Lake Braunig 5-2

[da_karr]

Sorry for the couple days late report, but here ya go:

Made it to Braunig Saturday morning around 630am. Quickly got unloaded and was off and fishing before the sun was coming up. Temps were kinda chilly to start the day..Not sure of the exact temp, but it was probably mid 60's and there was very little wind at all. I get to trolling the dam wall with a rat-l-trap and a 4-6' diving crank, and pick up a less than 18" red within the first 20 mins or so, off the rat-l-trap. I make my way over to the back side of the jetty and land another 2, 18" reds. Come 830-9am the lake becomes alive with more boats and kayaks than I have ever seen out there, possibly anywhere for that matter. Tons of people all over the place, guys test driving boats that apparently have never driven a boat before, fleets of yaks everywhere. I decide to make my way over to dead tree and I hook another 18" red off the point. Before I can even get the fish in the yak, the bucket brigade fishing the point from land, are out in their little dinghy moving their lines out further, literally right next to where I had just caught this fish. I move on and come back by with another troll and hook another red..same thing happens. The guys send their kids out in the dinghy to move their lines out even further. I know we all have the right to fish, and them fishing doesnt bother me at all, I just thought it was rather absurd to keep moving the lines further and further out because you saw a guy, in a kayak, land a fish 100 yards from shore. Oh well, it was it is. Ended the day around 1030 am with 5 smallish reds, 2 caught on crank, 2 on trap, and 1 on a silver spoon. It was a quick, but fun trip. It warmed up quite nicely, quickly too. Good weather is upon us!! Im trying to take advantage of this weather as much as possible before it gets hot as Haiti out there!!

Have a great week, everyone!!

Daniel

[boerne.newbie]

Nice report bud. I wonder how the lake is during weekdays. I haven't been there in many years, I have heard it and Calavaras are loaded with jackwagons everywhere

[JMS]

Good report, thinking of heading to Braunig or Calivarious on Monday

[Sinbad]

Good report. I went to Lake Braunig about 2-3 weeks ago... trolled the dam wall with a rattle trap and a crank bait. Ended up catching 3 reds (17-19 inches) all on the crankbait. I think my rattletrap was too big 3/4oz. I picked up a smaller one 1/2 oz. recently I'll try next time.

I know what you mean about the bucket brigade. I stayed well beyond their range and had a hookup I lost and gave a shrugged shoulder gesture as they looked on.... didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from their glares. Must be a territorial thing.

[da_karr]

I use the academy brand Rattle trap and I think the ones I typically use are 5/8oz.. I could be wrong though. Ill check when I get home. I mix it up between the cranks though. Ill use different ones for different locations. Ive caught some nice hybrids on a deep diving crank out off Dead Tree before. I kinda like bumping that bigger rattletrap along the bottom in 8-10 feet of water. I do get hung up some, but I can typically get unhung pretty easily. Be sure to keep the drag loose if you do go troll, I've caught some big reds trolling, and they can easily rip your rod out of your rod holder!!

[Sinbad]

I've been tempted to use some of those Academy rattle traps. Think I'm going to buy me a couple. The day I went I was using a rebel floater shad crank bait that caught my 3 rat reds. Lime green back white underbelly. . Sure would love to hang into one of the big ones. I'll make sure to keep my drag plenty loose.

Hopefully there will be some good weather coming up!

[da_karr]

I use a lot of the academy brand (h2o express) lures. They are considerably cheaper, and Ive never had any issues with the hooks or anything. A lot of times you can get them on sale too..I picked up a dozen or so a couple weeks ago for 1.99 a pop..not a bad price. I usually use a silver one of some sort and I also like any of the shad imitation colors. Shad are abundant in those lakes, so you can never go wrong with that. I also have used the Storm Swim shad also. Those seem to be a good option as well..