2018 Fishing - Year of the big one

[Mac8111 2107]

lulz.  i was going to go fishing but knew that the bays would be high due to all this fucking rain.  POC is 2 feet higher than normal.  reds are way up in the pastures grazing with the cattle.
 
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/waterlevels.html?id=8773701

We fished POC yesterday. Found two reds and three trout back in Mule Slough. Was hoping for some flounder.

Water was high but not as high as last weekend.

[Dry Elbows 142]

On 10/20/2018 at 9:43 AM, crash_davis said:

lulz.  i was going to go fishing but knew that the bays would be high due to all this fucking rain.  POC is 2 feet higher than normal.  reds are way up in the pastures grazing with the cattle.

 

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/waterlevels.html?id=8773701

Not high due to rain.  It was a combination of fall equinox tides, Michael, and strong E and SE winds, which push water into the bay and effect tidal movement.

[bmbmd 1027]

 

This happened today. Average Atlantic permit, but completed my career Super Slam on the fly.  I think all I’m lacking now is a Muskie, a chain pickerel (which are sixty miles from my house), and an Arctic grayling .  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Hot damn, dude! Congrats! Were you in the keys? Who was your guide? What did it eat?

i spend 3 or 4 hours a day thinking about Permit. I hate them.

[bmbmd 1027]

El Pescador on Ambergris Key. This was my eighth day over four years fishing for them. Yesterday was the first time I actually saw one. I got rejected by a forty pounder yesterday after what I thought was a damn good long cast. These guys turned me down for forty-five minutes before one hit the sixth fly we tried-a generic shrimp pattern. The guides were Captain Vincent and his son/protege Captain Roger.  I’ve caught lots of fish on my own, but I could never catch a permit without capable guides. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

That’s awesome. Congrats...big school was hanging around I assume?

i had the worst guide experience of my life with pescador. It was my fault...booked him the day before we went out but he was a complete fucking bum. Lazy and couldn’t spot fish for shit. After not seeing bonefish all day he missed a permit 40 feet out in 2 feet of water and I had had enough. I just lit into him and told him to take us back to our place. Fuck that guy.

[bmbmd 1027]

Did his name start with a E?

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

9 hours ago, bmbmd said:

Did his name start with a E?

I don’t remember. He was a lobster fisherman with a boat. Our day started with him anchoring the boat and coming to the bow and standing there looking into this channel. Me: “what are you doing?” Him: “ looking for flashes.” Me: “I’m not paying $600 for you to stand up here and look for flashes. Get in the back and start poling.”

 

[bmbmd 1027]

Yep. Erlindo. 

[bmbmd 1027]

Yep. Erlindo. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

I don’t think that was it. I was staying at a DIY fly fishing lodge and the owner was pretty plugged into the guide community on Ambergris and he had never seen or heard of the dude. Like I said, my fault for hiring a guide 24 hours out, but was still bummed a reputable lodge threw that dude out there under their name.

Sidenote: I had a dream last night I caught a permit on a red San Juan worm.

congrats again on that catch, a fish you won’t forget.

[DougO 5253]

Yesterday in a pawn shop I found an old Ambassador 5500, the brown one, on an ugly stick. It was tagged at $30 together, damn near pulled the trigger. The reel was pretty beat up but I'm a big fan of the Ambassador, and they typically aren't hard to fix up. Seemed like it worked just fine. If it were a 4500 I would have bought it because I never fished much for bigger, deeper stuff, mostly bass. Probably could flip it and make a few bucks.

[bmbmd 1027]

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

That's bad ass, bmbmd. 

[crash_davis 23114]

1 hour ago, bmbmd said:

asshole.

[Zwylde 812]

Took the youngest boy surf fishing on "Lake" Sargent on Saturday.

 

 

 

Three bulls went 33", 36" and 38".  The smaller two he caught drifting in the kayak past the 3rd bar with fresh whole whiting and the last one was caught on the shark rod from the beach with a 10" whole whiting.   It was a fun day.  Out there for over 4 hours and I probably spent no more than 20 minutes in a chair, wore my ass out.

[DougO 5253]

I thought a Grand Slam was always four things.

Anyway, it's three more things than I have caught, so I will allow it.

[Lurch 5931]

Spinner?

[crash_davis 23114]

Caught this 27.9" fat red on topwater off the Seadrift.  Limited out with 2 more 21" reds.  I found a pattern for reds in POC/Seadrift for a high bull tides.

 

 

[Zwylde 812]

20 hours ago, Lurch said:

Spinner?

No, not a Spinner (see below), its missing the black tips on pectoral and bottom of the caudal fin.  I'm thinking its a Finetooth but possibly a Sharpnose.

 

[Lurch 5931]

Color suggests finetooth as well. Looks like sharpnose has a notch in its tail that spinner, finetooth and this guy do not.

Thanks! Until now, I’d only caught bonnethead and blacktips so was surprised by this one

[crash_davis 23114]

On 10/30/2018 at 7:24 PM, crash_davis said:

I found a pattern for reds in POC/Seadrift for a high bull tides.

