All I Want For Christmas...

Christmas is upon us! From Santa and colder weather, to presents and lights, you can’t turn your head without a reminder that the season of giving is here.  It’s a joyous time of year when families get together with friends to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and my family is no exception.  Tomorrow we will be leaving for New Orleans to enjoy a 9-day visit with my parents, as well as my visiting sister and her family. I assure you that it will be a high energy environment with no shortage of squeals and giggles by the 5 kids running around the house. In short, it’s going to be a lot of fun and we can’t wait.  However, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reminded by Mariah Carey and other Christmas novelty songs about what “I want for Christmas.” According to Mariah, all she wants for Christmas is “You”, however, Spike Jones and his City Slickers only want their “two front teeth.”  Me, on the other hand - All I want for Christmas is a 12lb trout.

“Wow, Chris…that’s pretty silly, a 12lb trout!?!?” you might say with bewilderment.

Yes, a 12lb trout…here’s why. This past April, a 30.5”, 11lb trout with a 17” girth ate a Top Dog I presented on a rainy, windy day down in Corpus Christi, and it was the most magical event that has ever happened to me in my angling career. From the hit to the events that followed, the details that surround landing that trout remain vivid in my mind, and continue to be the driving force in hopes if replicating such an accomplishment.  My bud Sam Davis, who writes for Mississippi and Louisiana Sportsman, published the story in the Jun copy of the magazine, and although he did a remarkable job of capturing the accomplishment, his 800-words afforded by the editor didn’t capture everything. So, during the holiday, a holiday of reflection, I’d like to reflect back on that trout and in my best Paul Harvey voice provide, “The rest of the story.”

When I found out we were leaving Biloxi for San Antonio, I wasn’t thrilled about the move.  Biloxi, over the course of 4 years, had become home for my family. After all, not many military families can say that their children were born in the same place, let alone the same room of the same hospital.  Additionally, both my military career, as well as my angling career, we’re both going really well. Professionally, I was made second-in-charge of a squadron of about 200 people and off-duty, my charter business, was seeing an increase of booked trips.  However, like all those I serve with, it boils down to sacrifice and this move was no different.  I shut down my charter business, told our friends goodbye and relocated to Randolph Air Force base, TX.  The first month and a half in San Antonio was incredibly rough, to say the least. We lived in a 2 bedroom hotel suite for almost 2 months while we waited for on-base housing to “open up”, and the shortage of space, free-time and the unknown of a new city/job/life weighed heavy on my family.  In short, I almost lost it all in those two months, but I thank God everyday that my wife was courageous enough to stick it out.  Fast forward 2 months, and we were so excited to move into our house on-base, that before we signed for the house, while it was vacant, we use to bring the kids and just lay on the hardwood floors and listen to the kids chase each other around.  It was awesome to hear them happy again and now our life can get “back to normal.”

So, now that we’re settled in San Antonio and comfortable with my job, it was time to start thinking about some trips to the coast. I fished 5-times from Oct – Jan and with some tips from a friend that just moved from the area, I was able to reunite with those silver wonders.  My first 3 trips, I stuck to Kyle’s suggestions and put fish in the freezer, but none of those notable Monster TX trout. So my next 2 trips, I started studying the estuary on Google Earth, and made 2 more trips, one in Dec and one in Jan and didn’t get a bite. During those ventures, I came across two really nice looking areas that I felt had big fish potential, but needed to learn more, and in February I got an education on TX trout fishing by none other than Capt Mike McBride.  As I’ve written in previous blog post, Capt Mike flipped the script in my approach to catching big trout.  I learned about water conditions and depth and what Big trout prefer in the harsh winter months. In 2-days I soaked as much knowledge as I could from Mike and was eager to get back to Corpus and experiment on my own.

Corpus is a two and a half hour drive from my house. Most of the time, I’ll stay at the Navy lodge on Corpus Naval Air Station, and make two days out of it, but on April 17, 2014 I was going for an out and back. When I woke up that morning I almost cancelled my trip because the wind was blowing so hard, however an approaching front had me intrigued enough to go…after all, I needed some “saltwater therapy.”  When I got to my first spot, a spot that consistently produces numbers of fish, I noticed that the hard East wind was playing to my advantage of making long cast and keeping a tight line, but more importantly had the water level higher than I remembered from my trips that previous fall.  As a result, I quickly caught a limit of quality trout and played a little catch and release until it started to rain.

