Accurate Casting is King for River Bassin'!

    As I introduce people to the sport of kayak fishing, and specifically to kayak fishing the rivers of Central Texas, I often find myself explaining a few simple tricks to increase the likelihood that they'll connect with a decent bass. I'll reiterate a few of those points here, but first, I must stress that accurate casting is King. Paramount. Requisite. Imperative. 

You get my point.

   What do I mean by accurate? I'd say you should be able to cast to an area 3' in diameter or less. Sometimes a difference of inches can mean no fish and a lunker. If you can cast to an area 1' in diameter, I'd say you've got the skill needed to target trophy bass in Central Texas.

   This brings me to my overnight camping trip along the Colorado River this last weekend. I landed 3 large Largemouth and 1 great Guadalupe Bass with accurate casting. Every now and then you'll get a dink, but the majority of the fish I'm pulling out of tight holes along bank cover are hogs. Bass are ambush predators, if you drop a lure 1' from their face they literally have a split second to respond. As a bass they have to make the decision so quickly, it's a reaction and the accurate cast gives you the advantage of surprise. They don't want that potential meal to disappear if it's that easy to collect. If your lure looks perfect, they literally have ZERO time to decide, and you have the advantage.

My tips for landing these.

1. Think small, cast small. Cast into the tightest of holes. Don't be afraid to cast over a log or limb. It might make the landing difficult (prepare yourself prior if you do hook up) but you will miss 100% of the fish you don't cast too. Big bass love pinch points and traps in the 1-2' behind between logs/branches and banks. The bass below was holed up between the tall reeds and water hyacinth you see over my right shoulder, right next to the fallen tree. Casting in that shallow, little transition point brought out this chunky LMB. 

2. Horse them out of the hole early. When I set the hook I horse them out early, before they realize the fight is as tough as it is. I'd rather yank them out in the open and fight them there then let them use all their energy near the cover and structure of the banks.

This bass struck the craw across the algae mat from me, under the cover of the elephant ears. Horsing her out early was key to keeping my line from getting wrapped around elephant ear stalks (hard to slice, even for braid) or algae matting (hard to pull through due to weight). Getting her out in the open early allowed me to fight her in the open water, which also makes for a safer release.

3. Hit the small eddies right above and below rapids. I especially can't stress this enough for Guadalupe bass and larger Largemouth and Smallies. An eddy that is 2' in diameter, or a shelf point along a rock wall that creates a current-less spot is a perfect ambush point for larger, predatory bass. This Guad pictured below was in literally a 6" deep eddy along a rapid, under a low hanging tree. Casting was difficult, I missed a few strikes (and I'll change my lure after missing two, so as to throw the fish off a little longer and increase my chances of a third attempt). This Guad hit a thinner craw on the 3rd time and NAILED it.

4. Get out there. Just go. Focus on every cast you make. Make every cast as perfect as you can. Don't let a lure hang sideways. The old and big fish don't get that way by being stupid. If something seems wrong or off about your lure, you aren't going to get a strike.

Good luck folks!

The Colossal Colorado

   I haven't had a chance to write in awhile... because I've been fishing. With the pre-spawn aggression, the spawn and the beginning of spring (which is essentially a one month season here in Central Texas) I've been trying to catch some bass. The last 3 weekends I've spent on the Colorado River, and it has not disappointed. It was so good the first weekend (on a 3-day camping trip) that I had to go back last Saturday. It was so good last Saturday that I had to go back yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't have next Saturday off, but if I did, I'd be back again- it has been that good folks.

   Dr. Warthog and Sparrow (some TKF friends) invited me on a little float east of Austin down the Colorado River. I couldn't resist, they've been pulling in some big bass from the "Roddy" lately. The Texas state record Guadalupe Bass (and IGFA World Title for sure...) was pulled out last month not too far from this stretch and I was itching to get into some Guads.

