A lot of them will probably get flushed out with the recent rain and more heavy rain predicted, but the baitfish will be back with predators in tow when the water clears.

In the meantime there has been some less expected patterns. A couple of weeks ago Rob Fish from Clyde River House Boats reported that his customers caught some Mud Crabs to 1.5 kilos. This sparked a lot of interest, so I rang Rob and found out some more.

For a start the crabs were not even caught in pots, just on standard flathead fishing lines! Further more the family who caught the Mud Crabs caught 5 that trip, and the biggest, nicknamed ‘Hercules’ actually weighed 1.9 kilos, not 1.5 kilos as was first reported…it was big enough to feed the whole family!

As it turns out, Mud Crabs have been a bit more common on the Clyde than usual this season, especially up around Nelligen where experienced ‘crabbers’ have been bagging out at times with their crab pots. But newcomers catching 5 without a pot-wow!

Global warming? The east Australian currents in a La Nina year? Or what else? Who cares-this is a big bonus for locals and tourists alike, lets hope they still happen when the run off clears.

BREAM KING

Captain Kev from Wilderness Fishing is Mallacootas undisputed king of fishing on lure, so when he says there is some absolutely massive bream, flathead and whiting available at Mallacoota, you better believe it.

But that doesn’t they are easy to catch them-many Mallacoota anglers I spoke too missed out! He mumbled something about salinity, weather cycles and slow retrieves. Sounds like it’s time again for me to get down and find out just what new techniques he has pioneered on this amazing system. Can’t wait.

PLASTICS AIN’T PLASTICS

You may have read that the Storm Pro Shad is one of my favorite jewfish, flathead, Snapper and Murray Cod soft plastics because the tail wriggles seductively even when the lure is just moving along at a snails pace, but there is much more to it.

I’d been playing around with some different plastics again to see what else is new on the market, but found that the super soft varieties that wiggle well at slow speed don’t stay on the hook that well. Further more few have the baby Tailor shaped profile-and baby Tailor are our most common estuary bait fish thru much of the year.

Yet another obstacle was a finding an ultra thin body that permits hookups even when the lure fouls on the bite, as often happens. Another thing I look for is prominent ribs to hold scent in the body.

The Pro Shad has none of the above problems, yet all of the positive attributes, and this is why I came back to it yet again-it is still the best soft plastic of its type on the market.

Meanwhile out on the coast line Adam Giatras and friends evened the score with a few big jewfish when they speared two honkers one of which was well over the 1.4 meter mark! Now before line anglers say hey-that’s cheating, consider this-Adam is an experienced spear fisho, and has been trying to get his first jewfish for over 5 years!

All this is off the back of the bonafide 100 pound jewfish caught near the Shoalhaven River mouth a few weeks back. Seems like there is no end to the resurgence of this species. Punch my name into the You Tube Search Bar and you can see some local video footage of this amazing species.

SMITH AND DAWSON

I noticed that when I say it this heading it has a Clint Eastwood ‘Smith and Wesson’ ring to it. That’s because when locals Ray Smith and Dean Dawson fish together off the rocks the fish are in the firing line.

The duo hit pretty point and hooked an 8 foot Hammerhead Shark on Rays new Okuma Salina 2 Spin Reel. The fight was gun smoking hot-these sharks will make a similar sized marlin blush in the combined speed and power department. After nearly being spooled twice Ray got the beast in and tagged it. A shark this big off the rocks on spin gear-that’s something!

See you on the water

Currently, catch rates are good with a better bite occurring in the morning hours.

Rainbow trout are averaging 14-18” with an occasional larger fish being seen. Brown trout, cutthroat trout, splake and brook trout are also present.

Colorado
Division of Wildlife

A cold front just came through leaving the area with its coolest temperatures of the year. Creeks are stained and are a perfect color for fishing. That’s where most of the fish are.

Not a lot has changed since the last report except more stripers are being caught. There are several schooling fish just inside the mouths of creeks feeding on the shad. These schools contain bass, hybrid and stripers. You will not know what it is until it hits.

Crappie are on brush and moving from one pile to another. They go shallow at dusk. There are some very nice fish being caught everyday. I have not caught any walleye for a few days but I do not run the whole lake. Harvey works the north end of the lake, Steve works the middle and Bink works the south. Spoons, grubs, swim baits and live bait are the best.

Jerk bait fishing is coming soon.

