Catching Is Never A Given

One day this past week we caught some very solid trout on one specific

lure and they would not hit anything else.That has seldom if ever been

my experience when trying to dupe saltwater fish with a piece of plastic.

When I decided to switch gears and guide on Sabine Lake rather than

Toledo Bend, I foolishly believed that my investment in everything from

boat to tackle would be far less.In looking back to 1982, that

assumption was reasonably accurate at the time.

I would no longer need to carry a dozen rods, eight tackle boxes and

dozens of plastic bags filled with everything from crankbaits to soft

plastics in a plethora of colors. Bay boats were far cheaper than the

bass boat I was running and even troll motors and depth finders were

more of a luxury than a necessity.

Because redfish, trout and flounder are not nearly as aggressive or even

as curious for that matter, there would be no need to fill every storage

compartment with lures.As matter of fact, if you had a few spoons and

plastic grubs in white-pink tail, chartreuse and a dark color of

choice….you were adequately equipped.

Before I could even buy my first bay boat, however, saltwater fishing

was starting to evolve.Local bass fishermen frustrated by a tough bite

on Rayburn that was yielding only small fish and higher gas prices,

opted to stay home and test local waters.

Virtually overnight, drifting the Causeway reefs in Sabine Lake for

larger trout caught fire and converted bass fishermen introduced the

plastic worm as a better way exploit the deep shell.That instantly

translated to more colors and different lengths.Some innovative angler

soon discovered that trout would occasionally fall for the same topwater

lures and crankbaits that the bass liked and I suddenly found myself

back digging through my bass tackle as much as ever before!

There is no doubt that a serious bass fisherman has to carry a broader

array of tackle to consistently catch fish for several reasons. Most

importantly of all, he or she is dealing with a fish that does not

depend on tide changes or the migration of a specific food source to

investigate a fake meal.

Every rod is a tool designed to best exploit a specific technique and

lures are designed to more closely mimic the actions of a certain bait

fish.Lure size, color, and design are all critical factors.

Thankfully, the three saltwater fish we pursue the most are not that

picky when the feeding bell goes off.At least that has been my

experience until the trip last week.

I don’t think it is a reach to guesstimate, however, that eighty percent

of the lures and different colors I carry are carried out of

self-defense. It is the kiss of death to be relegated to spectator

status while anglers a short distance away catch fish after fish on a

color or lure you don’t have on board!

In this instance it was a crankbait that proved to be a game changer.We

were determined to stay in one small area based on a report from the

previous day, but our morning consisted of nothing but wasted casts.

Enter a Sexy Shad crankbait that would dive between ten and twelve feet

on twelve pound monofilament.I had already tried everything from Traps

to Swimming Images when Darwin dug out the deep diving crankbait.

After we quickly boxed two limits of trout in the two to three pound

class, we tried other lures just to see if the fish were really that

picky.They were!

Over the next hour or so we would occasionally pick the crankbait back

up and they continued to hit it when they would hit nothing else.I don’t

know if it was the depth, color, size or all three, but we continued to

catch fish on that one lure.

Once again, I spent most of the afternoon robbing a tackle box full of

“just the right” crankbaits.Tomorrow they’ll want a plastic tail!

The Upper Coast Kayak Anglers will host the first of a series of Kayak

tournaments out of the S.A.L.T. Club this Saturday.

This is a single redfish event, but that one redfish could prove to be

very valuable.Not only will the winning fish possibly qualify for any

one of several different categories, but it will also earn some angler a

good start for angler of the year.The AOY will win a Hobie Kayak, H&H

rod and reel combination and a Yeti Hard Haul cooler.

For more information contact Brent Louviere at 409-550-6363.