Tough Day on the Bayou

Well yesterday's tournament had to be one of the toughest days of fishing I've ever had.  Even still, my son almost sealed the deal and won the tournament 10 minutes into the day, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.  I also lost a good fish later in the afternoon that would have pushed the winners.  No this wasn't just a Big Bass tournament, but there were very few keepers caught so any fish over 2 pounds had a chance of winning everything.  The fish my son lost was a 3-4 pounder and would have easily took home all the prizes.

Better luck next time as just because we had a bad day doesn't mean we are going to stop trying!!!!

Some Things Never Change

In a few hours I'll be launching the boat to fish a tournament with my son, on very little sleep.  This isn't new, I've had problems sleeping before tournaments since the first one I fished.  It seems I just can't turn off my brain so I can fall asleep.  I'm either going over everything to make sure I haven't forgotten something or thinking about the game plan for the tournament.  What ever it is, I can't turn it off. 

This wasn't a big deal back in my 20s, but now that I'm over the big 50 it really wears on me by the end of a hard day or two fishing.  Sure I'll sleep really good when I get home, but I will be hurting before it is all said and done.  I might understand it a little more if it was the Bass Master's Classic was going to be fishing in the morning, but that is far from the case.  So I'll have to deal with it one more time and try and make it through and catch enough bass to be in the money.

Wish me Luck!!!

How am I loaded to start the tournament in the morning?
1. Quantum KVD with flippin switch 
    Castaway 7'6" Pitchin Stick 
    1/2oz Santone Lures Rattlin Jig in watermelon red flake with a white curly tail grub.
 
2. Quantum Smoke
    All Star 7'2" Jigging Stick 
    5/16 Santone Lures Rayburn Swim Jig in white shadow with a chartreuse curly tail grub.
 
3. Quantum Smoke, 
    Diaiwa 7' Worm Rod 
    1/8 Santone Lures Piglet Football with a Kicker Fish Saltwater Shadstick in pearl/chartreuse tail.
 
4. H2O Express Mettle
    Diaiwa 6'6" casting rod 
    White spinnerbait with two willow blades, 1 silver and 1 gold. with a chartreuse curly tail.

Tournament Mode!!!

I've shifted gears and completely forgotten about the week at work.  Totally focused on the task at hand, getting all my tackle and gear ready for in the morning.  My son will be here at 5:00am then it will be off to gas up the boat, get coffee and breakfast before we head down to Halls Bayou for the tournament.   Wish us luck...

Santone Lures

Boy OH Boy and I a happy camper for finding Santone Lures!!!  They are made right here in the Lone Star State and are beyond a doubt the finest Jigs I've ever seen.  Here is my latest video review of their products.

By the way if you have any suggests on how I can make my videos better drop me an email or leave me a comment.   THANKS

Miller Time!!!

Well since I don't drink beer much these days, it is more like Ice Tea time.  Either way after a long day at work it was great to get home.  It was even better when I found a package in the mail with new Santone Lures inside.  So I set up the video camera and did a review of these new lures that I'll post here if it ever finishes processing on YouTube...LOL

I will say Santone Lures is now my go-to place for jigs.  Here is a picture of the products I reviewed in the video.  Stay tuned in, I'll post it sooner or later.

Split Shift

The day job called for me to work a split shift today and I took advantage of the daylight hours off to check out a new tackle shop.

http://www.hookspit.com/

I was very pleased with the friendly guys running the shop and also very pleased to see they were carrying bass fishing tackle.  Not a lot yet mind you but they have some and I'm sure of the local area supports them they will start carrying more.   What caught my eye the most was that they were carrying Santone Lures jigs and spinnerbaits, so that means they get 3 thumbs up from me!!!

http://www.santonelures.com

Better by Morning

The ole back feels much better this morning so I'm not as concerned about fishing the tournament this coming weekend.  I'll take it really easy the rest of the week and spread out my normal tournament preparations over a few days.

I've got very high hopes that the ticket this weekend will be the new Santone jigs.  I just haven't decided on the trailers for them as yet.  Want something with some action to them but nothing too big.  The bass seem to prefer a  baits on the small size right now and I think that is because the are gorging themselves on the millions of shad in the bayou.  So if you put a smaller snack in front of their face they will take it.

We have one spot that has produced some good fish, but my worries is we aren't the only ones that know about the spot.  The ole Cajun bass boat is a great boat for the bayous but it isn't the fastest boat out there.  We really need to draw a good starting position this weekend and hope we can hold off the faster boat so our spot.  There is more luck needed than just catching bass with fishing tournaments.  Lucky I have my son as a fishing partner as he always seems to put a good bass or two in the live well and we will need it. 

With the weather forecast we have the next few days the water in the bayou will likely be muddy or worse that tea color.  This and all the shad will make the fishing tough so 2-3 keepers might just win this tournament and I have high hopes if all goes as planned we will have at least 2-3 keepers.

I'll keep you up-to-date as we get closer to tournament day.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Not sure if that is true or not, but it sure applied yesterday.  As I said in my last post I had promised to help my wife on a project and decided not to go fishing.  Well as it turns out it might have been better to have gone fishing and had a mad wife.  Helping my wife caused me to throw out my back and now I can hardly walk.  This is not good with a tournament to fish this coming weekend.  Going to see the Chiropractor in about and hour and have my fingers crossed.

Should have been Fishing

Sunday morning's dawn breaks to what had the makings of a great day of fishing.  I decided yesterday evening not to go fishing and stay home to help my wonderful wife with a project.  As I saw the birth of the new day this morning I had second thoughts and almost hooked up the boat.  Of course that would have put me in "Hot Water" but some times it is worth the hot water.  However I was true to my promise and will help my wife today.  Hopefully I will be rewarded at some point in the future.

New Product Review - Santone Rattlin' Jigs

Folks here is my unbiased review of some new jigs I received yesterday.  Yes I ordered and paid for them so this is really how I feel about this product.

Santone Lures Rattlin Jigs

Santone Lures is a good ole Texas Lure Company that I've just discovered.  Mount Pleasant, Texas is where they call home so I have to try their jigs Texas Bayou Bassin.  I will be doing a Texas Bayou Bassin "New Product Review" on video this afternoon so stay tuned in as I'll post it here.  For more information on Santone Lures visit their website http://www.santonelures.com/ as they are great folks!!!!!

Fishing Friday Report

Hall Bayou looks beautiful in this picture I took but he water is still very stained.  If you go far enough north it turns from the tea color to more of a muddy color.  I found a few fish where the color transition was located, but not enough to take the time to edit a video.  None of them were very big and there was only one that would have been a keeper.  There are millions of inch long shad swimming the bayou and I have a feeling the bass are stuffing themselves on these shad then going and napping the rest of the day.  There are also hundreds of gar swimming around and they did some damage to some of my baits today.  I go a hook in one that was way too big for my spinning tackle and of course that was after the camera battery die.   It doesn't look great for the tournament here next weekend, but I'm sure someone will find them and win.  At least we know where we can put a few good ones in the boat, if we can get there first.

Fishing Friday is Here!!!!

Fishing Friday is the Friday I get to put the boat in the water by myself and if the bass help out a little bit have a new Texas Bayou Bassin video to share.  I've just finished my first cup of cup and breakfast and will be heading out shortly for the bayou.

Rigging Wacky Worms

Friday Fishing

Haven't decided yet where to try my luck in the morning.   I really should go back down to Halls Bayou to see if I can figure them out as we have a tournament there next weekend.  I know how we can catch a few good fish there, but I'd like to be a lot more confident going into next weekend.  What do y'all think? 

Go to Halls and work on a pattern or Go somewhere else and let the fish in Halls rest?

Rigging a Tube Craw

Bayou Bassin Weekend Outlook

Clear Creek Bayou - Water is clearing nicely and the bass should be on the move. However if you want to fish Clear Creek you want to do it during the week or very early on the weekends. Way too many folks use this Bayou for other water sports.  If you do get a chance to try them on Clear Creek the bigger bass are holding in the deeper holes near cover and feeds/canals on the main channel.

Dickinson Bayou - Water at this point is still a tea color but improving some. Bass are being picky with your best bets being small dark colored shaky head worms fished under the piers and docks.

Halls Bayou - Water in Halls is also a tea color but is improving with each day. Bass have been holding tight to the reeds and you have to hit them on the head to catch them. Tube Craws and Jigs either pitched or flipped have been catching most of the fish. Some have been in the 2-3 pound class.

Welcome

Want to welcome everyone to Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures' Blog on  Texas Bayou Bassin.  We will update the blog as things happen that affect the bass fishing in the Southeast Texas Bayous.  There will be up-to-date fishing reports and how-to tactics to make your next trip a success.