I have had the solo skiff for a little over 9 months now. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. I have been on the saltwater flats of the Texas coast, small power plant lakes, and the open waters of Toledo Bend in this vessel. Primary advantage- the ability to go where no one else can. Whether it is a small drain on the shoreline of a saltwater bay, or flooded vegetation in a lake, the solo skiff will get you there. I found a fork among some trees while fishing Toledo Bend a few weeks ago. The left fork opened up into the main lake while the right fork went into a large patch of bushes. The entrance to the right fork was as wide as the Solo so needless to say, no other boats were in there. I thought it was an excellent location especially if it had been close to spawn (too bad it was way past spawn.) While fishing in the bushes I heard a boat pass through the fork. One guy asked his partner "turning left, right?". His partner laughed and said "definitely not going right!" I shouted from the bushes, "You can take a right if you want to!" I can only imagine what they said as they ventured left. That sums up the Solo Skiff. Go where no boat can go, catch fish no boat can catch. Comparing it to a kayak. No comparison. I can get to areas I wouldn't have even attempted in my Hobie in no time at all, and with less than a gallon of gas on the boat. Why in the world would you want to paddle?!?!? Best purchase I have ever made, which brings me to the last point. I always see people talk about the cost. You can buy the Solo, motor and trailer for around 3500. That's about how much you will pay for a new standard Hobie. Did I mention that you don't even need a trailer. Some people choose to haul it in the back of their truck. What about add-ons? No problem with depth finders, trolling motors, lights, power poles, it has all been done before. If your in Texas, join the facebook Texas Solo Skiff group and see for yourself. People are passionate about their skiff for a reason. The Solo Skiff is in a league of it's own. I may just have to buy me a fleet of them!
1 Comment
The plan was to fish the same area that we caught a few fish last trip.Weather forecast that I read only called for a 10 mph wind from the NW after the front moved through Saturday morning. It ended up being a steady 20 mph from the NW. We made a few drifts North of Bird Island and caught one keeper red before conditions made it tough to fish. It got rough quick and we headed towards Sargent. Red was caught on Chicken Boy under poppin cork (same color as last trip). We knew that we could likely catch a few drum in Mitchell's Cut so that's where we went after we stopped to pick up some live shrimp. My dad ended up catching the current camp record 28# drum while I followed it up with a 26# drum. Weather was terrible but we grinded it out to catch a few quality fish. February is definitely the time of the year to catch big drum in this area. Both fish were released as I despise cleaning big drum or reds. Fish were also caught around the tide change. Lots of rays and croaker were in the area as well. Maybe one of these days the weathermen will get it right. Until then, we will just have to hope the weather cooperates on the days we decide to venture out. Looking forward to one of those days where the bay looks like glass. As always, thanks for reading. Finally made it back to the camp for a fishing trip with my dad. The wind was from the NE 5-10 mph most of the morning. The temps were supposed to rise to 65 before the front arrived but i doubt it ever got above 56.65 degrees. Fished a few spots on the Eastern side of the bay with no luck. Moved down the bay a ways and caught one keeper trout close to the South shoreline but certainly did not catch all (hint, hint). Motored over to Bird Island and made a few drifts South of Bird Island. No fish. Decided to move North of the Bird and found a few fish literally within 30 minutes of the front moving through. Two keeper trout and a red before hauling buns down the ICW back to Sargent. Looked like a boat parade. All those who spectated the boat parade likely regretted that decision as the rain and wind hit as we were putting the boat on the boat lift. All fish were caught under popping cork on 1/8 oz jighead and chicken boy psycho chicken shad (chicken on the bone color). GREAT artificial bait that will soon become my go to if it continues to catch. No video report this time but thanks for reading!
