As a follow up to my earlier N00by thread getting started, this week I am blessed to be able to fish Ray Roberts every day, as I am camped out in our small travel trailer with the new to me boat. My lovely wife gave me the green light to spend a week in Isle De Bois to fish to my hearts content, on my lonesome.

My 'Catfish Masterclass' with Catfish Tim was fantastic, so much knowledge gained and actually caught a big blue cat thanks to my my fishing partner for the day and guide extroadinaire.

So in preparation and post my trip with Tim, I purchased two additional rigs, Whisker Seeker rods and Daiwa Seagate reels, and. couple of those new fangled planer boards.

Up at the lark and at the boat ramp in the dark.

Day 1.

A beautiful fall day and a cool 70F at the ramp.

That said a good breeze, forecast to be 10-15mph with gusts to 20 mph, and today that proved to be correct.



A beautiful morning, and I was the only boat on the water.

The new rigs worked well, and I soon got the hang of the planer boards, but just had two, one on each side with one rod each side with a straight Santee rig. Two rods were armed with fresh shad (one on a large head and one strip) and the other two chicken breast.





Wind was brisk and I was moving at 0.5 - 0.7 mph, pretty good although a bit faster than I would like.

No bites, but almost an hour in and a take down. A big fish no doubt, took some drag, but after getting him almost to the boat he flipped and I lost him. Truth is the knot I tied on my big round shark hook came untied. I know, stupid n00b mistake, and I know how to tie knots. That will be the last time I ever do that. I sure hope the fish was ok. I hooked it on a large shad head fyi.

After a couple more drifts I decided to go to the end of the lake and fish the shallow creeks by anchoring. A good plan apart from the brisk SSE winds which were blowing to the end of the lake. I was bobbing around like crazy and could not keep the baits steady.

Lesson learned.

I fished for just over 4 hours, and apart from my fubar had a very enjoyable day. Tomorrow Day 2, the winds are forecast to gust to 25mph, so will fish the leeward shores in the shallow creeks.

It’s safe to say that just about all anglers have lost a big fish when they first started due to a bad knot at the hook. It will sure light a fire under you to get it figured out in a hurry Practice makes perfect Bob and if your not good at the Snell and the Palomar then tie, tie, tie! Soon you’ll be able to tie them blindfolded. You have about a month before the fishing really fires up to iron out your game.

We’re heading into the fall transition where the fish can be just about anywhere on any given day. You can find them in coves where this years Shad hatch is thick, you can find em out deep in and around the channels, and you can find them up north in staging areas waiting for a rain. Fish are spread out and there are numerous patterns to fish. You gotta run and Gun (move) this time of year and be willing to switch tactics, patterns, and presentation if you want to be consistent. My boat is out of commission until the beginning of October. When I get it back you can follow us around or jump on and I will show you how to formulate a game plan for that specific day as well as how to pattern bait and fish. Once you know the bait pattern you can go all over the lake and find fish. Having that game plan to follow will give you the framework needed to build on and start narrowing down your search areas. Having a plan A,B,C, and D will help you to stay on track and not second guess what your going to do next. Sometimes your game plan doesn’t work out and you gotta do things you weren’t planning but over time you’ll get better at planning and it becomes imbedded into your brain.

If your drifting right now then stay around the channels or the flats next to them. My buddies caught them drifting in 10-42 ft this past weekend.

You can also look for Creek channels that intersect the main channel as fish will use these kinds of areas as holding areas before the fall rains. Another good pattern is the mouth of coves all the way to the back of the coves as the Shad are moving out of their summer patterns and into their fall patterns.

Bluecatn ain’t easy Bob but stay after em and the fish will come. A big part of when your first starting is just simply lucking into them.

^ thanks Chris, and all great advice.

I saw yesterday as a success as everything I tried worked out pretty good, and to at least hook one decent fish was more than I hoped for.

Day 2 coming right up.

Day 2.

Exactly 70F as I drove to the ramp in the dark, although the forecast was for stronger winds than yesterday - 10-15mph gusting to 25mph. Well, launching my boat the wind was almost non existent, and by 10am (when the bite is almost done) this is what the lake was like.

Short movie:
https://maddbrit.smugmug.com/RV-Trips/RV-Trip-11-Ray-Roberts-September-2021/i-w58J8xb/A

I must have checked the forecast for the wrong planet - lol!!

Given the forecast I went to the leeward side of the lake, and as you can imagine, it turned out glass smooth with clear skies. Far from ideal. I used the technique Catfish Tim taught me, and went to the timbers and tied my boat to a tree.



It worked well, but despite my best efforts, using strip shad and chicken breast, zero bites even though the fish finder showed groupings. Maybe they just weren't biting?

I then watched my fish finder and Navionics, and a ton of fish/bait showing where the channel goes around the point. A shelf going from 15 feet to 35 feet, so I drifted (aided by the trolling motor) and started to get bites immediately on the shad.



I caught 4 fish, all dinks, but hey ho I beat my skunk! This was the biggest and I believe it was an Azur catfish!



It was 18 inches, and no idea how much it weighed, but not much.



Another good day, and I called it quits at 11am as it got real hot again and the bite stopped.

I learned a lot, and discovered using the motor to change direction with 4 rods out is NOT recommended - lol!



I won't do that again!

I am thinking of going out again around sunset for some night fishing.

