A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

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shoffer
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A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by shoffer »

DandyDon and I ventured to a West Galveston Bay night fishing spot on the morning of 7/1/19. Launching at 1:30 am to a 12-15 SSE wind with an anticipated minor feed from 4:25 am to 6:05 am, we hit the bayfront first to check out a surface light. Trout were popping in the lights, but a homeowner was fishing it, so we ventured forth into other canals. [When we went back by the same spot later, the homeowner had turned the light off. :x ]

One thing I noticed different from our last trip was the only bait in the water was finger mullet. The hoards of glass minnows/shad we saw three weeks ago were gone. I was glad about that, since it was hard to get fish interested in lures with that buffet surrounding them.

From launch until 5 am, trout were in some lights, and not in others. I caught four legal female trout 16-19 inches – two on a Glo Norton Sand Eel on a ¼ oz jighead and two on a Barboleta Lele (more on this bait below). I was getting my better action burning the lures through the top of the water column.

The wind calmed a bit, and we then headed over to the grass flats we like to fish at first light. I began by throwing a topwater Super Spook, Jr. I got some halfhearted swipes, and one momentary hook-up, which disappointed me since the conditions were ripe for carnage:
Capture1.JPG
After the sun rose, I trolled and blind cast around a channel and reef, with no additional bites, so we headed in around 8:30 am. As we approached the launch, however, I saw a popping cork moving around, so I hooked it with the LeLe and brought it in. Attached was a 15-inch female trout who had swallowed a live bait hook. After doing some surgery, this fish was not going to make it, so she completed my September 1, 2019 limit.

The one takeaway from this trip I can pass along is that the Lele is for real, guys. The Lele is a 2.75 inch, 1/3 oz. subsurface hard body twitch bait that runs about 1 to 2 feet subsurface. It is made by Barboleta Baits in Brazil. This is the one I was throwing:
Capture.JPG
Capture.JPG (26.16 KiB) Viewed 7407 times
FTU carries them, but now, Amazon carries all the colors for the same price as FTU. https://amzn.to/2YqZvC3. Do yourself a favor and pick one up and try it out. [The Pervesa model appears to be the same as the Lele, just in a four inch, ¾ oz bait - https://amzn.to/2XjXdTS].
If you want to see the action on these guys, check this video out:


I know they are 15 dollars a bait, but damn, those trout would chase and fight over this lure like it was Stormy Daniels in a room full of Donald Trumps at a Lake Tahoe golf outing. If you like to night fish the lights as I do, this is a must - just make sure you tie it on tight. At 15 dollars a lure, I think a break-off would really dampen my mood.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Dandydon »

Shoffer managed to scratch together a speck limit last might while I was casting my lures in an embarrassing skunk... It wasn't for lack of trying!
I got one bite in a double underwater green light, then my action was finished! So I anchored up for a patented Man-Nap & at least woke up refreshed & happy.
Back at the ramp Shoffer showed me his beautiful Brazilian LELE lure & I salvaged the fishing trip by ordering one in Fire Tiger, along with a slightly bigger PERVESA lure from the same Barboleto Lures in Hot Pink Holo. They are now available on Amazon.com.
I'm counting on them for better trips ahead. Sometimes the proper lure will save your bacon!
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Neumie »

Great report. I was confused by your title until I read your report and remembered y'all still get to keep 10 trout up north.

Those Borboleta baits are all the rage right now. I have hard time forcing myself to throw suspending twitchbaits. I've tried various MirrOlures, Rip-n-Slash, and various Yo-Zuri's, but I just can't get myself to throw them. After the topwater bite dies I just go straight to soft plastics.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

great trip, great report, and a good-looking lure
one thing for sure, the trebles will give you a lot more hook-ups if you get their attention.
Most of those twitch baits also have a BB inside, that slides to the back of the lure for the cast, slides to the nose of the lure in the water, and gives you a nice click every time you lift your rod tip.
Interesting about the bait - on LHL Sunday, the cut was loaded with mullet, glass minnows were all around our feet and we saw a few jumping out on the slope. I tried dog-walking my Yo-Zuri with no takers, though did get a couple of followers.
Have also seen the Palm Harbor canals load up with finger mullet in summer nights, and big specs will follow them in.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by kickingback »