Blackburn’s Resort
p: 800-635-0526

James River: The James River has been the epicenter for big fish on an umbrella rig, from point 12 to Cape Fair it seems every point has a boat on it casting a rig. Look for shad close by to increase your success rate. Windy days have been much better than calm ones as the fish will move shallower and feed more aggressively din the wind. On calm days a Jewel ½ oz. football jig has been very effective, match the jig with a J-Tail trailer and work rocky points from 15′ – 25′ deep paying close attention to any ledges or drops the bait comes across.

White River: The White River has been almost as good as the James for big fish, the same chunk rock point pattern has been producing from Baxter to Big M. There has been a resurgence of jerkbait fishing in the upper White and Kings Rivers; SPRO McSticks and Mega Bass 110′s have been the best producers around standing timber on bluff ends and the mouths of bluff pockets. Allow the bait to pause for around five seconds to draw strikes and pay close attention to your line as allot of the bites have been the fish moving sideways with the bait even knocking slack in the line.

Dam Area: The lower end is still dominated by the deep bite; Chompers’ Webb Tail Spoons and Drop shot worms have been the best baits worked around deep tree tops from 35′ – 55′ deep. Most of the fish are suspended in and around the trees over as much as 100′ of water. An Umbrella rig will catch fish on the lower end but is not nearly as effective as in the rivers. Look to the Long Creek area to find success and duplicate the pattern in the White and James Rivers. Still several quality fish coming on a Jewel Eakins’ Jig and Craw combo around large community docks, make pitches to the center walkway from 10 – 40′ deep. Most of the bites will come on the fall so pay close attention to your line as it falls.

Capt. Eric Prey
Focused fishing Guide Service
p: 417-860-4743

It was a tough one! A day after a cold front in the winter.

Started out slow, but the bite got better as the day went on. Ended up with 11 bass, 4 keepers! Largest one was 4 pounds caught on a crankbait. Second largest was 3 and half and caught on a Tennessee rig. Total weight of the 4 keepers was little over 12 pounds. Not a bad day for post frontal conditional. The rest came on a jig. The key to today was fishing slow and around cover. All bass were between 8 and 15 ft.

Good Luck to all…

Mike Davis Outdoors
p: 615-513-2667

The Redfishing lately has been pretty good most days when the wind is not howling and we’ve seen some nice schools of Reds. Warmer, sunny and lower wind days can be the key to catching these inshore winter Redfish. It’s not hard to catch them once you find’em, look for these Reds in creek with dark colored bottoms and oyster rocks never hurt. Scented soft plastics like Berkley Gulp should do the trick to get these Reds to hit. Patterns in Gulp like Shrimp in sizes 2″ and 3″ are my go too, colors that seem to work the best are pearl, molting and new penny; the new Fire tail colors work great too! Try lighter jig heads like 1/16 and 1/8 when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and still look nature as possible.

Surf Reds have been hit or miss; I believe that a lot of the Reds are still up in the creeks due to all the mild weather this season. I have caught a few good days of surf Reds when the weather is just right. Casting Berkley Gulp Ripple mullets on 1/4oz and 3/8oz jig heads in colors Rootbeer gold and New penny’ don’t forget that fluorocarbon leader this time of year the water is super clear!

I’ve made quite a few trips to the Cape Fear River year; there are three different kinds of fish to chase in the Cape Fear, Catfish, Striped Bass and even a hand full of nice Redfish most all winter long. Here is a few ways to put a CFR Striper on your line. Try Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch size; in pearl & new penny colors. Work these baits slowly and always rig them weed-less; there are many hangs in the Cape Fear River. Try a Moaner swim bait hook with the Berkley Jerkshad; this is a great hook at a great price.  I use the weighted Stroker hook in 1/4oz 5/0. Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines.

If you would like to give the Catfish a try, use baits like cut mullet, chicken livers and cut eel. I use heavy Carolina rigs when I fish for catfish. Try an Eagle claw L42 2/0 to 4/0 hook with fifty or eighty pound mono leader to make your carolina rig. Look for the catfish on drop-offs from five to twenty feet of water. We have seen some blue cats over thirty pounds caught in the river so try not to use to light of tackle; these are not always your ‘farm pond channel cats’!

Tackle run down: Penn Battle Spinning reels sizes 3000 & 4000 for the Redfish and Striped Bass. Penn Legions in 6’6″ & 7′ medium and med/hvy action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound; Berkley Big Game Fluorocarbon leader for my leaders.

