Its been quite an adventure the past few weeks down here in God's country. We've experienced lots of highs and only a few lows. Most of those were
due to the weather and for the most part was expected. After all, this is March!! The winds have blown early this month and we have had to dodge major cold
fronts packed with high winds, cold temps, water spouts and hail. Now that is what I call an adventure.
I have had so many memorable trips so far this year that it is difficult to pick a few that really stand out for my reports. We still have many firsts
happening and lots of personal bests. Our trout fishing has really picked up the past three weeks or so and even the bruiser redfish are cooperating on a
regular basis. Strangest of all is the appearance of numerous flounder. We have been regularly catching flounder in the 16 to 19 inch range as incidental catch
while chasing Big Girls. I have reaffirmed that God has a sense of humor. He didn't put handles on these fish and since I don't carry a net, landing
these great tasting little treats has been interesting to say the least.
Therefore, there will be no videos of me landing a flounder. I wouldn't want y'all to hurt youself laughing too much.
Gotta thank my friend Ross and crew for waiting out the big storm last week for two and a half hours in a cabin in Baffin when mother nature let loose with all
her fury. 74mph winds, water spouts and driving rain kept us cooped up until the winds let up to a roaring 30mph before we could head for home. Sure did make
for a long day.
But, to Ross' credit, he was a little on the happier side because he managed the big trout of the trip.
and the release
We survived the onslaught and I guarantee they will always remember this trip.
Things settled down somewhat before the next trip and we were again trying to figure out what our finned friends were up to. With the winds howling out of
both directions on consecutive days, the bay was definitely torn up. I was not real confident in the spots we had been fishing and decided to change tactics.
The waters had cooled an impressive 12 degrees overnight and the winds were still blowing 15mph out of the north when we headed out. It just felt cold even
though I have been out in it almost every day since January.
Mike, Michael and Puggs were up to the task and we headed out with high hopes. I proclaimed that I didn't really think much would happen before noon when
the waters had a chance to warm up a little. I told them to fish low and slow and expect the fish to be slow as well.
We hit our first stop and piled out of the boat with high hopes for another Big Girl. This spot had produced some solid trout recently and I was playing a
hunch that we could pick up a nice fish or two due to the close proximity to deep water. Mike was first to hook up and made my decision look like the right
one. Unfortunately, as the video shows, this one didn't end up exactly as we would have liked.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRVY9r11Jjk
Mike bounced back quickly from that little disappointment to hang another good fish on the same Norton Sand Eel (plum/chartreuse).
Here is a video clip of the fight. The fish was released after the pics were taken.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrLXFpIrYLw
The rest of the crew managed a few nice trout and I was stuck on one fish when I waded off to a little point and tried my luck casting into the wind. I was
rewarded with a solid thump and a big silver/gray flash greyhounding across the surface.......... a certifiable Big Girl. She tried her best to spit the Grape
colored Devil Eye to no avail. She made two long hard drag singing runs before I got her under control. Since I had taken Mike's pics, he returned the
favor and snapped a couple of action pics as I tried to land her.
And the release
We ground it out for 5 hours and were fairly satisfied with the results. We then decided to try to get a little line stretching in from some redfish. They were
mostly on the smaller size but we were planning on catch and release anyway. We did manage a couple of nice "tournament" reds in the 6 1/2 - 7 pound
range. We headed back in and it looked like Mike had had a hard day.
The next morning we got one of those rare calm foggy mornings I love so much on Baffin. The fog was so thick that we had to stay kinda close so we didn't
have any run-ins on the water. Puggs was first to hook up only minutes out of the boat. A black/chartreuse She Dog was the ticket and while the fish wasn't
a monster, it was the start to a good day on the water filled with several similar sized fish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilbbGJplpGc
Hot baits this month have been Brown Lures Devil Eyes in dark strawberry, grape, rootbeer/red glitter, and amber. Also, the small Saltwater Assassins and
4"Gambler Flappin' Shad in red/white are working quite well for redfish. The topwater bite has been sporadic but when they are on, Pink Skitterwalks,
Super Spook Jr's in just about any color and dark colored She Dogs when the water is muddy have all been good producers. I rig all my plastics on Hogies
1/16oz jigheads and fish them slowly on the bottom for best results.
March, April and May have been excellent months for me historically in Baffin and I am excited about our prospects as we head into this trophy season. I
don't think these fish have reached their peak weight yet as their egg sacs are just now showing some significant development. The future looks bright so
come on down and lets chase some Big Girls together. Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey
