I have fished two tournaments in month of July. Both tournaments, I was able to find some large fish. But for whatever reason, I was unable to get the fish to eat, stick, or get them in the boat. But finally, I was able to go back to the same locations and have at them. This time with a fly rod, and some bow time of my own.
Hit the Read More tab for more photos and full report.
It was nice to finally have some bow time. And nice to be as efficient as I was. My casts were on point all day, making quick work of my bow time. We caught double digits in reds, and a couple hoss trout. We found ourselves surrounded by schools of tails in all directions. To the point that we stopped taking photo’s in order to get more shots at the schools and land more fish. I also had a large snook crush my fly, only to fray through my 12lb tippet with ease.
On another note, Ramiro decided to pierce my top lip with his fly on a runaway backcast. The fish decided to make a sudden change in direction as ramiro was mid cast. So, of course, he decided to do the same. Only he forgot that I was 16′ behind him on the poling platform. I had the hook go through my upper lip. Barb and all. With the taste of blood, I felt the hook penetrating my lip. It’s not a new feeling, though. I had my bottom lip pierced in what they call “snake bites” back in my college days. Heck, to this day, I still have one of the piercings on my lip. It felt the same. But it was the feeling of removal that was also familiar. I held my lip with one hand, as I popped it out with the other. The same very feeling when popping a hook out of a redfish’s mouth. It even made the same popping sound. But with that said, I’d say the fly line slapping me felt worst than the fly going through my lip.
These fish had a nice golden color to them.
I’ll be back in the park in the am!
-Eric Estrada