# Pre-front fun



## ReelaxFishin (Mar 15, 2018)

With light winds forecast for the early morning, overcast skies, and a front closing in, I knew it would be on. Hit one of me west bay honey holes before dawn and chucked tops with some success. Really frustrated by how many really good fish came unstuck before I could get a hand on em, but that's topwater fishing I guess. Ended up stringing four trout and two reds. Released another 6 or 8 trout and a redfish. Pink shedawg in the picture and chartreuse head/ white body spook.


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## ReelaxFishin (Mar 15, 2018)

Left two rod/reel combos on the side of the blue water highway. If you found em, please, please pm me. $100 reward.


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## flynut (Jun 30, 2009)

Sweet. Bet that was fun! Good report.


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## Flounder Face (Jun 20, 2012)

Indeed, a great morning. I had to work at 8:00 AM but was walking my dog at 6:30 and i knew someone was slamming some fish before the front. Congrats.


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## That Robbie Guy (Aug 11, 2009)

Dang. That's a shietty way to end a productive fishing trip.



ReelaxFishin said:


> Left two rod/reel combos on the side of the blue water highway. If you found em, please, please pm me. $100 reward.


Here's to hoping that they get returned to you!


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## deckid (Jul 25, 2011)

Dang, nice catch, sorry to hear about your rod and reels, hopefully, you will get them back. Nice report and thanks for sharing.


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## Trout chaser 88 (Dec 7, 2016)

Good looking catch! I wanted to go just couldn't get out of bed!


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

ReelaxFishin said:


> With light winds forecast for the early morning, overcast skies, and a front closing in, I knew it would be on. Hit one of me west bay honey holes before dawn and chucked tops with some success. *Really frustrated by how many really good fish came unstuck before I could get a hand on em, but that's topwater fishing I guess*. Ended up stringing four trout and two reds. Released another 6 or 8 trout and a redfish. Pink shedawg in the picture and chartreuse head/ white body spook.


Do you take the time to sharpen or at least touch up your treble hooks? Most look for the sharpest hooks they can find, right out of the box, but sometimes even those could use some help. Really sharp hooks are especially important for top water plugs, since the rods we use are softer and don't have the hook setting capabilities of stiffer rods. Add to that the fact that conceivably you are trying to set 6 hooks (2 trebles) instead of just one hook in a soft plastic. So all the power of the hookset is distributed among those 6 hooks and you end up with next to nothing in terms of the force of each hook going into the fish's mouth.

Just sayin'.......maybe you already were aware of this and it was just one of those days. I remember an evening in Florida once, where I hooked 18 snook on top water and got exactly ZERO to the boat....so it can happen that way too.


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## Rack Ranch (May 25, 2004)

Nice stringer, congrats. Some times them ol trout are just swatting at it and not eating it.


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## mccain (Oct 20, 2006)

Rack Ranch said:


> Nice stringer, congrats. Some times them ol trout are just swatting at it and not eating it.


been there plenty of times


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## Blk Jck 224 (Oct 16, 2009)

Rack Ranch said:


> Nice stringer, congrats. Some times them ol trout are just swatting at it and not eating it.





mccain said:


> been there plenty of times


And sometimes trying to set the hook will rip it out of their mouth prematurely also...Often when I'm getting blow ups w/o hook ups, or frequent pull offs I simply go down a size on the bait, like from Skitterwalk to baby Skitterwalk...A wise man taught me that color isn't nearly as important as topwater size and presentation...I like to start big, then dial down as needed...Investing in a little hook file is a good idea as mentioned


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## lonestarmb (Jun 14, 2017)

Another big thing that isnâ€™t spoke of much in saltwater fishing: lighten up on the drag and run a slower action rod. Helps to fight those head shakes with trebles. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ReelaxFishin (Mar 15, 2018)

Backed the drag waaay off but it didn't help. Did switch to a smaller top with really good, sharp hooks. It did help. Was targeting big fish and didn't want to be bothered by dinks. Monster topwater accomplished that but cost be several good ones. Oh well, I know where they live. 

I've already scratched together some money for replacement stuff and a 2cool member offered to give me some old equipment in exchange for me coming on his boat and showing him some spots and techniques offshore. Guy is a legend. Really, everyone on here who has messaged or asked friends on my behalf or shared info that I've used the last couple months is... Y'all are alright.

Thanks for the tips. I'll be upgrading my hooks and keeping a file with me in the future. Does anyone switch over to in-line single j-hooks? I've seen some people do that and was wondering how it effects your hookups and catch rates.


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