.  The bottom right was right across from the lodge.  Looks like he broke off a pretty good piece of his rack.  So day 1 was a real success.  We have never been fortunate enough in our travels out west to really get to observe so many nice bulls up close.  So day 2 we were going to go to the fly shop and set up our trip but when I went outside it was so nice I knew they would be moving, and it was a great choice.

Day 2

Before we get to the wildlife trust me, we took time to stop and take it all in.  Estes Park is beautiful and the day started off warmer after a fresh snowfall.  So here it is, the park.

The front was about to blow through bringing the sun out and making a perfect day for being alive.

The roads were slick with ice under snow but the 4Runner had no problems.  We did see 3 cars in the ditch, not sure why they were driving on it, but the park was fairly busy as much of it is open this time of year.

We did stop and take a mile hike around a lake, then back to chasing animals.

Hard to decide which is better.  No matter what it was just to beautiful to be true.  We really appreciate the ability to explore new places and it never gets old.

As it began to warm out came the mule deer.  They were scarce day 1 but on the move today.

They were browsing on the clumps of grass with the occasional bite off a pine tree.  We wanted to be back in town by 10:00 to get our fishing trip settled so after a short morning in the park it was off to town.  Changing plans and hitting the park at daylight was the right choice.  After getting that squared away we looked at the map and decided to take a scenic drive in the national forest and of course, there were the elk.

The first one was the only elk we saw on the morning park drive that we were able to get a picture of.  The big boys were way out in a field in the park but once on the afternoon drive we saw plenty.

These guys were in a field outside of town.  The cows had already moved down and the bulls were on the way.  We never saw them together except for the big herd in town headed to the golf course.  So with another successful day we headed to supper, which included elk!

Day 3

Being out last full day, and having to meet the Kent at 10:00 for the fishing we were in the park before the sun came over the mountains.  Whether fishing or looking for animals, daylight is the money shot and we had another great day.

It was such a pretty day for our last drive in the park.  And the mule deer bucks appreciated it.

This guy decided to bed down with a buddy.  It was one nice buck.

What majestic creatures.  The last guy was the master of all he could see.  This was the last picture before the fishing trip and it was the perfect end to 3 days in the park.  Each day was different and you never knew what might be around the corner.  And our timing could not have been better, and we were so glad we had the 4 wheel drive.  It is a long way there, and of course even longer back, but not only having 4 wheel, much less all the “stuff” you could need for cold weather and fishing is a load, made every inch of the drive worth it.

It is hard to put this trip in perspective but it had it all.  Great weather, fishing, and animal viewing checked all the boxes.  The place we stayed, good eats, fishing with Kent, seeing a big ram, snow, mountains, the park, South Fork, the Big Thompson, elk, mule deer, people stuck, the Boss falling on her rear end, and on and on.  We made a pact last winter when viewing the Whooping Cranes at the Aransas Wildlife Refuge, lets see how many animals we can see this year, and it has been a success.

And on a travel note the Boss just outdid herself.  In October of next year we are embarking on the biggest fishcatchingtravel of all time.  Plans are made, deposits are down, now comes the hard part, the waiting.  First up will be 4 days at a riverside camp on the Zambezi River in Zambia.  I will be able to fish for tiger fish, a bucket list fish, anytime I want.  Not only game drives but walking drives, yikes!  And you can take a canoe trip on the river amongst the crocs and hippos!  They say to bring the bino’s as you can see animals from your porch.  It is known for elephants to stick their head into your cabin!  Tons of wildlife, lions, hippos, crocs over 12 feet, wild dogs, even leopards are commonly seen.  The leopard is the only one of the big 5 we have not seen and I can hardly wait.

Then it is off to Uganda for 2 days viewing the gorillas.  Just thinking about that gets me all giddy.  We chose 2 days because we have heard the following form other folks – Day 1 to much time on the camera, Day 2, really watch and see how cool it is.  You hike into the jungle and can spend an hour just watching a group, and you see a different group every day.  The travel time to get there is something.  4 flights in 2 days until landing on a small plane in the jungles of Zambia, it will be worth every minute.  And as usual she has folks waiting at every step of the way to keep us from getting lost.  This is going to be something.

So now it really is back to “real life”.  Since I spent today working out the kinks in the blog tomorrow morning it will be off to the lake.  Then I will be getting the 9wt fly rod out and heading to the creek to try my luck.  Next time you are our fishing or hiking take the time to appreciate your surroundings.  The catch is the bonus, being alive in the outdoors is what it really is all about.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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

The Best Wading System on the  planet.

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Sorry for the late report but I updated the word processing program on my computer and it is just plain hard to teach an old dog new tricks so here we go.

