Archive

Sightfishing

Redfishin’ with Hays

January 15, 2016
Adventure, Exploring, Fish, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Saltwater, Scouting, Sightfishing
Leave a comment

Got out in the kayak a couple times in the past two weeks with a new friend, Hays from Little Rock.  Like any good man Hays is a fly fisherman, so our goal was to catch some reds on the fly.  With it being winter, our hopes were for bull reds on the fly – they tend to migrate into the marsh this time of year.

The first time we got together conditions were terrible.  It was cold, windy, rainy, and the water was high in the marsh.  Sightfishing was brutal, but we were stubborn and tried to force the issue the whole day.  Redfish were seen, but by the time we saw them we were on top of them and we either couldn’t make a cast or they spooked.  We may have covered 18-20 miles of water in 12 hours – it was a long day.  Fish were caught early and late with a whole lot of nothing in between.  I got on a trout bite as the wind and tide swept the water from a bay around a point and into an outlet.  I probably could have sat there and worked my way to a limit, but trout weren’t what we were after.

We didn’t catch another fish until late in the day when we were headed back to the launch and in the deep corner of a bayou I saw some nervous bait.  I cast toward the area and missed a fish, then cast back and had my first red of the day, it wasn’t big, but it sure was pretty.

img_7191_zpsx9okfdos

After that it was on.  Redfish were stacked in a deep hole.  It was too cold for those fish to be on the flats and we were morons for thinking there would be a few holdouts.  Hays was blind casting into the hole and pulling out reds while I opted for the trusty Matrix shad.

img_7180_zpswcv0c47n

img_7181_zpsfnh1lhxh

img_7188_zpsl2wonnyj

Most were small, some filled the slot – I worked my way through a limit but never caught any with any size to brag about.  I did have a nice bass on the line once, but he got off before I could get him in the boat, who, no doubt, was taking advantage of whatever warmer water was down there.  Hays finally tied into a really nice fish and got to experience a how much better redfish fight in deeper water.

img_7183_zpsprqoeun1

img_7184_zpsujkcb1bl

img_7187_zpst0kmpb4a

img_7190_zpszkva0srp

That was a good way to end the day, unfortunately we still had quite the paddle to get back and we didn’t make it back until after dark – which was when the heavier rain started to fall.  With extremities frozen we parted ways until next time.

Well “next time” happened the next weekend, this time conditions were a little more favorable.  It wasn’t windy or nearly as cold, but a fog hung over us for the entire day and made seeing fish a little tough.  The good news was the tide wasn’t as high as it was the first time we fished and the water wasn’t nearly as cold, so redfish would be on the flats.  We picked an entirely different area, with a lot more oyster beds and I think it would prove to be a good move.

Hays got into the action first when he connected with a slob who was crawling around on a tidal shelf.

img_7210_zpsc3aeqhtx

img_7214_zps0fzjsihz

img_7218_zpsaol3otjz

This red had some serious head trauma at some point in his life, but seemed to come out of it alright.  It was an odd looking fish for sure, it wouldn’t take long for me to catch a better example of what a bull redfish should look like.  Just around a marsh island from Hays’ fish was a crawler of my own.

img_7252_zpsxt8fvidz

img_7240_zps9go7ncfg

Nearly 36″, biggest redfish I’ve caught in a while on a fly rod.  What a good feeling.

We continued sight fishing and eventually parted ways for a short while.  I saw a few more nice fish but never had a good shot at any until I had a picture perfect set up.  A monster red was in shallow water swimming toward me, I flubbed the first cast, but laid the second one in front of him and as he went to eat I got excited and pulled it from his mouth.  A huge mistake as he disappeared into the adjacent, deeper water.

