By Steven Johnson
It seemed like the fourth of July, with explosions all around, except the redfish weren’t blowing up on my bait. My Creek Chub Knuckle-Head looked just like those being worked by Chris Gulstad on one side and Andy Mnichowski on the other, and they were battling brutish redfish almost continually while I continued popping along, only drawing an occasional strike.
Then Mnichowski, a veteran guide from Venice, La., and competitive redfish tournament pro with two Redfish Tour wins to his name, figured out the problem. “Don’t pop the bait so hard,” he coached me. “I’m twitching mine just enough to make a sound.”
Having learned from past outings that Mnichowski’s advice warrants heeding, I fired a long cast just past a defined rip and began working the bait, this time with much more subtle motions. My bait didn’t make it across the rip before a 15-pound redfish blasted it. From that point forward, I was in the game full swing.
Previously I had tried mimicking Mnichowski’s cadence, popping and pausing when he did. I also had attempted to work the shoal at the same angle and had even changed colors to match what he was throwing. However, I hadn’t detected the difference in how we had been popping our baits.
A Knuckle-Head is a big bait at 5 inches long and 1 1/2 ounces, and it’s hardly subtle with a cupped mouth, jointed body and loud rattles. Between the gaudiness of the bait and the explosiveness of the strikes, I hadn’t even considered working my offering with anything less than good, solid pops.
Later that day, after the tide had risen, erasing the rip from the top of the shoal, Mnichowski took us to another spot, a big flat that stretched out from an island. To my surprise, he reached around his Knuckle-Head rod, which he hadn’t put down all morning, and picked up an outfit rigged with a Heddon Super Spook. He also pulled out a Spook box and laid it on the deck between Gulstad and me.
We should have known to have followed Mnichowski. However, having seen countless fish hammer Knuckle-Heads that morning, neither of us could fathom not throwing one. We left out Knuckle-Heads on and started chunking.
Within a couple casts, Mnichowski was hooked up. Ten casts and three redfish later, Gulstad and I both decided it was time to change lures. Soon after, we re-joined the fish-catching party.
The fish were the same size as in the other spots, and the water temperature and color were the same. However, the water was calmer, favoring a lure with less splash. Plus, the fish were spread on a flat instead of being stacked around a rip, so Mnichowski wanted a steady walking bait that would call them in.
“Both lures are awesome for redfish,” Mnichowski explained, “but they do different jobs. You have to learn when to pick up each.”
To book a trip with Andy Mnichowski, call (504) 347-8394 or (504) 415-4099.