Venice fishing picks up as wind subsides.
The wind was howling when a group of outdoor writers and fishing-industry sponsors gathered in Venice on Saturday evening, and the anglers spent most of the three-day fishing trip fighting wind near the marina.
And then the wind laid on Monday evening, providing the Marsh Madness anglers a chance to go pretty much anywhere they wanted. And the redfish were waiting.
While a number of the boats stayed close to the marina, picking off reds in the Wagon Wheel and along the nearby passes, Clyde Pritchard was intent on heading all the way down the Mississippi River to his favorite fishing hole – Blind Bay.
Fellow Starkville, Miss., angler Art Cosby IV and I tagged along, and spent most of the day battling it out with hefty redfish.
The days of high winds had stacked up water in the canes and the tide was pretty much non-existent, but redfish still were feeding in clean-water pockets in the back of the bay.
“If you find that clean water on the edge of that cane, there will be fish there,” Pritchard said.
The winds, which were supposed to be fairly light, were still relatively stiff. However, the canes provided cover – and pushed clean water to the edge of the rosseau.
Pritchard and I started with spinners, while Cosby pulled out a plastic cocahoe under a cork.
Soon the first fish hit Cosby’s rig – but not the lure.
“That fish hit my cork!” he yelled.
That’s all Pritchard had to hear, and soon was throwing a gold Zara Spook. The fish responded, offering several explosive hits.
I added to the action with spinnerbait fish, and then I ruined Pritchard’s pattern by getting in the way of his back cast and snagging his Spook in the face.
The lure’s front treble hook was firmly embedded just under my right jaw, and had to be disassembled so Cosby could snatch the hook out using 50-pound braid and the old string trick (see sidebar).
Fishing continued apace after the minor surgery was complete, although Pritchard was pretty spooky.
Watch the attached video for more information on how we caught fish.
The forecast for this weekend is for 10 to 15 mph winds, which is a bit stiff but still fishable. Tides are fantastic, so there should be plenty of fish to be had.
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