Contact: 210-885-4731 or captkennysmith@gmail.com

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Flipper




I fished alone yesterday. That is not all bad because it allows me to try different things I would probably give up on too soon if I had someone else on the boat. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. Yesterday it worked.
We had a draining tide all night with a big incoming tide starting early morning. The draining tide left the flats mostly dry. No wind, lots of sun and a moon rise late morning. You do not want to miss those conditions, especially in winter.
As I motored out of Laguna Vista, I pushed a few Redfish and when I got to Holly Beach, the numbers grew and I saw more trout. I almost stopped there but the water was deeper and murkier than I wanted. I went further north.
The dolphin were in Airport Cove munching on fish in about one and a half feet of water. I went further north still.
I came to a flat that seems to always be good on a flooding tide and immediately pushed fish. I shut down and began to pole. Poling, sight fishing and trying to take pictures is cumbersome, but it can be done, especially in calm winds. I poled for nearly 45 minutes and sheepshead was the only fish I was seeing. Here is were I would have already pulled up and moved if I had others on the boat, but I stuck with it. Finally, when I got so shallow, the bottom of the boat was dragging, a small school of about 10 reds moved my way making a large wake. I don't think my soft plastic actually hit the water when one hit it and took off.
This year we haven't really had a cold winter. As a result, the water temperature has remained relatively stable and the fish are extremely strong and fight as hard as I have ever experienced. Usually in the winter, they are so lethargic, it is like reeling in a dead log. Not today.
I began seeing redfish after redfish. All were over 7lbs. and one was 29" and 9 1/2lbs. I managed to get one on the fly that took all the fly line and about a hundred feet of backing.
I caught and released all the fish I wanted and left them biting . It was a great day.


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