SkeetyCCTX

Boy will she ever! I second that statement about the wife! They think that since they "let" you go fish a tourny, that it gives them the right to demand hard labor out of you the next day/weekend! Also, they are pretty encouraging and positive after you come home empty handed the first couple of times, but after that they start calling you out and questioning your angleing abilities, which if you are like me; really hurts the pride button! These days, my motivation for winning is just to shut her up so she knows that I just aint getting my butt kicked and looseing our money. The thing that sucks for me is that I am in 2nd place overall on the trail that I fish, with finishes of 6th, 6th, and 4th; but have won no money yet since they only pay the top 3 spots! "But honey, Im in the running for angler of the year.....See Im good, really! I promise will be in the money next time.... Maybe my parents will help us make the mortgage untill I get the $$$ for Angler of Year!" (LOL)

Wow!! That is really impressive! Many very good fisherman never have won a tourny and it seems you have won quite a few. I myself am a very savvy angler and I have never won a tourny, though I have only been fishing competitively for the past two years. It is very hard to win a tourny out-right, I know! I am currently sitting in 2nd place overall on the trail I fish here in South Texas. I have finishes of 6th, 6th, and 4th! I am very consistent and always bring in solid limmits. I brought in close to 29 lbs at our Falcon event in late Dec. Last week at Amistad, I brought in about 20 lbs in 30 mph plus winds! I put myself in positions to win almost every event I have fished this year but I always make one or two mistakes that cost me. Most of the time these are mental or managerial mistakes, like not checking to see that everything is in tip top working order on the boat. I have lost a combine 5 hrs of fishing time in the last 3 events due to a blown fuse and a bad hub in my back-up prop! If I could have just have had 1 of those hours back, I know I would have won both events because I only lost by a couple lbs and both times we had to leave fast and furious bites that would have produced a few kicker fish if we had more time. Oh well, I would rather win Angler of the Year anyway! As long as I keep finishing near the top 5 every time I think we should do it. We got 4 events left, two of which are on my home lake of Choke Canyon, and the other two are at my "home away from home" which is Falcon! Bring it on!

Mine too. They get mad when I call it "the Yamamoto crutch" I love senkos and throw them often. However, I also throw Crankbaits, liplesss cranks, T-Tigs, C-Rigs, Drop Shots, Shakey Heads, Spinner baits, buzzbaits, spooks, frogs, jigs, jerkbaits , swimbaits, and everything else under the sun as long as it is artificial! To be a good angler, especialy in Tournys, you have to be able to do everything. Versitile! You are fishing a wide variety of lakes under many different conditions. For example, my trails first tournament was held way down south at Falcon! The temps were in the 80s and winds calm. Then, a month later we go up to Amistad and face a lake and conditions that are completly different. 1st off this lake is the deepest, clearest, rockiest lake I have ever seen! However, I was aware on how to fish it because I practice wiyth many differents If you are only good with a senko, then what do you do when the fish arent bitting it for whatever reason. Maybe the y are to deep for it ! That being said, I dont feel like they bring you uch a great advabtage that they need to be outlawed. plus, I have noticed that bites have gone down lately as if bass are wiseing up to what it really is. You see this happen every few years. A new lure comes out, and bass are all over it, then it seems to die out for a while before bouncing back

