FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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With the winds supposed to be off the chart on the coast it will be a lake day.  Just not interested with potential gusts to 30mph.  At least at the lake you can find a hidey hole and if it gets to be to much of hassle just call it a day.  Plus Tuesday and Wednesday look good so it will be back to the coast.  Just might try to catch a red while I am at it.  So just have to see how tomorrow goes, I am due for a big bass.

Weather

82/65.  Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of stray shower.  Wind 15 – 25 mph.  With higher gusts possible.

Lake Level

Today  98.07 msl.   Monday  98.11 msl.   A super slow drop.

Solunar Times

Best  6:18 am to 8:18am.  Day is classed as poor.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

Good Timing This Morning

The lake is down just a hair, you can see it, the water temps varied between 70 and 77, and there are still some off colored coves.  One of my favorites for some reason is ugly, and in places like that it would only be a bite or two.  As you can see above it was almost calm when I got there, but by 10:00 it was blowing like crazy, making fishing a little tough.  And it never let up a drop all day.

Finally stuck a good one.

First up was a big cove with grassy areas.  I started with the pearl Controlled Descent Jerk Shad and had several bites, and landed maybe one small one.  I wondered if it was a hair to fast for them, or maybe my rod is to stiff and I am jerking it out of their mouth before they get it.  They just were not eating it so time for the Bang O Lure.  And first one jumped on it, then the one above.  She flushed it the minute it hit the water with one of those boils we all know and love.  It was one of those bass that are big from one end to the other, she was solid and the biggest bass I have caught this year.

From that point on I kept after it with the Bang O Lure and the Jerk Shad.  It was never fast by any means, and with the lake white capping there were some places off limits for that style of fishing.  The best places are still in the coves, and I fished one long stretch of main lake stuff without so much as a sniff.  Once the wind was up for a couple of hours time to give the spinnerbait a go, and while I did catch a small and miss another, it was not happening.

This one smoked the pearl Controlled Descent Jerk Shad.  That’s the tip of it barely sticking out of her mouth.

After noon the bites were slim but sticking with the coves most produced at least one bite.  And the one above hit it halfway back to the boat and there was no missing her.  One thing that is pretty apparent, they are not chasing squat, at least not for me.  Plus, to make them eat the Jerk Shad it has to be walked perfect, and if it is to fast it seems like they tend to hit “at” it.  Slowing down with the Bang O Lure gave them plenty of time to look at it.  And I did catch one pitching to a piece of wood when one missed the Bang O Lure.  I flipped back to it with a small creature style bait and caught one.  Of course that fooled me a little so I turned around and went back through flipping wood, not a bite.  For the rest of the day it was fast enough to keep it interesting and it was nice to boat a couple of good ones.

The best places, coves with grass.  Most of the bites are coming right on the bank, but as usual with these types of baits the big fish may come way off the bank, especially with the BOL.  The best bait?  To be determined but we might be heading to topwater, like now.  And one thing does have me a little puzzled, none of the 13 or so I caught today had any evidence of spawning activity.  The first good one had a belly full, which really added to her weight.  So who knows, no matter what it was nice to catch a couple of nice ones.  A little more like it.

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And SA Joe dropped this comment on my suggestion that we have the cleanup every year of lines left out.

Doug,

Awww shucks my fishing line got stuck on those ” forgotten limb lines, jugs, and trot lines”. Out comes the knife to clear my line and collect any lines that I can. That goes for the pond, creeks, lakes that I fish around San Antonio. There are miles of abandoned lines. I look for names, tags and dates. When I dont find. I take them down. People should be more responsible when they put them out. I wonder how many people got hooked swimming and ran into these.

TPWD: Trotlines in fresh water must be used with a valid gear tag. Properly marked buoys or floats qualify as valid gear tags. Gear tags must be attached within 3 feet of the first hook at each end of the trotline and are valid for 10 days after the date set out.

Spot on.  Maybe I really did have a good idea.  No reason for that stuff to be hanging everywhere and doing nothing but  hurting wildlife and fishermen.  Just might send the suggestion to TPWD.  Thanks for commenting.

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The Boss and I hit the Aransas Wildlife park Thursday for a hike and a little wildlife viewing.  The wind was howling and the birds were not moving around like usual but got some good shots of Whoopers and the gators were enjoying the sun.

Still getting used to the new camera.  You can reach out a long way with the 600 lens, but it requires a steady hand.  The Sony is completely different than the Cannons I have used for years.  But the Whoopers above were way out there and my favorite shot is the face shot on the gator above.  Hope you enjoyed a couple of them.

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The last 7 days have been great around fishcatchingtravel.com.  Big Bend, the lake twice with finally a big fish, and a nice mess of trout, not to mention the trip to the Aransas Wildlife area.  I expect next week to be more of the same.  A big cold front with rain is coming tomorrow, and will last into Monday.  They are talking a high in the 50’s with rain Sunday.  Who knows what that will do to the fishing.  But no matter what I will be out there.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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

As I “recover” from the less than stellar trip to Coleto 2 days ago there is no easier way (Can’t believe I am saying easier, we shall see.)  than hitting the bay and catching a few fish.  The only thing I am hoping from the forecast is give me the clouds, but otherwise spring is here.  So the plan is POC tomorrow morning at first light for a combined wading and boat fishing day.  Might even keep a couple for the pan.

Weather

70/62.  Partly cloudy with a 10% of rain.   Wind E 10 – 20mph.  (They got the east part right, but forgot to add a North to it.  And it blew a good 20!)

Tides

Low 5:10 am – 0.0   High  5:59 – 0.7

Solunar Period

Good 7:00 to 9:00 am.  (No big tides and prolonged rise.  Classed as moderate.) 

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

It was not quite sunrise when I got to Froggie’s, there were only 2 trucks in the lot.  The wind was blowing a good 15mph out of the NE, the water temp was 70 degrees, really clear, and the tide was out.  It was not super low, but low enough.

