Spring time night fishing

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OldTownYakBoi
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Spring time night fishing

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Hello TKF, it’s been months since I have posted a report, it seems I was having issues after the transition of the website. Nonetheless, I made a trip out last week when the winds finally calmed down and shifted out of the south from the northwest. I launched @Midnight leading into the full moon phase. Tide really wasn’t doing much and the gentle south breeze made for some very calm conditions but not much water movement. Water had been cold but jumped almost 10 degrees overnight, I think that’s part of what triggered an aggressive feed.There were not too many fish inside the canals, I fished them hard for 2 hours without a bite. The water level was a little low so I decided to try the infamous bay lights, boy did they not disappoint. I started getting hits a few casts in and landed a small first speck, skunk was out of the boat. A few casts later I landed a nice 17 in, then another and another. I was catching quality fish, and a lot of them.

They wanted nothing to do with paddle tails or swim baits such as the vudu shad, but they were eating up the lil john twitch bait. For the next few hours I jumped between the available bay lights and hammered the trout, not 1 red was caught. Ended up with close to a 4 man limit with 4 fish going between 20-25 inches. I caught a 25 and a 23 back to back and was having a blast, not sure what the 25 weighed but it was easily 5 pounds. Not long after I caught those fat trout I hooked up on a brute, upon the hook set the fish made a wild run and broke me off in seconds, man that was a heartbreaker and I can only imagine how big it was, and what it was. Of course my mind goes to a 30 in trout haha, can you blame me? I did keep my limit, all beautiful keepers from 17-20, all fish over 20 inches were released.

The fishing was ridiculously good and I couldn’t be more thankful, winter fishing was a grind, thank god it’s spring. Now where are the Redfish!?
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Dandydon
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Dandydon »

Wow! Kyle, I'm so proud that you've ascended to Admiral Wilchek's spot as the TKF Trout Slayer. Don leaves town and you have a Wilchek-style triple trout limit. Big girls. At night! Beautiful! But no pics? I know, it's tough to snap them at night.

We've fished those bay lights like you when the canal lights struck out. I've always preferred good surface lights over submerged green ones although sometimes both produce keeper gamefish.

Finally, congratulations on hammering those specks w/ the famous Mirrolure Lil' John lure. Guides I know like Mickey Eastman & Jim West love them. Me? In about 200 casts I've never had one bite on those stupid 2.5" tube lures that look like leeches lol. Image

Next trip whip out a 3" Sixth Sense lipped crankbait (mullet pattern) and see what happens. I'm hammering trout & redfish w/ it, even in dirty water. Image

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shoffer
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by shoffer »

This is what I like about our Texas fishing. While some might argue that we do not have seasons, for me, fishing has four distinct seasons and has every year. Winter fishing is its own animal - bundling up and fishing slow for those big bites that haunt us. Night fishing in the winter has never been productive for me, though, so kudos to you, Kyle. Then the March transition happens, and spring has sprung. Hordes of glass minnows invade the water, and your lure/bait has to compete with a veritable buffet that hungry fish are chomping on after a slow winter. The trout bite picks up, and reds begin to show. In early June, the first 90 degree days arrive, and our night fishing picks up tremendously, and we try to get off the water by 10 am come hell or high water. And then, just as you cannot take any more heat, the fall arrives, and the October/November fishing happens - easily my favorite time of the year to fish.

I don't know about you guys, but every year, just as I begin to tire of the type of fishing I am doing, the season changes, and the tactics, launch locations, lure choices, and methods of fishing change right along with it. We are lucky to have it.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Ron Mc »

Thanks for the report.

No offense shoffer, but glass minnows show up at the beginning of winter - that's what we imitate all winter at Arroyo.
They're just so freaking small, you're imitating the flash of the bait ball rather than individual fish.
When spring springs, the individual glass minnows are large enough to imitate on 2-3" lures.

