Rat Reds On The Flats

After shopping at WalMart this morning and stocking up on some Storm paddletail baits, I decided to sneak off and do some late afternoon fishing at Gator Creek for some rat reds on the flats.

It was pretty windy this afternoon when I crossed the bridge so topwater fishing was definitely out of the question.

I took a few pics of the construction that is ongoing along the causeway before turning into Gator Creek road.

 

As I entered the refuge there were four groups of anglers wading the shallows fishing with live shrimp.

One of the guys had a fish on but I didn't take the time waiting to find out what it was.

I meandered to the spot I fished yesterday and although I didn't see any signs of fish, I decided to give it a try anyway.

I tied on one of the Storm baits I picked up this morning at WalMart and began blind casting the area.

After about 10 minutes, I hooked into a redfish on a dropoff.   The fish was small enough to be considered a "rat" so I took a pic, removed the hook, and put it back into the clear water to grow up.

After several casts I hooked into a larger fish that I  also released.

After missing a couple more taps, I moved up the road to another spot in the same general area of the mud flat and began blind casting.

Almost immediately, I hooked and released a sea trout that just made the slot.  The fish was hooked deep but I got the bait out and the fish was none the worse for wear.

After a couple more casts I hooked into another red that was about the same size as the previous fish.  I took another pic before releasing it.

To make a long fish story shorter, I hooked, landed and released five more rat reds on the flats before the bite died off.   The largest two fish were slot size or slightly larger.

On the way out of the refuge, I drove around East Gator Creek to pitch a few casts in likely looking areas but never got a hit.

I took some pics of the receding waters on the flats before heading home for some dinner.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.