Late Spring Surf Reds

Redfishing in the marsh is one thing. Sight fishing reds in the surf is another totally different game. These fish are usually bigger, stronger, yet just as spooky as their dark water relatives. I have been on some reds this spring off the beach and have been fishing them when conditions allow. It is very exciting throwing big baitfish patterns at these pretty pink reds, and there is always a chance at an excellent fish out in the surf. It has been decent so far this year, and it should only get better as the summer progresses.

Little guys eat big flies too

Afternoon Low Tide Success

With a good low tide about a couple hours before sunset, my bud Kevin and I hit the water looking for some reds. Since the water was still a bit high when we launched I made my way over to some higher flats that get bone dry at low. I found some reds working their way out of the grass and was rewarded with a nice 22" fish on the Abomination.

 We fished our way out with the tide and found a few more reds working as the tide fell. Kevin connected with one as I watched and told him there had to be a red sitting in a creek mouth.

Kevin and I split up, and I switched flies to a darker pattern as the water was a little turbid once the tide turned. I ended up finding some very nice reds working a bank hard. I made my way over to them quietly and was able to put a good cast over an oyster bar on one of them. I got the fish to eat on three seperate occassions, but could not get a good hookset because my line was laid up over the bar. This fish got wise to my tricks and I found another over slot red super shallow working some oysters. My first cast in to the fish was met with an explosive strike. It was a pretty precarious spot, wedged in between several jagged oyster bars, and the fish took me straight into one and cut me off. I was devastated, as the fish was well over 30", and I only get a handful of shots at fish like this a year. Hopefully this year will be different and I will meet him again soon. 

5-15 & 5-16 Flood Tides and Topwater Trout

After a couple of early flood tide scouting missions without much success, mid May finally brought some luck in the form of red gold in the grass. I found a nice spot to wade earlier in the year, and decided to give it a go during an evening flood. I found a pretty good fish working lazily in some thick grass and made a couple of casts to it before he finally decided to cooperate and swim towards the fly. He launched out of the water trying to get my fiddler imitation as it hung on a blade of grass. After he missed I picked it up and put it right back in his face and he ate. This was my earliest flood tide red to date...

I found one more nice red tailing on the edge of a big flat as the water began to fall and fed him the fly, only to feel the tell tale pop of a parted leader upon the hookset. I wasn't down though, getting them to eat is half the battle.

The next morning I ventured to a new area with a buddy who had been on an amazing topwater trout bite. It did not dissappoint. The fish were pounding bait on the surface right after sunrise, and most of them were solid trout. We ended up with around 20 between the two of us in a couple hours work.

Spring is quickly turning into summer and the fishing is heating up fast.



April 2011

March and April 2011 seemed to run together. Beside being extremely busy with work, and having the desire to hunt some spring turkeys, fishing took somewhat of a backseat. I was able to get out a few times throughout the month, but most of the good tides fell on inopportune days. Most of my fishing in April was at night. We still had some great trips, and I caught my personal best trout on fly, somewhere over 25" (I say somewhere because she slipped right out of my hands as I was measuring her, and I couldn't get a picture). I can say conservatively that my fishing partners and myself caught upwards of 150 trout this month on fly. So, I hunted, fished, and tied flies when I could. I gave the redfish a break, and had a pretty good month....

March Tides

With a nice warming trend, and steadily warming water the reds began to show themselves a little more in March. Surprisingly, I found some good fishing on morning tides. It seemed the fish were holding off on feeding hard until the low had come and the water began moving in. I did catch plenty of fish on the outgoing side of the tide, but it was bump and stop fishing. The real sight fishing occurred on the incoming tide when the fish worked the banks. I saw the first backing fish of the year early in March, and was rewarded with several throughout the month.

The fish on the outgoing tides came blindcasting areas I know to hold fish. Most of them were in that 22" to 24" range, but I did find a few nicer ones every once in a while. I came up with a new fly last fall that served me well in late 2010, and although I'm not one to name a pattern, especially when its modelled so closely after one of someone else, I began calling it the Marsh Demon. Its black and purple, has a good profile, and pushes some water. Its a great pattern for my neck of the woods because of our dark bottom. If my fishing day begins early, and low light prevails, its the fly I have tied on, but I have caught fish throughout the day on it. I primarily used this fly in March for blind casting duty, thinking it would show up better than a more natural colored pattern in the dirtier outgoing water.

When the tide switched and the fish became more active, I used an Abomination or some other light colored pattern to sight fish. It worked well, March was a great month...

The Warm Up Begins - Feb 2011

We had some very nice warm days in February, so against my better judgement, I left the trout and went looking for redfish. I got a nice new reel for my ultra-light rig and loaded it with 4lb braid. I knew where some reds had been hanging, so I made my way in there, set up and waited. It was a mid-day low tide, so the dark mud bottom had a chance to warm up a few degrees, which in turn warms the cold water coming back in on the incoming tide just enough to get the fish somewhat active. Sure enough, the reds began feeding gingerly, and I got a shot at one that came up on the oysters to feed. As soon as I threw the DOA in there the fish ate. It was a great fight on the ultralight line. Unfortunately, a local bait-chucking guide came in the same creek and ruined the bite. The cherry on top was when he asked me if I saw all the reds he just spooked. Yes I saw them jackass, but thanks for making sure. Anyway, I got my redfish fix, and got a good fish on the light rig...

Early 2011 Trout Madness

Well, with winter temps set in, the reds had pretty much gone dormant. The few months of the year that they don't move are the worst for me. Being a kayak fisherman, you lose your sight fishing ability when the fish are laid up and not moving. No more tails, no more wakes, just lazy laid up redfish that you didn't know were there until you run them over and are left with a puff of mud. To make things worse, they bunch up, so there's no mistaking what you just spooked, it was a pile of redfish. So, what to do?

Hit some deep water creeks and fish for seatrout. At least they are good to eat. All kidding aside, this is something I have been wanting to explore for several years now. I always postulated that a sinking line and a heavy clouser minnow would be effective at catching these winter fish. My strategy was to throw a jig on the spinning rod to find them and then drill them with the fly once their area had been identified. It worked, and we had some great days. Most of the fish were cookie-cutter 14.5" fish, but we usually managed more than enough trout within the slot to take home. We had some awesome days with over 50 fish, and although they weren't all like that, we caught fish using the sinking line technique every trip out. I tied up a modified clouser in pink and yellow that really worked well...

Some other colors worked as well, from black to white, but nothing beat the "funky chicken". Here's another color scheme that caught a few...

Every once in a while a rat red would join the party, as they often do. I guess the big reds don't like them around, and they find a more friendly environment with the trout...

Once in a blue moon, on warm sunny days, you could find slot reds repositioning on the bank, but it was a right place, right time kind of thing...

We did run into some good trout on occasion, and felt obliged to take a few home....

It was a fine diversion while waiting for spring to break, and I can't say I was unhappy about doing so well on the trout. I picked up a new technique, and am ready for winters to come. Hopefully there are more facets to this type of fishing to discover. I think there probably are.