Muddy Waters
Earlier this week, Karl and I decided to check out a new area. I’ve launched in the area only once before, Karl had never launched there previously. It was sunny and the water was looking quite nice near the launch. 
As we started fishing and getting further out, the water just kept getting muddier. That wasn’t hindering the bait action though! There were mullet and minnows running all over the place, and shrimp jumping out of the water everywhere. The reds were there too, but they were very much interested in the real food. There was a situation where I was drifting a bank and heard commotion. I looked up soon enough to see a golden red back out of the water attacking bait!
By the time I got a bite, I was pretty excited until I saw what was on the other end of the line; hardhead catfish. After fighting him for my lure back, and avoiding getting finned, he found himself rejected and back in the water.
After a bit more searching, I eventually spotted a redfish in a small cut. I tossed a lure to him and he bumped it, but turned away with disinterest. I tried to cast to him a second time, but the lure landed right on his head which resulted in a mud trail. But after a few minutes, I got another chance when I saw two reds right near the nose of my kayak. By this time I had put on a GULP shrimp, hoping to encourage more interest. I pitched a cast right past the fish and he didn’t take long to slurp it up! It was a short fight, but this guy was invited home! He measured in at 17.25″. The best eating size!
He was also a little bit of a leopard!
With Karl having not had any success, me taking pictures of my lunch after losing a few more fish, and the water getting muddier as we continued on, we decided to shift things to a new area.
We loaded up the truck and got on the road, but by this time it was mid-afternoon and the summer storms had started materializing. By the time we got to the next launch, we waited for about half an hour to watch the storms moving through. We eventually decided not to chance it after seeing a few flashes of lightning, and we headed home.
Follow-up trip will be coming up soon!
Gear Used:
The productive tackle for the day…
- Line: FINS Windtamer 20lb. Braid w/ Fluorocarbon Leader
- Lure: GULP Ghost Shrimp in Chartreuse Belly (rigged weightless)
- Rod: 7′ Medium/Heavy – Moderate/Fast Rod
- Reel: 3000 Spinning Reel – 6.2:1 Gear Ratio
