Quick Marsh Trip 12/14
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 5:10 am
Had a little time Thursday afternoon and with the low winds, low to middling water levels, and rising tide I thought things looked primed for some redfish action in the marsh. The word has been fish the rising tide and that was very true last Saturday when I got out and the fish really turned on the incoming. I go when I can go but I’ll take a favorable tide if one’s available.
Last week’s fish were gorged with shrimp. Stuffed to the brim. I was kind of thinking that the shrimp feast would be winding down this week with the recent water dumps. The shrimp fly worked like magic last week, but I went with an olive crack fly this time out that’s more in the crab genre than shrimp.
Launched a little before two and in spite of the cloud cover feeding redfish were visible right away. Not any big or even little schools, just ones and twos up shallow making torpedo wakes. I spoked the first few fish without even firing a shot. The whole fly thing can be tough to get everything in sync, at least for me.
What happens a lot to me is I’ll be watch one fish up a ways and another will slip up on me unawares much closer. All of a sudden there’s a huge wake moving right to left maybe 15 feet off my bow. I can imagine being in World War II and there’s a Japanese torpedo closing fast, battle stations!
The red sort of knew something might be up. He sped up a bit and then looped back a little and put on the breaks a little at about my 10 o’clock 20 feet away. That gave me some hope as I was already casting to my 8-9 o’clock and out about 25 feet. It was one of those passes that the quarterback lobs up the ball praying the receiver runs under it.
Tom Brady with a fly rod I’m not, but once in a while I can pull off a play. On a canter, the red inhaled the size 2 Olive Redfish crack and went instantly to a full gallop. I let the fish pull me around some until it headed for some shell. I staked out and took a stand slugging it out with the red using my fiberglass noodle of a fly rod, the CGR 7/8. I kept thinking “which tippet do I have on?” “Was it the suspect 12# stuff or the 18# fluorocarbon?” I decided I had on the latter and put on more drag to avoid having the red get to the shell. The other thing was the size 2 Gamakatsu SC-15 hook that are impossibly light wire but have always hung in there like a champ. And there’s no chance of corrosion since I tied the fly two days prior. These are the thoughts I have while battling what turned out to be my best redfish to hand on the fly, by a whisker anyway.
Safely in the net, I took some glamour shots with my prize before reviving it and letting it swim free. The fish on My boga just touched the 10# mark. My measure stick goes to 25” and I estimated it went about 4” past that. The first ever redfish on the fly I got way back when was 28” and 9.5 pounds. I’ve had other mini bulls on but haven’t been able to finish.
I kind of thought about going in after releasing it. I stuck it out for a little while longer and connected with a 23” beauty and missed several more shots. It was tough seeing the fish in the muted light. I wasn’t quite the same anyway. A young couple was crabbing and fishing the launch, actually the guy came over as I came in and said “did you catch any?” Me, “ yea, a couple, one about 10#” Him, “no way, I was just telling her there’s no fly fishing in Texas”
Yes, there’s fly fishing in Texas.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Last week’s fish were gorged with shrimp. Stuffed to the brim. I was kind of thinking that the shrimp feast would be winding down this week with the recent water dumps. The shrimp fly worked like magic last week, but I went with an olive crack fly this time out that’s more in the crab genre than shrimp.
Launched a little before two and in spite of the cloud cover feeding redfish were visible right away. Not any big or even little schools, just ones and twos up shallow making torpedo wakes. I spoked the first few fish without even firing a shot. The whole fly thing can be tough to get everything in sync, at least for me.
What happens a lot to me is I’ll be watch one fish up a ways and another will slip up on me unawares much closer. All of a sudden there’s a huge wake moving right to left maybe 15 feet off my bow. I can imagine being in World War II and there’s a Japanese torpedo closing fast, battle stations!
The red sort of knew something might be up. He sped up a bit and then looped back a little and put on the breaks a little at about my 10 o’clock 20 feet away. That gave me some hope as I was already casting to my 8-9 o’clock and out about 25 feet. It was one of those passes that the quarterback lobs up the ball praying the receiver runs under it.
Tom Brady with a fly rod I’m not, but once in a while I can pull off a play. On a canter, the red inhaled the size 2 Olive Redfish crack and went instantly to a full gallop. I let the fish pull me around some until it headed for some shell. I staked out and took a stand slugging it out with the red using my fiberglass noodle of a fly rod, the CGR 7/8. I kept thinking “which tippet do I have on?” “Was it the suspect 12# stuff or the 18# fluorocarbon?” I decided I had on the latter and put on more drag to avoid having the red get to the shell. The other thing was the size 2 Gamakatsu SC-15 hook that are impossibly light wire but have always hung in there like a champ. And there’s no chance of corrosion since I tied the fly two days prior. These are the thoughts I have while battling what turned out to be my best redfish to hand on the fly, by a whisker anyway.
Safely in the net, I took some glamour shots with my prize before reviving it and letting it swim free. The fish on My boga just touched the 10# mark. My measure stick goes to 25” and I estimated it went about 4” past that. The first ever redfish on the fly I got way back when was 28” and 9.5 pounds. I’ve had other mini bulls on but haven’t been able to finish.
I kind of thought about going in after releasing it. I stuck it out for a little while longer and connected with a 23” beauty and missed several more shots. It was tough seeing the fish in the muted light. I wasn’t quite the same anyway. A young couple was crabbing and fishing the launch, actually the guy came over as I came in and said “did you catch any?” Me, “ yea, a couple, one about 10#” Him, “no way, I was just telling her there’s no fly fishing in Texas”
Yes, there’s fly fishing in Texas.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
