2018 Fishing - Year of the big one

[Dry Elbows 142]

On 4/23/2018 at 8:39 PM, Lat22 said:

Throw topwaters if you’re an arty guy. Bone spook jr or bone or pink skitterwalk. Start casting as soon as your feet hit the water and don’t wade out too fast. I’ve caught more 25+ inch trout at that spot than I can remember. A friend won the 2010 STAR tournament right there.  Hopefully the wind won’t be pumping too hard early in the morning. 

Is that Site 55?  Been in that area by boat, but never vehicle. 

Llanoflash, you can also check out Laguna Shores near the Causeway and the other side by the Naval station  

 

[fattyflattie 4639]

On 4/24/2018 at 1:15 PM, Mac8111 said:

Lat droppin some knowledge !

4th- That’s a monster Red !


Taking the wife fishing trip in POC this weekend for her bday. God bless her. True story- she is getting wading gear for as a present.


Chandeleur trip is 3 weeks away. Can not fucking wait. I have loaded up with way too much gear.

Mac, I'm heading to POC in the AM.  looks like its going to be good wx. I'll let you know if we get on anything as I'm heading south to fish Saturday. 

[Lat22 4010]

14 hours ago, Dry Elbows said:

Is that Site 55?  Been in that area by boat, but never vehicle. 

Llanoflash, you can also check out Laguna Shores near the Causeway and the other side by the Naval station  

 

Yes. Good old Site 55. 

[llanoflash 151]

gottdam work. havent had a chance to go yet  but just got told i will be here another few weeks.   

soon.

[4th and 5 4914]

Academy 20% coupon referenced in gun thread + the Sunday 10% off got me 30% off of everything

And that includes the delivery today of 11 topwaters (Superspooks and Pro Dogs) and a 1500 yard spool of 30/8 power pro that was already on clearance ($49)

New lower unit........insurance accepted coverage this week.

I'm ready.

Edited April 26, 2018 by 4th and 5

[4th and 5 4914]

On 4/24/2018 at 1:15 PM, Mac8111 said:

Lat droppin some knowledge !

4th- That’s a monster Red !


Taking the wife fishing trip in POC this weekend for her bday. God bless her. True story- she is getting wading gear for as a present.


Chandeleur trip is 3 weeks away. Can not fucking wait. I have loaded up with way too much gear.

There are plenty more just like that one. Go to the spot I mapped out for you and I guarantee you will smoke them on topwater. 

I am so ready to go again. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19413]

I may have missed it, but what happened to your lower unit?

[El Diablo 4232]

2 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I may have missed it, but what happened to your lower unit?

Hoo boy, talk about teeing up a "your mom" joke...

[4th and 5 4914]

1 hour ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I may have missed it, but what happened to your lower unit?

Power Pro + 15 year old = broken seal.

check your prop frequently 

[fattyflattie 4639]

Water is looooooow in midcoast. Fishing was tough today, had a 26" trout with horse mullet in her gut. On practice day. Everytime.  

[solamente73 1132]

On the way down to Galveston for a family vacation, stopped at Fishing Tackle Unlimited to pick up a Curado 200 HGK and a 3 piece FTU travel rod.  I don’t bring my regular gear on these trips, so I thought I’d properly outfit myself for this and future trips.  Gonna be fishing this in the morning:

[El Diablo 4232]

Good luck, beach front this time of year can be unpredictable.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

I had posted this on another thread inappropriately, but hey, share your old folks stuff here.  I have the good fortune of inheriting tackle boxes from my dad, my grandpa, and my wife’s grandpa.  Some cool stuff.  

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Vintage Pflueger and Heddon lures. 

 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Various calls. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Mustad hooks, pfleuger hooks, Shakespeare line. 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Judge Roybeanbag

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Sorry about the rabbit hole, just some cool stuff I had packed away.  

[crash_davis 23096]

Just got back from fishing the lagoon in seadrift. On the water at 7:30am, limit of reds by 8am.  They are tailing everywhere. Weedless, weightless jerk bait slayed 2 limits and a few rats. 

 

I normally roll my eyes at the shithead powerboats who cruise within 15 yards as they pass but one spooked a red which ran to me. We'll placed cast in front of the v wake triggered a reaction strike. Thank you asshole.

