Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

I decided since it was a quiet day at the office, that I would go bother the fish instead and burn a few PTO hours. As I launched before dawn it was already breezy, but I packed the anchor to allow me to stop and fish for some trout before heading back to the reds. I parked over a deeper oyster bed and tossed a Z-man Diezel minnow, using the twitch - pause - twitch - twitch pattern. Trout responded pretty well, and by the time I was ready to head back for reds I had a pair of 16-17" fish and had released several others.

The protected shoreline was quiet, and once there I realized that the tide levels were higher than forecast. The grass was flooded and any fish working the edges would be nearly out of sight behind the higher growth. Undeterred, I pushed on quietly searching for faint signs. On that mile of shoreline I only found one red leaving a faint wake working outside the grass in a mud pocket where the grass quit growing for a bit. I put the bait ahead of him and he decided he wanted a snack. At 19" he was released and I continued the search. It became clear that the second shoreline I had hoped to work would be blown out and I wouldn't be able to see fish even if they were feeding, so I opted to go check the back lake that has been holding schools of oversized reds lately. I paddled through the first lake a bit apprehensive (it's home of several gators including a big 12-footer who is nesting) and the high tide level allowed me to slip through quickly and quietly. At the back lake, the winds died for a few minutes and I could not spot any fish activity. I decided to ring the shoreline and find whatever fish were around. Sure enough, I came up to a group of fish that were slowly crawling in open water. The wakes were not big but were visible if you knew what to look for. The first cast was hit as the bait landed on the water, and my first thought was that I had an undersized red. As the fish turned onto its side and thrashed I could see that it was a legal drum, and that brightened my outlook. I got the drum into the bag and continued all the way around the lake, which was about a mile around the edges, without seeing another good fish. It was odd, but I guess fish can't be eating all the time. I would run over reds who would drum as they ran out from under the kayak, leaving mud boils. I knew I could probably sit and cast to catch a few, but I prefer to move and look for stalking opportunities. I left the lake and got through the upper lake too without incident. As I passed through the opening to the bay, I saw an alligator facing me. It was swimming my way, so I took out the phone to video. It kept heading right for me, but I could tell it wasn't a very big one, so I just kept watching. At about 10 feet away the gator turned and swam beside the kayak, then continued on into the lake. I continued into the open bay and worked over to the other creek that leads to a lake, way back in adjacent pasture land. I figured surely that lake would have some hungry fish...

As I turned into the creek, I had a bait trolling behind the kayak for trout because, well, you never know. About a hundred yards in, the rod bent and I brought in a nice 17" trout that completed the limit. The long paddle down the slough to this lake featured mullet along the edges but no reds. The lake was windy and I didn't spot fish there either, so I went back to the open bay. I decided to just work the same protected shoreline that brought me here as I returned to the truck, and figured maybe I would play with the trout a bit more before leaving. As I quietly worked the shore for the second time, the sun that was now high in a mostly clear sky was allowing me to see into the water much better. I hoped to see a few reds, even if they were stubbornly sitting still. Hey, if I can see them, it's still sight casting, right? At one spot the brush provided a good wind screen, and between the brush and shore there was a little meadow of flowers. Hundreds of butterflies were feeding on the blooms, and I stopped to take it in. It was a really nice little spot hidden away from the surrounding area and I got out the phone to shoot some video. About halfway down the shoreline I spotted a bird on the edge watching the water. It flew away as I approached, but sure enough, I saw a faint flicker of a tail as the fish moved a few inches. I placed the bait ahead of where I hoped the head was, and my guess was correct. The fish darted ahead and hit the bait. This one pulled a little drag and measured 24". Good enough for me! When I got back near the launch I dropped the anchor to cast a few times for trout, but things were slow so I headed back to the truck to clean fish. It was just after noon and I was tired with almost 14 miles this morning. Time to clean up and get a nap.