Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

I found myself at a familiar launch site Friday morning, and after loading the kayak gear I got back into the truck to wait for a small thunderstorm to pass before daylight. I could see on radar it was approaching and would pass pretty quick. After about ten minutes it got quiet as the thunderstorm moved off and I paddled across to my skinny water area. Tide levels were low and the full moon had already set, reminding me that the bite would likely be early and done. I got to the skinny water and the first back I saw was a black drum. With the really low tide, water was too shallow to allow for the usual nose-down feeding position so this fish was doing what he could. He was on the move and looking for a snack with that little silver hump exposed above the surface. I casted the usual Z-man Trick Shot in front of him. Drum prefer a slow retrieve, and when this guy saw the lure he turned to follow for a second and then I finally felt the thump. With one drum aboard, I kept moving and soon found the longer exposed back of a red. I love that profile in low light, as the fish hunts and allows me to pretty accurately estimate its size. With the breeze still hanging around after the earlier shower passed, I had to cast multiple times to get the bait to land where it needed to be. If you miss the target, don't rip the bait back quickly for another try. That will spook the target fish and possibly a bunch of others too. Reel as if you were trying to tempt the fish until well past it, then speed it up as you get close to the kayak. When my bait finally crossed within view of the fish he crushed it and created enough noise to spook everything within casting distance. I moved on into the flat towards more commotion in the distance. At one pinch point between lakes there were a bunch of fish hunting a few yards apart. Somehow I managed to complete my limit of reds pretty quickly without spooking the entire bunch of fish, but I also kept seeing drum backs farther back. After putting the third red on ice I paddled through them and made my way towards the little silver humps closer to the exposed grass. After each fish landed I had to move because the others nearby had spooked, but there were enough fish feeding that it didn't take long. Three more legal puppy drum fell for the lure before 9:30 when I remembered the need to get home for other chores, so I began the long paddle back while still looking for that elusive fifth drum. I spotted a few reds (and caught two of those) but they were released as I kept looking for the other option. I did find one out in the bay tail up and pushing his face into the mud. I managed to get his attention by brushing the lure right over his tail, but after turning back horizontal the fish either didn't see the follow-up cast or he decided the lure wasn't quite right. Oh well, I came up one fish short of a double limit but still came home with a bunch of fillets.

[awesum]

Nice work Glenn!

BTB! BTB! BTB!

[Prof. Salt]