By this point, it’s only 0930, and there was no way I was heading home, so soon.  So I decided to clean my quarry and go “explore” the spots I found in January, especially with the high water.  When I got out of my truck at my other spot, it was raining sideways, but like the other spot, a hard east wind meant long cast and a tight line, after all I caught my limit already so anything extra is lagniappe.  When I made my way onto my flat, I noticed the water was very milky, and what was shin to knee deep in January was Knee to thigh deep, a situation Capt Mike referred to as the “money zone.”  Now with confidence in my spot and my Chicken of the “C” Down South Lure I had wreaked havoc with all morning, I waded into my angling apex. It started the same as in Jan, with nothing to show for my hour and a half worth of effort. So wanting to cover more area, I decided to throw a MirrOlure Top Dog. As I was walking down my flat I remember the waves cresting over my Top Dog and for periods of time would take it from view. After about a half hour, I made a long cast…twitch…..twitch….twitch….boom!!!  As I looked in amazement I saw a wall of water swirl on my bait, and I felt the tension and gave my CastAway Skeleton wader’s special everything she had. About two or three cranks into the fight, she gave me a glimpse, and I wasn’t disappointed. She shook her head 3 or 4 times so violently and her gills flared so wide, that I would

compare it to taking a tin coffee can and shaking it as hard as you can while half submerged. As she did, she tried to jump, but couldn’t and instead fell backwards like she was a pig wallowing in mud. From that moment on, she stripped a few small sets of drag, but cruised across the flat, as if to say, “this is my home and I’m comfortable staying right where I am.”  My heart at this point is beating so hard, the adrenaline rush of the moment, seemed to slow everything down and I remember telling myself to focus on “keeping a high rod tip with tension at all times.” I made my way to the bank to beach her and she was content following me until the last 5 yards or so. When I had her back out the water she made one more bee-line for open water, but I calmly/clumsily followed her…and at that point gave me her life. “I did it!” The biggest trout I had ever caught was lying on the beach. “I thanked God!” as I reached down to put my hand under her gill plate, and I remember saying “this fish is 10lbs!” In excitement, I ran as fast as I could to my truck to instantly get her weight on my boga.  After almost tripping a half dozen times on my way to the truck, I layed her in the bed and snapped a few pictures with my phone, and sent them to my buddy’s and said, “This is what I just caught.” At this point, I’m overcome with excitement and sleep deprivation and still didn’t have a weight on her, so I got my Boga grip and watched as the line teetered in and out at 11lbs. At this point, my phone is getting responses saying, “Nice trout” and “Good job.”  After cautiously knocking on a car window to get another picture, I shot the picture and another text, saying “11lbs!!!” My phone started ringing like it was insurance call center. I couldn’t believe it, I knew these fish existed, but they were more appropriate for magazines with high glossed pages and fictitious places, but not in my hands and visible with my own two eyes.  After spending 10 minutes trying to revive her, she was gone, but she gave me new life as an angler to always pursue the impossible and “never give up”.

The 2 and half hour drive back to San Antonio felt like a trip around the block, and my phone had no shortage of texts and  phone calls which helped in that respect. After I got her home and shared the excitement with my wife and kids, I took some more measurements for a replica mount.  Now I decided to clean her, and while doing so, found out that she had a 15” trout half-digested in her belly. This was truly a remarkable discovery in such a remarkable fish!

In the days and weeks after the catch, I still couldn’t believe what had happened. People and friends continued to be happy and supportive.  I was obviously happy because it’s the reason we all fish…for lifelong memories.  So as we all get ready to open gifts, remember that the only pricesless gifts are the memories you make in life. So next time I’m in line at the mall for a picture with Santa, and he asks what “I want for Christmas?” You can bet my answer won’t be for any present or gift, but instead for the lifelong memories associated with a 12lb trout.

Tight Lines, God Bless and Merry Christmas…He is the reason for the season!

Chris

 

How to Read a Tide Chart

Upon request I’ve been asked to do a blog post about reading a tide chart. This request was made off of my last blog post, where I discussed feeding windows specifically for targeting trophy trout. However, for this tutorial/discussion I’d like to be more practical. I’d like to focus less on the definitions and terms you would find if you did a google search and focus more on what to look for when planning a day on the water. Like most things in life, it boils down to routine, so in the next couple of paragraphs I’ll walk you through my routine if I were going trout fishing in the fall in my homewaters of Port Sulphur, LA.

