Pattern Was a Bit Different but One More Fishing Report...

My wife, who is my main fishing partner told me since I was retired and she is still working it was ok if I took someone else fishing if she was not available for the trip. "As long as it's a man," she said, "no women." Today I took her brother, Matt and we had a good catfish bite. 

The day was sunny with just enough wind to keep it from being hot. Water temps were 65-68 degrees which is right in the zone to make most fish species, in this area anyway swim around and say, "what's going on?" Alligator gar, some as long as four feet rolled together in pairs like synchronized swimmers over the cuts and channels of the submerged East Texas bottom land.  

The wind, which is so important when slip corking catfish in the shallows was not blowing right into the weedy pocket in the willows and cypress that had been the hot spot on the last couple of trips. We moved 100 yards down the bank to a point with less cover but there was one weed bed at the lip of a drop from four feet to nine feet and that's where they were. Wind was blowing across the point but a cast with a slip cork rig baited with punch bait right in front of the bed brought quick strikes. 

I've fished this spot so it's not like I found something new but I think it is worth noting that the lake is lower than it has been the past couple of years so some of my usual places are not paying off. 

My dad taught me to fish and one of his great techniques, which works with any species and takes some patience is to find an ambush point. Sit there and let the fish come to you. If it's a good place, like our weed bed on a drop a school of fish will come by. If you catch them all or they get spooked if it's a good enough spot more will soon come to check it out. It's worked for me as long as I can remember holding a fishing pole.          

We fished about 10am to 1pm. Fish were a bit smaller than the last couple of trips with many being males but none under 12 inches and in fact we threw back smaller legal sized fish. Total for the day was 27 channel cat. 

Just for the record since my wife could not go fishing I'll mention that the fishing log shows she caught a 10 pound blue this day two years ago. Log also shows we caught 161 cats that week. We could probably meet those numbers again the way they are biting.