Weather and Fishing

Fishing is absolutely as complicated as you make it.  There are some avid fishermen who constantly check the weather.  They only fish in certain conditions.

There's nothing wrong with being weather conscious, but how do you know when you're overcomplicating things?  When you stop having fun.  That's when you've gone too far.  

Constantly checking the weather or the barometric pressure is almost as much fun to me as a dental appointment.  I've been fishing in almost every condition Mother Nature can dish out, and I've caught fish in all of them.  With the exception of lightning and severe weather, there are very few conditions in which you cannot fish.

In fact, there are certain weather conditions that might increase your chances of catching fish.  One of those conditions is rain, believe it or not.

Rain stirs up water in the pond.  It churns the water surface and brings out all sorts of small critters that fish like to feed on.  Rain also brings out the small bait fish and, in turn, the bigger fish.

Two other conditions that stack the odds in your favor are sunrise and sunset.

Fish like to feed at this time because there is enough light to see, but it's also just dark enough in the water to give them a jump on their prey.  Next time you're out at sunset, look at the lake surface.  It's teaming with activity!

Fish can be caught in hot or cold weather.  It's more about weather stability than temperature.  So the day after a front, warm or cold, take fishing off your list of activities.  If you just can't bring yourself to do that, be patient at the lake and expect fewer bites.

Remember that fish are cold blooded.  They'll use the lake to regulate their temperature.  On a hot day, they'll be shallow.  On a cold day, they'll be deep.

Along these lines, pay attention to lake shadows and use them to your advantage.  

Fish tend to feel more secure in shadows, even when it means being near the bank.  Cast into the shadows ... except on cold days.  On cold days fish will stay away from the shadows to stay warm.

Happy fishing!

Channel Catfishing at Buddy Holly

Today's fishing took us to the east and north sides of town.  We couldn't get anything to bite at Mackenzie, so we went to the Buddy Holly Recreation Area.  It was a very successful trip with about 11 channel catfish and one small carp between myself and my daughter.

Channel catfish are very easily distinguished from flat head / mud catfish and blue catfish.  They have a curved anal fin, a forked tailfin, and very distinctive spots on their bodies.  Here are some photos.

It was all catch and release for us today.  My compliments to the City of Lubbock on a beautiful park, fishing, and recreation area.  The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day. I hope you were able to get out and enjoy it!

Video of "Dancing" Grasshopper

You might be asking yourself how this ties in with fishing.  Grasshoppers make excellent bait.  They're a bit like filet mignon for fish.  Now is the time of year to catch them too!  They're everywhere.  This guy was on our windshield.

Chumming

Chumming refers to throwing material in the water that will attract fish.  There are some people that consider it "cheating."  I'm not in that group.

I'm a bank fisherman.  There's no boat here, so I can't come to the fish.  They have to come to me.  

So I have two choices.  I can wait for the fish and hope that they hit my one little piece of bait in that vast expanse of water, or I can make something happen.  I choose the latter.

The best items with which to chum are oily and aromatic.  I know what you're thinking.  Can a fish smell?  You bet!  

Smell is one of the fish's strongest senses.  Take a look at the photo below.  The carp's nostril is the hole in front of its eye.  There's one on each side.

Now let's talk about the best items to use as chum.  Bread is tried and true.  If you're using it for bait, buy an extra loaf just to chum.

Corn is another sure bet.  When you go to the store, buy the cheap generic stuff.  Get at least a couple of cans.  

Dump a whole can into the area you'll be fishing.  If you're on a pier, simply dump the contents straight down.  If you're on the bank, shake the can back and forth in front of you.  Shake your arm widely for a larger coverage radius.  Then get ready.  You just rang the dinner bell!  

Hot dog weenies also make good chum. You can throw them a few feet and get good coverage.  The oils in the franks can draw an almost immediate response.

Last but not least, there's dog food.  It's VERY aromatic.  Catfish absolutely love the stuff.  I've seen dog food send catfish into a feeding frenzy in a small stocked pond.

Just a couple more tips.  If you're lucky enough to live on a lake or be within short distance to your favorite fishing hole, you should chum often.  I recommend at least once a week, whether or not you fish.  Even in a big lake, it won't take long to establish a feeding pattern for the fish.

