Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

This morning with wind and clouds (and light rain coming and going) I paddled 13 miles of shorelines. I didn't expect much, but did find several feeding fish. Most were on protected shorelines, and were leaving only faint signs. The first fish popped into view inside of 20 feet, with three or four reds feeding along the grass. One came out of the water as he slid over some exposed grass, so I tossed the little Trick Shot ahead of the fish. Another fish I had not seen struck the bait, and the commotion spooked the others into deeper water. I took my time and eventually brought this big girl to the kayak. I knew she was too big to keep, and the measuring board confirmed 30" on the dot so back she went.

I checked several little lakes in the river delta, but didn't find reds so I went back to the river edge and worked up the river. I found a red working alone, and tossed the bait onto the grass just above the fish. I teased it down into the water and the fish slapped the bait right out of the water. It came flying back toward the kayak and the fish spooked. I worked up to a ditch that cuts back through to the bay. It is arranged so that one shoreline was well protected from the wind, and I worked along watching the grass edge. Halfway through I found a pair of lower slot fish working quietly, so I pitched the bait ahead of one. This one struck hard, but on the second run as it was pulling drag the hook came free. I grumbled/laughed it off. The weather was comfortable, the sky was cloudy and a few fish were around. There were no other anglers around and I had the place to myself, so I kept moving. I saw a red working toward me up ahead. It was deep enough that it only gave off a wake with no visible fins, but I knew what it was. Just as I was getting in range, a big mullet spooked ahead of me and it ran right over the front of the redfish. It stopped, confused at being accosted by the mullet. I waited a few seconds as the fish remained stationary. It was hard to visualize now, but I knew where it was sitting. I pitched the lure ahead and past, then dragged it along the bottom right into view. The fish turned and eased into deeper water... I guess being attacked by a mullet and then having a morsel of food cross its face was too much. I looked ahead and spotted another red leaving a wake as it worked my direction. This time I just sat and waited for it to come to me. A soft pitch of the bait got the reception I wanted, and the line went tight. A few short runs later the fish came aboard. It was 24" long and went right into the ice.

Dinner was sorted, and my watch showed it was time to get home and change so I could head over to the office for the afternoon. ON the way I trolled a pair of paddle tails, and an undersized trout came in, followed by a nice sized gafftop. Both were released and I loaded the boat, filleted the fish and headed for the house. It's still slow out there, but there were enough fish to keep it interesting as I got some exercise so I was a happy guy.

[ziacatcher]

I'm glad it's not just me funny things a little slow these days. Went out about 3:00 p.m. today and wound up catching about 10 trout but every one of them was undersized.

[awesum]

But it was still fun

[Prof. Salt]