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[Prof. Salt]

Saturday offered a short window before the winds came up, and I explored quite a bit of shoreline ahead of the crowds. As I made my way into a back lake that had payed off recently, I noticed a big gator laying in the mud off to the side of my intended path. She was easily over ten feet long and very thick. As I was scooching through the mud, shoving the boat ahead in small increments, the big girl seemed to deflate and disappear in the shallow water. I could see ripples as she stayed below the surface and turned my way, and then began to close the distance. I paddled a bit faster, but there is no way to move fast when your kayak won't float above the mud. It was much faster to continue on past rather than try to turn around since I was basically sitting on mud in that little area. She reappeared at about half the original distance, with only a pair of widely spaced eyeballs above the surface. The usually dark green or black skin around the eyes was almost completely scar tissue, and it gave those big green eyes an odd look as they were framed by pale pink skin. I continued to push as fast as I could to get ahead into the creek to the back lake, happy to leave momma sitting where she was. I managed four oversized reds in the back, and picked up a perfect 28 on the way back out of the slough. Thankfully momma was not visible as I got back to the danger zone. This time I stayed wider of her island and she didn't see the need to reappear. I got back to the truck with four over-slot fish released and the one big fish riding on ice, and I left as most of the Saturday crowd was storming onto the water.

Monday I decided to brave the strong winds one more time and see what I could do early. Winds were going to be above 20mph by 9:00 am so I knew it would be a fast trip, so I launched before daylight and was on the protected stretch of shore as it got light enough to see fish activity. I worked the long shore with only one feeding fish encountered, but that 25" fish was now riding in the bag. I turned into the entrance to check the back lake, knowing the big gator might be out but tide levels were higher and I could float through much more quickly this time and stay wider to (hopefully) avoid garnering attention. I quietly worked through her ally without any sign of the big gator and moved for the lake. Once there, I spotted some birds way back in the back, and as I worked toward them it became apparent that the winds were going to make this a real chore. I could not see fish working the surface very well, especially from a distance, but I slogged towards the hovering gulls with faith that I would have a shot. I finally worked upwind of the fish as they moved my direction. I sat still with both feet dug into the mud so the kayak didn't drift, and as i was about to make a cast, the fish all spooked at the same time. It was as if I had lobbed a rock into the school... and that ended the shot at those fish. They did not re-form so that I could approach and I made my way back out without a chance at fish. I ran over many fish that were just laying still, but I didn't want to sit and cast - I was looking for sight casting opportunities. I got back to the open bay and worked the protected shoreline part of the way back before encountering a pair of kayakers heading toward me looking for fish. Since I had already been through here earlier, I slid farther out to let them have a shot at whatever fish were left against the grass. I got back near the truck and decided to anchor and cast for trout around the shell pads that are in deeper water, and after a while I finally caught three trout with one of them being legal. Oh well, I was off the water by 9:30 with a good red and one trout so I called it a good trip and went home to tackle other jobs.

Here's hoping that the wind lays down to offer better sight casting soon!

[awesum]

Cool Glenn. You always seem so mad at those fish

[Prof. Salt]

Fishing is my exercise and escape from work stress, so unfortunately the redfish just have to put up with me.