Once Again

Something resembling a thunderstorm rumbled through Baffin last night and it seemed to make the fishing even a little tougher than yesterday. However, I had a good crew and we worked our tails off and ended with a decent box of trout and one stray redfish. We topped it off with a Big Girl at around 3:00 on our last stop of the day. Congrats Rick on a new personal best 27"+. Click on pics to enlarge.





We picked up a few trout early on a shallow grass/mud flat on Bloody/white Sea Shad but the majority again came over rocks from waist deep to chest deep including the Big girl on Dark Strawberry and Morning Glory Devil Eyes as well as Plum and Rootbeer/ Red Glitter Saltwater Assassins on 1/16 oz. jigheads.

Grinding Again

Did some serious grinding today (Friday 29). Had beautiful ice cream conditions but just couldn't seem to find any concentrations of fish we picked up a couple here and a couple there. All fish came over rocks in waist deep to chest deep water on various dark colored baits. Mostly on Rootbeer/Red glitter and Plum Saltwater Assassins along with Cajun Pepper and Morning Glory Devil Eyes. Big fish of the day was a solid 26"+ Big Girl (released). Click on pics to enlarge.

Stoking The Fires

Had a day off but didn't get much rest. Took my wife up to visit with the new Grandbaby and I brought the older grandkids back with me for a little fishing excursion. Didn't get to fish with them last time because I was just plain wore out. So I promised them a trip this week. We got a little late start but that was fine. Things didn't go smoothly but that was fine too. The fishing gods showed a bit of compassion on us at the first stop as we quickly hooked up and landed half a dozen fish including these two solid eighteen inch plus trout. Bloody/white Sea Shad did the damage today. It was great to see the enthusiasm in their young eyes. Click on pics to enlarge.



I really wanted to hook them up to a couple of reds but it wasn't meant to be this day. We'll try it again tomorrow maybe a little earlier, maybe not. It was great to spend a little time on the water with the boys. Looking forward to tomorrow.......... just as soon as I rest up.

Deja Vu

Great day on the water today. I knew it would be tough to top yesterdays trip but I think we did a more than respectable job. We got started early and hit some of the same areas as we did yesterday. Trout were still holding on the rocks in three to four foot of water. They were a bit more cooperative today. We had a noice box of fourteen trout and released a solid 27"+ Big Girl. Plumtreuse Devil Eyes were the hot ticket for trout. We also did quite well with the Cajun Pepper Devil Eyes. Click on the pics to enlarge.



Then we went outside the box and tried something a little different. I mentioned last week about the biggest school of black drum I had ever seen. Well, we went to look for them again and found them. This time we were prepared with some black 3" Berkley Gulp curl tails and had an absolute blast sightcasting to drum in six inches of water. We managed to trick fourteen into taking our offering. There is just something about sightcasting to fish in super skinny water that just gets your juices flowing. This isn't the greatest pic but will give you an idea of what we were catching all those drum out of.



On another note, the last four days I have seen numerous flights of blue wing teal on the bay. I'm getting pumped up about duck season and especially early teal. It looks like its going to be a great year.

Big Girl Sighting

We had great conditions this morning and a good bite on various plastics the first couple of hours this morning. Several nice trout made the box including a solid 22"er. Things dropped to a crawl as we continued to catch fish but not much size. At about eleven o'clock the winds laid down flat and the water greened up very well. We hit some spots we normally don't get to fish when the winds are blowing. Today it paid off. Dean went old school and broke out the Texas Roach Cocahoe minnow and worked around some belly deep rocks to pull out this Baffin Big Girl, a new personal best. Click on pic to enlarge.



A couple of quick pics and we released her back into the 87 degree waters. She swam off strong and a few high fives and congratulations were shared.



