"Baffin Grand Slam!"

The action has been picking up steadily in Baffin Bay, so when Reece Brown and Louis Chandler from the Houston area came for a fishing trip recently it was the destination of choice. Armed with nearly all the rods we could carry, and a tackle box full of assorted lures we left the dock before 7:00 am, and headed south as fast as the 200hp Mercury on the back of my Red-Fin could push us. Determined to get to a good group of rocks in the mouth of the bay before anyone else.

Upon arriving and finding the area pleasantly vacant, pumpkinseed Bass Assassins were promptly tied on. From fishing the day before, we were well aware that the action was better with the artificial baits than the live bait, and we weren't going to argue with success. We set up our drift to allow us to work different troughs and rocks. Most of the fish seemed to be hanging in 3 feet of water, but just to be sure, we made drifts that would allow us to check a variety of depths and structures. Casting the Bass Assassins with a ¼ ounce jig, we worked them slowly with a slight upward jigging action being very sensitive to the light pick ups we were getting. Most of the fish seemed to hit the lure on its way down, and often as soon as it hit the water. Many times the lures were taken so lightly that it almost seemed like we were picking up small pieces of grass, so Reece and Louis soon figured out that any bump was worth trying a hook set. This method was quite successful for us.

On the first day of their trip, we encountered strong winds and cold temperatures but managed to have a fairly successful day, but the second day we had much more success and better weather. Louis even got to put his ultra light rig into action with a 27 ½ inch redfish that had to be chased briefly with the trolling motor to keep some line on the tiny reel. Reece hit a grand slam on the second day by catching a 25 ½ inch trout, a 22 inch redfish, and an 18 inch flounder. A Baffin Grand Slam, all on the same color Bass Assassin, our favorite for the weekend, good old pumpkinseed.

In working the rocks in Baffin, always check every side of the rocks, and the varying water depths around them. Some days the big ones are right on the rocks, and other days you will find them out a good distance from the rocks. When you pick an area to work, work it slow and hard. Alter your drift angles and starting points, and make at least three drifts in an area before you give up. We worked the same group of rocks all morning. Always moving over just a little to see if the fish had moved. The effort was well worth it as we picked up 3 limits of trout and a couple of reds with a total weight just over 70 lbs. If you would like to take your turn at the plate for a Grand Slam, give me a call at 1-800-854-9673. Capt. Byron Hough.

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