TxGator

oufaninks, I would like to thank you as well. I have been Henry and Shanes captain the last couple of years. Unfortunatly I am now having to work out of town. Looks like you had them on some nice fish. Gator

The boys fished the high school tournament saturday. We caught 30 or 35 fish, 20 of which came from a small area in 12' of water. Of those 20, only 4 were keepers and barely legal at that. But having 4 in the box by 8:30 was nice. Moved to another area and began picking up a couple of better ones but they were scattered and hugging real tight to cover in 7' or so. They got their 5th fish, and I had to release a 3.5-4# since I had caught it. (I threw up in a hole they had already fished.) Water temps were 62-65 through out the day, water clarity was pretty stained. I think all our fish came off worms and brush hogs. G

Hey Don, do those 1198's come with memory chips just drippin with Rayburn information. If so, I might have to try and talk my wife into it. Gator

Soon as hunting season is over I need to get up there. Gotta try to find the boys some fish for the high school tournament. I do not normally fish this time of year, so its gonna be a challenge. Gator

Had a good time sat seeing new water even though we didn't catch much. Maybe next time. Thanks to fanatic for organizing this and I hope next time we have a bigger turnout. Just goes to show you another one of the differences between Rayburn and Toledo. Was catching in 12 to 15 on rayburn and they caught in 25 on Toledo.

Looks like Henry and I are in. Where is the launch gonna be and what's a fruit jar?

T rig with a small weight was working great this weekend. Caught my best on it a 8#, along with a 6, 2 almost 4 and one almost 5. Most of the fish were on the fluke fished just like this, a couple were on wacky worms. Didnt try it rigged any other way so im not sure if it was just the bait working, or the way we had it rigged. G

It was definitely my best day on the water as far as big fish goes. We've caught more fish overall but not of that quality. Guess the stars just lined up right or maybe we found where they dumped the McDonalds fish lol. The 8 had a red hook in its jaw, I guess who ever had stuck her didn't tie a good knot. The hook looked to be in new condition so I assume that it had happened pretty recently. I've got it stuck in my hat, its my new good luck charm. G

Yesterday was a good day. My father in law and I fished from sunup to about 1. Had 2 just under 4#, one just under 5#, a 6#, and my new best a 8#. On flukes mainly but a couple on wacky. Couldnt get a strike on anything else. I did see a couple swim around my top water lure, but wouldnt strike. Caught a few other fish that were too small and a couple that were barely legal. They all came from 10 - 12' on points. G

Dude, Im thinking ya got something messed up. You asked: He answered: You must not have understood his answer: He clarified further: You copped an attititude: Catt was trying to help, and if you have read his posts you will start to understand that he knows what hes talking about. We are extremly lucky to have folks on here that are willing to share their knowledge and experience with us. G

You might try reading the Toledo thread in the central section. There is a lot of information on this topic there. It might not be focus on the lakes you fish, but the principles should be the same. G

And dont be afraid to drop anchor. G

1500 should be fine. Id spend the extra for 4x4 maybe, but you dont need the bigger truck. Ive pulled my tractor many miles with my 150 with the 5.4 engine. It weighs about 7000# with trailer. You definitly have a load in the hills but it does just fine. Definitly want the towing package with the trans cooler though. G

Catt, and others too, I keep reading and folks that I know are telling me that I need to join a club. They say I will learn a lot and get a lot out of it. Whats yalls opinion of this. To be perfectly honest I stink at finding fish, though I can usually catch them if I know where to go. Do yall know of any local clubs that I might should look at. Im not really interested in fishing for big money, though I wouldnt mind a reasonable entry fee or club dues or whatever. I have a solid safe boat, though shes not pretty or fast. So I could be a boater, but I think I might learn more as a non boater. Would prefer the club focus on rayburn and Toledo, and I goess it could be anywhere between Beaumont and Lake Charles, Im pretty centrally located in Bridge City. Any advice would be appreciated. G

Good luck, Im the boat capt for Henry BTW. As they said practice all you can. Get out in the yard and cast a lot trying to hit a pie pan or some target. Being able to control your casts will help tremendously. Stand on something about a foot taller than your surroundings if possible to simulate being on the elevated deck of the boat. You dont want to waste time having to get your baits out of the bushes and scare off the fish in the area while your doing it. Also, as they said, do your homework. Try finding the lures that others are having success with and stick with them once your out in the field. Its easy to spend a ton of time trying this and that when you were on the right track at the begining. Again this is wasted time. Have confidence in your lure. One other thing that we always did was to discuss the day afterwards. What went right and what went wrong. Then we could focus on improving the areas that needed improving. Good luck. Ohh and one other thing. Donut Sticks, very important. You can grab a bite when your moving between spots. G