The first thing I would do is acquire a monthly tide chart. These can be found on various websites or publications like Mississippi Sportsman or Louisiana Sportsman. Since I’m fishing in South LA, I’m going to use the Louisiana Sportsman. See attached…I used the November chart for this scenario because it’s my favorite inshore month for targeting numbers of trout on the inside water of Port Sulphur.  So let’s plan our trips for the month to put a few fish in the box based off of the tide charts.

My initial observation of the tide chart is to determine the Full and New moon (FM – 6 Nov; NM - 22 Nov).  For me these two moon phases dictate tide movement as indicated by the wave associated on the chart, thus making them generally the best times of the month to fish. ..so I try to plan accordingly. My general rule of thumb is to fish a tide range at least .5 or higher. This can be determined by the range value annotated on the date.  20 Nov for example has a range of 1.1’ vice 17 Nov which has range of .2’.

Now lets say we got a kitchen pass and the weather looks good for a trip on 9 Nov. Let plan for a day on the water.

The wind will be SSE 5-10 with light fog in the am, then picking up out the WNW at 15 knots in the afternoon.  The weather conditions, based off of the wind tell me there is a window to fish before a frontal boundary pushes through.  Given that weather information and low tide forecasted for 0911 at Barataria Pass, I know I have until about 1100ish until the tide bottoms out.  The reason I say 1100 vice 0911 (as indicated on the chart) is because the spots I will choose to fish will have to have an adjusted time for tide change. In short, Barataria pass is further south in the estuary than Bay Sanbois, where I’m choosing to fish. As a result the tide will stop at 0911 at Barataria Pass, but will afford me a little more time before it stops in my area.  Adjustments to the tide chart are generally located on your reference point, and you can either use tide adjustments or choose a closer location to the area in which you are fishing.  To highlight my point I chose Manilla Village, which is one bay over from Bay Sanbois. So when it is projected to stop in Manilla, it will likely stop in my area…notice the difference for 9 Nov at Barataria Pass and Manilla Village? Low Tide in Barataria Pass is 0911 and Low Tide at Manilla Village is 1236.

Knowing that bit of information and the weather conditions, tee’s me up for a great morning of catching. I now know I have until about 1145ish to maximize my time on the water with good tide and good weather. 

Now that I know that bit of information, I can focus on spots, structure, etc… Again given our scenario, my gameplan is to fish these 4 areas in succession. Why? Because they have nice drainouts nearby (water movement = bait movement), points and bottom structure.  If I make that milk run in those weather and tidal conditions, and I didn’t catch anything then its safe to say that the fish aren’t there…move on, but focus on similar scenarios/characteristics.  At some point, exploring and reflecting on your time on the water will give you experience on locations and tide/weather conditions and how fish react to all of those combined.

All that being said, tide and its effect differs in each estuary, however the one constant is maximizing your time on the water in good tidal conditions.  If you do that and have a general understanding of how to read a tide chart, you will exponentially increase your chances of getting bit.

I hope this helps. God Bless and Tight Lines!

Chris

 

Feed the Machine

 

Thanksgiving 2014 - Alexandria, LA

With Thanksgiving week in our rear view, it’s only fitting that this blog post deal with some sort of diet intervention, particularly a tryptophan detox. I ate so much turkey and sides that my 170lb frame turned sideways probably looked like I ate a soccer ball. Ok, so maybe not, but I sure as heck felt like I did. However, that’s not the alarming part, the concern is after I ate all of that food I felt myself ready to eat again hours later and this continued till all the Thanksgiving leftovers we’re gone.  In short, I was 3 bites away from a Turkey coma J , I’m sure most who will read this will have experienced similar, and if not, I applaud your self-discipline.  All jokes aside I did find myself grazing a bit more than normal, which got me to thinking about one of my favorite phrases when I’m trout fishing…”Feed the Machine.”