It looked ok for wading the Barroom shoreline so I started there.  Unfortunately the wind was blowing right down the pike, and would become a real issue after noon.  My first wade resulted in one huge flush on a topwater, to bad he missed it by a foot.  So it kept me there a little longer than I should have but finally I gave that up and headed across the bay.

A good dozen of these.  No big ones but solids.

First up, and last, was my old faithful cut.  It was not really out of the wind, making the cast directly into it.  By now it was blowing.  To get it to the bottom in 5 – 6 foot of water I had to go to a 1/4 ounce jig head, heavy for me, on the DOA Cal.  It is a compact bait and with the heavier jig head you could keep some feel.

The water just started to run with the wind behind it and like last trip the trout were positioned on 2 hops down the drop.  It took a perfect cast, again reminding me of trout fishing on the White River.  It needed to fall with the tide, in other words go with the bait.  4 or 5 jumped on, but with the wind it was tough to feel and I missed several.  I did have 3 or 4 blowups on topwater but never got a hook in one.  Turned out one area on the flat was rat reds, I caught 2 but that was the size of it for redfish.

When I moved and the bite was on.

On the other side of the cut there was some activity shallow, so I idled way around and worked that bank to the cut.  At this point the wind is at my back and the water is moving pretty good.  I did see a couple of tailing redfish, but by time I make it close they were gone.  But I did foul hook a huge mullet and all I could think about was drifting fresh cut for blue cats.  But I digress.

After I worked my way to the other side of the cut there was an eddy and the bite was on.  I really think that when I was on the other side casting into the wind the fish were probably right in front of me, waiting on that side for bait.  So now I could throw it right on the edge, hop it up, let it hit bottom, hop it again and fish on.  Plus I switched to spinning gear and 8lb line and the feel was much better, and they were smacking it.  I worked them over pretty good but they finally got tired of me catching and releasing, along with several that pulled off.

Around 1:00 I decided to head back, maybe a little boat fishing in Big Bayou, but by now it was really blowing.  Nothing like those big 3 footers coming on your side and giving you the occasional saltwater bath.  As I ran down Grass Island to Falwell it was blowing hard enough that it looked like a boat yard.  It was fishable, and it looked like everybody had the same idea.  So after the beat down coming across, and the 20mph plus straight line wind, discretion was the better part of valor and I called it a day.  The trout have been consistent the last 4 trips.  I am not the best trout fisherman by any stretch, but I can catch redfish.  Why the last few trips I did not catch a good one or two is puzzling.  But I am not looking a gift fish in the mouth.  It was a good day.

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I am sure most of you have heard the state went to a 5 fish trout limit on the whole coast.  And there are a couple of other saltwater changes per TPWD.

• Extending the 5 fish bag limit for spotted seatrout to the upper coast, creating a coast-wide 5 fish bag limit.
• Requiring the use of non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing for sharks in state waters, except when fishing with artificial lures.
• Increasing the minimum size limit to 40 inches total length for Cobia.
• Closing oyster restoration areas in Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay and Copano Bay for 2 harvest seasons.

TPWD has a great website loaded with information and it is incumbent on all of us to keep tabs on them.  They do not always get it right but they sure did on the 5 fish limit.  Any of us who fish a lot know it definitely helped in our area with the average size of the trout.  No big scientific study here, I just know it sure seems there are more “better” fish since the limit change.

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And on the subject of TPWD and CCA I do have a couple of opinions, imagine that.  First there has been progress and CCA deserves credit for much of what it does.  But one thing the state and coast is sorely needing is more ramps.  It sure would be nice that as funds are allocated for projects by both organizations better access for all of us would be included.  I do not have to tell you, from now through September most ramps on the weekend are nuts, entertaining at times, but nuts.

And the TPWD crab trap removal project is a great thing.  We need the same program in fresh water.  All the freshwater lakes I fish, and I do mean all, have plenty of forgotten limb lines, jugs, and trot lines.  It would be a great thing if 1 week a year the same rules apply, if it is there it can be picked up.  Having found a catfish hanging out of the water, a blue heron hooked on a limb line, and trot lines covered in moss that have not been tended in months, the problem is real.  Just a thought.

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The last 4 trips to the bay have been easy limits.  And today the fish were nice fatties, a healthy indication that the 5 fish limit has helped.  While the wind shortened my day it sure beat the lake.  But as you all know by now I will keep banging my head against that wall until I figure it out.  Spring is finally here and it is back to fishing a lot more, and I will be on the water somewhere tomorrow.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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                                 The sun comes up over the Davis Mountains. 

It is not all about the fishing all the time here.  We love the outdoors and no place meets that description better than Big Bend.  The people, the mountains, animals, and everything else that makes this place magical.

And turn around and the Super Moon set over the mountain.

We stayed in Alpine at the Maverick as by time we decided to go it was to late and most places were full as it was spring break.  The Maverick was fine as it had a kitchenette so we could do breakfast and lunch as we would be gone all day.  It is around a 50 mile drive to the park, but the drive itself is beautiful so no big deal.  We spent a long day in the park and then a day at the Fort Davis State Park hiking and driving that area.  The sunrise on the mountain in both parks was worth the early morning drive.  Sunrises and sunsets can not be beat in that part of the world.

What is not to like about this?

My must do on this trip was to drive the river road.  It runs along the Rio Grand for around 60 miles in the park.  It is in the middle of nowhere and there are signs warning you to not mess up, because help may be a while, if you are lucky.  So we headed out and when we got close to the end there is a 8 mile road called Black Pass road, a no maintenance road if that gives you a clue, that I wanted to take.  The signs are clear, high clearance 4wheel only, and they were not kidding.  But our truck is the trail edition, and if we had tried that in our last 4Runner we would have definitely got hung up, the extra couple of inches made the difference.  Going through the pass itself was a trip, but one I am so glad we made.  The truck has a few new scratches on it and the tail pipe got flattened going through the pass but overall so worth it.  Where Black Pass goes off River Road there was a bunch of jeep club folks having a brew, I assume after negotiating Black Pass.  I would have done the same if I had one with me.  It was a trip.  The whole 70 miles took us 5 hours, and was the highlight of my trip. One word of caution, if I did Black Pass again I would be sure to go with another vehicle just in case.

