Catchin' Reds Is a Blast!!!

So says my friend, Eddie Sapp, who makes it a point to play every bit as hard as he works. He loves spending time on the water, and he's anything but content just to concentrate his skills on one species. If they have fins, swim, and like to feed at least occasionally, there's a better than average chance they'll sooner or later appear on Eddie's radar scope.

And, as I learned just today, these redfish, or puppy drum, as he says they're known around here, are among his latest pursuits. "There are tons of them locally, and they usually are big," he said.

"You fish for them just like bass," Eddie continued. "You flip docks or throw jerkbaits. The only difference is in what happens when a giant red--weighing upwards of 20 lbs.--hits that bait. It's a blast!" he exclaimed.

As you can tell from this photo, Eddie goes after those giant reds with the flats poling skiff he bought this year--the same boat my friend, Skip, photographed for me in the previous post. "It's designed to float extremely shallow--about 3 inches of water--and will plane out in 5 to 6 feet of water," he said.

While the reds really get Eddie's adrenaline to pumping, they share his focus this time of year. He also likes to go pan fishing on the river when it gets really cold.

"The Northwest has been good to me," he said. "I've been catching some big white and yellow perch the last couple of outings, as well as my fair share of bass.

Incidentally, if you're one who enjoys looking at pictures of nice redfish, you're in for a little treat now, 'cause Eddie was kind enough to email me photos of several he's caught the last couple of months. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.