Muddy water Redfish

As I drove the 600 miles to Mississippi, all I could think about was catching my first Redfish on a fly. My wife and youngest daughter make this trip with me every year so the Big Tuna was the kayak of choice since it can be fished tandem or solo. We were staying at my cousins house on the edge of Bay St Louis, with it's many fingers coming off the river it looked like there would be plenty of opportunity to hook up with some fish. Waking up in the morning I paddled out of the canal into the river working my way across to one of the many fingers to explore.

The water is very muddy with hardly any visibility which made it hard to see any of the Redfish as I worked my way through the grass flats. A few fish broke the surface by me and exploded on the shrimp imitator that was presented to them, taking to the air I had hooked up with my first of many Skip Jack that were in the area. The poor man's Tarpon doesn't dissapoint with it's strength and multiple jumps as it tried to get free.

The area was so fishy looking and I was able to catch a limit of Reds but they all came on a baitcaster.

Some of the area that was fished. This is from inside of one of the fingers that I explored.

 Paddled around 5-6 miles every day and caught a limit each day of Redfish. Upon returning to the house on the second afternoon the water erupted by me. I tossed a spinnerbait into the flurry and immediately hooked up with something large that pulled me around in the kayak for over twenty minutes. I had to tighten the drag all the way down and thumb the spool so I didn't get spooled. Finally it came to the kayak and when I went to net it the Jack Cravelle had one more burst left in it and broke my 40lb braid. What a fight that was, guess it didn't want it's picture taken.
Sunday came and my Cousin and I drove to Louisiana to meet up with our friend that we fish with in Myrtle Grove which is one of the areas that is part of the Swamp Men Alligator hunting show.
I took the Mini Mag as well as baitcaster and was determined to catch a Red on the fly. Again I was met with muddy water and strong winds but I still threw it and struck out. Needing fish for the fish fry I picked up the baitcaster and was able to put a couple of Reds in the boat. It is hard throwing a fly rod with three people in the boat, I laughed everytime they ducked.

While I fished everyday my wife and daughter caught crabs for the big feast. Here are some pictures of the buffet.

The best part of the trip was spending the time with my family and completely ignoring work. The highlight of the trip was rigging the kayak tandem and paddling my daughter around as she fished.

Slideshow of the many pictures taken during the week.
Again, thank you for reading and following me on my adventures.

Headed to the Big Easy

Heading out on Wednesday for some R&R which will consist of chasing around redfish in the marshes of Louisiana. Since starting fly fishing, this will be my second try at catching some on a fly rod. Needing something to turn over bigger flies as well as the short distances I was able to aquire a TFO Mini Mag blank to build on.
Choosing an all black weebed reel seat and stainless black snake guides I put the finishing touches on it last night and took it off the dryer this morning. I wrapped the guides in dark black and all of the trim work was done in teal color. For a hook keeper I uses a snake guide for a different look.
Now to catch that redfish.........................

Ahead of the Storm

Having been run off my local river lately by lunatics floating in tubes without fishing poles, it was time to head out to the Colorado river for the weekend with a couple of friends.
Rain was in the forecast for both days but not being on the water for what seemed like an eternity there was no way it was going to postpone this trip. Made the drive to the river and carefully backed down the side of the bridge to the launch spot and was greeted with the voices of friends who I haven't seen in awhile. After a short shuttle we pushed off from the bank into the moving water and the weekend had now begun.

The water was up and muddy from the recent rains. There was a lot of debris and the banks were choked with grass as well as the grass being pushed along by the current, making it extremely difficult to work the fly rod with any consistancy. With the current pushing us along, we pounded every inch of the water with a few takers here and there.

The heat was halted by the occasional dip into the river to cool off and relax. I took the new Big Tuna out for it's maiden voyage. This is the second time i've fished and camped from one and it is an impressive fishing platform. I was able to stand and fish with ease as well as move around in it.

As we fished, the clouds started building up with a menacing look so we made our way down to the island at a little faster pace. Along the way I was able to pull in this 6lb largemouth which was the largest that I would catch this trip.

Upon reaching the island and setting up camp, it was then that I realized that the rain fly for my tent was still hanging in the shed from the last trip. Good thing I brought an emergency tarp. While it only covered 3/4 of the tent it would come in handy during the night.

After gathering wood and starting the fire, it was time to hop in the river to relax and cool down after a long day on the water.

The night got a little eerie after dinner. The clouds in the sky were electrical with the most amazing light storm that i've ever been in. It looked as though we were in the eye of a storm the whole time. I was awoken around 3am by rain hitting my feet, it was short lived and the tarp had done it's job.
We hit the water around 8:30 in the morning to a rising muddy river. The fishing was not that great so we took out earlier than normal. We got off the river in time, it rose 11 feet on Monday due to a nice storm the night before. Can't wait to get back out there.

Matrix (Not the Movie)

This was the first of two blanks that I purchased a few months ago and finally had the time to build.
Finished this one the other night and i'm happy with the outcome as well as the action.
The cork grip is custom built by gluing different colored pieces of cork together then shaping to form on the lathe with sandpaper. The guides are wrapped in Denim colored thread with some Copper trim bands. Now it needs to find a home.

More info on the rod here Matthews Custom Rods

Big Tuna Kayak (Preview)

I custom ordered a new Big Tuna kayak in a black and orange color pattern. My wait is over, I picked it up today and will get it into the water soon. This kayak is so stable that even with my weight i'm able to walk around in it and throw the fly rod while standing. The seat when put in the upper position allows me to cast the fly rod with ease as well as see obstacles under the water. Will also be able to use it in the tandem setup when my daughter goes fishing with me. Now I just need to get it into the water.

I will put up a review as soon as a few trips are made.