Beating the winds

[Prof. Salt]

Saturday morning was the last day to start "late" and still paddle across the marsh before sunrise. I had finally recovered from the week long elk trip and putting away all that meat in the freezer, so I was excited for Saturday morning on the water. The forecast showed windy conditions, but a short window of lower winds early. I launched an hour and a half before daylight and made my way up near the top of the Nueces delta to begin my day where I knew fish should be hunting some protected shorelines. I encountered quite a few schools of fish, and although I hoped for hard charging fish leaving large wakes, that didn't materialize and they were actually relatively hard to spot. A few schools had birds that made it easy to see them from long distances, but most were close when I realized they were feeding along the grass. Tide levels were high, so there wasn't much protection from the wind and fish were easily hidden in the extra water. The tried and true Z-man Trick Shot worked great, and once I broke a fish off I switched to the other rod that had a TRD craw. Neither bait gets turned down, so by the time I caught a third fish and the wind was blowing pretty good, I began the long paddle back to the truck. On the way back I got a shot at a couple of extra fish that were working in the reeds. One pulled the hook and one was released after a photo. It was a nice "welcome back" and I'm glad to be back in familiar waters.

[shoffer]

Some solid tanks there, Professor.

Sometimes those tough wind days can surprise. In the last 4 months, two of my best days on the water was finding moving water on low tide, crappy solunar days, and it was nearly every cast while the water was moving. I heard Steve Hillman once say that for Galveston, moving water is more important than solunar periods. While I did not believe him at first, I am starting to think that dude is right on the money. I guess I'd be an insolent boob if I doubted a guy who logs more than 200+ days on the same water annually for 30+ years.

[Prof. Salt]

Moving water always seems to mean more fish activity. I just wish it was always moving when I was able to paddle, lol.