Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

Saturday morning was chilly and breezy, and the boaters evidently slept in. I was glad for the solitude, and knew it was my chance to score a big trout or two before the noise levels came back up to normal. Big trout are frequently around, but they don't seem to respond well to the thumping music and boat motors that comes with the relaxed style I often observe in the area. Big fish respond much better with quiet and intentional fishing. Before daylight I arrived to the first spot and worked it thoroughly looking for fish. It was pretty uneventful aside from a few slot sized fish that were released. The day was clear and pressure was relatively high, so I figured the morning bite would be pretty brief. I left a buddy fishing that area and moved to the next likely spot - it's a corner that connects shallow grass to deeper water with a nice gradual depth change creating a point that really drops off farther out. The bait was a Z-man jerk shad in "the deal" on a 1/8 ounce jig head. The buoyant bait falls pretty slowly and tends to draw the attention of larger fish better than some other offerings that sink faster. On one of my first casts right into the rising sun, the bait landed deeper ahead and along the shoreline, in what I guess was about ten feet of water. As soon as the bait was on the bottom I got a hard thump and the fish ran like a solid redfish, only faster. I knew what that meant, so I limited the drag pressure so the hook would hold. About the time I was sure it was a big trout, a bucket shaped open mouth broke the surface right in the sunny glare and began to shake. Because of the size of the fish the shaking was relatively slow, but if this wasn't a tarpon it would be a really nice trout. Five or six times the fish broke the surface to shake, but the hook held fast. When I finally got her to the net, she wouldn't fit in, and a good part of her tail was hanging above the net rim. Thankfully she sat there stiff for a minute as I made my way over to the kayak to get a measurement. She went 29" with an open mouth, and as soon as I had a photo and short video as proof, I removed the hook from the roof of her mouth and put her back into the water. She wasted no time in slipping out of my grip and heading back into deeper water. I spent a few minutes covering the rest of that area a little farther down the shore, and then began to work back the other way along the corner. As I moved along the shoreline returning to the kayak, one cast landed 30 feet behind the boat and as I began to move it, I felt the thump again. This one was a real drag burner. She would rip ten yards quickly and then change directions. She never broke the surface but used up a lot of energy pulling drag from the little Vanford 1000. I like the small reel and light 12lb braid because I can cast and work light lures with lots of feedback. The light lures flutter and sink more realistically than heavier baits, and it was really working this morning. This fish came close to the net several times and was determined to avoid it. I finally waded as deep as I dared and got the net quickly below the fish before she could dart off again. It was another giant, and I went directly to the measuring board. This one was a half inch shorter and showed 28.5". I was ecstatic and wondered if there were more waiting for a bait. After photos I released her and straightened up the bait on the hook. I worked the rest of the corner before my buddy showed up. I left the rest of the edge to him and concentrated on the feature that I knew would hold other good fish. I managed a few slot sized fish, but no other giants. Still, a pair of giants on one morning along with 16 other fish is a win in almost anyone's book. It certainly was for me. I headed home by 9:00am as the boaters began to show up.

I spent the middle of the day finishing a kitchen cabinet project that had been started over the Winter break. I am stripping the drawers and cabinet doors to restore their original wood beauty. When we bought this house it had painted drawers and I didn't know how nice the underlying wood looked. When I stripped the first one I was surprised at the beauty it revealed, and my wife decided she wanted them clear coated instead of painted again. I agreed, and I got started removing and stripping doors one at a time. That project is nearly done now and I spent the middle of the day trying to finish it up. By 3:00pm several doors were drying and I was cleaning up the last of my mess, so I checked to see if my gear was dry and ready to head back to the water for part 2.

The afternoon featured a LOT of boat traffic. Everywhere I looked there were boats. Nearly all of them had music thumping, which is fine but not (in my experience) if you want to find big trout. Big ones want to feel secure that nobody is around. That means being quiet and moving intentionally. Soft stepping through the grass, slow movements and minimal noise. I finally got a stretch of shoreline alone and picked up a few keeper fish. First was a small flounder, then an upper-slot trout. A slot sized redfish followed, and then a legal flounder. There was a slam on the stringer and I hoped a few larger fish would come around as we got closer to sunset. Next was an eating sized drum, giving me four species. The drum had hit while I was working the bait slower and more gently, so I continued that for a bit longer and yes, a larger but still eating sized drum followed. On one cast that went deeper, I was working the bait with a bit more energy and found the larger red I had been looking for. As just under 28 it was perfect and joined the others on what was becoming a full string. As darkness closed in I picked up one more 18" trout to join the others. By sunset most of the boats had left and there was only one way down the shoreline, and those guys were quietly casting lures. I worked the shoreline again with a bit more intensity, knowing that in the quiet more larger trout might just come by for a feed. I got a hard thump again, and really thought it was a redfish. It pulled some short and quick drag, but when it came to the net I could see it was another nice trout. I worked quickly and carefully to slide the net into position before the fish could bolt off again, and had another one needing the measuring board. This one wasn't in the same class as the morning fish, but was a respectable 25.5". I continued to fish as darkness closed in, and the rising full moon really lit the place up nicely as the wind finally slowed down to a gentle breeze. I liked knowing that the slower air movement kept me feeling the bait better, so I slowed the lure a bit more and had a hard hit that pulled drag slowly before releasing the lure. I assumed it was a larger drum that just didn't fully take the lure. As I worked the area carefully I had the same thing happen three more times. Despite changing up my approach in several subtle ways, the outcome was the same. Hard thump, slow pull and then the lure was released or the hook pulled. Twenty three fish had come and gone this evening, and I finally decided I had done enough for the day and paddled toward the launch as I enjoyed the still night air. Seeing the little islands along the shallows glowing in moonlight and hearing the little ripples bump against the hull was a nice way to end what had been a memorable day on the water. Distant houses glowed with colored lights and the faint smell of a fireplace burning carried across the open water as a lovely touch. A few coyotes were singing in the distance on a little island as they began their nightly patrols and I paddled softly along in the darkness just enjoying being out in nature.

[ziacatcher]

Those are some nice trout

[awesum]

Very nice!