Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Went out to chocolate bayou today before work. Had some car trouble right before I got there so didn’t make it on the water until 8 am. Wind SSW 10 mph. Tide was highest I’ve seen it there before. Incoming. Water clarity: a foot maybe. Fished from 8-11:30. Baitfish schools EVERYWHERE the entire time. No matter where I paddled giant schools of tiny menhaden? Pretty sure. Could be wrong. I looked up bait fish species when I got back home and it’s the only conclusion I could come to. I was throwing a tandem rig weedless black/chartreuse dsl w/ a white gulp swimming mullet. As well as a red/white hogie paddle tail and bone super spook. Early I had what I think was a tiny trout on, but he got off before I could pull him in. I saw reds and trout busting bait up the whole time. Trout jumping out of the water. Reds cruising around. Even saw a sheepshead dart into a big school less than a foot away from me. Couldn’t get them to bite any of my lures though. I feel like if I would’ve had a roadrunner spinner with me I could’ve gotten ‘em to bite. But I packed extremely light this trip. Lesson learned. I’m going to have all sizes of lures handy next time to increase my chances. Skunked but still happy I was able to get out. And Monday morning. Had the water to myself!
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Texas saltwater fishing magazine had an article on this very topic. Abundance of bait, once you find the fish the challenge is making them bite. They suggest matching the hatch as closely as possible, but you have to figure out which bait they are eating out of the smorgasbord available to them.
- WoodsWaterSky
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
I saw the same thing Saturday. The little menhaden were everywhere. Fish blowing up the water here, there, all over. I tried on a Kden Blazing Shad ( Ice color) and yanked out a 20 1/2 red immediately. CPRd it and hept chasing the blowups. 2nd fish caught was a 17 1/2" flounder (on the Ice). When I dipped it outta the water with the net I also scooped up about a dozen of the small menhaden too. They were so abundant that right before my bait hit the water they would scatter making it look like shattering glass. I managed 2 slot reds, 3 flounder, and a 4 foot gar, all caught on Kden lures in Ice, Blazing Chicken, and Miss Priss (pink/white/silver flake). Had about a 2ft tide swing that left the water stained after incoming and slowed down the action.
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- WoodsWaterSky
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Sorry, couldn't get photos to attach on previous post.
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
That one red looks like it healed up from a shark bite, birth defect or a prop. injury. Wow.
- WoodsWaterSky
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Yeah, something happened to it early on. Looked like a prop scar. Lots of gators in the area, but a gator would leave scars on two sides, or so I would think. It put up a good fight regardless.shoffer wrote:That one red looks like it healed up from a shark bite, birth defect or a prop. injury. Wow.
Capture.JPG
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
it's not always match the hatch... but yes, when there is that much bait present it's difficult to get strikes. You can try to match the hatch and you can also go opposite.
- WoodsWaterSky
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Re: RE: Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Right. I think sometimes zipping a bait past their nose is enough to get a reaction bite outta them.TroutSupport.com wrote:it's not always match the hatch... but yes, when there is that much bait present it's difficult to get strikes. You can try to match the hatch and you can also go opposite.
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Re: Chocolate Bayou 7/16/18
Great tips, thanks guys!