Tossing Chug Bugs On A Chilly Sunday Afternoon

Tossing Chug Bugs on a chilly Sunday afternoon turned out to be 

Our first real cold front moved through the area last evening and the fish in the wildlife refuge were not eating.  The bite was slow to nonexistent but  the fish were out there.

I totally forgot about the time change and lost an hour of fishing time, but since the redfish and sea trout weren't cooperating, I didn't care too awfully much.

I only saw one other fisherman in the refuge this afternoon and I totally forgot to get his name.

He was tossing Chug Bugs like I was doing most of the time.  We talked

The air temperature this afternoon was in the 60s and there was little to no wind on the water.  It should have been a stellar day for sea trout on top water baits but they were not cooperating.

I had a couple of followups but no hookups when the other fisherman drove up.   The first time we talked he said hadn't caught anything.  He was "jump fishing" like I was; moving from spot to spot and not spending too much time in any one location.

He moved on and I did the same.

I wasn't having any luck with Chug Bugs so I switched over to a paddletail bait smeared up with Pro-Cure.

After several casts with the paddle tail bait I finally picked up a small sea trout that I pulled off at the bank.  I moved up the marsh canal and fished several other areas with the bait and missed two more fish.

They were hitting the paddletail bait as long as I fished it slow.  I had two hits with the bait laying on the bottom but missed both fish.

I passed the other fisherman and stopped a little past him as I spotted a swirl at the bank.   Several casts didn't get me a hookup so I decided to move on.  As I put the rod in the truck, the other fisherman pulled up and showed me a  picture on his smart phone of  a 29 " redfish he just caught on a Chug Bug. 

I told him about this site and asked him to make a comment.  It would be nice to get his name and a pic.

Anyway, it was getting dark and I was ready to call it a day so I moved up the road as he turned around to head out of the refuge.

As I got to a place my wife calls "bobcat bay" I spotted a redfish in the canal and decided to toss a Chug Bug to the fish.

After three casts the fish hit the bait but not enough to get hooked.   I tried a couple more casts and just as I thought the fish lost interest, it nailed the Chug Bug almost at my feet.

After a brief fight I landed the slot red, took a quick pick and released it to fight another day.

I was getting chilly, the light was fading, and my wife called to tell me it was time to get home for dinner.

Exit Stage Left!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Tossing Chug Bugs Into The Wind

Late Saturday afternoon when I finally decided to hit Peacocks Pocket Road, I didn't expect to be tossing Chug Bugs into the wind but that's exactly what went down.

As I was crossing the Bennett Causeway Bridge I could tell that fishing was going to be a challenge. 

When the windsurfers and para-sailers are having this much of a blast on the North side of the causeway, the fishing usually sucks. 

I pulled over and took a few shots of the action before driving into Peacocks Pocket road but from the strength of the wind gusts, I didn't expect to have a re-run of yesterday's action.

I fished the ponds with Chug Bugs but the wind was causing a lot of problems with my presentation. 

At my second stop, I managed to catch a nice Ladyfish which I kept for bait.  I managed to hook up with a small sea trout but when I got it to the bank it flipped off.

At the next stop, I changed lures and decided to fish a Johnson Sprite.  It was easier to control and was an acceptable bait for a couple of redfish that I spotted in the grass.

The gold spoon, one of my "go to" baits, netted me three sea trout, all about the size of the one below.

After about an hour and a half of tossing Chug Bugs into the wind and later the spoon; I decided to call it a day.

I drove all the way through Peacocks Pocket road and never saw another person.

Maybe God was trying to tell me something?  Anyway, when my wife called and asked me where I was, I was on the way.

Till next time, Tight Lines.