FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet

I got this comment from anonymous, he has commented occasionally, and it is right on point.

Great POC report. Hope you get into the cats again!

Ok here you go!  Thanks for the comment.

21 Minutes.

 The Boss was wanting a catfish fry so I headed to Coleto to see if they are still biting like they were.  The answer is a great big yes.  How well? Amazing!

I headed back to the same area  (See old post below.) and put the first crankbait out behind the boat and before I could cast the second one it was fish on.  From that point on it was hard to keep 2 rods in the water and I had several doubles.  In fact, after I lost one I started to crank it back and another jumped on, it was something.  When I got to 10 keepers, and threw back another 4 or 5 smaller ones, I stopped with an easy fish fry and all wanted to clean.  Funny, I do not have a clue what the limit is (Just looked it up, thought it was 15 but is 25 statewide.) but whatever it is it wouldn’t take that long.  It took exactly 21 minutes to catch them.  In fact, there were several doubles and the other would get off before I could get the first one in the boat.  Of course at this point the hooks on the crankbaits are trashed, it has been 80 give or take the last 3 trips.  Now that is nuts.

Over the years I have been lucky enough to be somewhere when there was a “bite.”  Well of all the bites I have had the pleasure of taking part in this may be the most interesting.  I can not even imagine how many there are, whatever perfect storm in the spawn a couple of years ago and this springs shad spawn have contributed to some really fantastic fishing.  And best of all, it isn’t rocket science.  If  you want some tasty filets now is the time.  Next up for us, some golden brown fried catfish filets.

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

As I off loaded the cooler Patrick came over and introduced himself.  He lives close and had towed his camper to the park hoping to take advantage of the bite.  I always love meeting new folks and he was kind enough to tell me he had been reading me since the beginning.  It means a lot to me, and actually meeting you all keeps me writing.

But what was interesting there was another guy at the cleaning table and he had 30 catfish his wife and he caught this morning, and they caught 30 yesterday to boot.  He has been trolling like me close to the same area, and running jugs.  The bigger cats came on the jugs, the rest on crankbaits.  Of all things Patrick’s camper is next to him and he told Patrick that he caught them all on jugs.  Fishermen crack me up, always a secret.  So good luck Patrick, they are there, sack them up!

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

It was good to hear from Ed with this POC report from yesterday.

Howdy
Here’s a little about our trip today in POC. My friend Paul has been helping me put a new addition to our house down there. And after a couple of days of working we decided to fish this morning before heading back to SA. Anyway we waded the shoreline going to boggy around 6:30 and like you said, I was throwing tops to close to the shoreline and only one blowup. I then went out deeper and managed one keeper trout and so many smalls I can’t remember. Around 9:30 all the other people left and it was on from there. We both managed 2 limits throwing gold spoons and DOA under a cork. Finished up around 11:30. Turned out you just had to wait for them .and persistence paid off.

Great report and persistence says it all.  Funny how we both had the same experience as far as shallow goes.  Summer is here.  And what a good way to finish off a couple of days of work.  Thanks for the report.

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

Thinking about the gators I had a moment of insight, not sure this is correct but seems logical.  Several of the reports were from multiple fishermen, all with fish on the stringer.  I wonder if just like sharks when there are lots of fish being caught and tossed back, much less struggling on a stringer, it might draw them in.  Where I had no fish on the stringer it seemed like I startled the one yesterday and he was not hungry enough to eat me.  Just a thought.

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

Tomorrow looks like some real rain, I hope for us but not for lots of other folks.  I will be waiting to get back on the water ASAP.  The bay is producing some great fish, and there were some good online pictures that came on croaker online.  Where next I do not have a clue but I am ready to roll.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet

It was not quite daylight when I dropped the boat in at Froggie’s.  The tide was high, the water was off color, and the water temp was 86.  Today it was off to South Pass to fish a couple of drains so as soon as I could see it was off for the long run.  Nice to not get the snot knocked out of me running across.  Summer is here.

Just about to jump in, what a beautiful morning.

Weather

81/97.  AM clouds giving way to sun.  20% chance of rain.  Wind ESE 10 – 20mph.

Tides

High 9:12 am  1.32 ft      Low 9:58 pm  -0.38

Solunar Times

None during the time I was out.

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

It was calm with a slight ripple so I started with topwater.  I missed a small red right off the bat, then I hung a good one who somehow came off after a pretty good fight.  So of course I stayed with the topwater for way to long, without success.  I would learn later I was way to shallow.  After an hour in the first drain without another bite I moved down the bank some and finally started getting bit.

A nice flounder.  The best of 3 reds this morning.

It took a while to figure it out but I finally got something going.  The fish were definitely not shallow and until I moved out over waist deep, tossing it as far as I could, they were just not having it.  The best I could tell the trout were in about 5 foot of water and they wanted it hopped erratically off the bottom.  Small paddle tails on 1/32 jig head and 8lb line turned out to be the way to go.  I did catch a couple slow rolling the white Controlled Descent Paddle Shad and a couple on the popping cork and fake shrimp, but I think with all the small shrimp and the glass minnows they wants something smaller to match the hatch.  I eked  out a small limit, but a limit all the same.

These were the 2 best of the 8 caught in that area.

After the bite slowed down I made one more move to another drain close to South Pass and while another one or two jumped on they were small.  But at least I was catching fish.  Around noon I decided to head to my favorite drain back down the island, and that turned out to be a bad choice.

With all the shell and little mud the water was clear in the pass area, back down the island not so much.  The water was rising rapidly and the area I chose had floating grass everywhere and the color was awful.  Really a bad idea, not even a touch.  In fact the closer you got to POC the worse the water color.  Big Bayou was a mud hole as the water rose.  Since I made such a bad choice, and with the wind starting to blow, it would have been a long run back down the bay to the clear water so I called it a day at 1:30.

On the way back I saw lots of folks fishing, most dragging a bucket, croaker I assume.  And everyone was at least waist deep and deeper.  With the water temp rising rapidly it looks like the trout have settled in a little deeper, the usual summer time pattern.   Not a real croaker fisherman I will give it a go at some point in the near future, but nothing beats hopping the plastic up and feeling the thump.

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

Ok here is the “damages” from the holiday weekend according to the TPW

• 11,ooo vessel safety checks
• 1,279 citations
• 1,339 warnings
• 39 Boat while intoxicated
• 10 DWI
• 11 drownings across the state
• 21 boating accidents
• 2 fatalities – 1 on Granbury – 1 on Aransas Pass Channel

13 lives lost, what a shame.  Think about it, with 11,ooo checks there were 2,500 tickets, which means over 20% of the boats had some form of violation.  These are big numbers and a perfect example of why it is so important to be careful every time you hit the water, especially on the holiday weekends.  It just might be the other guy no matter how careful you are.  The final word – almost every one of these might have been avoided.

And as I prepared this apparently a boat ran aground in Baffin this weekend sending 3 people to the ER.  And I will say it again, like jacket and kill switch.  It has taken me decades to wise up and this morning, like almost every day, I wear mine.  You never know.

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

And speaking of TPWD another fool was ticketed for an online post of him messing with an alligator.  Just think it through before you hit post.  Nothing like confessing to a crime online.

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

And speaking of alligators the Boss has a friend who had an encounter with a gator wading the bay this weekend and apparently Jesse the neighbor had a one around his bunch last week.  And I have seen several more incidents posted on line.  And I might have had a close call this morning.  As I waded along all of a sudden a huge boil about 5 feet from me, and if I was guessing, and I am, it was probably a gator,  Seeing many of them on the lake it was that tell tale gator moving out as big as that boil was.  I sure had not seen any thing else moving around.  So keep your head on a swivel right now when wading, there are lots of them out there.

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

Starting tomorrow afternoon looks like we have some rain moving in for a couple of days and on the way home today I drove through a big one.  I know other folks don’t need the rain but we sure do.  So with that in mind, and the Boss working the late night shift, I will get up in the morning and head to the lake for a couple of catfish.  Whether they are still hard at it remains to be seen but the Boss has ordered a fresh catfish dinner so hopefully I will have dinner caught and cleaned and be back before she even gets up.

I want to say how much I appreciate all of you.  Your continued readership and comments keep me writing.  I have still have lots to say, no surprise, and there is a lot more fishing to come.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

I really had no plans to fish today.  Joe Cool was coming this morning to do the annual service on the AC so I figured I would just be hanging out today.  But after sitting around the house and wasting time I figured might as well run to the lake for a few hours this afternoon.  I got there at 3:30 and the wind was perfect, hopefully it has let up for good this summer.  First I headed up lake and pitched to some heavy cover for an hour and only missed 2 with no other bites.  So I decided to run to the other arm but on the way I figured why not stop on a place I wanted to troll the other day.  The baits are still on the rods, and it will just take a minute.  Nope, it was on.

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

(I normally show a few for each day but I wanted to give you some context.  No wonder my hands hurt, no wonder my memory card was full, no wonder I trolled away after a while.  It was an easy 50+.  So here are the highlights.  What a crazy day!)

This about says it all.  It was no fluke.

Not sure how many it was but it went on for 2 hours until I quit.

First, there has been a massive shad hatch on Coleto.  They are literally all over in the area I was fishing, flipping on the surface.  And along with them are some catfish, and I mean bite after bite, doubles.  I often had trouble keeping 2 baits in the water.  They were in a stretch about a half mile long, and maybe longer as I did not go up any further.  I started on the timber point on the up stream side at the mouth of the discharge cove.  Then trolled down lake on the left side past the point until I could see the dam and then back again.  I was still trolling any shad imitation crankbait that runs 10 foot deep on 15lb line.  Many of the fish I was seeing on the graph were in the 12 – 15 foot range.  I just  let it out about 50 – 60 feet behind the boat, trolled at 2.5 mph in the 20 – 25 foot range, then held on.

I am not sure how long this will last but the fish are fat as all get out and really aggressive.  It must have been a banner spawn a few years ago as most of them were from the same age group.  It really is a feeding frenzy, they are putting on the weight.  It was nuts and I finally trolled back down towards the dam to get away from them.  Looking at all the pictures no wonder it was time to go home.  Makes me laugh thinking about it. The camera card got full, it was truly nuts.  I really figured it was just one of those things a couple of days ago, a fluke, but it is definitely a pattern.  If you want some  catfish there you go. Get them while they are hot.  It really was a once in lifetime happening, and weird!

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

Robert Stapper

We lost one of the Austin Boys this week.  His death was tragic and unexpected.  My sincere condolences to his family and friends.  He was a kind man and a good person  and I pray he is at rest.  He will be missed and not forgotten.  It will add a solemn feel to the next Fishmas.  Sad.

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

So there you go.  I know at when I say we caught a ton it might be hard to believe at times, so this time I wanted to show you some of what happened.  It was over 2 hours of mayhem and a day I won’t soon forget.  It will be back on the water somewhere, I am really feeling the passion right now.  Plus, I didn’t keep any and the Boss says go get a few for supper.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

It is noon Wednesday and it is weather watching time.  It looks like from the online reports and our weather dude tomorrow will not be the stinking gale we have been having for the last 2 months.  Then the phone rings and it is Aaron, his first words, what time are we leaving?  So time to head out to the boat and switch tackle out and head to the bay at daylight.  Not real great planning but oh well, better take advantage of this window and then go from there.  Whether it is boat fishing or wading remains to be seen.

Yesterday was a hoot.  A great example of making chicken salad out of chicken stuff.  Trolling gets a bad rap and I am not sure why.  Fishermen are such snobs in some cases, my way and my fish are the best.  Ok, but I am not interested in being a one trick pony.  And if it puts fish in the boat what is the big deal?  Anytime I can catch 20+ fish I am a happy camper, and when 10 are catfish it made it special.  And on a side note it has been blowing 25mph today, boy this is getting old.

Weather

79/85.  Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of a stray shower.  Wind 10 – 15 SE.

Tides

High   6:52 AM     0.6                                                                                                                      Low   9:30 AM     0.4
High  11:58 AM     0.6
Low   9:57 PM     0.2  (They are crap today but oh well.)

Solunar Times

Best  8:04 am to 10:04 am.  (Only relevant period.)

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

We dropped the boat at Froggie’s around 7:00 and headed to Big Bayou.  I decided to just boat fish and cover some miles to see if I could learn something.  It has been so long I did not have a clue.  The water was a little more off color than I like, and 81 degrees, when we got there.  We did have a close call when I flipped a plastic to grass edge and one thumped it hard.  I wrassled a big founder to boat side and it got off.  Not sure I set the hook, but they do that sometimes.  So with no other bites it was off to the Oil Cut.

We went in the last arm, and like there usually are, the trout were there.  The only problem, they were small, and I mean as small as they come.  We caught a bunch on plastics and there was not a keeper among them, not even close.  But they were in the back of that arm so we went down to the first arm to give it a go.

The second one was important.

We caught a few in there including the second one above.  What made him important was when I boat flipped him he puked up enough small shrimp to make ceviche.  They were little guys and it was full of them.  So the light came on and we threw some small popping cork and fake cheap plastic shrimp.  And while it never did amount to anything size wise we caught a few rats, and I mean small ones, a couple of small trout, and several croakers who were really active.  So with only one real nice one we headed out.

Hey, it is a fish!

We were using the fake shrimp around 30″ below the crappie bobber, and more I use it that way the more I like it.  Pops easy, make a good little “baitfish” flip, and the best thing, it does not have near the drag as a regular popping cork.  Which means they hold it longer and it is easier to set the hook.  Think I will work on that a little more this summer.  Thanks Glen.  From the Oil Cut we went out to the island and fished the back channel leading into Pringle.