    I loaded up with the good doctor and we headed out before the rest of the gang. We put in early Friday morning with the expectation to fish hard all weekend. We did. We literally wouldn't put the poles down all day, sunup to sundown. The first weekend yielded close to 40 bass, and I broke my PB Guad length- twice.

   I threw almost every soft plastic in my tackle box and had so many destroyed I burned through almost all of them in 3 days. Here were a few thoughts running through my head by Sunday morning:
1. My arms haven't hurt like this since Alaska
2. I wonder if they'll bite this (while rigging up the next random lure I hadn't tried)?
3. Can I catch one more fish?

   By Sunday I was worn out.

Prettiest Guad I ever caught

   But I had such a good time that I had the urge to go back all that next week... so I did. My friend Dave had just got his kayak and was itching to slime it. We decided to do the first stretch of my trip the previous weekend and once again, it was on fire. I landed 29 bass in one day. Of those, 2 were Guads over 15". In 2 trips I had caught 4 Guadalupe Bass worthy of a Big Fish Award through TPWD. Dave slimed his boat up good with White Bass and Largemouths, and needless to say he was hooked on the Rowdy Roddy.

    Yesterday we gave it another shot and Dave landed multiple White Bass (good enough to cite his first Big Fish Award) and LMBs again. I managed a little over 20 bass and a few hefty footballs.

    We were lucky to have similar weather and water conditions on all 3 of my trips:

Day 1: Over cast in the morning then sunny, high near 80, low wind- >3' visibility
Day 2: Over cast in the morning then partly cloudy, high near 75, low wind- < 2' visibility
Day 3: Partly cloudy all day, high near 75- < 1' visibility

Day 1: Partly cloudy all day, high near 75- 2' visibility

Day 1: Partly cloudy in the morning leading to bright sun and high near 85- > 2' visibility

    The Colorado is loaded with steep bank with mostly mud banks but some rock. Dead-falls abound on the steep bank and should be fished hard. 90 % of my fish were caught on the first or second cast into an area, typically on the fall, in the shallows near the felled debris. Often times the bite was "topwater" simply because the water was so shallow you could watch the current proceed to your lure and anticipate the strike. Often times I'd throw a weightless heavy craw Texas rigged around the larger trunks or in pinch points where bass might ambush their prey. If this didn't elicit a strike, I'd follow it up with a swimbait around the edges of the pile.

    My go-to lures for these 3 separate trips (and I didn't have enough for either of the trips) were:
1. Havoc Pit Boss 4in. in Okochobee Craw
2. Havoc Grass Pig Jr. 3.5in. in Black-Blue Silver Fleck (rigged weedless with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight)

   Sometimes they'd hit the craw and miss and I'd toss it back only to have it denied cast after cast. One lesson I learned by Trip #2- if they hit the craw and miss, follow it up quickly with the paddle tail swimbait and burn it through the area of the strike. Sometimes it'd be the 3rd or 4th cast in the area, but the bass would hit the swimbait hard, and this helped put probably 10 more bass in the kayak. By the 3rd trip I learned that if they strike the craw and miss, then deny the paddle tail- let it sit for 5 minutes quietly and then come back with the craw and try it later (maybe 5-10 minute) this helped put 5 more fish in the boat.

   Work the cover. Pound a pileup with lures for 10 minutes if you have to. I find a spot with great vantage points and wrap my leg over a branch (watch out for snakes!) while I cast at a pile over and over. I start with the craw and hit every little pinch point, nook or shadow I can get to. I don't just get close to that spot, I cast until I get into that spot- that makes a difference for the pickier (bigger) bass. If these casts don't elicit responses I'll work that swimbait parallel to the sides of the pileup, parallel to logs and under them and across points of the cover.

   Lastly, don't be afraid to burn a swimbait by a grass mat. Lineup alongside the vegetation and crank a swimbait or shallow crank or topwater frog parallel to that mat. These often result in aggressive strikes because the fish is generally hitting it closer to perpendicular than straight back. That's how this Guadalupe below destroyed a paddle tail- and it looks like this guy is used to fights!

Go get out there before it gets too hot folks!