It wasn’t Black Friday, but the reds of the Mosquito Lagoon were out looking for their own food deals. Reds were out in record numbers but they were not always interested in what I had to sell. We got up early and had a good place to fish and in the early going the catching was fantastic. We had 8 fly caught Reds or “sales” by 9 AM.
I do not have any photos for this post, but most resembled the “rat” Red that I posted last. The water was beautiful and air temperature about perfect; and following the 2 hour rain out that I experienced on Wednesday, it made watching football expendable. Besides a few muddy places that Mullet had been frolicking and or a Ray mingling the water was quite clear.
The Reds were very interested in the Baitfish pattern that I tied with “Steve Farrar’s flash blend” material. I did modify it slightly by adding larger eyes and a red throat. We each also landed a slot sized trout even though we had no intention of keeping fish due to the seasonal closure. In keeping with fisherman’s luck…I lost a beautiful trout after getting her close enough to touch and to “painfully” notice that the hook that was once in her mouth was barely hanging on in the underbelly.
Yes, I lost her. I actually did laugh when I saw the hook and before the Trout escaped. It was like hearing a great joke that you have heard before; just as the punch line was shared. We saw quite a few nice fish throughout the day.
We visited a few different places on Sunday. Both the Redfish and Trout were finicky. I guess they wanted to save themselves in case a better deal presented itself at a later date.
I did manage to catch a couple more smallish Redfish later in the day as the sun climbed higher and visibility improved. Often the improved visibility only meant that I would be able to see the fish, cast, and then watch it swim over and inspect “the fly” and reject it.
Keep your confidence all sales personnel and fishermen. It is just the beginning of the sales season. I’m hopeful that sales will continue to improve. Good luck on your next outing.
