A little carp and buff action

Headed over to a different spot on Grapevine,one by Scott's landing marina, and carp fished for a few hours. It started out really slow but the fish finally turned on around 3 and I started catching a few. I stayed until 5 and landed 3 buffs, 2 carp, and a little baby channel cat. Most of them came on Banana maize on a regular hair rig.

I really love my new stuff, the Mat, Weigh sling, Net, Korda Krusha, and some other random things. The Net works great, I really liked having a bigger net width letting me be able to land fish easier. I fished for about 4 hours and didn't do great, but I finally got into some before I left. Today was also the first time I experimented with canned tuna in my method. I think that made the difference, even if it was only 1 can in a 2.5 gallon bucket. I'm planning on going back if it's not raining that much tomorrow. If it is, I might end up crappie fishing in a friend'd boat slip. Hope they are biting!

Surface action!

Surface bass action is heating up! Fished the Creek and the Library today. It was really windy but I ended up finding some fish inside open pockets in thick hydrilla mats.
I found some little greenies and longears in the creek. Water was clearer but a lot cooler.

When I headed over to the Library the wind had picked up a lot. I was throwing a white Booglebug popper on my 4wt and the wind was hard to handle with a light rod like this. I needed a 5wt, it's been too long without the clouser in action! I need that new line soon!

I jaw jacked a few bass with the Booglebug. They like this thing!

Might have a chance on getting in on some sandbass and striper action tomorrow. Also might go back and finish what I started on Ray Roberts last weekend.

Pond hopping

Went to a few ponds around Coppell with Jonathan today. We got into some nice bluegill on the fly. Popper and dropper time finally!

I still don't understand why something this small will eat a fly almost its own size.

Jono with a nice bluegill.

The panfishing is really heating up. Grab a light rod and get at them!

Updates are complete

Well, changes are complete FINALLY! It took me 2 days to get it exactly like I wanted it and now it's live. Check it out! New stuff coming to the sidebars and other cool stuff coming soon. I WILL create a facebook page for the blog really soon and it'll be up in the next few hours. I'll give you a tour of the new layout.

-New background! Bassy looking scales, a really simple theme.
-New color scheme- green and orange.
-New fonts!
-New posts background, off white isn't too bright. Easy on the eyes.
-New Blogroll- in progress, adding more and culling some I don't think anyone really looks for on the sidebars.
-New posts per page number: I moved it down to 7 for faster loading
-NEW PAGES! The webstore will be coming soon.
And Finally
-New content! I'm trying to bring on the better pics, more video footage and audio stuff, kayak vids, tournament writeups and more.

So, I want to hear some feedback. Do you guys like it? Think it needs something? Can you help me make it better? feel free to comment or email me. Your opinion counts!

Well, Enjoy the blog!

Forgotten waters

We all have them, some water body you have been meaning to fish again back when you used to fish it, It was slowly forgotten. The banks weathered, fish came and gone, and you went on fishing where you've explored newer and better waters. But those forgotten waters still lurk, staying under the radar but still producing fish. You remember some days and want to take a trip out there, wondering if it's the same as it used to be. Results can be surprising, sometimes you'll find some really great fishing, making you wonder why you ever stopped fishing the place. On the other hand, you can come upon a bust, trash filled banks, stunted fish, and undesirable species. That's the lure of forgotten waters, the memories of how things used to be and what they've come to be after time has passed.

I fished one of those waters today.Two small ponds that I used to fish frequently back 4 or 5 years ago. Those places are still ok, not really as they were at their best but I did pretty damned good for being out of the game here for so long. I caught on a size 12 blue Theo's bomber on my 2wt.

Got a few nice gills. The others were average but this one was a chunk.

Nice little bass. I was pleasantly surprised.

So, remember back a few years. Go fish those forgotten waters you've been meaning to hit. Who knows? You could have a chance at some really great fishing you've been missing out on.