Before telling you about the fishing I want to compliment our guide. We met Kent Anderson for our trip at Kirk’s Fly Shop in downtown Estes Park. You never know when you hire one, as an example Peru, terrible, Costa Rica, top notch. In this case he was topnotch, one of the best guides I ever fished with. He took 2 neophytes and put them on wild trout under less than ideal conditions. And if you ever get to Estes Park stop in the store, great owner with all the stuff you might ever need.

The Boss with a rainbow.

We were fishing the Big Thompson River outside of Estes Park. It is a tributary of the Platte and was the best open water around. The river was way down in flow rate, about 15% of the level Kent likes, and clear as a bell. As you can see from the picture above it was not very far across and the fish were spooky. Filled with cool little runs and pools, it was in a pretty setting at the bottom of a canyon. Kent was patient and really did teach us how to catch wild trout in about an hour. I have taken 2 classes, and fly fished several times, but he taught me more today than I learned all those other times combined. He is a real pro.

This style of fishing is considered technical. Close roll casts to tight runs, many with less than 5 feet of promise land, it all had to be right. We were using a nymph and egg combo with a couple of spilt shot and an indicator. It was critical to get the drift just right, and many of the strikes were nothing more than a twitch of the indicator, you had to be on your toes.

Nancy with one on and Kent doing his guide thing.

One thing I will give those trout they can be tricky. It took the Boss a few misses until she invariably got the hang of it, and once she did she started catching them. I did ok, I think it was 6, and with a little more experience would have been a few more. We caught rainbows, cutbows, and browns thanks to Kent. He really stressed doing in all right and concentrating on what we were doing. I often say that in fishing it is the little things that make the difference at the end of the day. It is no truer than in fly fishing.

Of course there was an ulterior motive, putting the Boss on fish. She has been successful on both her outings and I think she is really starting to like it, of course what is not to like where wild trout are caught? And of course there is a real side benefit to me, she will come along with me. So there are definitely more trout in our future, and with a little more experience it will be off to catch a bonefish.

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

And finally I wanted to let you know a little more about Kent. He has been guiding for over 14 years in some great places, including northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and Bristol Bay Alaska. He also guides backcountry camping, guided hiking and horse/lama trips, and snow shoeing trips. Want to do something great in the outdoors he is your man. So if you are ever in the area stop in Kirk’s Fly Shop and they will hook you up. The area is beautiful and he will put you on some fish in one of the most beautiful places on this earth.

Often catching is the reason for the season, but in this case it was the total package. Beautiful scenery, great river, and we learned a ton. Kent told Nancy several times while she was fighting a fish to turn around and look at where she was. So true! Not sure how a day of fishing could be any better. It was nice to get out of my comfort zone and learn/do something different. And to get to share it with the Boss made it extra special. Plus I now know how lucky I was to catch that bunch of browns the first couple of days, the blind hog thing.

Sorry the links and picture size are somewhat wonky but still trying to work my way through the new word processor. A computer guru I am not by any stretch. But a little practice and all will be well soon. Next I will get up all the wildlife pictures we took in the park, we got some awesome shots if I must say so myself. Overall the timing on this trip could not have been better.

There is so much more that should be said but you get the point. Next up I plan to be on the water Wednesday and Thursday. A couple of days to recover from the long drive and I will be good to go. With the Austin Boys coming in a couple of weeks there will be a couple of days on the salt with them. And I am getting the heavier fly rod out and heading to the creek for a day of trying to catch a red or trout. Just what I need another fishing method, but hey, never wanted to be a one trick pony and as I get older I appreciate being in the outdoors so much more. The fish are just the icing on the cake. So thanks for your patience. 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.

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

Got these comments, first from Clyde and Anonymous.

Good Luck.

They may have meant the fishing, which was great, but that is not what made this a bucket list day.  But thanks guys, it was awesome!

It was a lot colder this morning and of course I was up bright and early.  So I headed for a drive, when I checked the river there was ice, so time for a drive up to what the sign says is Pool Table.  Figured I would kill some time and then it happened.  I was way up on the mountain with a big cleared ridge off to the west with the morning sun on it.  I saw a patch of white so I stopped and broke out the glasses.  (Glad we finally bought real ones for our animal searches.)  And then it stood up.

