Three Simple Steps to Cure the Common Monday

[Lane Palmer]

Yesterday I found three simple steps to cure the common Monday. 1) Put on waders. 2) Get a good jig and bobber set up. 3) Catch fish.

Location: West Side of Fort Worth

Water Temp: 64

Water Clarity: Clear

Time of Day: Afternoon

Rod: 11ft Ozark Tony Edgar

Reel: Shimano Sienna

Line: 8lb Hi-Vis Mr. Crappie mono

Tackle: Thump Jumpers on 1/8 ounce UV chartreuse heads with #4 sickle from www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com
Best Technique: Move around quickly but fish slowly. Jungle fishing is about getting the jig in some VERY unforgiving places. The darker the shade, and the heavier the brush, usually means more fish. As slowly as possible, lower the jig all the way to the bottom, then come up 6-12”, pausing about three seconds after you come up off the bottom. If you don’t get bit on the way down, and still don’t get bit after pausing, they aren’t there and it’s time to move. When fish are as hormonal and territorial as they are right now, there isn’t much guess work. Stick and move. Stick and move. Stick and move.







The barometric pressure was rising, the wind was from the northeast and traffic was unusually bad for the middle of the day. Everything said don’t go, but it was just too pretty outside, and I needed to scout around Ft. Worth anyways, as I’ve got a lot of people who I’ll be needing to put on fish the next few months.

We went to the mouth of a creek, where we found isolated clumps of reeds and willows in 4-6ft of water. We also saw several acres of flooded vegetation and trees all around this creek, so the potential to catch fish was definitely there. What I wasn’t expecting was the water to be gin clear. I don’t like clear water, especially during the spawn. Never the less, we slipped on the rubber pants, grabbed the long rods and went hunting.

As a duck hunter, it’s hard to focus on fishing when blue wing teal are trying to land right on top of me. I considered swinging my eleven foot pole at them, but that’s probably frowned upon by the state and it’s local authorities. Anyways, we took off fishing through the jungle, and were simply not getting bit. “Hey man, I think this water is too clear, and with that front pushing through, I think we need to get out a little deeper.”

We found two long strips of willow and reeds that ran the edges of the main creek channel, all of which were in 2-6ft. I started casting my jig and bobber along the edges, while my partner in crime commenced to vertical jigging the thicker stuff. I stuck a fish almost immediately, but my buddy got up three to my one real fast.

“You finding them in that real dark shady stuff?” Looking over his shoulder, “yeah, right around the root balls of the bigger branches sticking out!” Good to know. After we established a pattern, we each took off in our own direction, and had ourselves quite an enjoyable Monday afternoon.

We caught upwards of 25-30, keeping a dozen or so for an immediate taco dinner, and to put a little padding in the freezer. Reflecting on yesterday’s events, it was good to see an old friend again, and the fact that his waders leaked in a very unfortunate spot made it that much better.


Good luck this spring!

Lane
ftworthfishing.com
817-266-9811

[SuperDave336]

Lane you tell stories good! Feel like I’m right there with you. Awesome job, better than my Monday.

[Blackhawk19]

Great catch and story!

[Lane Palmer]

Does anyone know how I can fix the pictures in my posts to the correct format?

[CrappiePappy]

Does anyone know how I can fix the pictures in my posts to the correct format?

If you mean "the correct orientation" .... then, the easiest way is to turn the top of your phone to your right side when taking pics you want to post on here. Some phones have a orientation code that this site does not recognize, and the site attempts to "correct" the orientation by tilting the pics 1/4 turn to the left (Landscape Mode).

[SuperDave336]

Does anyone know how I can fix the pictures in my posts to the correct format?

If on iPhone I have found if you edit the photo any it will then upload correctly. Rotate, crop, edit color, etc. anything as long as you save it. I always edit mine with the color adjustment enhance usually anyway.

[ET Fish]

Well done

[Luvfatslabs]

Nice catch Lane

[Redge]

Lane you tell stories good! Feel like I’m right there with you. Awesome job, better than my Monday.

X2!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[franklin fisher]

Nice catch and great post.