Sunrise - Wow!!

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YakRunabout
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Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by YakRunabout »

Drifting Yak and I made a short trip out this morning to West Bay, hitting some lights and morning marsh action. We were hoping to find some moving water since there would be a tide drop in the morning. Mike caught a bunch of small specs early on while I caught a few. On the day we had 2 keeper trout!

Then the sun came up – Wow – colorful!!

We did find our moving water but not the fish action associated with it that we were hoping for. The water movement was a bit confusing – The tide had to be going out and there was good movement since there were standing waves at the marsh drains. But the winds were stronger than the predicted 10mph in the opposite direction as the drains and were pushing the waves into the marsh. So in our kayaks we were floating into the marsh, while the water flowed out!! We were both in Hobie PA’s which tends to have a mind of its own when turning with just a little wind or current involved, so on this day maneuvering was quite the challenge. At one point Mike was in the drain channel, facing out, but he wanted to turn around, to head into the marsh, but he was unable to coax his kayak to obey – so he ended up exiting the drain completely and re-entering!

Perhaps the water temperature had an impact on the fish action? Last Wednesday it was 74 or so. Today it was 60. The air temp had a similar drop, 55 degrees at launch instead of 74. Water clarity was good both last week and today.

At the marsh drain I did coax a small spec and a rat red into the boat. In the deeper channels the fish finder indicated plenty of fish below 2 or 3 feet, but we were unable to get much of a bite from them.

The rat red was very silvery as you can see in the picture. Also it had no spots. At first I was not sure what it was, but then saw the face – a rather distinctive profile! A thought occurred to me later – maybe they get a spot after a catch and release? Or – did she lose her bronze cause the water is so cold? When she gets her bronze back, her spot will reappear? Or maybe just the howling winds are getting to me!

Enjoy your next outing -
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Good Morning!!
Good Morning!!
Silvery and Spotless!
Silvery and Spotless!
Water clarity test
Water clarity test
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Ron Mc
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by Ron Mc »

nice photos
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kickingback
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by kickingback »

Great report. Sorry the fish weren't there. The cold water has made them go to their winter patterns probably. Maybe a little deeper water and fish slower. I know the flounder are moving out of the marshes int the passes now.
Thanks for sharing!
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Cuervo Jones
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by Cuervo Jones »

NOICE. The heron footprints are fantastic. Oh. And the sunrise too. PA’s are pretty much battleships that are not easy to maneuver (witness recent events in Japan). Your commitment to catching silver redfish is admirable.


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Cuervo Jones
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Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by Cuervo Jones »

Weird. Double post for some reason. Possibly because I liked your photos so much.
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YakRunabout
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by YakRunabout »

"Cuervo Jones"]NOICE. The heron footprints are fantastic. "


Thanks, CJ, glad you like it.
I was nudged into the bank to fish the channel and look down and see all these footprints. They are always there, of course, but just not normally visible to this extent. Thought it was worth documenting.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by Ron Mc »

At Arroyo two weeks ago, we found ocelot tracks in the mud on Horse Island. (There sure aren't any feral cats with ocelots around.) I tried to get a photo, but the light was bad and the glare made it too tough to see the electronic camera screen - an SLR would have been handy.
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Drifting Yak
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Re: Sunrise - Wow!!

Post by Drifting Yak »

Was thinking this morning that we have yet another lesson to learn - namely where and how to fish during the transition to winter. Have read a ton and for sure have the Tobin's DVD's (time to review them all!) but the catches were few and far between yesterday. As Ken said it was amazing how the water temperature dropped over the course of a few days. It was in the low 70's in the main channel last week but 60 now (and further into the marsh it had dropped to 57)! In any case the water was as clear as I've seen it and it was a beautiful day. Here's one more of Ken's snapshots. One of the best morning shots out there (IMHO). The colors were amazing!

Another Beautiful Sunrise.JPG
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