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Fishing Megathread: Looking For Big Girls Who swallow


Mac8111

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1 hour ago, 4th and 5 said:

 

Damn, I need a Chandy trip. Did not go this year but went last 3 years in a row. That skiff looks familiar. Who did you go with?

Diversion, which my understanding is the old Jokas Wild.   It was a nice boat.  Great owner, great 2nd capt, great 1st mate. Deckhand…left a bit to be desired but whatever. 

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Eh Friday night and a hard work week, really hard. Tossed my 3 wt in the pool for some precision target practice at 30-35 feet.

opened the scotch and poured a stiff one, turned on reel life (CFB tonight is meh, tennis wasn’t doing it) and instead I found British Columbia fly fishing.

man…. I gotta do this soon.

 

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When I used to work in Louisiana a lot, we would host two big guided trips a year for customers. We worked with a well known guide in Hopedale that had a lodge* where we would stay the night before. We had a guy on the team that catered crawfish boils on the weekends, so if they were in season he would do a big boil the night before or we'd do a shrimp and crab boil or something. We usually had 5 boats with 3 anglers per boat. I'd always tell the guide I didn't live there, and he could release my fish. Without fail, they would ignore me and keep my limit as well. I'd always give my filets to my customers, but it kind of pissed me off just getting straight up ignored like that. Those guides were something. You weren't on a time limit, you were on a boat limit. The second the last fish of the boat limit hit the cooler, they were cranking the big motor and pointing it at the boat barn. I don't think we ever fished past about 10:30 AM. You'd be at the dock with them cleaning fish by 11:00, and their afternoon charters would start showing up as they were handing you your bags of filets. I'm sure they did the same thing with their afternoon groups. 
*The "Lodge" was two 4 bedroom double-wides up on stilts with a concrete pad between them with a covered roof and a couple gas grills. 

Hackberry Rod and Gun club. Labor Day weekends brought to you by Trinity industries, for customers and state legislators and their older offspring. Back when Terry Schaunessy owned the place. Fish limit by 10, get drunk, nap and sober up, dove hunt at 4.

Did it for 10 years until the Feds cracked down on shooting over a “baited*” field. Arrested but released. I did get to watch a TX congressman try to kick an ex NFL linebacker’s ass, in front of a TX senator and state judge.

I miss when Democrats ran the state. Nobody was mean without reason, and grift usually included overages for things like fishing boats, not granite countertops. /cr
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Since I took up golf during Covid, I have only fished once on the coast. It was 42 degrees, 25 north winds, and not surprisingly, I got skunked. So I have absolutely no intelligence on what the reds and trout are doing. I don't even know if my usual POC/Seadrift spots are still producing.

I'm looking for some intelligence on POC/Seadrift areas: Shoalwater, The Lagoon, Barroom. Not looking for specific spots although I wouldn't ignore them if you shared :), but any advice on how and where to pattern them would be GREATLY appreciated.

If you don't want to post it publicly and want to message me, that's great too.

Thanks in advance.

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3 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Since I took up golf during Covid, I have only fished once on the coast. It was 42 degrees, 25 north winds, and not surprisingly, I got skunked. So I have absolutely no intelligence on what the reds and trout are doing. I don't even know if my usual POC/Seadrift spots are still producing.

I'm looking for some intelligence on POC/Seadrift areas: Shoalwater, The Lagoon, Barroom. Not looking for specific spots although I wouldn't ignore them if you shared :), but any advice on how and where to pattern them would be GREATLY appreciated.

If you don't want to post it publicly and want to message me, that's great too.

Thanks in advance.

Reds have been in all the usual places (everything you listed there) and trout have been tough for a long time.  Been catching trout in Carlos/mesquite more than anywhere else.  Hopefully we have a non-heavy freeze winter; trout need a recovery in the worst way. 

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2 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Reds have been in all the usual places (everything you listed there) and trout have been tough for a long time.  Been catching trout in Carlos/mesquite more than anywhere else.  Hopefully we have a non-heavy freeze winter; trout need a recovery in the worst way. 

This time of year I think the outside shorelines of Dewberry and Blackberry (bay side) are better than the Lagoon and Shoalwater. Pods of reds will be up on the shorelines, bigger fish will be out a little deeper over the grass beds. Lagoon and Shoalwater fish get hammered with fishermen and general boat traffic. If you do find fish in there, they'll be skittish AF. 

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I forgot to mention I'll be in my yak. Thinking about heading into Barroom and hitting this spot. I know it holds schools of reds but just a little worried about that paddle in the 15 mph SE wind tomorrow.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NBreaf3XTU61Eepv8

 

I'm thinking since it's a weekday, the boat and fishing traffic will be light so the reds in Lagoon and Shoalwater won't be so skittish. I just don't know man.

 

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3 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I forgot to mention I'll be in my yak. Thinking about heading into Barroom and hitting this spot. I know it holds schools of reds but just a little worried about that paddle in the 15 mph SE wind tomorrow.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NBreaf3XTU61Eepv8

 

I'm thinking since it's a weekday, the boat and fishing traffic will be light so the reds in Lagoon and Shoalwater won't be so skittish. I just don't know man.

 

Bet you can find a few schools in boggy. 

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2 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Problem with Boggy is that it's such a small area to fish. They are there, or they are not. You are kinda screwed if they are not.

You're not wrong, but also part of the beauty, is you can pack up and are out of there fast, but then you'd have that long paddle out to everett/mailboat, if that's your plan . Good thing about that is you can head into some adjacent protected areas from Everett where they could be.  

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1 hour ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

This time of year I think the outside shorelines of Dewberry and Blackberry (bay side) are better than the Lagoon and Shoalwater. Pods of reds will be up on the shorelines, bigger fish will be out a little deeper over the grass beds.

Funny that you suggest that as I've only ever caught reds in high numbers twice on the outside (ESB shoreline) of Lagoon and Shoalwater. It was during a transition from N to S/SE winds after a strong front. Reds were staged at the shoreline waiting for water to rise so that they could go back into the Lagoon and Shoalwater. I see waders all the time wading the shoreline. I just ever see anyone catching. I too have done my fair share of unsuccessfully wading those shorelines.

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18 hours ago, crash_davis said:

I forgot to mention I'll be in my yak. Thinking about heading into Barroom and hitting this spot. I know it holds schools of reds but just a little worried about that paddle in the 15 mph SE wind tomorrow.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NBreaf3XTU61Eepv8

 

I'm thinking since it's a weekday, the boat and fishing traffic will be light so the reds in Lagoon and Shoalwater won't be so skittish. I just don't know man.

 

 

while you are there try right here and the backside (north and west) of the cut: https://maps.app.goo.gl/W55uMmeozQQ3uT1YA

small gold spoon

 

and here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/SutSKaVzfkbdsD1M8

bounce plastics

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Thanks for the tips. I decided on Barroom. Fished it hard from sunrise until we got chased off the water @ 2pm. Between me and a buddy, we caught 12 undersized reds and 4 dink trout. Ironically, the only keeper fish caught was a 19" flounder. No keeping allowed until mid Dec. I was glad to release it back into the wild.

Talked to TPWD people taking fishermen survey at the launch. I've taken many of those surveys but it's been a few years. They stressed that the survey is  "voluntary", which was new to me. I guess some people got their feelings hurt when they had to share their undersized catches. Anyway, they said only one fisherman caught a legal red. Guess it was a a tough day on the water.

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12 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Thanks for the tips. I decided on Barroom. Fished it hard from sunrise until we got chased off the water @ 2pm. Between me and a buddy, we caught 12 undersized reds and 4 dink trout. Ironically, the only keeper fish caught was a 19" flounder. No keeping allowed until mid Dec. I was glad to release it back into the wild.

Talked to TPWD people taking fishermen survey at the launch. I've taken many of those surveys but it's been a few years. They stressed that the survey is  "voluntary", which was new to me. I guess some people got their feelings hurt when they had to share their undersized catches. Anyway, they said only one fisherman caught a legal red. Guess it was a a tough day on the water.

My personal opinion, which is somewhat backed up by TPWD surveys, is that ESB and San Antonio Bay have been in a downward spiral since the freeze

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36 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Still has the coloring of a lower slot, too.  Awesome. 

Seeing my guide’s hands shaking when done was amazing. He was the first to the beer, cracked it open said cheers and took a huge guzzle. Then said, “man I needed that.” He had been fishing with clients in the rain for a week. He had his hands full bringing it into the net. 

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21 minutes ago, hookemATL said:

Congrats troph. That’s another one of my life goals, to figure out how to catch reds/other salties on the fly. I can imagine the dopamine rush you got was orgasmic 🤘❤️

Pretty much as good as sex yes, and the afterglow lasts quite a bit longer. I’m pretty sure I’ll be fishing 10-15 days a month when I’m old. I’ll be even more insufferable with poetic monologues waged against my kids and maybe grand kids. My wife will be intentionally hard of hearing. Only our dog will understand what I’m getting at even he will be like “yeah yeah yeah, can we just get out there already.”

 

The most fun is tracking them and seeing them, as they are quite camouflaged to the environment they are in - how to see them is hard to describe, seeing their color and movement against the back drop of mud and sand and grass under water - it’s rather artistic. I actually found my experience painting and observing light and shadows and seeing subtle colors in the sky or on the water when surfing to be very helpful. Their splash and wake are distinct (large mullet can at times confuse) but mostly it’s this combo of lazy and confident v-shaped wakes and heavy splashes. The way they meander when you see them under water is highly predatory very trout like to a degree. Seeing tails will make your stomach drop. It’s really something when you can spot them or evidence of them in all of the various conditions. 
 

My trout guide is shifting from Colorado river and San Marcos river bass in the spring, summer and fall to reds at the coast. Im moving over to him then too. He’s a GREAT teacher. When you’re ready let me know I consider him a friend so I bet he’d be a great fit. 

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Troph has me ready to trade the CC in for a skiff. Well done, ma’am.

Today I got out there late - about 11 am. About 7 miles from the dock I came across a guy and his gal staring at their engine, cowl off, Power pole deployed. Towed them back to the ramp and headed back out.

Ran all over Sabine Lake for the next few hours and then the birds started working at 3. Caught about 40 specks, and kept none even though they were big for schoolies and all Louisiana legal.

Washed the boat and popped Tylenol. My arm is sore.

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1 hour ago, BearSchlong said:

Troph has me ready to trade the CC in for a skiff. Well done, ma’am.

Today I got out there late - about 11 am. About 7 miles from the dock I came across a guy and his gal staring at their engine, cowl off, Power pole deployed. Towed them back to the ramp and headed back out.

Ran all over Sabine Lake for the next few hours and then the birds started working at 3. Caught about 40 specks, and kept none even though they were big for schoolies and all Louisiana legal.

Washed the boat and popped Tylenol. My arm is sore.

It’s fun when you can get on some nice specks. We fished north of Tampa last week and even though conditions were terrible, both of us fishing ended up with the FL version of an inshore slam, a good run of dink reds, and a bunch of trout. We hit on a spot where we were catching them pretty much every cast. It’s the first time I’ve been out since selling my place down there and it had me ready to start shopping again.

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forgot to mention coming back to the Goose Island boat ramp we saw a bunch of dead ducks (a bunch were redheads) in the water just off the dock and an air boat pulling out of the water on to their trailer.probably a dozen or so. ducks had been breasted, and just unceremoniously dumped. couldn't figure out if they had gone over their limit (not sure how many licenses were in their boat), if they were just being lazy and not wanting to deal with the carcass on land, or what. I mean I know it's illegal to come back without the carcass, anyway, it was infuriating because it was entirely disrespectful, illegal, could have been overhunting/poaching. grrrr.

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3 hours ago, troph said:

forgot to mention coming back to the Goose Island boat ramp we saw a bunch of dead ducks (a bunch were redheads) in the water just off the dock and an air boat pulling out of the water on to their trailer.probably a dozen or so. ducks had been breasted, and just unceremoniously dumped. couldn't figure out if they had gone over their limit (not sure how many licenses were in their boat), if they were just being lazy and not wanting to deal with the carcass on land, or what. I mean I know it's illegal to come back without the carcass, anyway, it was infuriating because it was entirely disrespectful, illegal, could have been overhunting/poaching. grrrr.

It’s not uncommon for them to be breasted and tossed. The gators that are all over that area eat well.  There was a guy that used to put fliers out in KA because people would breast and toss them like they do fish, but no gators to take care of them like the pelicans do fish carcasses. 

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10 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

It’s not uncommon for them to be breasted and tossed. The gators that are all over that area eat well.  There was a guy that used to put fliers out in KA because people would breast and toss them like they do fish, but no gators to take care of them like the pelicans do fish carcasses. 

