MONSTERS in the LLM!

Monster trout that is! Yesterday as I was hard at work at my computer, I got a text from my good friend, David Wood. He sent me a picture of a 32" 11 pounder. I immediately went into hyper shock!

I tried calling him, then called his wife. Her reaction was "he's not supposed to be fishing and I saw that same fish, he probably didn't catch it...just holding it."
Who cares who caught it....I do!
David and one of his new best friends, a PI/SPI guide, name withheld, were prefishing for the AMI Kids Tournament to be held on Saturday. They were fishing potholes on the south side using croakers. Not only did they secure a monster trout, but landed a 22' flounder. The 32 was released with hopes of recapture on Saturday. The flounder on the other hand was eaten!
There have been some BIG trout taken up and down the coast this Spring. I don't think it matters if you are throwing hardware or dipping croakers, you gotta be at the right spot at the right time. I've always thought I was in the right spot, but over the past 50 years I must always be there at the wrong time.
Croakers are definitely the way to go for monster trout if you can secure them and have the patience ti fish them. Croakers are hard to come by on the lower coast. You've got to have connections with the shrimpers in the Brownsville channel in order to get croakers or travel up to Port Mansfield. They get theirs shipped in from the middle coast. If you can't find croakers, try pinfish or piggy perch. They work well. We've caught lots of good solid trout and mangroves on them in the heat of the summer in deep water.
I also received a picture of a 37" trout supposedly caught at Port Mansfield, that also is a monster. The only problem is its not a real picture. Someone did some work with photoshop! Its not always good to get too excited about MONSTER TROUT....bad for the heart!

By the way, David and his new best friends took 1st place in the AMI Tournament despite the 40 mph winds that blew. They didn't get the 32 again, but did find a 28"!

Congratulations on the win.
Take care!

Tournament Pictures

Over the past several years Team Uno Mas has participated in a number of tournaments in the LLM. Our team has won a few, but more then that its just been fun to compete with other anglers.

We continue to improve our skills and one day maybe bring home a really BIG PRIZE!

PICTURES / ALWAYS INTERESTING

Just wanted to share a few pictures...... The first series is from a trip I took in 2010....ALASKA!!

Topwater Action...It's Started!

Here it is April already. We had all of the kids and grandkids down for Spring Break several weeks back. I always enjoy taking that crew fishing. We fished for three straight days,but had very little to show for it. Lots of boat riding ,lots of casting, but very little returns on our investment. The wind was not cooperative by any means.
The calm weather and clear waters have arrived. My fishing partner, David Wood, AKA "The Spook" and I have been boxing some excellent trout over the last several days. Nearly all are being taken early in the day on topwaters. We are not running far from our home base. We've been drifting the potholes and flats associated with Long Bar. We keep talking about wade fishing these areas, but as of today its just talk. Long Bar is the remains of spoil taken from building the ICW many years ago. Most of it is good firm bottom, but has some really muddy areas also. Watch out for the drop offs, some of the holes are chest deep on me and I'm a big man. We've been using Heddon Spooks almost exclusively, but an occasional tossed gold spoon has paid dividends with some good reds. Long Bar is not necessarily a top redfish area, but it will at times hold good numbers. That's a good heavy 26"red in the picture that was released. On the same morning we released a number of good trout in the 24-26" range.

There has been a problem finding bait, but once you locate the bait, the fish will be there...count on it!

Hope that all of you have a glorious Easter and always remember " He gave his life so you could live!"