2019 Fishing - Bent rods and tight lines

[Dry Elbows 142]

4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

over shell? and how deep?

Over sand and grass.  Thigh to waist deep.  Fish were pulled up on the flats.  Best and most fish came fishing a color line. 

Fished the same area last Friday without a sniff.  

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Dry Elbows

[crash_davis 23114]

1 minute ago, Dry Elbows said:

Over sand and grass.  Thigh to waist deep.  Fish were pulled up on the flats.  Best and most fish came fishing a color line. 

perfect. you just helped me decide where i want to fish on sunday. 

[Mac8111 2112]

We got drenched yesterday afternoon but managed to get Into some trout. Was wading side by side with my old man at sunset and he would start giggling like a school girl when those trout would crush that top water. Buddy lost 22” trout while he was fucking measuring him on the boat......

Day before we had couple trout, a red and a flounder, which I will be eating tonight. Wanted to gig for flounder but wind was pretty high.

I was at the dock when Capt Marty’s charter came in from their jetty trip. Every single one of their trout was a pig. I was so jealous. All were 22-26”. Blow up the pic and see how fat they were. I took a pic of other people’s fish.








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[BearSchlong 8108]

Nice. . .I only kept 3 20" trout this morning. So many boats. . .good lord it was crowded.

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

Man did the weatherman get it wrong today. Forecast was sunny and 5-10. He got the sunny right, but big whiff on the wind. I took a PTO day and the boy and I drove down to Seadrift last night. Put the boat in the water at 7:30, and it was slick but still a little foggy/hazy. I made a leisurely course for Power Lake, and the sun burned off the haze on the way over. There were some big boats in Power, so we slid out the back into the marsh ponds. Found a few fish early, but the water is still pretty high and cloudy back there. The boy picked up one 18" red before someone turned on the giant leaf blower. By 11:00 there were foam streaks on the water in the back lakes and ESB was solid whitecaps. We fished until about 12:30, then I started worrying about the crossing. Getting back out of the marsh was a pain in the ass. With the TM on high, I was barely making headway and if I fell off even half a point, the wind would blow the bow around. I checked the NOAA buoy at Port A, and it was reading 22 KNOTS sustained. The crossing back was miserable. I put that little 16' boat in the air at least 4 times. The boy was laying in the cockpit in the fetal position all the way back until I rounded into the ICW. I started the day at 6'5", but pretty sure I'm about 6'2" now. But at least we got out of the damn house and caught one.  

[fattyflattie 4638]

For those in POC, cousin of a good friend hammered some very thick trout in the surf on Tuesday near the pass.  Very very thick fish. 

[Mac8111 2112]

The old man got him some nice trout today in POC, largest being 26”. He had no issue sending me pic after pic.


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[Smax 3800]

Anyone have some advice for the west coast of Florida? Been talking with a friend who lives in Orlando and the idea of meeting up in a month or 2 when things are "normal" to do some fishing. Were thinking the Tampa area, any charter recs in the area would be appreciated 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

18 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Man did the weatherman get it wrong today. Forecast was sunny and 5-10. He got the sunny right, but big whiff on the wind. I took a PTO day and the boy and I drove down to Seadrift last night. Put the boat in the water at 7:30, and it was slick but still a little foggy/hazy. I made a leisurely course for Power Lake, and the sun burned off the haze on the way over. There were some big boats in Power, so we slid out the back into the marsh ponds. Found a few fish early, but the water is still pretty high and cloudy back there. The boy picked up one 18" red before someone turned on the giant leaf blower. By 11:00 there were foam streaks on the water in the back lakes and ESB was solid whitecaps. We fished until about 12:30, then I started worrying about the crossing. Getting back out of the marsh was a pain in the ass. With the TM on high, I was barely making headway and if I fell off even half a point, the wind would blow the bow around. I checked the NOAA buoy at Port A, and it was reading 22 KNOTS sustained. The crossing back was miserable. I put that little 16' boat in the air at least 4 times. The boy was laying in the cockpit in the fetal position all the way back until I rounded into the ICW. I started the day at 6'5", but pretty sure I'm about 6'2" now. But at least we got out of the damn house and caught one.  