There it was, the Bighorn ram of my dreams.  The one you see in magazines, on hunting shows when I was a kid, the one I have driven hundreds of miles looking for.  He got up and it was a giant.  Way bigger than the ones I saw in Yellowstone.  A full curl with a supper heavy body, he was the old boss of the mountain.  One side of his horns was worn down and cracked, the other past his eye.  And he was kind enough to let me watch him walk on top of the ridge for 10 minutes.  Then he bedded down again so I eased out of the truck trying to be sly, he turned his head to give me a languid look, he was not afraid, and then he dropped over the side.  I have seen lions on a kill, walked up on cheetahs in Africa, been in a herd of elephants, but I have never seen a more regal and majestic animal in my life.  So thanks old boy

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

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But it goes on from there, I was living right.  I called the Boss and told her as I idled along on the top of the mountain.  Then I looked over and told her I think there is some elk.  As I got closer it was 5 or 6 mule deer, no big deal right?  So I stopped the truck, pulled out the glasses, and was treated to something I have only seen one other time in my life.  They were all bucks, and 2 of them were locked in mortal combat.  Pushing and pulling, kicking up stuff, they were flat having at it and the rest were watching.  One was quite a bit bigger  than the other and after a couple of minutes the small one called it quits.  It was something.  So in about a half hour I was lucky enough to be there and it will go down as one of the best animal mornings of my life.  And then the topper of the day, the fishing was great!

At this point I am a happy camper and haven’t set foot in the river.  Earlier I checked out another place the guy at the tackle store told me about and it looked good for later so I headed to the place I got them yesterday, and had about the same results.

They were right where they have been the day before but it was a little tougher.  The edges were iced over and there was lots of floating ice.  I kept after it and caught the 3 above, and missed a couple on both Rooster Tail and some midge thing-a-ma-bob.  I was finally starting to get a better handle on the fly rod.  As it warmed I decided to try the new spot, it looked good and it was only a mile away.

The glory hole!  A beaver damn.

My day was only going to get better if that was possible.  It looked really good so I decided to throw the spinner first up to see if I could get a bite, and I did.  They were smacking the crap out of it and I actually lost a really big fish for that river.  So knowing where they were time for the fly rod.  And it worked out great.  As a side note, you can keep 2 browns under 12″ and all rainbows released immediately so there are plenty of brown trout.

Here is a few of the dozen I ended up catching there.

So now I am making good casts and catching them on the black fly when I noticed there were some rising on the far bank.  Some kind of hatch, so in a moment of insight why not throw a small white fly, they liked the white Rooster Tail.  And from that point on until I lipped or caught every brown in that pool and it was game on.

Fly rod mania!  The river is full of these.

The white fly was suspended about a foot or so below the indicator,  (Or as we rednecks call it – a bobber.)  and the perfect cast got a bite.  Not sure what the hatch was but they were on the chew.  They were in a 75 foot stretch on the sunny side with the occasional riser. Once most of the ice was gone it was easier to make a good cast.  And if you made a perfect cast above them it was often a bite.

What I enjoyed most was getting to catch a bunch, good practice, and as the cast had to be perfect, so it forced me to think about what I was doing.  It really was a beat down and I can only imagine if I knew what was hatching it might have even been better, but no complaints.  I love self adventure, doing something different on my own, and having it work out.  This was the day that makes the drive worth it.  Big ram, fighting mule deer, then a bunch of brown trout, it does not get any better than that.

Next up 1s picking the Boss at Denver INT, and off to Estes Park.  There is some snow in the forecast, maybe big time, but that is what makes coming out here what it is.  We should see plenty of wildlife, and maybe the area close that has Mountain Goats.  And, plus I will be ready to have the Boss here.  I am already in trouble for having such a cool day while she works.  I appreciate her every day.

We should see some serious elk, and even if it is a half a day, more trout is in my future.  The Orvis beginner we got to stick our toe in this flu rod thing is just fine.  It worked for me and I am the worst trout fisherman on the planet, for now.  So the adventure continues and I did want to say a couple of words on doing something like this.

If you have never tried something half blind like this it is actually not that hard.  What do you want to catch, or the animal you want to see, start there.  You do not have to stay at the hilton, it is $69 a night here, no killer.  Once you decide where the next question is when is the time right?  That can vary, maybe it is crowded for that fish, but here no one is around and I have had it to myself.  Part of doing something like this is accepting that it may not be what you hoped for, but when it happens, reveling in days like today.  Guees that is why I towed the boat blind to the Everglades, or fished Lake Conway in a death defying thunderstorm, it is in the doing.

Sorry for the mini rant, but for me this is what it is all about.  Just hoping and wishing something cool would happne.  Seeing something, no matter what it is, cool makes it worth it.  Hoping you are catching them where you are, and thanks for the support and comments, it mean a lot to me.

And this from Rusty.

Great job Doug on the fly fishing!! Now you know how I got into tying my own flies! Much cheaper and a lot of fun. Keep sending pics!
Rusty

Out of the 12 I bought yesterday only 6 are left.  I am sure a lot of that has to do with my casting, and some to the knot tying which cost me a fish or 2.  The learning curve is high but there is something to be said for “fooling” them.  While it is still totally foreign to me it is nice to add another arrow in the arsenal, it is a cool way to fish.  And add the scenery what more could you want?  (Other than the occasional redfish.) The adventure continues.  So keep stopping in folks, there is more to come, and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines