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Off-Duty
It was about 11:45 on a Sunday a few weeks back that my dad’s friend called looking to see if I was available to go fishing. It being a Sunday and all, of course I was available to go fishing. It would only be for a few hours but, fishing is still fishing. I got geared up and met my dad’s friend, Capt. Raul Garza, at his house. I loaded up my gear on the boat and we launched.
Our trip was a time for both of us to relax and fish for fun. It was a quick getaway from being at school and at work. We were “off-duty” you could say. Our run was short. We got to our spot and Roy (Raul) set the boat up to drift. I rigged my rod with a lagunaflauge Kelly Wiggler ball-tail shad. I casted to a pothole that was about 30 yards ahead of me and hit my target. I worked my lure back to the boat without a hit. Of course it was only the first cast.
After a few casts, I finally got a hit. I had my lure almost to the boat and then, to my surprise, a hardhead came up and ate my lure. I knelt down, unhooked it, and then let it go. Disappointed that it wasn’t a trout, I cast back out to see if I could trick one into taking my lure. Roy, who was at the bow, was getting a lot of hits and then he finally stuck one. After Roy caught a trout, we both started catching trout. We were both catching little trout, but it was just so nice to be out fishing that it didn’t matter what we were catching. Roy was using a plum and chartreuse Kelly Wiggler and I was using my lucky lagunaflauge.
Soon, we drifted out of the fish and we tried to get back into them again on a few more drifts, but couldn’t manage to get the boat into the right position because the wind was shifting. So we decided to leave the potholes and hit another spot that Roy likes to fish.
We got out and waded this time. Roy got on the Intracoastal and I was up shallow. We were looking to see if the wind was pushing the big trout onto the dropoff of the flat into the Intracoastal. We walked and walked, without any luck. Then finally I got one hit casting up shallow. That was the only hit that either of us had while fishing this area.
We jumped back on the boat and took off towards our next spot. We were fishing a submerged spoil island this time. Roy got on one side of the island and I got on the other. The water was almost up to my chest. We waded anyways. Roy had a few hits as soon as we jumped off the boat. Then he started catching a few while I was struggling to keep my reel out of the water. We waded for about 30 minutes or so, and I still hadn’t had a hit but I still kept on fishing. The water was getting deeper and deeper, and then soon I was walking on my toes. Finally I had a hit and I set the hook. I fought the little trout and got it to me. I was in water so deep that the trout could’ve almost tail-slapped me. Roy had started to get into deeper water as well so we both agreed that it was time to move again.
On our last wade, we walked along the Intracoastal near some spoil islands. We walked out past the marker for the channel. We could both feel the tide moving out. The water was pulling out from under us and out towards the gulf. We had a few hits here and after about 15 minutes, I caught a small trout. Boats of all sizes were passing by us. And some of them came a little too close for comfort. Roy decided that it was best that we end our day where we started. We set up to drift. The wind was close to 30 mph, I would say. We were drifting pretty fast, but that didn’t stop us from finding some fish in the area. We checked the time and I realized that I had to be at work soon, so we called it a day. It was nice to hang out with Roy and fish a little. It was very relaxing and fun.
I hope everybody has a great and relaxing holiday. Be safe on the water and good luck catching that big one.
Our trip was a time for both of us to relax and fish for fun. It was a quick getaway from being at school and at work. We were “off-duty” you could say. Our run was short. We got to our spot and Roy (Raul) set the boat up to drift. I rigged my rod with a lagunaflauge Kelly Wiggler ball-tail shad. I casted to a pothole that was about 30 yards ahead of me and hit my target. I worked my lure back to the boat without a hit. Of course it was only the first cast.
After a few casts, I finally got a hit. I had my lure almost to the boat and then, to my surprise, a hardhead came up and ate my lure. I knelt down, unhooked it, and then let it go. Disappointed that it wasn’t a trout, I cast back out to see if I could trick one into taking my lure. Roy, who was at the bow, was getting a lot of hits and then he finally stuck one. After Roy caught a trout, we both started catching trout. We were both catching little trout, but it was just so nice to be out fishing that it didn’t matter what we were catching. Roy was using a plum and chartreuse Kelly Wiggler and I was using my lucky lagunaflauge.
Soon, we drifted out of the fish and we tried to get back into them again on a few more drifts, but couldn’t manage to get the boat into the right position because the wind was shifting. So we decided to leave the potholes and hit another spot that Roy likes to fish.
We got out and waded this time. Roy got on the Intracoastal and I was up shallow. We were looking to see if the wind was pushing the big trout onto the dropoff of the flat into the Intracoastal. We walked and walked, without any luck. Then finally I got one hit casting up shallow. That was the only hit that either of us had while fishing this area.
We jumped back on the boat and took off towards our next spot. We were fishing a submerged spoil island this time. Roy got on one side of the island and I got on the other. The water was almost up to my chest. We waded anyways. Roy had a few hits as soon as we jumped off the boat. Then he started catching a few while I was struggling to keep my reel out of the water. We waded for about 30 minutes or so, and I still hadn’t had a hit but I still kept on fishing. The water was getting deeper and deeper, and then soon I was walking on my toes. Finally I had a hit and I set the hook. I fought the little trout and got it to me. I was in water so deep that the trout could’ve almost tail-slapped me. Roy had started to get into deeper water as well so we both agreed that it was time to move again.
On our last wade, we walked along the Intracoastal near some spoil islands. We walked out past the marker for the channel. We could both feel the tide moving out. The water was pulling out from under us and out towards the gulf. We had a few hits here and after about 15 minutes, I caught a small trout. Boats of all sizes were passing by us. And some of them came a little too close for comfort. Roy decided that it was best that we end our day where we started. We set up to drift. The wind was close to 30 mph, I would say. We were drifting pretty fast, but that didn’t stop us from finding some fish in the area. We checked the time and I realized that I had to be at work soon, so we called it a day. It was nice to hang out with Roy and fish a little. It was very relaxing and fun.
I hope everybody has a great and relaxing holiday. Be safe on the water and good luck catching that big one.