Ha, yeah my buddy and another guy went down to Oyster Lake near Palacios with a couple kayaks.  They caught a few trout but said they ditched the kayaks pdq after blowing out their arms and waded instead.  He said the wind laid some during the night and yesterday morning, but that made the mosquitoes unbearable, even wading.  Kinda glad I couldn’t go.  I’ve been in the mosquitoes down there before and it gets ridiculous.

[crash_davis 23114]

will someone please do something about the wind????

[Braff Zacklin 13645]

Oh, you want more wind? Sure, we can getcha more wind.

[fattyflattie 4638]

I’ve fished an annual tournament this weekend for the last 11 years.  It was postponed this year due to Covid.   But to the point, the Wx for 10 of those 11 years has been as follows.  1 year was nice the entire time. 
 

Thursday: oh my god, this is why people live in San Diego. 
Friday: that wasn’t a bad 60 mile run to Aransas. Got on them. Can’t sleep.  Bout to win this bitch. Put another $250 each in the Calcutta. 
Saturday 0330: boat stretching lines on dock. Birds can’t fly straight. 25% of the boats decide Saluria to Pringle might be better than 2nd chain.  Crew bunkers down and lets it rip to Aransas. 
Sunday: maddens was fun but that Lavaca 7 wasn’t worth closing it down. Whataburger in Port Lavaca by 0800 and FML why do we do this shit?  Can’t wait till next year. 

[BearSchlong 8108]

Oh, you want more wind? Sure, we can getcha more wind.

Haha its April. . .everyone knows it lays down after memorial day right? Right?

[SimonBolivar 10958]

6 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Ha, yeah my buddy and another guy went down to Oyster Lake near Palacios with a couple kayaks.  They caught a few trout but said they ditched the kayaks pdq after blowing out their arms and waded instead.  He said the wind laid some during the night and yesterday morning, but that made the mosquitoes unbearable, even wading.  Kinda glad I couldn’t go.  I’ve been in the mosquitoes down there before and it gets ridiculous.

I swear Palacios has the worst mosquitoes in the state. I was at high school football game there one time and it was just black cloud of baseball sized mosquitoes.

[Lat22 4015]

3 hours ago, crash_davis said:

will someone please do something about the wind????

Close your eyes and think about that August afternoon where you’d give anything for a breeze. 😀

[BearSchlong 8108]

Close your eyes and think about that August afternoon where you’d give anything for a breeze.

Word.

[Mac8111 2112]

will someone please do something about the wind????

The only thing surprising about the wind is that I didn’t take the day off this week. That is usually a 100% guarantee of 25mph North wind.


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[Brew 3049]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:29 AM, Smax said:

Anyone have some advice for the west coast of Florida? Been talking with a friend who lives in Orlando and the idea of meeting up in a month or 2 when things are "normal" to do some fishing. Were thinking the Tampa area, any charter recs in the area would be appreciated 

I haven’t fished that far north to know any charter guys, but you will be able to cover pretty much any type of fishing you want from there. If you decide on Tampa, I would go over to the Hull Truth and scan the Florida/Georgia forum. There are several guys that post there that run charter operations around Tampa.

[Reagan1k 3024]

On 4/24/2020 at 6:52 PM, SimonBolivar said:

I swear Palacios has the worst mosquitoes in the state. I was at high school football game there one time and it was just black cloud of baseball sized mosquitoes.

Anahuac runs a close second.  I used to fish there with an old coonass who would cover his arms, legs, and neck with marsh mud instead of using DEET.  

[4th and 5 4915]

Wednesday is looking good, think I may head to POC

Edited April 26, 2020 by 4th and 5

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

7 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

Wednesday is looking good, think I may head to POC

That's what I thought last Wednesday. 

[4th and 5 4915]

I thought I read somewhere on this thread that someone had places for rent in POC...if you do, IM me please

[crash_davis 23114]

Fished out of Charlies in Seadrift yesterday. Fish were not where I thought they would be. Did eek out 2 slot reds and lost a nice flounder trying to net him. Caught another rat reds and a potato chip flounder. It was a beautiful day on the water, just wish the fishing was better.

