Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

The calendar may not recognize it, but any Friday that allows me to quickly catch quality fish is a good one. After work Friday afternoon I hurried to the water, because the tide was dropping out and I knew there would be an afternoon bite to make things interesting. The breeze was kicking, but there wasn't another soul on the bay as I made my way across into the target lake. It is full of weedy patches that grow to the surface, and the area where several lakes connect seems to be a magnet for tailing fish lately when the tide is moving. True to form, when I arrived the fish were feeding. I approached the first school of tails and placed the lure right where it would drag through all the hungry reds ...and nothing. They were so busy nosing around in the grass that they weren't noticing my little Trick Shot lure. It's designed for shallow water where stealth is needed to avoid spooking fish. In this foot deep water they weren't noticing it, so I switched rods and tossed the craw lure that pushes more water. Yep, that got their attention and I pulled in a fish that was a fraction of a millimeter below 28 inches. I measured twice to be sure it wasn't oversized, and I slid him into the box. As I sat quietly and watched the surface, I spotted another group of reds not far off. I paddled over and pitched the craw over them and right back through the action. Yep, it was working as another fish thumped the lure. This one was just over 30" so it went back swimming. As I released this fish I spotted another large group of fish a hundred yards away, and those big dark tails told me it was a pumpkin patch worth visiting. As I got close I waited for larger tails to show, and I landed the craw right between three dark tails. One of the fish didn't appreciate the intrusion and it inhaled the party crashing craw as soon as it sand into view. This huge school broke up and went in at least three directions. As I fought the fish on the line I tried to keep track of where the others were heading. One group popped back up 20 feet away. I wedged the first rod under a leg and grabbed the Trick Shot rod. These fish recognized a free treat, and I hooked a second fish. After the first run it spit the hook, so I quickly went back to rod number one and landed that fish. I could tell it was oversized, so after releasing the big fish, I picked the other rod up and made another cast to the school that was still in range. It worked, and I set the hook on another good looking fish. This one ran circles around the boat and spooked more than a few fish that had laid down to figure out what was going on. There were lots of mud boils as fish scattered in all directions. A couple of them ran through other feeding schools. It was like a domino effect that was shutting down all my target groups, lol. Things finally got quiet again and I released the fish that was still sitting in the net. I brought the hooked one closer and netted him too for a photo. Doh, I forgot to get a photo of the other one! Oh well. I photographed this one and it was a lovely 27, so it went into the hatch. I searched but couldn't see another group of tails. I figured I should let these rest for a minute so I continued on to the next lake. As I got close to that lake a shower came through pushing a strong wind. I paddled to the shore to wait for it to pass, and for a few minutes I casted to the little drum that were tailing nearby on this piece of protected shoreline. The fish were visible, but they were not serious about eating a lure at that point. I played for a few minutes until the winds came back down to reasonable levels. As I looked ahead to the next lake I scanned closely over the part of the lake where I expected tails. Yep, sure enough I couldn't see the tails from that distance, but birds were easy enough to spot from 400 yards. They were hovering over one spot and swooping down every few seconds for a jumping shrimp. I headed over and got upwind of the school. I only got three casts at this group, but it resulted in three more fish. Once they broke up, I looked around in all directions carefully. Once I determined there weren't more visible tailing schools, I headed back to the truck. It was only 5:30 and there was still time to take my wife to dinner. As I crossed the bay toward the truck, I stopped to check a new little lake I had noticed on the map. It wasn't always accessible but the tide levels were pretty high, so I stopped in to check it out. To my surprise, the lake inside was knee deep and held fish. I stalked several small reds and drum, and finally got a 20" drum to eat a lure. I hurried back to the truck and filleted fish, then headed home for a shower. Momma was happy to accept an invitation to dinner out, so off we went to enjoy some quiet time away from distractions.

[awesum]

Good job Glenn.