2019 Fishing - Bent rods and tight lines

[Johnny Sack 8397]

20 hours ago, krevo said:

Spent the last 4 days down at the land cut.  We were on the boat by 2:30pm Thursday and didn't really stop fishing until Saturday night.  Almost made a Sunday morning trip to make up for the slow Saturday.  Hundreds of fish caught each day but keepers were minimal.   Down South Lures Bone Diamond (afternoon and under the lights) and Red Shad (morning) were the winners.  Didn't catch many fish on croaker or perch.

Were you in a cabin?  I stay at a cabin on the ICW near the landcut that a buddy owns.  Awesome up there.

[krevo 142]

7 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

Were you in a cabin?  I stay at a cabin on the ICW near the landcut that a buddy owns.  Awesome up there.

A friend of mine's cousin has a share of a cabin.  Probably a 40 min boat ride south from Bird Island Basin launch.   Really bad ass experience.  

The amount of fish you can catch in a day down there is just crazy.  We anchored down around the mouth at El Toro Friday morning and proceeded to catch about 50  fish in an hour.  Not all keepers of course, but still.  That trip was a fucking workout.

Edited July 2, 2019 by krevo

[Sbbruin 21709]

Just caught a few short calicos.

[Lat22 3994]

Couple of first time catches in the canal today.

[Jhawk 1075]

That's one ugly fucker you got there.

[Mac8111 2103]

Buddy of mine has a cabin down in Halls Bayou and said someone caught this bass at the cabin this past weekend. That’s a lot of freshwater happening there.

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

Everything is fresh this year. Probably explains the massive duckweed crop in all the marsh lakes around POC. Buddy of mine with a Hell's Bay Glade Skiff just had the original 25 hp 2 stroke rebuilt, and burned up the powerhead with 2 hrs on the rebuild. Didn't get a heat alarm, but he said there was smoke coming out of the cowling, and the lower unit was completely wrapped with duckweed. 

[DCA_HORN 725]

Your buddy is an idiot. If the intake was so wrapped in weed that the engine burned up how did he not notice that the performance was down dramatically?

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

He is no doubt an idiot, and harder on his gear than anyone I know. But if there was no temp alarm, you really wouldn't know it was getting hot. It's not a trolling motor, the prop will chew through the weed and keep going, even with it wrapped around the water intakes. 

[BearSchlong 8077]

That's why I try to not drive my boat through floating vegetation.

I took a pic of the first largemouth bass I caught in lower Sabine lake a few years back because it was an oddity. Now it's routine.

Hell, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne are basically fresh water lakes now.

[Storm the Field 5271]

8 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

That's why I try to not drive my boat through floating vegetation.

I took a pic of the first largemouth bass I caught in lower Sabine lake a few years back because it was an oddity. Now it's routine.

Hell, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne are basically fresh water lakes now.

My old man was telling me that the fishing reports out of Sabine have been pretty weak the last few months due to all the fresh water. We tried our luck on Keith Lake back on Father's Day and I noticed that it smelled like we were out bass fishing. Not a hint of saltwater in the air. Not a bite that morning, and I never noticed any bait/shrimp moving.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Storm the Field

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

On 6/17/2019 at 11:10 PM, troph said:

I’ll track my expenses and while I’m a bit afraid to I think I’ve got some limiting factors - already have a boat, don’t have that insatiable urge to collect gear, and I have a lot of hobby interests that might make it lower. Tennis is already costing me crapload. But probably famous last words. If the cost of vacations count and if an airstream used to take those trips when cabins and airfare aren’t in the plans - and a new (to me) truck to haul the thing - then we will be at $100,000 within 2-3 years. Dayum.

 

I'm going fishing in Mexico for a week, leaving a week from today. In the past month I've probably spent $600 just on "consumables" for that trip. Mostly fly tying materials, but today I dropped $240 on fluorocarbon leaders and leader building materials.  That doesn't include the new fly line I bought for my 9wt ($125), or the new Fishpond sling bag I bought ($100) because neither of those things were specifically for this trip. 

