Windy enough for ya?

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YakRunabout
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Windy enough for ya?

Post by YakRunabout »

DriftingYak and I launched Thursday early AM at Anahuac into high water that was fresh on the surface. It was a nice cool morning for a change, even had to break out a jacket (finally!!). It was a bit windy at the launch, but that was expected by the forecast, likely around 10 mph. Through the morning the winds built into the 15-20 range with gusts a bit more. By the time we got to the bay access it was too windy to venture far, with whitecaps and waves. Mike did venture out a ways. I was about to head his way when he radioed that he was done with getting bounced around and was headed back. We spent most of the morning seeking sheltered areas, which were still quite windy, but to a lesser degree!

By the time Mike got back to me I had caught a small flounder and a rat red. We considered packing up and heading to another launch in search of more wind shelter, but then I hooked into a 24” red and so lost my enthusiasm for a move! There was an outgoing tide accentuated by the strong NE winds so there were areas to fish with good flow. We did see some bait action, but casting to that did not produce anything for me. I concentrated on areas that had flow - points, transition from deep to shallow, etc. and ended up with a couple of small flounder, slimed by a catfish (blue) and several rat reds, plus that one 24”. I caught my fish on a weedless jerk shad and a small curly tail on a jig. Amazingly I had no wind knots for the day while casting into or across the wind most of the day. I think my only downwind casts were to clear the reel of the tiny pre-wind knot loops.

Mike was frustrated all morning, fish wise – plus he just “loves” the wind (ha ha), but he came roaring back in the last hour or so – he can fill in the details.

About the time we headed back to the launch the winds died down, sun was up and warm, but not hot and humid. It had become the day we were hoping for – just started about 4 hours later than we preferred! But an enjoyable outing – even with the tough conditions!!

Have a great outing the next time out!
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Not a keeper, but I like the pic!
Not a keeper, but I like the pic!
The first flounder
The first flounder
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YakRunabout
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by YakRunabout »

A couple more pics -

On the picture of my keeper red you can see the change in water conditions in the bay with a few whitecaps and waves
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The slimmer - Blue cat?
The slimmer - Blue cat?
My keeper at 24"+
My keeper at 24"+
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kickingback
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by kickingback »

Well done. Thanks for the report! I hate these winds myself.
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Drifting Yak
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by Drifting Yak »

Awesome time even though "our friend" - the wind - had to show up. Doesn't look too rough in Ken's pics (because we were in a protected area at the time of the photos) but if you look in the back of the picture of Ken, you will see white caps out in the open bay. Ken stayed hugged up against the shoreline (can you say "smart!") but I had to chase some specs in deeper water. After all the salinity is better in deeper waters right? Specs will be there for sure - right? Well I'll never know because the waves kicked my a$$ (the whole way). I did fine as long as I was peddling 4 MPH but anything below that would enabled the power of the waves (did I say that I hate tailing waves!). They' d push me around like a cork on the water. Amazing how Mother Nature can put a beating on you! Anywho, I got "smart" after about 20 minutes and decided to head back towards Ken. 50 minutes later I reached him. I was a bit tuckered out and Ken kept saying "fish on". I was thinking "good for you" - well maybe not! Truthfully I was really happy for Ken and am always glad when at least someone is catching fish - but I was ready for a break.

We fished the edges for several more hours and after not even getting a bump, I decided to move over to a protected little bay that I'd spotted on Google Earth. The water was like Yoohoo and had an average depth of about a foot - but I was out of the northerly wind and the sun was shinning down - life was (now) good. I trolled a tandem Gulp Chartreuse Swimming Mullet while pitching a Down South Glow towards the shoreline. About half way thru the little bay the drag on the trolling rod went off. Grabbed my rod and thought I was hung up (been getting hung up pretty steadily so did not react too quickly). Then all of the sudden the line started moving to the right. Fish on! A few minutes later a beautiful 24 (and 1/4) inch red landed in the net. What a wonderful feeling!

Fished the edges for another 15 minutes or so and then headed back across the bay. Saw something bust the water and cast towards that general direction. Nothing. After a few more casts I decided to move on. Turned the yak back south and then tossed the tandem behind me. Then bam, the rig took off as soon as it hit the water. Smiling (again) I had another nice red on. It plowed thru the skinny water like a freight train (it's amazing to feel the power of these beasts as they dig in and pull you thru the water). Well in short order a 25 plus inch red hit the net.