Image

If you have the light tackle to fish them, Duo Tetra Works and Ryuki S can be very productive both under the lights and in tide passes under conditions that concentrate bait.
https://baitfinesseempire.com/product/d ... -toto-42s/
Last edited by Ron Mc on Wed Mar 23, 2022 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dandydon
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Dandydon »

Gee Ron, Shoffer posts up a piece of angling poetry reminiscent of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons Concerto" and you slam him on a measly grass minnow point?

That's missing the forest for the trees.

Great post, Capt. Shoffer, and great fishing report from Yak Boi. That's what I'm talking about.

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Ron Mc
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Ron Mc »

It's certainly true that engineer and atty have a different worldview - mine is continuum mechanics.
For some, it's an argument.
TKF, well, it's fishing.
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shoffer
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by shoffer »

No offense taken, Ron. I have seen those tiny glass minnows in the winter but, to me, they don't interfere with my lure presentations until they get to the 2-3 inch range and until they do, they don't merit much discussion in my view.
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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by impulse »

Good report. I'm assuming West Bay around Sea Isle/ Isla del Sol?

Looks like I'm going to have to launch the T160 to get out of the canals and into the bay.

Last 2 years, we had big schools of 2-3" glass minnows in the lights by now. Followed closely by masses of reds and hardheads. So far, the glass minnows I'm seeing are much smaller, and not nearly as thick. There have been some silhouettes of nice fish in the lights, but nothing to write home about.

I'll certainly post when it busts wide open as long as nobody tells my neighbors where you got the info. They're great neighbors, but some of them don't like to share the canals, and especially their lights.

Just got back from the Sea Isle beach where I saw a guy haul in his 4th decent shark of the day at 7' long. He's using cut bait and kayaking his baits waaaay out there. I'm tempted to try it myself if the mild surf holds up. Surf is a little murky from the recent winds.
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Dandydon
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Dandydon »

Impulse, we always appreciate your timely reports and swear we won't talk to your irritating neighbors.

The fishing for everyone except Yak Boi has been slow, partly attributable to high barometric pressure, lousy tides & big winds. On the KILT Outdoors Show this morning, pro guide James Plaag confessed to fishing hard all day yesterday, both wading & from his powerboat.

They caught 13 Specks 15-20" and 7 slot Redfish. That's mediocre for him.

Good news is the baywater temp is rising and more baitfish are showing up. Hope to see you on the water.

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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by impulse »

Dandydon wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm Impulse, we always appreciate your timely reports and swear we won't talk to your irritating neighbors.
Generally, my neighbors are great people with a couple of grumps that I get along well with regardless. But we get a lot of weekend renters and power boaters that don't hesitate to anchor in the lights, often damaging them to the tune of $400 for a service call. That was a big driver behind me making my own 12V lights that can survive even a minor prop hit. That, and I don't like having 120V in the water where kids are swimming. Not even on a GFI circuit.

And we get a lot of tackle donated when we find it hanging off the top deck or overhead lights in the morning. I just chuckle and thank the gods for sending free tackle. Some of the neighbor, not so much. And some of it hangs for quite awhile until the next time we pull out a ladder to work on the lights.

Keep the reports coming because this is the time of year that things are changing for the better.
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shoffer
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by shoffer »

I thought about hitting it last night, but then checked the winds and thought it was not the best night.
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saltykat
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by saltykat »

Nice work Kyle. Wish I was out there with you. 23 degrees here right now :cat:
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Dandydon wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:37 pm Wow! Kyle, I'm so proud that you've ascended to Admiral Wilchek's spot as the TKF Trout Slayer. Don leaves town and you have a Wilchek-style triple trout limit. Big girls. At night! Beautiful! But no pics? I know, it's tough to snap them at night.

We've fished those bay lights like you when the canal lights struck out. I've always preferred good surface lights over submerged green ones although sometimes both produce keeper gamefish.