Great report Capt Shoffer! Wish I could have made it. I think I will have to get me a couple of those lures to go in my box of other unused new lures. I hate to throw them and mess them up they look so good. LOL
Well done men! :clap:
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Dandydon »

Based on Shoffer's fishing success last night, I ordered two of those pricey Barboleta Brazilian lures and expect them to produce!
Back in my days of international oil deals, I traveled often to Rio de Janeiro & developed a taste for sexy Brazilians. That applies both to their lures & their sexy ladies...
Get yourself some Brazilian booty & bee somebody!



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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by TroutSupport.com »

I think for the lights any twitch bait would be fine; i've done great on small lipped 3" crankbaits like the yozuri 3D or Crystal minnows. I've caught a few fish on the LeLe but i'm not sold on it being a $15 bait. Its a decent little bait but what catches the fish is our brains. But I will continue to fish it and evaluate with it and the larger Tan Tan.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by shoffer »

I hear you, Tobin. I love the Yozuri 3DS minnows as well. They were (and likely still are) my go-to baits in the lights, especially the surface lights, but my last one was stolen by a frisky snook in Florida and I need to restock. [That bugger was able to chew through a 40lb leader and snake my last Yozuri].

I have never spent 15 bucks on one lure before, but I had some credit at FTU so I decided to get one. In terms of how I ended up with just enough store credit at FTU to get a Lele, suffice it to say that I won't be shopping there again thanks to some fat schmuck at the Katy Freeway store. Specifically, I returned a $169.00 FTU travel rod that snapped in an odd place on this last Florida trip. [As it turns out, this was the SECOND time I had broken that same model rod in the same place; I snapped one in Miami in the same odd spot on a small snook there also and just assumed I got a bad one. I took it back in November 2018, paid the 30% restocking fee, and got this one, and this was the first time I had used it since then]. When I brought the snapped rod back (with receipt), the aforementioned schmuck initially tried to blame me for snapping the FTU travel rod, thinking I had high-sticked it. Little did that rotund putz know that I had the entire incident on my GoPro, and I uploaded it to Youtube to show at the store in case I got any crap. As it turns out, I set the hook sideways, and the rod snapped about 12 inches above the reel seat, about 4 inches below where the second of the three pieces of the rods connects; this was not the usual position where a high-sticked rod breaks near the top of the rod. Then I showed him where the rod broke and mentioned that I was still able to hand land the snook - broken rod and all - and got no cuts on my hand even though I was using braid. When he heard I was using braid, he changed his tune, suggesting that maybe I set the hook too hard since braid has no stretch like mono. I asked him if he had any idea what size the snook was, what the conditions were, or how I had actually set the hook, and he said no.

Then I let him know that I had the entire incident on video, and he could see it for himself. When I showed him the video, he saw me gently set the hook on what turned out to be tiny 16-inch snook that I was still able to land with my bare hands, with no help from the broken rod. Here is the scenario in picture form:

Starting to set the hook:
Capture.JPG
Rod Snap:
Capture1.JPG
Me hand bringing the snook in:
Capture2.JPG
The snook that broke FTU's $169.00 travel rod (compare the mighty snook to the guide's foot to the right):
Capture3.JPG
Faced with the hard evidence, the Buddha sheepishly ignored it, while informing me that FTU would be charging me YET ANOTHER a 30% restocking fee. He then added insult to injury when he noted that if I had brought it back 8 days earlier, I could have avoided the second restocking fee since it was now 6 months and 8 days since I replaced the last rod. I then wondered aloud that if I am just too brawny and am able to snap rods at whim while setting the hook on inshore fish, could Buddha offer any erudite analysis as to why I had never snapped any other rods while setting a hook or trying to land a fish - including the 15 dollar cheapos at Academy I bought when first starting out that enabled me to land several upper slot and over slot reds in one day. The Buddha was out of blame at this point, ignored my rhetorical question, and then suggested that maybe I should consider a TFO travel rod since those are made in Korea instead of China where the crappy FTU rod was made.

As I made my way over to the rack where the TFO rods were, the Buddha's co-worker (a taller guy) very nicely came over and under his breath apologized for the Buddha's conduct, saying that he "gets a little excited sometimes." I thanked him for his sentiments and then noticed that TFO rod was on sale for $99. So, after the $169.00 credit, less the second BS restocking fee, I had about 20 bucks in store credit, so I picked up the Lele and a Super Spook Jr. So, in the end, I parted with $169.00, snapped that rod, paid a restocking fee, snapped the replacement rod, got hit with another restocking fee, essentially paying $270 dollars for a POS rod that snapped twice in two outings, less the $99.00 TFO rod and $15.00 LeLe and a $7.00 Super Spook Jr.

I generally have a high tolerance for tools and A-holes (given my profession after all), but this particular A-hole was enough to cause me to vow to never set foot in that store again and that says a lot. I am sure I have spent $2,000 in that store over my lifetime, but I am an Academy/Amazon/online purchaser from now on. And now I am publicly calling them out. Screw you, FTU.

Tangent over. I feel better now. Let the thread continue.
Last edited by shoffer on Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by kickingback »

:lol:
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Dandydon »

That was quite a long, sad story. This TKF board is birthing our next generation of wordy novelists. That's OK if the post is teaching or entertaining. But if it's a long personal letter about your food, vehicle or wife, I tune out & go on about my business.
Send me a private writing sample & I'll be glad to edit you. I'm a wordsmith whose father ran The Houston Chronicle in the 70s-80s.
Keep on subject: fishing.
Thanks.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Dandydon »

My last post confused Shoffer because he thought I was criticizing him for his long, educational ("FTU sucks!") post, above.

Not correct. His posts are always educational & entertaining. I was referring to the likes of Cuervo Jones, Yakety Yak, Chubs & a few others.
If they take exception to my observation, bring it on. I can "defend" myself (ha ha).
I hope Shoffer's post gets that FTU moron fired. See you on the water, men.


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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

DD, people view the world differently based on their life experience (we are what we do). Some people deal with politics their whole life, others health issues. As a 40-year engineer, I tend to view the world as solutions, and a lifetime attorney, you may naturally see the world as argument - it can be a profession.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Dandydon »

Well-stated, Ron. I often see dissent & turmoil because it can make me money. But actually I prefer peace & love. Life is too short for negative thoughts & negative people.
Happy Fourth of July to all.


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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

dissent and turmoil can make me money - :mrgreen:
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Wag »

Dandydon wrote:My last post confused Shoffer because he thought I was criticizing him for his long, educational ("FTU sucks!") post, above.

Not correct. His posts are always educational & entertaining. I was referring to the likes of Cuervo Jones, Yakety Yak, Chubs & a few others.
If they take exception to my observation, bring it on. I can "defend" myself (ha ha).
I hope Shoffer's post gets that FTU moron fired. See you on the water, men.


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Is this a joke I just don't get cause I'm not part of an in crowd? " I was referring to the likes of Cuervo Jones, Yakety Yak, Chubs & a few others. " Really?
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

hey, if he didn't put you on the list, why sweat it...
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Chubs »

Dandydon wrote:Not correct. His posts are always educational & entertaining. I was referring to the likes of Cuervo Jones, Yakety Yak, Chubs & a few others.
I just got the DD gold star of approval!

Lawyers and Engineers mix about like oil and water.