To sum it up it was an awesome day. Something magic about being alive and pushing yourself through the might of the wind and the waves. And then there's the comforting feeling of the sun on your face while in calm waters. But somehow it all pails in comparison to the feel of a powerful red. Life is good!
IMG_5536 (2).JPG
Last edited by Drifting Yak on Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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YakRunabout
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by YakRunabout »

Just a little explanation of Mike's "a beautiful 24 (and 1/4) inch red" - this to indicate a bit of an emphasis on the 1/4 - which is how he announced it on getting it into the boat and measured. As I mentioned he had been a bit frustrated with the lack of fish action, while I had been catching mostly undersized fish, but they were at least catches. Plus I had the 24" red in the boat for a couple of hours. So, on catching his first red what I heard over the radio was - "24 - and a QUARTER" - just to indicate he now had the bigger fish!!

Of course, he also caught the 25"+ red a short time later. On this catch he demonstrated a skill that we should all try to learn - a blind cast behind the right shoulder and land it right in front of the nose of a nice redfish!! Well done!!

A nice ending to the day!!
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karstopo
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by karstopo »

Excellent. The wind didn’t spoil the fun. Nice fish.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by Ron Mc »

nice outing and fish.
The wind can be a pain handling the boat, but it also creates nice currents and drives bait, and in the spots where you can take advantage of it, you also usually have the wind shelter, which makes handling the boat easier.
The trick is usually to figure out where to fish upwind so you can sail it home.
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shoffer
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by shoffer »

Nice report. I started out my saltwater kayak fishing days there and caught gobs of reds, but have not been back in years due to freshwater runoff (judging by the blue cat you caught, it is still an issue) and being too shallow. I doubt I will ever fish there again, even though I love the area.

Now, South Trinity seems like it is holding its own, as shown by my last report. For my money, driving the extra 20 minutes to Double Bayou or even Smith Point is a better option because the salinities and depths are there (so you bring trout and flounder into the mix), structure is there (bay and marsh, if you know where to look) and you don't have to worry about a mud slog (see story here http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... ?p=1569218).
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YakRunabout
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by YakRunabout »

Ron Mc - The winds were a pain - it kept us out of some areas just due to the wind but mostly the wind driven waves! I was a bit surprised at how I adjusted. The protected areas were still quite windy, but we caught some fish, so that certainly helps. I was working my way along the bank and gradually getting into windier territory when I realized that I did not care about the wind! I was able to deal with it, just slowly moving along and casting and concentrating on fishing and the wind was just another factor, but not a controlling factor. It certainly did help to have the peddle drive so I could maneuver and fish at the same time.


You are correct about the trip planning for the wind. We, of course, did the opposite. We went downwind/down current and came back into both, but they had decreased quite a bit. The reason was our trolling motors did all the work! The speed back was about half of that heading out, but I was fine with that as I sat back and watched for fish action.


Shoffer - Your thinking on the salinity is supported by the NOAA salinity chart - it shows fresh at the top of Trinity with increasing salinity going south to Smith Point. I do not think I have fished in this fresh of water before and so was a bit surprised at the fish action. But from what I have read the reds and flounder do not care that much. The blue cat was a new one for me, I have caught hardhead and gafftop.


Another thing I saw a bit out of ordinary was an alligator! As I was moving along the bank I was watching the area around a submerged tree (lots in that area). One 'limb' on the front side of the tree looked a bit different - like the head of a gator - a jagged side then a rounded side about a foot or so long. Then as I was looking there it disappeared under water! Mike saw it surface again a few minutes later.
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Drifting Yak
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by Drifting Yak »

Thanks for the comments gents.

Shoffer - We haven't been to Double Bayou but, about 2 hours into our trip, we actually discussed packing up and heading over there. Looks interesting on the map and I think the fishing would have been easier - maybe even better! As for the Trolling Motor questions, I tried to send a more detailed reply to your last PM but it somehow evaporated. Then decided it might be easier to simply talk thru things. So if you're up for it, pull up my latest PM, get my number and then give me a call. Note that I've been getting plenty of robo calls lately so I won't pick up if I don't recognize the number. Just leave a message and I'll call you back.

Be safe out there everyone!
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Dandydon
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Re: Windy enough for ya?

Post by Dandydon »

Great fishing reports & info, Ken & Drifting Yak! I've learned to defer my fishing trips if the wind's too gnarly, but appreciate your successes fighting those gusts.
Am also glad to see reports of flounder caught. Those should be getting bigger & more plentiful in the next few weeks. Hard to beat a nicely-baked fresh floundie!


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