THE "VINE"

Howdy

Just wanted an update For the Vine. Been gone for 4 weeks and wanted to know what and where the fish are happening.
BTW i caught some very nice 5+ Florida bass while in Lakeland Florida. I also caught my first gator...lol. Caught him on a topwater plug...however I couldn't figure out what to do with him once I landed him. Nice 40 minute fight. He went about 4 feet & 30 Lbs. Lots of fun but cut him loose as it is not legal without a lottery license.
I fished the boat ramp at twin coves tonite from shore for about an hour...caught some nice bass. Gonna try the lake in the morning by boat so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I will give a report tomorrow nite.
Thanks and good Fishin!

Zak

I went out on Saturday afternoon. I caught plenty by twin coves. Two of us got 30 keepers in about an hour. That was all I wanted to clean and we went home. They were in 15-20 feet of water.

On Slabs? Thanks for sharing.

I caught a couple of fish on Saturday. The sandies have been really on right off of Murrel Park. If you have a boat, the fish are almost jumping in to take a ride with you. Here is a link two big ones I caught on Sunday, not sandies, but they were fun to catch.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...fis#Post2322086

Hey thanx guys...I live on Twin Coves so I will try it in the am...got called to work this am.
BTW what time of day were u catching?

Zak

I got to spot where I caught those fish about 6:00 pm

Thanx I'll give a report tomorrow.

Zak, I don't want to hijak your thread but I would like to ask infamousfisher a ? when you say off of Murrel where abouts ? When I look at the map Murrel park covers a lot of bank? Thanks!!!

Not to speak for Infamous, but this time of year you should concentrate in the morning around the main lake point. The one on the east side of Murrell Park (actually in Dyer Slough) that points directly at the Gaylord out in to the main lake.

And in the evenings, it's also about time for the schoolies to start working their way down the bank on a nightly basis. The "bank" being the entire bank line that faces south at Murrell Park.

Hopefully Infamous will give you some more up to date and real information. This is just speculation since I've not been on the water as of late.

I just wanted to get it out there to you in case you were headed out there this morning.

Jeff, Thanks. I don't get to go except in the evenings (6pm on). So with the wind being up how would you attack them ? Slabs or casting something, and what depth do I need to concentrate on ? LOTS and LOTS of ?'s Thanks!!!

That 4 foot 30 lb. gator is just right eatin' size!

Usually the bank fishers have reports going by now about the schoolies working along the bank line there at Murrell Park. Unfortunately, I think probably due to the new park gate, they are unable to get in without a hassle.

The bank fishers will tell you that rooster tails are the way to go and for bank fishing I would completely agree. They are heavy enough to cast out a pretty good distance and yet light enough to not stay hung on bottom.

Boaters have more options available.

Around the island can be good if we've had a predominantly southerly wind. But right before sundown (I'd say 30 minutes or so usually), I'd hit that main bank line at Murrell Park. The fish generally will start a pattern on feeding. The past few years they have come in from the west and moved towards the east. So when considering Murrell Park (all of it) I would start at the eastern point on Murrell Park about 1.5 hours before dark. I would be targeting the major drop off of that point.

<pause> You guys that don't have a Side Image are at a great disadvantage for what I'm about to tell you. The Humminbird Side Image makes this 100 times easier. </pause>

The point should drop from around 16' to 28' in a hurry. I would, without the help of the Side Image, stay in that 28' depth and cast a slab up on top of that point and bottom bump it down working from the southern side (boat ramp side) out towards the main lake and then around towards the east.

I would do this rather quickly and then zip off to about half way down the bank of Murrell Park. There is a little indention in the bank line there. There are a few trees right at waters edge. I would start there and work quickly again back towards the east. I would stay in about 18' of water and cast a Humdinger up on to the bank line and slow roll it down the soft slope. I would also keep an eye on the depth finder and see if I could accidentally run over pods of fish on the bottom. If I happen to bump in to one, I would drop the Humdinger straight down and see if I could "slab" some up. I would also probably drop a TNT slab over board and try that way for a bit too.

Always keep an eye up for the schoolies. They could start anywhere. We all know that.

For the Humminbird Side Image Users:

Starting at the same main lake point at Murrell Park, I will motor slowly from the main lake side over that point towards the boat ramp in about 14' of water. Once I get almost to the buoy, I turn around and head out again towards the main lake in about 28' of water over that point. I scan both sides out to about 120'.
If I find fish on the point, I stay on the deep end and cast the Humdinger up on to the point and bottom bump it down. Yes, I lose a few.
If I find fish on the dropoff of the point, I use a TNT slab to pitch up a little shallower than the fish and bottom bump it down and also vertically slab it.

If I don't find fish, I motor around the point heading west in around 18' of water and scan 120' out on both sides. I'm looking for those pods of fish. Once I find a decent group, I stop the outboard and get on the trolling motor. I cast towards them as I'm working towards them with the trolling motor with the TNT slab and bottom bump it back to the boat. Once I get over them, I slab them vertically.

If I don't find fish here, I will slowly motor and scan all the way to the next main lake point on the western side of Murrell Park. I will motor all the way around that main lake point and in to that cove looking for pods of fish.

I know that, generally speaking, the fish will come in from the west and work towards the east along the bank line when they are surface feeding. I'm trying to catch them as far west as I can and then follow them in.

If you don't think the Side Image is good for finding fish, you are dead on wrong. I just cut my search time down by about 1 hour.
You will notice that without the Side Image, I start from the east side and head west hoping to run in to the schoolies. With the Side Image, I scan from east to west (again hoping to run in to the schoolies), but I can do it much faster and hopefully get to the start of the run and stay on their heels (fish have heels? ) all the way home.

Feel free to send me a PM if I can be of any more use. <giggle>

Jeff, are you overmedicating again . Thanks so much for the info . I wish you a speedy recovery.

Thanks. But no...I'm actually off of the meds that make me loopy. Ya me.

Grapevine is the main lake i fish and I'm just a hack fisherman but glad to share what I have found. Good sized whites were hitting well in evenings near the marina in twin coves up until about two weeks ago. Now they seem to have moved on although I have picked up some decent whites right at dusk on bottom in the creek channel in the trees.

If we could ever get a break from the wind, I had great luck working little george's and 1/4 ounce jigs by the dam around this time last year. Tried to get out there today but the wind was really howling so I gave up early with only a few small ones to show for it.

OT. Jeff, I have a humminbird 787c2 with the GPS but didn't get the side image add on. Sounds like you are a big fan of it. You feel it is a must have even for a weekend angler or more of a pro tool?

A must have? Absolutely not. I spent many a year catching lots of fish without one and there are some great fish being caught every day and those guys/girls have never even heard of a Side Image.

Like most of our modern day electronics, the SI is a toy. Nothing more. Nothing less. It just so happens that this toy is the greatest thing invented since the hook.

Make no mistake that the SI does not help you catch more fish. It doesn't equate equally to more fish in the boat. But it can. Because what it does is help elminate unproductive water and a greater rate.

If you consider the example I gave above, I elminated fishless water much faster than if I didn't have it. If you consider the area that you are able to scan with the side image vs a regular 2D sonar, everyone has to agree that if you are scanning a wider area, you can scan an entire area much faster.

That eliminates water that is not holding fish or is holding fish that aren't active.

Now days I can motor past a hump and say "there are no fish here" or "these fish are not active" or "these fish are willing to bite" and make a decision on what to do.
Rather than going back and forth over a hump to make sure I get a good picture of it and check every inch of it.

Things just happen a lot faster when you have the side image. In that sense, you should spend more time with your bait in the water where the fish are and less time just hauling water.

For the weekend angler or for the pro? I'm no pro by any stretch. But I'd much rather spend my time on the water bringing fish in over the side than hunting them. If a person can afford the investment of just a "toy", I highly recommend it rather they are a weekender or a pro.

PS Oldrock...welcome to the TFF.

Man, I cant even get out on the lake with these crazy winds we have been having. I have been playing it really safe. Hopefully by the time I get back, the fish will still be biting. Whenever the winds die down. One day, hopefully!

jeff, thanks for the info and sounds like the side view is more of a time saver than anything else. makes sense and I need to put that on my wish list.

Infamous, I am with you on the wind. I am really wanting to get back to my sand bass chasing but the winds are crazy. I tried it saturday but it was waaaay too windy to really do any fishing. Maybe winds will die down this week (I hope!). If so, I think I am going to go try the bubbles and see what happens.