On this trip we did not see the usual amount of animals.  As it was spring break there were folks everywhere, which combined with the full Super moon kept the wildlife down.  There were plenty of antelope but not the usual amount mule deer, and we did not see a javelina this trip.  Of course jackrabbits and roadrunners were out.  But the hiking and driving was great as usual, you never know what you will see around any corner.  We made 2 hikes, it would have been 3 but the River Road trip took longer than we thought.

                       One cool animal!                       Buggin’ out!

Supper on the hoof.

Much of the stuff was blooming and it was awesome.  We also stopped at a nature park and some of these cactus were in in their hot house, others we took on our hike.  Amazing how some place so brown produces such color when the time is right.

Cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert

One of the more interesting parts of the trip actually happened on the way home.  As it cracked daylight we saw a cow elk, which are not that plentiful in the area.  And as we are riding along discussing all the things we saw on our drive we joked about seeing some illegals, migrants, refugees, or what ever we are supposed to call them.  (Sorry if that is not politically correct but us old guys get easily confused.)  Should probably just call them people, that is what they are.

                                  Look to your left – Look to your right.

Be there at daylight, always worth the effort.

We were on a long flat stretch not that far off the border, and I mean in an area with not a thing is sight for miles when we came across 3 young guys walking along the highway.  Now no way they were out for their morning constitutional, there was nothing there, and I mean nothing for 30 miles in either direction.  Just then a border patrol truck comes over the hill, flips on his lights, and pulls over.  Not sure whether they missed their ride or what, but they were about to be arrested.  The area was not that far off the border and probably one of the easier walks around as we could see the Mexican mountains and it was flat as a pancake all the way to the river.

We hiked to the top of a mountain and then to the top of this.  On the side was a crow nesting.  I took both of these pictures from the same place.

Then another immigration experience at the check point.  As we pulled up an officer spoke with the truck in front of us waiting his turn.  The agent went around to the front of their truck and messed with the bumper.  Then they pulled up to the stop, an agent and his dog walked around the truck and the pooch set down in front of the bumper.  Jackpot!  What happened was the first agent put some dope in the truck to let the dog find it, which he did.  Then he went crazy for the ball reward.  Guess it was just practice, but it was cool.

I never get tired of this!

So another successful trip to Big Bend.  We love the quiet, and did not turn the truck radio on during our drives.  Though there were a lot more folks around it was great to stop on the River Road and listen to nothing.  And that area attracts an eclectic bunch of folks, the kind of folks we gee and haw with.  Like Colorado, New Mexico, and other places, it is an outdoor lifestyle that our “normal” life does not really include.  Much to be said for that.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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We had a great time in Big Bend this weekend.  I have some pictures and a story or two and will get to that in the next couple of days.  But now that I am home it is back on the water.  After catching a bunch of smalls last trip I am really looking forward to a good day.  And the weather sure looks “bassy”.  Will be out early and staying late as long as the fish keep cooperating.  The only way to know is to go.

Weather

82./56.  Cloudy with a 20%  chance of a stray shower.  Wind W 5 – 10mph.

Lake Level

Today  98.11 msl.   6 days ago 98.17 msl.

Solunar Times

Good 9:12 am to 11:12 am.  Best  3:25 pm to 5:25 pm.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

OMG.  I often wonder if even doing a report on a day like this is worth it, but it comes with the territory.  Another day of smalls, in fact I refuse to put up a couple of pictures, you have seen that this spring and I will not subject you (Or me.)  to that again.  As I have said over and over, I just don’t get it.  At least the rest of the critters were moving around some.

Several were out hunting today.

Getting there at daylight it looked great.  Down just a little, water definitely clearing, and the water temp was 76 at the ramp.  In fact, the lowest I found was 72 and it was 78 in a couple of places.  First up was a cove about half way up lake and 3 jumped on the buzzbait, all small.  3 or 4 in the next cove on the buzzbait, all shorts.  From there to make a long story short it was one here or there, coves being the best, and other than losing one that would have made a picture, it was all smalls.

I am sure he caught some fish today!

I fished way up both arms, and as the day warmed and cleared the wind quit, the rest of the bites all came on the pearl Controlled Descent Paddle Shad.  And as it slicked off they even started just rolling on it and tail biting.  Finally I switched up and started pitching/flipping to cover up the river.  There are plenty of targets up lake, and not a touch.  I even hit my favorite brush pile, not a touch.  That probably puzzles me more than anything, even slowing down and putting it right in their face, if they are even there which I am beginning to doubt, did not get it done.  Finally at 4:00 I just could not take it anymore.

They are always so busy when moving around in the daytime.

When I got back to the ramp the “Ramp Watcher” was there as usual and I went to speak to him as I figured he was there this weekend, which he was.  As we saw several bass boats headed back to the San Antonio area on our way home Sunday night I figured there was a tournament on Coleto, and there was.  The Watcher reported just as he has seen the last month they struggled and reported lots of smalls but no big fish.  Now don’t think that you can not catch a big fish at any moment, but where they are I can not tell you because I sure do not know.

And the best comment on my day.  These guys were circling my worthless carcass. 

So the unusual spring on Coleto continues.  Normally putting multiple smalls in the boat means you will get a shot at a big, but it has not been that way.  It would be off to the bay today but the 4Runner is going in for a recall on the airbag so I am shore bound.  Sorry to subject you to this less than stellar report but it was what it was.  Stumped, flummoxed, puzzled, dumbfounded, confused, pissed, worried, and any other descriptive word you can think of.  Especially since I really expected it to be better.  Over the last 40 years I have seen some changes on the various bodies of water I have fished, but this might be the most unusual.