The tide was coming up and there was floating grass everywhere making it somewhat of a hassle.  We did managed to boat a couple more small trout and a red or two, nothing to big.  All our bites in there came on paddle tail twitched on or close to bottom.

A drain red.     Aaron with a 19″, the only really good one today.

It was after noon and with the water clearing we headed back to Big Bayou to hit my favorite trout bank on the bay again.  We caught a few smalls and then Aaron boated a nice 19″ on plastic.  Shortly after that I lost another in that class, and that was it for the day.  I have not mentioned the specific plastic, it was the first time I used it so there will be more on that to come.

So give the day a B.  We caught at least 20 here and there, nothing great but bites.  But hey, we were fishing.  The only thing I might have done different was fish all those places in a different order.  Not sure how much it tells me about wading possibilities, but I will figure that one out next week.  I am ready catch a few real ones and the lake is just not getting it.  But of course I will not give up on that completely.  And it was so nice to be on the bay and not get pounded going and coming.  There were lots of folks out early but as the day wore on folks called it a day except a few folks boating with the family.  And of course a day with Aaron is always a hoot he is a great all around fisherman.

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

There have been several gator reports coming from the bay.  Big Pocket and several other likely places have had sightings.  All that fresh water brings them in and it has been a couple of years since they seemed that common.  Just something to be aware of.

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

I haven’t done crazy boat ads in a while but one today gave me a good laugh.  “Five adult Two children USCG approved life jackets and one throw cussing“.  Says it all about owning boats.

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

This is totally off topic but have you ever watched the end of the day bell ringing at the New York Stock Exchange?  It drives me nuts.  You have a bunch of rich folks standing up there clapping like a bunch of monkeys when the market drops like a rock.  That should tell you something, they are more than happy with your money because no matter win, lose or draw, it makes no difference to their bank account.

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

As a retired attorney I am constantly suspect of the government and believe they have so over reached in many areas.  But it might be time to mandate life jackets and kill switch anytime the big motor is running.  Now before you get your panties in a wad I want to make the following comment.  As a paramedic I saw lots of dead folks in car accidents, but I never cut a dead person out of a seatbelt.  Think about it.

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

Looks like we might get some rain, which we need.  That might sound crazy to some of the folks around us but it has been missing us fairly regularly, we are 5″ down for the year.  But it will be out of here in a couple of days and it will be back on the water for me.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

The last time the wind did not blow.

The day started off on a sour note.  When I got to the ramp at daylight there was 4 TPWD boats with wardens.  I pulled down to get ready and it was right next to a game an fish boat.  I asked what was going on and the warden told me a woman fell off a boat last evening in the discharge cove and they were going to look for her.  As a side note as I put the self inflating life jacket in the boat and hooked the kill switch he said smart man.  All that needs to be said about that.  And my condolences to the family and friends, sorry for your loss.

Weather

76/80.   Clouds then sun, humid, breezy, 0% chance rain.   Wind SSE  15 – 25 mph gusts to 30mph.

Lake Level

Today 98.12 msl.       5 days ago  98.21 msl.

Solunar Time

Best 6:49 am to 8:49 am.   (Only relevant period.  Day classed as not so much!)

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

Today was a simple plan.  I put 2 rod holders on the boat and trolling for whites was on the menu as soon as I pitched one bank up lake with good cover.  The water is still clearing, in the mid 80s, and the drop is a little more apparent.  And of course the same problem I have had on the lake reared it’s ugly head.

4th pitch.

On about the 4th cast one started swimming with it and in the boat she came.  I pitched the stick worm back in there and another one jumped on.  So now I am thinking something might be happening here.  And it was, the same old, same old, not another bite for an hour.  At this point the wind was blowing so time to try out the rod holders and catch some white bass.

I thought this was the plan……….

Starting down at the dam it was slow.  I think 1 white and a couple of small bass smacked the shad looking crankbait.  The best bait today turned out to be anything that looked like a shad that ran 10 foot on 15lb test about 50 feet behind the boat in the 2.5 mph range.  It was really windy down lake so I started slow trolling up lake, following contours on the GPS.  It was an hour easy before I had another bite, and then it was on.  When trolling is good it can be fun, and this was fun, and unusual.

It was catfish crazy. That was one big school.

There is a large flat point around the corner from the dam and the wind was blowing right over it.  It took about an hour to get there, but I kept working that 15 – 20 foot depth, looking for shad.  As I got to the point there was tons of bait being blown over it and as I made a pass on the down wind side I caught a catfish, then another, and another.  I could see the shad but not the fish, but whenever I got in 16 – 18 feet one would jump on.

I have caught plenty of catfish on lures but this was something,  I have no clue how many were on that point but it was a bunch.  And probably as many missed it as got hooked up, but one thing about catfish, if they get a treble in the mouth they are coming in the boat.  It was at least a bite or two on every pass.  After catching them, some small bass, and another couple of whites I decided to check back down lake, so I left them biting.

And as usual trolling on Coleto a nice bass hooked up.

It was just to windy on the big flat point near the ramp.  A couple more, including the best bass of the day, hooked up and several missed it.  So around 2:00 I called it a really successful day.  Catching that many catfish trolling lures was special, and just enough of the other guys cooperated to make the day a success.

I have done a lot of trolling, and today experience did help.  Remembering exactly what the baits were doing at speed, and then duplicating it exactly put the fish in the boat.  There are some places that are perfect and I found one today.  And there are a couple of other places that I would like to have fished but the wind was blowing a good 20+ making it a hassle so I called it day.

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

Change is coming.

Sad to see.  Down Lake.

As more and more of the lake side is being cleared big changes are coming.  Quite a bit up lake is cleared and now an area down lake is being bulldozed and burned off.  One of the things I like about Coleto is so few houses, but that will be a thing of the past.  As waterfront property becomes more valuable you can expect more and more houses.  Things change, and the lake is changing rapidly in many ways.

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

Pine Island National Seashore

As usual I left it to the other folks on the water this weekend so the Boss and I headed to the beach for a little sun and reading.  The tide was way the hell up, and it was blowing onshore at 25mph.  A few folks were trying to fish but it was just to rough.  And as we came in the park in there were signs saying 4 wheel only as there was no beach and lots of soft sand.  We went down about 4 or 5 miles and set up and enjoyed the ocean.  Of course there were folks driving their cars, and there were a couple of spots that were pretty sketchy, but there is no fixing stupid.

And they just showed literally tons of trash left on the beach in Virginia Beach.  Wtf is wrong with folks?  At this point in time that should never happen.  We are slowly killing the ocean with plastic and crap like this is part of the problem.

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

One thing I noticed today there is a pretty clear thermocline line in the 25 foot range.  Trolling less than that and the water was clear, get out in 25 and it was a blurry line around 3 – 5 foot deep.  So that brings several thoughts to mind.  Is that where the good fish are?  Many lakes the thermocline is the depth as summer comes on and who knows, maybe that is where all the good fish have gone.  As soon as this wind calms down, and it will, time for some deep worming.  Just a thought.

