Little Lagoon fishing 7/24-7/27

[jad2t]

Well my trip is over and I'm back home. I only fished 3 mornings and I had a blast getting my yak in salty water for the first time ever and catching my first redfish in about 15 years. It was a rat, but still a Redfish. Thanks to everyone for their advice. I went into J&M Tackle to buy some more lures and hopefully talk to some locals about the area and met Ralph, a guide for Fishin Dixie. What a nice guy he is!! He's been fishing the Lagoon for almost 50 years so he was able to give me some advice and his advice was gold. I can't say enough of how friendly he and willing to help he was toward me. You just can't get that kind of help from big box stores, that's why I like local businesses.

First morning, I wasted hours coasting across flats standing up in my kayak sight fishing for redfish like I used to do off the South Florida coast. All I saw were stingrays haha. I hadn't yet met Ralph who told me that is a waste of time. On the way back home I did catch a really nice speck, 20.5" on a slightly modified spinnerbait used for bass but with a Chicken on a Chain color 4 inch Sea Shad on it and without the spinnerbait skirt used when bass fishing. Only fish of the morning but it sure made a delicious lunch for me and my wife.


After talking to Ralph and getting advice I was fired up to get out the next morning and I had a much better day. I caught several smaller specks and sand trout, and the first redfish I have caught in about 15 years since I moved to TN. I had caught seatrout about 4 years ago in a trip to Florida but no reds. Not a big red but it made me happy.


Third morning was the best and the pic below will show you why! The wind was brutal, I was getting blown all over the place. Next time I come down I'm bringing an anchor. I had a few short strikes and a few small ladyfish and then I had this beast of a speck hit the spoon. This is my personal best speck at 26", Gator!! Two delicious meals for me and the wifey off this big girl. By the way, the spoon was tipped with a Gulp white curly tail grub. That's a trick my Father and I used to use back in the South Florida days and it still works!



I never did get the larger redfish I was hoping for but that speck made the fishing part of my vacation very satisfactory! Of course, the rest of this area is amazing as well. My dog loves the ocean and my wife an I love the area. We had such a great time and are considering making this an annual Summer vacation. I'll get my Redfish next time!

[Alphahawk]

Sounds like a good time. Congrats on your fish.

Regards

[TNBronzeback]

Looks like ya had a great time down there! ive heard them trout put up a pretty good fight! Thats the kind of saltwater action i wanna try...i want numbers of fish, i have no interest in fighting a marlin for 6 hours, i like setting the hook, fighting for a minute or 2, then move on to the next fish! LOL

FYI, if ya need an anchor, i "left" one on JPP a few weeks ago on the sand bar out from Long Hunter State Park in about 3ft of water. 10lb mushroom anchor! I figured, hey, ive got $20 extra bucks, i might as well leave my anchor here on the bottom for somebody else to use and i will go buy a new one....pay it forward kinda thinking ya know! To this day, i have no idea how that anchor came unlatched.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by TNBronzeback

Looks like ya had a great time down there! ive heard them trout put up a pretty good fight! Thats the kind of saltwater action i wanna try...i want numbers of fish, i have no interest in fighting a marlin for 6 hours, i like setting the hook, fighting for a minute or 2, then move on to the next fish! LOL

FYI, if ya need an anchor, i "left" one on JPP a few weeks ago on the sand bar out from Long Hunter State Park in about 3ft of water. 10lb mushroom anchor! I figured, hey, ive got $20 extra bucks, i might as well leave my anchor here on the bottom for somebody else to use and i will go buy a new one....pay it forward kinda thinking ya know! To this day, i have no idea how that anchor came unlatched.

Well the smaller trout are kinda weak actually. A 14" seatrout I think puts up a weaker fight than a 14" rainbow trout in the Caney. The difference is the fierce hit the seatrout give. That's part of how they feed actually, they like to violently strike their prey. That 26 incher almost took the rod from me haha. The larger ones put up a heck of a fight but don't make the long runs like a Redfish will. They're just very scrappy.

[GO-OKFISHIN]

Great job. J & M Tackle is a great place for info. I'm going to send you a PM for the secret info. Sounds like he really helped you narrow it down. I always just fish the gulf.

[jad2t]

I fished in the surf a couple times in the Gulf while me and my wife were watching the sunset. Not even a bite and I tried several lures.

The guide didn't really give me any super secret info that requires a PM and I wouldn't expect him to since he gets paid based on his secret knowledge. He did give me some good pointers that were enough information to give an experienced angler a good shot at some fish. In the Little Lagoon, during incoming tide, you need to be in front of the pass connecting the lagoon to the Gulf. Obviously during incoming tide the current is coming in and that's where the fish congregate. Look for depth contours via water color/electronics and stay in 6-9 feet of water, that's as deep as it gets. They're in there!

My most productive lures were a 1/2oz Johnson Minnow spoon (gold) with a 3 or 4 inch (I forget) white Gulp curly tail grub used as a trailer on the hook and my Secret Weapon spinnerbaits that I use for bass fishing, with only one Colorado gold blade on it and no skirt. I used either a Saltwater Assassin 4" Sea Shad or the above mentioned Gulp grub on it.

[FloatNFish]

Good looking fish, Jimmy! Looks like you had a good trip. I'd like to get a salt water trip in sometime soon.

Alex

[Saltwaterwalt]

Glad you had a great time. That's a dandy gator trout! Sorry you didn't catch anything on the beach, but it's a hit and miss thing. Sometime its hot, sometime its not.

[Reel Tune]

Thanks for the report Jimmy. This looks like it make be the 1st year we haven't taken the kayak to the saltwater.