In spite of Coleto fishing, the next month holds plenty of promise in the fishing department.  Montana for trout or pike depending on how their spring is going, then as soon as I return it is turn around the next day and head to the Chandeleurs Islands with the Wade Right guys.  And next week the Boss is out of town and I have the week to do, or go, somewhere.  My initial thoughts on that are Falcon, Amistad, the upper laguna, or Grand Isle La.  Not a bad quandary to have.  Tomorrow I will post the pictures and report on our trip to the Big Bend area.  We had an adventure or two and saw some crazy things.  And today I will resolve the ongoing trailer light thing one way of the other and do a general walk around on the boat and trailer making sure it is ready for a trip.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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Weather

72/52.  Mix of clouds and sun with 0% chance of rain.  Wind  E 10 – 20mph.

Lake Level

Today  98.17 msl.   Yesterday  98.16 msl

Solunar Times

Best   9:54 am to 11:54 am.  Only relevant period day is classed as Good.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

When I got to the lake this morning it was blowing pretty good out of the NE, but the water temp was the same and it is clearing quite a bit in some areas.  So why is this happy hour?  Because the boys are all there but the girls have not yet arrived.  And that is exactly what is going on at the lake right now.  Here is the run of the morning, which included an easy 20+, they are biting.

This is what they looked like all day.

4 jumped on in the first cove, and from there at least one, and as many as 6 or 7 in one cove, came every where I fished.  Most came on the pearl Controlled Descent Jerk Shad, and 3 or 4 on the Bang O lure.  I threw the BOL a little in the first 2 places after missing several on the Jerk Shad, you can fish the Bang O Lure slower if they are missing the Jerk Shad, but once it warmed up the Jerk Shad was the ticket.  A white swim jig, and I did toss a spinnerbait on a windy bank before I quit, both produced zip.  The fish initially were not in quite the same place, probably due to the air temps cooling off the shallows.  But from then on when you caught one there was usually some others with them.  I did have a pretty good fish to the boat, but she managed to pull off.

In fact, in 2 coves I caught them almost all the way in the back ends.  Yesterday they tended to be a little further out, but the boys are bellied up to the bar, and the girls should be right behind them.   The best places were still grassy, out of the direct wind.  And a quick comment on today’s weather.  No mix of and sun clouds, it was cloudy and drizzled and the wind blew at the top of the projection.  It never did get as warm on the water as yesterday, but I definitely got a lot more bites.  A function of me keeping with the plan, and more fish moving up.

And here is my theory and I am sticking to it.  We are a couple of days from the full moon and the next week could be some fabulous fishing.  If I were not headed out of town it would be everyday for a little bit.  Since the better fish have been absent when they come it might be something.  I saw a couple of beds today, but none of the fish had any physical evidence that they were bedding.  And the ramp watcher told me a club was in town this weekend and it took 10lbs to win, so still no big girls at the dance, but that has to change.  Their genetics mandate spawning, and it is about to happen, and like I wondered earlier this winter, they have to come sooner or later and now is the time.  Add that to a combination super moon and worm moon on Wednesday and the state is set.  As the day wore on they bit better and the best is yet to come.

We on the other hand will be headed to Big Bend tomorrow.  It is one of my favorite close trips.  The mountains, desert, critters, the park has it all.  We also plan on visiting a state park close that has the biggest population of Big Horn and seeing one would be something.  Looks like we will have to hike in to the area so all that time on the tread mill is good for something.  But as soon as I get back it will be back on the water somewhere.  Then 2 weeks later I have a completely open week as the Boss will be out of town.  Maybe Arkansas?  Maybe Louisiana?  So many places so little time.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff, and have a great weekend!

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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Tomorrow is Monday, (Preparing some of this Sunday.) and if it is Monday it must be Coleto.  I refuse to give up, it seems impossible that they are not going to bite.  There will be another bait added as I continue to try to figure out what is going on this spring.  The weather looks good so it will be off around 7:30 for a day on the lake.

Weather

70/50.  Early clouds then partly cloudy late with 0% chance of rain.  Wind  ENE 10 – 15mph.

Lake Level

Today  98.17 msl.  9 days ago  98.29 msl.

Solunar Times

Best  9:02 am to 11:02 am.  Only relevant period.  Day is classed as average.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

It was cloudy with the wind out of the north around 10 – 15mph when I got there, and that remained the same all day. And other than a little sun during the afternoon it was cloudy.  The water temp was basically 65 – 68 over most of the lake, down just a little.  And the color, while still ugly in some places, is finally starting to clear some.

I wanted to start in a big spawning cove up lake that was somewhat protected from the wind.  The color was not the best but the temp was 64.  Swim jig was up first, and before I left that cove I boated 4 and missed one.  That one slack lined me, which was probably a good one.  They were all within a few feet of the bank.  Next up was another cove, and I only caught one in there, but at least they were biting.  So down lake to another flatter cove and another one jumped on.  They were hitting it pretty good, but the next place was really clear considering how it has been.  So with a them hitting it near the cover and good water color it was time for today’s plan, the pearl Controlled Descent Jerk Shad.  Good choice.

Nothing big today but a real consistent bite.

Starting on the point of the cove I got one, then another.  To make a long story short from around 11:00 until I quit at 4:00 they bit consistently, only one cove did not produce a fish.  Once I figured out the pattern it was nice to catch some fish.  They tended to be near grass more than anything else, especially if it was a little protected.  I rigged the Jerk Shad with a VMC 1/16th ounce swim bait hook on 15lb test.  The way the hook is made the weight sits near the bend of the hook, and it actually acts somewhat like a keel.  The reason that was important was it makes it a lot easier to work it like a spook.  If it was not to thick I left the tip of the barb exposed which helped with the hook ups.  Walking the dog right below the surface they would just roll up and hit it.  No nice rhythmic walk the dog, no bites.