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

Not sure what is next, or when.  Maybe a keeper day for a fish fry, and as soon as I look at the weather a day on the bay.  And I am looking to go somewhere next week for a couple of days, again weather dependent.   No matter what I will be fishing.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

A perfect bass fishing morning.

Deja Vu Vo All Over Again.

I was having trouble sleeping so I got out of bed and was on the water by 6:45.  No real change of conditions other than the wind was not blowing quite so hard, and it was cloudy.  Normally the ticket for bass fishing, but it was a carbon copy of yesterday.

Weather

75/89.  Cloudy giving way to some sun.  Breezy/humid 55% chance of rain.  Wind 20 – 30 mph.

Lake Level

Today   98.21 msl.           Yesterday  98.25 msl.

Solunar Times

Good  9:06 am to 11:06 am.  Best   3:19 pm to 5:19 pm.

*****************The new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

I started down lake in the coves where I caught them yesterday and it was slow to say the least.  I tried to keep in fairly calm water so the Bang O Lure could function properly.  Over the first couple of hours only 2 hooked up and another couple made a half hearted pass at it.  This one was still trashed from spawning.

The best of the 2 on Bang O Lure.

As the morning progressed the wind picked up a hair so I switched gears and headed to the windiest banks and threw a willow leaf spinnerbait.  I must admit that this year the spinnerbait fishing has sucked for lack of a better term and today was no different.  On the first bank I caught 2, one would have made a picture but I dropped him, and then not another bite.  Which while not surprising, there is plenty of good cover in some places, there should have been a couple of more on it.  My guess is if I could have fished it slower with a different bait it would have been a few more.

1 of the 3 pitching.                                A bonus white bass.

Next up was a deep cove out of the wind way in the back end.  There is 6 foot all the way in the back of it so it was time for a little pitching.  And like it has been for me with other baits pitching produced 3 in nothing flat, and then I could not buy a bite,  They were smalls but at least it gives me hope that next time I get a chance to fish, and there is a lot less wind, pitching should have its moments.

The last place I fished was the cove by the fishing pier and did not have a bite.  Noon was coming around so I called it a morning.  Normally I get stuff straightened when I get to the ramp but today I tied down the trolling motor, put up all the rods and gave them a twist to keep them from tangling, and then up come the whites chasing shad.  I was so out of business, but I grabbed my crankbait rod and made a toss after they went down and put the one above in the boat.  It was actually a “good” one for Coleto and having them schooling on top is not that common, so who knows, maybe the white bass will be good this summer.

It really was a carbon copy of yesterday, the weather, the wind, the catch, it was deja vu all over again.  The tough wind is no excuse, it is what it is, but it sure does not help things.  And the size is sure nothing to be happy about.  The question left to be answered is this all it is this year?  I miss the grass and so do the fish.

One last comment on the crappie fishing.  Of the 5 or 6 boats out today most were crappie fishing.  So when I got back to the ramp I checked the cleaning table, and the ones in the can were real big ones.  If you like crappie now is the time.  So big crappies, whites schooling, small bass, the lake is going through some changes and it will be a while before it settles into what it will be.

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

TPWD will be out in full force this weekend stressing safety equipment and BWI.  So before you hit the lake make sure you have the required life jackets, those under 13 y/o must wear a jacket at all times, besides the throwable cushion and fire extenquisher, and your registration.  And it only takes a second to clip on the kill switch, it could save a life.  Check your trailer.  Plates good, lights, tires ok, greased hubs, safety chains, and anything else you can see.  Nothing will ruin a great weekend like a ticket from the Warden, or sitting  at roadside waiting for a tow.  It is going to be busy this weekend so please be the bigger man, and be nice.  It is kinda like New Years Eve, at times it is amateur hour, so don’t be “that guy”.  But watching the ramp this weekend can be entertaining all by itself.  No matter what be safe and have fun this weekend.  The weather looks great so let summer begin.

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

Rusty added his 0.02 on this ongoing wind thing.

I share your sentiments about the wind!! One of the reasons I love fall fishing. Was able to get out on Fayette lake for two days, late afternoon and early mornings was very good on black/blue swim jigs. Usually white swim jigs do well but they would not take them. I’ve started packing for king salmon fishing on fly rod (Lake Michigan) in June then on to Canada for walleyes and pike in July. Booked a week down in Mexico for some super bass fishing in February on Lake Picachos. Well back to spooling new line on all my reels as the wind howls outside.
Tight lines
Rusty

It may be blowing and cutting into the  fishing time but thinking about trips to come is always a good pacifier and it sounds like you are about to do some serious fishing.  I am particularly interested in the Picachos trip and  if the bass fishing is anything like they say it is might be one of “those” trips.  And putting new line on is a pleasant task.  And last, the weather next week is looking real good mid-week and as soon as the weekend crowd hits the road it will be the bay for me.  Thanks for keeping in touch and we will be interested in hearing how the Lake Michigan fishing goes.  Those are some big salmon.

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

I got the Ram trolling motor bracket mounted and I wish I had done it years ago.

In my case using a hand control the handle takes a real shaking both towing and when it is rough.  This mount is designed to hold the shaft but I mounted it to the handle, and it is  rock solid with no shake, stabilizing the whole thing.  Funny how a $1000 trolling motor can be trashed due to a 0.55 part.  It is simple to use and is out of the way, a perfect solution for what has been ailing me the last couple of trolling motors.  So after a year of basically re-fitting the boat from the trailer up I have it just how I want it.  We shall see how long that lasts.

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

As we continue to explore possible retirement locations the Villages in Florida is calling and we set our dates for October today.  It works great for me, I will drive down early, and maybe stay late.  The only problem is deciding where to fish.  I definitely will be fishing the Harris Chain a few days, the only decision is what salt to fish.  I have not fished the Mosquito Lagoon and after seeing some of the large trout and snook caught there it might be my main destination.  The Boss gets the benefit, she flies down, I pick her up, she stays the week and then gets to fly back.  The only “problem” for me is do I stop and fish in Louisiana, head to the Everglades, or Pine Island, or………  it is a tough life.

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

Next week looks great for the bay.  The winds look like it is finally starting to lay some, and it won’t be long before we are wishing for a breeze to cool things off.  So I will be off to the bay for a couple days of wading mid week.  Both days will be a 2 tide day, high and fairly flat, but at least there will be a couple of falling water periods Wednesday and Thursday.

So have a great weekend.  Enjoy your activities but never forget the reason for the season.  Our armed forces stand watch every day to keep us safe and so many have given their lives in our defense.  So thank a vet for letting us safely sleep at night.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

After a literal gale this morning (Tuesday), no kidding, it has finally calmed down to 20mph.  With the wind at least within reason after a months absence it will be back to the lake.  When I say I do not have a clue, that would be putting it mildly.  The lake is definitely up, but until I actually drop the boat in the water what affect the rise has had will remain a mystery.  But at least I go into it with an open mind, something that can be hard for a fisherman to do.  Of course I will look shallow first and then go from there.  But as we all know, the best laid plans………….

