A Long Paddle in St Charles Bay, January 2016

Years ago several friends showed me a spot where one could wade out and catch nice sheeps head and drum. I hadn’t fished the spot in quite a while but Renita and I decided to load the kayaks and try the old hotspot.

Pushing off we paddled a few feet and then dropped the anchor. Baiting our hooks with live shrimp we cast to several different spots hoping the fish were there. Waiting a bit, we waited some more and more and more and more. The fish weren’t there.

Leaving the spot we paddled further into St Charles Bay and were soon at the next spot. Repeating the process we again failed to have any hits. However another kayaker paddled past us and caught two nice speckled trout, using a plastic tailed jig. We were both surprised that the fish weren’t hitting our live shrimp so we paddled around him, making sure we didn’t disturb his spot.

Further duck blinds all marked spots and even though we were careful to make a quiet approach the fish were still absent. The wind was calm and the water still so we talked it over and decided to head back to our last chance hole. It meant that we would have a long paddle back as the wind usually comes up in the afternoon making a long tiring paddle into the prevailing southeasterly wind.

As we paddled three whooping cranes flew nearby but our cameras were stowed and we didn’t get any images, (later we would see them feeding in a field in Lamar). Reaching our target Renita cast out and quickly caught a small rat red, an undersized fish.

My turn came next and I caught a keeper black drum followed by another small red.  We got busy catching fish, most were undersize, but it didn’t matter as we were having fun. The bite slowed and so we were able to sit back and eat our lunches.

A bright pink rosette spoonbill flew right over us and again we didn’t have our camera out. Keeping an eye out for alligators I almost fell asleep but Renita woke me as she said fish on! I netted her black drum and for a while the reds and black drum alternated our poles and kept us busy.

We caught enough fish for dinner before the bite slowed. The wind had picked up and so we called it a day we as we begin the long trip back. It took us forty five minutes to return to the takeout point and we were both sore from using muscles we usually don’t strain.

It’s always fun to float the shallow saltwater marshes, even when we don’t catch any fish. Today we had a fun day together, a good workout, a dinner of fresh baked black drum, and a nice day being entertained with reds, blacks, whooping cranes and other Coastal Bend birds. Could a day get any better?  Clear skies