Charlotte (L) and Sheri (R) vertical jigged slabs today for a total of 87 fish despite the tough, post-frontal conditions.
This is afternoon I fished with Sheri W. of Killeen and Charlotte M. of Harker Heights. Sheri’s husband, Marty, also joined us as our videographer. I wanted to put together a video very intentionally showing ladies fishing and being successful so as to encourage more women to get on the water and let them know it is okay to call up a guide and book a trip.
We elected to fish this afternoon which helped us avoid what would have been an uncomfortably cold morning for the ladies, as well as avoid the tough fishing that normally accompanies winter cold fronts with winds due north as we had at 14 mph this morning.
I actually got out on the water in advance of my party’s arrival in order to take some sonar shots for a seminar I’m doing at the Cabela’s store in Buda, TX, on Saturday, 16 Feb. Once I finished that chore, I had about 20 minutes to spare, so, I probed around and was able to find some fish, so, I marked them hoping to return soon to allow Sheri and Charlotte to take advantage of the fishing.
Everyone arrived punctually and, after a little class on technique at dockside, we were off. We went straight back to Area 1164 and found the fish right where I’d left them. We only picked up 8 fish as the ladies got the hang of things, and those fish were smallish and sluggish, so, we moved on.
We next connected at Area 946 in 52 feet of water. Long story short, we caught 67 fish off this one spot without ever moving the boat. The ladies’ technique and hookup percentages improved as they became accustomed to feeling and reacting to biting fish. Once they relaxed and didn’t have to try so hard to maintain their technique, we got to talk about everything from chickens to homeschooling, and from burgers to inspirational one-armed basketball players!! When we began catching only small fish and they got few and far between we left those fish still biting and moved on.
We made one final stop within 20 minutes of sunset at Area 948 in 56 feet of water. Again, the ladies vertically jigged with white slabs (TNT 180’s in white) while I experimented with some “Splinter” spoons sent as samples from Johnson (a Pure Fishing subsidiary). All slabs fished equally well, and we put another even dozen fish in the boat before losing our direct light.
As we closed out the day, our catch stood at 85 white bass and 2 freshwater drum, with our largest white bass (shown in photo) going right at 13.75 to 14.00 inches.
Great job, girls!!
TALLY = 87 Fish
TODAY’S CONDITIONS:
Start Time: 2:30p
End Time: 6:30p
Air Temp: 59F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 57.8-60.2F
Wind: ENE7-8.
Skies: Post frontal bluebird skies.