Weather

77/90.  Low clouds then sun, breezy, humid.  7% chance of rain.  Wind SSE 15 – 23mph.  Gusts to 30mph.  (Forecast was right on.)

Lake Level

Today  98.25 msl.    Last trip 4/23/19     98.05 msl.

Solunar Period

Fair  8:10 am to 10:10 am.   Good   2:23 pm to 4:23 pm.   (Day classed as poor.)

*****************The Paddle Shad did some serious damage at the Chandeleurs and it will do the job here this summer.  And the new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

The first surprise, though the water is definitely up, it is as clear as it has been all spring, a good start.  And unlike the TPWD fishing report which said the water was 69 degrees, it was 81 at the ramp when I put in at 7:45, and I saw lots of water in the mid 80’s.  And while it still has some color in places it is definitely an improvement.

So up lake I went to start on my favorite buzzbait bank and right off  the bat a good one blew up on it but missed it by a mile.  She was in grass right on the tip of the point.  Then for a good hour one more made a half hearted swirl, and in fact I would have one more of the same later, until I got in a few who wanted to eat.

The best of the 4 I boated on buzzbait.

The wind was just howling right along, really to rough for the buzzbait.  I kept working up lake letting the wind blow me, it was blowing an easy 20mph+ right down the pike.  So time for a switch to the 1/4 ounce bluegill swim jig with a Rage Craw trailer.  Over the next hour 2 smalls jumped on  the swim jig, and I missed another.  Neither of them was worth a hoot so no pics.  After spending several hours uplake with only 2 smalls time to move back down lake near the ramp.  I did stop in a cove about half way down and caught my first small one on the buzzbait.

The Bang O Lure put 1 in the boat.  This one had a 5lb tail!

The ride back down lake was a little rough with it white capping over most of the main lake.  So I ducked in a couple of “calmer”, if you could call them that, coves and the one above hit the Bang O Lure under the surface, it was nice to  be able to see it happen.  But the wind was just a real pain in the ass and most of the time moving me to fast to effectively fish the Bang O Lure.  With nowhere to get out of it, the next cove I hit had some calm water with grass in the very back end and 3 jumped on the buzzbait, with no misses.  The were super shallow chasing what looked like fry.

From that point on it was 2 more coves without a bite.  So at noon I called it a morning.  As usual the wind made it a “fish where you can day and not a fish where you want”.  But I am encouraged.  7 over the side with 5 or 6 misses.  If that is the result with the wind being so tough there just might be some good days to come.  Topwater definitely could be the ticket, much less the buzzbait and swim jig.  And there is enough stuff in the water to give the frog a go.  Now if we can just get a nice cloudy drizzling day with light winds there just might be a killin’.

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

After stopping by the TPWD office and renewing the boat tags I decided to visit Angler’s Arsenal.  If you have not stopped in yet it is at 1205 E  Airline Rd in Victoria in the old Radio Shack store.  They opened in the last month and I was interested in what they had to offer.  And they have .a great selection.

Ronnie (sp?), the owner with her husband, was working and was great to talk with.  I so like many of the young Texas folks involved in the fishing business and prefer to shop with them whenever possible.  They have a great freshwater selection, her husband tournament fishes, and the prices were inline with the going rate.  And there was a good saltwater selection to meet your needs.

If this sounds like an ad, it is, support these folks.  If you have not stopped in yet please do.  Check out what they carry and maybe spend a buck or two.  It is important to help out local folks, Academy and Wal Mart are not “tackle stores” and you sure won’t get any knowledgeable help.

Open     Tues – Friday 9 – 6pm.     Saturday 9 – 4.

Website      https://anglersarsenaltx.com/

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

Monday evening when I watched the news I was sick of this ongoing weather report.  I have been bitchin’ about the wind all spring and today is a perfect example.  We have a Gale Warning!  And of course a small craft advisory to go along with that.  Are you kidding me?  Every year the wind seems to blow later and later heading into summer.  Nothing to be done about that, but if you want to head to the bay in that be my guest.  All I know is I am sick of it.

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

It was good to be back on the water.  And there were lots of folks crappie fishing the lake today.  I had heard it was good but if the number of folks tied up here and there is any indication the crappie are going strong.

Since I have not fished the lake in a month, combined with the wind howling like a banshee, no complaints about 7 smalls for a half day.  While none were “big” the potential is there and it shouldn’t take many more trips to get it down.  I hope to slip out for a little in the morning even though the high winds continue.  If I do time to throw a little crankbait and spinnerbait on some of the windier banks.  The bay will have to wait until next week.  With the holiday weekend upon us time to leave it to the weekend warriors.  They sure don’t need me adding to the confusion.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

It has been a 3 week stretch of travel from Montana, Louisiana, Arkansas, and then Oklahoma.  We just got home from the last leg seeing the parents and grandkids.  I am ready to get back to normal, if it ever does around here.  Being gone almost 3 weeks has put a damper on the fishing but that is about to change, thouugh I am still waiting on the weather.  The wind is blowing 25mph+ as I write this and is forecast to possibly hit 30mph the next 4 days.  So I might slip out to the lake for a short run in the next day or two, but the bay is on my mind.

*****************The Paddle Shad did some serious damage at the Chandeleurs and it will do the job here this summer.  And the new bait is coming, I have seen it and it will be a fish catcher.

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

I meet Steve a couple of weeks ago when I picked up his Wade Right after his had a defective buckle.  Tim and Jason had already sent a new one, they stand by their stuff and treat their customers right.  Steve is a little unusual as far as waders goes, he accesses his wading spots from the bank.

A nice limit of Wednesday trout.

                                                          And a bonus limit of reds.

So we made a date to fish together sometime, and if this wind will lay down hopefully it will be soon.  He is living proof that while a boat is nice it is far from necessary.  It just depends on how bad you want it.  Nice string, thanks for the pictures.  I will be in touch.

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

The part for the trolling motor came and I fixed it today.  Not a hard fix by any means but it says something about Krestas.  A year or so ago I took my old one to be repaired and they had it over a month.  It started doing the same thing shortly after I got it back from them so I finally broke down and just bought a new one.  Well the new one started doing the same thing so I took the handle apart and found the broken 0.55 cent part.  So hey, I still have the old one so I will take it apart and see if the part is still good.  Guess what?  No part, just left off when it was “fixed”.  How do I know it was just left off?  The handle is sealed and there is no way it could break or come lose and get away.  Maybe it vaporized!  Shoddy work when it took me 55 cents and 15 minutes to fix.  A lot better than a month and $100.  Before I took it there someone cautioned me about doing any kind of business with them, should have listened.