[solamente73 1132]

10 hours ago, El Diablo said:

Good luck, beach front this time of year can be unpredictable.

Conditions were great for ‘enjoying’ being out there.  Surf was flat, could cast to nervous water, etc.  Caught a bunch of little trout under some birds.  Only fished about 1.5 hours because this is a family trip rather than a fishing trip.  More tomorrow AM.

First wade with the new rod/reel combo yielded a good time.  Reel just feels like a newer/updated version of my ~16 year old Curado 200s, and it dialed-in very quickly.  The rod did it’s job - decent to throw soft plastics and spoons with, and easy to travel with... but very disappointing feel.  I’m using Trilene Big Game 12lb green, so maybe a switch to braid would help.  Overall, pleased with purchase for limited fishing on a vacation.  Looking forward to getting that reel on my main Allstar and heading down to Port Mansfield to try it out on some big, nasty reds.

[El Diablo 4232]

That's all you can ask for on a family vacation like that. Some peace and quiet, a few fishes... that's winning, I don't care who ya are.   

[Lurch 5922]

I’m enjoying the hell out of surf fishing.  I definitely have the bug.  Lost count today but something like

- 4 shovelhead sharks

- 1 ladyfish

- 1 bluefish

- 5 pompano (all too small unfortunately)

- 3 whiting

- 6+ catfish

I have three shrimp left for tomorrow.  Hoping to catch something that I can use for cut bait

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Lurch

[fattyflattie 4639]

Had 10 reds before we stopped keeping, saving last two for weight fish. Upgraded on 11th and 12th was 28.25". Couldn't get another good weight fish.  Trout were meh to small. Winning team had 29#. Hellafied stringers coming out of POC backlakes.  There are some great trout being caught, just not by my team. 

[wreckatx 141]

San Marcos fished well yesterday. Caught a ton of guads and a couple decent largemouth. All on the fly so it was a fun day.

[Pescado_Rojo 19413]

17 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Just got back from fishing the lagoon in seadrift. On the water at 7:30am, limit of reds by 8am.  They are tailing everywhere. Weedless, weightless jerk bait slayed 2 limits and a few rats. 

 

I normally roll my eyes at the shithead powerboats who cruise within 15 yards as they pass but one spooked a red which ran to me. We'll placed cast in front of the v wake triggered a reaction strike. Thank you asshole.

hows the water level in the lagoon? I might play hooky mid-week this week.

[crash_davis 23096]

45 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

hows the water level in the lagoon? I might play hooky mid-week this week.

it was pretty low.  i've fish there for over 10 years and still can't figure out incoming versus outgoing tide.  tide was flowing pretty well towards poc.  i'm thinking that is an outgoing tide??? 

there was a guy tossing a fly on the north/west shoreline, the shoreline with the duck blinds.  he was in the patch of grass before the first blind.  i saw him catch a few.  he had a stringer floating so i'm assuming he got some slots.

i found a mix of slots and rats about 100 yards in the middle of the lagoon, past the sea grass.  there was a patch of mostly mud and the reds were thick in there.  then moved to the east/south shoreline past the first cut.  reds were tailing every where on that shoreline in the grass.  that's why i had to fish weedless jerkbait.  

i thought it was going to be a bust with the full moon.  first time in a long ass time that i was able to do well on a full moon.

good luck.

[crash_davis 23096]

12 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Had 10 reds before we stopped keeping, saving last two for weight fish. Upgraded on 11th and 12th was 28.25". Couldn't get another good weight fish.  Trout were meh to small. Winning team had 29#. Hellafied stringers coming out of POC backlakes.  There are some great trout being caught, just not by my team. 

i forgot it's the start of tournament season.  holy shit there were a ton of boats running out of charlie's.  i can always tell when people aren't catching because there's boat traffic all morning from fishless spot to fishless sport.  after 8:30, i didn't hear any boats running.  sounds like everyone found fish where they ran to.

