The redfish bite is on at calaveras..really got into them last week. Before daybreak this morning, I was out at calaveras throwing my castnet & loading up on tilapia (that reds cannot resist). I preceeded to launch my little boat with the 3 horse kicker, made it out to where the reds were waiting & set up a drift with 4 lines out. As I slow drifted along, I expected at any minute to have one of my rods yanked down into the water & my reel just scretching. Never happened ! By 9:30, I converted 2 of my rods over to catfish rods with cut bait & caught 1 striper & 8 cats. That's what it's all about. The lake was quiet, smooth as glass...life is good !
Roger

"Beat's Working"

Good job. We were out there today also, I'll post a report in the cat forum in a few minutes.

Roger,

Did you fish with live Tilapia, if so you need to read TPWD fishing regulations pg 28 , General Prohibited Acts, para 4.
Go here.
Tilapia rules

Gary

Someone's going to have to explain that one in country boy english for me to understand.

That's one of those stupid regs that make no sense whatsoever for this particular body of water.....for Braunig also. The lake is infested....packed with tilapia. Everybody and their mother uses tilapia for bait on that lake....tilapia cast netted from the lake. On any given Saturday/Sunday, they would have to fine over half the fisherman on the lake....maybe more. Even more fun......here is a scenario. I throw the cast net for shad, instead I hit a school of small 2 inch tilapia (happened many times). So now I have to perform mini surgery on all 100 of those little tilapia before I let them go. Wonderful. And the reg doesn't state what I'm supposed to do with these 100 disemboweled tilapia. Do I put them back in the lake? Or do I keep them and put em in the trash? So here I am totally stressed out, bottom of boat covered with tilapia, and I'm scared to death of throwing that castnet again for some shad.....lol.

I was shocked when I read this (standing in line at Walmart pharmacy), don't know what to make of it, as many fisherman on Cally and Braunig use them live. Next time I see a GW, I am going to ask them.
Also I know one of the commercial fisherman at Cally, and his boat is filled with live Tilapia flopping around on the bottom of his boat, is he violating the law.?
Food for thought.

Pray for rain

I opened a new discussion on this subject, so more readers would see it.

Kyle...I love your reply. That reg makes about as much sense as those airheads in washington. Sure... I'm going to gut every single tilapia I catch on the spot. Use them live ?? Never!
Roger

well you have to take them all home and eat them. everyone knows the rule about not wasting edible fish or bait. Someone posted the head park ranger at fairfield told them it is ok to use them for bait but not to leave the park with any. Ive seen them crawling like little green army men over the dam at night though.

"Someone posted the head park ranger at fairfield told them it is ok to use them for bait but not to leave the park with any. I've seen them crawling like little green army men over the dam at night though."

Were you describing park rangers or Tilapia , and if it was Park Rangers which direction were they traveling over the dam? You need to stop eating week old or raw Tilapia with your beer. Or, get more rest so you can keep from experiencing those knod off nightmares while on the water.

PS taking gutted Tilapia out of the lakes is in fact encouraged.

FYI Reds hunt long range by smell, and short range by sight. Most folks would consider a bunch of thumped dead small Tilapia great chum for a baited stationary position. Or you can buy something that comes in the narrow mesh net plastic bag, like onions typically come in. Tie a line to that empty bag, drop a fist size or larger rock in the bag for weight, add in the tilapia or shad and tie the bag shut and throw it in the water between you and your baited line positions. Buddy and I landed 27 modest size reds one day using some old vanille soaked shrimp in that bag we did not want. We had been told vanilla worked well, but we could not prove it while on a hook but it sure worked that day from the net.

PS same thing can be done with shad, but smash up the shad some so they produce their oils.

wow Don, thanks for that info on the reds and baiting them. You are very smart bout them suckers!

" Buddy and I landed 27 modest size reds one day using some old vanille soaked shrimp in that bag we did not want. We had been told vanilla worked well, but we could not prove it while on a hook but it sure worked that day from the net."


One time does not make a case study, or prove anything.
Vaughn told me of his one time of using frozen shrimp as chum or attractant. It was at the cold water intake and catching fish like crazy. Do I think, in my limited experience(20+years) it helped, maybe at best but most likely no. The fish were there and feeding and he caught em. Reds move all time, prefer live bait or fresh dead, not really into old stinking stuff. Certain things attract them like running water, bait fish, and shellfish, maybe vanilla because it smells like something else to the reds. Not many native vanilla plants in the bay or local lakes.

interesting!! I am by no means an expert, not even really a good fisherman lol but I have heard before of people using chum at cali or braunig. I have never tried it because it always seemed a little overboard. I want to try it now though...will it work, i don't know..i never have good luck fishing with live bait so i need all the help i can get!!

Flavors work and I have posted plenty about my favorites.