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A couple of weeks ago I was at the family property cutting up a fallen tree. Evidently as I was tossing the cut logs onto the burn pile I tore my rotator cuff. After lots of pain and suffering, the shoulder has finally calmed down enough for me to try paddling again. I'm probably not supposed to be paddling, but I picked a windless morning and took my time. Paddling was "interesting" but not painful. Because of the nerve weakness I can barely cast the 4 weight well enough to get a fly 30 feet out, but I managed to make it happen. The high tides allowed me to be sneaky and not touch the bottom with the paddle, so I was able to sneak close to each school of feeding reds that I came across. Out of four schools I caught five fish - not too bad considering the shape my "good" arm is in right now. I ran into Tombo on the water, and we spread out to search for fish.

I caught a fat 29 incher, my best red on the 4 so far. I released a couple that were barely legal and had one come unbuttoned when he turned and ran right at me faster than I could take up the slack line. Ended up with a 26 and 28 for dinner, which was pretty sweet. Thanks for the photo, Tom!

Those are beautiful reds. Glad you were able to battle and make it a great trip out.

Nice fish, congrats - big reds are always a fun catch but a little extra spice on light tackle.

Good luck on your shoulder, maybe a strain and not a tear -
I had both mine repaired 20+ years ago, never back to 100% - no more pitching for me! Casting has been OK, generally, unless I inflame them a bit by throwing tree limbs about -

Great photos

Beautiful colors on those fish.

And a great reminder that you don't have to cast like a super-hero to catch 'em.

I know a lot of guys who won't pursue fly fishing on the water because they can "only" cast 30-50' in the back yard. And they're missing out.

impulse wrote:Beautiful colors on those fish.

And a great reminder that you don't have to cast like a super-hero to catch 'em.

I know a lot of guys who won't pursue fly fishing on the water because they can "only" cast 30-50' in the back yard. And they're missing out.

Very true.

I was once one of those guys. And to anyone that’s on the fence like I once was, give fly fishing a try. You might even find whatever preconceptions and misgivings you had weren’t even close to the reality. Challenges help keep things fresh and fun.

That right there is just plain awesome and on a 4wt rod I am envious,

WOW! the 1st pic is awesome!

When you get in close with the fish, anybody can make a much better presentation with a fly rod and weightless fly than they can with a bait rod and a heavy lure.
Good lure fishing requires some wind to add some stealth to your presentation.
At the other end, fish are naturally spooky in glassy water, and the splash of your weighted lure can send them away.
Precise casts with the fly rod are very easy, because you're controlling the exact line length in your line hand.
The one bad habit to get over with a fly rod is breaking your wrist, and you can get over that by turning your hand so you can't see your thumbnail, reel a little bit toward your cheek.
All that's left is overcoming the buck fever.

Fighting reds with a 4-wt (or any fishing rod) - the lower you keep the rod tip, the more you're fighting with the rod butt and, especially, the reel drag.
With a heavier rod, you gain a little extra rod butt for turning fish (and especially ability to cast in wind), but you can definitely land reds on XUL if you run them out properly on rod butt and reel drag.

Those are beautifully lit photos - big grins and great fish - and Glenn can tell you from his hours of righteously editing video - the angle of the sun is everything in lighting photos.

Most beautiful redfish color - teal blue

and when the sun hits it right, you get this mylar-finish magenta

Nice work Glenn

Thanks guys, before the cold weather ran me off the flats, I had one great morning when I could find nothing but oversized reds. I did string a good eater sized drum that was hunting in the grass, but the reds were all bruisers. This one made a surprisingly nice shot:

that's a fat one - good job, Glenn.
Like I posted on another thread, I'm waiting for those sunny afternoon reds when the 70s return (when Texas returns)

I thought I wanted to be a fly fisherman until I tried it one day , that suuuucks. I don’t have the patience for it and after several failed attempts I was ready to toss the fly rig. Ended up selling that sucker and never looked back. Nice reds

Yak Dog, fish whatever way you enjoy and more power to you!