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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13765037
11/10/20 09:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435
🍀El Gato Azul🍀
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435 |
Bluecat Tip of the Week for Nov 10th This weeks tip of the week is for guys that travel to other lakes to fish. As you guys improve as bluecatrs your gonna want to travel to trophy lakes from time to time. Here are a few things I do before I drag my boat out of town. There are a lot more things than just these but these are some of the more important things on the list. #1 thing is make sure your boat trailer is greased up and ready for a long haul. If it’s not properly greased those bearings will get so hot that your wheels can actually catch on fire. It’s happened to my brother when we were going to PK 15 yes ago. *check all your lines and leaders for abrasions *I like to change all my hooks to 10/0 in case I hang something huge. I still catch some eaters on giant baits and 10/0 hooks but only thing I’m after are trophy fish this time of year. *Untangle your drift sock lines and anchor ropes so your not fumbling around on game day. *Check spare rods for fresh string and sharp hooks...I tend to get hung up a lot more when I travel fish and I don’t like to re-tie rigs while on the water. If I break off I throw it down and grab another rod. You don’t want old string when that 60 lbr hits. * I bring my spooling station with me and re-string the break offs at night in my room. *I bring my big baits with me. Nothing worse than looking for bait for 2 hrs when you could be catching toads. *I study the weather patterns intensely the week before. I look at how many days the wind has been blowing out of a certain direction and if there is a front approaching. * a week out i reach out to all my contacts and gather as much credible intel as I can on where bait is congregating and also where any big fish have been caught. *I then put together a game plan to fish according to what the weather has been doing. My game plan generally consists of 5 different areas to scan. I also formulate a plan b in case the fish aren’t where I think they should be. When you travel fish you don’t know the lake nearly as good as your home water and sometimes I gotta get on the graph and hound dog em hard to find em. Having a game plan gives you a system to follow instead of trying to figure it out on the fly. For you guys that are just starting out it’s a good idea to get in the habit of doing the prep-work before you fish your home lake. It’s also a good idea to have a game plan for your home lake too. It will train you to systematically find fish. You do this stuff long enough and eventually it’s second nature.
Last edited by 🌊El Gato Azul🌊; 11/10/20 10:53 PM.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13765271
11/10/20 11:57 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 16,064
steveiam
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 16,064 |
Really good information here El Gato- Thanks for taking the time and sharing-
What has happed to you does not define who you are-
HOW you react to what happens to you DOES!
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13765441
11/11/20 01:36 AM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,155
Blue Blazer 2400
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,155 |
Great tips. My problem is most of the time I don’t have time to get out on the lake the day or 2 before and then I have to find bait the day of. I need to spend more time searching where bait hangs out once it gets cold. I hate it when it takes 1-2 hours to make bait
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13777196
11/19/20 07:01 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435
🍀El Gato Azul🍀
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435 |
Bluecat Tip of the Week November 19th With all this warm weather we’ve been experiencing the lakes are still very warm. When the lake is mixed and the water temp is mid 60s the fish spread out and can be found at all depths. Large Gizzard Shad are scattered and catching big baits can be difficult until we get a few cold fronts blow through. Big Gizzard Shad are the king of baits in Texas and are one of the primary food sources for big blues but certainly not the only one. There are tons of 5-7” gizzards grouped up good but that’s really not big enough for my liking. I have been able to catch a few magnum gizzards each trip but my best fish have all come off Carp, Buffalo, Drum, anything but the big gizzard Shad. I always have a few big gizzard bombs out and occasionally that’s all they want but guys that know me know I catch most of my best fish on other big baits. Big blues like variety and when a whole fish filleted down one side goes dancing by on a rattling santee stinger rig, it is hard for a Toad to resist. These days I like to give them a variety of big baits and let the fish tell me what they want. My 4 yr old fishing partner is recovering from an ear infection so we’re giving the fish a rest this weekend unless he begs me to go.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13777217
11/19/20 07:09 PM
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,734
Fishin' Nut
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,734 |
So far, skipjack is still king here. Our shad bite turns on when the water temps get closer to 50. I'm down to three frozen jacks. The TVA has been relentless on the water release the last 30 days. Hard to restock on ammo when I can't anchor the boat below G Dam. But our bluegill bite has turned. I'm catching them the size of crappie right now. But I would like to go back to catching catfish. Not just fishing for them.
He is truly a sick individual.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13777910
11/20/20 03:36 AM
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 516
DEWAYNE BULLARD
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 516 |
Good tip El Gato give them a buffet and let them tell ya what they want. Livingston water temp was 70 degrees Saturday about 10 degrees warmer than last year.