Okay, down here in TX every already knows and talks about Choke Canyon, Falcon, Amistad, Fork, and Toleto Bend! However, this state is filled with awesome lakes that get no credit whatsoever. In your opinion, what are the top 5 most "under-rated" lakes in the state! Give a little detail as to why you chose the lake! Here is my list: 1. "Lake Conroe" - This lake is a great fishing lake for many species, but especially LMBs! It gets overlooked by many anglers cause of its proximity to Houston and the party/recreational crowd that it draws. It is full of houses, boat docks, and other man made scenary and just doesnt seem like the ideal place to catch a giant bass. However, it is loaded with them! The fish use the man made structure just like it was natural and thrive on this lake. Tourny sacks of 30 lbs are very common and this lake is like 3rd all time for most Sharelunkers! Every time I fish it I catch well over 40 bass! (Lake record around 16 lbs) 2. Caddo - I have never fished this lake in E. TX but I am planning a trip soon. I have had my eye on this lake for a while and if you did around you will find out that some real giants come out of this lake. Recently, a new lake record was caught going over 16 lbs! Thats bigger than Choke or Falcon or Amistad! It is the only natural lake in TX and has been a well kept secrete! 3. Lake Corpus Christi (mathis) - This is my actual "home" lake as I live 15 minute away. In my opinion, this lake could be as good as Falcon or Choke if the water levels were left alone! It is full of fish in the 3-6 lb range and I have caught more 8 lb plus fish from it than Choke Canyon. My last double diggit fish came from Mathis last Nov., take in mind that I fish Choke every week and Falcon several times a month! This lake also has good numbers as well as awesome Catfish, crappie, and white bass numbes! Best thing is that it is over 20 k acres and has almost zero fishing pressure! (lake record around 14 1/2 lbs) 4. Canyon Lake - This is another lake that is better know as a recreational boating lake. However, it is one of the best Smallmouth lakes in the state of TX! It is the southern most lake in the U.S. that has a "decent" population of catchable smallies. YOu can go out there and target them and have success! I began fishing it 2 yrs ago and am amazed at the amount of 3-4 lb class fish that they have there. I have personally seen smallies over 5 lbs. They are easy to find if you know where to look. (lake record smallie is about 6.5 lbs) 5. Belton - This is another lake that I am putting in largely bassed on its Smallmouth fishing! Right now, alot of people are saying Belton is the best Smallie lake in TX. My first trip there I caught 7 in about 4 hrs, all keepers with a large of 3.5 lbs! However, Belton also has a good LMB fishery, with fish over 8 lbs not being too uncommon. As a bonus, it also has spotted bass! Strangley, it does not seem to get as crowded as one would assumer, being so close to major cities! It is one of the prettiest lakes in TX too. (Smallie record goes well over 6 lbs) Id like to hear what yall have to think?

Well there are several good tactics and ways to fish really clear water lakes. I love fishing clear water lakes, it is one of my strengths. Being from south TX, we dont get alot of clear water days, but I take several trips to clear water lakes each year to practice my skills for tournys and for fun! My tourny partner is always impressed how much I know about clear water fishing and it did us well at Amistad the past 2 events! Here are some good ideas of things to try for clear water fishing: Go to natural colors! Green pumpkins, watermelons, browns, etc. Chromes will also work especially if there are lots of little shinny baitfishes! Utilize Finesse Approaches such as the "Drop Shot" and "Shakey Head!" Drop shotting is awesome for clear water because a tiny natural bait is presented to the fish right in the strike zone with no other terminal tackle in the way other than a small hook. Shakey heading works great too, especially if fish are tight to the bottom. Learn to use a senko! Learn to fish "Wacky" worms! When worming of any sort, use the lightest flourocarbon that you can get away with! If the fish are small and the cover is sparse, I would throw no more than 8 lb test and use spinning gear. If cover is heavy and the fish are big, use a flourocarbon coated co-polymer. I have been very pleased with 20 lb flouroclear by P-Line for my heavy wormin on Falcon and Amistad! 15 lb Seagar Red Label Flouro. is also very good and much stronger than its rating! If possible, make long cast to avoid spooking fish. Try fishing some lures with some weight that can be tossed out a long way. Examples, C-Rigged worms, cranking baits, topwaters! There are some tips that should help. Good luck!