I have basic nav lights on the boat and a torch - lol. If I go I will just keep it simple with two rods, and hoping the bite will improve as the temperature drops.

It all depends on the rain/storms that show 20% likely.

Great information. I really enjoy your enthusiasm.

Day 3.

Well actually Day 2 1/2, as I decided to go night fishing and slept in today.

My first time night fishing and the first time fishing from my boat in the dark. My boat has navigation lights front and back, but no other lighting so I brought a torch and a cheap as chips LED lantern from Academy. It was a beautiful evening, with a 10mph breeze from the south east.



I decided to head north while the sun set, and then east to the long creek that heads towards Pilot point. It's the one with the timbers I fished earlier. The plan was to drift with two rods out, both with fairly big fresh shad strips to avoid the dinks.



It gets dark real quick as the sun goes down.



My cheap as chips LED light is just the ticket. As well as being able to see my way around the cockpit, I can also see the rod tops.



Blessed dinks are chewing my bait, but no take downs.

Two hours of trolling various parts of the creek and no fish. So I move to the point on the headland , the same place that was lit up with fish/bait earlier on my fish finder where I caught the fish earlier in the day.



Nothing. Nada, and no fish showing where it was packed earlier. Amazing.

So I decided to call it a day.

Motoring back although not that far, was challenging as I don't know the lake that well, and was having to use sight and my map finder, so I took it .......r - e - a - l..... slowwww.

I enjoyed it despite the lack of fish.

What I learned:
Night fishing is fun.
You have to have your wits about you and concentrate (timber/ shallows/obstructions)
Lights on board are essential.
Two rods are enough in the dark.
I need to get familiar with the lake(s) I am fishing.
Its a PITA to get the boat back on the trailer in the dark.

PS those lights from Academy are fantastic. Cheap to buy (I think around $10), with two in a pack and the 3 x 3AA batteries that are included last 5 hours on full power (400 lumens) or 20 hours on half power (which is plenty). They either stick on or fix, but I just had one sitting on the transom.



A fun trip.

Tomorrow, Day 4, will be my last day. Wind is forecast (?!?) to be 10mph from the NE, so I plan to fish Johnson Branch creek, and let the wind blow me back down the channel.



If that doesn't work out, or the forecast is for a different planet again, Plan B will be to fish the creek in the far NW of the lake, beyond the bridge across the FM3002. The advice I got regarding getting Navionics has proved a wonderful investment! Depths, creek beds, obstructions and contours are invaluable, For $30 a year I highly recommend downloading the app. I wish I had purchased it back when I had my kayak.



I heard "Wind from the west, fish bite the best. Wind from the east, fish bite the least.", but hey regardless I will give it my best shot.

Wish me luck!



PS thanks for the pm's with tips and advice. You guys rock!!

hey Allan. I am also new to cat fishing and only fish Ray Roberts.
Been out twice this week and have had a slow week also. tried the flats no luck went to the timber no luck.
finally went back to check some humps in 25 to 35 ft and started marking fish.
still slow but managed to to put a half dozen nice eaters in the boat.
PM me I would love to fish together and see if we could learn together.

Day 4.

My final day of fishing before heading home. Up early and another beautiful fall day.



Heading north up to the creek by Johnson Branch, and as I slowly motor up the creek I am looking for bait/fish bunching. Nothing to see, and few features until I get halfway up, and then a ton stuff lighting up the fish finder. I decide on two Santee rigs and two suspended baits, no planer boards as its fairly narrow. There light breeze is pushing me along at 0.3mph. Perfect (as in what I intended).

Not a bite. I have two drifts and then decide on Plan B. I motor back across the lake to the opposite creek, and then head for the timbers. A lot showing on the fish finder by the main creek, so I set up again and drift. I then get not one but all 4 rigs snagged up, one after the other. Two are saved but two cut off, and a ton of time wasted and only a limited time before the heat hits and any bite stops.

I cut my losses and head to the flats on the north east of the lake past the marina. I drift 4 baits, two with whole shad to go for the bigger fish. Nothing at first, but then its on like Kong!



My bait is getting hit one after the other. Boom boom boom! Big bites but small fish, with the biggest just under 4 pounds.





Its a workout and non stop. I caught about 20 fish in an hour, but all dinks and no takers on the big whole baits. Frankly I have zero interest in small fish, so decide to fish a different track that joins another creek. No bites.

This is the area I caught the fish in.



You can see my easterly drifting track, in 10-15 feet of water.

Nice to catch, but frustrating not a single decent size fish. There is so doubt I am just focussed on big fish moving forward.

What I learned.
Don't drift through timber as its going to be painful - lol! Next time anchor and cast.
Perfect lines, structure and fish doesn't mean you're gunna catch!
I need new rod rests. Having my rods up high causes more bait movement when the boat rocks.
I love this fishing!!

A very good week.





Counting my blessings and looking forward to seeing my lovely wife.

Hi Candy man,

Yup a slow week, but as Catfish Tim and El Gato have told me, things should improve when the temp drops. A local guide I spoke to yesterday at the ramp, told me in two weeks it will change, Water temp is still 82F.

I will ping you a PM as I would enjoy that.

PS its Bob, Bluecat Bob - lol, not Allan (Allen TX is my home location).

Blue Cat Bob... I like it.

Bluecat Bob is perfect!! Every catfish anger has to have a good nickname. I give everyone of my buddies one, as well as anyone who comes and fished on my boat, weather they want one or not!