[Mac8111 2105]

We ran down to South Pass on Friday and crushed 20 trout. ( I will post pics if Tapatalk ever gets fixed) Had three 20 inchers mixed in with some 16-18's.   Would move to a spot, the first person to cast usually hooked up immediately and we would catch 2-3 keepers in that spot and long with some small ones.  Move down the way some, repeat.    Found a muddy streak and drifted up on it and crushed the rest of our limit despite an asshole who ran right in front of us and then circled back behind us to drift through behind us.  I didn't see them pick anything up though, so fuck'em.  Everyone on our boat reeled in plenty of fish to be happy.   Took our trout to Josie's that night, who grilled and fried it up.  Their Tex Mex is not good, but they  know how to cook up some fish. 

Buddy and his wife went out on a different boat and picked up two nice reds , 8 trout (largest was 23 incher over by Bird Island).

From talking to some others, it sounded like Pringle and Conti were loaded with tailing reds. 

I was with the wife (it was her bday trip) which meant I was fishing from the boat (which I do not like)- and the guide busted out the shrimp and poppin cork (which I detest).  I will say that he took my normal popping cork off and put a Midcoast Outcast on there.  It is weighted pretty heavy on the bottom and you just run your leader line off the top swivel instead of the bottom.  Holy shit the distance you can throw that thing.  She is going to fish in Babes on The Bay in a few weeks and I  ordered her a couple to take with her.

 

Also - the POC Crawfish Festival was a lot fun. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it was laid back and was pretty affordable for an event.  $5 entry and all beer was $3.  Live music.  Most importantly, the dude doing the crawfish knew what he was doing.  Great flavor, just the right amount of spice and none of that sprinkled on bullshit seasoning afterwards. 

 

The new Front Beach looks pretty good too.  Tons of sand.  Could be a game changer down there. 

 

Wife spent the entire drive back looking at property for sale in POC. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Mac8111

[Lurch 5922]

Just caught a 9 lb black drum.  Should I kill him now or let him live in the cooler until I get home?

[Mac8111 2105]

probably just ice chest.   how long is the drum?   The older they get, the more wormy and unappealing taste wise they get. 

[Lurch 5922]

22” nose to fork

[Mac8111 2105]

throw him in ice chest.  Nice catch. 

[BearSchlong 8083]

Lurch that's some good meat right there, I'm charbroiling some drum for dinner tonight.

Saturday was perfect but yeah the water level was low. Fished LA side of Sabine Jetty on an outgoing tide, picked up some drum and some solid trout over 20."

I love my new minn kota iPilot. Fished for 4 hours and didn't break out the pole or anchor.  Just hit the anchor button on the remote and jog in increments of 5 feet in whatever direction I want to go.  My favorite spot is a place about 500 yards from the end of the jetty where a concrete wall gives way to rip rap granite and there's a scour where the depth goes from 12' to 24'

I am a huge light tackle fan, the only rods I own are all ML action and I fish with 10 or 12 lb mono.  I've got a mixture of Curados and Concept C reels but my favorite utility rod has become the Shimano Crucial 7' in ML.  High sensitivity and performance at $150 each - Does anybody have a better suggestion for a rod at that price point?  I'm thinking I need to buy a M rod for reasons.

Anyway, I love Reds on light tackle.  And Saturday I guess I was being impatient and I horsed 2 really good sized reds and lost them, so either I probably need a rod with a little more backbone and/or some heavier line.

Saltwater guys, would you post your favorite saltwater rod/reel/line combination?

Edited April 30, 2018 by BearSchlong

[Mac8111 2105]

Man, that is like asking people to name their favorite bbq.  You are about to get every answer in the book. 

 

I like my Laguna Liquid a ton. ($139)   Heard rumor they stopped making them though.  Maybe they are just focusing on custom rods.  

I bought a Teams Lews Lite Speed Spool and I really like it. It is smooth like butter.  Also have a new Lews Custom Inshore that I haven't thrown yet. 

I have only been using Fins Windtamer braid.  20lb is usually pretty standard for me, although I just bought 30lb for the Chandeleur trip. 

 

My dad likes his Falcon Coastal XG rod for $89. 

The Waterloo Salinity is $159. 

[davidg 4036]

I went up Friday to our family place with a hometown buddy who brought my Dad over with him.  Our place has about a mile of shoreline on a shallow cove in the upper end of a large reservoir in East Tx.   We haven't catfished up there for several years mainly due to my mom's illness (F Cancer) and dad's degrading mental condition (F Alz).   Anyway, my buddy and Dad got up there early Friday and got some perch traps set out in our small lake for bait and set out a few jugs out of his kayak.  

