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LPB Thursday

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:11 am
by YakRunabout
We went to Little Pasture Bayou mid-day Thursday launching from the Rollover Pass area before noon. It was one of those days where the grey skies blend right into the grey water, both being in the low 60’s. Rain chance through the day but I only felt a light rain or heavy mist, not exactly sure. Light to moderate wind from the SW, and incoming tide all afternoon, with water about half a foot over prediction.

To my surprise the surface water was quite fresh! I had to taste slowly to pick out the salt. The NOAA salinity chart shows fresh in Trinity, but decent salinity in East Bay. Oh well – I guess a day of looking for deeper water!

At the mouth of LPB we found some flow out of the bayou and some deeper water but no fish action. I kept moving further west and the outing turned into a bit of an exploration of new areas for me, searching for moving water and deeper channels. I did manage to find a nice blue tailed redfish in a channel about 4’ deep! Not a keeper at 19”, but a welcome visitor to the boat.
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Nothing more for the day, but I did find plenty of moving water and deeper water. I found the water flow to be what I expected, but was not certain of, for the inner areas. With the closing of the pass at Rollover all of the incoming water is only from the west, either down the ICW or through East Bay. I assume water is entering at Yates and moving east toward the southern end of LPB. By the time I finished with a drift down the LPB channel there was a fairly strong current going down the bayou. I did have a couple of hits at a 10’ hole in a bend, but nothing on the hook.

I did get to witness some brown pelican activity that I had not seen before. I was drifting along the left bank, and was approaching a pelican with his head down in the water. I assumed that he had a large fish and preparing for the swallow, which he soon did. Then, with head up, beak toward the water he kept on drifting the bank. Soon his head shot into the water and he repeated what I had seen previously, head in the water a spell, then the swallow. He did this again – I saw him take 3 or 4 fish in this manner!

So, it was largely a day of exploration, finishing with 10.5 miles in 6 hours, 15 minutes, getting back right before sunset, not that I could see the sun! No need to go to the gym, I got my workout!!

So, get out, go fish, write a report, post it here. It is ‘winter’ but hardly too cold to get out.

Re: LPB Thursday

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:54 am
by karstopo
Nice. Way to cover some water. Over 10 miles, it has been a long time since I’ve paddled that much on one outing. Pelicans are good at fishing and seem to have several tools or methods in their kits. I can’t understand how they can see a fish while flying then direct the perfect dive and capture slippery fish with just a beak. And why don’t they spook the fish while swimming like what you witnessed?

All those mysteries make kayak fishing fun. Miss out on some of that tooling around a 35mph in a power boat.

Re: LPB Thursday

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:06 am
by Ron Mc
I had a day on Estes where my favorite fish was an 18" red, even though I had two stringer reds to 24" and a 25" ladyfish - it's always up to the fish.
Good exploring, great photos and great report.

Re: LPB Thursday

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:34 pm
by Dandydon
Enjoyed your tales of toil and brown pelicans. Those ten-mile kayak trips are informative but kinda grueling.

Many trips when the seagulls weren't around, I keyed on slow-drifting, feeding pelicans to catch my limit of Speckled Trout. The dang birds always tell us something if we pay attention. Even those lil' pesky terns...

This Fall has been a bust (for the Hobie Navy) on finding working birds. Must have had a spotty shrimp migration through the bays this year. In years past Shoffer and I have had great days working the seagulls in our kayaks. The area off Sea Isle, past the pier, toward those skinny reefs used to be BIRDLAND!

Thanks for your inspirational message, Ken. I'll get out there soon.

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Re: LPB Thursday

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:39 am
by shoffer
LPB used to be one of my favorite wintertime haunts. Tons of trout stacked in the holes, all plucked away while trolling two lures as I meandered down the Bayou. Every trip over there since the Rollover closing has been crap, though, and I appreciate your report since it confirms what I have thought - that area of East Bay is dead.

Re: LPB Thursday

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 7:24 am
by Dandydon
And why is that area "dead?"

Although some East Bay fishing guides (like Capt. Jim West) argued closing Rollover Pass would NOT harm the fishing, I disagree.

It obviously has cut off salty Gulf water from the bay, rendering the area more "fresh." YakRun mentioned how the surface water tasted fresh. Yes, it's been fresh everytime I've been there since the pass was closed. No more torrid Trout action there.

I mourn for Rollover Pass.

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