Saturday, April 3, 2010

Spring is alive!

I wanted to call this post "when the water comes alive". But spring can only happen once a year and fish have to eat all year. That's why spring is so special. Everything alive begins the years marathon of feeding, reproducing, resting, and surviving or outlasting all the predators and brutal water temperature and weather. That is a fishes life. And to be present when one of the most visual and impressive yet frustrating happenings goes down is why I love being obsessed with fishing and not other "sports". There is an unknown factor that can be played from the deck when least expected. The unknown today were newly hatched rain minnows.

rain minnows from DeMatt on Vimeo.


Rain minnows to me, is a catch all term for small bait fish that hatch in large numbers that sound like rain drops on the water when spooked by something. These were more than likely small shad. When they moved into the area I was fishing they seemed to push the larger bait fish and mullet out. And in turn the predators started to feed on the most plentiful and easiest prey. Like bulldozers large fish plowed through schools with a purpose. It went like this...cruise, accelerate, strike, swallow, accelerate, strike, swallow, accelerate, strike, swallow, cruise. A lot of fish I saw in the shallower water struck large bait fish schools five or more times before moving down the shore or on to the next school. Although this display is impressive it is also absolutely frustrating. With the presence of so much food the fish are keyed on them. Normal top waters or plugs like the skitter walk and even the small super spook or badonkadonk are too large and loud to get any attention. I have caught fish with 4" glow or white gambler flapping shad on 1/16 jig heads when around frenzy's like this before, but when the flurry was in full swing it was pitch black and there was super gnarly live oyster shell all around in varying depths of 1/2 a foot up to three feet deep. During daylight hours these fish could have been targeted with a weedless, weightless rig and a light wire worm hook rigged on small sluggo type baits. Maybe even an old school speck rig or spoon. I was armed with nothing of the sort. Luckily, I had some action at the beginning of the outgoing on a corky devil and skitter walk.

first of flurry from DeMatt on Vimeo.



It was an amazing evening. For a die hard, walking a quarter mile in waist deep water with a sticky muddy bottom payed off today! With so many houses and people owning land adjacent to water the number of quality spots that are easily accessible by foot are a thing of the past. Especially if you want to be by yourself. You might be able to find a little stream by hiking in the mountains but where I live there are waaaay to many people. Luckily not many are willing to work as hard as me. Maybe smarter(as I curse the walk home). Not harder. Look out when I have the means!

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