Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

With the Nueces marsh offline and inaccessible for a while, I needed to find another solid option for shallow redfish. Recently I noticed something interesting on Google maps, and when I got a chance to visit, it was very productive. The spot is within 40 minutes of the house, and only requires a short paddle across open water to get to the area. Shorelines are lined with oysters and it makes paddling tricky at low tide, but there always seem to be plenty of fish working along the shores. It's perfect!

Saturday was the beginning of Spring Break and although I was coughing with the beginnings of a solid case of the flu, there would be no staying home for me. I arrived and made the paddle over in the darkness. As I arrived at the first stretch of shoreline I put a foot down in ankle deep water to await more daylight. Reds prefer enough daylight to visually pursue bait in shallow water, so I sat tight and checked my baits as daylight came on. After a few minutes I noticed a wake heading in my direction. I pushed the kayak a little farther from shore to give the fish room and avoid a collision, and as it scooted past at 10 feet I flicked a bait out ahead. The small school of 3 fish stopped and one nosed the bait. I thought he had picked it up, and when I tried to come tight the bait came out of the water and sailed back towards me. I reset quickly as the fish went back to their hunt and placed the bait out front again. One fish ran over and raised its tail as it pushed on the bait. A second fish came over and investigated but didn't eat. As they kept moving I pulled in the bait to make sure it was still on the hook correctly. Huh, I guess they just didn't want to play. I didn't waste time and kept moving in search of the next fish. Within 20 yards I found one, wallowing quietly up shallow. A flick of the rod put the bait a foot from his face, and this fish played the game perfectly. He rushed ahead and gave me a satisfying hard "thump" as the bait was eaten. I set the hook and we danced along the shoreline. One down and a few more to go!

For a while it seemed another fish materialized every 20-30 yards. And every fish was hungry, smashing the bait when they would see it. I was happy to play along and within a few minutes a limit of fish were riding in the insulated bag behind me. A few times I found myself high-centered on oyster shells and had to back up and go around, but that is part of fishing a neighborhood like this one. I pushed ahead to the first bend in the shoreline and by the time I got there, five reds had already come and gone. I cut across to the opposite shoreline and began the search again. Fish on this side were being a bit more secretive, and there were no wakes. What they provided was no less fun to witness though. An occasional tail or back fin would break the surface as the fish worked around the oysters. This was a fun but stealthy game with slow-moving fish that kept me on my toes. It required a slow kayak to prevent running over fish (I still managed to spook a few but did okay). To my surprise, the line never got caught on oysters and I was able to easily hop the bait around the oysters enough for it to get noticed by the fish. Three fish later I was getting ready to head for the truck since I was now running a fever and dealing with a strong queasy feeling that had me a bit nervous. I noticed a wake coming along a wall of oyster and couldn't tell if it was a mullet or a red. As it got closer I was still trying to decide, but as it passed within ten feet of me, I could clearly see two mid-slot fish easing along and hunting. I flicked the bait gently ahead and avoided detection with the movement. A gently crawl of the bait got the attention of the lead fish and he pounded the bait, arching out of the water to come down hard. The fight was on, and after some mud spray and splashes, I had the last fish aboard. I got a photo and released this one before heading back toward the truck. I had seen enough and knew this would be a good spot for future trips. I was happy even while running a stupid fever and feeling achy. By 9:00 I was back at the truck cleaning my catch as others loaded gear to get onto the water. Oddly, they all were looking at deeper structures close to the launch. I wished them well and headed for a shower and a nap.












Tuesday morning the winds were again down, and although my fever was raging it was still Spring Break and I wasn't about to skip the chance to capitalize on some weekday fishing. By first light I was again at the beginning of the shallow stretch. I began slowly working the shore and it took nearly a hundred yards before I spotted the first fish. Would it be slow this morning, or was I just a few minutes early looking for activity? I casted to the first fish and he ate like he was hungry. The little 22" fish was released and I noticed three more fish coming. Two were spread out and working slow, but one was coming on like a torpedo. I sat for a second to figure out the order in which I would encounter these fish, and it became clear that the torpedo would cut around the others and get here quick. I adjusted the boat out a bit deeper to avoid a collision, and as the fish closed in I put the bait out beside it. He was moving fast and my aim was a bit off. So I tried a faster retrieve to pull the bait up alongside. Sometimes this will spook a fish, but this one was feeling good and slashed the bait. The rod doubled over as my torpedo began to rip drag, and we danced. He ran a few circles around the kayak throwing mud and water skyward several times. Once I got him into the insulated bag I turned to the other two fish, and to my surprise they were still working towards me. I eased into range and put the lure out in front of the next one. With a rush and thump, we were also hooked up, and I began to wrangle this one towards the boat. The next fish didn't spook but continued to close the distance. So I did what any sick professor on Spring Break would do. I wedged the rod under my leg and grabbed the backup. A short cast put the bait out within view of the next fish and he too pounced like a kitten on a ball of string. Now it was busy with two rods and a net vying for control. I got the first fish in pretty easily, and the hook just fell out of his mouth. Perfect. The net sat in my lap while I tired out the second fish. I managed to get that one to join his buddy in the net without losing either fish, and things finally quieted down. As I pushed on down the shoreline several more fish came easing into range, and all seemed willing to eat. It wasn't the worst way to be sick on a holiday!




















