Ever had “one of those days” when Murphy’s Law (“If it can go wrong, it will go wrong”) prevails?
Yesterday, I had the good fortune to fish again with Ralph and Danny (Ralph’s brother). Last time I fished with Danny was nearly two years ago, and it was a memorable one, with 100+ solid trout caught. Danny hadn’t wet a line since January and had a small window to get out. Danny is the only person I have ever met who has the natural “feel” of a trout bite like Ralph. I guess its genetic. Ralph always says that when you grow up poor and hungry, and you only have one cricket, you learn not to lose a fish…
Anyway, we started out chunking plugs and had one mishap after another. Braided line caught in split rings (multiple times), fish missed at the boat (big one), line wrapped around the reel handle (lost fish and plug), fish dragging lure into structure (break off), minor electrical problems, etc! I’m probably forgetting a few but you get the picture. But, you might notice the common theme was fish mishaps. Yes, we were on a bite – the best one we have had since last spring, and what a feeling! It was nice catching some heavy trout again. We landed about 7 trout over 2.5 lbs and Ralph had the daymaker with one a little over 3.5 lbs.
After the sun came up, we switched to a rig that has been working really well for us in the post-flood tannic stained water: A Z-Man 3 in MinnowZ in rootbeer with a chartreuse tail. Anything with a chartreuse tail has been working well, but especially the MinnowZ. This is always a hot Fall lure, but I think the water color really makes this one stand out right now.
We found about 7 redfish and a couple flounder during the rest of the morning, and just really enjoyed the perfect weather and each other’s company. If you can swing it, get off the couch and get on the water – it’s prime time!
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See you on the water!