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A bubbling stomach after lunch can mean only one thing...

 
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Prof. Salt
Full Grown Flour Bluffian


Joined: 23 Aug 2011
Posts: 1220
Location: Offshore on a kayak

PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2025 8:22 am    Post subject: A bubbling stomach after lunch can mean only one thing... Reply with quote

Yesterday afternoon I was in a meeting and my lunch was disagreeing with me. Not to the point of getting sick, but my belly was gurgling and making noises that were becoming a distraction. It was a Board of Regents meeting full of important people, so I stayed through the parts of the meeting most applicable to me, and then at 3:00 I excused myself and headed home ...but then I thought "You can sit at home and make funny noises or you can go see the redfish. Maybe they enjoy funny noises. Yeah, let's go see the fish". By 4:00 the kayak was paddling across the bay, and by 4:20 I was in the target transition area. Five minutes later I was drifting into range of a nice group of tails. It was clear by the size of the tails that these were big fish, but I don't mind catch and release when needed. The first cast was hammered by the owner of one of those big tails, and as the pod broke up the drag began to sing. The wind was blowing and pushing me back against a shoreline, but the fish was ripping around the flat and I wore a smile as my stomach continued to gurgle. The fish measured almost 30" and was quickly released as I scanned the nearby waters for the next group. I paddled across to the less windy side of one cove and found the next group. This group had five or six tails smaller than my hand, so I waited until they were on my side of the scrum before placing the bait on top of them. As it sank to the bottom there was a familiar thump and the line went tight again. Fish number two was 27.5" and went on ice.

As I turned the kayak to follow a shoreline downwind, I spooked something really big. Like bigger than me. It took off with a huge swirl of mud and lifted a hump of water that made me wonder if it was a dolphin. But I was on a big flat with limited access to deep water and would not usually attract dolphins. A shark maybe? Whatever it was, it swam about 10 yards to the side and quickly spun back around and stopped. I continued quietly by, waiting to see if a dolphin would blow or show a fin ...but nothing. Within a few more yards it happened a second time, but this fish kept running across the flat. It looked like a submarine was scooting out across the water, leaving a hump of water the size of my kayak. Could it have been a pair of big sharks hunting up here? Displaced manatees on crack? Maybe a pair of tarpon hunting reds? I didn't know, but I wasn't too worried and turned by gaze back to the water ahead for some more tails. Across the way I saw a seagull suddenly lock onto a spot just over the water. I could not see the tails from 200 yards, but I knew what was going on so I quickly headed over. Once I got close there was another group of large dark tails waving. As I let the wind push me closer, I watched the movement. They were not moving very fast but were moving to my left. I got set up and placed the lure at the front of the group. The first fish swiped at the lure as I was moving it, and missed. For a second they broke up and things got quiet. I stuck a foot down to hold my spot to make sure I didn't drift over the fish ...and within 30 seconds they banded back together and resumed feeding. I turned the boat to face them and placed the lure beside the group again, and the line went tight again. This fish read my mind and stayed down in the water as it fought. The group continued on as my fish ran off to the side and pulled drag. This three-spotted fish measured 26" and was not just orange but a deep and dark hue that made me think maybe it was a tea sipper on vacation from Austin. Once Bevo was stored on ice I looked up and the group of tails was now 30 yards away but still feeding. I quietly closed the distance and tossed the lure ahead of them once again. The line came tight and I knew this thrasher was too big from the get-go. It made several long runs without letting me gain much line, and I began to worry that the little spinner might not have enough line to survive. Thankfully the drag pulling didn't last that long and I regained line to quiet my worries. When this one hit the net and was lifted aboard it was thick and heavy. I didn't take time to measure it, but it was clearly too big to keep. I paddled around each part of the lake looking for more tails but saw none. That's okay, I know of another spot several hundred yards away that is also a high probability spot for tailing activity. As I headed that way I passed through a small pinch point and sure enough, there was a group of reds tailing in the sheltered water by the shoreline. There were three tails separated by several feet, and a group of what looked like legal fish closer to the shoreline. I needed one more legal fish, so I pitched to them. My cast was ignored, so I casted again. Ignored again. The third cast was allowed to sink to the bottom and before I could twitch it, the line went tight again. All the fish broke up and one even bumped the bottom of the kayak as it fled, but my fish was buttoned nicely and kept thrashing. It measured 26" and I was suddenly thinking that maybe I should head for home. My stomach was beginning to feel better, and I stopped to call my son. He was home and wanted to go work out, so I paddled back to the truck and filleted fish quickly. I was on the road by 6:15 and back at the house there was just enough time to wash the gear and get things put away before heading to the gym.

Trips like this almost seem too easy ...but then again it's not easy the other 11 months out of the year. I'll take these easy days whenever I can get them!









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awesum
Full Grown Flour Bluffian


Joined: 07 Mar 2006
Posts: 1037
Location: El Rancho Jones

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice reds Glenn. Thanks for the pics.
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