Things slowed down again as we tried several more likely spots. The winds kicked up out of the north and shifted to the east northeast before we finally decided to head in for the day. Ten fish for the box and the released Big Girl made for a successful day. Hot baits today were the Texas Roach Cocahoe, Royal Purple, Dark Strawberry, Rootbeer/red glitter and Cajun Pepper Devil Eyes rigged on 1/16 oz Tru-Lock jigheads were the ticket. All fish came in waist deep to chest deep water over rocks.

Tyler Strikes Again

Well, it was a grind again today. We had nice conditions and plenty of bait just about everywhere we went. Invasion of the dink trout it felt like, We managed a few for the box up to 20" and had one UFO (Unidentified Fishy Object) that stretched Wanda's line for a good while before pulling the hook out. Probably a big drum or bull red but we optimistically call it a 40" trout. Tyler got his first taste of sightcasting for redfish. I actually hooked up on the fish but Tyler helped me spot it. The kid has some pretty good tools for an eleven year old. I look forward to watching his progression as a fisherman. Cajun Pepper, Dark Strawberry Devil Eyes along with Plum Saltwater Assassin, Cajun Pepper Berkley Power mullet and Bloody/white Sea Shad all rigged on 1/16 Tru-Lock Jigheads. Deeper water (3'-4') for trout. Calf deep for the redfish. Click on pic to enlarge.

Scramble Time

The higher tides have really got the fish scattered right now. We are picking up a bunch of smaller fish and an occasional keeper at most places we go. Just can't seem to string together anything consistent. Better trout over deeper rocks on various plastics. Cajun Pepper Devil Eye and Power Mullet, Plum Saltwater Assassin and Bloody/white Sea Shad were the go-to baits today. We did spend way too much time pestering the largest school of black drum I have ever seen. Thousands and thousands of slot drum in six to eight inches of water. We managed to get three of them to chase plastics. Also, eleven year old Tyler got his first keeper red. I think he was surprised at how hard it fought. Wants to do it again tomorrow. Click on pic to enlarge.

Fit To Be "Tide"

Tides still rising. They came up another two inches overnight. Sure makes it hard to locate concentrations of fish. We did manage some nice trout on a catch and release trip today. I picked up a chunky 6 1/4 pounder on our first stop over waist deep rocks and mud on a cajun/pepper Devil Eye. Low and slow was the retrieve that brought the most hits as we caught several seventeen to eighteen inch trout. Click om pic to enlarge.



We made several moves fishing various structure and found a few fish everywhere we went. Lots more dinks than keepers but our second spot did produce one nice twenty-four + incher.



Hot baits for the day are pictured below.

Changing Conditions

Had the weekend and Monday off due to a cancellation. Finally got back on the water today and boy have things changed. Our water level is up about six inches since last Friday. Predictably the fish were scattered. Plus we almost had to do something we haven't done in what seems like forever....... dodge a thunderstorm. We stayed dry but Loyola Beach did get a trace of rain. Just enough to make the humidity unbearable when we got back in. Small box of trout today with three of the trout right at 20". Including this one caught by nine year old Will on the final drift of the day. Bloody/white Sea Shad and Cajun Pepper Devil Eyes were the ticket today. Click on pic to enlarge.

Seeing Red

Had a couple of grinders with me today and it showed. Fishing was a little tough over all but this group managed a nice box with limits of redfish. releasing seven more and even three black drum that decided to attack plastic. We also had five trout and released two 25"ers and this 27"+ Big Girl. Click on pic to enlarge.



Cajun Papper and Dark Strawberry Devil Eyes were the ticket for the trout while the usual bloody/white Sea Shad handled all the reds and drum. Off for the weekend to be with family (see: Grandson) I guess I'll have to deal with the rest of the family as well LOL. Back to the grind on Monday so stay tuned.

Shifting Gears

Well, the guys decided they had enough redfish action for this trip and wanted to focus on trout. We had pretty decent conditions this morning and I stuck my neck out and guaranteed a trout over twenty-five inches for these guys. Karl came real close with this 24"+ trout on a pumpkinseed/chartreuse Sea Shad. Click on the pic to enlarge.



Then Kyle bounced a Red Shad Saltwater Assassin around some waist deep rocks and was rewarded with a new personal best 26"er. We got several good pictures before releasing her.





All fish came on plastics today. The aforementioned Red Shad Assassin and Pumpkinseed/chartreuse Sea Shad as well as Royal Purple and Dark Strawberry Devil Eyes. All around rocks in waist deep to chest deep water.

Back In The Saddle

Not a great day but not too bad. We ended with 5 trout to 18" and 10 redfish with two oversize. All on the usual bloody/white Sea Shad on 1/16oz Title SHot jigs. Water is up slightly and most fish were in calf deep water around grass and potholes. Water temps are so warm that the fish are almost cooked when you land them LOL.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Well, I went fishing of course. Had the great opportunity and pleasure to fish with some good friends offshore for three days. The fishing was great and I am sore in places I didn't even know you could get sore. We trolled a five lure spread and I was the one in the chair when this big wahoo hit. Click on the photos to enlarge.



We deep dropped and caught a nice variety of fish. Chuck was catching them two at a time on knife jigs.



We did a little "chunking" at night near a deep water floating rig and got into some really nice yellowfin tuna. All in all it was a great time on the water. The weather cooperated nicely and we all got back safe and sound with just a couple of scratches LOL.



Looking forward to chasing some fish in somewhat shallower water. I'll be at it again starting tomorrow so stay tuned for a more "normal" report.

Confirmed

Took a wild bunch out today and had a blast. Traded insults and plenty of good natured ribbing. Put the new theory to the test and its confirmed. We started early out of habit but didn't really get into the fish until after noon. We ended up catching over twenty redfish and 5 or 6 nice trout. There were huge schools of drum on the flat with our redfish mixed in. Ankle to calf deep water using bloody/white Sea Shad and chartreuse Cocahoe minnows on 1/16 oz Title SHot jigs. All reds were sight cast and a couple of the trout were as well.

The Light Bulb Comes On

I may not be the sharpest pencil in the box but I can recognize a pattern when it slaps me in the face 5 or 6 times........ or can I?!?!

I mentioned that we have not had much of a morning bite recently. In fact it really killed one trip last week when the guys I was fishing with could only fish for the morning. See: Morning C&R Trip from July 30


Well, after discussing this with a few guide friends and a couple of other guys I know that have been fishing a lot lately, we all came to the same conclusion. The fish just are not biting very well until about noon or so.

I put the new found theory to the test yesterday. We had one red and 4 trout in the box at noon. Over the next three hours, we added six more trout to 19" and the redfish hordes came in waves until once again we were too tired to cast. Estimated 40 to 50 reds.

Ten trout to 19" and easy limits of redfish to just over 28" on Bloody/white Sea Shad and just about any red and white paddletail style baits we had. ankle deep to calf deep water over MUD and grass. Emphasis on the mud. I think I'll sleep late and try to recover. My calf and thigh muscles are aching today LOL.

And August Begins

Had an exceptional day today with easy limits of redfish. We caught plenty of trout but they were on the small side for the most part. We only boxed one trout but the hot and heavy redfish action more than made up for it.

Quote of the day---Bert: In my 48 years on this earth, I've never caught so many reds that My arms just got too sore to fish".

We didn't start counting until we had over 10 reds but we guesstimated we caught and released between 50 and 60 reds from just keeper size to 30".

Bloody/white Sea Shad and red whie Cocahoe Minnows in ankle deep to calf deep water over mud and grass. One word to anyone wanting to try this. Make sure you don't have any health problems because this is one UGLY wade.

July Is Done...... Finally

Its been a hot one for sure and for about the third straight trip there just hasn't been much of a morning bite. We managed a few reds and trout for the box and released one nice 25" trout but eberything came in the last hour and a half. Bloody/white Sea Shad on 1/16oz. Title SHot jigs in knee deep water over mud and grass was the pattern.