As I got to the first drain, I recognized a couple of fish along the edges but with the still conditions they spooked before I could get close to them. I kept moving up and spotted what I had been looking for: half a dozen big reds hunting with backs out of the water. I pulled the hook on one, then broke off another. Finally I saw a couple of large fish a little farther up. As I made my way quietly to them, one of them just stopped and (evidently) took a nap. I eased to within 15 feet and eased my foot into the mud to stop the kayak. For several minutes I casted close and slowly pulled the bait past that fish until it finally woke up. Finally it sleepily turned around and began to swish its tail as my bait landed just beyond her face again. I dragged it past the fish and she smacked it like a hungry seagull on McDonald's french fries. Mud and water went all over as she tore across the flat, spooking a bunch of other solid fish that took off in all directions like a bunch of torpedos, blowing out the spot. I finally got her to the boat and released the 29" fatty. On my way back out of that drain I found another group working the edge, and managed to pull a 26" fish out of that school.
The next drain held some fish that were sneaking around leaving minor wakes, but every minute or two they would expose themselves enough to get a read on what size fish they were. I spotted a good one ahead that was moving up the drain, and I began to close the distance. I had to stay quiet because it was very still, and the fish kept up a fast pace for about 200 yards before she noticed a school of minnows on the shoreline and finally slowed down. That allowed me to paddle in close, and I pitched the bait onto the mud just ahead of the fish. I gently dragged it into the water and as soon as she saw it the lure was smashed. Within a few minutes I had a second 26" fish in the hatch.
The third drain had fish on the outside edge that were milling around waiting for the water to come back in. A few gulls were hanging around and occasionally diving down to pick off a jumping minnow or shrimp. I picked off a little 24" fish to complete my limit, and then caught two more the same size for grins that were released. I moved up the drain and found a school coming towards me. The lead fish found my bait and together we scared the **** out of that school to ensure we wouldn't see them again.
I kept moving up and around the corner I found another school coming towards me. I repeated the offering and got the same result again for yet another mid-slot fish. I couldn't go much farther so on the way out I checked the outside edge again. The tell-tale wakes were heading towards me as I cleared the corner, and I brought in another 24 inch fish, and while I was unhooking it, another school came past. I pulled out the other rod and put a bait ahead of the approaching fish. Yep, one more mid-slot fish was released and I was ready to paddle back across the bay.Crossing the bay was easy with the wind at my back, but once I got into the river the wind hit me in the face and made things a bit tougher. As I paddled close to the grass along the side and used it as a tiny wind-break, I noticed how dark blue the clear sky looked, and I realized that thousands of butterflies were coming over the grass and crossing the river just over my head. It was etherial. White and pale yellow butterflies by the hundreds were creating a tunnel for me to paddle through, so I continued on while enjoying the show. I don't know what kind of migration it was, but there were thousands and thousands of them just fluttering over me and then dropping close to the water to cross the river. It made the discomfort of paddling all those miles easy to ignore as I continued on towards the truck.
