Red Sky Morning, Redfish Take Warning

Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Low pressure adjustments mean slicked off glass is on the way. Saturday it pretty much stunned us with conditions going from big winds and gar hole water to slicked off and jetting clear. We had four boats on the water with three of them pressing all they could out of a half day for a bachelor party group. Capt. Doug worked with guests from Big D. that were dying to catch Redfish. With the other boats back at the ramp mid-morning with enough filets to make a couple rounds of Fish Tacos, Doug pressed on in impossible conditions. Capt. James on his way in from his half day called him and said “man I just ran over non stop schools of Reds over here”. That was impossible, trying to get on those fish in a glass fishbowl was going to be tough. Doug got centered on them and with passing boat traffic driving the fish at him, he went to working on them steadily. Doug pulled a full lim of Redfish for the newcomers to the Seadrift backwaters and my hats off to him for conquering a very difficult task. While working the Redfish over, Doug managed a hand full of Trout to 18″ to round things out. Capt. Jake; Capt. James; and Capt. Chris all managed to pull a few out of the water for the bachelor party but as Capt. James put it “as soon as the sun came up, it was over”.

“Walking Down It”

I was fortunate to welcome long time friend Chris Sherretts and his brother Kurt owners of Cee San Machine Shop in Houston along with their guests for a backwater run via airboat on Friday. Chris and I worked for Texas Waterfowl Outfitters back in the day along with Steve Hendricks; Mike McCutcheon; Bryan Lynn; Al & Tommy Gloss; Danny Lacount; and, Tim Spears among others. I was fortunate to experience these guys in their prime and at their best at the peak of our goose migration. What a heritage, a lineage and camo clad band of brothers absolutely eat up to the bone with waterfowl hunting and it’s efficacious presentation and execution. Chris’ visits tempt those memories, some faded more than others. Tim passed quite awhile back but his memory lives on in our stories along with his timeless taxidermy work here at The Lodge…I can remember his manorisms and could invision having pulled a trigger with him just yesterday. I do miss him, the boys, and those days.

Pressure In Fishing/Guiding, Self Imposed or External is a NO/NO

We eased out on the water pressing into the back marsh still windy enough to keep us in proactive mode. We hit a few spots early with little to show for the effort before finally hitting a nice school just off the beaten path and eager to please. Chris is one of those veteran guides that is completely unflappable and quick to give you the nod like “don’t sweat this, we’ll have a good time whether we catch fish or not gestures”. Pressure is an interesting component of fishing and the guiding business part in particular. Applying more pressure to yourself or your guide will guarantee inverse results. Pressure has no part in the fishing tool box. Admittedly, I was feeling a little pressure. Sure I wanted to beat the odds and put on a show for my old friend. My strategy was the right one and Chris’ zero pressure character added the extra edge that allowed me to “navigate the challenges of the day”. We even managed a milestone as Chris’ brother Kurt caught his very first Redfish and second Redfish, heck and his limit with me which was very special to me. I had no idea he’d never caught a Redfish before, how awesome is that.

All in all it was a great string of days with a great bunch of guests. As always, we hope the start of the week is a good one for everybody. Come see us when you get a chance!

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
Twitter: @Castaway_Lodge
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