Duplicating a post I made on TKF from this past weekend.
Mark, the water was so deep we couldn't find the shoal at Little Cut even probing with a paddle.
John, you might want to look at Tombo's pedal catamaran - Bluesky 360 - it's pretty slick with built-in dolly wheels, and was perfect with the light wind we had.
I'll start with the chart if you want to navigate with me...we launched at the top-center red dot.


Steve, Lou and I were out for two days, Sat and Sun 10/5-6. Met Tombo in his pedal cat, and TexasJim in his motor skiff on Saturday.
Water levels were a foot over predicted tides, and we made it out on falling tide both mornings - big drops on paper, but didn't make significant current at the cuts.
10-kt NE wind both mornings, which aimed our boats to the very top of Trout Bayou and the 100-year cut.

After our drive from SA Saturday, we arrived to see the remnant of a pretty sunrise.


we launched about 7:30 at Palm Harbor - never seen quite this much water on the bulkhead.


We tried first at Little Cut, but there was way too much water to find bottom anywhere around the 60-year cut, so we turned up Traylor toward the 100-year cut.
Tom and Jim both met us at Little Cut - Jim pulled a trout out of the grass at Little Cut.
Tombo had a really good morning on Talley Is. shore and sloughs, including some trout and a slot red.


The NE wind was giving us perfect drifts parallel to Talley shore, we found fish close to the shore and also farther out from shore, starting a drift right about the first duck blind inside the cut.


I got a couple of three respectible 18" rats in the morning, also some smaller.
There were a lot of motors around, and redfish were hitting light like tourist trout - I've never seen it before.
My best TSL color with the spooky fish was Coastal Gold
This red struck at the boat and took off while I was setting the hook - it exploded my favorite ML 1-pc rod, but I still had the butt to land the fish (planning to call TackleDirect and check on that 5-yr warranty) - and had my 3-pc back-up rod in the bow hold.


Our SA trio Saturday, Stevo brought in the only meat, with a 22" slot red, and he always brings good beer to share.


We also found a beautiful hard sand beach on Talley - a cove in this high tide - to park for our lunch.
Here's Lou's rigged Emotion Fisherman 14


Stayed the night at Rahi Motel, which is a pretty decent fishing shack with good kayak parking - absolutely nothing provided there - bring all your own kitchen tools and sundries. We've stayed here before, and it's good enough for 2 or 3 worn out fishermen, as long as they bring their kitchen boxes and TP - and good wi-fi, which Lou needed to work in the evening.
Sat evening meal, Mexican seafood at Los Comales, and floated out on fishbowl margaritas.

Sunday, with only 6 blocks to drive, we made it out at dark thirty, and were paddling as soon as there was enough light to see Sandy Point.


The photo taken just past Sandy Point doesn't do this sunrise justice.


We headed straight to the 100-yr cut - Lou and I paddled in, while Steve tucked into nearby Talley sloughs - he saw redfish there, but couldn't turn any.
In the cut, arrived to see a big trout with her back out of the water slashing mullet.
Lou pulled a trout from the grassy side of the cut.


I had two dozen trout strikes on every lure I threw, but couldn't hook a single fish. Even had a topwater explosion on a YoZuri pencil lure and didn't hook on the two trebles.
A father and his son staked a Dargel in the beautiful skinny grass on the inside of the cut, and were casting into the cut catching trout on live shrimp.

As soon as there was enough wind to drift, Lou and I began drifts from the duck blind, and Steve came out of the sloughs to join us.
I missed a good red, brought him to the boat and he came unhooked.
The three of us set up this drift a couple more times.
Somewhere between the duck blind and next point on Talley shore, I got into both trout and lizardfish thick.
Can't count the dinks, and had 3 tails bitten off Grasswalkers by lizardfish.
My first keeper trout, 16"

I'd also get a 17


and some really respectible undersized trout - even though this fish is on Birthday Suit, this day, Golden Roach was my best Grasswalker color, especially over slightly deeper grass with slightly off-color water.


Right after lunch and beer-thirty on the same hardpack bottom cove, I got a small redfish as soon as I paddled out to the wind seam and set my drift sock.

Steve and Lou both headed upwind to the duck blind to start their drifts.
Just about the time I was nearing Sandy Point, south end of Talley Is., I heard on the radio that Lou was hooked up. Found out later he had switched to cocahoe on 1/8-oz jighead. I paddled up the west side into Estes Cove hoping to set up a drift, but there was too much water everywhere.

Lou's fish would be a 25" red, but the fish hauled Lou most of a mile along Traylor shore, with Steve following and taking video on his phone.
I saw Steve's videos, and you can see the fish pulling the kayak faster than the wind ripples.
Maybe he'll youtube the video for us and I can post a link - it was a hoot.
So I was first back to Palm Harbor, and moved the truck to load.
Somehow Steve came in with Lou's stringer and had to show the fish we had talked about on the radio.


We know why this man is smiling


Lou's first ever slot redfish

all the people out Saturday must had tough days - we saw two powerboats across the flat Sun morning, and no other kayaks - it was like fishing a weekday - and of course it was Sunday that made our weekend.

Great warranty from 13Fishing - just have to slice off the portion of the blank with model specs, mail it in for full replacement.



Excepting dry-rotting cane refurbished by noted rodbuilder and sold to me by an independent party (first the mid on a 20" brown, later a tip while casting) this is the only rod I've ever broken. The rodbuilder scarfed the mid the first time, and salvaged the hardware the second time.
Shame, too, the dry-rotted cane was a prewar H-I Queen with the striking prewar fish waterslide.

The 13Fishing ML broke because the fish and I both did the two things simultaneously that would break the rod. He sucked the lure in front of my face when I was about to take it out of the water;
he grabbed and turned, I put my thumb on the spool and set with the rod high (my mistake) at the exact moment the fish exploded, which is why the rod exploded.
While it should count as abuse, 13Fishing didn't think that way and gave me a full warranty.

I think trailer would be the only way with that boat - it's asking a lot for a friend to lift half of 170lbs.
Trev might like this boat, too.

another ps - Lou's Emotion Fisherman was a gift from Steve.
Steve was using it as a borrow boat, and gave it away to make space for more boats. I helped Lou rig it - probably shows.
I also teased Lou about letting Steve bring home his redfish - he gave up the karma - karma is important in fishing.
Can't be Santiago if someone else brings home your catch.


Also, the topic of the current water levels came up on TKF.
Sent me back to look at old photos. Seen similar water levels in October, but not the slow-draining inertia, and this tide was four inches or more higher than any I had on photos. Josh posted this nice NOAA graphic on annual tides - those big tides are why everything happens in the fall, to drive redfish, mullet and shrimp alevin from the Gulf tide passes deep into the shoreline marshes.

my 13Fishing 1-pc 7'1" ML warranty replacement rod is on UPS truck for delivery today.
Not bad, a 10-day turnaround since mailing out the stub section.

thanks friend

Yeah, Ron!