They were flat smokin’ the Controlled Descent Jerk Shad.

From barely getting a bite most of the month to a nice numbers day is puzzling, but welcome.  It was an easy 15 today, and I managed to miss a big one, but she better not be on that same piece of cover tomorrow or she is in the boat.  My best guess right now, they are finally coming.  It is supposed to stay warm and the fishing just might be something.  The big girls have been absent for the most part but that is about to change.   Feels good to have a descent report on Coleto.

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And I got this comment on cheating in tournaments from SA Joe.

https://outdoors360.com/angler-indicted-for-trimming-bass-tail-to-win-tournament/

Disgusting !!!!! One reason i stopped fishing tournaments. We even had a military bass tourney for retired, active, civilians working for the military. Heard one time they were snagging fish on beds, had hook marks in side and such. I quit after that. If military type people are cheating for 5k, imagine what they do for 10k plus !!!!!

All I have to say about that is one word -SAD.

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So I am definitely wound up, and it will be off in the morning for a long day of it before heading to Big Bend.  And tomorrow it will be walking the dog with the pearl Jerk Shad, and I mean just that.  If I had started with it earlier it would have even been a better day.  I fished from way up the Coleto arm to past the plant.  The best coves tended to be mid lake and that will be the primary focus.  Tomorrow has the potential to be a big fish day, and if fate decides to shine, along with some good technique, and  it just might happen.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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The weather is finally straightening up a little here in Victoria.  No fishing this weekend but it will be back on the water in the morning.  Of course I watched a little fishing, but the real issue is I have no right taillight on the boat trailer.  What makes it interesting, and hard to find, is while there is no tail light, the turn signal, brake light, and emergency flasher all work on that side.  I took a little run at it yesterday, and as soon as I hit post it will be back at it.  The usual pain in the ass as far as trailer lights go.  Hey they made it 15 months before messing up, guess it comes with tons of use.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

The Fort Worth Star Telegram has reported another stain on bass fishing tournaments.  An angler has been indicted on felony charges for trimming the tail of a bass during a tournament on Lake Fork.  This piece of scum makes me sick.  As a retired defense attorney I have a pretty good idea how things work, so here is my .02 worth.  This is the kind of case if the prosecutor assigned to it has any stones there will be no plea offer made without significant jail time, at least a little pen time, no county jail for this fool.  And if he does not take it then go ahead a take it to trial and see what a jury thinks of this behavior.  This tournament involved up to a $10,000 prize, clearly taking it into the felony range.  Look at this way, if some scum like this tried to straight up steal your $10,000 would you want him in prison?  That is what he did.  It has taken years to finally really address cheating in tournaments, and more needs to be done.  Time to draw the line and make a statement.

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More fun with boating, or why would you buy this boat?  I love reading the sale ads, they speak for themselves, but I just can not help myself.  And for God’s sake it is not a “V Haul”!!!!!  (It isn’t the thing you rent to move.)

Has not run in years, cheap enough to so some work on, bill of sale only.

Sure it is…….

Do not have title.

Run away!

No motor, no title, you have to haul it away.

That says it all.

The boat is ready to fish if you do not go to far from the ramp.  Only $11,000.

Maybe there is a bunch of fish on a ramp near you.

Running last year, needs tires and batteries, jack plate needs fluid.

Other than that it is ready to roll.

Fiberglass damage and hull takes on water.

Hope the bilge pumps works.

Boat needs some seats and a motor.

You do not need anywhere to sit if it does not run.

The boat is total junk, rotted out.  Motor ran a long time ago.  No titles.

So what is really wrong with it?

Restorable.

Which means break out your wallet.

Motor runs great, needs lower prop assembly replaced or repaired.

At least the top half.

Motor not running and transom needs repaired.

Who needs a transom when the motor does not run.

Of course many of these are junk, and often the owner had grand plans to restore it, and like all good intentions fail.  And if it such a good deal and the fix so easy why not do it, make it a lot easier to sell.  Restoring a boat is a project, often the bottomless pit as you get into it.  So buyer beware, buy something that floats, runs, has been maintained, with a title.  You might not regret it.  (Any more than normal!)

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And I got this question from Elaine.

The Big Bend trio sounds interesting. May I ask, where do you usually stay when traveling there?

We have stayed several places in that area.  We have stayed at Terlingua Ranch.  The motel is rustic, no tv but it is 30 mile from the park.  It has a restaurant and pool, and plenty of roads to hike and great access to a road up the mountain, which is big time 4 wheel, but so worth the drive.  You can register for that road at the lodge and get the key.  Stunning at the top.  So it is out there, but quiet.  On any hike on the back roads you can see javelina, quail, and mule deer.  We did stay in Terlingua proper at a house made from phone books,  (Cool) but with no real ac or heat it is tough in hot weather.  She is a retired archeologist and was a wealth of information.

Marathon is a good alternative though about an hour from the park.  The Gage Hotel is way cool but pricey, we have stayed there several times.  The 12 Gage restaurant is definitely pricey but the food is always excellent.  In fact, though we are not staying there we will definitely be eating there one night.  It is quite historical and when the weather is cool there is wood and a fireplace.  Another place we have stayed is in Alpine, at the Holland Hotel.  An old hotel, it is nice with restaurant and bar.  Again a ways from the park.

Places we have not stayed, the park itself which has cabins and a motel.  We have also not stayed at the El Dorado Hotel which is in Terlingua.  We have eaten there, it was good, and they have music in the evening and it seems ok, but is nothing fancy.  Home of the beer drinking goat, who sadly has passed.  But I am sure he was happy!

