Thawing out with Redfish
Thawing out with Redfish
It’s hard to believe we had snow in the air and on the ground Friday considering yesterday, Saturday, was spectacularly sunny and relatively warm. I took a look at the tides Saturday morning and they looked promising. The wife and daughter #2 were in the Christmas shopping and gift wrapping frame of mind. Guess I better get out of their way.
Two trucks at the ramp by the time I got there at one and zero boat trailers, zero, gosh, I love this time of year. I paddled in the clear water marveling at the soft bottom dotted with burrows and signs of the the creatures that call the mud home. But nothing living was showing in the water column. Paddle until you find bait is the sure fire cold season formula for finding the predators.
It didn’t take long to find the sign. A few mullet were hugging the shallow oyster shell. They seemed nervous. Good, nervous bait means something is making them nervous. Out just a few feet in marginally deeper water was a mud boil. Mud boil means redfish. Cast there.
Now I should say I had on a size 6 beaded chartreuse hackle black marabou woolly bugger. This fly has been great out on the lake for largemouth bass and catfish and I have wondered how a redfish might see one. A redfish will eat a woolly bugger. I did find that out. Twice, one took the chartreuse and black bugger and another took a yellow and black. But the woolly bugger wasn’t a Prime redfish fly. I passed the yellow one right in front of a nice red just off my bow and got a big yawn. Experiment over, I put on a more proven redfish pattern, the redfish crack, in Black and Tan.
The crack did well. That got me my biggest fish, a 7 pound brute that wrapped itself around my stake out stick before I finally subdued it. It took another 21” fish I didn’t weigh and some near slots. I lost that fly and a carbon copy so I went to a shrimp fly. The fish went crazy for the shrimp. I stopped counting after a couple of dozen fish. Too bad there weren’t many bruisers in the mix, I did lose a good one, but everything else seemed to be in the 15-18” zone. Cooler temperatures and the setting sun drove me in, but I definitely left them biting.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Two trucks at the ramp by the time I got there at one and zero boat trailers, zero, gosh, I love this time of year. I paddled in the clear water marveling at the soft bottom dotted with burrows and signs of the the creatures that call the mud home. But nothing living was showing in the water column. Paddle until you find bait is the sure fire cold season formula for finding the predators.
It didn’t take long to find the sign. A few mullet were hugging the shallow oyster shell. They seemed nervous. Good, nervous bait means something is making them nervous. Out just a few feet in marginally deeper water was a mud boil. Mud boil means redfish. Cast there.
Now I should say I had on a size 6 beaded chartreuse hackle black marabou woolly bugger. This fly has been great out on the lake for largemouth bass and catfish and I have wondered how a redfish might see one. A redfish will eat a woolly bugger. I did find that out. Twice, one took the chartreuse and black bugger and another took a yellow and black. But the woolly bugger wasn’t a Prime redfish fly. I passed the yellow one right in front of a nice red just off my bow and got a big yawn. Experiment over, I put on a more proven redfish pattern, the redfish crack, in Black and Tan.
The crack did well. That got me my biggest fish, a 7 pound brute that wrapped itself around my stake out stick before I finally subdued it. It took another 21” fish I didn’t weigh and some near slots. I lost that fly and a carbon copy so I went to a shrimp fly. The fish went crazy for the shrimp. I stopped counting after a couple of dozen fish. Too bad there weren’t many bruisers in the mix, I did lose a good one, but everything else seemed to be in the 15-18” zone. Cooler temperatures and the setting sun drove me in, but I definitely left them biting.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Every redfish had a Texas sized mid section.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Nice reds!
- Cuervo Jones
- TKF 2000 club
- Posts: 2029
- Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:12 pm
- Location: Hurtling towards oblivion with a smile
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
I’m dreaming of a red Christmas! Bing Crosby would be proud of your mighty fine work with the bugger and crack. I can’t even imagine catching dozens of reds on fly because I’ve never done it. But perhaps another science experiment is in order. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- GoDoe
- TKF 1000 Club
- Posts: 1275
- Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:45 pm
- Location: Norman, OK & 50 days a yr in AP
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Good work. Cold weather and lower tides really bunch them up if you know where to look.
- kickingback
- TKF 5000 Club
- Posts: 5178
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:24 pm
- Location: Houston, Texas
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Cold weather fly fishing at it's best! Excellent pictures, thanks for sharing!
- Cityfisher
- Posts: 641
- Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:05 pm
- Location: Houston, Tx
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Very nice. Glad you finally got to get out! Those reds look as fat as some I saw on facebook from a guy that caught some after it snowed. Seems the reds and gulls were feasting and gorging themselves on the freezing stunned shrimp that got caught in the shallows.
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
I retained the 2 definite slots. I checked the contents of the smaller slot's distended stomach. Lots and lots of partially digested 1.5 -2" shrimp and one 4-5" partially digested mullet shaped fish. I and along with some family and friends will be the ones with the distended stomachs tonight thanks to the ultimate sacrifice of the redfish.Cityfisher wrote:Very nice. Glad you finally got to get out! Those reds look as fat as some I saw on facebook from a guy that caught some after it snowed. Seems the reds and gulls were feasting and gorging themselves on the freezing stunned shrimp that got caught in the shallows.
- Drifting Yak
- TKF 1000 Club
- Posts: 1344
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 11:02 am
- Location: Tomball
- Contact:
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Gotta love catching reds like that karst! And very nice pics by the way!
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
Thank you, it’s fun getting out and I wish it was more often. I like being out on the water, feels like a home. I get out sometimes and just don’t want to come in or want it to end (and my land home life is great). Fishing always provides a lift no matter what happens. Fishing and being on the water feels more real than just about anything. I like feeling real. A lot of the rest of life has a substantial dose of fake.Drifting Yak wrote:Gotta love catching reds like that karst! And very nice pics by the way!
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
karstopo,
sitting here behind a desk, you're killing me.
Congrats on a great on the fly trip.
sitting here behind a desk, you're killing me.
Congrats on a great on the fly trip.
- Drifting Yak
- TKF 1000 Club
- Posts: 1344
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 11:02 am
- Location: Tomball
- Contact:
Re: Thawing out with Redfish
I here ya! You know it’s good when you figure 2 hours have gone but then ya find it’s actually been 4! Time on the water just goes by quickly. All good stuff!