****************** 

While out running errands I decided to stop in at the lake and pay my annual fee.  I was somewhat surprised when renewing my annual GBRA pass to Coleto Creek.  This year it has jumped to $185.  Talk about inflation, pretty amazing.  I normally do not complain about fishing license fees, ramp fees, etc, they are worth it, but in this case it is a good thing I fish there quite a bit.  Not sure the quality of the fishing is worth all that.  But who knows, maybe they need the extra money to replace the dam on Dunlap.

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

And I heard from fishfearlarry.

Doug, Yes sir! That was my brother you met at the ramp yesterday. Allen told me he met you yesterday. Have a great vacation in Montana with the wife and I am looking forward to living the La trip with you through the blog when you get back!

I figured that was your brother.  The La trip was a success like last year, and I will pencil in next year as soon as I hear from the boys.  It really is a trip every hard core salt guy should make at least once.  And I did want to mention another option if a guy was wanting to take his wife, Due South Charters out of Biloxi.  A couple of the guys on the trip fished with them once and had no complaints, and while a little more expensive you have 2 man (0r woman) staterooms for a little more privacy.  The Southern Belle is more of a “guy” trip boat, but I would not take any other.  They are tops in my book.  Good to hear from you.

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

And long time reader Rick sent along this question.

I am trying to put together a trip to Quepos. What airline did you use and who did you use for the shuttle. We have contacted Steve , who John recommends for lodging and transportation but just asking questions, you know. How was The Falls.? 30 year anniversary, I got to get this right.
Thanks in advance!!!

I sent along some info via your email but wanted to add one more comment.  One of the guys on the La trip who has fished extensively overseas has also fished with John and had a great trip.  So can’t wait to hear if you make the trip, I would make it tomorrow if I could.  Like the La trip John’s operation is one of the best bang for your $$$ I have found. Good way to knock the sailfish, mahi, and maybe even a tuna or marlin, off the bucket list.  Fish 3 days, you never know.

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

And I got the follow comment from Sam.

Hello. Judging from the pictures, the weather was nasty on you, but you seem to be so happy posing for the picture with the Trout. But the views, they are just amazing!!!

The fishing that day on Whitefish was tough, but I loved every minute of it.  And the views, all I can say is the more time the Boss and I spend in the mountains of NM, Colorado, and now Montana, the more we love it.  In fact as I type this the Boss is looking at another trip back west in July.  Sooner or later I might even succumb to the fly rod.  Thanks for the comment, feel free to comment anytime.  And I clicked on the link in your comment, is that your site?  If it is I would be happy to share it.

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

And last long time reader Elaine sent this along.

Thank you for sharing the wolf trip. Very interesting reading and nice pictures.

Of all the trips we have taken this was one of the best by far.  Doing it with real pros made it so much better.  But there are so many trips to come that they each have their own character, and we plan on keeping on as long as we can.  Great to hear from you.

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

Bend Over!

And one last personal comment.  Talk about a rip off, try paying the property taxes we pay in Victoria.  Folks are up in arms this year as the appraisals skyrocketed.  What makes it stupid is only a small percentage are actually viewed, they just make this shit up.  Seems like the plan is raise them a ton, then give people a break who contest, but don’t lower it that much, so the total take increases.  My property taxes are  $1000 more than my brothers in College Station, and he has a much bigger, and more valuable, house and property in a fancy subdivision.  And they are $3000 more than my folks nice house in Arkansas.  Mine have continually gone up the 10 years I have been here.  The local politicians all have their hands up shaking their head saying its not me – so then who the hell is it?  The masked property tax monster?  Hypocrites.  (And please don’t respond to this, it is not a discussion, just a rant at being ripped off.)

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

To those of you I missed my apologies, but I must admit a couple of weeks away from the old “interweb” has not been a bad thing.  But time to get back on the horse and do a little fishing.  Unfortunately, surprise – surprise, our forecast includes 30 mph winds the next 4 days, and then will finally settle down some.  With it the serious saltwater fishing will begin.  And as usual love to hear from any of you, keeps it more interesting.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the Planet.

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

“There is something in the wild romantic scenery of this valley that I cannot nor will I, attempt to describe…..but as I am neither Poet, Painter or Romance writer I must content myself to be what I am a humble journalist…………”

Journal of a Trapper,  Osborne Russell   1834 – 1844.

As I read his book this passage could not have said it any better.  For me, a moment in time glassing across a valley led to the number 1 outdoor experience of my life.  We were set up on a viewing area watching not only a bison kill but a den.  There were pups and mom was in and out during the morning.  The pack was also hanging around and all was right with the world.

My eye was glued to the spotting scope as the grey Alpha female came out of the den and the black wolf, who had been laying close, both stood up together and began to move downhill.  There was a slash of sage grass in front of the den and as they approached it the rest of the pack stood up and then the unthinkable happened – an attack.

The whole pack jumped the Alpha females sister, who was the Alpha of the pack last year, and began to tear her up.  Initially others who were watching thought it was play, but having seen coyotes do basically the same thing it was pretty clear what was happening.  Their tails were straight up in the air, not wagging, and they were so aggressive.  The attack did not last long, a minute maybe (?), and her sister was left with a bloody rump and a pretty ugly looking injury to her belly, all visible in the spotting scopes.

Once she succeeded in getting away she stood there and began to howl.  She just wailed over and over to the pack, but no answer, and none approached her.  We learned later a spotter from the Wolf Project was also glassing and taking dictation on the behavior reported another attack later.  Other folks found the scene hard to watch, the pros we were with said this was a rare happening.  I found it compelling, fascinating, and beautiful.  This trip is not the zoo, life and death is played out every minute of every day and I will never forget what I saw that morning.

Wolves

(Thanks to the shared photos from our group.  Many were taken through a spotting scope with an iPhone attachement.)

There are somewhere between 60 – 80 wolves in the park, many are GPS collared.  We were fortunate enough to see wolves everyday.  And a word on optics, a GOOD spotting scope was an absolute.  These folks know where the dens are, where the wolves and other critters hang out, and once spotted you could see the individual marks setting each apart.   I also had the good fortune to be watching a bear in one scope, and a couple of wolves feeding on the bison kill.  As the grizzly ambled down the slope to the kill I was thinking, oh my, there is a bear.  Until he walked up to the kill, ran the wolves off, and climbed on top of the bison.  That was no bear, that was a freakin’ giant!  Boy are they big.

One wolf who had been trying to jerk a back leg off the bison laid down and watched the bear eat.  Meanwhile ravens and eagles are all trying to get a bite.  Then the wolf got up, walked behind the bear and gave it a nip on the ass, grabbed a big hunk and took off like a bat out of hell to the den.  The pack attack and the bear/wolf confrontation made my trip, but there was so much more.

