Still Looking For a 30"

We hit the water around three this morning and picked up some trout in the lights at the secret spot in Galveston. At five we loaded up and headed to the Red Fish hole to try for some topwater madness. The Reds were thick but not wanting to commit to any good strikes. I had numerous blowups and tail slaps but no takers until I started throwing my new go to bait (Red Daddy Assassin Spinner with an opening night sea shad). As soon as that spinner hit the water it was Fish-On, I caught five trout with one at 28.5” and one 23” red fish. There were also a few throw backs and some missed fish mixed in so all in all it was a good day. It would have been a great day if that trout would have been the 30” I’ve been looking for all my life. When I set the hook on her I was sure it was a red fish, but when she gave up and came to the surface I was shocked when I saw a black back instead of the bronze one I was expecting. As soon as I saw that log surface I was almost sure that is was the one I had been waiting for, but once again it was just a little short. After a quick measurement and some pictures she was set free to see another day.

LONE STAR KAYAK SERIES

LONE STAR KAYAK SERIES

Fished the first LSKS tournament Saturday and Mother Nature put it to me again. The wind was blowing and all I could find were trout and a few under size reds. If your looking to get into tournament fishing the LSKS is a good tournament to get started with. The entry fee is reasonable and the payout is good. 

IFA PORT ARANSAS

IFA PORT ARANSAS

I fished the IFA in Port Aransas last weekend and it was a windy one. The fishing wasn’t great but I got lucky on Sunday and the one bite I had was a nice twenty seven and a quarter inch red. That one red fish landed me in sixth place for the tournament and top place fishing from a Hobie kayak.

Prefront fishing

We made a quick trip down to the island "Galveston" before the front came through and it paid off pretty well. We managed to get four limits of trout to 24” and eight reds to 28” between four of us. Most fish fell victim to Saltwater Assassins, and a hand full were caught on Corkys. This is going to be a short post due to the fish fry we are about to have. Love them fried fishes.

Wind, rain, and a yak load of fish

After looking at the weather this morning I made an executive decision to head down to cold pass anyway. The whole drive down I was hoping the weather guessers and the radar were wrong as they usually are when it’s supposed to be nice. When I met up with Brian at the KOA camp grounds we were greeted with a cold thirty+ MPH north east wind and rain. After making another well thought out decision we decided to unload the yaks and give it hell. Once we were on the water we headed to the north side of cold pass, which was a wild ride with the tide going out and the wind blowing in. When we arrived at the secret spot it was FISH ON all day. At the end of the day my total was twenty+ reds from twenty one - twenty five inches, two trout sixteen and eighteen inches and one little flounder at fourteen inches. Brains total was two reds at twenty two inches and one I donated to him. Two reds were caught on gold and black topwater and the rest of the fish were caught on Texas roach salt water assassins sea shad.

West Bay Reds

Made a trip down to west bay Sunday morning and managed to pick up two twenty five inch reds. The wind was blowing and the bite was slow but the two bites I had resulted in two solid reds that were perfect for lunch. The first red fell victim to a corky and the second came on a saltwater assassin. I talked to some other fishermen while I was out there and most came up empty and some had a few trout. The fishing could have been better but it was still a good day to be on the water with some fellow yakers.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of flying out to Collinsville IL to help Amy and Cyril from ST Louis sail and paddle promote the Hobie kayaks at the Lets Go Fishing Show. We had a lot of fun spreading the word of how much fun you can have in a Hobie kayak and all of the accessories that are available, like the new collapsible leaning post for the Pro Angler. I can’t wait to get my hands on one, it will be nice to have something to lean against while fighting some big reds. Saturday and Sunday Jackie Smith (football hall of famer and designer of the Hobie Pro Angler) came out to give us a hand talking to people about all of the things you can do in a kayak. At the end of the day on Saturday I walked around the end of the isle that our booth was on and saw some shoes on a rack that caught my eye. I went over to check them out and was greeted by a really nice gentleman named Mike. While talking to Mike about the shoes I tried a pair on and walked around for a few minutes with them and found they were very comfortable. Well when it was all said and done I left with a bright yellow pair of ZEKO shoes and they are my new favorite shoes. I sported my new shoes from the time we left for the show Sunday morning until I arrived back home in Houston Sunday night. No more sweaty feet and my feet felt great even after being on them all day, I know these shoes will be awesome in the kayak. Photo left to right Josh MacNaughton,Jackie Smith, Amy Narishkin