 

 what i forgot to add was...

PM me if interested in the pattern that i found.  it's consistently worked for the last 3 years during bull tides in spring and fall.  might only be specific to that area but it may help you.

[Dry Elbows 142]

I went to East Matagorda yesterday.  The water is still 12-18" higher than normal.  This front and the NW winds its bringing should dump the water.  The combination of high tides and a strong NE and E winds made finding fishable water a challenge.  On my first wade I stuck nice 18" and 20" trout on back-to-back casts with a Gringo Fat Boy.  I didn't get another touch until our last wade when I caught a sheepshead on the same lure.  That was a first on a Corky.  Caught many snot sharks and drum, but never a sheepy.

 

[fattyflattie 4639]

Fished East Matty last Thursday before the front.  Grinded out a limit drifting reefs. Tried to wade South shoreline about 2 hours without a single nip. 15.5, 2@16, 2@23 over reefs. Caught on DOA, skitterwalk, and Browns tails in black/chart.  Not a single f’n bird working.  LOTS of boats for a Thursday. 

[bmbmd 1027]

On 10/26/2018 at 12:08 PM, bmbmd said:

So there's been a change of management at El Pescador, and the new managers are off the charts awesome.  Rob and Jenny Woodruff, well-known to Lake Fork and Broken Bow fly anglers, have moved in and taken charge.  This was probably our most seamless trip ever, in large part due to their expertise.  Rob is a Capital-A Aggie, and is one fine flyfisher.   So, I've been stalking the fishing reports on the website, just to see my initials listed in the "Grand Slam" mentions. Alas, I was omitted.  It is a trivial matter, but I was a little miffed.  Here's the strongly worded e-mail I fired off. 

 

It’s hard to find something to complain about after we’ve had so many wonderful moments at El Pescador.  Nevertheless, I do have a bone to pick.  After a few weeks of no fishing reports at all, I checked tonight and found that the website had, indeed, been updated.  I clicked on my appropriate dates, hoping to see my name in print.  Alas-I was not there.  No mention was made of my Grand Slam taken on Tuesday, October 23, with Captain Vincent and Captain Roger.  Steven R. got his second El Pescador slam, but no mention of my first. (Incidentally, he also is mentioned in the next week’s report)  It is a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things, but it would mean a lot to see “Bill B. got his Grand Slam”  in the October 23 report.   Looking forward to seeing you next year.

OK cool-hook’em.  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

72 hours out from burying a 2/0 in the back of @Pescado_Rojo‘s head.

bartScott.gif

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

That's why I'm wearing this on the platform...

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Did I ever tell the story of burying an articulated mouse in my buddy’s cheek in Alaska?

[Chewbacca 7780]

Did I ever tell the story of burying an articulated mouse in my buddy’s cheek in Alaska?

Go on...

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

13 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

23 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Did I ever tell the story of burying an articulated mouse in my buddy’s cheek in Alaska?

Go on...

So we show up and day 1 his elbow gets jacked to the point where he can’t cast. So he’s stuck in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing to do but fish and he can’t fish. It started raining day 1 and literally did not stop the entire time we’re there. So he basically spends the entire trip riding in the back of a boat watching us fish in the rain. One day he’s paired up with me and I’m chunking a mouse from the front of the boat. For about 10 minutes the clouds clear and it’s beautiful and I’m casting and I hear “shit Hollywood what the fuck!” and I look back and my mouse is dangling off his cheek. We’re supposed to be fishing single de-barbed hooks. I’ve got 2 barbed hooks on my fly. Oops. As the guide is rowing the boat into an eddy so we can rip it out of his check, the clouds break and it just starts puking. I’m looking at him and it’s literally the most pathetic site I’ve ever seen and for whatever reason I just start laughing. It was just so ridiculous it felt like a scene from a movie.

the worst part is as we’re eddying out he looks at me and goes “well at least you de-barbed the hooks.” 

“Yeah, man.”

[Dry Elbows 142]

Had an epic trip yesterday.  From roughly 7-10 a.m. a friend and I landed the following specks: 1 5#, 3 over 6#, 1 over 7#, 1 at 8#, and 10-15 fish between 18-20".  Fish were mostly caught on Fat Boys (Gringo and Texas Chicken) and a few on tails.

[Zwylde 812]

^^^^

That is an epic trip to say the least.  Lifetime is more like it.

 

[Mac8111 2107]

Had an epic trip yesterday.  From roughly 7-10 a.m. a friend and I landed the following specks: 1 5#, 3 over 6#, 1 over 7#, 1 at 8#, and 10-15 fish between 18-20".  Fish were mostly caught on Fat Boys (Gringo and Texas Chicken) and a few on tails.

I would like to be your friend ....

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Where was that, Dry?

[Dry Elbows 142]

50 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Where was that, Dry?