Normally I try to get stuff up as soon was we get back home from a trip, but due to the airplane turning around in mid air and heading back to Denver we were a day late, and I took off for Louisiana.  But even if I did my words can not describe how great this trip was.  And I really learned one thing, along with lots more, go with the pros.  And thanks to the Boss and her dogged research we hit a homer.  So here is a completely unsolicited ad – Yellow Stone Tracker is the freakin’ bomb and if you go with anyone else you are nuts.  Could I say it any more clearly?

https://www.wolftracker.com/about-yellowstone-wolf-guides.php

Owned and run by Nathan Varley and Linda Thurston, they are the real deal.  I think they know more about wolves than I do about fishing and have the chops to back it up. They are personable folks who have been there from the beginning, playing an important and active part with the introduction of the wolf to Yellowstone and have been studying them every since.  Suffice to say they have the education to back it up, which was critical to our trip.  Nice to see stuff, but more important to know why.  And the guides with our group, Jeremy, Nolan, and Taylor were great.  Jeremy is also employed with the Wolf Tracking Project, a public funded wolf research institute in Yellowstone, and is involved in monitoring and the capture and tagging of  wolves.    Nolan has lived there his whole life and knows the park like the back of his hand.  Their knowledge usually put us where, and when, we needed to be.  So check out their site it says it way better than I can.

Bears

We saw this guy on the way in the last afternoon.  Basically filling his belly with grass, over 75% of their diet is grass.  (Be advised any stats included in this report are from memory, so they should be close but are not gospel.)  He stood up once and gave us good view of how tall they are on their hind legs.

The big picture above through a spotting scope.  These with my camera from over a mile away.

So besides the big guy above we saw the other grizzly on the kill, and one morning we saw a sow and what was probably her 1 year old cub.  We also got this bonus bear one morning on the way to the den.  Bears are just plain cool.  And with around 600 grizzlies in the park there is always a chance to see some.

A cinnamon black bear.

Big Horn Sheep

This may be a funny thing to say but I damn near cried when we saw our first Bighorn Sheep.  I have seen the roadside signs in tons of states, driven through miles of mountains, and it just has not happened. I was beginning to think they were Bigfoot.  Then driving in here is a bunch of rams eating fresh green grass at roadside, and my trip was complete.

Shedding that big winter coat, feeding on new growth getting ready to head to the top!

We saw these girls a couple of mornings in the park.

Luckily these were not all we saw.  Fortunately we saw a couple of different full curl rams on mountainsides.  They are such majestic animals and a big ram is nothing but a hoss!  Watching the guides spot animals was like fishing with a bonefish guide on the flats, amazing what they would spot.  After a while it was just a matter of believing your eyes.

Elk

Really not much to say about elk other than there is a couple in the park and the surrounding land.  Like somewhere around 6,000 in the park and that many roaming around close.

They were not calving like the bison so we saw no calves but they were all over the park.  They are one of the primary food sources for the wolves and the other meat eaters roaming the park.  As they had also shed their antlers a few had nubs as the new growth was coming, and a couple of spikes still had last years.  The population like the wolf is constantly monitored.

Bison

A majestic animal.

There are lots of bison in the park, if memory serves me correct 6 – 7,000.  It did surprise me how high up we saw some of them.  They are big and when they cross the road they have the legal, but more importantly the actual, right of way.  They are big.  I was reminded of the big trees in the last Lord of the Rings.  Old, wise, steady, they are impressive in many ways.

Lots of them and we saw plenty of babies as they were actively calving.

You don’t get close, but they do just come strolling by.

Moutain Goat

No pictures but we spotted some on the final day and what a cool animal.  High up on the craggiest stuff they can find once you spotted one they stood out like a sore thumb.  A long white coat, big beard, and small horns, you can not tell females from males.  This was definitely one of my favorite spots.

Other Stuff

A coyote slipping past us.

Prior to the introduction of the wolf Yellowstone had thousands of coyotes.  Over the years the wolves dominated but there is still a good population around and we saw 3 on our trip.

Not a lot of moose but we managed to see these.

Many more antelope than I would have thought, some way up on the mountains.

Marmots – A funny little guy cross between a ground hot and something else.

And for you birders we saw bald and golden eagles, ospreys, several types of owls, bluebirds, swans, ducks, and a host of others.  In fact the Boss had a big Great Horned owl swoop down right next to her and take a screaming mouse to the nest.  Like I said, it is tough out there.  Just the bird life alone would satisfy any birder.

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

Our group of hardy adventurers.

This does not even begin to do the trip justice.  Ours was a 4 day trip and after you landed at the airport they took care of us.  Motel, food, speakers every day, all handled like the pros they are.  This type of trip is only available outside of the busy summer season, when they only run day trips.  In fact trips in the time period we went are already booked for next year.  If you want to see how others feel about them look at TripAdvisor, a first class operation.   This was a bucket list trip for the Boss and it exceeded her expectations.  The only downside for us folks who tend to be a little lazy in the morning was the 5:30 am start, which obviously is important for viewing.  We had snow, light rain, cold, sunny, you name it was had it all, sometimes all in the same day.  Would I do it again – In a minute!  So a big thanks to the folks, memories we will cherish for a lifetime.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

(This is not my best work by far but I hope it conveyed how cool it was and how great the folks were.  And this monster cold hasn’t helped anything.  So now I am caught up, so to speak, and it will be back to the fishing.  So if I have missed you sorry.  We will be out of town again this week, I am about traveled out, but promises to your grand baby can not be broken.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.)

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave For the Chandeleurs Without It.  I didn’t!

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

After 2 weeks of really great adventures I am home.  Feeling a little rough today, tired, and got a cold but it was worth every minute.  After last years trip aboard the Southern Belle I was really looking forward to this year, and it did not disappoint.  In fact, this trip was one of my favorite fishing trips ever.  Capt. Howie, the crew, Este and TD, are the best and made this another trip aboard the Southern Belle to remember.  And this particular bunch of guys were fishing lunatics, no offense to lunatics, and we laughed for 4 days.  These is no coherent way to tell the story, or repeat the outrageous, but here we go.

*****************The Paddle Shad is about to do some DAMAGE!!  It Did!

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

Home Sweet Home for 4 nights and 3 days of hard core fishing.  If you find a better boat than this, or a better crew let me know, because these boys are the best!

We all met Sunday afternoon to load up and head out to the Chandeleurs, which is about a 40 mile trip out of Gulfport.  We buy pizza the first night as we pay a little more to go out that night and get 3 full days of fishing.  5 guys were on the last trip and 4 were new to me and they turned out to be great fishing buddies.  I need to say one word about the boys, it was a “tough” crowd at times, several times I laughed so hard I almost threw up.  Everyone got along and it could not have been a better bunch of guys to spend 4 days on the boat with.

What a way to start the trip.  Jason of Wade Right lovin’ every minute of it, or doing his Capt Ahab imitation.

I was lucky enough to spend 3 days fishing with Ted from Good Luck Gear.  (Check out their site by clicking on the link on the side of my page.)  We decided to start in the area where we had some good fishing last year.  The first morning was a bit of a grind as we tried to figure it out.  Ted waded into a hundred small reds and from that point on we caught fish all 3 days.  We caught fish wading on both plastics and topwater the first 2 mornings.  We decided not to weigh or even measure many of the small keepers,  and we kept after the trout with the reds just came along with it.

The better trout I caught were absolutely thumping the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad on a steady swim.

Ted figured out the most effective pattern we used most of the 3 days – slow rolling plastics.  He was using a purple Down South lure and I stayed with the Paddle Shad in White/Limetreuse and Pink Limeaid on a 3/32 VMC swim bait hook most of the time.  We slowly got the pattern on day one and kept 15 or 16.  It could have been more reds and a few more trout but we tried not to measure them all, if it made it it went in the live well.

Ted with a nice red and sorry about his backlit trout but it was also a nice one.

We ended up wading the first and second morning, from then on we drifted.  The wind was out of the right direction to drift out of the pockets, following the fish as they followed the tide.  But do not get me wrong, they were not jumping in the boat.  Fishing is fishing no matter where you go, it still required us to hunt and then get it done when the chances came.  As a rule for us most of the trout were nipping and by just keeping it coming they would finally commit.  On the Paddle Shad they smoked it, while not catching as many fish it definitely caught all my bigger trout and reds.

Ted getting it done.

The second morning we headed back to “our” spot for a morning wade and the small redfish were all over the flats.  Everyone caught a bunch of shorts and if I were guessing we had an easy 30+ blow ups from all sizes.  The tide slacked around noon, and like every day we all met at the boat for a good lunch and a story or two.

The afternoon of day 1 Jason stopped by and said follow him to a place he and his dad caught them last year.  And Ted and I had a good run on nice trout. One of those was my biggest at 4.4lbs.  What made that special was they wanted the plastic reeled fast, and there was no missing, it was on.  I think we boxed 6 or 7 nice ones.  Two things about that.  First, we all worked together trying to help each other catch fish.  Second, though we did not make the surf, I know my average size of keepers was overall a little bigger this year.

The rest of the pics are in no particular order, hard to remember.  The trout weighed 3 lbs.,  one of 4 I caught over 3lbs.

A couple of nice fish on the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad!

We had a good redfish run on day 2 after lunch.  Ted just said I had not caught a big red and it was literally 10 seconds later when one just slammed the Paddle Shad at the boat after I gave it a jerk.  Nothing better then seeing them eat.  Several other followed in that spot for both us. And later I actually caught another good red and while doing the around the boat thing I kept feeling something bumping my fish.  Turned out it was 3 giant reds trying to take the Paddle Shad dangling out of his mouth.  It is a tough world out there.

Sunset on the boat, it does not get any better than that.  And there was only a few thousand $$ worth of rods and reels.

Capt Howie can cook and no one left the table hungry.  Hanging on the rear deck and telling a story or two.

The fishing was best described as a grind but most folks had their moments.  Wading and drifting all produced, and Larry and Kyle had a couple of productive wades.  Unfortunately Larry had a new fancy ass stringer, it failed, and 13 trout got off and he was only able to recover 2, the rest swam away happy to have defeated the Grim Reaper.

Around and around the boat, the Iowa Boys finally nailed a multi-spotted bull.

Matt and Mike, brothers from Iowa, were really wanting to  concentrate on reds as they love catching and eating them.  And while they had not caught a hoss they pulled it out at the last minute.  They wanted to take a few back to those Iowa folks, not many reds in Iowa, when it was over they had plenty for a fish fry.

The board.  When the big cooler is full to the brim you better have kept track.  These numbers are not a true indication of the totals caught.  As usual after day 2 they tell you to give the reds a break.

Capt Howie moved us the second day to shelter from the winds to come the last day.  So with a new area to explore the second afternoon we started drifting behind an island and actually finished our trip fishing behind it the last day.  The wind was tough enough to make fishing plastics hard and I had a moment of insight and we started in on the popping cork.  It was not fast by any means but we boxed 17 nice trout the last day and released a few.  And there was a moment of real insight.

Instead of tossing in front of the boat on the drift, we were moving right along, Ted and I started throwing the popping cork out of the back of the boat, drifting along and popping.  That technique will forever be known as the Chandeleur Method.  Not having to cast we just popped along, and leaving them close to each other seemed to attract more bites.  It was an easy way to fish, and if you have them cornered and the wind is tough give it a try.  It basically made it easy on the arm and we were able to finish off the trip with consistent fishing.  A perfect technique if you have a healthy breeze and folks on board who are not all that experienced, or you are a lazy old guy like us.

Turn out the lights the party is over.  Group hug.

We ended up with a 172 keepers and it could have been more with smalls, especially reds, many who would have made the grade if we were measuring them.  The 3 flounder were a surprise as they are not that common.  We saw some really big stingrays and a few small sharks.  One morning during the topwater catching a shark came in to explore the action but no real confrontations this year.  The Iowa boys did make the surf for a couple of hours one morning and caught some, but the prevailing wind prevented us from getting out there like last year.

As a group not much got broke  but one lucky angler, who shall remain nameless, did face plant out of the boat.  And interestingly he also nose planted on the sliding glass door the day we loaded.  Always an adventure.  And a fighter jet came over us and then went supersonic straight up over our heads.  I have heard plenty of sonic booms in my life but this one was spectacular.

Now here is my big, and only, complaint.  Capt Howie and the boys can cook and if you don’t eat it would be an insult.  So as usual the belt is out a notch.  Big breakfasts, steaks, fish fry, his delicious casserole, banana pudding, cake, roast beef, grits, and on and on.  If you take the trip and bitch about the food just stay home, you ain’t worthy!  So just kidding on the eating thing.  And Este and TD are not only great mates but good guys.  And if you will listen to them your results will improve.  They have all been fishing the area for decades.

And last some practical information if you consider going.  The skiffs are 12′ with an easy starting Yami 4 stroke, and there is a net and radio to keep in touch.  Other than beer or some particular drink, 3 rods and reels and your tackle will cover it.  You can either wade or drift, both are effective.  There is a reef or two but the crew will help with that and it is not particularly hard to navigate.  There are other boats fishing the area, but it had no affect on our fishing or choice of places.  It is a bucket list trip.  And yes you catch reds and trout just like here, but that is not the point.  So a big thanks to Capt. Howie, TD, Estes, and my boat mates.  As I said in the beginning this was one of my favorite trips ever and I am already putting it on the calendar for next year.

Fishing on the MS Gulf Coast with Southern Belle

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I am still dealing with this cold and trying to catch up with everything I have ignored.  Over the last 2 weeks while I have been gone it has been a pleasure to not be a slave to the phone or the internet.  So consequently I have ignored some of you and I promise I am catching up as fast as I can.  Next I have to sit down and work on the Wolf Tracking expedition which like the Chandeleurs is a one of a kind adventure.

I hope to fish in a day or two soon but will be leaving town next week for a few days.  Then it will be some serious bay fishing.  Michael at Controlled Descent is finishing up his new plastic and it looks to be a killer and I plan on giving it a good workout.  And last I hope I did justice to our trip, it was all that.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines