Bobfish Tales

There are days when its breezy and there are days when its just plain stupid windy. Today was one of those days. Catching trout in these conditions seemed like it would be difficult. As it turned out, despite the big waves and white caps, we caught limits of big trout. Boats came and went without fish, all the while we were steady landing fish. Sometimes, its all about technique. As usual long lining worked really well dragging suspended baits and even jigs behind the boat. Perhaps the biggest difference in catching or not was down sizing with light tackle and braided line. All you would feel is a tick on your line and if you pulled without feeling a true bite, it usually meant a nice trout on the other end. The keys to success today were, long lining, using light braided line and letting the wind work your bait for you. A 1/8th oz jig head with the norton sand eel in the chicken on a chain color was smoking the fish. To be honest I really think presentation was the most important par...

Sometimes the wind can be just too much. Even with drift socks, chains, or what other devices you are using to slow your roll, they may not work. That being said, a few years ago while fishing my favorite lake, Poverty Point, I learned to let the wind work for me. By chance, I was fixing to call it a day because the wind was just too much. But as luck would have it, I had a pole that I had not pulled in. Just as I lifted the trolling motor, bam, a fish tried to jerk the pole out of the boat. In the midst of gathering up my gear, that forgotten rod that was trailing behind the boat had hooked up on a nice crappie. Just as any good fisherman would do, I tossed the jig back behind the boat and another fish hit. Needless to say, I was suddenly on a pattern. I had fought the wind trying to spider rig, then by casting, none of which was producing fish. But this technigue was producing. I decided to toss two jigs behind the boat, and letting the wind do the pulling for me. I had discovered ...

Ever heard the saying "a day late". Well, "a day early" might apply too when it comes to spawning fish. In fact it may be a matter of an hour or two. Spawning fish move on and off the nest at different times. Being there at the right moment could mean catching the mother load or maybe just a few. Today was a great example of this. Fished yesterday in the exact same canals as today. Although yesterday was good, today was fantastic. The fish moved right up against the bank and were easy to catch. This could happen in any of your favorite bayous. One day you swear the fish have moved out, and the next, you boat a hundred. So the best advice during these spawning times is to get out while you can and hope its that magic day, hour, or minute they move in. Again, keep what you need and release the rest. "See the roe, let it go". Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.

Tossing a topwater seems easy enough. After all most are pretty heavy and can be tossed a really long distance. Twitch it a couple of times and wait for the bite. Simple, right? Well, it is never that easy. First, knowing how to truly work a topwater bait is essential to catching fish. Walking the dog is perhaps the most popular and reliable technique. This is where you twitch the bait back and forth in a "walking method". The key to this is the speed of your approach. Sometimes fish want it fast and other times slow or even dead still. A common mistake is holding the rod tip up. You should always hold the rod tip down. This does two things. It helps you work the bait better and when you do get a hit, you will have a better chance of hooking the fish. There have been many times, the strike has occurred when the lure has stopped. Other times, it is when it is in full retrieve. The key is to be aware of the reaction of the bites you are getting and adjust to it. Perhaps, the b...

To be honest I used to curse the wind. Would skip the days when it was blowing 15 or more. But learning how to deal with it has changed my thinking and netted me a lot of fish. Fighting the wind can be tortuous. But if you let it work for you, it can mean the difference from catching or cursing. There are many ways to deal with the wind, wind socks, chains, power poles,and dragging weights. These are all good ways to slow the boat when the wind is too much. Slowing your roll may keep you in that sweet spot. Then there is none of the above and letting the wind pull your baits for you. This is my favorite technique by far. Although when its too fast, you may need to slow the roll to keep the bait in the depth the fish are in. Securing your rod is important. Have seen too many times when fish will jerk the rod right out of the boat. Another consideration as it pertains to wind is the kind of boat you are fishing in. A bigger fiberglass boat will drift different than a smaller aluminum boa...

Braided line is not a new thing, but a lot of fisherman may not realize the importance it plays in detecting bites you may never feel with a monofilament line. So if you are not on the "braid" train, you may want to consider it. Today while trout fishing, was a great example of braid out-fishing monofilament. It was a windy day, so the bite was hard to detect. With braid even the most subtle bite was detected. This meant more hookups and more fish landed. There are good things about braid and some bad things. The good thing is that the diameter is much smaller than monofilament, so you can actually use a heavier pound test and put more line on the reel than you can with monofilament. There is virtually no stretch which translates into feeling lighter bites. Since the diameter is smaller, the drag in the water is less. On windy days, this can be beneficial to keeping your bait in the strike zone. My favorite reason for using braid is that, I can use the lightest rod/reel and s...

Lake Decade was today and has been consistent for catching great numbers of trout. Brother Ken and I caught and released 60 really nice trout. Long lining was the key today. Had many doubles and at times 3 on at once. Left them biting to chase some nice sacalait. The sacs are full of roe, so please keep what you need and let the rest go. See the roe, let it go is my mantra. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.