I have caught countless bass 8 lbs and up on 12 lb flourocarbon line, on lakes with heavy duty cover! I live inbetween Choke Canyon and Falcon which are in south TX and probably the two hottest bass lakes in the nation at the present time. Choke Canyon is stuffed with thick hydrilla, which bass love to burry in. Falcon, does not have drilla, but every square inch contains flooded brush, especially with the high lake levels! On these lakes, you can get broke off with 50 lb braid by a 2 lb bass when they burry themselves in grass or wrapp you up in brush! Now, one of my favorite methods of fishing these lakes, especially while fish are spawning or in pre-spawn mood, is with a weightless senko! I like to hook it wacky style! I have caught some very hefty sacks with this technique! However, I am a firm believer that line choice is critical for fishing weightless senkos! I have had many days where partners of mine watched me catch fish all day without getting a bite of their own, throwing the same senko as me in the same places. Why, because they were using the wrong line! I believe that 12 lb flourocarbon is the best line to fish this lure with because it generates the right amount of sink for the lure! Heavier flourocarbon or monofiliment lines just do not get the lure down into the usual strike zone area quick enough! Braided line, in my opinion; is the worst line possible to use for this cause it floats so much! Light flourocarbon is just the way to go and I have found that 12 lb generate the most strike day in and day out. It matters! Now, when you are flipping and pitching around heavy cover on big bass lakes in south TX with only 12 lb test line, be prepared to get your butt kicked at some point. However, you can greatly reduce breakoffs by taken some steps ahead of time. 1st, make sure to flip with a med. heavy stick so that you will have the power to turn fish the way you want them to go. 2nd, make sure to carefully inspect line for any abrasions and tie good knots! 12 lb will hold a good fish but not if it has bad spots. 3rd, try to keep cast closer to the boat when around heavy cover so you dont have such a long way back in! 4th, get fish up and to the boat as quick as possible. 12 lb test will hold a very big fish as long as it is just the fish. When in heavy cover I set my drag very tight and dont play them at all. Its the brush and cover that break you, not the fish! Last, dont cast into an area untill you have a game plan for getting the fish out! Before each flip I always check to see if I can get the fish out and which is the best way to turn them! Now, I do break fish off from time to time, but it is always due to the cover, or bad line! Recently, I found a new "heavier" flourocarbon line that I can use in sustitute of the 12 lb. I have began using 15 lb Seager Red Label and am very impressed. The diameter of this line is very small and only .01 bigger than most leading 12 lb test of other brands. So, basically I am getting 3 lbs of extra security without hardley changing the rate of sink. I have not noticed a decrease in bites, but I have noticed that I am able to be way more aggressive and confident. This is super good line and it has a much higher breaking strength than what is listed on the box. I have even began using it on my TX-Rig rod that usually gets 17-20 lb test! Why not, if you can go smaller than it will get you more bites! Good Luck!

This is a touchy subject with alot of tourny anglers, as is anytime you question the impact of tournys on fish! For some reason tourny anglers as a whole are very defensive about these issues and like to think that there are no negitive effects whatsoever on bass due to the stress that tournys place on them! Before I give my opinion, I would just like to clarify a few things. I am an avid tourny angler! I am not trying to bash anyone in particular! I do not think that tournys are evil or that they complety destroy fisheries. I am just giving an opinion that I truely believe is honest! I think that there is definately an impact on fish that are taken from their beds. How could there not be. We are interupting the process and putting a lot of stress on them. If I am in bed with my wife, and a giant monster pulls me off and shakes me around in a small box for several hours, you can bet that I am not going to be in the same frisky mood I was in before the disruption! Also, when fish are pulled off a bed and it is left un-attended, predators will come in and clean it out. Now nature has adapted bass to make alot of eggs to account for predation, but this is only in the natural setting. Nature does not account for humans to be pulling bass off beds and leaving them ungaurded! Also, a big female may die because of the stress before she gets a chance to drop the eggs! So, yes catching fish during this time does have some negitive effects on their natural reproduction process. However, I am not saying that it does massive damage on a large scale. Thankfully, there are people smart enough to understand that there must be some checks and balances and that we must do something to make up for what we have taken out. This is why certain lakes get restocked every year, this is why many anglers promote quick catch and release, this is why we have laws and regs regarding fishing, this is why it is necessary for us all to practice good ethics out on the water! So yes, it has an impact on the individual fish. However, large scale effects are minimized due to corrective messures!