Captain Jot Owens
Jot It Down Fishing Charters
p: 910-233-4139

Fishing this week is the same as last weeks maybe a little better, change nothing…. The fish are biting well, and we have been catching 15- to 30-fish on most trips, when at this time last year big shad kills had almost shut down the fishing.

The north end of the lake has been so muddy that it hasn’t been worth fishing.

Likewise, the south end — from Bethany Bridge to Tanyard — hasn’t been worth fishing either, mid-lake, from Duck Hole down to the dam is where most of the fish are. There are a few fish being caught from Duck Hole to Harbortown, but the highest concentrations of fish are from Galts Ferry to Clear Creek, and there are huge schools of fish and tons of boats in the 1/2-mile stretch at Bartow Carver.

The last two weeks has almost been like a late-summer bite, in that downlines are the deal. The fish are anywhere from 25 to 50 feet deep, I suggested starting the morning with downlines at about 32 feet and then adjusting as you figure out where the fish are. Medium shiners and shad are working equally well as bait, with trout running a close third. Spoons are also a good option if the fish appear to be sitting near the bottom. A 1/4- to 1/2-oz. Flex-It in chartreuse will get gobbled as quickly as a live bait if the fish are on the bottom. An umbrella rig will also catch a few fish, but they won’t hit it in muddy water.

Find the cleanest water available where you’re still marking fish before you pull a U-rig. His success with the U-rig has also come mid-lake.

Capt. Robert Eidson
First Bite Guide Service
P: 770 827-6282

Even though it was cool this morning the stripes didn’t seem to mind. We started out with umbrella rigs and a couple different lures on the downrigger. It didn’t seem to matter what lure we used, as long as you put it in front of them. We caught fish in depths ranging from 15-40 feet deep. Their arms where a little tired by 9am, so we took a minute and ate a snack. Reeling in 150 feet of line over and over, with a fish on can give you a pretty good work out. No huge fish, but we had two (20lb+) and several fish between (12-16lbs) and lots of (5-10lb) fish. Other than dropping my iPhone in the lake today, the fishing was great. I had such a good day, it made it easier to deal with the lose of the phone.

The 10 day forecast looks pretty good. With average temperatures between 50 and 60, fishing should continue to be good. There’s only one thing you need this time of year, rain gear! Some of the best days I’ve had on the water are on day with rain. This next month will be full of hit and miss shower, so done get locked in on the looking for perfect weather this time of year.

Hope to see you on the water.

Mike Walker
Fishing 24/7 Guide Service
p: 205-503-2020

All it took was one stop for us to load the box with some nice fat Dularge specks up to 20 inch’s long. No limits but 40 nice specks, 3 reds, and 1 flounder in just a few hours of fishing. Fun times with lots of laughs and some trash talking. Swimbaits is what the fish wanted. Blue and Chartruese colors were the ticket with a slow steady retrieve. Thanks guys.

Looking forward to busting them again tomorrow.

Capt. Marty LaCoste
Absolute Fishing Charters
P: 985-856-4477

Trout fishing is really good, seems every grass flat is loaded with fish; the future looks great, I can’t remember in recent years so many sub legal fish. There are also plenty of larger fish and the average size will increase with each day we edge toward Spring.

Bouncing the bottom with shrimp and jig combinations is not only a good choice for trout, but also a likely technique to get rewarded with some tasty pompano.

Sheepsheads fishing has been OK, nothing great, honestly we have only really targeted them on days when it’s too cold to fish for anything else, and those days have been few and far between this winter.

There are plenty of Spanish mackerel around and the longer stretches we have with warm weather the better the bite gets. Some big macks are showing up early in Charlotte Harbor this year. Bluefish and cobia are also mixed with the mackerel, plus there are a few large sharks and tarpon making an early appearance.

Snook is another angler favorite that really responds to the warmer weather, we are catching snook, and some big ones, in areas where we generally don’t see them for another month. Snook is catch and release only, but a ton of fun, especially in the cooler water, please handle them with care and get them back in the water quickly for a healthy release.

It’s hard to tell what the future holds, but if the past couple months is any indication we are in for an early spring season. You won’t hear any complaints from me, that’s by far my favorite season to fish!

Capt. Bill Russell
Gulf Coast Limited Charter Co.
p: 239-283-7960