As usual, check the rules and regs.  The legality of chumming and what you chum with varies by state and certainly by country.

God's Knocking at Your Door

There are very few places on Earth that make me feel more connected to God than a lake.  Some day, some way, some how ... I'd like to purchase a lakefront home and move there with my wife and kids. I love being close to nature, and I love the tranquility.

Of course, it's not all about me ... not even at the lake.  God gave me a sharp reminder of that a while back.  I was fishing with my kids one day.  Two little girls that were maybe a year or so older than my daughter came running up like a whirlwind.

These girls had poles but no extra tackle.  After getting snagged, they were missing weights, hooks, etc.  There was a mother and an aunt that eventually showed up.  They had poles of their own, but this was their first rodeo.  The  mother caught a fish and didn't know how to take it off of her hook!

That was just the tip of the iceberg.  I ended up rigging these little girls' poles for them again and again.  When they lost hooks and weights, I replaced them with my own.

After 40 minutes of this, my patience was wearing thin.  This whole thing was cutting in on my quality time with my own kids.  I wasn't getting much of my own fishing done either.

I was literally a second away from asking these girls to head back towards their mother when one of them looked at me with her big brown eyes and asked a question.  "Are you their daddy?"  She was pointing to my kids.  I replied that I was.  "We don't have a daddy," she said.

I instantly felt the conviction of The Lord.  In that moment I would have given them my whole tackle box and my pole.  Of course, I continued to help those girls.  I did it with a grateful heart.  I even shared some of our bait with them.  My daughter ended up having a blast with them.  The girls and their mother thanked me for my kindness before they left.

Lots of realizations came with this experience, especially as I thought about it afterward.  The Lord let me know that there would be no random encounters at the lake.  If He put someone in my path out there, it was for a reason and a purpose.  He intended to provide that person with something they needed, and I was the chosen instrument.  Those girls needed a positive interaction with a male role model, and I came incredibly close to failing the test.

Since then, I've gone out of my way to be helpful and kind to people.  The Lord has also gone out of His way to put plenty of people in my path at the lake.  What better place to show people God's love than His own lake?

Five Items For Your Tackle Box

Like so many other recreational activities, fishing is as expensive and complicated as you make it.  You may have gone fishing with a neighbor or a friend who's been doing it for years.  Seeing a five tier tackle box with dozens of items is intimidating.

Fear not!  You don't need a huge tackle box.  You just need a basic one tier box that will hold a handful of items.  Below are the items you need to start filling your tackle box.

                     Needle-nose Pliers

These can be used to remove hooks from a fish's mouth.  They can also be used to attach certain types of weights to your line.

                            weight

The weight pictured above is a bullet weight.  Its name is derived from its shape.  It really doesn't  matter what type of weight you have, as long as you have one!

                          Hook

Use whatever brand you want.  My dad used Eagle Claw, so I use them.  They work!  What's important is the size - size 4.  It will catch small and big fish.

                          Scissors

For a variety of reasons, you'll need to cut your line.  That's where scissors come in!

                            License

In Texas a license is required, even on playa lakes.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be blocks down the street, only to turn around and head home for the license you forgot.  Keep it in your tackle box!

Happy fishing!

Carp with Double Forked Tail Fin

Most carp tails have one fork, like this one.

Here's a close up of the tail.

Here's a nice-sized carp we caught today.

Here's a close up of its tail.

Has anyone seen this before?  Feel free to leave a comment!

The Five Best Fishing Baits

These are in order of effectiveness, with #1 being the most effective.  This is my opinion only, of course.

1. Night crawlers.  Almost every fish out there will bite on worms.  I've caught catfish, carp, trout, sunfish, perch, and blue gill on worms.

2.  Bread.  Bread balls can be made from sliced bread for fishing off the bottom, but an unsliced bagget is the only way to surface fish.  See my post on carp fishing for more detail.

3.  Biscuit dough.  It doesn't matter what kind.  Since it's sticky, it stays on the hook well.  It's also more difficult for the fish to eject, thus increasing the chance that the hook will catch in the fish's mouth.

4.  Corn.  Preferably canned sweet corn due to the aroma it emits in the water.

5.  Hot dog weenies.  My advice would be to open the package and drain the juice.  Let the franks dry overnight.  They should stay on the hook longer.

Happy fishing!