By the time I got up there Friday evening, they had a mess of fish in the live box.  I dropped my jon boat in the water but it wan't running right so we didn't put out any more line and just fished the jugs already out and from the bank that night.  We cooked up a good mess of fish and hushpuppies and went to bed stuffed.

We got the jon boat running better on Saturday and set out two trotlines to be baited with live perch in an attempt to catch some flathead catfish.   We cooked up another mess of fish Saturday and had enough for breakfast on Sunday too.  No op on our line baited with the perch but picked up a couple of larger blues overnight along with some channels.  Had 3 gallons of fillets after eat fish 4 out of 5 meals.

 

Its nice to pull up to the landing in the morning and see this out across the flat.

 

 

 

 

 

Got a suprise on one of the jug lines Sunday morning.

 

 

[fattyflattie 4639]

That’s cool davidg 

Bear, my go to is whatever the lightest reel Shimano has (MG/Core/Aldebaran) at the time, with a Loomis med-light fast, in 6’-6” thru 6’-9”. Light and fast is more important to me as I throw top water about 90% of the time. Windtamer 30# the last few years. For 10 years before that it was strictly Ande 10# mono. 

It would not be a great combo near the jetties imo because it would be hard to horse them in if needed.  Works great on big flats though, when you can use your drag to play them out  

All by bass stuff is Lews speed spools with flipping rods to medium rods. I really like the lews reels but don’t know if I’m ready for them for saltwater, plus they are heavy. 

Edited April 30, 2018 by fattyflattie

[4th and 5 4914]

4 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

I have only been using Fins Windtamer braid.  20lb is usually pretty standard for me, although I just bought 30lb for the Chandeleur trip. 

 

You're gonna need it. Bring plenty of topwaters. Some might not make it home.

Out there the rule is: if you have two, you have one; if you have one, you have none. Govern yourself accordingly.

[Lat22 4010]

Shimano Core 50mg7, Waterloo Slam Mag 2 (6’9”), Power Pro 30/8.

[Lurch 5922]

Tonight’s dinner... was fantastic.  Biggest fish I’ve ever caught

[wreckatx 141]

6 hours ago, davidg said:

I went up Friday to our family place with a hometown buddy who brought my Dad over with him.  Our place has about a mile of shoreline on a shallow cove in the upper end of a large reservoir in East Tx.   We haven't catfished up there for several years mainly due to my mom's illness (F Cancer) and dad's degrading mental condition (F Alz).   Anyway, my buddy and Dad got up there early Friday and got some perch traps set out in our small lake for bait and set out a few jugs out of his kayak.  

By the time I got up there Friday evening, they had a mess of fish in the live box.  I dropped my jon boat in the water but it wan't running right so we didn't put out any more line and just fished the jugs already out and from the bank that night.  We cooked up a good mess of fish and hushpuppies and went to bed stuffed.

We got the jon boat running better on Saturday and set out two trotlines to be baited with live perch in an attempt to catch some flathead catfish.   We cooked up another mess of fish Saturday and had enough for breakfast on Sunday too.  No op on our line baited with the perch but picked up a couple of larger blues overnight along with some channels.  Had 3 gallons of fillets after eat fish 4 out of 5 meals.

 

Its nice to pull up to the landing in the morning and see this out across the flat.

 

 

 

 

 

Got a suprise on one of the jug lines Sunday morning.

 

 

Awesome. If I make it that long, my boy better take me fishing.

[crash_davis 23096]

i'm a shimano guy.  still love my chronarch mg51.  old magnesium reel is still going strong.  other favorite reel is the core 50mg7.  both are paired with crucial 6'8" medium power, fast action jig, worm, rods.

imo, the shimano crucials are the best rods for the money.  really good components, 9-10 + tip alconite rod guide, fuji reel seats, grade A cork or foam split grips.  i really like the increased number of rod guides, helps with casting and sensitivity.  i tried finding other rods in the same price range but they had less expensive hardaloy or aluminum oxide guides and fewer  number of guides.  i couldn't bring myself to buy other rods knowing that i got more and better components on the crucials.

