TYLER, Texas — Growing up maybe you read or watched the story of Dr. Doolittle. Doolittle could talk to animals.
In this week's Hooked On East Texas, meet a man who can't talk to the fish but his friends think he's a fish whisperer.
We watched the seemingly surreal rate at which Cliff Holubec caught White Bass. It was like he knew what the fish were thinking.
Holubec told us sometimes the fish want the lure retrieved faster, sometimes they want it slower. Sometimes he said they want it to pop off the bottom before they will chase and bite.
He’s not a professional but Holubec can catch fish like one, especially for Hybrid, Yellow and White Bass. We watched Holubec catch fish after just four cranks. We watched him catch a fish after he cranked the reel ten times.
Holubec told us it's all about figuring out the pattern and sticking with it until the fish stop biting, then you should try a different approach. We caught up with Holubec while doing another story with Herbeck’s Lone Star Fishing guide Brent Herbeck on Cedar Creek Lake. We were fishing the post-spawn late spring pattern.
“Normally once you find the pattern then you catch them you know you'll get in that rhythm, and you'll stay with them and they won't change," Holubec said.
Holubec’s seen a lot of changes when it comes to fishing. He grew up in Galveston Bay fishing for Sea Trout and Redfish. Holubec told us he became a minister and moved to Austin. He was there for 32 fish years as a minister at the University of Texas.
He moved to Athens about twelve years ago and lives within minutes of Lake Athens which his wife thinks is too close.
“My wife says I fish five to six days a week but on average, probably three or four," Holubec said.
Holubec calls Lake Athens a unique lake when it comes to his favorite fish, crappie, because the lake is full of brush piles. Holubec explained how crappie stay on the brush all but about three or four weeks a year except when they spawn.
He doesn't fish during the spawn because he doesn't want to disturb their natural behavior. But when he is fishing for Crappie, Holubec recommends using very tiny jigs and practices a very slow retrieve. He said if you think you are going slow enough, you probably aren't.
We enjoyed our day with Cliff Holubec and while the title might not be official, he is certainly the fish whisperer to us.