Driving home that afternoon in the mid August heat, I had decided that a quick fishing trip was in order and it was time to try something a little different. Why not try to catch a redfish or two on my trusty old yellow, Piggy Boat, pictured below? It worked so well on bass, why wouldn’t it work just as well on reds?
The fishing trip was a real easy task since Layla and I had recently moved out of northwest Houston, down to our “canal” house in Bayou Vista. We made this move in the spring of 1996.
The multiple canals in our subdivision fed into a main canal that flowed into Highlands Bayou that then, one half mile down, emptied into West Galveston Bay at Jones Lake. All of the canals had good water movement so, based on the wind direction, I envisioned starting at the top of the main canal and using my trolling motor, just ease on down until I hit the bayou.
My boat was in its sling behind my house, no need for bait, so all I had to do was grab my rod and spinning reel, a new combo that I had just purchased, a Quantum 4000 reel packed with eight pound line, hooked on to a Shakespeare, seven foot, medium action rod. This was my favorite for bass, but little did I know about the excitement I would have with the reds!
Launching my boat, electric motoring down to the main canal and casting the Piggy Boat into the grass along the side, I began my retrieve. Nine or ten casts, nothing, then bam! A solid strike and the fish, unknown, but probably, from the strike, a good sized, red headed down the canal towards the bayou. On the light stuff, the fish ran for a good fifty yards, then headed for the bottom, the main canal is ten to twelve foot deep and I could feel the fish trying to rub the plug out of its jaw. That didn’t work so it took off again. This run wasn’t as long, so I knew I was winning the fight. It wallowed near the top and I saw that it was a nice, red, a seven or eight pounder. A circle of the boat, a few more “wallows”, I slid the net under it and admired the redfish for a moment, before releasing it.
More casts toward the grass lined side of the canal and another bam! Same song, second verse, but this red was only a five pounder, but, before I released it, it put up a whale of a fight! I was about half way down the main canal, two reds to my credit, when I had another big strike. This one ran down the canal, then hugged the bottom, again trying to rub the plug loose. Another long run, these fish are really fun on this light stuff, more “wallows” like it was trying to clear the water and I saw that it was a bigger red that the first one. Finally slipping the net under it, I weighed this one, nine pounds and a good one to end this last second trip on.
My theory was proven, I had caught and released three, big reds on a yellow, Piggy Boat, a known fresh water “killer”. Cranking up the big motor, I creped, a 5 MPH limit on boats in the canals, back to our house. Since it was almost dark Layla was waiting outside for me and when I told her of the great fishing in the canal and the three big reds I had caught and released, her only comment was, “Grilled redfish would’ve been good tonight!”