Corpusfishing.com

[bulldog1935]

Steve, Lou and I were out for two days, Sat and Sun 10/5-6. Met Tombo in his pedal cat, and TexasJim in his motor skiff on Saturday.
Water levels were a foot over predicted tides, and we made it out on falling tide both mornings - big drops on paper, but didn't make significant current at the cuts.
10-kt NE wind both mornings, which aimed our boats to the very top of Trout Bayou and the 100-year cut.

After our drive from SA Saturday, we arrived to see the remnant of a pretty sunrise.


we launched about 7:30 at Palm Harbor - never seen quite this much water on the bulkhead.


We tried first at Little Cut, but there was way too much water to find bottom anywhere around the 60-year cut, so we turned up Traylor toward the 100-year cut.
Tom and Jim both met us at Little Cut - Jim pulled a trout out of the grass at Little Cut.
Tombo had a really good morning on Talley Is. shore and sloughs, including some trout and a slot red.


The NE wind was giving us perfect drifts parallel to Talley shore, we found fish close to the shore and also farther out from shore, starting a drift right about the first duck blind inside the cut.


I got a couple of three respectible 18" rats in the morning, also some smaller.
There were a lot of motors around, and redfish were hitting light like tourist trout - I've never seen it before.
My best TSL color with the spooky fish was Coastal Gold


Our SA trio Saturday, Stevo brought in the only meat, with a 22" slot red, and he always brings good beer to share.


We also found a beautiful hard sand beach on Talley - a cove in this high tide - to park for our lunch.
Here's Lou's rigged Emotion Fisherman 14


Stayed the night at Rahi Motel, which is a pretty decent fishing shack with good kayak parking - absolutely nothing provided there - bring all your own kitchen tools and sundries. We've stayed here before, and it's good enough for 2 or 3 worn out fishermen, as long as they bring their kitchen boxes and TP - and good wi-fi, which Lou needed to work in the evening.
Sat evening meal, Mexican seafood at Los Comales, and floated out on fishbowl margaritas.

Sunday, with only 6 blocks to drive, we made it out at dark thirty, and were paddling as soon as there was enough light to see Sandy Point.


The photo taken just past Sandy Point doesn't do this sunrise justice.


We headed straight to the 100-yr cut - Lou and I paddled in, while Steve tucked into nearby Talley sloughs - he saw redfish there, but couldn't turn any.
In the cut, arrived to see a big trout with her back out of the water slashing mullet.
Lou pulled a trout from the grassy side of the cut.


I had two dozen trout strikes on every lure I threw, but couldn't hook a single fish. Even had a topwater explosion on a YoZuri pencil lure and didn't hook on the two trebles.
A father and his son staked a Dargel in the beautiful skinny grass on the inside of the cut, and were casting into the cut catching trout on live shrimp.

As soon as there was enough wind to drift, Lou and I began drifts from the duck blind, and Steve came out of the sloughs to join us.
I missed a good red, brought him to the boat and he came unhooked.
The three of us set up this drift a couple more times.
Somewhere between the duck blind and next point on Talley shore, I got into both trout and lizardfish thick.
Can't count the dinks, and had 3 tails bitten off Grasswalkers by lizardfish.
My first keeper trout, 16"

I'd also get a 17


and some really respectible undersized trout - even though this fish is on Birthday Suit, this day, Golden Roach was my best Grasswalker color, especially over slightly deeper grass with slightly off-color water.


Right after lunch and beer-thirty on the same hardpack bottom cove, I got a small redfish as soon as I paddled out to the wind seam and set my drift sock.

Steve and Lou both headed upwind to the duck blind to start their drifts.
Just about the time I was nearing Sandy Point, south end of Talley Is., I heard on the radio that Lou was hooked up. Found out later he had switched to cocahoe on 1/8-oz jighead. I paddled up the west side into Estes Cove hoping to set up a drift, but there was too much water everywhere.

Lou's fish would be a 25" red, but the fish hauled Lou most of a mile along Traylor shore, with Steve following and taking video on his phone.
I saw Steve's videos, and you can see the fish pulling the kayak faster than the wind ripples.
Maybe he'll youtube the video for us and I can post a link - it was a hoot.
So I was first back to Palm Harbor, and moved the truck to load.
Somehow Steve came in with Lou's stringer and had to show the fish we had talked about on the radio.


We know why this man is smiling


Lou's first ever slot redfish

[Old Baitbucket]

Great report and pics. Thanks

[ratherbefishing]

Thanks for the report BD!
_________________

[bulldog1935]

thanks guys - we found tough water conditions and had a great time anyway.
Found the fish on Saturday and caught them on Sunday.
We kept retreating to where we knew the water would be skinnier, found the water to fish, and had perfect wind to fish that water.
(easier to accomplish in a powerboat than a kayak - in a kayak you're always stuck with today's plan)
Sunday was almost a weekday, we saw no other kayaks and only a couple of powerboats across the flat - everyone else must had a tough Saturday and decided to go home.




here was the Little Cut shoal in February.
This time, though, we first arrived Saturday morning and couldn't find the shoal probing with a paddle.


and here's the Little Cut shoal in April - on an E wind this morning, but after a 24-hr beating NW wind had drained everything, and my salt-newbie AZ buddy caught 20 trout in an hour.
(he and his wife stayed on NPI and had a good week in the surf)
I hooked up a 24-inch flounder here, brought it up and saw it, but it finally came unhooked after 10 minutes of working toward Aransas Bay.
(we fished East Flats lake on that 18-kt NNW the April day before, and it was awesome)


Going to Arroyo City the last day of this month, and excited about it. No kayaks for the upcoming trip, but a powerboat and of course the fabulous dock fishing.

A side note, a redfish and I together broke my favorite ML rod.
the fish followed all the way to the boat to take the lure. I set with my thumb on the spool and unfortunately the rod high, just as the fish exploded, and so did the rod about 1/3 from the tip.
Of course all I needed was the butt to land the fish.
Also had my 3-pc back-up in the bow hold.
Great warranty from 13Fishing - just have to slice off the portion of the blank with model specs, mail it in for full replacement.

this is me using the same rod correctly in April on Estes.
Redfish and I both have shoulders and make a good team.

[bulldog1935]

Steve finally uploaded his last video segment of Lou's first ever slot red to an Apple fileserver, I uploaded it raw to youtube, and here it is:

nothing exceptional about this video, except seeing Lou tenuously land his first ever slot red

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvQjNbtf9Ec&feature=youtu.be


Steve likes big tackle, but I don't fish bigger than 12-lb inshore, and Lou followed my queue, after throwing away the braid that came on a used reel he bought.
Steve likes 45-lb braid and was picking on Lou about it.
I think Lou was also cautious because he broke off another red just before hooking this one.