Writer's Monthly Tips!
Subscribe!
Pro Tips: August 2009
Ralph Glister with a solid trout in 86-degee water over shallow grass.
I have to admit, I am not nearly the fisherman I thought I was six months ago. Sure, the drought has raised salinity levels to abnormal highs, our air and water temperatures are setting records, and fishing pressure is still taking its toll. But, somewhere along the way I lost my focus. I became a victim of my worst enemy, me! What happened when the catching became tougher in my home water was simple; I started looking for excuses.
Baffin, by the way, has been wonderful to me this year but I fear the pressure being exerted on this system will prove to be too much if we continue the over-harvest of both trout and redfish.
I promote catch and release wholeheartedly to the anglers I take to this system and restrict those wishing to keep fish to no more than five per day including redfish. Everyone else can do what they want but don’t point the finger my way when the gig goes sour. For too long I was a kill guide and what a poor example I have been to so many. I’ll step off the soap box now and get back to this month’s topic which is trying to catch fish in the toughest of times.
I became a victim of making excuses as to why I was unable to put my clients on the numbers of quality trout that we have become accustom to catching. Sure, conditions have been tough; the truth, though, is that we still have some really good fish roaming these bays. Very smart fish, fish that are responsible for replenishing the population when outside forces get out of control. Nature finds a way to create opportunities that will continue to allow them to survive. No real scientific background for me except that I continue to see our fish patterns changing from season to season. Slowly they adapt to the changing environment around them if they cannot leave it. Give them a kitchen pass to greener pastures and they will surely punch the clock one last time.
After about two months of honestly struggling from day to day on the trout catching end of my job, I decided to start over. I removed most all of my old photos from my tackle room. The trash can was too small for some of the larger photo collages I had built for seminars so they remain but, all the others have gone to the boys or guide buddies of mine that were in the photos with me. I was living in the past by having these things surrounding me. I needed to start over, so I did. No doubt I still use my knowledge of thirty-plus years but I have tried to let my eyes and mind guide me. Fishy-looking areas should never be overlooked no matter how many times you have struck out on them. Fastball hitters don’t layoff off fast balls after a few strikeouts.
Lessons gained fishing the Upper Laguna and Baffin areas have been great retuning tools for me this year. I have had to depend on my basic fish-finding skills. Even though this area is really hot right now, they are not everywhere and they still don’t eat every day. OK, I do have a handful of the best guides as friends, and yes, Rowsey, Loomis, Webb, Hornsby and Akin give me heads up on patterns but they force me to find the fish on my own. I think they know that is the way one truly learns.
Back home I have started leaving the dock each morning with my mind clear and eyes open. We still need to seek the preferred structure for each bay system given the seasonal conditions. Bait is always a major player in this. Without the chow you’re swinging at bad pitches. We still need to be searching for signs of gamefish presence; a slick, that flip a menhaden makes when its buddy just got slurped, a lone pelican sitting in the middle of nowhere, a few gulls hovering over a shallow flat that looks to be totally void of activity. All of these can be signs of day-changing fish activity.
Just this past week I had one of my fishing club members out for a morning of fishing. Tides were slack and winds light. For the past two days we had struggled to find any real numbers of quality trout. We had fished a bunch of water and found some good sign but never really got the job done. On this particular day, in an area of heavy traffic, I saw something as we ran outside an area of broken bottom. It was a mullet rocketing out of the water about one hundred yards off to my right. Yes, at age fifty I can still see a five inch mullet that far.
I have seen this many times; it is the reaction of baitfish when a much larger predator blows through the area. Schooling reds are notorious for this. Howard Brown taught me twenty-five years ago in California Hole looking for redfish. He sounded like Lieutenant Dan in the movie Forest Gump when they were looking for shrimp. ”Over there, over there my boy, that’s where we’ll find ‘em.” His voice rings clear in my ears to this day.
After easing to a stop seventy-five yards upwind we made a slow wade into the area of activity. Within minutes I had a five-pound-plus trout in hand and not too many casts later Ralph had one of equal size clipped on his Boga. For the next hour we probed the edges of the larger potholes and small grass beds catching eight more fish over the four and a half mark. All were released and we made only a few hasty photographs due to the extreme heat and desire to send them swimming again in good shape. I had fished this same area many times over the past two or three months without much success.