Well guys, I just got back from my Amistad Tourny this past sunday! Though I didnt win, I had another solid finish (4th) and it should move me from 3rd place in the overall standings up to 2nd! I try to learn something from each tourny I fish because I have decided that about 99% of tourny fishing is mental! If you look at leader boards most of the guys consistently placeing high and winning, are the ones that use their minds and have the most tourny experience! What did I learn from this past trip! Well, I learned that if I have a good game plan that i need to have the "confidence" to stay with it and not just give up! Our gameplan for the event was to fish stagging areas of where pre and post spawn females would be moving in and out of the shallow spawning grounds. We were fishing the mouths of small creeks and drains within larger creek arms of the lake! We were concentrating in areas of 6-15 feet dragging C-Rigged senkos! The morning started off Awesome! It was nice and calm and within the first hour we had 2 keepers, a 6 lber and a 3 lber in the boat! However, the wind whipped up to about 30 mph and the fish became very hard to find! We spend the next 4 hrs without a single bite. With about 3 hrs left we started to loose confidence in our game plan a decided to grab the drop shot rods and go finish out our limmit on a group of 14-15 inch fish we had found the previous day! We began to do this, however, the little Mike Ike that sits on my shoulder screamed, "Never Give Up!" I decided to stay confident and keep to the plan. I moved to the northern shoreline of the area of the lake that I was fishiing, thinking that area would be a little warmer as it is protected from the strong north winds we got the night before. I found a big creek arm that had plenty of small drains and creeks! I began working that C-Rig and watching the clock! With 1 hr and 30 min left to fish, I finally found the group of big females that I had been looking for. These fish were setting up in the mouth of where this little pocket with a drain hit the main creek arm! Just like I thought! The first fish I caught was a solid 3 lber! I then lost a good fish that spit the hook, maybee an 8 lber! On the next cast I caught another 6 lber. Shortly after I lost a 4 lber at the boat. I then picked up a male going about 1.5 lbs to finish out my limmit. There was very heavy cover in the area and my partner lost two giants in the area that wrapped him up and broke off, one wan an easy double diggit fish! We were still getting bites but just ran out of time! We ended up with about 19 lbs on a day where conditions were extremely tough. However, we might not have even caught a limmit if we would have let ourselves loose confidence in our game plan. In fact, we probably cost ourselves 1st place by wasting that 30 minutes with the dropshots trying to catch dinks. If we would have had another 30 minutes in this area I know we could have culled at least two fish out and might have caught a real monster cause this area was loaded with fat females! I really learned an important lesson. I need to stay confident in what i know that I should be doing. Never give up, as Mike Ike always says. It only takes a few minutes to put together a big sack. IF you have a good game plan and have spent time putting it together and know that the fish are close ,than stick with it. Dont let unreasonable doubt slip into your head and stay positive. If you are a competant angler, confidence in what you are doing will work out nicely more often than not. Good Luck!

Well stated, tourny fishing is a whole different ball game, for "anyone!" Basscaster, I started fishing tournys about 3 yrs ago and thought the same thing that you going into it. Boy was I in for a shock during my first weigh-ins! The first thing that I found out was that my idea of a 5 lber was more like a 3 lber on a ligit digital scale. When you start fishing tournys you will learn that the scales arent kind and you will get a new appreciation for truely heafty fish! 2nd, there are a LOT of really, really good fisherman out there, especially in TX! Alot of these guys have been fishing tournys for many years, and many of them make livings doing it, even though they are suppossed to be amatuers. They have spent many years and lots of $$$ preparing themeselves and you will be at a big disadvantage when matching up with their experience and resources. Not a knock against you, its just reality! They didnt start at the top either! A huge part of being a good tourny angler is being prepared and being a master at time management. You only have 8 hrs out there to make something happen on a lake that you might not know or fished lately. You have to know how to game plan and work as a team. More important you have to learn to be prepared for bad scenarios. Especially boat problems! Two events ago I lost 3 hrs fishing time because of a bad trolling motor fuse! I was only a couple ounces out of the money and that lost time cost me. I learned my lesson though, and now make sure to check that sort of stuff and have extras. However, this is stuff that you learn along the way and it take time! Another big factor is $$$. It cost a bunch of money to fish tournys. Many of the top tourny guys are also the top financed. Like witht he other stuff, getting financed takes time, unless you are independently wealthy. Starting off you will find yourself at a huge disadvantage because you will not have the money to sport the equipent that the BIG Boys have. These guys are running $60 k boats, side imaging electronics that look like big screen T.V.s, and everything else under the sun. I have a really nice 2008 skeeter with fairly decent electronics, but I am blown away and put to shame by alot of my competition when it comes to boats and electronics! And if you dont think that boats and electronics make a difference you have another thing comming! Last, you have to learn what it takes to consistently place high and how to do it! Trust me, the guys you will be up against can really bring in some amazing sacks! I live in S. TX and at the lakes that we fish our tournys at you have to have over 30 lbs to even have a chance on avg.! For instance, at my Falcon tourny in Dec. I weighed in a 29 lb sack and only came in 5th place. I had two 8 lb fish! Sunday, at Amistad I weighed in about 19 lbs under 30 mph wind post front conditions and only came in 4th! 3 lb fish just do not win tournys anymore, regardless of the conditions. Someone is always going to bring in a giant sack. All this being said, tourny fishing is very fun and I encourage you to get into it! Just dont think too big too quick or you will be greatly disappointed. I suggest starting out with some local club tournys to get experience and then work your way up! Just remember, winning a tourny is very very hard. I am an extremely good angler and have never won a single tourny. Right now I am number 2 or 3 in the angler of the year standing for South TX 5 league, and I havent won a single event. Im consisten but I just havnt mastered the finer points of tourny management and loose because of a mistake every time! Im always that guy that finishes second place in these things, but I will get there someday. Maybe you will too!

