Who's in charge?
Posted: August 23rd, 2006, 3:27 pm
So I had a chance to hit the flats yesterday and catch the afternoon falling tide. After meeting up with a couple of buddies in their boat, we headed to Stony Bayou, they choose one creek and I the other. An hour or so passed with not even the slightest hint of redfish and only a couple of tiny trout for me, my buddies had a couple of good hook-ups and were on the reds 
. I ventured into this previously unknown creek and decided to try a Redfin lure. Well on the second cast, WHAMMO!!!! A huge splash and then nothing but the sound of line being stripped from my reel! I was loving it 
, this thing was the largest redfish I've ever caught, he was easily 30"+ and all bull. He fought in front of me, then to my side (giving me a nice view of this monster in 3 feet of water), and then he darted to the side one more time before heading for the rear. This is where things got interesting. This bull was still stripping line and making runs for the grass, big mistake. Out of nowhere comes this 8 foot alligator, he darts out, chops down on this red and just sits there. I'm in complete shock 
, then I get ticked 
. In a desperate struggle I yank on my line with the drag all the way down and I actually start to pull the gator and red towards me, that is until the gator decides to submerge. So here I was in the heat of a awesome fight with a huge red, only to have it stolen by an ol' gator. Well stupid me keeps trying to pull the red out of the gators mouth, with absolutely no luck. Then a stroke of genius! I'll startle the gator by starting my motor and thus causing him to drop his prey, yeah right, he just ran for the grass. So in one last desperate attempt to somehow get my fish back, I threw the motor in reverse and positioned the boat right on top of this monster, he could have cared less. That gator shot out from under my boat cutting the line on my trolling motor on his way out. Gone was the gator, my nice Redfin lure (hard to find at the Big Box-Mart) and my redfish, a most disappointing day on many levels 
.
Well after cooling off and putting things in perspective I decided to go back to the same spot and try again, this time with some live shrimp and Gulps. I'm pleased to say that this bull's brethren were still in the creek and still hungry
Lesson learned, sharks and dolphins aren't the only predators that will steal a good fish. Power Pro fishing line with a 20lb fluorocarbon leader will not only handle a hefty red, but a big ol' gator too. And finally, no matter how good we think we are, out there nature is in charge
. I ventured into this previously unknown creek and decided to try a Redfin lure. Well on the second cast, WHAMMO!!!! A huge splash and then nothing but the sound of line being stripped from my reel! I was loving it , this thing was the largest redfish I've ever caught, he was easily 30"+ and all bull. He fought in front of me, then to my side (giving me a nice view of this monster in 3 feet of water), and then he darted to the side one more time before heading for the rear. This is where things got interesting. This bull was still stripping line and making runs for the grass, big mistake. Out of nowhere comes this 8 foot alligator, he darts out, chops down on this red and just sits there. I'm in complete shock , then I get ticked . In a desperate struggle I yank on my line with the drag all the way down and I actually start to pull the gator and red towards me, that is until the gator decides to submerge. So here I was in the heat of a awesome fight with a huge red, only to have it stolen by an ol' gator. Well stupid me keeps trying to pull the red out of the gators mouth, with absolutely no luck. Then a stroke of genius! I'll startle the gator by starting my motor and thus causing him to drop his prey, yeah right, he just ran for the grass. So in one last desperate attempt to somehow get my fish back, I threw the motor in reverse and positioned the boat right on top of this monster, he could have cared less. That gator shot out from under my boat cutting the line on my trolling motor on his way out. Gone was the gator, my nice Redfin lure (hard to find at the Big Box-Mart) and my redfish, a most disappointing day on many levels . Well after cooling off and putting things in perspective I decided to go back to the same spot and try again, this time with some live shrimp and Gulps. I'm pleased to say that this bull's brethren were still in the creek and still hungry
Lesson learned, sharks and dolphins aren't the only predators that will steal a good fish. Power Pro fishing line with a 20lb fluorocarbon leader will not only handle a hefty red, but a big ol' gator too. And finally, no matter how good we think we are, out there nature is in charge
To bad you didn't get your Red.
