We caught some bait just before a beautiful sunset and paddled out to a few points. We drifted and anchor fished. Red fishing was pretty slow Thursday evening. We only caught 2 nice Reds but one was a fatty & well over 24" & pulled drag for a few minutes before she gave up. We got checked by two nice Game Wardens. After they checked us over we yucked it up w/them for about 45 min. Later we decided to leave some baited lines in the water over night & we all hit the sack around midnight. We got up at 5am on Friday to find that our baited lines were bait less. 3 of the 5 lines we left out had leaders that had been chewed through by reds. The coons raided the rest of our live bait then a major storm descended on us about 6:15am. We took cover in the woods until the storm calmed down. That’s the same time the cool air settled in. After that the lake looked like a steaming bowl of hot soup creating it's own dense fog. Have never saw this before going to Lake Fairfield. No fog any where but visibility on the water was only about 40'. We quickly gathered our things & went into town to grab a bite to eat & get some hot coffee & change.

When we got back we quickly caught some fresh bait w/our throw nets then dumped the water out of our boats & yaked out to a few different spots on the North end. We eventually started catching them left & right. I personally hooked 14 or so & landed 8. Let all but 2 go and lost a giant that ripped drag as soon as I hooked her then shortly got off. Emmanuel & his girlfriend hooked several as well & managed 5 really nice Reds to end the day. We got to meet Lakeguide Dwayne as well as some other nice fellas at the boat ramp. 4 out of 5 said they caught their 3 over 20" limits. They were really going to work at the cleaning table. We saw deer early Thursday & Overall it was an exciting trip that I’d like to make again soon. No keeper Talapias caught this trip but I don’t plan on letting that happen again.

Nice! Sounds like you had a good time. Any tips for me? I've never fished Fairfield before but a buddy and me are going out there Thursday night to give it a try. Staying for the weekend.

elbandito78,

id look for flats off of points in the evenings and mornings. All fish we caught were in 4'-18'. we used fresh talapia & shad caught in the throw nets by walking the banks. if they were big we cut them into pieces. if they were 3-4" we used them whole. the Reds seemed to prefer our cut bait a little more. some guys used shrimp & caught their limits which tells me they are finding food by smell also so if you use live bait i'd at least cut the gut to release some stench into the water. remember you can only keep 3 Reds over 20" but you can keep all the talapia you want. the Game Wardens told us that it doesnt matter how you catch the talapia since they need them taken out of the lake. put a white light on your yak or the wardens will make you get off the water. the reds travel in small to large schools so when you find one you usually find a bunch. carolina rig is the only style we used. i was told it helps you hook up. make sure your hooks are sharp. i will only use steel leaders next trip. i also recommend no less then 15# mainline. Lakeguide Dwayne showed us some recent pics of 36-41" Reds. i don't think 10-12# is enough to turn them. using carolina rig you'll feel a tap, tap, tap then they run! if you set the hook too early your hook up rate it low. if you let them run too long they tend to swallow the hook. so keep the line tight enough to be able to feel the tap and see them run then you know what to do. please let us know how you do. Good Luck!

30# or 20# test mono, 5 or 6-0 circle hooks help, or kahle hooks of similar size. 51-60 count shrimp size fits on that size hook.

Plenty of line on a spool, >200 yards will be needed to finally land the biggest ones. Set your drag for about 8# breaking strength, work them, they run several times, do not try to bring them in too green,

Very nice post, Zombie. I'd put up with GWs, storms and racoons for an adventure like that.

Thanks for the advice guys! Hopefully I'll have a report up on Tuesday or so. I've got some large circles and even have a few steel leaders leftover from a trip to the coast this summer. Looks like I'll have to break them out. Wish me luck.

Fish Photos

[img]http://www.ndfilms.com/nathans[/img]
Nathan's. One Thursday night, two Friday morning.
[img]http://www.ndfilms.com/shannons[/img]
Shannon's. One each day.
[img]http://www.ndfilms.com/immanuels[/img]
Imamnuel's. Skunked on day one.

I would like to invite you to the first Cabela's Kayak Club meeting Wednesday the 21st @ 7pm in the Cabela's conference room. 12901 Cabela Drive Ft. Worth, TX 76177. We will meet and greet, discuss future meetings, accessories, rigging and announcing our first ever KAYAK FISHING TOURNAMENT.

to be clear: those pix are from fiSh ZoMbiE's and I's fiddin trip Thursday.

El B,
You make it out to Fairfield? Wanted to hear how ya did.
Cyp

Hey Cyp,

Thanks for asking. I did make it out there. Not too much luck out though. I drifted some of the windblown points with bream and tilapia. I marked alot of fish on the graph, but couldn't get any takers. Oh, but I did manage to catch the biggest bluegill I've ever caught, so that was cool. It was almost 10 inches and the size of a dinner plate. I'll post some pics when my buddy sends them to me.

El B,
Heading out there and will be on the water about 430pm if you'd like to join. Give a ring.
Cyp
aka Immanuel
940.453.7468