Wow!! I think that you are the one that is getting a little carried away here. You are completly distorting my words and you have taken my statements way out of context! Please relax and let me clarify myself as you have misunderstood me by a mile! First off, I clearly stated that I LOVE FISHING DURING THE SPAWN, and this includes bed fishing. It is a blast! In no way would I ever stop fishing during this time, and in no way would I advocate any such notion for the general public. 2nd, in no way do I think that fishing during the spawn, or bed fishing; is completely devastating to lakes or bass as a species. The point that i was trying to make is that THERE IS AN EFFECT! I dont need to point to studies, charts, or other references cause its just common sense. If a bed is left unprotected it is subject to predation. And, if "WE" are the reason that the bed is left unprotected than you can not count on nature to make up for this. We have to take that responsibility. Thats all Im stating! Im not against it, I dont discourage it, I dont think it is the root of all evil! Im just saying that it does have consequences, however small or big! I just think that we need to be responsible while we interact and participate in outdoor sports such as fishing so that our negitive impacts are minimized! Especially during a time of year when fish are trying to reproduce. Just an opinion, dont get worked up! Im not mad, just trying to get you to open your eyes a little bit!

Power-Worm (LOL) ! Your bad!

First off, Im not getting emotional at all, just purely giving my point. Im all for bed fishing and fishing during the spawn. Im just not going to fool myself by saying that it has no negitive effects on bass reproduction. We are an unatural predator and are presence always has an un-intended effect on all wildlife! You say there are no studies showing a negitve impact, well I personally read an article out of a major bass mag this winter stating that Gobby eat hundreds of eggs for every 8 secs a smallie is pulled off a bed! You have to keep in mind the intentions of the person doing the studdy, and what they are trying to prove. Like you said, a large number of eggs are lost each year under "natural" circumstances, and bass have evolved to produce lots of eggs to make up for this. But your statement doesnt mesh with your point. Humans are not a natural presence and nature did not intend for us to go around pulling bass off beds during the spawn. Bass do not make extra eggs to allow for the human factor, only natural predation. This being said, I do not believe that fishing during the spawn is devastating to bass reproduction. However, to say that it does not have an effect is completly blind! Anytime, you introduce humans into a natural setting there is an effect, especially when we are interupting a reproductive process! Thankfully, there are a good population of fisherman out there that act responsibly after catching bed/pre-spawn fish and get them back as soon as posible. Thankfully, bass do lay so many eggs and that the spawn is spread out! BTW, this isnt anything personal! Im just stating my opinion and mean no personal disprespect or insult to anyone. Likewise, I do not take any offense as long as arguments are on topic and not personal. Once again, I am 100% for fishing during the spawn, but I am not blind to the effects, thats why I take certain steps to give back and practice good conservation!

