Great day at Normandy

[Alphahawk]

Headed to Normandy hoping the Spots were making the spring run......they weren't. I knew if no Spots then I could hit the trout action. Well the trout fishing was the best I have seen in my 6 years of fishing for trout there. These things have been eating well since November. I started fishing at 8:00 a.m. and walked up to the car at 2:00 p.m. My clicker read 166 trout caught and landed. That is not only a great numbers day but the majority of the trout were like little footballs......bursting at the belly with fat. Not sure I could have done any better on the Caney....maybe a few years back...but the size of the trout at Normandy are the biggest I have seen there. The colors for today were a Bison Trout Magnet and when the bite slowed I switched to chartreuse. The river has trout for approximately 6.5 miles. I can only assume they are that size the whole length. I don't know why they wouldn't be. I was fishing in very heavy current and was using a 3/32 ounce jig head. That was my setup for Spots. On my first cast I hooked what I thought was going to be a decent Spot.....instead it was a fat rainbow. It was just an awesome day of fishing. The rod today was a Volkey UL Super Finesse rated for 2-6 pound test and a 1/64-1/4 ounce lure. May head back tomorrow if the wind doesn't blow too hard. I am headed to North Carolina for the weekend and coming back Monday...will start fishing again Tuesday somewhere.....God willing. Have a trip booked with my son to the Little Red River for April 9th.....so I guess I got in some good practice for the trip today....LOL....life is good! I told all my friends this was going too be "The spring of all springs" for me fishing...so far the start is great!


Regards

[jad2t]

Man those things sure are chunky, they've been eating good! The only times I've ever caught them fat like that is below Center Hill Dam when they're eating the shad that came through.

[commdd]

WOW...those are toads! congratulations

[Travis C.]

What a great day Alpha. Those are some chunky bows.

On the last pic, how big is the hook on the jig? Compared to a TM or a CM double cross?

[Fishbus]

Floated it 3 weeks ago and a big shad kill had come through the dam. Dead and dying fish by the thousands in the river. Had to have helped with the fattening. We couldn't buy a bite. Going back Saturday with a friend from out west and hoping for a day like yours all the way down the river!

Billy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

What a great day Alpha. Those are some chunky bows.

On the last pic, how big is the hook on the jig? Compared to a TM or a CM double cross?

It is a #6 Mustad XS bronze hook Travis. The TM hook is #8 and Double Cross is a #3. I tell you a great jig head I like from TM is the 1/32 CM replacement heads....from the old Crappie Magnet jig heads. It is a #6...perfect for Gills when you want something bigger than the 1/64.


Regards

[Alphahawk]

Thanks guys.....probably 130 out of the bunch were that size...very few little stockers. Many of them were regurgitating shad....and craw fish. You can see some of the stomach contents on the Hawg Trough...LOL.



Regards

[lupanfreitag]

Well, one more.

Jealous.

Great catches.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

It is a #6 Mustad XS bronze hook Travis. The TM hook is #8 and Double Cross is a #3. I tell you a great jig head I like from TM is the 1/32 CM replacement heads....from the old Crappie Magnet jig heads. It is a #6...perfect for Gills when you want something bigger than the 1/64.


Regards

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I was wanting to find something a little heavier/bigger hook to cull out some small gills but not too big of a gap.

[XxthejuicexX]

WOW. I did not even notice the regurgitated shad on the board until you said it, to distracted by the fish! I have not fished down there in 15 years I bet. You should be able to fish out of a yak or is the current just going to blow me down stream? EDIT: Just looked at the sat image and I doubt I could stay put in the yak. I used to float it with my dad years ago.

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by XxthejuicexX

WOW. I did not even notice the regurgitated shad on the board until you said it, to distracted by the fish! I have not fished down there in 15 years I bet. You should be able to fish out of a yak or is the current just going to blow me down stream? EDIT: Just looked at the sat image and I doubt I could stay put in the yak. I used to float it with my dad years ago.

You can stay put about anywhere you want at 40 CFS......even up to 100 CFS. It is great time to float it....but figures we would have some cooler weather this weekend.


Regards

[Paincave]

I thought that was you but wasn't sure so I didn't say anything. Sounds like you had a awesome day for sure.

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Paincave

I thought that was you but wasn't sure so I didn't say anything. Sounds like you had a awesome day for sure.

Did we meet today? Where were you fishing?


Regards

[Paincave]

That was me in the shorts with the other guy that came down and talked to the guy in the blue shirt beside you. We didn't have our fishing gear but we're hopefully going to hit the lake tomorrow before the bad rain gets here but if all else fails,we'll park the boat in the parking lot and fish there for a bit if the lake is a bust.

[Heiny57]

Excellent report as always ,