Late report from last week

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Prof. Salt
TKF 4000 Club
TKF 4000 Club
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Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:23 pm
Location: Corpus Christi - or paddling over the horizon

Late report from last week

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Last Wednesday I took the morning off to search familiar waters for fish. Winds were calm as I paddled away from the truck at 5:00am and I made good time to the "short cut" where I needed to portage over about 40 yards of dirt and avoid the long, now too shallow section to get beyond. Low tide has its challenges. I dragged the kayak across and to the other side, but because of the extreme low levels it required a long walk out into the mud to get enough water to float the boat. Even then it was a few hundred yards through 2" deep water before I got to a section deep enough to paddle water rather than just mud. After that it got much easier. I took the first channel out to the bay and worked my way North past all the shallows that would now be nearly impassable. After checking with Google maps a time or two, I arrived at the target channel just as it began to get light enough to see. I slowly moved up towards the lake I had in mind, since it should still have several inches of water and therefore (hopefully) some fish. The channel was shallow and thinner than usual, but this allowed me to spot a few mid-slot reds hunting solo where the channel branched off. I spooked two of them before getting the bait in position, but one 23" red played right into my hands and gave me a taste of success before I could get to the first lake on my list. As I rounded the corner to the first lake I could see several areas of disturbed water. Was it mullet or redfish? I needed to close in and find out. As I began to creep in that direction, I noticed a familiar golden back cruising much closer, so I flipped my new "super stealthy" bait to him. It was a 1/15 ounce finesse jig with a 3" NED shrimp (new penny color) and it landed on the water very softly. The fish didn't even give things a chance to calm down, and it immediately slammed the bait. After a few runs I boated the 25" fish and resumed the march towards the other signs farther up the lake.
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Again, I noticed movement closer and veered to the side to intercept an approaching crawler. This one was working left and right, not taking a direct line so I guessed where the fish was headed and put the bait there. I guessed wrong and had to slowly retrieve it as the fish got closer. At less than 10 feet I pitched the bait gently in front of this fish and it too pounced. I got wet as the fish thrashed around in the shallow mud, but soon enough he joined the others in the hatch to complete my limit of fish.
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I could see one of the larger disturbances working my way finally, so I began to work into an intercept position. These fish were in slightly deeper water about 8" deep, and it helped me move in more quietly. As they passed by ahead of me a little farther away than the previous fish, I switched to the craw lure and its 1/10 ounce head to ensure I could reach them. I put the bait just beyond the approaching school, and as I imagined the first fish were getting to that spot, I began to move the craw. The thump was impressively hard, and I knew it was a big redfish. The rest of the school scattered as my fish began to splash, but that didn't bother me at all. All fish from now on were just icing on the cake. After a few good drag pulling runs I got him to the boat. This fish was only 29.5" but thick and heavy.
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I released it and pursued the other schools within the lake. By the time I left, two more reds had come and gone and I was ready to make the long paddle back. Since the tides were beginning to return, paddling was easier and I took the "inside passage" option to keep looking for fish. The few I did find were spooky and evaded my hooks, but it was a fun exercise either way. I got back to the truck with 16 more miles on the odometer and a solid limit of fish waiting to be filleted.
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