First off, I totally love bass fishing just before, during, and after the spawn. There is no way that I miss the spawn on my home lakes of Choke Canyon. In no way do I think that they should outlaw tournys during this time. That being said, lets be realistic and use some common sense! I dont care if there is no data or not, when you pull bass off of their beds it is going to have some sort of negitive effect on their natural spawning practice. However, without even trying to look for it, I read a recent article in a major bass mag that gave very good data on the effects of Smallmouth being away from their beds on lakes that have Gobbys! In a recent bass mag I read an article that on Northern lakes "gobbys" will eat like 300 eggs for every 8 secs that a smallie is away from its bed due to being caught! I cant say that those are the exact numbers but it was pretty astonishing! Its just common sense, if a fisherman pulls a bass off its bed, the bed goes unprotected and predators come in. Likewise, if an angler catches a female before it drops its eggs, and the fish dies because of the ordeal, then that has a negative effect on the lakes overall reproduction. Now, Im just calling a spade a spade! I totally love bedfishing and fishing during the spawn in general. However, you can't sit there and imply that it does not have an impact on the fish! Is the impact worse than other negitive influences, no! But that does not change the fact that it does impact them! A couple of tournys during the spawn are not going to destroy a lake. However, when you throw a 150 boat tourny every week on a lake during the spring, coupled with a drought or some other negitve factor, than you are going to see a signifigant decline in fishing. Its just numbers!

I will tell you what my dad always told me in regards to your comments, " If your not getting hung up, then your not throwing into the right places!" This is very true, you need to be fishing around the cover, weather grass/brush/reeds/ect. ! However, the hang ups can get frustrating. This is when lure choics and presentation is crucial. Fish things that move through cover well, when it gets thick! For instance, the other day at the Coleto Creek invitational I kept seeing bass busting over this thick shallow grass flat. I started throwing a 1/2 oz rattle trap into the area, but it was getting hung up too much in the grass. I soon switched to a 1/2 redeye shad, which has a deeper and thinner profile. This profile seems to pull through grass much easier and break cleanly away. I would slowly move this lure along and when I felt grass I would either pause or just rip it out, this is when the strikes would come! Same thing for fishing brush! A square billed crankbill seems to deflect off of brush way better than a round one. As with the grass, you will get your bites after the lure deflects off of a branch or object most of the time! If worming, present a completly weedles TX rig approach by re-burrying the hook into the body of the bait! Or go for a presentation that keeps the bait just above the heavy cover, such as a C-Rig with floating plastic, or an elevated Drop Shot rig! Main thing is to not let heavy cover scare you into not fishing it. Use it to your advantage by using baits that operate better in it. Good Luck, youll get the hang of it soon enough!

Well the problem is the greed of human nature. Everyone wants to see those giant 30 lb plus sacks, so we jepordize reproduction! The tourny scene has a big problem with putting "our" selfish needs above the resources. The irony is that these attitudes and actions will make bass fishing tough in the long run! That being said, I do not necessarily have a problem with tournys during the spawn. What I have a problem with is that all of the tournys come to the same couple of lakes and things are not spread out, at least thats how things are in TX. One tourny on a lake during the spawn isnt going to hurt much, but when you hold a tourny every week on the same lake during the spawn that creats a problem. In texas the burden of Tourny fishing is not equally shared. The same lakes get pounded week in and out. Unfortanatly, these are our most promising and best lakes. However, if we would start to spread out, I think that new lakes would be found!

fish4$, you make a good suggestion about the verticle fishing! I love to fish verticle at times, especially when fishing in over 20 ft and thick cover! Being right over the top of your bait gives you a lot of control, plus it cuts down the length between the fish and the boat, which helps when pulling them in! Now, I know a thing or to about fishing in heavy cover! I live in south TX and my two primary lakes are Choke Canyon and Falcon. I dont know if you know anything about these lakes, so if you dont; take my word when I tell you how much cover these lakes have. Choke, is covered with thick, thick hydrilla most of the year. There are patches that are almost like walls ,you would get stuck if you tried to walk through them. You can break off 2 lb fish on 50 lb braid because they burry down in this stuff. On the flip side, Falcon has zero hydrilla; however you will be hard pressed to find a lake with more flooded brush. Almost every square inch of this lake has brush, especialy with the high water levels that have flood many acres of what used to be brush land! When I fish tourny there I make sure to take plenty of lures of the same color because you break off so much! So, I think this qualifies me for knowing a thing or two about fishing heavy cover. Here are some tips: in heavy grass, downsize hook siize when fishing treable hooks. in heavy grass, make plastic 100% weedless by sticking the exposed hook point back into the body of the plastic a small ways! in heavy grass, fish low stretch lines to ensure the hook gets set in all that grass (braid/Flouro) grass or brush, get fish out of the cover quick if you try and play and get too cute you will loose many fish, even small ones! Check line often for small abrassions you need your line to perform at its best heavy brush, stick with factory hooks instead of changing to super hooks, they are great but will also burry into anything they touch, you will snag and get hung too much! For grass, use crankbaits that have deep thin bodies, they tend to rip out cleaner! If fishing billed cranks, opt for a square bill; they deflect better than rounded ones! Utilize drop shot technique, or C-Rig to present lures just above the vegation Have a game plan for how you are going to menuever fish out of cover after hooked! Those are just some basic things, I need to know more about what the areas you fish look like to get specific! Also, if you want to locate fish in the 15-25 foot range, I would start by idleing through areas and finding depth changes, drop offs, slopes, ledges, points and other irregularities! These are usually the areas that will hold fish. Now, if these areas have cover present as well, than even better! Good baits to locate fish with when fishing in the 15-25 foot range are crankbaits, both lipless and billed! You can cover lots of water with these baits and locate areas that are holding fish, then you can slow it down and offer other presentations! Also, if you want to learn the bottom, throw something like a Football Jig, which keeps constant bottom contact. You can really learn an area by fan casting one of these! Good Luck!

