FISH TALES INSTALLMENT 14 ANOTHER WADE FISHING BLOOPER After my close encounter with “Jaws” my desire to wade fish the Gulf greatly diminished, although I still indulged with fellow fishermen from time to time. I had one fishin’ buddy in particular who shared my love of wade fishing in Oyster creek for redfish in the fall and we would take every opportunity to do so. As I stated in an earlier episode, the bottom of Oyster creek is heavily inhabited by copious numbers of oyster beds, thus the name of the creek. The oyster beds and salt grass covering the shallow banks provided the perfect habitat for tide running redfish. The fish will “tail” (a term used to describe the action of the redfish foraging for small crustaceans, mollusks and fish). They use their anal fin to stir the bottom exposing their prey. Their fins (or tail) protrude out the water making them easily visible. The creek is a somewhat shallow body of water, making it unnavigable for all but shallow draft boats. This protecst the creek from commercial fishing. The final result being it can be redfishing heaven during the late fall and early winter months. Every fall my focus quarry shifted from “specs“ to redfish and sand trout, with emphasis on redfish. I had a friend who when it came to fishing for redfish made my ‘fishing gene” appear to be passive recessive. He was an expert at wade fishing the banks of Oyster creek. Driven by our mutual addiction to the pursuit of pescados, we grabbed every opportunity to wade fish the body of water for “rat” reds. We would wade just outside the salt grass on the oyster beds, casting ahead of the tailing redfish. Redfish are easily spooked and a stealth approach is required when fishing for them in shallow water. Our bait of choice was a gold spoon worked just along the edge of the grass. When the fish didn’t respond to artificial baits we would use live finger mullet or shrimp. There was a particular area on the southern bank of Oyster creek which we considered our favorite area to fish. It provided the required grassy edges and oyster reefs and could be easily accessed via a small shell road. This made it available for a quick wade fishing trip without having to launch a boat to reach it. On the northern side of the creek was a single cul-de-sac street of three homes built on elevated pilings. The end house had a wooden bulkhead on the creek bank to prevent erosion. During one excursion my buddy stated he believed that the fishing would be even better on the northern side of the creek. Based upon his statement, one afternoon after work I sought out the route to the cul-de-sac. It turned out to be about a three mile trip down a shell road. The creek could be easily reached by parking on the cul-de-sac and walking about 100 feet to the bank. The next Saturday we planned to give the location a try. Unfortunately my partner was called into work so I decided to give it an exploratory try on my own. I arrived at the site about an hour before mean high tide armed with my stock of artificial lures and finger mullet and shrimp I had netted as backup bait. It was mid-November and the water temperature was too cool to fish in shorts or wet long pants so I put on pair of chest length footed rubber waders and tennis shoes. I carefully entered the creek and waded to an oyster reef about twenty feet in front of the bulkhead. The water was about calf deep I stood on the reef and searched the creek for ‘tailing” reds. It didn’t take but a minute or so to spot my prey and I cast a small gold spoon about fifteen feet in front of the fish and began to slowly work the lure back toward it. As soon as the lure entered the strike zone the water boiled and was muddied by a vicious attack from the feeding red. I played the red for about five minutes and was rewarded with a 5 pound trophy. The scene was re-enacted about four times with identical results. I never moved off the reef. The weather was beginning to become a little raw so I decided call it a day. As much as I love fishing, I hate cold weather more. Thinking of my success and the accuracy of my partner’s prognostication, I absent mindedly turned back and began to walk straight toward the bulkhead. I knew better. As soon as I stepped off the reef I began to sink in to waist high water and mud. To make matters worse instead of turning around and getting back on the reef I took a coupla more steps toward the bulkhead and stepped into water and mud that was now higher than my chest high waders. The waders filled with water and I was continuing to sink into the mud. I was suddenly aware of my foreboding situation and envisioned myself not being able to make it back to the safety of the bank less than fifteen feet away. Fighting the urge to panic I did a quick assessment of my situation and my alternatives. I decided to totally relax and attempt to “dead man” float my body flat to the water’s surface. Luckily I retained enough buoyancy, and the muddy silt was thin enough for me to float to the surface. I swan the last fifteen feet to the bulkhead and threw my equipment and stringer upon the bank. With my waders full of water I didn’t think I could pull myself over the bulkhead and onto dry land. I grabbed hold of the bulkhead and pulled myself down its length until I reached the edge and stepped onto solid bottom. I stepped out of the creek onto the dry bank. As soon as I emerged from the water I was shivering cold. I shed my waders, retrieved my gear and quickly ran back to my van. I found my keys, threw the fishing gear into the back and cranked up the engine. My old 1960 VW van was not equipped with a heater but when I climbed in, it felt like I was sitting in front of a roaring log fire. I headed straight for the house stopping only at a convenience store to grab a HOT cup of coffee. Lessons were learned and graphically re-emphasized that day. From that day forward I never again wore chest waders, rather opting for rubber leg waders and thermal underwear worn under long jeans. I also got a wake call about the latent dangers inherent every time you enter the water. Most importantly however I discovered a new redfish honey hole.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 13:26:37 +0000
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