[davidg 4025]

3 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Everything is fresh this year. Probably explains the massive duckweed crop in all the marsh lakes around POC. Buddy of mine with a Hell's Bay Glade Skiff just had the original 25 hp 2 stroke rebuilt, and burned up the powerhead with 2 hrs on the rebuild. Didn't get a heat alarm, but he said there was smoke coming out of the cowling, and the lower unit was completely wrapped with duckweed. 

I've never heard of a temp alarm on a small 2 stroke.  Definitely not one on my 30hp Tohatsu.  You know its cooling by looking at the pisser and putting your hand back in it every now and then.  And you don't run through thick mats of weeds without checking it now and then.

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

1 minute ago, davidg said:

I've never heard of a temp alarm on a small 2 stroke.  Definitely not one on my 30hp Tohatsu.  You know its cooling by looking at the pisser and putting your hand back in it every now and then.  And you don't run through thick mats of weeds without checking it now and then.

is your Tohatsu a 2 or 4 stroke? I repowered my Hell's Bay with the 50 4 stroke in 2017. It's been a pretty awesome motor until last weekend, when it broke the prop shaft. I thought long and hard about going with the 30 @ 150 lbs, but didn't think it would give me enough of a hole shot. 

[DCA_HORN 725]

Gentlemen. Why cheap out on the most essential piece of equipment? Mercury always.

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

Mercury doesn't make a motor over 30 HP with a 15" shaft and my boat has a 15" transom. 

Also, all Mercury motors 30Hp and below are built by Tohatsu. Mercury mid-range motors from 40-60 Hp are built in China. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

55 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I'm going fishing in Mexico for a week, leaving a week from today. In the past month I've probably spent $600 just on "consumables" for that trip. Mostly fly tying materials, but today I dropped $240 on fluorocarbon leaders and leader building materials.  That doesn't include the new fly line I bought for my 9wt ($125), or the new Fishpond sling bag I bought ($100) because neither of those things were specifically for this trip. 

be grateful dick and kaye don't really let guests off the premises...the best cocaine on the planet is 3 blocks from your lodge. incidentals can really sky-rocket.

[davidg 4025]

3 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

is your Tohatsu a 2 or 4 stroke? I repowered my Hell's Bay with the 50 4 stroke in 2017. It's been a pretty awesome motor until last weekend, when it broke the prop shaft. I thought long and hard about going with the 30 @ 150 lbs, but didn't think it would give me enough of a hole shot. 

Its a 2003  Tohatsu 30A4  on an old  1544 Monark 5deg V jonboat.  It's old and smokey, but it'll start on the 2nd or 3rd pull after setting up for 3 months or so.  It will run 33mph with just me and an ice chest in the bow for weight.

What is it gonna cost to rebuild your LU?

[DCA_HORN 725]

3 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Mercury doesn't make a motor over 30 HP with a 15" shaft and my boat has a 15" transom. 

Also, all Mercury motors 30Hp and below are built by Tohatsu. Mercury mid-range motors from 40-60 Hp are built in China. 

I had no idea. When did that start? My 25 horse 4 stroke sips gas and runs like a champ with little maintenance.

[Pescado_Rojo 19331]

1 hour ago, davidg said:

Its a 2003  Tohatsu 30A4  on an old  1544 Monark 5deg V jonboat.  It's old and smokey, but it'll start on the 2nd or 3rd pull after setting up for 3 months or so.  It will run 33mph with just me and an ice chest in the bow for weight.

What is it gonna cost to rebuild your LU?

Tohatsu is going to warranty the shaft. I may call my insurance company and see if I can get a new lower unit. 

[Born to Run 6565]

Ahem.



49 miles out. Was so smooth we got over 50 mph at one point on way in just decarbing everything a bit.



There are things you can do to mitigate most issues, but any single engine boat offshore is a major drawback. I don’t care if it’s a 35’ Bert, if it’s got a single, it’s more venerable.