On the other side I worked a drain that appeared to have some occasional wakes disturbing the mirrored surface. After a minute i saw a pair of bronze backs appear along one little corner before disappearing as if nothing was there again. I creeped closer and sat tight to await the next indication. The fish had snuck in close and rolled under the end of my paddle as it watched something in the mud. I layed the lure out ahead and it was instantly attacked. This ended the fishing at this particular corner as several other fish spooked away in muddy boils. Oh well, I was on fish #8 and ready to go home before others arrived and got any ideas of what to do in my new secret spot, lol. On the way back I did put out a couple of baits to troll for trout. I assumed that with all the oysters there must be trout in the deeper water, but that day I got no takers on the paddle tail or the Z-Man LT Mullet. Back to the truck by 9:30 and ready to lay down and rest - this illness was kicking my butt and making the trips short by necessity.

Thursday was my last calm morning, so I got the boat and gear loaded the night before to take advantage of conditions one more time. As I arrived at the shallow shoreline I was determined to take some time and explore more of this new area. Winds were forecasted to stay down through early afternoon and there was nothing I could do about the fever still running its course, so off I paddled into the pre-dawn darkness to give it another shot. As I got started along the same familiar shoreline there wasn't much going on against the edge, but there were fish signs in deeper water. I don't enjoy deeper fish as much, so I got to a good spot and just sat to give things a minute to settle out. Finally a fish began to work towards me in "the proper" technique - shallow and visible. I eased up and put the lure out in front. This fish rushed the bait but missed it somehow. I quickly reset and made another cast - and got the same result. I considered tying my glasses above the lure so the poor fish could aim a little better, but decided to just cast again. Three times in a row this poor fish missed the lure so I reeled in and began to search for a fish with better eyesight. It didn't take long before a school of fish was spotted. They were leaving wakes and a chorus of waving tails was coming along to announce to anyone within half a mile what they were doing. I waited patiently and tried to cast to one of the last fish in the school. I have done this before and managed to steer fish out of the school without disturbing the others. I can sometimes pick four or five out of a school before they break up. This school gave me one nice fish and they all disappeared into deeper water. Oh well, I tried. I continued on, finding a fish every 50-100 yards for quite a long stretch. This place was really paying off and I couldn't believe crowds had not yet discovered it. Another school approached with tails waving, and this time I put the lure out ahead because a couple of big fish were leading the parade. One of them saw the bait and smashed it, then veered into deeper water. The rest of the school circled around and then continued on as if nothing had happened. I let them pass as I took my time to get this one in. By the time we got to the "splashy" part of the fight, the school was out of range and unconcerned. I got this one released and turned the boat for another shot. As I came from behind I flicked the bait out ahead of the hunting fish and got another warm welcome. The drag peeled and fish went everywhere along the shallows and into deeper water. I smiled and reeled in my fish. I continued on for another two miles along this shoreline, picking off several more fish before crossing to the other side and working back. There were a couple of bends in the shore where inlets worked into the brush, and fish were hunting at all these spots. Several were small low-slot fish, but others were nice 26-27" specimens and kept it interesting. I finally spotted a kayak in the distance and decided to stop the shallow hunt to avoid the wrong kind of attention. I deployed the swim baits and worked the deeper edge as I slowly moved toward the truck. I had passed some deeper reds that left mud boils, and after a short pause the LT mullet got slammed. The way drag was ripping off the little Bates Hundo I could tell this was a big red, and when it finally came aboard it was a fat bull that was clearly well above the slot. I got the fish released and re-deployed the baits. Again the LT Mullet got hit, and this one felt like a trout. This fish got me excited because it was right at 20" and once in the net I confirmed it was exactly 20" and not a smidge more. Into the bag it went and I resumed trolling. I didn't find any other trout, but as I entered the open bay I was passed by a TPWD boat and noticed a series of gill nets ahead. I pulled in the baits and just paddled on to the truck to avoid any accidental tangles. I was still sick, but that was a pretty decent Spring Break, all things considered!

Of course, now that it's a work week my fever has left and I'm still coughing but fit for duty again.

[awesum]

Now that's an "Oz like write-up" if I ever saw one.

Thanks for the pics and write-up.

[ziacatcher]

Dang Glenn! That is awesome!

[TexasJim]

Next time I get puny. I'll try the "catch fish" therapy. Great reports, Glenn. TexasJim
_________________
TexasJim
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time"