Catching fish is simple enough. All you have to do is correctly answer three questions — what, when and where fish are eating. If the answers were as easy as the questions, though, we’d all be tired of eating fish.
Since fish are opportunistic feeders, the answer to the question “when” is generally “whenever a meal presents itself.” That’s not always the case, though, as you know too well if you’ve ever cranked a bait past the face of a largemouth bass that showed less interest than a dog at a vegan potluck. But a fish can feed pretty much any time something swims within striking range. There is some predictability on timing. There are periods when fish are more likely to be actively feeding throughout a given day, and those times are listed in solunar tables. Make sure you’re looking at the tables for the area you’re fishing, because peak times change based on geographic location.
What they eat is also pretty easy to answer, because they’ll eat just about anything that’s smaller and slower than they are, whether other fish, insects, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles or about any other thing they can get in their mouths. When I was a kid, I decided to make a homemade lure, so I took a stick from a tree in my yard, painted it with some markers, screwed in some treble hooks and other hardware, and took it fishing. It was the ugliest bait I’ve ever thrown, but they ate it. If they’ll go after a stick, they’ll try about anything. However, the best baits are those that the fish naturally feed on — or lures that imitate those things. Just about anything will bite a minnow or nightcrawler.
That leaves the question of where. That’s the million dollar question. That’s the one that anglers spend thousands of dollars to answer. The faster your boat is, the more area you can cover trying to locate fish, and the more sophisticated the electronic graph, the better you can see what’s underneath the boat when you get there. You can even see the fish striking the bait and watch yourself reeling them in. Granted, it’s not like watching a video of catching a fish. It’s more like watching an Atari-style fishing game.
Where fish are depends a lot on the degree of comfort provided by an area. If the water doesn’t have enough oxygen, you shouldn’t waste time there. If it’s too hot or cold, then go to deeper water where the temperature is moderated. If there’s plenty of structure like creek channels, timber, rocks and vegetation, you’ll likely find fish in the area. They’re creatures of comfort just like you and me.
But generally knowing where to look doesn’t tell you exactly where. Lakes and rivers are big places, and pinpointing a good location can seem overwhelming. However, if you own a smartphone, you hold the technology that can tell you exactly where to drop your hook into the water.
Thanks to a collaborative project that included Texas Parks and Wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, city of Waco and Cameron Park Zoo, Waco-area waters have received artificial fish habitats, structures — known as fish condos — that were placed into Lake Waco and Lake Brazos.
These habitats were made of cut bamboo, approximately 12-15 feet tall, which was placed into 5-gallon buckets and filled with concrete. Once the concrete was set, the condos were put into the water, and they’ve been attracting fish ever since.
Their locations can be found on the TPWD website’s Lake Waco fishing page, and if you open the compass app on your smartphone, you’ll find a readout of your current location in terms of latitude and longitude. Just follow the coordinates on your phone until they match up with a fish attractor’s coordinates and you’ll be exactly where the fish are, and while some fish condos are only reachable by boat, a good number are located within easy casting distance from the bank.
So now that you know the key questions and answers, there’s nothing left to do but go fishing.
Input on trails
The city of Waco is asking for public input on its trails, and not just from folks who run, walk and bike them. According to parks and recreation director Jonathan Cook, the city is looking at things like connecting existing trails, providing different types of trails, improving existing trails and adding new ones, as well as adding features to expand activities and interests.
Personally, I wouldn’t complain a bit if they installed a few handicap-accessible fishing platforms along the banks of Lake Brazos. They’d provide safe access for anglers who use wheelchairs or scooters, and they would provide structure for fish to congregate around. Toss in a fish condo nearby and you’d have a reliable place to catch fish.
To drop your suggestions into the hat, visit the city of Waco Parks and Recreation website and click the survey link under “News and Events.”
May 16, 2021 at 05:33AM
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Outdoors: The what, where and when of fishing - Waco Tribune-Herald
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