Especially if it's a Red Drum Stick!
Apologies for the poor play on words. The major period for fishing yesterday was in the morning. But with temps still in the 40s, I decided to hold off until noon-ish.
Right before I was ready to gear up, the phone rang. It was Captain DiPaola, heading north on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. He was heading home to Bethany Beach to host Thanksgiving for his family. I suggested he stop for a bit to do some fishing. Joe demurred, as he had to pick up a Turkey that afternoon. I countered with a reasonable suggestion; fish, forget the Turkey, and pick up Wa Wa Gobblers for the family....
I mean, it's a Thanksgiving feast, and without the prep! For some reason, though, Joe listened to his better angels and proceeded on his way.
So I had the lower bay to myself. Got on the water around 12:15. Partly cloudy skies, air temps in the 50s, water temps the same, no wind, flat seas. A low tide scheduled to come in at 12:30. I brought both spinning and fly gear, but decided to go with the fly rod, since conditions were perfect for this average caster.
Hit our go-to spot at the sothernmeost breakwater off Bay Creek. A pretty good video:
I started at the breakwater, and on the third cast picked up a small Red on the EP Baitfish pattern I've been using all fall. It's a bit chewed up, and the eyes are missing. But the fish don't seem to care.
After several more casts without a strike, I continued down towards the mouth of Plantation Creek, casting every once in a while, again with no action.
When I got down to the mouth, the tide was way out, and I could wade over 100 yards off the beach and still the water never got up to my knees. A lot of Mullet jumping around, and every once in a while, I could see disturbed water - tell-tale signs that Redfish were around.
As soon as I started casting the action began. Water was shin deep, and crystal clear. While I was taking fish on blind casts, every so often I spied Reds swimming, and cast to them like we would when stalking Bonefish. A lot of fun watching the take. The fish were only around 15-16 inches, but still a fun pull on the fly rod.
From 12:45 or so until 3:30, it was non-stop hooking and catching. Didn't keep a count, but I'm pretty sure I had a strike or landed a fish every 4-5 minutes. Around 2:30 a slight wind picked up and more clouds came in, so the stalking ended and I fished back up to the breakwater. Every spot I cast to resulted in at least takes, if not hookups. Even hooked and landed a few in the slot, with the biggest around 22 inches or so.
It was one of those times where I'd tell myself that it was the last cast for the day, only to get a hit or a hookup. After a few "last casts," the sun was lowering, and the air temps got cooler. A sign that it was time to head home.
Happy Thanksgiving, and Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
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