[BearSchlong 8083]

13 hours ago, Lurch said:

Tonight’s dinner... was fantastic.  Biggest fish I’ve ever caught

That hits close to home as I charbroiled an identical drum and a few trout for dinner last night.

Thanks everybody for sharing your rod/reel/line setups.  I may need to give braid another try.

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

Freshwater:  All Star Topwater 6'0" model with Shimano Sedona spinning reel and All Star Jig 6'6" with Shimano Catana baitcaster.  I fish mostly from my kayak, so I prefer the short rods.  I have three of the 6'0" setups that I take on overnight river trips.  All 20 lb green braid with 12 lb fluorocarbon leaders.

Saltwater:  Two Waterloo Salinity 7'0" with Concept Z reels.  30 lb yellow braid with 15 lb fluorocarbon leaders.

[fattyflattie 4639]

2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

i'm a shimano guy.  still love my chronarch mg51.  old magnesium reel is still going strong.  other favorite reel is the core 50mg7.  both are paired with crucial 6'8" medium power, fast action jig, worm, rods

My MG51 is my go to as well. I do use an old Chronarch 101 for my 7’ tout rod, it just balances better with the extra heft.  It also gets bait making duty offshore and surf duty in the summer. Never been dunked and in great condition for being 18 years old.  A replacement for the 51 is coming soon though. She’s in perfect condition, just getting the bug for something current. 

[krevo 142]

On 4/30/2018 at 3:47 PM, fattyflattie said:

That’s cool davidg 

Bear, my go to is whatever the lightest reel Shimano has (MG/Core/Aldebaran) at the time, with a Loomis med-light fast, in 6’-6” thru 6’-9”. Light and fast is more important to me as I throw top water about 90% of the time. Windtamer 30# the last few years. For 10 years before that it was strictly Ande 10# mono. 

It would not be a great combo near the jetties imo because it would be hard to horse them in if needed.  Works great on big flats though, when you can use your drag to play them out  

All by bass stuff is Lews speed spools with flipping rods to medium rods. I really like the lews reels but don’t know if I’m ready for them for saltwater, plus they are heavy. 

If you buy Lew's reels in the same price range as your Core / Aldebarans - they can be extremely light.  They just released a new reel that rivals the Aldebaran in weight.

[krevo 142]

My #1 favorite combo I grab for any water right now is my NRX 6'8" Medium Extra Fast casting rod and a Shimano Aldebaran XG.  For salt water, it's got enough tip for walking topwaters or throwing 1/8oz jigheads and plastics.   For freshwater, it's great for finesse jigs, senkos, weightless plastics and light texas rigs.  

[Brew 3049]

I probably don’t know what I’m missing but I only fish Penn Spinfisher combo’s in saltwater. I’ve used them exclusively the last 3-4 years with 20lb braid on the 7 foot rods and heavier braid on the 10 foot rods.

[4th and 5 4914]

I’ve got about a dozen Allstar medium light action Shrimptail Specials or Titaniums and a few Falcon HD lights with Shimano Stradic or Sierra 3000, spooled up with Power Pro Slick 8, I can cast a topwater a quarter mile, just like Uncle Rico spun the pigskin back in high school 

[fattyflattie 4639]

8 hours ago, krevo said:

If you buy Lew's reels in the same price range as your Core / Aldebarans - they can be extremely light.  They just released a new reel that rivals the Aldebaran in weight.

Yeah I know. I just don't know if I'm ready to switch after 20 years of nothing but shimano. 

The lews are smooth as silk, but are louder. 

That NRX combo is slick.  

[crash_davis 23096]

i'm in the same position.  i've used shimanos for so long, will be hard to switch.  main issue is that i clean and service my own reels, usually after every trip, every other if i'm not fishing them hard.  i know how the innards work, how to disassemble and reassemble them.  i know i have easy access to order parts for parts that wear or rust.

 

i don't think lews has webpages for parts ordering.  daiwa prob does but their shit is too heavy.

Edited May 3, 2018 by crash_davis

[krevo 142]

Shimano has the best customer service in the industry as far as I'm concerned.  Any issue I've ever had with the reel  - they've sent me the parts direct to my door with no proof of purchase and no cost to me.  I always buy Shimano over anything else.