The dog days

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OldTownYakBoi
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Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2020 9:46 am
Location: Galveston

The dog days

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Hello my dear TKF Yakkers, it’s good to be back and posting a report for the community. Admittedly I’ve been lazy when it comes to the reports, but I’ve been fishing hard and improving my skills tremendously this year. Like the title says, we are in the dog days of summer, and I for one can’t remember one so miserable and windy. Wouldn’t be so bad if the wind was primarily from the south, but we’ve been pounded weeks on weeks with nasty west winds that drop the water levels. It’s the middle of July and I’d say I’ve fished the surf 3-4 times due to poor poor conditions… If you know me you know I’m a nut for surf fishing and go every single chance Mother Nature allows me to, but those opportunities have been slim in 2022. When the surf does clear up it will be on fire.

On to the report. With the conditions we’ve had, I’ve mainly resorted to night fishing and fishing very early mornings. I have been having tremendous success on the mirrolure lil John for trout, especially larger sowes. I launched at 1230 am into normal water levels, and cruised around fishing some lights in the main canal with no success. I started peddling and looking for promising signs, but they were limited. I caught a few dinks here and there and just got that gut feeling it wasn’t happening just yet. Well, like clock work, at 2 am (the start of the minor) the bite turned on.
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After catching dinks all night My guard was down a bit and I was cutting up enjoying some laughs with a friend when I got a big bite, I set the hook and immediately knew I had a good one. It was behaving how those big fish do, holding down. I played her light, getting her close to the yak before the silent surface was broken with a head shake that would rival the sound of Satans rattle, all I saw was a big bucket yellow mouth, my heart jumped. I got her in the yak and was pumped. A nice 23 in fish. This was on the bay lights, thinking there would be more sizable fish we hunted the area another 30 min with no luck. Deeper in the canals I found some good current flow and some nervous bait… I threw a purple Z man paddle tail and got slammed, I set the hook hard and had this fish 4-5ft in the air. By far the highest I have ever seen a trout come out of the water. All I saw was a Large silver silhouette and my mind immediately went to tarpon. She pulled my drag nice and gave a good fight before I netted the 24 incher
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A side note, redfish over the last month have been nearly non existent in the lights, but last night I managed a nice slot. On another post I saw impulse mention the lights are different this year and I concur with that sentiment. Last year the reds absolutely took over and it was hard to come by trout… But this year it seems to be the opposite, trout are out in force and the reds I’m not sure. What I can tell you is that lights that were continuously stacked with reds last year have been void of them this year. It’s another reminder that fishing patterns are fluid and every day on the water is unique. But that’s what makes for the challenge and the special moments that do come around.

Life is good, don’t forget to smile.

Tight lines, Yak Boi

Can’t wait to get out there and do it again
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motoyak
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Re: The dog days

Post by motoyak »

Love fishing vicariously :lol: Being inland, I can't wait to get salty but it'll be mid August b4 I can get there. I have to satisfy my urge to catch with half boiled fresh water bass :lol:
Thanks for the report and Congrats!
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Kitsune
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Re: The dog days

Post by Kitsune »

Good report! It’s been an interesting year for fishing. I honestly can’t say I’ve seen a better July on the middle coast for redfish. I know it can be relative, but the amount of redfish I’ve seen/caught is absolutely incredible. Also, the trout seem to be doing well too. I’ve kinda learned over the last two years to avoid knee jerk reactions and jerks in general :D It’s awesome to find your groove/style of fishing and then practice on it. :clap:
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Dandydon
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Re: The dog days

Post by Dandydon »

Thanks for your enthusiastic nighttime report, Yak Boi. You get extra points for persistence which paid off with your solid 23" Trout.

It's funny how the nighttime catch swings one year toward Redfish, but this year toward Speckled trout. Watson filed a 50+ Trout TKF report last week.

Keep up the good work and hope to see you out there. But I gotta pass on those Mirrolure Lil' John lures. Those small plastic hot dogs have never worked for me.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

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chicken...
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Re: The dog days

Post by chicken... »

OldTownYakBoi,

Awesome fishing and a report to match, good work on both!

This time of year, the nights are a lot more bearable than the days :shock:

Happy Fishin' :wink:
chicken...
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OldTownYakBoi
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Location: Galveston

Re: The dog days

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Kitsune wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 5:39 am Good report! It’s been an interesting year for fishing. I honestly can’t say I’ve seen a better July on the middle coast for redfish. I know it can be relative, but the amount of redfish I’ve seen/caught is absolutely incredible. Also, the trout seem to be doing well too. I’ve kinda learned over the last two years to avoid knee jerk reactions and jerks in general :D It’s awesome to find your groove/style of fishing and then practice on it. :clap:
Thanks! Good to hear the redfish population is doing well on the middle coast
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: The dog days

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

motoyak wrote: Sat Jul 23, 2022 1:02 pm Love fishing vicariously :lol: Being inland, I can't wait to get salty but it'll be mid August b4 I can get there. I have to satisfy my urge to catch with half boiled fresh water bass :lol:
Thanks for the report and Congrats!
Lol thanks! The salt is definitely a different beast, I could never be a bass guy after fishing the coast so much. Hope you get on em
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: The dog days

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Dandydon wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 6:59 am Thanks for your enthusiastic nighttime report, Yak Boi. You get extra points for persistence which paid off with your solid 23" Trout.

It's funny how the nighttime catch swings one year toward Redfish, but this year toward Speckled trout. Watson filed a 50+ Trout TKF report last week.

Keep up the good work and hope to see you out there. But I gotta pass on those Mirrolure Lil' John lures. Those small plastic hot dogs have never worked for me. Image

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
My nighttime Redfish catch rate this year is a stark comparison of last year. I'm just not seeing the numbers this year I've seen in the past. Ohh the ebbs and flows of mother nature. I for one though will not complain about catching more and bigger specs!
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: The dog days

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

chicken... wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 8:28 pm OldTownYakBoi,

Awesome fishing and a report to match, good work on both!

This time of year, the nights are a lot more bearable than the days :shock:

Happy Fishin' :wink:
chicken...
No doubt nighttime fishing is the move this time of year, especially if you throw artificials. Fortunately, West Galveston Bay is thriving, even during the dog days!
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karstopo
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Re: The dog days

Post by karstopo »

Beautiful trout! Tried night fishing, like being home in bed better. But, no doubt, nighttime is the right time.
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Dandydon
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Re: The dog days

Post by Dandydon »

Karstopo, you sound awfully tired and you're younger than me .

Come night fishing sometime with the Hobie Navy. Nobody knows which lights to fish better than the Navy & our honorary member Yak Boi.

And if you get tired or bored, follow my lead and take a kayak man-nap. You wake up refreshed and ready to catch 'em. Don't forget to throw out an anchor, lol.

We'll be heading out for Sea Isle or Tiki soon. Free legal advice available in exchange for legal fish. Tight lines to all.

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mwatson71
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Re: The dog days

Post by mwatson71 »

I may or may not have caught a few reds the other night and a bonus speck that ended up in some buttery lemon pepper garlic sauce over a bed of cous cous.
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