Halls Bayou 5-2-2015

The plan was to go to Clear Creek Bayou to test the boat repairs and also practice for an up coming tournament, those plans changed.  It was my Son-in-Law Brett's birthday so taking him was his birthday present.  He was going to meet me at Walter Hall Park at 7:00AM and we would see how the motor ran and do some fishing in the process.  I got to Walter Hall about 6:30 and realized that this was the weekend of the League City Town Fair.  They had the ramp closed so I had to make a quick call to Brett so we could change plans.  He was almost there so I told him to just head to my house and I'd pick him up.  I knew this weekend was also the Strawberry Fest in Dickinson so the ramp on Dickinson Bayou would also be blocked, so we would be heading down to Halls.  We didn't make it down there until 8:00ish and the water didn't look very good.  It was the color Halls gets this time of year and the fishing can be tough.  Add to that it was a Blue Bird day and the tide never moved a lot so yes the fishing was tough.

Well I guess I should start out by tell you about the boat.  I did the maintenance I spoke about in my last article.  Replacing all the filters, fuel pumps and spark plugs.  I also decarboned the motor with a mixture of one can of Seafoam to one gallon of Gas.  I put this in a small 3gal tank and ran the motor for 5 minutes on the hose.  Then I let the motor sit for 10 minutes and then ran it for another 5 minutes.  I repeated this process 4 times before hooking the main tank to the motor and running it for 5 minutes.  It did a good job of cleaning all the carbon that had built up.   The motor continued to start with just a bump of the key and it idled really well so I had high hopes I'd fixed the issue.  Now it was time for the real test and that was in the water.  We launched the boat and soon I had her pointed south.  I eased her along in front of the Halls Bayou Bait Camp waiting to get clear so I can give her the gas.   As we cleared the Camp I eased into her and at 2200 RPMs she started to bog down and try to die, just like at Fayette.  This time to see if it was a carb problem I started bumping the chock and sure enough she would surge forward.  I did this until she hit 3200 RPMs and then she took off like a Scolded Dog.  We ran down the bayou about 3 miles in hopes that maybe the Low RPM jets might clear.   When we stopped it was at a spot that I'd catch some nice bass earlier in the year so we fished for an hour.

As we got to some structure that is off a slight point we were met with a good size gator.  This girl was in the 7-8 foot class and didn't seem to be the least bit worried about us.  We kept fishing and she hung around about 100 yards down the bayou.  She just swam around like we weren't even there.  Hey I don't have any problem with gators as long as they don't try and visit me in the boat.  Brett and I tried our best to get something to bite but either they weren't home or they were lockjawed big time.  We tossed them a bunch of different choices too, but nothing.   So after about an hour we decided to head back north where there are more lay downs and shade.  I tucked the trolling motor back in its riding position and took my spot at the helm.  The motor fired right up with a bump of the key just like it always does and I turned her and headed north.  I tried to see if she would go on her own but nothing doing.  She hit the wall again a 2200 and I had to bump the choke to get her to 3200 again.  As before once she got to 3200 we were off to the races.

We ran about a mile or so to a part of the bayou that is normally pretty good to us and stopped.  I got the trolling motor down and we started working the shore line.  We threw just about everything at them and still nothing.  We had worked close to a mile up the shore without even a bump.  It was getting a little frustrating to say the least.  It was Brett's birthday and someone had forgot to tell the bass they were invited to the party.  We weren't giving up just yet though.  We were talking about heading north of the Bait
Camp to give them a try when we saw our second gator of the morning.  This one wasn't as big as the first but it was still a 5-6 footer.  This one seem to want to race us and I was able to get a little closer to it  for a better picture as we were heading that way.  It was about that time we heard another boat coming down the bayou.  It turns out it was someone that reads these articles and recognized me even though I was in a new boat.  Les I did enjoy chatting with you and your wife for a while.  Sure hope the Liquid Mayhem I gave you a try helped you catch some more fish.   Chatting with Les kind of confirmed to Brett and I we needed to head further north.  Les had told us that he and his wife had caught some bass and he had lost a pretty good one earlier north of us.   So after they left I pulled up the trolling motor for another run.

The big motor once more started right up but I also had to use the choke trick to get her up on plane again.  Once we got to the Bait Camp I brought her off plane and idled up past the bridge at Farm Road 2004.  Once we were past the public ramp there at the bridge I shut the motor down and was back on the trolling motor.   Brett and I started working the shore line again with various baits.  It really seemed like all hope was lost when suddenly Brett set the hook.  It wasn't a very big bass but it was a bass none the less and it had hit a white spinner bait worked in the shade.  At the time I was working a Creme Lures ST Beaver so I put it down and picked up the rod with an Acid Perch Rayburn Swim Jig from Santone Lures.   I got a pretty good bump at some point after that but missed.  Brett had also switched to an Acid Perch Rayburn Swim Jig and soon after was hooked up again. Once more it wasn't a very big bass so we didn't take a picture.  Brett score one more bass before we called it quits and it was also on a swim jig.   As for me, well I'm sure hoping my new Dunamis Rods Swim Jig rod gets finished soon.   I was having a bad time of missing strikes and when I did get the hook in them they came off. 

We had worked about a mile past the boat ramp and turned around and worked the other side of the Bayou on the way back.   As we came to the ramp I told Brett that I was going to go under the bridge and skip my swim jig up under the bridge pilings.  This was a good call and I made a really good skip cast, maybe my best cast of the day.   As I worked the Rayburn Swim Jig back out of the pilings it got hammered hard.  I set the hook and the ole rod bowed up really nice and the drag slipped.  I knew I'd hooked up with a really good fish.  Now if you have read many of my articles about fishing these tidal bayous you will know that not every time you hook up with a good fish it is a bass.  In fact I catch some monster Redfish in Halls while bass fishing.   However today, it wasn't a Redfish and we soon knew that as a big bass came up and shook her head the first time.  There was a lot of hooting going on and Brett was headed for the net.  Finally we had a fish that was going to be more than worthy of a picture.  It was all for not though as she came up next to the boat with another head shaking dance and came unglued.   Rats and double Rats!!!   Well that was my day, I couldn't get a fish in the boat.  I was frustrated for not being able to set the hook good and not getting any fish in the boat, but I didn't feel the way I do when I'm normally skunked.  I guess that is because at least I had some fights.  Besides this was Brett's birthday and he did catch some bass so mission accomplished.  Well mission accomplished for Brett at least, but I'll be rebuilding some carbs this week to see if I can get my new boat up and running right in time for the next tournament.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

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Also Checkout the great folks that help make my fishing adventure possible and the tackle I use and trust.
Santone Lures
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Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants