After seeing and talking about summertime Rockfish in shallow water, I decided to take a break from deer hunting this morning to give it a whirl. I really wasn't optimistic but figured what the heck, the weather is warm and deer may not be moving as well today. Lo and behold after about 45 min of fishing and not seeing even a looker or chaser, I figured I was just as likely to see bigfoot as catch a rockfish in this shallow water river. Just then as I approach one of my honeyholes, out of nowhere comes a big rockfish and he attacks the gold redfin like he hasn't had something to eat in a month. Wow! I forgot how hard these beasts fight! After a lengthy fight with lots of drag pulled, I managed to get him in the net and in the boat. He weighed in at 23 lbs. I didn't measure him but he was less than 40 inches. I would guess 36 to 38 inches. I managed to land a smaller fish after this one that went about 15 pounds and had a couple of lookers. Then the rain started and I went ahead and packed it in. I only fished for about one and a half hours but it was encouraging to know that the redfins in shallow water will still catch a rockfish this time of year. Can't wait till we have another warm winter day!