BEATING THE BLUES ONE FISH AT A TIME. PB BLUE 57 LBS. Lake Conroe TEAM SLIME-N-ATOR
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13780662
11/22/20 01:52 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773
serj5150
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773 |
I'm not sure this is a tip or more of a question for my end but I'm starting to believe that a gauge of the hook has a lot to do with penetration. I'm not quite sure how thick my hooks are but it seems like they're a little too thick to me. The reason I say this is cuz I was having problem the last time out getting a good load on the circle hook even though it was super Sharp... it may be something to look at
Last edited by serj5150; 11/22/20 01:55 PM.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13780706
11/22/20 02:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435
🍀El Gato Azul🍀
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435 |
my best hooks are all heavy guage. Some days the fish are just hard to hook into. Thin gauge is fine for dinks. My WS triple threats, WS octopus circles, TC double action, all have heavy gauge. The smaller the hook the smaller the gauge on all 3 of those hooks. I’ve run every hook under the sun and you miss fish on all of em. Small fish are harder to catch on big hooks and big fish are harder to catch on small hooks. Even with all 10/0 hooks I still got 11 eaters yesterday.
Last edited by 🌊El Gato Azul🌊; 11/22/20 03:01 PM.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13781101
11/22/20 08:31 PM
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Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,461
Papa Stan
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,461 |
Thanks for posting.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782045
11/23/20 04:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435
🍀El Gato Azul🍀
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435 |
Bluecat Tip of the Week for November 23rd ...Locating and Catching Gizzard Shad.... Short week this week so here it go amigos! Like most of you guys I’m a weekend fisherman. I’m not a guide or a pro angler who spends day after day on the water so my path to becoming a better Bluecatr has been a slow long process. We’re all on the same path trying to become better anglers. Here are a few tips for guys who struggle to get good bait. Any decent Bluecatr knows that getting the “right” baits is the first piece to the Bluecat Puzzle. We’ve all had days where getting bait is tough. I still struggle to get bait from time to time but here is the method I’ve grown accustomed to using and it works 9 out of 10 trips any time of year on any lake. Gizzard Shad are structure oriented and are most often found on or close to the bottom. You can find them just about anywhere but I get mine on edges, ledges, and depressions. Knowing their preferred hangouts makes it a lot easier to locate them on mid depths structure most days. 9 times out of 10 you can find them quick and easy in these areas. Occasionally I have to look on a mud flat but most days they are right where they should be, sitting on a ledge, edge, or depression in mid depths. To reach these fish and efficiently catch them you need a deep hole taped net. I throw a 7ft taped net with 5/8ths mesh and 1.5 lbs of lead per foot, year round. If you prefer to get your bait a different way and that’s been working good, then by all means, keep doing what your doing. But for you guys that are wanting to learn how to pull bigger baits out of mid depths, get you a deep net and start dropping that sucker on structure. The other added benefit to throwing deep is I rarely rip up my nets out deep. I go to the same holes and ledges year round and know it’s free of snags. When I used to throw up shallow I tore up 6 or 7 nets per year. Now I average 1 deep net every year. I’m not saying my way is the best way fellas but it’s what works for me. Maybe it could work for you too...
Last edited by 🌊El Gato Azul🌊; 11/23/20 05:09 PM.
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782310
11/23/20 07:55 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 640
KEGracing
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 640 |
Thank you sir! Nice tips and video. Especially appreciate the screen shots of the graph, and explaining that as it is on the screen to look at.
Keep up the good work!
Ken
2014 Premier Alante 235 RF tritoon. Momma's boat. But I get to fish on her.
A country boy will survive... but those who cross him?
Cedar Creek personal best: Blue Cat 31.55 lbs Hybrid 6.2 lbs Crappie 2.1 lbs Tennessee River Blue 45.7
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782419
11/23/20 09:37 PM
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Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,392
Lone_Wolf
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,392 |
How you get little pics in your title and handle?
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782453
11/23/20 10:13 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,155
Blue Blazer 2400
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,155 |
Great video Chris. That’s one thing I plan to spend more time on this year is finding places they like to hangout constantly
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782511
11/23/20 10:54 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773
serj5150
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773 |
Oh my gosh thank goodness you said that!! I was scared for a bit I was losing my catfish Mojo By the way Bro that was an awesome video you just put out
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Re: 🎣Bluecat tip of the week 🎣
[Re: 🍀El Gato Azul🍀]
#13782721
11/24/20 01:55 AM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435
🍀El Gato Azul🍀
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 3,435 |
Thanks amigos We’ll stay after em Ken! Looks like some nasty weather coming this weekend but we’re gonna try and fish it any hoot. Those symbols in my handle are I phone emojis Lone Wolf. Matt, you gotta get out and scan your whole lake. On off days or days you can’t find fish go scan structure in areas don’t normally look. I still do it in my lake and I been fishing Lewisville my whole life. I find things and figure out new patters every year. Over half of my best fish so far this year are from a new pattern I figured out this spring. Had I not struggled that day I would have never graphed that area of the lake and stumbled onto the pattern. Now if I’m on the lake and the wind has been blowing out of the north for several days and I’m there when the wind switched out of the south I head straight to this areas and hammer big fish almost every time. I used to second guess everything I was doing too Fredo. Some days it’s the weather, some days it’s your equipment, and some days it the angler. The more time on the water you put in the easier everything gets. Take a few months off and you’ll forget how to tie your shoe laces. Oh yea, and put down those dang crappie rods unless your using em to catch bait! Lol
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