[Brothahorn 10087]

Any tips for Lake Raven in Huntsville State Park? Taking the wife on a day trip. Never been before, not sure what to expect. I’m a stock pond type of guy so this is out of my area of the expertise.

[crash_davis 23114]

Just in case you didn't know, state parks are pre-selling day entry passes. If you do not already have a pass, you may not be able to get into the park if it's sold out.

[squib 1121]

Bass tournaments all cancelled because of COVID. Was supposed to have the championship two weekends ago. Qualified in the #2 spot and am itchin' to get to it. Guess we will hold it sometime this summer. Bag limit goes to 3 fish for summer-time tournaments here so I will need to think through a strategy that differs from the usual best-5 approach. May just throw a gizzard shad swimbait on deep breaks and swing for the fence. I don't think a bag of shakey head fish will do any good. I'll try to post a few pics from practice if I get any. 

[Brothahorn 10087]

Just in case you didn't know, state parks are pre-selling day entry passes. If you do not already have a pass, you may not be able to get into the park if it's sold out.

I got ours on Monday. Some friends were going to join us, but it was sold out last night.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

The fiance has never been fishing before and I'm taking her out tomorrow. I'm thinking a spincast looking for sunfish with worms and crickets is our best option for her to get some hits relatively quickly? We have a 2 seat yak, but this will be from the shore of a state lake.

Edited May 2, 2020 by SimonBolivar

[Ten Bears 2483]

M4g

[fattyflattie 4638]

5 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

The fiance has never been fishing before and I'm taking her out tomorrow. I'm thinking a spincast looking for sunfish with worms and crickets is our best option for her to get some hits relatively quickly? We have a 2 seat yak, but this will be from the shore of a state lake.

Worms. Anywhere near a tree or any grass on shoreline.  I take my little ones regularly and can only think of one time we had more than a minute of non-luck. Changed over to worms and it was game on. 
 

eta: shade.  The love it. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by fattyflattie

[davidg 4038]

Any tips for Lake Raven in Huntsville State Park? Taking the wife on a day trip. Never been before, not sure what to expect. I’m a stock pond type of guy so this is out of my area of the expertise.

I think it’s trolling motor only. We camped there a few times with the scouts and there is a fishing dock to use. Seems like I remember the lake being really mossy. Lots of salad unless you are throwing seedless worms or the like. Lots of brush right around the lake end too.

On the left side of the pier, there was/is a board with about a 3” knothole in it. My son caught a dink bass on a roadrunner dropping it down the hole and jigging it. The fish barely made through when he pulled it up.

[Sam Lin 3560]

On 5/2/2020 at 11:34 AM, SimonBolivar said:

The fiance has never been fishing before and I'm taking her out tomorrow. I'm thinking a spincast looking for sunfish with worms and crickets is our best option for her to get some hits relatively quickly? We have a 2 seat yak, but this will be from the shore of a state lake.

Start her like any new fisherperson: push-button reel, any bait you have available (don't use anything slimy or live or dirty or falls off the hook easily - I suggest canned corn or a piece of Berkeley Power Wiggler - I've used a single piece all afternoon before), and go for bluegills/sunfish. Maybe even a clip-on bobber to make it really brainless. Reliably and repeatedly catching <anything> is far more rewarding than catching a trophy for a beginner.

[Masshole Horn 775]

Out on a local pond in the canoe, both kids were casting paddle tails on 1/8oz jig heads. Daughter landed this toothy bad boy all on her own. I was amazed that no one hooked themselves or each other.



I’ve been tying EP Baitfish getting ready for Stripers. This one is about 4” long on a 1/0 SW hook.

I’ve never fished an EP baitfish, I’ll have a floating and sinking line with me. Any tips?

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

43 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Out on a local pond in the canoe, both kids were casting paddle tails on 1/8oz jig heads. Daughter landed this toothy bad boy all on her own. I was amazed that no one hooked themselves or each other.



I’ve been tying EP Baitfish getting ready for Stripers. This one is about 4” long on a 1/0 SW hook.

