Just when you don’t think it can get any worse, be careful what you wish for. Yesterday looked like a banner day compared to this morning’s weather, but you don’t know if you don’t go. With the air temperature in the low 40’s I decided we would let the sun get up before we embarked on today’s trip. The wind had not let up from yesterday at all, but it had clocked around to the north some. I knew this would mean a giant negative tide and plenty of exposed flats, thus trapping any fish in the nearby holes and troughs. It was a good plan in my mind, however, when we got halfway to our destination I could see solid muddy water and 2 to 3 foot swells with lots of white. I asked my clients if they were game and they were, I wish they had said no! After a 10-minute hell ride we arrived at the first hole only to find 50-degree water temperatures, it always amazes me how fast our water cools off. I knew immediately that this plan was a bust, but we had made the ride so we gave it a try. After 30 minutes, a couple moves, and several casts, we had zero bites, so I informed my crew we were going back through the washing machine to find some warmer and protected water in the river.
This would have been my first plan if it weren’t for the giant low tide making me think we would have no water in the river and trapped fish waiting in the holes. Well at least it didn’t take me all trip to figure that out, and once we got in the river it instantly got better for just the mere reason of less wind and warmer air. We planned to fish some spring-fed bayous and deeper docks as the water was coming in at a good clip. We arrived at the spring to find birds working, mullet flipping, and 64-degree water. We got warmed up with some ladyfish and Jack Cravelle, both were a welcome sight I can assure you. After the spring bite, we decided to see if we could find some Redfish or Black Drum hanging around any of the docks. We stopped at 3 or 4 docks before we found one with a 40-foot boat a good depth, which was holding a good bunch of just what we were looking for. The Redfish were not very big but the Black Drum were all 3 to 5 pounds and pulled like trucks in the deeper water. We even managed to get a couple of very nice Sheepheads although it took some practice to hook these bait stealers.
All in all, what started as a day I wasn’t sure we would even get in turned out to be a very good and more important comfortable day. One thing is for sure if the temperature in the morning is chilly and the North wind is blowing, I’m positive I will not be lured into the hope that fish will be stacked in the holes this time!
Till tomorrow tight lines.
