My recent attempts at sight fishing for reds have been busts, but that has been more than compensated by some awesome fishing in the Mississippi Sound. Last weekend I took two friends on what was planned as a sight fishing expedition, but after a couple fruitless hours we paddled to the Sound where my buddy promptly hooked up with a beast of a redfish during a feeding frenzy. It was feasting on baitfish from below while a flock of birds was diving from above. Rough day to be a baitfish. This weekend it was my turn. I paddled into the Sound, found some birds, and immediately hooked up with a nice speckled trout.
After another identical speck, I hooked up with something with a little more power it. I knew pretty quickly it was a BIG red.
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| zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! |
This guy gave me a real fight. He took me literally 2 wraps from my backing on one of his many runs. Having never had a fish take me to my backing, I was rooting for him to make it all the way, and he would have for sure if I wasn't in a kayak. Since kayaks move with the fish, they actually help keep the fish closer to you. The red moved near the shore, and I seized the opportunity to hop out my kayak, making it much easier to land the fish. I was absolutely giddy as I slid him into the grass.
At 29 inches, he was by far my biggest red, eclipsing the 24 incher that became my personal best just
a few weeks ago, but I was really hoping he was going to break the 30 inch mark, which is the upper slot limit for reds in Mississippi. On the other hand, now I have something to shoot for.
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| Big head |
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| Big tail |
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| Beautiful coloring |
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| Chillin |
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| The fisherman, his fish, and his boat |
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| Ready to go? |
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| See you later... |
That's a beautiful red, dude. I haven't been fishing out of my yak in a grip (CO isn't the best place for Yak Fishing). I'll have to live vicariously through yours. haha
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog too!
Thanks! I do like kayak fishing, but I sure miss trout fishing - you've got that! Can't have everything...
DeleteTrout Fishing the Manistee in about 2 hours.... Yo Bri - get a razor
DeleteCongrats on your Red. Excellent write up and good interesting photos. Also good flounder fishing in the area. Try the Mardi Gras Mambeaux for a switch to flounder if so desired but it catches most everything as well. Local club (Historic Ocean Springs Saltwater Flyfishing Club) meeting second Wednesday in each month at the Ocean Springs Yacht Club ... flytying session begins at 5:30PM - Next meeting 11 July 2012 when we will be focusing on Tripletail. Flytying session followed by science presentation from local Gulf Coast Research Lab tripletail biologist.see hossfly.org and email bigtom2@bellsouth.net for more info
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm actually already a member (albeit not very active) of HOSSFLY. I think I missed last month's meeting but I was at the pompano-themed meeting in May and the tarpon meeting before that. I think I'll make it next week so hopefully I'll see you there!
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