Lower West Galveston 

[Lat22 4015]

Damn.  We caught a bunch of fish around Carancahua but no big ones. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

On 11/19/2018 at 10:23 AM, Dry Elbows said:

Had an epic trip yesterday.  From roughly 7-10 a.m. a friend and I landed the following specks: 1 5#, 3 over 6#, 1 over 7#, 1 at 8#, and 10-15 fish between 18-20".  Fish were mostly caught on Fat Boys (Gringo and Texas Chicken) and a few on tails.

Had a 2 day trip like this in Baffin once. 13 fish over 7#, up to 10#.  Beat PB 3 times in 2 days.   Those don’t come around often (ever). Some great memories I’m sure. 

[Dry Elbows 142]

17 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Had a 2 day trip like this in Baffin once. 13 fish over 7#, up to 10#.  Beat PB 3 times in 2 days.   Those don’t come around often (ever). Some great memories I’m sure. 

I've been fortunate to be a part of several trips like this. A couple of years ago we had seven fish over 5# including a 6, 7, and 8. All in 1.5 hours. Last winter a friend had about 10 fish up to 7#. He was in a one man hole. About eight years ago we were wading KRS as a front blew in and a buddy had three over 7#. It's what keeps you coming back. 

[Dry Elbows 142]

American Legacy Fishing is have a sale on the Team Lew's Lite, which is a great reel - $167.99

 

https://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/team-lew-s-lite-speed-spool-lfs-series-casting-reel.html

[The Royal We 3072]

I've never had any Lew's gear before - how does it stack up against a Curado or some of the Daiwa reels?

[Dry Elbows 142]

The Team Lew's Lite is a very durable reel. I've been using them  for about three years and really like they. I usually wade fish 2-6 days a month, depending on schedule and weather.  No experience with Diawa, but as durable as old Curado. My only knock is the anti-reverse can be loose while running. 

[DougO 5253]

Lew's speed stick was the bassin' bomb back in the day.

[fattyflattie 4639]

I have a few Lews I keep for the few times a year I Bass fish. They seem to be as quality as a curado. I’m not certain they are on the level of the Core/metanium/aldebaran but shimano has been pissing me off for awhile now so I’m migrating that way. 

[crash_davis 23114]

lews, abu, and all the basspro casting reels look like that are all the same models.  i think shimano has their own dedicated manufacturing and assembly plants.  daiwa is big enough to prob have the same.  not sure if the other oems do, which is maybe why all those reels look the same.

or i may be just full of shit.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

just came up for air after a week down in louisiana...had a chance to fish with @Pescado_Rojo for 2 days in the swamp...reds for days. we had good weather the first day and shit weather the second day, but managed to put a lot in the boat both days.

highlight 1 was catching 3 of these squirrely fuckers day 1. fortunately i wasn't aware they were difficult to catch or i'm sure I would have tweaked and skunked on them. 

 

day 2 i caught my first true belly crawler...we spotted it mudding with its entire back out of the water from about 150 feet out and Rojo poled us over and sure as shit it was still doing its thing. after about 3 timid casts out of its range i realized i could hit it on the nose and it wasn't going to spook. super, super cool experience and basically what i live for when it comes to angling.

 

i also tried poling the skiff. absolute shitshow...makes you appreciate when the boat is magically always on the fish...i ended up in the middle of a cove about 100 feet off the shoreline doing circles. felt completely helpless to do anything right. it was hysterical.

rojo, a tip of the cap, sir.

[The Royal We 3072]

That looks awesome, thanks for sharing.

[Brisketexan 105180]

Rojo's a damned good sport with his skiff.

But he DOES get a bit cranky when you bleed all over his boat.  Trust me on this.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

Rojo's a damned good sport with his skiff.

But he DOES get a bit cranky when you bleed all over his boat.  Trust me on this.

oh i had a brisket moment...day 1 we roll down there early from new orleans and i had ebola of the estomago. we get to the marina and it's closed...i run for the dumpsters in the parking lot and spray mud all over the god-damned place. as i'm standing up to get my pants up, a dude and his wife roll up to the dumpster to dump their trash.

'wouldn't go back there if i was you.'

[Brisketexan 105180]

Just now, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

oh i had a brisket moment...day 1 we roll down there early from new orleans and i had ebola of the estomago. we get to the marina and it's closed...i run for the dumpsters in the parking lot and spray mud all over the god-damned place. as i'm standing up to get my pants up, a dude and his wife roll up to the dumpster to dump their trash.

'wouldn't go back there if i was you.'

Yep....that's a brisket moment.  Well-done.  But to be fair, in south Louisiana, that smell isn't going to bother many folks.

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

It was a good trip for sure. It's always fun having guys that can put a fly in front of the fish when you put them in the right spots. I'm sure I'd have done just as poorly trying to row your drift boat on your river. Honestly, that's about the worst possible place to learn to poll. That mud is brutal. 

Highlight #1 for me was watching BD catch that 36" on his 8wt. That was just a clinic on fighting big fish on light tackle. 

Highlight #2 was when the guy pulled up to dump his trash while you were shitting behind the dumpster.

I'm still thinking about that massive fucking tail on that last shoreline on day 1. Wish we could have found that fish, I guarantee it was over 40.