A good day on the Llano

In my last post I said we were going to Mason again to fish the Llano, however, as we drove, we saw storms building out that way.  So we stopped by our favorite lake on the Llano: The upper lake in the city of Llano.

Me paddling backwards to try to stay off the bank while fishing.

When we got there it was very breezy and the temptation was to stay in the calmer water on south side of the lake.  But after 15 minutes of fishing, I realized that the fish weren't going to be there because of the limited bait fish population.  I was not seeing any bait fish jumping when they saw my spinner bait coming. This is one way I tell where to fish.  No bait fish means no big fish. I have a little saying I tell my wife: Bait fish mean big fish and big fish bite!    Yeah, its lame... she usually smiles and agrees.  :-P

So, I switched course and barreled for the other side of the lake.

Fishing high water - Pain in the neck!

OK, so trying to fish in high water is just unpleasant.  Last weekend we went fishing where the James River joins the Llano river near Mason.  The water was high and the current was relatively strong.   The Llano was still muddy over a week from the last rain but the James River was relatively clear.

Confluence of the James River and the Llano river.  Where Sarah was sitting was in the Llano, where I was sitting it was in the James River.  One was muddy and the other not.  You can see a line between our kayaks where the current changed.

The main problem was that the fish had about 6 times as much area as they usually had.  This meant the fish were very spread out.  In spite of that, we still caught a couple fish - one being a white bass of all things.  Needless to say, it was a tad frustrating.

Life as we know it

Some of you may have heard or seen hints at the change in our lives lately.  For about 10 months now, my wife and I have lived in a 5th wheel RV full time.  We rented out the house and have been staying nearby on a RV pad near my parents.

Proud new owners before we lost 10% for driving it off the lot!

Sarcastic picture comments aside, we are thrilled with our RV.  Even after almost a year, we are still enjoying it and we haven't even taken it anywhere!  Yes, we have been stuck in place due to various circumstances that keep us from spending GAS.  Yes, that truck is NOT a diesel and I'm sure you're aware that diesel trucks get better fuel mileage per gallon.  That beast there gets about 6-8 under tow. Yes, pulling it around means filling the tank *A LOT*.

So, we haven't gone anywhere yet.

Responsible fishing during and after a drought

Many of us anglers in Central Texas are bemoaning the fact that all of our rivers and lakes are flooded and muddy right now.  While you may be tempted to complain, remember that without rain we wouldn't have fish to catch.

Not long ago, well... maybe 3 years ago, my wife and I hiked up the North Fork of the San Gabriel from county road 202.  Yes, I said "up".  Try that now... and have fun with that.  At the time, it was at the peak of the drought and all I managed to catch was a small, very hungry catfish.  The pools were so low that I presume most of the adult bass were dead from starvation or had been eaten by coons. It was a sad state of affairs.

Buzz Baits

This is from a review I did for the Booyah Buzz bait that I did on Amazon recently (with some modifications). It adds some detail to how to do what I did in the last article.  ENJOY!

The Booyah Buzz bait is an excellent lure.  I use them all the time and catch many large fish on them. The extra interference blade makes good noise at fairly slow speeds.

In my experience the buzz bait is often misunderstood so I am writing this review to help others learn how to use it.

NOTE:  This is a top water bait.  While allowing this bait to settle for 1 second during retrieve, it should be fished on top of the water. If you want to fish something comparable below the surface, use a spinner bait.

Where to fish:

- Around and over structure.

- Over or near weed beds.

- Places I've fished in Central Texas:  

--- Lake Waco in standing timber.

--- Stillhouse Hollow Lake in standing timber

--- Llano River at Llano and Mason

--- Colorado River (Lakes, river, etc)

--- San Gabriel river at Hwy 29 crossing.

When to fish buzz baits:

- Any time the water is relatively smooth though this is not a hard and fast rule - the water has to be calm enough for the buzz bait to be louder than the surrounding water.
- Any time the fish are active.

- Spring to early summer.

- Late summer to late fall.

- During summer at night and - 15 minutes before dawn to 30 minutes after and same for sunset.

- Whenever bait fish are active.

- When water temperature is as close to 70 as possible (active bait fish is more important than temperature!).

Colors and methods:

- White, Yellow, Chartreuse during the day, Black at night or around sunset (think silhouette).

- Cast and *steady* retrieve with lure just barely on surface making a blurping/squeaking noise.

----Not so slow that you can't hear it or see a splash.

----Not so fast that it sounds like a motorboat.

----Make it "talk" to you.

- Be prepared to cast 20-30 times between fish but if you cast 50 times at good spots without catching anything, try a different color or another lure entirely.

- Sometimes it's every 3rd cast but those days are usually only once or twice a year (if you fish once a week.)

- If you know the fish are biting and you've seen a fish jump, don't stop trying a particular structure till you've cast a good 20 times from different angles.

- Use a kayak to sneak up on fish - this is like hunting! The fish can see and hear you way more than you think!

- From a boat: cast the bait so it lands almost on shore (within 6 inches!) and then make every effort to instantly get the blades moving at the same pace for at least the first 20ft from shore.  If you are in a kayak, keep it going all the way to the boat.  Cast in areas where there is underwater structure or between weed beds.  A log in the middle of the river or standing timber in a lake is *prime* territory.

- From Shore:  Cast out 30-40ft and bring your bait in guiding it through weeds, etc so that it takes a path that brings as close to shore as possible before you pull it out. Look for underwater brush or weeds to cast over.  Cast past them if possible and pull lure at a steady pace as close to the structure/weeds as possible.

- Remember: the warmer or colder the water is from 70 degrees, the less likely the fish will bite so you *MUST* get the lure right in front of them.
--- If the temperature is right fish will come from long distances to get your buzz bait.

--- When the temp is off, a buzz bait will often elicit a response when other baits do not.

--- Likewise, the buzz bait can scare fish if they are completely not in the mood or if you land the lure on top of their head. This is why it is imperative to land the lure as close to shore as possible if there is no obvious structure (or keep it going to shore). 

What to expect from the fish:

- It's rare to have a fish "slurp" a buzzbait.

- The reaction is often violent and "setting the hook" isn't necessary.

- Often have fish literally blow the bait out of the water and not get hooked.

--- Remember this if you kayak fish and it blows it out of the water right next to your boat. I will not be responsible for your loss of tackle because you fell overboard!  :-)

- Drawback is that there is only one hook so keep your line tight while fighting the fish!

- Use trailing hooks to increase your odds of hooking a fish and keeping it hooked.

My experience is that Boohyah buzz baits are some of the best. These with the extra interference blade make the noise nearly perfect.  Have caught many large bass on this buzzbait.

There are other brands like those from Strike King that are decent too. Most recently used is "Strike King Premier Plus Buzzbait - The Double Take" which has two blades (see my Amazon review on it).  Other than this, I don't think anyone else has a buzzbait that makes more noise that this Booyah buzzbait.  The Strike King miniature buzz baits are real nice for those times when the big baits are too big. Have caught way more bass on the small ones than the big ones.

In retrospect, I recommend the 3/8's ounce vs. the 1/2 ounce.  At 6-7 inches long, the 1/2 oz seems too big to me.  Maybe I'll catch something on them but I haven't yet (used one trip).  Go with the 3/8's.  Have caught several large bass on them this spring (4lb +).

Tight lines,

VanVortex  (HCFR)