Got to the public ramp at 6:30 AM and was in the water by 6:50 AM. The launch took longer than usual due to my new rudder assembly. I was on the water right about sunrise, though, which was the plan.
The temperature was about 50, and the forecast wind was 8 mph. There was no wind when I arrived, but it slowly built to 8-10 mph over the next hour. Water temp was in the 50's. Water was very clear, with visibility to any depth I ran across, up to 8 feet or more. Moon was waning crescent, 3% visible. Sunrise 7:50a, moon rise 6:23a, moon set 3:37p. Majors 9:27a -12:27p,
9:25p- 12:25a, minors 5:23a - 7:23a, 2:37p - 4:37p.
Tide was moving out, as expected. However, the actual tide time was miscalculated, so I ended up launching at the beginning of the outgoing. Not optimal, since the site is very close to open water in the Gulf.
Drifted along with the tide/wind, blind casting a MR19 in moss green/silver. Landed an 18" trout on the edge of a choke point beside a mangrove island about 7:30 AM. Continued to drift out with the tide until 9:30 AM with no further success. Sunny and windy.
Not knowing the tide was miscalculated, I started paddling back inshore. My expectation was that the tide would turn to the incoming around 10 AM. Stopped at a sand bank to get out and stretch, and tossed an Exude in Golden Bream with no success. Paddled further inshore, and old man near the launch informed me that the low tide would be closer to 3 PM.
Worked the area around the launch for a while. Totally overcast now, and chilly from the consistent 10 mph wind with stronger gusts. Noticed the old man was free-lining live shrimp in the deeper channels just SW of the launch. He was losing bait, but it appeared to be pinfish or something of the sort. He never landed a fish.
At 11 AM I decided to tuck into the leeward side of an island and soak some bait. I put a Gulp shrimp on in new penny and tossed it into a deep cut. I put an Exude in Golden Bream on a 1/8 oz jig under a cork and cast that in the channel, as well. Laid back and rested/dozed for an hour with no activity.
At about noon, I padded farther SW across a large open water section to a small island. I was positioned immediately west off the bridge going to the ramp. I cast the Exude shimp on the jig to either side and in the lee, but had no luck. Still totally overcast and windy.
Decided to paddle over to a larger island to the west, as it had a larger area protected from the wind. The bank turned out to be a long flat running east to west. I cruised close to the bank to protect myself from the wind and cast toward deeper water with the Exude on the jig. After only a few feet, I spooked a school of reds sitting in about 1 ft of water.
I stopped and immediately cast parallel down the bank as far as I could. Landed a 23" red on this cast, in 18" of water or less. Worked this bank for the remainder of the day, drifting or wading back and forth. Ended up catching 3 reds (23, 22, and 21") and several small trout in this spot. The redfish were usually in shallower water, the trout in the deeper sections, about 3' or so.
Here are the second and third reds I caught here:
#3 had an electric blue tail, must have been eating lots of crabs:
The tide started to turn near 2:30 PM, so I paddled into a small cove on the NW side of the island. I paddled around the cove, casting into the center. At the western-most tip of the cove where the incoming tide was flowing strong, I caught a 22" red. Still totally overcast and windy.
Photo of the last redfish:
I started to work my way back and fished along the way. I hooked two trout (one good one) in the deeper cuts I had soaked bait in earlier, but was unable to boat either. Fished around the launch a little with no success. Pulled the boat out at 3:45 PM.
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