I’ve been fishing from there for two years straight, haven’t seen one of them, I’ve seen a few up far in St Charles Bay but not in that open water. Not saying you’re wrong.  But my guide also said what they did was illegal even if they weren’t over the limit. Btw the redhead limit is pretty strict I thought? 

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1 hour ago, troph said:

I’ve been fishing from there for two years straight, haven’t seen one of them, I’ve seen a few up far in St Charles Bay but not in that open water. Not saying you’re wrong.  But my guide also said what they did was illegal even if they weren’t over the limit. Btw the redhead limit is pretty strict I thought? 

If they were breasted, then thrown out, the only “illegal” thing would be something tied to goose island*.  If they were just tossed, then yeah big no no on wanton waste. Not to sound smart ass but all duck limits are strict. It’s something hunters should think about (even if legal) as it is a bad look.   But I’ve seen it a million times, even in swanky places like KA (to the point residents put out fliers).  Used to see it a lot in the ICW in POC. 

*some regs may have changed but shitloads of people only breast. 
 

eta: lots of places discourage cleaning your birds where you killed them. Even as you’re leaving the field. Nothing new. Some people are respectful of it, some are not.  Some people still haven’t learned to how to get feathers into a trash can.  

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You’re not hearing me.

from what I see on tpwd and what my guide tells me - its a violation to dress and dump like that.  Doesn’t matter if there are alligators around the corner up in St Charles bay.

it appeared to us they were over their redhead limits. There were close to a dozen, we saw maybe 4 hunters.

I don’t care if they only took breasts. The fact that it appeared they killed over the limit and they violated the processing rules which meant leaving dead / massacred ducks all over the water is what pissed me off.

 

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46 minutes ago, troph said:

You’re not hearing me.

from what I see on tpwd and what my guide tells me - its a violation to dress and dump like that.  Doesn’t matter if there are alligators around the corner up in St Charles bay.

it appeared to us they were over their redhead limits. There were close to a dozen, we saw maybe 4 hunters.

I don’t care if they only took breasts. The fact that it appeared they killed over the limit and they violated the processing rules which meant leaving dead / massacred ducks all over the water is what pissed me off.

 

Yeah I assumed you meant everything *but* the breasts and a wing. If you’ve got an attached wing you’re golden. Well except the whole over the limit thing. Which 4 hunters for a dozen redheads is at least a bird over, each.  Either way, hunters need to remember there’s ALOT of non-hunters we share space with and many don’t care to see how the sausage is made. 

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12 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Yeah I assumed you meant everything *but* the breasts and a wing. If you’ve got an attached wing you’re golden. Well except the whole over the limit thing. Which 4 hunters for a dozen redheads is at least a bird over, each.  Either way, hunters need to remember there’s ALOT of non-hunters we share space with and many don’t care to see how the sausage is made. 

don't care how it's made, not my favorite thing to do but I can clean and filet my own fish and for hunters it's no different I just don't hunt. What I care about is respect and abiding by the law. fuck law breakers when it comes to this shit (and in this instance there was more than one legal violation - over the limit not the only one but the most egregious - not to mention extreme disrespect). I consider going over your limit to be tantamount to theft and stealing and I hate thieves. I have similar issues with private property owners that intimidate those enjoying our rivers lawfully. it's both a privilege and a right to hunt and fish our state natural resources and with that comes obligations to respect, care and preserve. that's it and the last I'll say about it.

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1 hour ago, troph said:

don't care how it's made, not my favorite thing to do but I can clean and filet my own fish and for hunters it's no different I just don't hunt. What I care about is respect and abiding by the law. fuck law breakers when it comes to this shit (and in this instance there was more than one legal violation - over the limit not the only one but the most egregious - not to mention extreme disrespect). I consider going over your limit to be tantamount to theft and stealing and I hate thieves. I have similar issues with private property owners that intimidate those enjoying our rivers lawfully. it's both a privilege and a right to hunt and fish our state natural resources and with that comes obligations to respect, care and preserve. that's it and the last I'll say about it.

You're making an assumption they weren't within their possession limits (I'm assuming you didn't watch them launch that AM).  They could have been the group that owns the Allyns house for all anyone knows.    Either way, fuck them IF they were breaking the law. 

22 hours ago, troph said:

I mean I know it's illegal to come back without the carcass, anyway, it was infuriating because it was entirely disrespectful, illegal, could have been overhunting/poaching. grrrr.