Did the fish just suddenly show or did I clear my mind of all distraction and finally get back to fishing? I tend to be of the opinion that we make our own luck and it would safe to say that luck played little if any role. It was looking for what you know to look for and recognizing it when it appears. I’m going to get back to fishing and I’m done worrying about everything else.
May your fishing always be catching!
Baffin, by the way, has been wonderful to me this year but I fear the pressure being exerted on this system will prove to be too much if we continue the over-harvest of both trout and redfish.
I promote catch and release wholeheartedly to the anglers I take to this system and restrict those wishing to keep fish to no more than five per day including redfish. Everyone else can do what they want but don’t point the finger my way when the gig goes sour. For too long I was a kill guide and what a poor example I have been to so many. I’ll step off the soap box now and get back to this month’s topic which is trying to catch fish in the toughest of times.
I became a victim of making excuses as to why I was unable to put my clients on the numbers of quality trout that we have become accustom to catching. Sure, conditions have been tough; the truth, though, is that we still have some really good fish roaming these bays. Very smart fish, fish that are responsible for replenishing the population when outside forces get out of control. Nature finds a way to create opportunities that will continue to allow them to survive. No real scientific background for me except that I continue to see our fish patterns changing from season to season. Slowly they adapt to the changing environment around them if they cannot leave it. Give them a kitchen pass to greener pastures and they will surely punch the clock one last time.
After about two months of honestly struggling from day to day on the trout catching end of my job, I decided to start over. I removed most all of my old photos from my tackle room. The trash can was too small for some of the larger photo collages I had built for seminars so they remain but, all the others have gone to the boys or guide buddies of mine that were in the photos with me. I was living in the past by having these things surrounding me. I needed to start over, so I did. No doubt I still use my knowledge of thirty-plus years but I have tried to let my eyes and mind guide me. Fishy-looking areas should never be overlooked no matter how many times you have struck out on them. Fastball hitters don’t layoff off fast balls after a few strikeouts.
Lessons gained fishing the Upper Laguna and Baffin areas have been great retuning tools for me this year. I have had to depend on my basic fish-finding skills. Even though this area is really hot right now, they are not everywhere and they still don’t eat every day. OK, I do have a handful of the best guides as friends, and yes, Rowsey, Loomis, Webb, Hornsby and Akin give me heads up on patterns but they force me to find the fish on my own. I think they know that is the way one truly learns.
Back home I have started leaving the dock each morning with my mind clear and eyes open. We still need to seek the preferred structure for each bay system given the seasonal conditions. Bait is always a major player in this. Without the chow you’re swinging at bad pitches. We still need to be searching for signs of gamefish presence; a slick, that flip a menhaden makes when its buddy just got slurped, a lone pelican sitting in the middle of nowhere, a few gulls hovering over a shallow flat that looks to be totally void of activity. All of these can be signs of day-changing fish activity.
Just this past week I had one of my fishing club members out for a morning of fishing. Tides were slack and winds light. For the past two days we had struggled to find any real numbers of quality trout. We had fished a bunch of water and found some good sign but never really got the job done. On this particular day, in an area of heavy traffic, I saw something as we ran outside an area of broken bottom. It was a mullet rocketing out of the water about one hundred yards off to my right. Yes, at age fifty I can still see a five inch mullet that far.
I have seen this many times; it is the reaction of baitfish when a much larger predator blows through the area. Schooling reds are notorious for this. Howard Brown taught me twenty-five years ago in California Hole looking for redfish. He sounded like Lieutenant Dan in the movie Forest Gump when they were looking for shrimp. ”Over there, over there my boy, that’s where we’ll find ‘em.” His voice rings clear in my ears to this day.
After easing to a stop seventy-five yards upwind we made a slow wade into the area of activity. Within minutes I had a five-pound-plus trout in hand and not too many casts later Ralph had one of equal size clipped on his Boga. For the next hour we probed the edges of the larger potholes and small grass beds catching eight more fish over the four and a half mark. All were released and we made only a few hasty photographs due to the extreme heat and desire to send them swimming again in good shape. I had fished this same area many times over the past two or three months without much success.
Did the fish just suddenly show or did I clear my mind of all distraction and finally get back to fishing? I tend to be of the opinion that we make our own luck and it would safe to say that luck played little if any role. It was looking for what you know to look for and recognizing it when it appears. I’m going to get back to fishing and I’m done worrying about everything else.
May your fishing always be catching!