Crappie day

Went to the Coppell Duck Pond after a black bullhead for the multispecies. I ended up getting one so I started fishing my 2wt casting around a shallow cover filled area in the canal part of the pond. I got a hit. Crappie! I ended up with several crappie, a bluegill, and 2 bullheads. Now that i've dialed into the crappie here I really should fish this place more! I caught most of the crappie on a blue Theo's bomber (www.millersflyshop.com) and a Shwapf tied with gold Flashabou.

I also got a bass a little over 2lbs, could've been the water body record but I released it. I'll let someone else get it.

Black bullhead. Yuck!

Baby crappie

Nice little extremely high backed bluegill.

I found a place to get my Boga certified in Pottsboro so i'm getting it recertified Saturday!

The Unforgettable fire

From the TFF
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/6111646/Re_The_Unforgettable_Fire#Post6111646

The wildfires from PK lake, April 2011

Here's a news release. Check it out. If you haven't seen the news. Those wildfires are finally starting to get under control

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7536762.html

Changes are coming!

Well, not dramatic. I'm getting really tired of the layout of the blog. I already got rid of that stupid wibiya toolbar at the bottom of the screen because it annoyed me. I'm going to try to make everything a bit more slimmed down, a cleaner look to the blog. Different background for sure, new content in the sidebars. It's gonna be a change for the better.

Ok ok I'll give you something else to look at.

Happy Easter! Hope you guys had a great time.

I tried Texoma today, really just a "Lets see if that fishfinder will work" trip for the newly returned fishfinder/GPS for the Diablo. I made 5 casts and caught nothing. No, the 385ci did NOT work. I can see the lake level is a little higher. That rain helped already!

A few days ago I took a trip to the Trinity in the Emotion. saw a lot of wildlife, including beavers, nutria, turtles, snakes, lizards, a raccoon, and a few herons. No fish, didn't even see any. I went to the pond above the launch site to finish the day and got a little Largemouth.

Yak rigged out.

Little bass

On Thursday I took the bike out to the Library canal. Caught a few greenies, bass, and a few nice bluegill.

Pretty good fight on my 4wt.

Well, stay tuned for more new content!

Bassin' before the storm

Shannon and I hit Ray Roberts for bass today. See his post for what happened here yesterday.

Topwater fishing! All of it was topwater yesterday, but today, well...

Today was different. The fish were kind of jumbled up from the passing storms in the area, which are severe. Keyword- SEVERE! Shannon said "I might have to drop out on you for this trip, I see black clouds" and I immediately replied that the fish would be ON and the bite could have potential to be phenomenal! 

When I showed up, I knew the weather was going to get weird. It seemed really really quiet and the sky was dark. Shannon and I started bass fishing. I threw a favorite, a red/yellow popper on my Sage Largemouth. I picked up a nice bass pretty early on the trip 

Shannon then got another and we missed a few fish. Shannon also broke off a big gar!

And then the severe storms came in and we got out of there quickly. Didn't want to be caught in this!

Well, I got back in the car with Grandpa. I witnessed this on the way back from the lake.  Tornado!

Sasquatch Gills

I hopped on the bike, grabbed my 4wt Loomis, and went after bluegill today. I started out at the drain. Immediately, I saw something that didn't belong. What? That's a talapia! I saw a friggin talapia sitting in the shallows. What's weird here is the Drain hasn't been stocked with talapia sine 2009. This fish had to have survived every winter since the last stocking, which would be almost impossible! It was around 3lbs and I could not hook it no matter what I tried to drift by it's face. I gave up and caught a nice Gill and a  Huge piggo greenie before I got back on the bike and went somewhere else.

Nice 8 incher

Next I headed over to a favorite spot, the canal between the Library and Andy Brown. First cast I hooked a nice gill on a Briminator tied on a 1/100th oz jig .

Cast 2 produced the exact same result.

it happened again

and again

Oh, here's a greenie. Check out the weird proportions!