Finally, congratulations on hammering those specks w/ the famous Mirrolure Lil' John lure. Guides I know like Mickey Eastman & Jim West love them. Me? In about 200 casts I've never had one bite on those stupid 2.5" tube lures that look like leeches lol. Image

Next trip whip out a 3" Sixth Sense lipped crankbait (mullet pattern) and see what happens. I'm hammering trout & redfish w/ it, even in dirty water. Image

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
Sorry Dandy Don, I've donated 2 I-phones to west bay this year. So I'm a bit gun-shy on the pics, especially when out solo. Actually the 2nd one of this year occurred shortly after taking a few good pics of the nice 25 incher. I had sat my phone in my lap after snapping a few pics and felt it slide off as I leaned over to release the 25in fish. Fishing was so good I didn't blink Haha. Should have retied, maybe I would have caught an even bigger trout.

I had the same thought for the longest time regarding the lil john, but caught some really nice fish on it this year, a solid 24 a few weeks before this one. Safe to say it's staying in the box from now on.
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

impulse wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 4:16 pm Good report. I'm assuming West Bay around Sea Isle/ Isla del Sol?

Looks like I'm going to have to launch the T160 to get out of the canals and into the bay.

Last 2 years, we had big schools of 2-3" glass minnows in the lights by now. Followed closely by masses of reds and hardheads. So far, the glass minnows I'm seeing are much smaller, and not nearly as thick. There have been some silhouettes of nice fish in the lights, but nothing to write home about.

I'll certainly post when it busts wide open as long as nobody tells my neighbors where you got the info. They're great neighbors, but some of them don't like to share the canals, and especially their lights.

Just got back from the Sea Isle beach where I saw a guy haul in his 4th decent shark of the day at 7' long. He's using cut bait and kayaking his baits waaaay out there. I'm tempted to try it myself if the mild surf holds up. Surf is a little murky from the recent winds.
Further towards the west, yes. I can confirm the corner neighbor seems like a crabby guy, but I've talked with him a handful of times while fishing and is cool as long as you don't crowd his area. I don't blame him.
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

saltykat wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 7:55 am Nice work Kyle. Wish I was out there with you. 23 degrees here right now :cat:
Thanks Salty Kat. If you decide on an impromptu trip to the South let me know!
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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by impulse »

poltergeist-1.jpg
'Nuff said...
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by mwatson71 »

We love you Impulse. We really, really, love you.
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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by impulse »

mwatson71 wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:37 pm We love you Impulse. We really, really, love you.
The front that blew through yesterday may have blown them out for a day or 2, but the neighbors caught a couple of coolers full of mostly trout with some reds earlier this week. Then yesterday, we had a 2' surf in the canal. Water temp dropped off some.
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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

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mwatson71
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by mwatson71 »

Yep. Released about 10-12 slot reds last night up to 26”. Kept two 16” specks for fish tacos.
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impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by impulse »

mwatson71 wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:46 pm Yep. Released about 10-12 slot reds last night up to 26”. Kept two 16” specks for fish tacos.
Dear Sir,
We need the rest of that report... What were you throwing that worked, what didn't work, etc.

Looking forward to your earliest reply.

Yours very truly
Impulse
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by bing »

played in the lights on sabine last night, the water was full of tiny prawns, shads & glass minnows. didnt get a hit, saw a few smallish gars.
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Dandydon
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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by Dandydon »

Good night fishing, Capt. Watson!

Looks like Shoffer and I picked the wrong night to refrain from fishing.

No pics?

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Re: Spring time night fishing

Post by mwatson71 »

impulse wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:38 pm
mwatson71 wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:46 pm Yep. Released about 10-12 slot reds last night up to 26”. Kept two 16” specks for fish tacos.
Dear Sir,
We need the rest of that report... What were you throwing that worked, what didn't work, etc.

Looking forward to your earliest reply.

Yours very truly
Impulse
Posted.
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