As I finished paddling another section of shoreline that is usually productive (without seeing a fish), I worked around a corner and planned to take a shortcut back to the truck to end the trip. To my surprise, a bull red was cruising calmly just ahead in five inches of water. The long section of back sticking above the surface cheered me up and I made a cast just ahead of the fish. A slow crawl of the lure resulted in a foamy smash, but in my haste I yanked the hook out of his mouth …well crap! I looked back toward the shoreline to see if there were any more fish, and after a few seconds I spotted another even larger red coming my way. I waited until it was close enough for an easy cast and placed the lure out front in the strike zone. This time I let the fish eat before setting the hook and the drag started coming off in long peels. Nine times the fish ran across the channel and I brought it back. Finally I pulled the fish up into the kayak, and it was a good one. Thirty five inches of redfish is unusual in the shallows, and especially to find one cruising in five inches of water.
I got a few photos and backed up into slightly deeper water to revive the tired fish. After release I resumed the slog back to the truck, sipping the last of my water. As I got near the last spot to dependably find fish, I spotted two more reds cruising a shoreline ahead. I pulled into position for the first and gently tossed the craw jig ahead of the fish. The eat was fast and violent, and the second keeper went on ice.
I looked for the other fish but it had spooked while I was playing the hooked one. Oh well, I headed home with two on ice and a solid tank released. When I got home and all the gear was clean, my son came out and asked it I'd like to go look for ribbonfish. He hardly ever asks to fish, so I shrugged and said "sure, let's do it". We put the Stealth away and put the two Reloads on the trailer, prepped the gear and headed back out. The ribbons weren't where we hoped to find them but it was fun to spend time on the water and have some good conversation with my boy. I was a tired puppy that night.