Night Fishing

I absolutely love to go fishing at night.  It offers peace, quiet, and a beautiful view of God's  work.  I've found it to be the perfect time for prayer and meditation.

Check out those lights shimmering and reflecting off of the water!

              How about that moon?

The key to night fishing is knowing your target.  Fish that rely heavily on the sense of sight will be scarce.  Conversely, fish that rely heavily on the senses of touch, vibration, and echolocation will be abundant.

In other words, you're most likely to catch catfish at night.  Moreover, you stand a serious chance of catching big catfish.  All you need is a weight, a worm, and some patience.  

Of course, the bait does not have to be a worm.  There are dozens of dough baits on the market that combine the catfish's favorite flavor with its favorite smell.  These are very effective.  

I have one other recommendation.  Try to plan on a night with a full moon.  You'll be surprised at how much it illuminates your surroundings.  It might also draw out a few of those fish varieties that normally feed during the day.  

If you can't make your schedule coincide with a full moon, there are battery-powered underwater lights that can be purchased. Tie the rope to the pier, then toss the light in the water.  The concept is that light attracts fish.

If you haven't tried night fishing, give it a chance.  You'll be ... wait for it ... HOOKED!

Fishing in Cooler Weather

Fall is in full swing, and the cooler temperatures have finally arrived in Texas.  After flirting with the 90 degree mark the past few days, we struggled to make it into the sixties today.

Regardless of that, I decided to take my son fishing.  Although we were at it for several hours, we only caught about half a dozen fish between us.  They included a couple blue gill and a few catfish.

As you can see, it was much warmer in the afternoon than in the morning!  We even tried some bass fishing using a spinner rig, but no luck there.

Now I went into this eyes wide open, knowing that the weather change could diminish fish activity, and it absolutely did.  However, we still caught some fish.  Most importantly, I spent quality one on one time with my son.  For that reason alone, the trip was a total success!

I write this post to help the fisherman who's just getting started and who's still building patience.  When the atmosphere gets cold, so does the water.  Shallow bodies of water such as playa lakes can cool down almost as quickly as the surface air.  Fish are cold blooded creatures, so their temperature will fall with the water's.

Lower temperatures can have many effects on a fish, including the disruption of feeding routines.  Fish may become sluggish and exert only the minimal energy necessary in order to get enough food to stay alive.  Fish may also swim deeper as colder water temperatures permeate the lake at the surface and then sink down.

One thing that might help is to wait a couple of days after the big front passes through.  Even if it's still cold, the stability in weather might generate an uptick in feeding.  I know it's getting chilly, but be patient.  Don't stop fishing!

More Carp Photos

My kids and I had a great time carp fishing over the weekend.  Take a look!

That last photo's actually from a few years ago.  I just think it's a gorgeous pic.

Common West Texas Catfish

Although Texas is home to multiple species, there are two types of catfish that can be found in this part of the state.  They are channel catfish and bullhead catfish.

                      channel catfish

                       bullhead catfish

How to Avoid Being Horned by a Catfish

Catfish are awesome.  They're fun to catch, and they're delicious to eat.  There's absolutely nothing better than fried catfish and tartar sauce.  Catfish are also abundant.  You can find them in virtually any established body of water, lake or river.

If you're a first time fisherman and you use a worm, odds are that your first fish will be a catfish.  There are three main types here in the U.S.  They are blue catfish, channel catfish, and flathead catfish.  They all have something in common - spiked fins.  Catfish have three long spikes. There's one in their top fin, and there's one in each side fin.  These things are razor sharp, and they have a chemical that will leave your wound burning for a good few minutes.

Avoiding the catfish's defense is easy.  You cup the fish toward the tailfin and slide your hand up right into the creases between the catfish's fins and his body.  This will keep those spikes sticking out, and it will keep your hand safely behind them.  On small catfish, it may be difficult to do this without getting spiked.  In those cases, simply put a finger in the fish's mouth.  It will clamp down, and the fish is now firmly on your finger.  Relax, catfish don't have teeth.  Just keep in mind that sooner or later, no matter how careful you are, you WILL get spiked.

All of that said, a video's worth a million words.  Here's my daughter's  demonstration how to hold a catfish.  The fish in the video was not a keeper due to its small size.  We tossed it back in the water.  Enjoy!