Weekend Fishing Wrap-Up

[BeastMan]

This weekend I was fishing for the Venetian Isles Fishing Rodeo and it was a good time. Fished 3 different locations and ended up having a good time and catching fish.

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Met my buddy at the Henderson Point launch at about 4 Friday night. Plan was to fish the afternoon until dusk but not too late. Had a long day coming Saturday. Was hoping to get some trout or reds for the weigh-in. Some guys were catching shrimp via cast net at the launch so I figured it was about to be on. There is a ton of broken piers and various fishy structures. Skunked. Tried everything with no success. The yellow line is my track for the evening.

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Day 2 I met a smkfc member at the Hopedale Marina to fish for the tournament. We launched and made the paddle to the MrGo dam. We caught white trout at the dam. After about 10 mins of fishing the wind kicked up and it started pouring. No lightning so we kept fishing. The wind was making things tough so we would paddle to the dam and drift back down the shoreline. We caught a mixture of specks, white trout, and reds. Repeated that drift a bunch of times as well as fishing the crossing canal. I probably caught 20 total trout and 11 redfish but only 1 keeper red for the tournament band it wasn?t a great one. This was the type of day that separates the men from the boys. Tough conditions but we grinded out some fish. Can?t say enough good things about the Hopedale Marina kayak launch and entire operation. Top notch.

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Highlight of day 1 weigh-in was some big gar, black drum, and I watched a guy weigh a 21 and change 3 redfish stringer.

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Sunday I was absolutely beat and needed to upgrade my redfish. I decided to fish my ?home waters?. I?ve caught good reds in the past so I figured I could find something. I wanted to sightfish some small canals on the way to the bay and didn?t see a fish. When I got to the bay I started working grass shorelines and caught a MS limit of 19,19, and 23.5. I released the small fish and took the big one to the weigh-in. He ended up going 4.3 and finished 4th. I also had a trout from day 1 get knocked off the leaderboard. All in all a great weekend, caught 14 redfish in 2 states, logged another tourney experience, and it was likely the last hurrah for the KC12. Been a great yak!

[Gutter Cobreh]

Nice write-up Beast. Thanks for sharing!

[GoToHellOleMiss]

it was likely the last hurrah for the KC12. Been a great yak!

So what are upgrading to?

[BeastMan]

So what are upgrading to?

I have a 2019 Native slayer propel 13 ordered. Due to the hurricane on the East coast it’s making it take a few extra weeks. It should be in south LA in 2 weeks and I can go pick up. Called the shop today to check-in and make sure they had some extras on-hand because we’re doing some upgrading as soon as I get there.

Gonna run the slayer for a few months before I decide if I’m selling the KC or not. They don’t make my exact boat anymore (now it’s a kysek 12) so I’ll hate seeing it go. It’s a marsh machine.

[Bully13]

Love this shit Beast. Thank you sir.

Questions:

1. Did you eat those Reds and is it true the younger / smaller Reds are tastier than the bigger / older ones?

2. The Gars. Is it better to not release them? Are they hazardous to the environment?

[BeastMan]

1. Yes I eat them and I typically don’t keep “Bull reds” (any red over 27 inches). The smaller ones are best for sure. 16-19 inch fish are perfect for filleting and 20-26 inch fish are perfect to halfshell for the grill.

2. Gar are everywhere in south LA. Some folks get upset about killing fish for sport or rodeo but as long as it’s eaten and legal I’m fine with it. The meat from the rodeo was donated. As far as I know they are not a nuisance of any kind. I think they’re really cool fish. They look leftover from the prehistoric age.

[Bully13]

1. Yes I eat them and I typically don’t keep “Bull reds” (any red over 27 inches). The smaller ones are best for sure. 16-19 inch fish are perfect for filleting and 20-26 inch fish are perfect to halfshell for the grill.

2. Gar are everywhere in south LA. Some folks get upset about killing fish for sport or rodeo but as long as it’s eaten and legal I’m fine with it. The meat from the rodeo was donated. As far as I know they are not a nuisance of any kind. I think they’re really cool fish. They look leftover from the prehistoric age.

I did not know gar were edible. Was that brackish water? always thought gar were freshwater only.

[BeastMan]

I did not know gar were edible. Was that brackish water? always thought gar were freshwater only.

You can catch far at every harbor on the coast on Hwy 90. I’ve seen numerous gar at Cat Island which is like 7 miles offshore. Coastal/marsh fish are less resistant to salt than you think. If the salinity is low it’s not unheard of to catch a bass out front near the mouth of a river.

[Howboutdemdogs]

Great read Beast! Always enjoyable to about the trips!