Decided to bring the skiff along for the holiday festivities. Christmas eve morning looked to be the best day weather wise so I ventured out to the closest body of water for some bass fishing. Recently purchased a super stick push pole that I was looking forward to testing out. I found out that it works well as a paddle. Recent rains had raised the water level on this lake quite a bit. Had a hard time finding shallow water unless I was right next to the bank. Flipped and cranked cypress trees all morning long with no luck. Decided to pole down a narrow channel fishing taller grass banks and pulled in one small bass. Nice day on the water. One thing is for sure, it definitely did not feel like December with high 80 degree temps. I recently saw a photo on the Solo Skiff website of a dark green skiff with a go-devil type engine mounted to it. Growing up fishing and hunting the swamps in Louisiana I can say that boat would be PERFECT for this area. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy the video report. Went to Fayette County the day after the front. Arrived a little before noon to low 50's temps and a North wind at 5-10 mph. Actually wasn't too bad once you got on the water. My plan was to troll a crankbait over secondary points to try and locate some fish. Never really worked. I caught two fish trolling however the locations were random so I never stopped to fish those areas. I also fished a patch of reeds that I can't wait to revisit during the spawn. I have read several reports the last few weeks of people sitting on one area the entire day and catching a ton of fish. Pretty difficult to do without electronics. I think I will stick to shallow water fishing and grass beds rather than trying to find fish in deep water when in the Solo Skiff. Left the lake around 3 as I was all out of ideas. Enjoy the video report and thanks for reading! "East Matty Solo Skiff" It's been a busy few weeks for me so I haven't had much time to do any fishing. Finally found a few hours to take the solo skiff down to East Matagorda. I launched around 10am and headed out towards brown cedar. Weather was great with winds under 5mph and not too hot. Two questions I wanted answered on this day. Can a tank of gas get me all the way there and how long would it take. I tried to make this journey before in a Hobie PA but stopped half way after I realized I would not have the energy needed to paddle back. Well, a tank of gas and 23 minutes later I was there (launched from first canal off intercoastal). The boat handled wake from other boats and barges well. I was very pleased with the performance. I planned on finding a drain or bayou to fish for flounder if i could find some moving water. It didn't take me long to realize that it is going to take me a while to learn this area. The bayous are a lot bigger than they appear on the maps but the depth decreases rapidly. I had a hard time finding a way into the bayou so i ended up fishing the flats for a while with a bass assassin. Had a few short strikes early and after catching a croaker I assumed that was the culprit of the short strikes. I had a nice hit but lost the fish after i reached up to turn on the camera while simultaneously setting the hook. I should know by now that this never turns out good. Fish off. I headed back East towards the South shoreline to try and find some grass beds I had fished before. Poled around for a while but no luck. Decided that my makeshift push pole works well enough. Wooden closet rod with a push pole end from Academy. Don't see the point in spending a few hundred dollars when this one worked so well. No fish but a relaxing day on the water it was. Headed back home to see my new baby boy. Cannot wait until he can join me on some fishing adventures. Thanks for reading and enjoy the video report SOLO SKIFF MAIDEN VOYAGE I made the decision a while back to replace the hobie with a solo skiff. After I moved back to the Houston area I decided that it was finally time. I ordered the outboard online and purchased the Solo Skiff from Outback Kayak-Houston. One of the few dealers here in TX. Decided to take it out on the open water and get accustomed to everything before taking it down to the coast. Not disappointed one bit. This thing is awesome. Went everywhere I would have if i were in a bass boat. One thing about breaking in a small outboard is that its the perfect trolling speed. Tossed crankbait behind me and found some nice bass stacked on a point in 10-20 feet. I was mainly focused on breaking in the motor so I only anchored at a few places. I did find a nice reed patch that I want to revisit when I have some braid tied on. Looked fishy. I cannot wait to take this thing to East Matagorda and fish the Brown Cedar area. Got enough minutes on the motor to be satisfied so I was off the water before lunch. One thing is for sure, I will NEVER paddle or peddle again! Thanks for reading and enjoy the video report. Went to Fayette County Lake this weekend. I’ve been able