I caught back up to Hays and heard he had caught a second bull and we decided we should start heading back to the launch so we wouldn’t be as late as we were the first time we fished together.  We covered a lot of ground this trip as well, not nearly as much as the first trip, maybe 10-12 miles.  Lucky for me we hit a good flat on the way back and I was able to stick another red before nearly running him over.

img_7238_zpsetjw5gtj

img_7239_zpskxp1zh2c

Hays had an opportunity to double as he hooked up soon after I did, but that fish unfortunately came unbuttoned.  That would have been the cherry on top of an already great day.

I was really glad we were able to have some success with some bigger reds on our second trip after a rough first outing.  Hopefully Hays and I will get to fish again next time he makes it down from Arkansas.  He already told me he’s having withdrawals, so maybe it will be sooner, rather than later.

A visit to the pumpkin patch

December 7, 2015
Exploring, Fish, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Saltwater, Scouting, Sightfishing
Leave a comment

Blake and I finally got the opportunity to take a trip together in his “new” boat and it did not disappoint.  The weather was nice with temps comfortable, winds fairly light and cloud cover pretty patchy – conditions to sight fish were excellent.  The only thing working against us was the tide – water was high in the marsh.  Thankfully though, clarity was great, so we still did a pretty good job of spotting fish.  Blake gave me an ample supply of bow time and I can safely say that I was able to connect on a majority of my chances.

084950_zpso0ouz98h

img_6891_zpsy0olsblw

Things were pretty slow very early on but got better as the sun kept rising.  I had one good fish break me off, but the 7wt ended up getting a pretty good workout on upper slot and baby bull redfish throughout the morning.

100101_zps25am3mmh

img_6893_zpsq8z3ubb8

Blake eventually let me get up on the platform and I feel like I did a good job knocking off the rust – it’s been a LONG time since I poled a boat around.  I’m still not very good at it, but I’m happy to report that Blake was able to land his first red on the fly from the bow of his boat, which is hopefully just the first of many more to come.

img_6896_zpszmvqecll

The boat should open up a lot of new water for us and it’s going to be a blast exploring it with him.

 

Reds in the grass

April 30, 2015
Exploring, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Saltwater, Scouting, Sightfishing
Leave a comment

Got out again in the Kilroy this past weekend and with favorable conditions on the coast I made the long drive south to fish for reds.  I hit an area that is new to me, but was recommended by a friend at Paddlepalooza.  Another benefit to an already long list of reasons to attend a BCKFC tournament and stay through the weigh-in is just talking to and learning from your peers.  There is a lot that is lost in translation if all your research and knowledge-base comes solely from the internet.

I arrived at sunrise and worked a topwater early, but to no avail.  I was hoping to stumble upon a few trout, but that wouldn’t be the case as the day progressed.  Working Gulp under a cork began producing small redfish.  They were tagged and released and hopefully in the future Tag Louisiana will give me an update on these fish.

IMG_4941

IMG_4942

IMG_4943

Conditions were pretty good throughout the day.  As you can see, winds were calm and it was very overcast – seemingly perfect conditions to walk the dog, but I didn’t have any luck.  It didn’t much matter as the water clarity was pretty good in the grassy areas and I was able to sight fish reds with either the fly rod or on spinning tackle using a good ‘ol tight lined Matrix shad.

IMG_4946

IMG_4947

IMG_4950

The reds went from 13″ up to 23″, so no big upper slot reds or junior bulls were had, but it was a lot of fun just catching consistent fish throughout the day.  Most of the fish I caught came on the fringes of the grass or around cuts and points, I didn’t mess around with any of the thick grass.  A few of the fish I caught were pulled from schools, which are always fun to see and hear.  You’ll just be minding your own business when all of the sudden around a point comes a wave of red terror, with bait popping out of the water in front of it, looking for any escape.  It doesn’t matter what you throw in front of the red mass, it just matters that you throw something.  It was a lot of fun trying to pull of the double by throwing the fly rod first, getting a hook set, then picking up the paddle tail and pitching it in the area.  I wasn’t able to connect this time around, but it is always a hoot to have the opportunity.