It was a beautiful morning in early August as I pushed my skiff off from the dock. The 60hp Mercury slowly idled my Waterman away from the dock towards the rising sun. Joining me on this eventful day was my buddy David.
The winds were light and hopes were high as our last outing had provided valuable insight on where a school of rather large redfish were holding. We started the morning catching a few smaller fish because we needed the sun to be just right to pursue our goal. Around 11am we decided to adventure over to the flat where we had last spotted them the day prior
The flat we had our eyes on was located near deeper water, but in the middle of the flat was a large patch of grass. The zone to target these big redfish was the stretch of water where the deeper water meets the grass. The bigger fish feel safer there as they feed off mullet and crabs on the edges of the grass.
We get within distance of the grass and I can see our target was already waiting for us. The sun was almost at the highest point of the after noon, but unfortunately the wind had decided to up the wager. Clutching my 10wt fly rod, I tossed the 6inch black fly within feet of the 40+inch fish in the intended path of its inquiry.
I stripped the line slowly as I could, as David held my skiff steady into the wind. After what felt like ages, the fish spotted my fly and rushed it! I strip set and held on for the next 10 minutes hoping all of my knots were worthy.
The fish finally tired and David assisted with the landing of what was my biggest redfish on fly! It was a day we all dream of as I held her in the water.
I carefully revived and I pushed her off to go on for another angler to one day enjoy the thrill she gave me. I always enjoy watching these big fish swim away after a quick photo to capture the moment.
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