Swift Park, 7/19/2013

[Allen Morgan]

You never know what you’re going to catch……

 

Decided to try my luck a little closer to home this time.  I arrived about 6:30, and found a 2-man boat and a couple float-tubes already fishing.  They were all older gents, and I found out later they were after catfish.

 

Once I launched, I started trolling a minnowbait in Firetiger.  I figured that color would show up in murky water better.  I started paddling out, and within minutes, got a hit on my trolling rod.  I pulled in a nice Sand Bass / White Bass, but it spit the hook at boatside.

 

I turned and started following the north bank.  I got about even with the launch, and got another hit on my trolling rod.  I had a nice, hard, tussle with said fish.  Once I got it to the boat, I realized it wasn’t really something I wanted to keep:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img545/3339/uk37.jpg[/IMG]

 

Once I released the Drum, I tossed out that minnowbait and started back on my path.  I was trying to stay in the channel, about 20’ off the bank.  I got right to the start of a series of islands, and got another hit.  This one also kept digging for the bottom.  I was rather surprised to pull this up:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img838/4315/lmxp.jpg[/IMG]

 

Too bad it wasn’t “keeping size”.  I let this one go, and continued on.

 

I started marking bait and fish in the channel.  The fish signals were just above the bottom, while the bait was closer to the surface.  I could SEE some Shad doing the Shad flip.  I even started seeing a few predators ambushing bait on top.  About this time, my trolling rod goes off again.  I pulled in this:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img689/6964/31ja.jpg[/IMG]

 

About that time, all heck broke loose.  I had Sandies busting bait all around me, but I couldn’t get a cast off as I was busy dealing with the fish I already had.  About the time I got that one unhooked and in the cooler, things had quieted down.

 

I went back to trolling.  I decided to change colors to a sexy-shad colored minnowbait.  Had a rather quiet paddle, interrupted by some more fish:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img197/1361/pz6.JPG[/IMG]

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img843/4803/a8gj.jpg[/IMG]

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img23/553/ejai.jpg[/IMG]

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img577/5340/bcfy.jpg[/IMG]

 

Caught a nice LMB out of the river as well.  Gave me a nice surprise when it jumped clear out of the water:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img40/9412/i8l.JPG[/IMG]

 

Also saw some floaters.  All Gar.  Here’s one that was close to the launch:

 

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img607/5579/iu8o.jpg[/IMG]

 

Also did some exploring.  Tried heading up to the dam, and got about half-way there before I ran into water that was too skinny for even a kayak.  I didn’t really feel like getting out and portaging, so I just backed up, turned out, and threaded my way through the rocks until I hit open water again.

 

Dropped my lure into the water, started paddling, and saw several Gar surfacing in front of me.  Didn’t really think much about it until a few minutes later, when I’m pretty sure one of them grabbed my lure, as the pole was bouncing around like crazy, pulling drag, and then just a second or two after it started, nothing.  Managed to catch another Sandie, but it was small.  Didn’t even get a pic of it.

 

Realized it was getting close to lunchtime, so I packed it in and took off.

[Vince Fusco]

A good day on the water for sure, Allan!  Your pictures show that you never know what might grab your lure.

[Allen Morgan]

There's a big dam about a mile upstream.  Flatheads, and big ones, at that, hang out there.  Only I can't get up there by water unless the turbines are one and generating.  I can, however, fish from the bank up there.

[Rex Robinson]

Allen,  sounds like a good outing on the water.  I had to beg for four small redears to come join me in the boat this evening, water temps are getting on up there.

[John Sheehan]

Great account  and some fine fishing !! So a Sandy is a White Bass ? What's a better fight Allen  ,a Flathead or a Channel Cat of the same size? Never caught a Flathead .White Bass, Gar, Flathead ,all on my bucket list .

[Allen Morgan]

Most Okies, and some folks from northern Texas, refer to White Bass as "Sand Bass" or "Sandies".  I think it's because the prefer a sandy bottom in rivers.  I use the "Sand Bass / White Bass" description because I write my post out in a word processor, then cut/paste that post into several different forums, as well as a couple different Facebook pages.

As far as the "fight" of a Flathead versus a Channel, Flathead cats hand's-down!!!  Flatheads are described as the "tractor-pull" of catfish.  They just keep digging and digging for the bottom, and once you get an really hacked-off Flathead on the surface, they go berserk, thrashing and spraying water everywhere, trying to get back down.  I've only caught smaller ones, 7 lbs or less.  They get HUGE!  OK State record rod-and-reel Flathead is 89 lbs, IGFA World Record is 123 lbs, although many people believe that fish was not a legitimate catch.  Just to give you an idea of they're growth, the minimum legal length here in OK is 20".  A fish that size is going to weigh about 5 lbs.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Gar afloat!

Great action tale, Allen. I have to get me a kayak.

[Allen Morgan]

Too bad it's dead.  I saw three dead floaters, all Gar.....

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

It DID look to be riding a tad high in the water...