Not having redfish :(

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awesome guy
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Not having redfish :(

Post by awesome guy »

AG couldn't get on the water this weekend. I made the right call and didn't go on Saturday as it was windy and rainy. I thought about giving it a go on Sunday after church, but the wind was still questionable even if there was a break in the rain. But I figured the fishing would still be off from the previous days rain diluting the salty stuff.

I was half bummed, half relieved as I was planning on going to a tactic that I consider JV. And that is a popping cork. It's effective, but anyone can work a popping cork. So I got to keep my manhood intact, even if that meant not fishing. I'm looking at this because at this time of year the grass is starting to pull off the seafloor. And any grass, even a tiny slither absolutely wrecks the action of a top water bait. And that's what I faced the previous weekend. There would be one clump of grass on the surface, but it acted like a fence as small pieces would trail it, being broken off by the current. Then when my zara spook or she-dog hit a blade of grass, the grass provides drag on the rear, preventing the bait for walking. I saw fish, but the grass pretty much killed it for me. All I caught was a dink speckled trout, like 9-13 inches. A fish that wasn't even legal to keep. But I also got an absolute pig to strike it. It was after dark and I didn't want to go home without fish. A thunderstorm also came on me, so I got out of the kayak, put it on the truck, and then walked the banks. The weeds and wind were still jamming me, but a redfish that looked over 30 inches, maybe even 40 came in and took a shot at it. By the time I got the lure back in front of him again, he was gone. He was finning in 3 feet of water and he was hauling arse back out to deeper water. I've never seen one move so fast in skinny water, would have been my best redfish on a lure all summer. I got a couple trophies in 45-48 inches earlier and lost one that was over 50 right by the boat as he was still a little green, got spooked by the net, and took off under the boat, breaking the line on the keel.

My hot spots are too shallow for any kind of subsurface bait. So that leaves me with the popping cork. I can fish one on the surface or subsurface. And it can handle weeds on it. All a popping cork is is a bobber with rattles on it. And then you tie on a 2-3 piece of leader behind it with a hook and soft plastic on it. The rattling of the cork attracts fish, the soft plastic is what they hit. So you pop it, which brings the plastic to the surface. And then let it fall back to the subsurface. So you can cover the entire water column, not that it matter much in skinny water. I may keep one on a rod at all times going forward to break up the tediousness of walking the dog on the surface. I've been doing this for pretty much 8 hours straight over the summer, producing lots of redfish, but also wearing out the wrists. So mixing it up a bit will give me more longevity.


Unvaccinated,. mask free, and still alive.
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Major Kong
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Re: Not having redfish :(

Post by Major Kong »

How about some whitefish :?:
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