I’ve never fished an EP baitfish, I’ll have a floating and sinking line with me. Any tips?

buy a cheap comb to comb it out when it inevitably fouls the hook and you can't get it sorted with your fingers. I tie a lot of A2Z minnows with EP fiber and EP brushes. They work great on Tarpon and in a smaller tie, Large Mouth Bass. 1/0 is perfect for baby poons and Bass. 

[Lat22 4015]

I love catching Northerns. Stinky bastards. . 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Confession: I’ve never fished for pike.
 

Watched a fishing film the other day that had a part about a lodge in AK (Midnight Sun something) that solely target massive pike in shallow water. I will go there.

[3shot 139]

Pretty sure that's a Chain Pickerel.  I've caught lots of those at Lake Caddo.  They are so aggressive and so much fun. 

The only Northern Pike I've ever seen was caught right where Barton Springs Creek empties into Town Lake...it was caught by a dude sitting on a surfboard and throwing a spinner bait.  Maybe in the 1983-85 time frame?  It blew my mind.  Turns out, we stocked all kinds of crazy fish in Texas in the 70s and 80s.   

[Masshole Horn 775]

Yep, chain pickerel.

I love fly fishing for northerns. Not too many around me, but next time I get back to Minnesota, I’m gonna swap a day of targeting smallies for northerns.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

For you Padre Island National Seashore fans, this is a great watch- a short 1963 documentary as they were making it a national park.  

https://texasarchive.org/2018_00042?b=0

Love the old scout, and one shot of the Nicaragua wreck at just past 8 minutes shows how much it’s changed in 60 years.

 

[Masshole Horn 775]

School is back in session.

Schoolies were biting on the falling tide to 25”. Wind was blowing at 20mph, so I didn’t cast the fly rod. Will be back at sunrise; hopefully the wind will be down a bit.

[Lat22 4015]

On 5/8/2020 at 10:35 AM, Masshole Horn said:

Yep, chain pickerel.

I love fly fishing for northerns. Not too many around me, but next time I get back to Minnesota, I’m gonna swap a day of targeting smallies for northerns.

He sure dresses like a northern.  I do all of my northern pike catching in northern Minnesota.

[Masshole Horn 775]

First Striper on the fly!

EP baitfish in white with a little pearl gold angel hair. Fished on full sink line on a 6wt.

[Braff Zacklin 13645]

Well done, Masshole. Are these out of freshwater? Do you surf fish for stripers often?

[Masshole Horn 775]

These are saltwater fish. I’m targeting them a little bit upstream from the mouth of a tidal river.

I don’t do a lot of true surf fishing. I need to find some more reliable spots near me. I do have a few spots in some of the smaller bays and coves where I’ve had decent luck.

I also have a new 10wt rod coming in to punch those flies a little further to cover more ground.

[4th and 5 4915]

The wind is dying fast, and for a couple days, I feel like I’m getting a bit of a cough

[Mac8111 2112]

We did Baffin floating cabin trip. Weather was an absolute ass kicker. We were out there Friday night when that bad storm hit. Shit hit the fan. Craziest weather I have been a part of. Wind spun the cabin around every direction. Pulled the cleat that one of the boats was tied to. Thankfully it was tied to the post as well. The house next to us was on pier and beam and their boat was tied to the dock and got swamped.

Caught some fish here and there but high winds made it tough to get to some areas. Still better than working


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[fattyflattie 4638]

I passed on buying one about 5 years ago for ~35k.  Regret it every time I think about it. A friend of mine has a 1/10 ownership in one in the landcut, and I think it gets used about 2x a year total.  But man what a cool place to hang out.  

[Spaulding Smails 1555]

Hopefully taking my son here in a few weeks.  Need to firm up details.  A good friend has this place on the LM at the north side of Baffin.  Incredible place.

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

9 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Hopefully taking my son here in a few weeks.  Need to firm up details.  A good friend has this place on the LM at the north side of Baffin.  Incredible place.

Didn't we PM about this on the old site? I'm friends with his cousin. I haven't been to the new place yet, but that outhouse has saved me a couple times. 

[tx 3 putt 77284]

if that's a bnb, link ?