LB report Monday 9/9/19

[catchinon]

Mooseman and I went out on my boat to try for cats and maybe a wb or two. Justin has to take his kids to school so we met at 8:30. I'm still learning the ropes (literally) so it took a little more time to get out fishing. All we had for bait was some old white bass, shrimp and worms. We caught cats on all of them. Most were cookie-cutters but we did get a 25.5 and a 26. Could sure use some 28"+ bumpers. We got three each. Later in the morning we were hailed by Richard and Violet at jelling distance. If we heard right, they got 8 and one was a bumper. They were probably headed in but we still wanted more so we stuck it out. Was a nice day so we were never uncomfortable into the afternoon.

We had started from the area of BS and strolled toward the island. At seven fow I caught the first fish. After a long while we turned and started west. We caught fish at 9' and when we got out from the springs we got hung up on rocks on one of the poles. We went farther out and started back toward the jaws. Justin needed to be home to meet his son returning from school by around 3 so I started back about 1:00. We caught one more fish in that area.

When trying to load the boat I still had some trouble getting it on straight. (Guides are near the top of the shopping list.) Eventually Justin cranked me up and we had no more serious issues.

Still haven't gotten the kicker started. Pretty sure we just aren't doing something right or it has a fouled plug. On the good side I have gotten the electric to go at the 2.5-3 setting so maybe we are in the ultra-slow speed range that the cats like.
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[Piscophilic]

Nice report Craig, thanks for sharing. What is the thrust on your electric? With my boat I have 55 lbs and I can stroll at 0.5 at about 2 to 2.5 , if there is no wind. I suspect your boat is heavier, but has a better hull design, so I think you are in the ballpark.

BTW, there are apps you can download t oyour phone that will give yo uspeed based on your (smart) phones GPS. I can show you the one I have used. I use the ipilot, but before I got it I did use the phone sometimes.
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[catchinon]

My electric is also a 55. Can you go too slow? I watch the debris and it seems to be going by pretty slowly. I don't have a smartphone or I would use that app. Maybe my wife or son will go along someday and I can figure it out.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]The primary advantage of moving around is not so much adding the attraction of motion as merely being able to cover more area and put your offerings in front of more fish. But on any given day it is a good idea to experiment with speeds...or with adding a bit of wiggle and jiggle while moving to add flash and/or vibration to the package.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Not sure if it is possible to go either too slow or too fast. Active kitties will chase down live food...or lures that are moving fairly fast.
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[Piscophilic]

Can you go too slow?

Yes, but it is hard to do and depends on the day. Think of it like a sicence experiment . The limit of slow is stopped and lots of cats are caught stopped.

Here's an example from my last trip. Lately I have been "into" varying the speed periodically to see if it would trigger strikes from "followers." On the last trip I varied the speed from 0.2 to 0.9 mph. After the first hour of daylight, when they hit almost anything, the cats showed a preference for 0.3 to 0.4. I got good numbers of white bass, but almost all of them came when the speed was above 0.6. It is good to vary it and let them tell you.

One more though, from about 3 weeks ago. Julie and I were heading in from deeper water to see what was happening close to the reeds. We had done well outside at 0.5 to 0.7, but mostly for scattered fish. About 60 feet out from the reeds we suddenly had 3 cats on at once. Thinking we had found the mother lode, I set the spot lock. After we got the 3 in the boat, released and the lines back in the water we had a nice relaxed 30 minute conversation. Not a single interruption from a cat. Julie finally said, politely: "Maybe we should keep going, I don't think they are here." We started strolling again and hadn't gone 50 feet when we got 2 more. I've seen several days that you could get them to take a moving bait way more often than just sitting.
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[ice_sled]

With my limited knowledge I don't think you can go too slow. I like .5 mph as you know. There seems to be less deep hooked fish as compared to fishing on anchor. Also I think that a lot of strikes are reaction strikes that get fish interested in something they really don't have to get. Kinda like an attractive women. Ever show interest when you might know it could be a mistake? Same with the fish type. Add beads, bangles, and a flashy paint and it is hard to resist. Just try different things; speed, color, flash until they take the bait. Tight lines.
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[Mooseman75]

What apps are they? i have a smart phone and I can download the app and use it next time we go out.
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[Piscophilic]

The only one left on my phone is called "MotionX-GPS". It also allows you to take photos and have them as waypoints. I suspect there are lots of other good ones.
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[Bhuntin]

Just a few tips for loading the boat. Every boat has a sweet spot for how far you back the trailer in. If you back in too deep the boat will float all over the trailer and be hard to align. I back my trailer so the top of the wheel wells are barely covered with water. Second, once on the bunks of the trailer the boat should align itself and then you give it a little gas to get snug to the front roller. If I’m alone I will leave the boat in gear so the boat stays tight to the front bumper while I put the strap on and winch it, otherwise as I walk to the bow to connect the boat slips backwards.