So I expected in light of this the fishing to be affected. Near shore yesterday was quite different. Bait was scarce, fish wouldn't stay still. I see today was similar to yesterday in that regard. There are still plenty of mullet in the backwaters and shrimp were in 40' of water as well as still in the backwaters. I marked sea mullet on the ledges from 20-40' so I am still expecting a great fall near shore.
Today I got to venture into the backwaters my favorite way, via kayak. For the past year I've been trying out some new boats to me, Diablo Hybrid Kayaks. I have the roto molded and the polycarbonate version. They are about 12'. Man!! I sure have enjoyed them too. They are ultra stable, quick, easy to paddle/pole and have huge cockpit. Usually I take my 90# lab with me as well as my gear. I weigh about 280#. Still plenty of stable even in less than favorable conditions.
Because of my love to stalk drum in ultra skinny water in prefer a paddle platform yak. Go ahead and get a great paddle for many years, I use a Werner, Shuna hooked. So I loaded up and hit my favorite close by Creek, loaded for Trout and reds. I launched and within moments found a nice rip down current of a pinch point and found a one man limit of keeper trout. Highwater cigar cork and slayer 5" jerk shad with a 4 horseman hook made for corkin' did the trick. The depth was a current ripped ledge in about 4' of water.
I saw shrimp getting pushed on the bank and paddled over, first cast yeilded a fiesty 23" red. For keeper sized Target corkin' I use a 7'6" medium (8-15#) St. Croix rod, 15# braid and most of the season 25# leader material. This usually does the trick. I use all the types of corks at different times of the year, and few different lure combos depending on my mood or to match the hatch.
The backs of the deeper creeks have not been my go to yet, will not likely be so till the water gets cooler. I checked anyhow outta curiosity, there was still good bait but less fish on the higher tide at least. So I moved back out to the grass flats I'd been working since the spring. First cast with topwater, a solid red pushed up behind the plug for probably 20'. I switched to to small pattern, bam a solid take. At one point I had a nice puppy drum on the plug rigged with pair of in-line singles and another like sized red was fighting for the same plug. This was within sight of me as I stood up in my Diablo yak.
I hooked three reds, and missed another 8. Some of the fish followed for nearly 30' and pursued till my rod tip. One swiped so close the water hit my face. To say the least I was impressed, I've seen better but not too shabby. So in conclusion, I continue to believe we're gonna see a great fall. I'll be booking trips steady through mid December, I still have dates available. Reach out considering I'm expecting weather rescheduling to occur.
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