Another Tiki attempt

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mwatson71
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Another Tiki attempt

Post by mwatson71 »

I made another attempt at Tiki on 3/24 and launched around 9:30p and fished until about 1:00a. The weather at launch was reported to be 71 degrees and a 12mph SSE wind. It felt a touch windier but still very manageable. The SSE wind made for a slightly choppy and wet ride over to the canals. There were plenty of underwater lights to fish but not as many overhead lights as last weekend. I only saw two people fishing from their docks.

My main rod was rigged with a TTF tandem speck rig, 1/8 inch swim shad in glow and my second rod had 1/4 oz Rockport Rattler and a 3" mullet in white with chartreuse tail. There was not a lot of bait in the lights but you could hear some feeding outside of the lights. The bite was very soft and I missed a fair number of fish. I replaced my Waterloo with an H20 Express Nano Inshore and the rod sensitivity feels a little different but I don't want to blame my lack of A-game on equipment. It also should be noted that when you are actually fishing, you should not have a bunch of gear in your net. If you use your net to carry your fish grips, stringer, and hook remover so you don't have to reach into a tackle box when you are out on the water, do yourself a favor and go ahead and take them out of the net when you launch. You don't want to miss a trout at the side of your kayak while you are trying to dump all of the stuff out and with the adrenaline of the first fish of the night.

The bite was soft and almost always came on the drop of a straight up and down popping motion and a very slow retrieval rate. The trip resulted in a few undersized specks, an 18" keeper speck, a stingray that managed to hook itself in the mouth and a wing, and one lost trout due to user error (see note about net above). All fish were caught on the speck rig but I am pretty sure I lost a red on the mullet.

Despite the lack of catching, it was a great time being out on the night water, listening to the splash of the paddle and the kayak cutting through the water on a clear night under the Galveston stars.
Last edited by mwatson71 on Tue Apr 03, 2018 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kickingback
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

Post by kickingback »

Well done! Good report. They were biting slow for me the other night as well. Not a bad trip fro 4 hours though.
Get ready for the night time tourney coming up! Going to b a blast!
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shoffer
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

Post by shoffer »

Thanks for this well-written report. The nighttime tournament is going to be a blast, KB. I will be in Galveston this Easter weekend so I will get at least one night round in and will report back. My last trip was slow as well, but I started while it was still light outside to acclimate a buddy to nighttime kayak fishing, so we needed an hour to get him comfortable in the Hobie PA 12 I rented for him to use. He caught a couple of legal specks, and I hooked two keeper reds. Our slow trip can be attributed to the fact that it takes at least 2 hours past sunset for lights to start holding fish, and I was in more of a teaching mode that night.
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kickingback
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

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Yes Sir Shoffer! You are right about the underwater lights and the fish taking a bit of time to get in the lights. I always like to go to the causeway and gt bites right when the sun goes completely down. The lights there hold lots of trout. Once I catch a bunch of trout I move to Tiki to catch reds and flounder in the underwater lights. Fun times!!!
mwatson71
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

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I am planning on fishing at least one night this weekend as well. I may try the lights at the causeway - I have always been tempted to fish them but have zero familiarity with them or the underwater structure and contours. How different are the conditions in the causeway vs Tiki? Stronger wind and current? More wave action? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
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Dandydon
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

Post by Dandydon »

Thanks for those good nighttime reports from you night-fishing experts.
Pay attention when Shoffer chimes in because he is the Dark Master.
I'm now formulating the rules for next month's NIGHTTIME TOURNEY©️™️ and will be starting up the exclusive TKF thread next week after Easter. Shoffer convincede to charge a $20 entry fee so we'll have a little prize money to award the 3 winners of our speckled trout, redfish & total fish divisions.
We also are prohibiting the use of any live bait because using it is a big hassle & we're seeking to find our best night LURE fishermen. But use of Gulps or other similar "fish-food" lures is allowed.
As for entries of professional fishing guides like Trout Scout Tobin, we allow that, too. We expect that the night fishing challenges will equally test any pros & amateurs that enter!
Please stay tuned for the full tournament rules. If we get a lot of interest & contestants, I might make this NIGHTTIME TOURNEY an annual event, especially if SHOFFER & I WIN!
Ha ha. Let's have some fun & catch some solid nighttime gamefish! See you on those eerie after-dark waters!
--Dandydon
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kickingback
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

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mwatson71 wrote:I am planning on fishing at least one night this weekend as well. I may try the lights at the causeway - I have always been tempted to fish them but have zero familiarity with them or the underwater structure and contours. How different are the conditions in the causeway vs Tiki? Stronger wind and current? More wave action? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
The causeway is about 3-9 feet deep (deeper the closer you get to the middle where ship channel is. Usually 4 feet deep is what you will fish. Throw a pooping cork to the outside of lights and drag back popping. Shrimp or Gulp work well. Throw a lure like 3" paddle tail past light and drag through the light underwater. You can use top water as well. Throw past light and drag through light. Simple. Check the tides and winds before you go so you can time your paddle with the current and wind to help.
Tiki underwater lights are great. Same throwing with them but paddle tails work best I have found.
Good luck

Forgot to add, if you launch from the public ramp near Tiki you will go under the bridge to the causeway and the current runs strong through there when the tide is moving so double check the tides to help you not have to paddle against the current.
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Dandydon
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

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Really enjoy your descriptive & often poetic fishing reports, MWatson! You actually help us feel your pain at not catching that last elusive fish. We've all been there.
Hope to see you soon at our upcoming NIGHTIME TOURNEY. If you're so inclined, get poetic and honor us with a poignant elegy of salt 'n sea. You can make words sing, son. I should know. My daddy was Editor of The Houston Chronicle thru the 80s.
And I'm a lawyer who writes & speaks for money.
We'll see you soon, sir, fishing and paddling under the stars, gazing upon the planet Mars, keying on the lights you wish, hold that pretty winning fish.
--Dandydon
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Dandydon
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

Post by Dandydon »

Whoops! This was supposed to appear in your last "Grand Slam" trip thread... I hit the wrong button or something. Maybe I'll repost it.
Blame the Easter cocktails.


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CoachFlex
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Re: Another Tiki attempt

Post by CoachFlex »

Man, i have not had a single fish yet fishing lights at night. But I've only been fishing sea isle. Done about 6 night trips now and nothing. Need to link up with some of y'all for some lessons or something!

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