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February is here and there’s been a number of Share-a-Lunkers (bass over 13 pounds) caught here in Texas. I had a recent trip to O.H. Ivey with a couple of buddies, Josh Jones and Kasey Swan. The fishing was tough for the big fish, though we managed to get two over ten pounds with the largest going 10.94lbs. We simply couldn’t find many in water shallower than 35-40 feet. The shallow bite was decent as I talked with several boats chasing the shallow fish. They weren’t catching big and going for numbers. They were doing well with squarebill cranks and chatterbaits. I’m sure spinnerbaits and whatever bait you’d prefer in shallow water would’ve caught them too.
February is the month that the big fish really start moving and getting ready to spawn. In the south, they start spawning this month but not in the west or up north. Heck up north the water is still hard (ice). The weather in Texas is always up and down. We had a very bad three-day ice storm that ended on Thursday and I got a good sunburn three days later on Ivey. So, these fish will start spawning and then we’ll get a cold front that will knock them back but, as soon as it’s gone, they start again. It’s so different than in the west where the spawn starts and just gets better until it tapers off.
This invention of forward-facing sonar is the real deal. This past Sunday at Ivey, it’s all we did all day. We were targeting big fish only and we saw hundreds of them. Getting them to bite was another story. We threw at fifty to one hundred fish and many would follow and not eat and then, all of a sudden, the next one would crush it. We had four fish over eight pounds, two were almost eleven pounds and two large eight pounders that were close enough most guys would’ve called them nines.
But this day they were off and why? We had a full moon. Was that it? There were a ton of boats on the water. Was fishing pressure hurting the bite? As fishermen, we can always guess and not know for sure exactly what the problem was. I’m thinking fishing pressure myself. But still, these four fish are considered giants by most of us fishermen. Josh and Kasey had a great day a week or so back, with a dozen fish over eight pounds, the biggest going to Kasey at 12.74lbs.
Forward facing sonar has simply changed the game. Is it for everyone? Heck no! First is the expense, as these units are pricey but it’s more than this, too. When fun fishing I’ve always preferred to be a bank beater and catch numbers with occasional big fish thrown in. It’s simply how most of us learned to fish and it’s hard to get away from what we’ve always done. There’s nothing wrong with it and the overall majority of anglers will continue to fish in this manner. It’s more relaxing and fun catching numbers of fish. But anyone wanting to target big fish or are fishing tournaments simply must have forward facing sonar. There’s no way around it. It’s a total game changer.
Also, in a short period of time the transducers have gotten unbelievably better. Before there was a lot of “noise” on the meters and they were much harder to “see” everything. This has been fixed in a big way. If you’re using the older transducers you need to jump on a boat with someone for a few minutes and check out the new “pictures”. But be forewarned, after you see the “new” it’s going to cost you because there’s no way you’ll not upgrade. In fact, I called Josh a few nasty names this past week. I’m now in for another upgraded transducer myself.
The big girls are starting to move so it’s time to go fishing!!!! Good luck to all.
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