Prop Chopped Redfish?

Something unusual happened this morning. I was poling the flat when I saw my friend Andy hookup. Great! I was glad he managed to catch a fish. The bite had been wicked slow. But this fish didn’t fight at all; Andy sorta just dragged it in. As I got closer, Andy came toward me holding a decent redfish. That surprised me. Why hadn’t it fought?

Prop Scarred Redfish?

Prop Scarred Redfish?

“Gotta put this fish out of its misery,” Andy yelled. “Have a knife?”

“Let me see,” I answered. “Should be one in my pack.”

I staked out the Adios and found my knife.  That’s when I saw the red up close. What a mess. Andy told me he had seen it swimming around slowly and decided to snag it. He thought it might have been the victim of a shark attack. But I’m fairly sure this is a prop chopped redfish. Andy dispatched it. What else could you do?

If I’m right, its another case in point. The flats in Charlotte Harbor desperately need better protection. Guys are running and gunning these shallow, skinny waters all year long. Rooster-tailing their boats up and down – high tide, low tide.  Crazy shit. In the process they are ripping up the grass beds, and spooking all the fish. Its having a negative effect on the fishery. It must be stopped!

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