Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post Reply
User avatar
shoffer
TKF 1000 Club
TKF 1000 Club
Posts: 1468
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 10:41 am
Location: Bellaire, Texas

Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by shoffer »

We hit Churchill Bayou/SLP yesterday at 2 pm. The winds were about 15 mph sustained from the east/northeast. I fished marsh drains with DownSouth four inch glo white paddletails tipped with Fishbites and/or Procure until 5:30 pm until I could not fight the wind any longer. In a word, skunked. I had one bite all day. Water in the bayou was pretty brown - the protected shorelines in Christmas Bay had better clarity, and that is where I got my one bite. Two other yakkers reported double grand slams in Churchill on this day, but they started out earlier that morning and said there were no bites until the tide started coming in around 9 am.

We headed into G-Town around 6 pm for some supplies and some dinner and then returned to Lake Como around 8 pm for the night bite. The winds died to nothing, just as Windalert said they would. Look at the chart from yesterday:
Capture.JPG
I rigged up some small Berkley Smelt baits (both Powerbait and Gulp variety) on a small jighead that came with the Powerbait version - almost like a crappie jighead), hoping to match the hatch:
Capture1.JPG
I fished it hard until 11:30 pm, trying to stay as stealthy as possible. In short, I managed 6 rat reds (8, 9, 12, 15, 16 and 17 inches). I saw a couple of potential keeper trout in the lights, and a 4-foot gar, but the fish were sparse out there last night. Winter night fishing in the lights is usually hit or miss, so last night, I'd say it was a miss last night.

I am looking forward to mid-April when the trout should return to the lights. This is a screenshot from a mid-April trip I had in 2016 where the glass minnows were getting blasted out of the water by hordes of hungry rascals:
Capture2.JPG
Capture2.JPG (29.09 KiB) Viewed 2541 times
Last edited by shoffer on Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
YakRunabout
Posts: 784
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 10:34 am
Location: Magnolia

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by YakRunabout »

Nice report, Stuart - thanks and congrats on getting out.

isn't the wind such fun?! Especially in open water.
User avatar
kickingback
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5178
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by kickingback »

Great report from the fishing Attorney's! Well done Sir! We'll slay em on the next trip out!
User avatar
Dandydon
TKF 1000 Club
TKF 1000 Club
Posts: 1543
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:26 pm
Location: The Heights, on my bayou

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by Dandydon »

Capt. Shoffer's fishing report gave the exquisite details of our "Double Skunk" trip to Christmas Bay & Lake Como on West Bay. Conditions looked good with north winds below 12 mph & water visibility about 20 inches, but where were the baitfish? I saw only two mullet jump during our daylight hours, and at night only sparse glass minnows circling the underwater lights. Many lights had NO bait or promise. For me lack of baitfish usually leads to few or no gamefish.
After unsuccessfully trolling & casting about 8 different lures, I got bored & anchored up for a patented Dandydon Man-Nap in a dark canal corner. After an hour of slumber I woke up feeling cold & miserable. So I radioed Shoffer & headed back to the launch.
Our skunked St. Patrick's Day trip was emblematic of this 2019 Winter's fishing for me: in a word, "TERRIBLE!"
The incessant high wind, rain, and fresh-water influx have reduced me to on-water kayak Man-Naps! Please wake me up when the saltwater bite picks up again...
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by Ron Mc »

nice report - always good to get out this time of year
mwatson71
Posts: 552
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:03 am
Location: 77005

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by mwatson71 »

I'm going to piggy back Shoffer's report because we were supposed to meet up but communication errors had us fishing different spots. I ended up in Offats Bayou and fished the lights between 8:15p-11:15p. At about 8:30, I managed to land a 19.5" speck and thought to myself, "this is going to be a great night." The unlucky fish was taken using a self-made tandem rig of Tsunami Pro 2" holographic glow swim shad. Shortly thereafter I managed a rat red on the same set up. I switched rods to a silver spoon in the lights hoping to find a slot red but couldn't find any takers. Going back to the tandem rig, I managed another rat red and an undersized speck. I started heading in around 11:00, loaded up, and had my Double Meat Whataburger, Jr. meal in front of me by midnight.

It was low winds, water tasted nice and salty, and there was very little tide movement. The keeper speck was caught under surface lights, the others in underwater lights. A short, easy fishing night. I wish I had managed one or two more keepers, but the one made for a nice lunch on Monday. A five nugget appetizer and a speckled trout Po' Boy.
User avatar
Dandydon
TKF 1000 Club
TKF 1000 Club
Posts: 1543
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:26 pm
Location: The Heights, on my bayou

Re: Double Launch St. Patty's Day Report

Post by Dandydon »

Excellent high-jacked Fishing Report, Watson! You & Shoffer have a way with words & legal specks. I'm the expert on marine Man-Naps. Oh well. Spring has sprung (4:58 pm today!) & the fishing's gotta get better, right?!
Thanks for not disclosing that Shoffer & I met up w/ you in that midnight Whataburger! It's always suspicious when lawyers congregate so damn late... Fishing or lawsuits? We cover the waters.
See you soon. We're hitting Fayette on Friday. Watch for a Fresh Water Report.
IMG_7761.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post Reply