Personally, my boat stays in ship shape as a minimum. I have access to private area specific offshore Wx reports thru work, so that helps. And it needs to be holding a solid trend of 1-2’s or less on a 5+ second period for a minimum of 3 days before we even start thinking about it. We also take a buddy boat about 80% of the time. That doesnt help in a storm but for broken shaft/engine issue it is a safety net. Also we carry a PLB, and are AIS registered. Radio and backup radio, ditch bag etc.

The far and away most important thing is - no chances. No chances on equipment, no chances on 1/3 fuel, no chances on Wx. If there’s an issue with any of those, no go. There will be another flat day. I really want a sail off this boat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s how we do it even in larger boats. I always check the bilge before we ever come off plane too. Keep up with fuel system, filters etc. I hooked a nice sail three years ago 10-15 miles out of Poc under a big patch of debris. Didn’t last long but was a amazing being that close to the strike and first jump.

[texastough 1128]

On 7/3/2019 at 3:30 PM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

be grateful dick and kaye don't really let guests off the premises...the best cocaine on the planet is 3 blocks from your lodge. incidentals can really sky-rocket.

Dick and Kaye aren’t there anymore. They will be missed by some!

[fattyflattie 4636]

I missed a nice sail just under 20 miles out of POC, 2 years ago while fishing POOT.  I pulled the bait right out in front of it’s face. We drug over that area for an hour afterwards. Still haven’t forgiven myself.  Rookie move. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 hour ago, texastough said:

Dick and Kaye aren’t there anymore. They will be missed by some!

Think they committed to a couple more seasons before they’re gone. Maybe they’ve already finished their earnout?

[Sbbruin 21709]

The boy and I loaded up on calico bass yesterday, including a real slug, and the fish tacos that followed were glorious.

[Sbbruin 21709]

double

Edited July 8, 2019 by Sbbruin

[texastough 1128]

On 7/5/2019 at 3:47 PM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Think they committed to a couple more seasons before they’re gone. Maybe they’ve already finished their earnout?

Actually yes I think you are correct but they will only be there part of the season. Mike Gifford has been managing when Dick and Kaye aren't there. Mike is awesome.

[Humpy 112]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:24 PM, Lat22 said:

Couple of first time catches in the canal today.

What did you do with them? I have heard tales that they are good eating but a pain in the ass to clean.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 7/6/2019 at 1:07 PM, Sbbruin said:

The boy and I loaded up on calico bass yesterday, including a real slug, and the fish tacos that followed were glorious.


 

This is doing life right.  Nice work as a dad. 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

1 hour ago, B1G said:

What did you do with them? I have heard tales that they are good eating but a pain in the ass to clean.

I have a pace on a canal near Sargent. We catch and release them. 

[crash_davis 23083]

17 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

I have a pace on a canal near Sargent. We catch and release them. 

supposedly decent to good eating.  and doesn't look that hard to clean.  scissors/garden shear down the back, and then fillet along the bones.

 

 

 

 

[Lat22 3994]

2 hours ago, B1G said:

What did you do with them? I have heard tales that they are good eating but a pain in the ass to clean.

We threw them back. Caught a bigger one the next night. No chance of getting him onto the dock without a gaff, and I wasn’t going to kill it. 

[Sbbruin 21709]

17 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

This is doing life right.  Nice work as a dad. 

Fishing with my boy is one of the most enjoyable experiences I ever have.  I know we both will always look back on these moments as some of the best times we have together.

[krevo 142]

Nice fish.  Looks like he made a helluva taco.

[huge 3788]

I was down in Crystal Beach last week and it was shitty until Saturday morning when it was green and flat and glorious.  

My dumb ass had already given up after shit wind/water Wed-Fri.  

Kicking myself.

[Mac8111 2103]

Tell me about fishing the Land Cut. Probably getting a cabin in Sept. Is there a lot of wade fishing or mainly boat fishing the channel?

[Lat22 3994]

Pretty much whatever you want to do.  Fishing off your cabin at night (tell me it has lights) will be a blast.  I love the land cut.  Been too long since I've been down there.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

17 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

Tell me about fishing the Land Cut. Probably getting a cabin in Sept. Is there a lot of wade fishing or mainly boat fishing the channel?

You will limit out on keeper trout under the lights every night.  We usually drift fish during the day.  Because we like to bullshit, drink beer, and listen to music.

Last few times I went, I used a wake bait and absolutely tore them up.  This one:

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/strike-pro-hunchback-2-3-4-in-fishing-lure?msclkid=dbb734ba711f17805bc1699eb583c3d2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Non-Brand | Shopping | Outdoor&utm_term=4584138860820672&utm_content=Outdoor - Fishing&gclid=CJWPocmkqOMCFcGFxQIdN1gBpg&gclsrc=ds#repChildCatid=5059011?affcode=42&campid=333775740&adgroupid=1288627870545882&device=c&keyword=114069743&Channel=pla

 

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Johnny Sack

[krevo 142]

18 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

Tell me about fishing the Land Cut. Probably getting a cabin in Sept. Is there a lot of wade fishing or mainly boat fishing the channel?

See my post above.

 

- Anchor up at the mouth of El Toro or wade fish it and fish that in the morning.  Drift fish 9 Mile Hole and Rocky Slough in the mid to late afternoon.  Fish the lights at your dock if you want to catch a fish every cast. (assuming you're not there on a weekend when you have 10 people with their lights on)

- Down South Lures "Bone Diamond" in the afternoon  "Red Shad" in the morning if you're throwing soft plastics (under a 1/8 jighead)  Gulp under a cork worked okay when the bite was slow but make sure you get the full size ones (not the smaller 3")

- If you're going to buy bait beforehand, pin perch and croaker did not produce very well.  Live shrimp tore em up though.  We also kept a few skippies to make cut bait with but the reds were nowhere to be found in any of the places we were.  I dont think they are really back there as much in the mid to late summer (more fall / winter timeframe)

- There are a lot of spots to wade off the main channel but they get crowded on weekends and we found that moving around and going where we knew the fish were and the pressure was lower was better than getting the occasional bite being asshole to elbow with everyone else at the hotspots.

Edited July 9, 2019 by krevo

[crash_davis 23083]

49 minutes ago, krevo said:

See my post above.

 

- Anchor up at the mouth of El Toro or wade fish it and fish that in the morning.  Drift fish 9 Mile Hole and Rocky Slough in the mid to late afternoon.  Fish the lights at your dock if you want to catch a fish every cast. (assuming you're not there on a weekend when you have 10 people with their lights on)

- Down South Lures "Bone Diamond" in the afternoon  "Red Shad" in the morning if you're throwing soft plastics (under a 1/8 jighead)  Gulp under a cork worked okay when the bite was slow but make sure you get the full size ones (not the smaller 3")

- If you're going to buy bait beforehand, pin perch and croaker did not produce very well.  Live shrimp tore em up though.  We also kept a few skippies to make cut bait with but the reds were nowhere to be found in any of the places we were.  I dont think they are really back there as much in the mid to late summer (more fall / winter timeframe)

- There are a lot of spots to wade off the main channel but they get crowded on weekends and we found that moving around and going where we knew the fish were and the pressure was lower was better than getting the occasional bite being asshole to elbow with everyone else at the hotspots.

that's exactly how you help out another asshole on this site.  good on you.

[krevo 142]

Also - if you want me to drop some pins on a map of the places we hit, let me know.  

[hrmaddie 48]

My BIL has been going out on his kayak a bunch this year.  I normally wouldn't post this, but a hammerhead shark came up and bit the largest kingfish I've ever seen in half.  Starts at about the 3 min mark.  He's going to Panama to do some kayak fishing at the end of August.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVzA7F4bzA

[Dry Elbows 142]

On 7/8/2019 at 6:00 PM, Mac8111 said:

Tell me about fishing the Land Cut. Probably getting a cabin in Sept. Is there a lot of wade fishing or mainly boat fishing the channel?

Buying?

