TEAM JO-JO:
Oneofthepack and Big Rudy felt the undeniable urge to chase some early morning topwater action, armed with an impressive array of Top Dog lures. The game plan was simple but effective: hit the launch by 6 AM sharp and get Bay Flat Jr prepped, which meant installing the running lights before heading out. With topwater fishing known to slow down once the sun fully rises, the mission was clear—reach the honey hole in Lake Shore (LS) before daylight.
Running through the dark, we navigated the familiar waters with a sense of anticipation. By the time we arrived at the honey hole, the dim light of dawn was just beginning to break, casting enough visibility to see and be seen. The timing couldn’t have been better. Before the motor even came to a full stop, we were already casting, the excitement too much to hold back. As soon as the trolling motor was dropped over the side, it was game on, on, on!
Big Rudy took charge of the trolling motor, expertly maneuvering Bay Flat Jr into position, allowing us to cover the prime spots efficiently. With each cast, the surface of the water exploded with life, as our Top Dog lures skated across the surface, mimicking the frantic movement of prey. It was the perfect setup—low light, calm waters, and the irresistible draw of those topwater plugs.
The real question was, how long would the bite last before the sun started to peek over the horizon? But for now, in the cool, dim light of dawn, we were locked in and ready for whatever Silverwonders or Redwarriors came our way. The feeling of anticipation with each cast was electric.
SIGNS:
· Got home from Thursday trip went to bed sleep 4 hours got up went back to bed sleep to midnight, got up went back to bed up at 5AM for our 6AM meet up at the Point.
· Rigged my top water rig/ lines at 2 AM got a break from sleeping
· Big Rudy right behind me at launch
· Loaded up the Bay Flat Jr, installed her portable lights
· ONE PULL Yamaha Nightmare Machine started, got to love it. Me think the trouble was me old fuel line from tank to motor, works fine now.
· We had the timing perfect, we in honey hole at the on sought of daylight.
CONDITIONS:
· Perfect
· Wind, N.E. 10-12 mph
· Water status / conditions: Little ripples / slight chop
· Sky, sunny & clear
· Temp, mild, low humidity, felt good, skull cap time
· Water level, up 6-8”
· Water Temp , 77:18 F come on 57* water
· Salinity, 4.4
· Specific Conductance 7520
· Pressure, 30.19 R
· Water clarity on a scale of 1-7, 6 plus looked good
· Mississippi gauge: 3.1’
· Caernarvon Outfall: 742 ft3/s
· Tide, Rising
· Peak tide, 07:49 H 1.2’
· Peak tide, 20:43 L 0-4’
· Major Feed Time: 01:34 / 13:58
· Minor feed time: 23:47 / 14:28
· Tidal Coefficient: 38
· Fish Activity
· High Activity
· Boats out and about, 14 in area we be fishing
· ONEOFTHEPACK’S REPERTOIRE OF TECHNIQUES / STRATEGIES
· Be safe
· Have fun
· This be me daily therapy for ALL me aliments
· Put some run time on the Bay Flat Jr and the Yamaha Nightmare Machine
· Gather Intel for future trips, and to share with fisherperson, (on Facebook) to help assist them in their choice of areas to fish, lures to use and presentation of same to the elusive Silverwonders.
· Catch what catch can
· Learn what learn can
· Try some intel on top water fishing , using Tog Dogs
· Fish Lakeshore Estate (LS) learn:
§ Depths
§ Drop offs
§ Holes
§ Channels
§ Channele edges
§ Productive spot #’s
§ Identify strike zone/s
· Bring home fishes for Yana
· Find a spot # with the seven fundamentals / criteria of catching:
1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (Wind not a factor, we fished a lee shoreline, plus wind felt good on our faces)
2 MOVING WATER: (Seem to us it was coming in, but hard to tell in open water)
3 WATER CALRITY: (6 plus, a little sandy looking, love to have this clarity at Delacroix)
4 HOLDING FISH: (Back canal, dead in)
5 PATIENCES: (Took all of (18) minutes for first one, then action was steady until sun cam up)
6 SKILL: (Walking the dog, still need to learn ow we 7 when we set hook, missed 9 blow ups)
7 LUCKS: (Having a set of new potable navigation lights for Bay Flat Jr)
· Oneofthepack’s repertoire of Techniques / presentations:
· Anchor up cast & retrieve slowly along the bottom, with a twitch every now and then, tight lining…………………………………DID NOT TRY
· Drift with the wind cast & retrieve (DWWC&R)……………DID NOT TRY
· Oak River Troll (ORT)……………….Did not try
· Reverse Oak River Troll (RORT) ………..DID NOT TRY
· Oak River Skim (ORS) ……………DID NOT TRY
· Cork ……..DID NOT TRY
· Lake P Troll (LPT)…………….Did not try
· Drop shot: Did not try
· Dead bait……None
· Live bait………………None
· Top Dogging our way around (LS)
· Oneofthepack ‘S repertOIRE of LURE DU JOUR:
· 3” H&H Purple Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head with gold hook……………Did not try
· 3” Chartreuse Glow Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook………….Did not try
· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook……………Did not try
· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 3/8 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY
· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 1/2 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY
· Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with 3/4 oz. round lead head w/ 2 trailers, ……Did not try
· Tandem rig, ¼ oz. round H&H jig head with gold hook, matched up with Matrix Shad Lemon Drop …..Did not try
· Top Dog lures, had to walk the dogs, see video for type & color)
AREAS / SPOTS / NUMBERS ON THE MAP FISHED:
Lakeshore (LS) all around the perimeter.
OUR REWARDS:
· Lived to fish another day
· (10) Silverwonders, 5 Miniwonders
· (1) Bass
· Missed (9) blow ups
· Lots of fresh clean, cool low humidity air in our lungs
· Got to follow all or plans:
o Plan “A” Top water fishing in (LS)
o “B” Tight lining at mouth of opening to lake P
o “C” Tight lining fishing at Treasure Island
o “D” fishing (LS) around Blind Tiger backyard
o “E” best plan of all lunch at Phil’s Marine restaurant
· Lessons learned:
o Top water fishing very exciting
o Top water lures not good when sun comes up, overcast days are better
o It is best to have a lure protective cover when traveling / using Tog Dogs with (2) sets of trouble hooks.
o Need to learn, seek out the age-old question, when / how you set the hook with a blow up. We missed (9) blow ups, when do you set ?????????
· Best fishing trip of my life, until the next one.
FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:
Close one today, Big Rudy jumped out quick, but me came back and got it to 5 -4, Big Rudy, but then he got on another roll, even added a Bass to his credit. Big Rudy was fisherperson of the day.
SUGGESTIONS:
I have always liked top water fishing both salt & fresh just have not done it in a while, but today brought back all eh excitement of a blow up on your lure.
If you go, try the Top Dogs pumps, I like bone color, but you can see what we used today in video.
Make a trip to Gus Net & Tackel on Hwy 433, check out his inventory of top dog lures.
Seem you need to get an early start, (before daylight) cause once sun comes up it is over. However, on an overcast day might be able to fish for top dogs later in day too.
PONDER OF THE DAY:
“Me do not try to fish better than any else, me only fish try to fish better than meself”
Q&A:
What was the craziest fishing bet you’ve ever made?
What is the secret to setting hook when fishing top dogs, when and how do you set hook??????
TEAM JO-JO’S future stratagem:
That time of the year first mates are available more often, if you would like to jump on board the Bay Flat Sr for a trip let us know, so we can block out a day!!!!
· Sunday trip with Big Hugh
· Monday trip with Big Tom, our , (retired) mechanical engineer, these gentlemen keep me & The Big Dogs out of a lot of trouble, and if needed me could always call him in as a BG brother.
Me loving retirement and doing what me have all the passion in the world for…..Living life to the fullest.
Good Fishing
Team Jo-Jo & Oneofthepack
釣り先生
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