Its Hard To Beat A Chug Bug

Over the years I've learned that its hard to beat a Chug Bug for topwater fishing under almost all conditions and this afternoon's trip to Gator Creek again proved my point.

I got back to town late Friday, but didn't get a chance to wet a line until late Sunday afternoon.

The weather was typical for late August.  Hot, slightly breezy, with late afternoon thunderstorms being the norm.

I brought my usual array of spinning rods, all tipped with Chug Bugs and XPS Slim Dog topwater baits to fish the grassy flats in Gator Creek.

The slight breeze on the shallows made the Slim Dog a bit difficult to present properly, so I spent most of my time tossing a couple of Chug Bugs around the deeper drops.

I was hoping for some tarpon, but I never saw one roll all the time I was on the water.  I did manage to do quite well on ladyfish and sea trout.

The first couple of spots I stopped at produced some followups and a couple of medium sized ladyfish which I took some pics of and quickly released.   

I spent some time fishing an area in the shallows where I nailed a tarpon a few weeks ago when I was last home and was rewarded with several spotted sea trout ranging in size from 14" to 25", all on the Chug Bug

I was fishing two sizes and found that the smaller size was getting more fish.  The larger size Chug Bug got less hits but in every case, larger fish.

I spent a total of about two hours on in the area before the wind picked up and I got tired of casting to fish.

The huge horse flies that made a meal of my shins also had a lot to do with me giving it up early.

Although there were plenty of gators in the area, I think they really need to rename Gator Creek, Horse Fly Creek.

Anyway, I fished all the way up to the entrance of Catfish Creek Loop which for some unknown reason is still closed to vehicle traffic.

I managed to catch and release 7 ladyfish, 6 spotted sea trout and I missed a small redfish and several more sea trout in a small pond all in a couple of hours.

I plan on getting out this week with my fly rod and see if I can still jump some juvenile tarpon and snook in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.