Here we go again, talking about the weather, but it has really been a major factor where the  fishing is concerned.  The cooler temperatures that we’ve had during the nights have allowed the water temp to remain cool.  That in and of itself would not be such a big problem, however, combined with the strong East wind, it has the fish, especially the crappie, shut down.
 
On the Bend the bass anglers report tough times too.  The better ones are still coming from a wacky-worm and Carolina rigged french fry.  The popular color has been watermelon red. There are still some fish up shallow but most have started to back up on the outside grass line.  The trouble with that is that the wind has made it hard to get out and fish these fish. For the deeper fish the Texas rigged worm in junebug and crabapple colors have been the best.
 
Prior to last weekend’s cool front that came through the crappie fishing had been starting to get good.  Most reports that came in over the weekend, my own experience included, were that they really slowed when the temperatures cooled.  We were still catching numbers, but the size was not there at all.  I did find that the secondary points in the larger creeks were holding the better fish.  Good colors for the crappie jigs are red/white, blue/white, and black/chartreuse, rigged with a 1/16 oz head.  Also, a roadrunner in the same colors.
 
Rayburn reports before the front were good with lots of good 2 ½ to 3 ½ pound fish coming on top water baits and wacky worms from up around the bushes.  The bone ChugBug and Pop R, and in the worms, crabapple.  Some fish were also coming from the edge of the grass in nine to twelve feet of water when you could find the new green grass.  The Texas rigged worm in crabapple and Texas smoke colors have been the best.
 
For the crappie over on Big Sam, reports have been good.  Roadrunners in both the 1/16 and 1/8 oz size have been working well fished off the edge of the grass in eight to twelve feet of water.  The Buck Bay and Needmore areas have been the best.  That is not to say that you can’t catch them in your favorite spot, just that the reports came from those areas.
 
For tournament news this week, the Angler’s Choice Couples circuit fished here on Toledo over the weekend.  They had a good turnout with forty-eight teams competing.  It took 13.98 pounds to take home the money, however, I’d like to congratulate Robin and her partner, Bill Ritzell, who came in ninth with some nice fish.  They faced some tough competition and conditions but did really well.   Its kind of a change of pace for me to be going to her weigh-ins so I was proud for them.
 
Coming up for this weekend is Redman on Big Sam.  Good luck to all of those anglers and to everyone else just fun fishing!  Have a great week and remember, give me a call with your reports and comments to (409)579-4213 or send them by email to johnston@jas.net.