Well, I took a quick little trip to Mathis yesterday! Though I did not get a whole lot of bites, I feel very optimistic that the fishing is going to get pretty good there for the near future! While the lake was low a lot of shrub brush quickly grew up in places where water used to be. Now, these areas have filled back up leaveing hundreds of acres of flooded brush! Its really cool to look at, and I know its going to help out! The lake is definately up, and there is new cover, but the fishing was slow yesterday. I only had two bites in 4 hrs, and only landed one fish! However, my electronics were acting screwy and this hurt me a little bit. My hummingbird would not read an accurate depth, and I use depth readings in my fishing big time. Without this working, I just had to fish areas that I kinda already knew, but it was still hard because I dont quite know what the new water depth is at these spots! Anyways, I fished this rockpile, a conrete wall, and a rocky bluff that have always produced for me in the past! Just didnt have much luck! I used: redeye shad (red), fat-Free Crankbait (chart.), senko (wat. pep.), football Jig (finesse/craw), and TX rigged Paca Crawl (craw color)! Both bites came off of the senko, wacky rigged! However, things looked very promising and I will return soon!

I am planning on going in a few hours, will post when I return!

Now what about hooksets that are just outside the mouth, still in the head area? I think that these types of hookings should be legal, because most of the time they were the result of an actual strike in which the fish just missed the bait! You see these kinds of hookups alot when throwing topwater spooks with treble hooks. Obviously a strike was triggered so I think it should count!

Actually, I got a stirred up yesterday after I posted and called the park station! Got great news! I was informed that the recent rains have filled the lake up a bunch. Though I cant see how, they said the lake was only 5 feet low. That would be freakin awesome if the info is accurrate! Regardless, they said that there are open boat ramps and that you can get on the water! Finally, I pumped beyond belief! I am going to go out sometime in the next couple days and I will let yall know what the deal is! Later!

Yes Rich I know, but for some reason a large population of Tourny anglers get real bent out of shape when anyone tries to hold them more accountable for keeping fish alive and overall conservation! I really dont understand it at all! You would think that all tourny anglers would be huge conservationalist! However, many are the furthest thing from it. Personally, I think its just out of selfishness that they get so defensive about suggested improvements! They dont want anything getting in the way of "their good time!" The ironic thing is that a little sacrifice at the begginning will lead to better fishing in the long run! This is just another perosnal opinion of mine, but the other group of tourny anglers just dont take the time to notice or care! These are the same guys that pull up on you and cut you off, or wake you as they speed by dangerously close to where you are fishing. I call this the "new generation" of bass fisherman. These are competive guys that used to play highschool or college sports and picked up bass fishing later in life as a way to fullfill a competitive need. They were not taught proper outdoor/water etiquette by a father or some other mentor when they were younger. They just went out, bought up alot of expensive equipment, and started hitting the water. They have no idea how to act out there and try to apply the rules of the city to boating and fishing. This is why they have no problem pulling up within casting distance of you. Or, why they just blast out of a fishing whole while others are still fishing! The sad thing is that these type of guys dont even realize what they are doing and how they are effecting others. They are just focussed on their own little world! When On the water I feel it is our responsibility to pay attention to other boaters and anglers, so to not ruin their time! Anyways, I am just talking in General and am not pointing out anyone speciific. I dont know anyone here and am not trying to lump anybody into the category I spoke of! Just a generalized opinion so dont get too worked up!