My Best Night - "The Fab 5"

Although it’s not an original phrase, I use it in an original sense. Those who share fishing reports with me have probably heard me use this before, and I use it particularly when someone is on a red hot bite for 2 or 3 days.  In essence it touches on getting in on the action while the getting’s good. The machine I’m referring to is speckled trout, and the “feed” part…that’s your lure.  Although the complexities of the phrase remain simple, the concept I think is far more complex.  Mike McBride said in one of his recent articles that “His mission (while guiding all those years) became one of proving theories – right or wrong; searching for the science of it all.”  In the feed the machine sense, I think it’s very scientific and it relates to the tide and moon.  Keep in mind, I’m a wade fisherman, so by that very point I’m already left or right of center. That being said, we tend to think more about the environmental conditions, since we are standing in it, particularly the ones that impact the moon and earth’s gravitational pull. So, here is my theory – big fish eat in very small windows, and from my experience it’s either on a new or full moon, when the tide is nearing its highest point in the range. Don’t ask me how I know, because my response will be “Fight Club”. If you’ve ever seen the movie, then you know what I’m talking about, however if you haven’t, the only rule of fight club is that you never talk about fight club. The fight club in my sense are the areas that I had in my spots repertoire that consistently produced big trout in South Mississippi.  Some who read my blog know those spots, and to you I say fight club J  However, as good as these spots were at producing big fish, they didn’t always produce big fish.  Two times a months for about 3 or 4 days at a time with 2 hours in those days, I fed the machine, and it was solely dependent on tide and moon phase.  If the environmental conditions were conducive, I was out there…I cashed every kitchen pass, I promised to mow the lawn and wash the cars in a bikini top, whatever I had to do to get out there, I did it.  Some nights it was 1-2 in the morning, but I made do at work knowing that I gave myself the best opportunity to catch trophy fish.  To prove my point, my best night for quantity and quality was 45 degrees, with a light rain at 0100 in the morning.  If an innocent bystander saw me emerge from the darkness in those type of conditions, at that time, they probably would’ve imagined they had seen a ghost, but I did it.  Funny story to highlight my point, one night I was fishing and it was about midnight and I could hear and see a couple behind me talking, they we’re giddy like most are when they start dating, about 10 minutes later I could see them making out, and I was trying to mind my own business until….I got a hit.  I was fishing a catch 2000 made by MirrOlure, and when I felt the hit, I thought to myself how and where am I going to land this fish.  After fighting her for a couple of minutes, she got close enough to see that it was a pretty big trout.

25.5; 5.9lbs

As a result of the time and me not thinking clearly, I decided that beaching her would be the best bet.  Unfortunately for the couple and fortunate for me it was right where they were making out. As I got closer to the couple I could hear the girl, who was startled say, “Oh my God, you scared the hell out of me….I can’t believe you’re fishing this late, etc…” The guy on the other hand, walks closer to me and says, “You catch anything?” I pause a minute, then lift a 25.5” 6lb trout from the water. In short, he almost fainted. After that, all he wanted to talk about was fishing, almost to the point of wading back in the water with me leaving his lady friend behind...let’s just say  she was a little upset. I’m pretty sure they broke up after that….just kidding J It was funny though, and I’m sure eye opening for that guy.



Feeding window - 1830 - 2030hrs

That said, the “science” that Capt McBride talked about was A LOT of trial and error, but the window’s exist. That guy may or may not have tried that spot again and chances are if he did he didn’t catch anything, but that’s the hard part. Often times we give up on a spot that looks and feels conducive for big trout, because luck eludes us sometimes.  That’s why I say dialing them in is the hard part, so in an attempt to eloquently describe my point to help you the next time you’re staring at a tide guide and you decide to target big trout. Compare it to pouring a glass of tea. If you’re pouring someone a glass of tea, and you’ve already filled their glass half full, the moment you pull that pitcher back and that flow of tea decreases into that glass, the window has opened. However, when you stop pouring the tea and the flow stops, the window has closed. Now translate that to a tide guide, when you see that arc of the tide starting to flatten out before reaching its max or min, depending on your estuary, the window has opened. However, when the tide flips or comes to a stand-still, the window has closed. 

I urge you to keep that visual in mind, without a doubt this will help you get in tune with your estuary and once that happens more fish will be on the end of your line.  Also, keep in mind that it may be different for different estuaries, its up to you to do the homework. However, just don’t forget, if you have a stellar trip based on understanding the science of it all and your hard work has paid off, don’t hesitate to cash in all your chips to get back out there and feed the machine.

Tight lines and God Bless. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris