Silver And Gold

Today is Fair Day.

The Fort Bend County fair is a big deal and lots of folks are involved - good that means less people will be fishing!

Tracy and I made a plan that I would get up early and go kayak fishing in the marsh and after lunch we would go to Matagorda for some shell-picking and surf fishing.

The weather was supposed to be good and I had been itching to get the boat in McNab Lake all summer. I got up at 5AM and since everything had been loaded the evening before I was on the road in short order.

I was paddling into the marsh just after 7AM and the crabbers and folks looking for bait were already showing up at the launch.

Early Morning in the Marsh

Someday I will listen to the voices in my head that tell me to paddle non-stop until I reach the lake but not this day.

I have a hard time passing up bait jumping and big swirls.

I finally reached the cove where I had previously caught reds and switched from the topwater I had been throwning to a 3" New Penny Gulp Shrimp. I tagged a rat red and got these nice pictures:

Rat Red


Gold Digger

The sky over me was still clear but dark clouds were gathering in the west and a breeze was kicking up making it difficult to stay in one position.

I kept hearing a fish busting bait nearby in the marsh and decided to cast a few times as close as I could get without moving gthe boat. I was pretty firmly wedged in some marsh grass and had a fairly good orientation to the spot. On the third cast I got a hit and as I tightened up I knew I was in the "gold".

Supper!

This 21" bulldog gave me a great fight. He swallowed the hook so I tied on a #2 kahle hook and rigged up another Gulp.

I was juiced after stringing him up and promptly missed another on my next cast. These reds would mouth the bait and sit still while doing so. If you thought a fish was taking the shrimp, you had to wait until it started moving before setting the hook. I pulled the shrimp right out of the fish's mouth!

The weather was going from bad to worse and I headed for the launch.

On the way in I came upon a spot where a slough emptied into the main channel. The bait was nervous and jumpy and I decided to try a cast or two. It was a good thing I did as Mr. Big was just laying there waiting for me!

Two Reds

I was a happy camper when I got him on the stringer and kept moving towards the road when I saw a blow-up along the side ahead of me. I eased out my trusty rod and dropped Mr. Gulp about 10 yards ahead of the comotion and began working it back.

I was pleasantly surprised when I hooked a keeper speck on the retrieve.

Silver & Gold

I had two more opportunities but let's just say that they will be there for another trip. I had some unique experiences this morning fishing in the marsh, like this crab posed for a shot and then proceeding to literally rip the shrimp to shreds before I could get him to turn loose.

Turn Me Loose

Don't fall out of the boat!