Big Topwater Trout

[jgj5533]

All my fishing buddies were tied up today so I hit the bay early by myself. There was strong bioluminescence all they way out and the glowing mullet put on a nice show for me. It was a pretty awesome sight. I pretty much chunked my trusty pink skitterwalk all day today. I started out in 3' of water and got some blow up's and landed a few fish. I then saw some bait getting nailed in some shallower water and decided to go over and investigate. I stated nailing trout right away and even pulled in a fat 26"er. I kept working over the area and 10 casts later I pulled in a 27" trout. I actually hooked another one that I thought was bigger but he made a big head shake and sent my topwater flying.

After the trout bite slowed down I hit the marsh and got 2 slot reds to end the day. I ended the day with 2 slot reds, and 8 trout 17"-27". The tide was slowly incoming from what I could tell. Most of the trout were sitting in about 2' of water over a sand bottom with a little grass and shell mixed in. After the meat haul with Sonny the other day I decided to make it a catch and release day.

[Hemi Fisher]

It doesn't get much better than that. Great job.

[maskale]

Nice ones.

As a newb I now must ask........ What is a slot red, and why do so many bother with the big measuring board instead of just a ruler sticker stuck on a rod or paddle?

[Matyyaker]

Way to stick'em Grant.

[Yaklash]

Man, three trout over 25" on a single spot - on Topwaters no less - is about all a man could ask for.

[troutslinger]

Nice trout!!! Nothing like a topwater bite.

[Johnny5455]

Way to get on em! Thanks

[Coachsmills]

Nice ones.

As a newb I now must ask........ What is a slot red, and why do so many bother with the big measuring board instead of just a ruler sticker stuck on a rod or paddle?

Slot reds are 20 to 28 inches here in Texas. You can keep 3 a day but can't keep anything under and can only keep one over 28" per year with the tag on your license. I think you can't get an extra tag per year after you've used your first.

The measuring board he has is for kayak wars points. It's a lot easier to photograph the fish that way than with a ruler like you are speaking of. Plus, if you're fishing a tournament you want to be pretty precise when the reds your catching are between 27.5 and 28 inches. If you bring in a 28.25 inch red that fish is disqualified. If your just looking for keeper fish then the rod rulers or sticker would suffice.

[Coachsmills]

Sorry you had to fish without me. Looks like you had a rough day.

[maskale]

Thanks Coach

[lurejunkee]

Great trout jgj!

[Legocrusader]

Since JGJ5533 wouldn't take me fishing with him I was forced to go alone today.. So I'm "one upping him" and hijacking his post.. (It's OK we're friends and Kayakwars teammates.. Or were.. LOL)... The topwater bite is still happening, but I was in Galveston bay system. The Pink Skitterwalk strikes again. 2' of water over sand in the early morning.

It didn't weigh nearly what I thought it would.

Legocrusader,

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[jgj5533]

Thanks guys. It was definitely nice to see that many quality trout in an area.

Nice ones.

As a newb I now must ask........ What is a slot red, and why do so many bother with the big measuring board instead of just a ruler sticker stuck on a rod or paddle?

Slot reds are 20 to 28 inches here in Texas. You can keep 3 a day but can't keep anything under and can only keep one over 28" per year with the tag on your license. I think you can't get an extra tag per year after you've used your first.

The measuring board he has is for kayak wars points. It's a lot easier to photograph the fish that way than with a ruler like you are speaking of. Plus, if you're fishing a tournament you want to be pretty precise when the reds your catching are between 27.5 and 28 inches. If you bring in a 28.25 inch red that fish is disqualified. If your just looking for keeper fish then the rod rulers or sticker would suffice.

Sonny said it right on both questions.

[jgj5533]

Since JGJ5533 wouldn't take me fishing with him I was forced to go alone today.. So I'm "one upping him" and hijacking his post.. (It's OK we're friends and Kayakwars teammates.. Or were.. LOL)... The topwater bite is still happening, but I was in Galveston bay system. The Pink Skitterwalk strikes again. 2' of water over sand in the early morning.

It didn't weigh nearly what I thought it would.

Legocrusader,

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http://www.fishingtackleunlimited.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.Yak-gear.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://powerpole.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.operationfish.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://twitter.com/legocrusader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What a jerk! You couldn't just let me have my 30 seconds of glory. You even had to use the same lure. You must have a modified ruler. That fish doesn't look a bit over 22".

[JMiller]

That's a nice trout for sure! Was it about 7 lbs?

[jgj5533]

That's a nice trout for sure! Was it about 7 lbs?

Jantzen, you know better than to give in to Todd hijacking my post! Seriously though it was a really nice trout. He said it didn't make it to 7 lbs though.

[Coachsmills]

That trout needs a sammich

[Yaklash]

That trout needs a sammich

Yeah, I was wading next to a buddy in LLM when he caught a trout a hair over 30" that only weighed 6 lbs. It had apparently had less to eat than that beauty.

[Legocrusader]

I borrowed a boater's Boga Grips and it weighed approx. 8lbs on those.. So I got excited... But on the official scale it was only 6 lbs 4 oz..... I walked away with my tail tucked and a little embarrassed.


Legocrusader,

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[potlicker]

All my fishing buddies were tied up today so I hit the bay early by myself.

sorry I missed your calls bud, let's hook up soon. Yes I'll share my holes you've been bugging me bout:)

[saltykat]

WTG some nice fish there