This time we are staying at some motel in Alpine that has a kitchenette so we will do our own breakfast.  As we are heading to a park close to there to hike and look for Big Horns we will spend one day there, then drive down to Big Bend the other days.  We just fix lunch, pack lots and lots of water, and head out for the day with no particular plan.  And the drive to the park from there is beautiful so we don’t mind.  Then we do the big eat out at night.  This trip we made our reservations late, and most places we would have stayed were booked, so will let you know how this new place works out.  It is definitely nothing fancy, but about all that was available.  The park is a popular place in the spring.  So stay tuned for the pictures, always a cool trip.

And a last word about driving in the park.  There are 3 kinds of roads, good blacktop, fair gravel, and 4 wheel gravel.  Our last trip the only person we saw driving a couple of the 4 wheel roads were Mexican Apaches on horseback rounding up their cattle who came across the river.  Not sure who was more surprised, us or them.  These were not Iphone carrying, King Ranch Ford driving, urban cowboys, they were the real thing!  (That was the phone book house trip on a road called the river road.  It has a sign which basically says you are on your own.  She was the retired archeologist who filled us in on who they were.  All I know it was cool. Of course they are not supposed to be there, but since if the park finds the cattle they take them and sell them.)  But as long as you have a good 4 wheel vehicle, and are prepared with supplies, water, 2 spares, etc. they might find you before you dry up and blow away.  But the main roads and some of the gravel are fine for cars.  And stop at the ranger station, they are great folks and will give you the scoop.  So have fun if you go, it is one cool place to visit.

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This weekend I have been following the Bassmaster Classic online, and it is going to be close.  But the interesting thing, watching the leader board as it constantly updates.  Of course there was an early bite, but as the day wore on it seemed like when someone would catch one, others would.  (It just happened again with 3 caught by 3 guys in a 2 minute stretch.)  Then there would be periods of nobody boating a keeper.  Really shows how often when they are on the chew, they are biting.  And as all fishermen know, there are times you just can not buy a bite.  Happens to the best of them.

And it was funny as I watched the MLF, with some of the very same guys fishing the Classic.  What makes that funny, it will be the last Classic with KVD, Defoe, Iocanelli, Wheeler, and others.  The world of professional bass fishing is changing, and with many of the pros leaving BASS and FLW, there will be a chance for others to take their place and have a chance to make a living, a good thing.

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Where tomorrow is up in the air, especially if I can not get the trail light fixed.  At least I can go during the day, but there will be no up early and off, not interested in chatting with law enforcement in the morning.  With the wind forecast to be up to 25 on the coast and only 10 – 15 inland it will probably be freshwater somewhere.  But as generally happens, nothing will be finally decided until I get up.  So keep stopping in, there will be some fishing the next 2 days, and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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

Wednesday morning the wind was howling and it was cloudy, but after looking at the hourly forecast I decided that there might be a window so around 11:00 I headed to the lake.  The following pictures are not there to toot my horn, (Duh!) in fact they are an example of what is becoming my increasing frustration/puzzlement at how the fishing on the lake has been the last 6 weeks.

Unfortunately other than these 2, 1 other small bass like this was the size of it.

What makes it difficult for me to decipher what is going on with the fishing is the current lake conditions.  It was 60 degrees at the ramp, obviously the affect of the north wind blowing right in the ramp cove, the interesting part, it warms considerably as you head up lake.  Much of it is in the low 70′ and was 73 degrees way up lake.

I specifically had a plan today.  It was to pick a big cove, a good spawning cove and one that we all fish year round.  Now logically that would be a good choice this time of year, maybe some pre-spawn to spawners as it was 72 degrees and slightly off color.  It was blowing pretty hard so spinnerbait in all the way to the back, which is quite a ways.  Then a slow and methodical pitching and flipping all the way back out.  Every bush, tree, grass, and anything else that looked good.  Not a single freakin’ bite, nada, zip.  In the words of Forest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.

From there I headed way up, the color was so-so but it was 71 degress.  Right off the bat a little jumped on the swim jig.  Keeping at it for while got exactly one more bite in an hour, and I missed that one.  So crankbait was next, and while one more bass and the nice crappie above jumped on, that was the size of it before I quit late afternoon.  Unfortunately the high winds kept me from fishing more finesse style stuff deep, which is the only thing I have not tried yet.

When I got back to the ramp, only 3 trailers left, the guy who watches the ramp was there and I got the weekend tournament report.  He reported one club was in town and they had some small fish but nothing worth talking about, similar to other clubs he has seen weigh in this month.  I even went to the cleaning table and peaked in to see what had been cleaned that day, and other than a couple of small catfish and a few crappie, not much there.  I must admit I am stumped, plain and simple.  Where are the fish?  And more important to me, where are the big fish?  How gone are they?  Just click on the picture tab above and then click on bass, that is what I normally catch on Coleto from January into May!  All I have left to say is I do not have a clue, and I hope this is the perfect storm that has made the fishing like it is, and not a view of things to come.  I kept saying this winter the bite is coming, but no.  But I will keep pounding the lake, they can not beat me this easily.  Probably.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

So with Wednesday’s results less than stellar time for a change, so headed to the Nueces River for the white bass run.  After viewing online reports I learned the following, the river is higher than normally, milky white, and most reports said the fish were running small.  Last time I fished it in the spring there were some real bruisers.

Sharkey Magee towing his daughter upstream as they fish.  I might even try a kayak if I had a human trolling motor!

I launched at Hwy 59 outside George West and started trolling shad style crankbaits, which in the past have been killer, today not so much.  Working  up river, everyone was heading up, not a bite trolling which is unusual for that river.  But with the color so poor I wondered if that was the problem so it was time to cast.

No Nueces giants, this was the run of the mill for the dozen or so caught today.

