East Bay 7/6/17

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Drifting Yak
TKF 1000 Club
TKF 1000 Club
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East Bay 7/6/17

Post by Drifting Yak »

YakRunabout and I hit East Bay on Thursday and although the catching wasn't the greatest we did manage to hook into several fish and saw an absolutely beautiful sunrise (pic further below).
An early morning storm greeted us just before sunrise with cracking lightening and some heavy clouds. We decided to hug up against the shoreline for protection while dropping our rods and anything else that was sticking up. Ken even commented that our bodies were prime targets now as they stuck up higher than anything else. :shock:
Looked like it could get rough but then magically the storm moved north leaving us high and dry with a moderately cool breeze (guessing we saw a 5 degree temperature drop which was nice). We continued along the shoreline working popping corks and some bottom plastics and then entered the marsh fishing drains and back lakes.
Here's a recap:
Note: I'm using the format below as a means for tracking and reporting my trips. Would appreciate it if you have any other suggestions for other items that I might want to track.

Timing = Hit the water at 5:45 AM - Off shortly after 12 Noon
Wind = Very nice 5 to 12 MPH from the South to SSE
Water temp = 84 degrees
Water Clarity = Greenish in the bay to more brownish in the marsh with around 1/2' of visibility
Tide = Decent incoming tide most of the morning
Bait of choice = Gulp Swimming Mullet in Chart., Black & White - Both tandem rigs and singles were used but would give the edge to singles on this trip.
Other Baits = Ken has had good results lately using a Down South Plumb Chartreuse and I had several hits on a ChickenBoy 3" Spicy Cajun Shrimp under a popping cork.
Specs - Caught several dinks out in the bay running the shoreline early morning. The fish were out about 30-50 yards off the shoreline and although we could see some decent blow-ups we did not land any keepers.
Reds - The reds were back up in the marsh so you had to be stealthy. But they would pounce on your lure if you landed it within a reasonable distance of their head. Two 21 inchers were landed and kept and several other slots were released (or more like lost at the boat).
Flounder - Worked certain areas pretty hard for Flounder but Ken caught the only one (a fat 16 incher)
Sheepshead - I caught a huge 21 incher way back up in the drains in about 2 foot of water. Really strange seeing her waddle along that far back in the marsh and in such shallow water. Perhaps she was chasing shrimp and got a little stranded as the tide dropped? Strange! She chased and then inhaled a ChickenBoy 3" Spicy Cajun Shrimp on an 1/8 oz jighead.
All in all this was a very good outing. All good for the soul!
Sheepshead in shallow drain.JPG
Sunrise 7_6_17.JPG
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YakRunabout
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Location: Magnolia

Re: East Bay 7/6/17

Post by YakRunabout »

It was a nice outing. A nice sunrise – I am always amazed at how still and smooth the surface on such a big body of water can be. The only ripples in the sunrise pics are from Mike’s kayak movement!

Of course, this tranquility was change by all the flash photography coming from the storm in the gulf. I checked the radar on my smart phone – sure is nice to have this technology available! – and saw that the storm was moving right in our direction, so I pulled down my graphite lightning rods. The storm was still a long ways off, but I was not sure how far in front of the storm that the lightning may travel. It turned out OK since we were hugging a shore that looked to be very flounder friendly. As Mike said the storm dissipated to our benefit with the cool breeze remnants.

So back to flounder – These guys have been frustrating me lately – they tend to bump and sit – so I am thinking is this a flounder or a snag? The reds and trout hit and run so it is easier. I have been trying to be more patient as recommended often here. Like Chickenboy said at his PACK talk – have a bump, go eat a pimiento sandwich. So along this shore I had several “snags” but nothing to the boat. Later, on the way back toward the launch, I finally did land one of the “snags”. Like a little kid with their age (I am not 4, I am 4 ½) – the flounder was not 16 but 16 ¾!

Also had some nice red hookups and one to the boat. The one I landed was on a long cast – the lure hit the water and the fish was on! Am amazed at how quickly they can strike. Then he ran right towards me so I had to reel quickly just to stay in contact. Another large one used a clump of grass to make his escape!

Enjoy your next outing!!
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