Funny story for you maybe. So I was involved in a lawsuit a few years back (my 1st and hopefully my last). I was bringing suit against my landlord. Didn't hire a lawyer since I was keeping this in small claims and figured I can do this myself. Being an engineer and thinking I know how lawsuits work since I watched a few episodes of judge Judy, I gathered all the evidence I could think of to gather to support my case. Got property values, pictures, looked into public records of the landlord, etc etc etc.
I complied about 500 pages of meat to support my case.

Day of court arrives and we go to mediation. I'm all smug and whip out my 500 page monster. I got this case in the bag!

You know what that mediator lawyer type did? IGNORED IT AND SAID TMI!!! WTH! Then I lost my case. woohoo!
...
Lawyers!
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

as a licensed Professional Engineer, about 10% of my work is for attorneys.
I enjoy working with them, they're always more interesting than engineers, and definitely more fun to hang with...
I've honestly never seen attorneys that you could call ambulance chasers - they want to know the real facts they're going to have to face in their argument - but I have seen engineers that would make-work for themselves in litigation cases.
(will also admit to having been grilled in deposition by fishing and technical non sequitur, but I'm not easy to sucker into a stupid answer - I'll just make them ask the question over, and over as necessary, until they ask in a way I can answer)
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by mwatson71 »

As a litigator, about 5% of my work is with engineers. Reserve engineers, structural engineers, civil engineers, petroleum engineers. And, like Ron Mc, I think lawyers are definitely more fun to hang with.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

you guys know every good fish taco in every city in Texas
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by shoffer »

I, too, have represented engineers. I admire their intellect and their tenacity to solve problems, but Chubs is right, their head explodes when they have to operate in the world of grey in which lawyers often operate.

Which is somewhat ironic, since all of us here are all out there, on the water, trying to convince fish to bite our hook using the bait we offer. Sounds like fishing is much more like trial law than you thought.

And Chubs, a piece of advice. Leave the lawyering to the lawyers, and we will leave the complex mathematical calculations to the engineers. If you decide to fish in unknown waters (that is, venture into a courtroom), it pays to hire a guide (that is, a good, seasoned trial lawyer).
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Ron Mc »

there are two types of engineers - those who see the forest, and those who run into the trees, climb the trees, and fall out of the trees.
In my career, I've shown the forest to attorneys - and warned them about the trees. (references available upon request) From an engineer's standpoint, most legal work is technically simple (worn-out hardware, misused hardware, occasional bad designs or components), but always interesting because of the human issues.

My boss has PhD disease - the longer he works on a question, the farther he gets from an answer - after all, if this were not an esoteric problem, why would he be needed?
Though he's really helpful when I have a complicated calculation and can focus his effort. He's the ME, I'm a materials scientist (mechanisms and causation).
On that testimony fishing thing, nonsensical and nonresponsive go hand-in-hand. This is when a good attorney in your boat makes all the difference.
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Re: A September Limit of Steady Chicks on West Galveston Bay – 7/1/19

Post by Chubs »

shoffer wrote:I, too, have represented engineers. I admire their intellect and their tenacity to solve problems, but Chubs is right, their head explodes when they have to operate in the world of grey in which lawyers often operate.

Which is somewhat ironic, since all of us here are all out there, on the water, trying to convince fish to bite our hook using the bait we offer. Sounds like fishing is much more like trial law than you thought.

And Chubs, a piece of advice. Leave the lawyering to the lawyers, and we will leave the complex mathematical calculations to the engineers. If you decide to fish in unknown waters (that is, venture into a courtroom), it pays to hire a guide (that is, a good, seasoned trial lawyer).
Lol for sure man. I decided that day that if I ever find myself in another lawsuit, I know enough now to know I don't have a clue what I'm doing in a court of law ;) I'm so used to throwing my opinion out there and other people do what I say that it was a rude awakening lol.

I'd love to go fishing with you guys some time. It's obvious though I soured Don on myself when I unfortunately had to back out last minute last time, but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones if y'all are. Let's just say I'm wiser in the ways of night fishing now vs. last time we tried to get together. Anyway, take care, y'all aren't all that bad.
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