The first few came on crankbait, the rest on a Roadrunner crappie jig.  For some reason most were hugging the bank, and occasionally shad would jump and a quick cast produced a fish.  Way up river it settled into the 6 – 9 foot range, and the classic spot, the  downstream side of shallow shoals, held fish.  Hopping the jig off the bottom produced most of the whites.  I did have one big ass drum break my line trying to flip it in the boat, bad idea on 6lb line, but no great loss!

During the day I spoke with lots of folks, who reported various success.  Some nothing, one boat a limit, some with a few, but no one reported really big whites.  That was very consistent with the online reports.  Now I did not go to an area way up called the rapids, not interested in fishing with the crowd, especially on the river.  So after going fairly far up I just floated with the current tossing the jig and catching one here and there.  It was not fast by any means but I did catch about a dozen before calling it a day.

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So this week the bay fishing produces again, but my freshwater endeavors have been less than satisfying.  Looking at the next 10 day forecast produced the same results, less than satisfying.  But with fishing you take the good with the bad, and all the slow trips are cured with one bang up day, it keeps us all fishing.

Not sure what the plan is but I might try to slip out Sunday for a wade and redfish trip to Keller Bay.  After that where to fish it still up in the air, but Thursday the fun begins.  We are off to 4 wheel in Big Bend for 3 days.  We love it out there and this trip are specifically going to a couple of areas hoping to see a Big Horn Sheep as there are a couple of places with the largest population in Texas.  And just driving the desert, and doing some hiking,  seeing all that the park is makes for a great day.  After that I will be heading somewhere to fish for 3 or 4 days, will just have to wait and see what the weather brings.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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This Weather is Making Me Crazy!

It is 6:00 am Wednesday as I type this.  The wind is freakin’ howling outside with gusts to 30 mph.  We are watching the weather channel and last night, and continuing this morning, Dallas had winds to 78 mph at the airport and there are thousands without power.  And the footage from Denton looks like a hurricane. The radar shows a line of heavy storms, it stretches all the way to Chicago, outside of San Antonio coming this way.  While we may not get much rain out of it as we are on the southern edge, it is fast moving so the actual front will be here sometime this morning.  Of course there are small craft warnings on the bay.  Since it is howling right now it will probably only get worse, but there is a slight hope.  Suffice to say my plans to try to weasel at least a few hours on the lake are definitely up in the air.  All dressed up and nowhere to go!

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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Glen, who I had the pleasure of fishing with last year about this time, sent along the following pic and question.  And it looks like there is simple explanation.

Nice Mess

He has been fishing with the crappie bobber above his plastic, (It works!) in the South Pass area the last couple of days.  He was wondering what was up with the dead gafftops, just like I was.

You never know which post will generate a comment or two, and the dead gafftops earned several.  Surprised you did not see them Glen, they were all over the POC area.  The comments below make a lot of sense.

First from Ed.

Was down this past weekend also. And saw the same thing. Gafftop scattered all over.
Turns out TPW said that it as due to an early migration in to the bay and a sudden fall in water temperatures that caused the killing. Also because gafftop have no scales they were unable to protect themselves.

Maybe the have no scales but they sure have enough slime!  And Topwater Billy chimed in.

On your gafftop story.
Saw the exact same thing on a floundering trip last year. The water temps had been on a rising trend. Then, we got a two day blast of really cold air. Gafftops, and only gafftops, floating everywhere.
Correlate it however. But it sounds to me like they are.way less cold water temperature tolerant than trout.
Just an observation

Good observation.  And my buddy Faye chimed in.

Weather be damned, the Corrado’s are heading to the coast to fish next Thursday & Friday! We have tried for months to get down.  Between weather and work it never worked out.

I read on a women’s facebook page about the gafftop kill. A lady posted that the TWP had told her that they migrated in too early and the cold killed them.

As always, thanks for the blog.

Soon to be fishing Corrado’s

And basically the same set of conditions happened a few days ago (Last week?) when we had those couple of nights around freezing.  Figured that was it but still found it interesting they were the only fish and most were the bigger ones.  Guess that year class was the first migrators, tough luck for them.  But I guess since Ed saw them this weekend, who knows, the birds may have eaten the smaller ones.  I saw a Blue Heron doing his best to get a big one down, without much luck.  So mystery solved.  Thanks for the input all.  And Fay, good luck.  It looks like the long term forecast is not to bad, the water is warming pretty quickly, and the fish are biting.  Can’t wait for your report.

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And I wanted to share Ed’s technique with you.  He uses a crappie style slip bobber, a small one, above his plastic like a popping cork.  Like all techniques I have a theory  (Of course I do, we fishermen all have them.) why it works.  When he pops it the pop is small, and the sounds resemble a baitfish making that flipping sound.  Not really a “calling” technique like a big popping cork, it is almost a finesse technique.  If you think about what bait sounds like when it is “flipping” on the surface it makes all the sense in the world.  We can all learn something fishing with others, if we will listen.

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One thing I was waiting to tell you about is a jighead I found at the Houston Fishing Show.  I took one look at it and was instantly on board.  It seems to be a simple solution to keeping plastics on the head, one of those things I wish I would have thought of.  In all fairness I have only used them once, but it did exactly what they said it would do, hold the plastic without it slipping down.  The comments on their Facebook page all say the same thing, keeps plastics on until you take it off.  No more having your plastic tear up and sliding down on the hook, sometimes even after one or two fish. They are a little high at $5 for 5, but if you think about it the savings in plastics will more than cover that.  So while I intended to use it a few more times before I reported on them, I am sold.  (Comes with being stuck in the house!)  So check them out, I will be ordering more soon.  If you do tell them I sent you.  No free jig heads were involved in this recommendation.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/deathgripjighead/reviews/?ref=page_internal

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That will do it for the morning’s ramblings and whining.  The rest of the day will be spent watching fishing, thinking about fishing, organizing fishing stuff, and waiting to see what the weather holds.  It has calmed down a little out there, so time will tell.  But hey, if I get a chance to sneak out I will.  A few hours of fishing can make a day.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Brought to you by

Don’t Leave Home Without It.  I don’t!