[Braff Zacklin 13409]

6 hours ago, hrmaddie said:

My BIL has been going out on his kayak a bunch this year.  I normally wouldn't post this, but a hammerhead shark came up and bit the largest kingfish I've ever seen in half.  Starts at about the 3 min mark.  He's going to Panama to do some kayak fishing at the end of August.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVzA7F4bzA

Awesome vid, thanks for sharing. That is the sort of shit that would make me want to stick to the jetties.

[fattyflattie 4636]

As mentioned already, you can catch fish in the lights until you are literally tired of fishing for them.  Several hundred if you want type nights. 

We always killed it in rocky slough in the AM. Napped during the day.  Fished 9-mile in afternoon and fished all night again.  Would dip into Baffin but I don’t like running Baffin tbh. Note that rocky slough is obviously...rocky.  Idle in and drift it over and over was always the move.  Our friends own the big cabin at the entrance of 9-mile. They typically have great lights and are down there a lot.  

I passed on a cabin for sale a few years ago I probably should have bought.  VERY common for people to go in on them in shares.  Should have jumped on it and figured out the partnerships later.   Really is a magical place and I need to get off my ass and make a trip soon.  

[fattyflattie 4636]

8 hours ago, hrmaddie said:

My BIL has been going out on his kayak a bunch this year.  I normally wouldn't post this, but a hammerhead shark came up and bit the largest kingfish I've ever seen in half.  Starts at about the 3 min mark.  He's going to Panama to do some kayak fishing at the end of August.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVzA7F4bzA

That’s a big king, especially for green water.  Old girlfriends BIL used to do SKA. It always amazed me at the quality of fish those guys would bring in week after week after week.  

[hrmaddie 48]

Yeah it's crazy the quality of fish that he catches, I just wish he would give me some of the meat.  He loves it though.  I think one time he went 4-6 miles in a friggin kayak, too far for me.  He seems to be safe about it, emergency phone, beacon, etc.  

[crash_davis 23083]

26 minutes ago, hrmaddie said:

Yeah it's crazy the quality of fish that he catches, I just wish he would give me some of the meat.  He loves it though.  I think one time he went 4-6 miles in a friggin kayak, too far for me.  He seems to be safe about it, emergency phone, beacon, etc.  

that's nuts to go that far out.  i'm glad he has the balls, but i don't anymore.  all it takes is one bad surprise situation and his world could quickly change.

i remember getting caught in my kayak a mile from launch by a freak cell which formed out of nowhere.  all of the sudden lightning, wind, and rain all around me.  i thought for sure i was going to die from getting struck by lightning.  paddled my ass off into the wind for 20 mins back to launch as lightning hit every 5 seconds around me.  it is the most scared i've ever been in my life, nothing has approached that level of i am going to die today feeling.  i was in the flats.  i can't imagine getting caught in the open ocean where the wave swells would've been 2-3 feet.  that storm did kill someone (lightning) on a beach 20 mins earlier.  

there are posts from a little over a week ago about boats getting caught and overturning in a freak storm in the guff.  imagine been 4-5 miles offshore in a kayak when that hit.  damn...

[fattyflattie 4636]

I was about 10 miles off the day after those storms last week, in a good sized pad V, and it sucked balls coming in at ~18-20 mph.   We were watching for them which is why we stayed close, but by the time lines went up and everything stowed it was rough. The wind gets out front of those storms many times.  

Hrmaddie, I noticed he had quite a bit of safety gear.  And he was using the foot paddle kayak, which has to help.  But had that shark took a nip off him or big hook in hand or whatever 100000000 ways to get hurt out there, he’s in a bind. I’m fishing an offshore tournament next weekend. I’ll give you literally as much kingfish meat as you can handle.  

[Sbbruin 21709]

Looking at picking up a new saltwater baitcaster (for 12-20lb test).  Looking at the Okuma Komodo or Daiwa Lexa (Shimano Tranx would be nice but way pricey).  Any other recommendations?  Hoping to pick something up on Prime Day.