Tide: 1.0ft Low at 8am, 2.0ft High at 2pm
I fished the second event of the IFA Kayak West Division today out of Ruskin, FL. It was really quite surprising to see only 22 people signed up but I suppose the less competition the better. Since the weigh-in location was two hours north of where I planned on fishing, I needed to be off the water by 1pm to make it back in time. I launched at 6:30am and pedaled under the descending full moon for half an hour until I reached my spot. There was no wind and the tide was barely creeping along. I fancasted the spook jr. near a few small mullet schools for 15 minutes and got wrecked when I was looking away. Just from the sound I knew it was a serious fish. It pulled a lot of drag and created huge craters in the water like a manatee would. I missed with the net on the first try but eventually landed the thing, a 33.5" redfish. I kept plugging away, weeding through small trout until I caught one that was 19". I was sitting pretty with 52.5" and it was only 7:45am. I fished for another hour but couldn't find an upgrade so I called it a day at 9am. Lol. I took my sweet time..went home, rinsed my gear, took a shower, and made the long drive north. I took first place edging out second by 1.95" and third by 2.6". Took home another Hobie Pro Angler plus $510 in checks for anglers advantage, largest redfish, and highest Hobie kayak finisher.