Back to gillzillas

Gill, Gill, Gill, Gill...

A few nice bass were mixed in.

And a few not so nice bass. Pretty little things, just no size to them.

Back to gills again.

And a bass

I changed to a pink brimkiller and caught a few greenies and a few gills.

Gill

I caught a ton! A few of them were 10 inchers and even an 11.5inch gill mixed in. I later on switched to a hopper/dropper and caught a few. Also my friend Ron showed up with a little fiberglass spinning stick(Fenwick I think) and caught a few nice bluegill and a few bass on worms. We had a great day, well worth the trip out!

The Cliffs on Earth Day

I fished a 3 hour session today and got into some really nice buffs at the Island swim at the cliffs. Most of them came on strawberry flavored method on bolt rigs.
Ended up with 3 buffs, a little common, and a spotted bass.

Biggest was this 21-4 buff on a fruity plum pop up. Favorite. Bait. Ever.

"Swirly" the 12lb Helix buff on the fruity plum pop up.

8 or 9lb buff on Banana maize

Little common on Banana maize

Had a rosehip boilie and a drilled range cube out also but lost a few fish on each.

Oh, Happy Earth day! It was really nice outside today, especially after the sun went down and the wind died!

I've been bigmouthed(again)

Return of an old(Not that old) friend today. I went to the secret spot after more floodwater carp, but sadly the floodwaters receded and the water level was a mere 8 inches above normal. The fish were still there though, so I casted out a Carprunner.Well, it worked. I had something pick it up on the 3rd cast and it went flying out on a blistering run. Carp maybe? I kept fighting it and it showed it's face to me. Again, little buff? I've been bigmouthed again...

Me again, little bigmouth buffalo? 

If you haven't caught on yet yes it's the same exact Bigmouth Buffalo I got a few weeks ago. On the fly this time! At first I really didn't know what to make of it but I reviewed the pics and it's the same fish.

Next was a little baby Smallmouth buff. Fun on the fly!

I pestered the carp for a while but they were in full spawn mode today and weren't interested in anything. I ended up just leaving. I made a few casts at the Drain on the way back. Hooked into a nice Largemouth.

Pretty good day I think. In only an hour and a half I picked up 3. Not bad.

Floodwater carping!

We had a bunch of rain today, like an inch in 30 minutes. I sat in the shed for a long time waiting for it to stop, daydreaming of what was to come. I was ready for this. I saw what I missed last time and I wasn't missing it again! The rain/hail finally cleared and I headed over to the secret spot. Bingo!

Floodwater carping

I walked down right as the drainage water started flowing out hard. The spot was rising an inch every minute for a while. I saw my little bank spot go under then the water creeped up the bank. Slowly but surely I started seeing orange and grey flags emerge from the brown muddy water. The carp and buffs decided to join in!

Carp time means Carp Runner time!

I'll cut to the results. I fished for about an hour and had 6 eats from carp, 2 hookups, and none landed. I hooked 4 buffalo, fought 2 in, and landed 1. I'm planning on going back with Jonathan this afternoon, the water was so mucked up you couldn't make out the carp's heads, just their tail and maybe an inch underwater after that. It was seriously hard fishing because the fish were so shallow and moved so fast, but the challenge is the point of going right?

Carp Runner buff!

Right when the river started to rise everything showed up. Shad schooled up, flickering on the surface. Gar started surfacing. Buffs and carp started to tail and feed heavily. I saw a few gigantic splashes from schooling fish that had to be hybrid stripers or magnum sandbass. Several large schools of minnows showed up. It's almost like the flow brings everything up out of hiding to feed. I've seen this below dams, but never in just an open river. When it topped out at 2 feet above normal, the grass flooded along the bank was the new food source for the carp, and really no casting was involved, just flicking the rod up to 5 feet in front of you, staying extremely quiet, and a whole lot of guesswork.