Duet

 


I had promised my cousin I would take him to catch his first Redfish two years ago  I figured it was time to make good on that promise. While every other kayaker from the region was down in Grand Isle for the Ride the Bull the worlds largest kayak tournament. We decided to hit the marsh for slot reds but just as much fun.  We woke up at 5am and headed down the road to get an early launch and beat the storms that would be rolling in around 11 or 12.


We launched right on time and headed out into the dawn we could see a few storms in the distance but they stayed away and the sun roe to reveal a calm morning perfect for fishing. We made it to the pond and we started to look for signs of life we quickly found a corner of the pond that had a couple drains and lots of water movement. As we got closer we could see little mullet and shrimp popping then we saw a signature tail . I got closer and sent my topwater perfectly on the bank I walked it a couple times and a large v shaped wake formed behind the lure . I struggled to keep my partner composed and in the kayak this was his first shallow water redfish experience. The fish followed all the way to the boat before it decided it had seen enough exploding missing all the hooks and disappearing in a cloud of marsh mud. Minutes after this disappointment my partner was sounding off again he could see a red cruising through the clear water. We never got a lure in front of this fish as it swam right into the back of my kayak and spooked. I swung and missed on another chatterbait fish in the same area before I decided to leave and let the area rest for the return trip. We moved back out into the main pond looking for more broken areas and trenasses. I  finally got a good hookset on a point in the main pond a solid upper slot red on the topwater. I was quickly relieved of my fish fighting duties. Minutes later we had a nice slot red I tried to convince him to release it but he was set on taking it home and frying it up. At this point we had what we came for and I we probably could (should) have gone home happy but we continued. I had thought we were on track but the rest of the day was frustrating we sight fished half a dozen good fish and lost all six someway or another. it was still early just after 9 but Before long the wind started picking up. We could see a large storm coming from the east so I decided we should  headed back to the launch. We got back just in time to miss the rain but we will be back. The fishing should be getting better and better as we transition from summer to fall.