Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

Friday after work I knew conditions would be good for fishing, so I loaded the gear and kayak before heading to the college. Del Mar closes at 12:30 on Fridays so at mid-day I headed for the water. To my surprise, nobody else was on the water or parked at the launch, and I happily scooted over to the protected shoreline. Within a few minutes I noticed a school of tailers up ahead. Their dark tails were waving in the flooded grass, and with high tide levels I was able to float above the tops of the oyster clumps that usually ground the kayak. I got within range and pitched a 1/10 ounce jig just ahead of the fish. A gentle hookset and steering the fish with rod tip held low allowed me to steer the fish into open water before a firmer hookset and the noise and splashing that comes with it. The school continued on as I kept a foot in the mud to keep the fish from rejoining and breaking up the school. I snapped a photo of the 22" fish and released it, hoping for larger ones. As I caught up to the group, I did the same thing over again, and to my surprise the fish cooperated and came out of the grass before making a commotion. After a couple of seconds the school resumed feeding as I worked my fish to the net. Another low slot fish was released and I prepared to try it one more time. This time the fish were working more quietly with only a few visible tails showing. They were becoming aware that something might be amiss, but were still approachable. I placed the bait up in the grass and eased it into the water just ahead of one red. He hit it hard and splashed right through the other fish getting into open water, wo the group looked to break up. Oh well, I got the fish aboard for a quick photo before turning it loose. Another 21" fish. I figured I had seen the last of that school, so I continued along the shoreline. As I rounded a small corner, there was my school again feeding visibly. It took three casts to hit the mark, because the wind temporarily was blowing - but once I got the bait where it needed to be, the line went tight again. This fish was 23" but still not what I was hoping for. The school got back together ahead of me, but I paddled around them to look for larger fish. I got down the shore to the turn-in to the back lake, and headed that way to see what fish were back there. With higher tides it was easy getting through the (normally) very shallow areas. When I got to the lake there were several schools of fish marauding around. I couldn't see tails, but the wakes were hard to miss as groups of larger fish crisscrossed the lake looking for snacks. I managed to place the kayak ahead of several groups, and although a few fish were overslot, I did land 27 and 28 inch fish that went into the bag. Before I left the lake I decided to check a shoreline that was usually too shallow to sneak around in, but with additional water it was good for taking a look. As I eased along the shore, I spotted a big bronze back. At first I wondered why someone had placed a big dead redfish against the shoreline like that. It was VERY shallow and mostly out of the water and the situation of a fish out of water didn't look very convincing. But then the fish moved and slowly continued to hunt against the grass. Huh, I guess it's just a fish that doesn't need that much water to breathe, lol. Over the next minute or two I made multiple casts, trying to get the attention of the fish. He was so out of the water I couldn't get noticed if I placed the lure deeper, and there was not much room to get his attention in front either. Finally I got the fish to turn toward the kayak. He wasn't spooked at all, but was looking for the tiny disturbance that might mean a meal. The next cast I made landed beside the fish on the side that had been facing the grass, and as the lure hit the water it was met with violence. I fought the fish for a couple of minutes in the shallows and all around the boat. When it finally came to the net I realized why it hadn't seen the lure multiple times. At some point in the distant past, this fish had lost its right eye. When it was so shallow that the lateral line was above the water, it had no idea I was offering it a lure on that side until I finally got it to turn towards the boat. Although I felt bad for the fish and it was obviously not missing many meals, I kept this 27.5 incher to complete the limit. After that I headed back toward the launch to try for a few trout closer to the launch area. I managed a dozen specks, but only one was a legal keeper.



The next morning I had planned to sleep in, but with the Friday success I decided to just leave the gear in the truck and do it again. When I arrived at the launch Saturday morning there wasn't anyone there yet, so I launched quickly before others showed up. I got around the corner and began to work toward a different shoreline since the small front had come through overnight. With a light North wind I was able to run shorelines that I had not visited in a while, and tide level was low and offered a new look. I made a little one mile loop, catching a low slot trout that had slurped a bait on the surface near me. I put the bait right on the bubbles, and the trout ate. Things were slow for now, so I decided to return to the lake to get a look while winds were down. Tides were now low as well, so getting through some parts of the journey take some work, but I slide that kayak through a lot of mud sometimes and off I went. As I rounded a corner in one small shallow lake, I realized that there was a seven foot gator that appeared to be sleeping out in the middle. Water was about an inch deep out there, and as I quietly worked past along the deeper edge, the gator just layed there unbothered. The early sun was lighting her up nicely, and the colors were beautiful. I continued through the mud, and before I left that lake I looked back to be sure of where she was. The gator was completely gone, and I hoped she had moved up into the grasses and wouldn't be around as I came back out. The rest of the journey to the lake was uneventful with no feeding fish in the channel, but the lake had (as always) some fish moving around. I pushed through the shallow mud toward one group, and lucky for me, they turned my way. I just stopped and waited as they closed the distance. When they got close, they turned to pass at 10 yards and it made for a very easy cast. The take was immediate, and the fish splashed and made enough noise to break up all other visible activity. After a few long runs, I was able to net a lovely 27" red that went right into the bag. I spent a few minutes crawling back and forth, searching for more active fish and finally I found a couple of small groups about a hundred yards away. A long slow approach got the kayak within casting range, and I began to notice backs poking above the surface - these were puppy drum. So I put the bait ahead of one of the fish that was swimming and not nosing into the mud, and he ate. Black drum won't always eat a bait, but this one did and allowed me to add a third species to today's list. I had a sight-casted slam! I got back to the open water to work the shoreline again that was out of the wind, and I found a nice school of solid fish working the grass. I only got one out of the group, but it was a nice 26" fish that went into the bag to join the trout, red and drum. After that it was three hours of careful and quiet searching with not much to show, except for a group of feeding specks I noticed in the open water. I paddled out and caught 12 more small trout. Since these were all small I went back to my shoreline to find the missing red. Near mid-day I decided to take a long skinny channel back towards the truck. It didn't have any signs of feeding fish either, until I got near the end. I noticed a clump of grass right at the end of the channel, and something ran out of the grass and attacked some baitfish and making a commotion. It was still a hundred yards away but it had my attention. As I moved slowly towards that spot, I noticed a redfish swimming against the shoreline. It wasn't even leaving a wake, but with the angle of the sun I could see it below the surface. A carefully placed cast put the bait where the fish could see it and the line came tight. At nearly 27" I had a limit of reds and was happy to head back to the truck ...after I checked that last clump of grass. As I got close something began to leave a very faint wake as it moved back to the grass. I put the lure right on the grass edge and began to come back towards the wake. The fish ate and immediately jumped out of the water. It was a nice flounder, and I got serious trying to hurry it to the net. I have lost a lot of flounder during fights, and I wanted this one. After a few failed attempts I got the fish into the net and in the boat. Cool, I had sight casted a super-slam! After carefully getting the flounder into the bag it was time to head for the truck and some lunch. After yesterday's 10 miles and today's 12 miles I was ready for lunch and a nap.

[ziacatcher]

Awesome Glenn! And then top it off with a flounder. After 22 mi I think you deserve more than lunch and a nap