to fish some the last few weeks but haven’t had time to make a report much less a video. Selling/buying a home, finding a new job and the whole relocation process has taken precedence lately. Looking forward to getting back home, closer to the coast and better freshwater lakes this next month. The weather started off cloudy and cool with a threat of rain later in the day. Thankfully the storms died out and stalled up North. Turned out to be a beautiful day on Fayette. We started the morning fishing the dam. I caught a nice 3#er on a yellow magic topwater. This fish inhaled the lure. After a slow start we proceeded to a grass ledge in shallower water. The fish were stacked up in a small area and we found out quickly what they would bite on (texas rigged and Carolina rigged plastics). Also caught a few on crankbaits. It was a great day, boating well over ten fish in the morning before the action calmed down. After we knew we wore out the second stop, we went back to the dam. I caught a nice 4.5# bass on the first cast fishing a t-rig worm. It never turned on at the dam like it usually does this time of year so we ran around the lake to a couple of other spots with a fish here and there. Got some good running time on the new boat but it’s hard to get much on such a small lake. Great day all in all. Thanks for reading and enjoy the video report! To fish or not to fish, that has been the question the last two weekends. Weatherman said the rain wouldn't be here until the afternoon so I ventured out to Austin in search of some bass. Been wanting to fish this lake for a while. Was on the water by 7am. Little wind and low 60's temps. Didn't rise above 65 the whole time I was out with a little mist here and there. Took off from the ramp only to find my rudder not working. Good thing I had a paddle in my vehicle as a spare. Had to use it the whole day to steer that big tub of plastic around. Hobie's are a giant pain in the rear without a rudder. Planned on fishing the bank with a slow rolled havoc swimbait but plans quickly changed. I spent too much time steering to slow roll anything. Tied on a white spinnerbait and continued down the bank to a creek opening. Caught a nice 2-3#er a little ways in the creek. It looked fishy (and I should have stayed for a while) but I had other plans in mind. Paddled down the bank to Snake Island without any luck. Google maps showed some nice vegetation in the cove by the dam so I headed that way. Nice reed patch was the next stop. I was kicking myself for not bringing my spinner setup with braid. Used a wacky senko instead and hooked up to a nice one. Evidently he just had it in his mouth because after a few seconds of dead weight, my senko popped out of the water. A few casts later I hooked up to a smaller fish. Would have liked to cast a lure into the reeds but knew I couldn't haul a fish out of it with what I had. On my way away from the reed patch I Ianded a nice 4# bass on the outside of the reeds. Wind made it a pain paddling around so I fished a few more banks before going back to my original spot by the creek. It was crowded but i figured once I got in there it wouldn't be bad. A few casts later the entire flotilla of kayaks and paddle boards rushed in the creek. I had had enough for the day at that point. Arms exhausted, I picked up around 11. Wouldn't mind going back to this place with braid and a kayak that has a functional rudder. Enjoy the video report and thanks for reading.
A new edition was added to the fleet by my dad a few weeks ago. I was lucky enough to be there for the maiden voyage. Damn nice bass boat made by Phoenix I must say. Look forward to more trips in that beauty. Started off around 7:30 since i was running a little late on my way in from San Antone. Weather was nice with little wind in the morning. The wind did pick up later in the afternoon as it always seems to do on this lake. Started off on a point fishing carolina rigged plastics and a rattletrap. No takers shallow or deep. Thought that was strange, so we moved over to the dam to fish a ledge where we usually have luck this time of year. Couldn't manage a bite there either. Moved further up the lake and caught a gar on a rattletrap in third boat ramp cove. Thought it was a nice bass at first. At least he didn't swallow it and came off rather easy. After a few minutes of running the boat we headed off to the discharge. Found some nice holes with fish around them on the sonar but no takers. Saw a fellow holding close to an area set the hook a few and lose one at the boat. Spot was mentally marked in my mind for future use. Cruised the lake some more before deciding to just work the dam and get out of the wind. My dad finally caught a few bass on a crankbait working the dam. One was a nice 4#er. I guess its only fitting that the captain of the new boat gets to catch the fish. Enjoy the video report and thanks for reading. |
CategoriesArchives
July 2019
AuthorFor more information about the Author, please see the about tab. |