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I did three trips this week, and the pothole fishing for big trout was just fantastic.
The first trip was with Brenda Alfrey, of San Carlos Park. It was her first BarHopp'R trip, and her first time to fish the flats. I took her up the river through thick fog to catch ladyfish first, to allow her to get used to the open face spinning gear, have some fun catching fish, and keep a few for bait in case we decided to chase redfish. Brenda caught on quickly, as most of the gals do, and was soon casting and jigging the Terroreyez quite well, and catching ladyfish. She agreed they were a lot of fun.
Once she had the ladyfish mastered it was time to go trout fishing. From the time we stopped at the first spot until we decided to call it quits, we were on great trout action in the potholes. Most of the fish were keepers (slot fish), with many over the slot. Once we'd had enough we went to the Waterfront Restaurant for a great lunch.
Wednesday I fished with my two best friends, Lee Dugger of Patrick Springs, Virginia, and Capt. Butch Boteler, of St. James City. We've been fishing together for some fifteen years, and always have fun. I picked the boys up at Butch's place in St. James, and they were shocked and amazed that I was able to navigate my way there because of the heavy fog. It was so thick I couldn't see my bow light. Visibility was near zero. I did go astray once, but managed to get back on track and feel my way there. I suppose I should buy another hand held compass. We had a very early tide, and were getting a late start because of the fog, and would be fishing barely moving water. I expected a slow bite.
Instead of a slow bite, we had a fast trout bite for a long while that covered several holes, but the fist were mostly small. The bigger fish just didn't seem to be eating, so we just had fun with the smaller ones catching them on every cast of our Saltwater Assassins. We did wind of with plenty of keepers, though, before it was over, and we finished our day with a great lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant, and rum and cokes at Butch's. Made for a very nice day out with good friends.
Friday was my first trip with Debbie Hubbard of Cape Gerardeau, Missouri. Debbie's Yahoo handle is "fishingal". Does that tell you something? Yes, she's a good fishergal! It was Debbie's first time on the flats, too, so I thought a great trout fishing day would be the place to start her off. We were treated to an immediate and intense trout bite, and caught them on nearly every cast for hours. We caught plenty of big fish, and kept a few for dinner. As the water flooded the flats, I moved to a spot in search of tailing redfish. We didn't find any fish tailing, and only had one follow on our topwater plugs. Deb and I both saw the redfish wake up on her Top Pup, but she got excited by the visual and struck before the fish did! Easy to do. We were treated to some great topwater trout action, which I didn't expect this early in such shallow water. Debbie landed both five and six pound trout that were just gorgeous fish. She was thrilled.
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We took a break for lunch at the Waterfront, and afterward went to North Captiva to allow her to do some shelling. My back was bothering me, so I stayed with the boat anchored just along the shore. I laid down across the seat cushion behind the console. The wind shifted and turned around giving us a seabreeze, and the Gulf began to get roly-poly. I was rudely awakened when a wave crashed over the stern and soaked me and everything on the rear deck including her purse. When I sat up, I realized that we had been enveloped in a dense seafog that had rolled in with the wind. I could barely see the trees in front of me at that point and called for Debbie. We headed for the dock.
With the warming water has come great trout action. Next week, I'll probably check out the redfish and snook action. The snook should be getting active again with the continued warming.
I have now posted the final thumbnailed pictures on the Talon Page of this website, for those interested in seeing how one of these jewels goes together.
If you want to be able to continue to fish Florida waters please follow this link, "Manatee Zones: How You Can Help" and please take the time to become involved, even if you don't live in Florida. Let the politicians know WHY you come to Florida on vacation!
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