Swimbait near lighted dock was the ticket
There was no moon, tons of mosquitoes and showers in the area when we launched our kayaks about 11 p.m. last Saturday into Kelso Bayou near Hackberry.
The tide was going out, and we noticed the water was abnormally high for this time of the year, so we paddled to a lighted dock about a quarter-mile away that normally produces.
As we get close to the dock light, we noticed a few blowups in the lights and figured it was going to be a good night — so we anchored on the outer edges of the light and cast toward the dock.
Shrimp were jumping and finger mullet were skipping, so I opted for the threadfin version of an H2O Swimming Shad swimbait.
Slow-rolling the lure on the bottom was the ticket, and I quickly landed a 15-inch flounder. After a brief lull, I decided to burn the shad back with a quick retrieve and immediately landed a 14-inch speck, soon followed by another.
The water was 3 ½ feet deep — about a foot higher than normal, and after that action I didn’t get a bite for about an hour. So I went with a more realistic color, bluegill, and got a hit that almost knocked the rod out of my hands. I set the hook, tightened up the drag and soon had a nice 19-inch red in the net.
We wrapped up the trip with four specks, three reds and seven doormats. It was a great night of fishing with a good friend — we made some memories, and ate pretty well, too.