This isn't true.  Has to have a single wing or head, that's it.  If they were breasted with a single wing attached, they could dump them right at the ramp.  Uncouth, not illegal. 

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1 minute ago, fattyflattie said:

You're making an assumption they weren't within their possession limits (I'm assuming you didn't watch them launch that AM).  They could have been the group that owns the Allyns house for all anyone knows.    Either way, fuck them IF they were breaking the law. 

This isn't true.  Has to have a single wing or head, that's it.  If they were breasted with a single wing attached, they could dump them right at the ramp.  Uncouth, not illegal. 

yes I found out the head or wing part after that post. they did not do that. I can confirm 100%. We stopped and my guide inspected the dumped ducks, I saw fully intact ducks with their breasts ripped out with the head, wings and legs still there (not taken). Violation #1.

And while it could have been another group - if it was that group they were over their limit. Their proximity was extremely suspicious and while being silent and not being friendly isn't an indictment they had nothing to say to us or themselves and were very quiet when we (the only other ones around) pulled in after having stopped to inspect the dumped ducks. But we did not call the warden though because it could not be 100% proven. Let me put it this way, my guide is a hunter too, he was very distraught by the situation - again assuming several legal violations as he described it (I think he simply said you can't dump them like that probably referring to what you have to take).  I've been fishing there through multiple duck hunting seasons, I don't think those lodges are going to dump a dozen ducks in their sunrise view.  I also don't think guides are going to do it either (coming back the next day and the day after that).  Possible / Likely Violation #2.

Uncouth is a good way to put it. Disrespect (as mentioned above).

 

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I've been recreating outdoors for a long time....in my experience, many hunters and fisherman don't really have much respect for certain laws, ethics, or the environment.
My experience is it's young guys. In college and my early 20s I had to drop the ban hammer on so many jabronies that violated norms and game laws fishing and hunting out of our place. Shooting non- game birds, going over limits knowingly, dangerous shooting, not being safe, and general assholery

I have pretty severe tinitus from one asshole who blasted right by my earhole to wildly miss a Hen Pintail that settled into the spread.

I fished with a group of guides last fall in West Galveston that flat out were all about killing fish. Took us out, then a pm client then fished the next day for fun. Limits whenever they could regardless of our wishes.

A lot of sportsman grow out of it, but it's a problem. A problem that most bass or trout anglers do not have.
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Also Troph it is fairly common for duck Hunters to just breast out birds and toss the rest in the water. We did that once at our old place on the ICW and realized how dickish that is for everyone with carcasas floating around for days and adjusted our behavior.
Not saying that's what you experienced. But maybe in part.
I also keep the legs for confit on Redheads and divers. I only Hunt about once a year now anyway. But in our twenties we shot a lot of birds that required a lot of care and prep to taste decent. It's an odd sport.

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I’ve calmed down a bit. Shocking I get emotional. I love guns, so it’s not a liberal thing. Anyway doesn’t matter. 
 

A holiday tradition like no other troph and mrs troph loaded up for a float tomorrow. 

we’re gonna float the guad second half of the day. We don’t have room for a trailer so had to rent.

got dam this woman (my wife) is good with trailers and tie downs and shit. Her lesbian ingenuity is top notch. From our pulley storage system in the garage to picking the right trailer to the tie downs.

I highly recommend you fellas find one of these kinda ladies. 

 

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We were on our way at the gas station and my wife thought it was too cold and windy. And she definitely didn’t want any rain. To her credit she said she was willing but I didn’t want to risk having her out there miserable so we came home. Proved to be a mistake, I was pretty sure it was going to be great.

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I’ve calmed down a bit. Shocking I get emotional. I love guns, so it’s not a liberal thing. Anyway doesn’t matter. 
 
A holiday tradition like no other troph and mrs troph loaded up for a float tomorrow. 

we’re gonna float the guad second half of the day. We don’t have room for a trailer so had to rent.
got dam this woman (my wife) is good with trailers and tie downs and shit. Her lesbian ingenuity is top notch. From our pulley storage system in the garage to picking the right trailer to the tie downs.
I highly recommend you fellas find one of these kinda ladies. 
 
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Nice I was there Monday, fished non release spots as I wanted to rest the new fish and avoid the crowds. We caught some fiesty holdovers. Everytime I fish it I wonder why I don't go more often. Homie and are heading back next week. Fish right before dark, camp, fish until 12 and back to work by 130. It's pretty fucking magical.
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