It is a real shame that the local government has allowed Lake Corpus Christi, or Mathis as many call it; get so low! For the good part of a year there have been no launchable ramps and the lake has dwindled to about 30% capacity. Sure, drought hasnt helped, but the real reason is that they are constantly pooring water out to "freshen" the bay for the shrimp! The sad thing is that this lake had quitely become a top notch fishery, in my opinion rivaling almost any lake in the state! I started fishing Mathis hard 3 yrs ago for 2 reasons. One, it is only 15 minutes from my home. And two, because I hate dealing with the increasing crowds at choke canyon. However, it soon became one of my favorite lakes for only one reason, IT HAD GREAT FISHING! In an avg day at Mathis, an experienced angler could easily catch 50 bass or more. Not only did it have numbers, but it had some real toads! Fish of over 5 lbs were very common, especially during times of year that other lakes were off! This lake also had many fish in the double digit category! The lake record is about 14 lbs, and I have personally caught many fish over 8 lbs out there! You can see a Pic of one big one next to my signature! The cool thing about the whole deal is that the lake recieved almos no bass fishing pressure. There are always a couple crappie, catfish, and white bass guys; but hardly a soul bass fishes out there. All the bass guys pass it up for Choke Canyon or Falcon, which was fine by me! It is very fun only having to contend with 2 or 3 other guys on a 20 k acre lake! Soon, I began to Choose Mathis over Choke because of the fishing, not accessibility, and thats the honest truth. Especially during the hot summer months when choke gets kinda tuff! Thats when Mathis seemed to be at its best for me! If you think about it, Mathis has everything that it takes to be a great big bass lake: warm weather, lots of cover, big, plenty of food, and everything else that its Falcon and Choke counterparts had. Its not too deep, only about 30-40 feet max, but that didnt seem to hurt things too bad! Now when I say it has lots of food forage, I mean "Crawfish!" You will never see a lake with more crawfish than this lake. They are everywhere, every bass you catch has antennas sticking out their throats! Because of our warm climates, the bass at Mathis are able to feed on them all year long, which results in lots of shallow water fishing around rock! Also, all of your baits need to resemble crawfish in some shape form or fashion! However, I dont know what has become of the lake cause nobody has been able to launch for the past yr. I hope that the fish are surviving somewhere and that it will fill up soon. I dont understand why they continue to let water out even with all the rain we have had recently! I heard the city is trying to drain it down to do d**n repairs. It really stinks. I miss my little personal honey hole and hope that the Concan area floods soon so that the Frio river can fill her back up! There should be lots of great plant growth and that would make lots of new great habitat! I heard that there are a few ramps open now but I have not checked it out. Maybe I will this week!

Yea, the lake is just way off right now! Personally, I think it is a combination of harsh winter, drought, and increased fishing pressure. I think that the increased pressure is the biggest factor of the three, but i dont want to get into it cause it makes people upset for some reason. Anyways, someone did catch another 15 lber two saturdays ago, but that was just a case of being in the right place at the right time. Most people are having a very tough time, locals included! Just not enough active fish! However, the White Bass are starting to get frisky! My cousin caught a mess of them in the Main lake while fishing for Bass 2 sundays ago! Good news is that it has been very warm down here for the past couple of weeks. This should really help things get started. On the 11th we get a moon, so I would like to think that things should pick up soon! Ill be going on either Thurs or Friday and will give a factual report!

There are lakes where senkos are actually not allowed? Thats crazy! Sure, its a great bait but isnt so ridiculously good that they should be outlawed. I fish senkos all the time and have never had a bass get injuried because of the bait! Im one of those guys who is 100% for the healthy return of bass but dont see this bait as a problem. Plus, like with any artificial bait, there are days when they wont or dont work! In fact, I have noticed a little decreasing trend with them over the past yr. I think that on some lakes that fish are beginning to wise up to them a little bit! Just my observation!

I sent you a PM! I fish the lake a bunch so its worth reading even though lengthy. I garuntee you that I gave you a basic formula for a great day though!