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

The weather looked good for the bay, so at 6:30 it was off to POC.  It was foggy, real foggy.  Fortunately by time I made the dock, unloaded, and put on the waders it was starting to clear.  The wind was right out of the East, and was blowing pretty good right down the pike.  So off to the island and in the water.  But first …………….Gaff – ocide!

Weather

64/72.  Cloudy with a 30% chance of showers early.  Wind ESE 10 – 15mph.

Tides

Low 2:54 am -0.1     High  1:26 pm  0.3.

Solunar Times

Best 3:05 pm to 5:05 pm.   Good  8:54 am to 10:54 am.  Day classed as poor.

******************Fresh or salt it has a place in your arsenal.

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

There were thousands of them everywhere!

The water temp was 66 degrees, it was fairly clear at the dock, and from that point on there were dead gafftops everywhere.  I have seen some fish kills over the years but this was different.  They were all the same size, I saw no little ones, and they stretched from Froggie’s to the island and everywhere in between.  No great loss as far as I am concerned but it is puzzling and not a good thing.  There is nothing to say about that other than what the hell happened?  Not a clue on my part.

That second one was a good one. 

The first drain had the wind blowing in the wrong direction, making it hard to fish.  They did not want a topwater, not a touch, and the way the wind was blowing it made fishing the Controlled Descent a hassle.  Nothing like making a cast and getting it blow back as fast as you can take it up.  So in a moment of insight I went back to the DOA Cal but used a 1/4 ounce jig head, heavy for me, but at least I could cast in to the wind and get it on the bottom.  From then on the trout kept biting.

The first one, run of the mill for the wade.  The second, boat fishing for reds.

As they were last trip they were positioned in a drain on a drop of about 3′.  The tide was moving so they were facing into it, which of course was right into the wind.  But as usual, listen to the fish, which I did.  They were right off the edge, so it was important to land the bait next to the bank, then a big hop, letting it fall down the edge with the current.  It was tough to feel, but most of them were smacking it on the first or second drop.  After catching a nice bunch, it turned into catching them just cause, I moved out of the drain to where I saw lots of bait.  Only one more jumped on, other than that no other bites there.  Definitely not a “find the bait, find the fish”.

Since I have not caught any reds lately I thought about spinnerbait and the Oil Cut so off I went.  Usually spinnerbait is the ticket in there, but not a bite.  But I found 2 more places with trout in a couple of the fingers, catching 5 or 6 in one place and the same in another.  (See the best one above.)  I kept alternating between spinnerbait and plastic, and the trout cooperated but not the reds.  So time for one more place.

Next my favorite redfish bank in Big Bayou did not produce a bite.  Another place the same.  It really did surprise me that nowhere gave up a bite on the spinnerbait, pretty unusual.  It is not to often I can’t catch a red and keep catching trout, usually the opposite.  So around 2:30 I called it a good day.

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Just a Random Thought

One thing that seems to be consistent is looking at various fishing forecast/tide sites are the projections.  I look at 3 or 4 when I prepare the days conditions for a report, and one thing is clear, when the day is forecast as poor, they all agree.  And whether fresh or saltwater there is a direct correlation between tidal movement, moon phase, and the days projection.  Of course all of that is irrelevant to a fisherman, especially most who have a job, they are going whenever they can, dam the conditions.  I have never not gone due to a bad outlook, but do admit to specifically going when the stars align.  Does a bad projection mean bad fishing?  Of course not, just as a good one does not mean you are going to load the boat.

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Welcome to Crazy Town

The following is a statute proposed in the New York legislature:

It shall be unlawful for any person to organize, sponsor, conduct, promote, or participate in any contest, competition, tournament, or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes or other inducement, or for entertainment.

The proposed punishment would be up to 1 year in jail and/or a fine between $500 to $2,000. The bill was read on the floor, then sent to the Committee on Environmental Conservation for further review.

Yikes!  Now I will agree that on some bodies of water, like Amistad does, there is a need to have a tournament registration requirement to keep it to a dull roar.  And it is nice to be able to look it up and not go when BASS is there as an example.  And a perfect example of too much was when we fished a tourney out of POC and there was 3 others the same weekend, including one at the ramp at Froggie’s.  Hardly a great outdoor experience.  In addition, this would end all the tournaments that are done for charity, which many tournaments are.  Heck, if you raised pheasants on your farm you could not just release and shoot them for the fun of it – entertainment?  And the old attorney in me is coming out:  So as long as we are participating in a contest with the specific objective of eating what we get then if someone gives us a prize for it we would not be breaking the law?  The statute is not the well worded, always wiggle room.  It is incumbent on sportsmen to keep informed, we need to watch them like a hawk no matter where you are.  This is flat nuts!

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The last 2 weeks I have made 3 trips to the bay and the trout have cooperated each time.  It has not always been easy, but good numbers.  Whether they hit topwater seems to be weather dependent.  Trip one the weather was perfect, and they hit topwater and every thing else in sight.  Next trip it was post cold front and they were gone, but finally found them bunched up on a drop.  Today, the weather was so-so, a little windy for topwater, but they cooperated, first in the drain, then the Oil Cut.  3 different days, 3 different ways to catch them.  Which tells me one thing, they are biting!

Looking at the weather as I type this includes the following at POC this week:  Wind to 25mph with a 40% chance of rain, wind to 30 with 80% chance of rain, wind to 20 with 80% chance of rain, followed by wind to 30 with a 10% chance of rain.  So there you go.  This has been one interesting spring.  So looks like it will be the lake if possible.  Who knows, might be able to get in a few hours.  But one thing is for sure, POC will be out for a few days.  So keep stopping in, if there is any way to get on the water this week I will be going.  Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines