Are Mornings that much better?

[juicegoose]

Typically as a weekender coming to the camp it's hard to get the family up early to fish. For most of them heading to camp is a chance to sleep in, relax. On the other side of that they complain of slow fishing. My comments of needing to get on the water before 10-11 a.m. fall on deaf ears usually met with your not gunna catch more fish in the morning.

So how about it. For those of you that have more history on BL then myself when have you historically found the best bite or at least more bites. I think if I started getting up early and coming back around 8-9 with some fish in the box they would change their tune.

[marshrunner757]

I've been many times that I haven't put my first fish in the boat til 9:00A.M.

[Mr T]

I think the tides have as much to do with it as anything. Tides usually peak or bottom out in the middle of the day which gives more movement before and after, ie morning and late. But you can have movement all day some days, just watch the tides. The good thing is it repeats every month!

[BassYakR]

Yeah id say time doesnt matter too much. Its mostly tides. That bein said theres usually always that early morning bite also pretty much ever trip for me.... but when i fish salt i through tops mostly.

[Pull n Pray]

I've found that its just as good in the afternoons except fewer crowds and you don't have to wake up early. However in the summer I like to be on the water early before it gets 100 degrees.

[MathGeek]

We fish almost exclusively afternoons and we catch a lot of redfish, drum, and gafftops (we do not target trout). In some places and times of year, the wind can tend to blow more in the PM, and of course, it can be uncomfortably hot in summer.

[ThePinkBanana]

He targets gaftops but not trout? LMAO

[juicegoose]

I have heard that gafftop is good eats honestly. trying to get the slim off my boat is enough to keep them far away for me.

[legallimits]

Originally Posted by juicegoose

I have heard that gafftop is good eats honestly. trying to get the slim off my boat is enough to keep them far away for me.

Like most people, I don't let gafftops anywhere near my boat, under the assumption that they are not worth eating. I've never tried them. But the people who have eaten them tell me they are decent. Has anybody here actually eaten them? I can't imagine I'd keep them on a day when I find reds or trout, but on that day when the only thing that will grab the line is a gafftop, I'd like to know whether they are worth eating.

And if not, does anybody have a good way to kill them, so we're not just dumping the live ones back in the water?

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by legallimits

Like most people, I don't let gafftops anywhere near my boat, under the assumption that they are not worth eating. I've never tried them. But the people who have eaten them tell me they are decent. Has anybody here actually eaten them? I can't imagine I'd keep them on a day when I find reds or trout, but on that day when the only thing that will grab the line is a gafftop, I'd like to know whether they are worth eating.

And if not, does anybody have a good way to kill them, so we're not just dumping the live ones back in the water?

small piece of pipe or metal bat..... i play catfish baseball

[ThePinkBanana]

I wasn't being rude, that post literally made me laugh out loud in a restaurant. I've always considered gaftops, drum, ribbon fish, and gar trash fish. Although I've heard people say drum, gar and gaftops eat well... I just don't waste my time with them because I can easily catch reds and trout. But you know what they say, one mans trash is another's treasure!

[BassYakR]

I kill every single Gafftop and hardhead i catch

[simplepeddler]

Damn fine eating and yes..............Math targets them..............

I am too old to do anything I don't really want to do............colonoscopy's and such that is mandated aside..........LOL.........

I stopped fishing tournaments because of the early mornings...........

I save that for the ducks

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by ThePinkBanana

He targets gaftops but not trout? LMAO

We catch a lot of gafftops targeting redfish, but we are very happy to fill coolers with them when they are biting.

Right now, we're working pretty hard to improve our freshwater catfishing skills in and around BR, but that's mainly to reduce driving distances as the taste and quality are the same to my family.

After sloshing around in an ice/water mix for a couple hours, most of the slime has come off by the time we get back to Calc Pt to clean the fish. Skinning and filleting a dozen or two gafftops is about the same as an equivalent mix of channels and blues.

It may be that not fishing mornings is one reason why we haven't figured out trout yet. We also fish from a 16 ft aluminum boat with a 20 hp motor, so we're not set up to chase trout all over the lake. We mostly just tool to a good spot in the jetties or Turner's bay (or Caminada pass when in GI) and load the ice chest(s) with redfish, drum, gafftops, and the occasional sheepshead. We also like to play the same game from the beaches.

We're pretty happy without many trout in the mix. The equipment and fuel costs to add more trout to our catch just isn't worth it to me when we're having plenty of fun and catching lots of fish with our current approach. Our targeted areas for improvement are sharks and freshwater cats.

[jpeff31787]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

We catch a lot of gafftops targeting redfish, but we are very happy to fill coolers with them when they are biting.

Right now, we're working pretty hard to improve our freshwater catfishing skills in and around BR, but that's mainly to reduce driving distances as the taste and quality are the same to my family.

After sloshing around in an ice/water mix for a couple hours, most of the slime has come off by the time we get back to Calc Pt to clean the fish. Skinning and filleting a dozen or two gafftops is about the same as an equivalent mix of channels and blues.

It may be that not fishing mornings is one reason why we haven't figured out trout yet. We also fish from a 16 ft aluminum boat with a 20 hp motor, so we're not set up to chase trout all over the lake. We mostly just tool to a good spot in the jetties or Turner's bay (or Caminada pass when in GI) and load the ice chest(s) with redfish, drum, gafftops, and the occasional sheepshead. We also like to play the same game from the beaches.

We're pretty happy without many trout in the mix. The equipment and fuel costs to add more trout to our catch just isn't worth it to me when we're having plenty of fun and catching lots of fish with our current approach. Our targeted areas for improvement are sharks and freshwater cats.

I know a spot in Vbay, where I can put a sailcat on your line EVERY throw! Every LAST firkin throw! I'd be willing to bet you couldn't get your line in fast enough without catching one!

[legallimits]

I find that fishing in the morning is best for trout fishing, if you plan to follow the birds. By 9am, most of the birds seem to be done. That said, when I'm generally fishing reefs or trout holes, sometimes I catch early, other times late. Sometimes it's the tide, other times I don't have a clue what it is.

[Sightwindow]

Where I fish, early mornings are important. But I like to fish topwaters, don't care for live bait and like fishing the early low light calm when the bait is up on the surface whether it's mullet, pogies or shrimp. For trout, I'm usually done by 10 am when it gets hot.

If you're keying on birds like in fall, if you don't get out before sunrise, you're SOL. I have a hard time accepting that I could be missed out on prime fishing time, even if it's only 20 minutes or so. That 20 minutes could be an extremely hot bite. Getting there first gives you first dibs on a drift or a specific spot.

In recent years I've come to really love late afternoons for the light winds and light crowds. And topwater fishing that's just as good as in the morning. Only problem is running in the near-dark. If anything happens like hitting a log or piling or miscalculating a route back, it could be bad times.

[keakar]

the main difference I notice is the mesquitoes are worse at dusk then they are at dawn, beyond that, in general, its all based on the tide times not really the time of day you fish.

I do agree however that if you want top water action, for whatever reason there is just something different about top water fishing and for that specific style, I find that first light in the morning is always better then any other time.

[Bdub]

Originally Posted by ThePinkBanana

He targets gaftops but not trout? LMAO

You are lightyears behind....Mathgeek u need to school this boy on the magnetic jighead vs regular for gaftops

[Crawl79]

Originally Posted by jpeff31787

I know a spot in Vbay, where I can put a sailcat on your line EVERY throw! Every LAST firkin throw! I'd be willing to bet you couldn't get your line in fast enough without catching one!

Ha, I can think of a few places like that in V-Bay. One of them half the time I see birds working over them and have to stop just be sure but I know it's Gafftops.