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Because it's been very slow, and I only ran one trip during the week of February 3, I decided to just do a consolidated report for the two weeks ending February 10, 2001. That trip was with my old friend Bob McGuire. We began the trip at noon to fish the incoming tide, and had a strong 20+ knot southeast wind blowing, that I tough was help improve the bite. We skipped the ladyfish up the river in favor of chasing snook and trout. We had some great bait that my good friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez gave me at the ramp after he had finished an exploratory trip with his friend Chris Rush.
Well, Bob and I went all over the place trying to get something going. We managed to catch 2 undersized snook, 4 nice trout, a flounder, a snapper, and a sheephead. All that great bait, and nothing would eat it. Boy, was I wrong about the bite. It was another TAD! Bob is a great guy, and takes everything in stride. He knows how fishing can be, and values the time on the water. He has seen the very best our area has to offer, and has seen the worst.
I'm beginning to understand and appreciate what folks of the Catholic faith must feel at confession. That's what these last couple of reports have felt like.........confession of my unguidely sins! I'm not sure I'm getting any absolution, though.
I got up Monday of the second week ready to meet Bill Owens and his buddies, and take them for a day of meat fishing for trout. But, I heard the sound of sprinkles on the roof. I queued up the computer radar image, and sure enough, the band of light showers that had been plaguing the Tampa area for days had finally pushed south. I thought I'd go ahead an meet Bill at the ramp and let him make the decision to reschedule our trip, or fish. But, the decision was made for me when I got into the tow van and turned the key. The solenoid wouldn't even rattle! My battery was beyond dead. And, I had just driven it the day before. It seemed clear the fishing Gods were telling me it was not a day to fish, so I called Ed. Fortunately, he was able to reschedule for Wednesday.
Tuesday, I had my first trip with Dr. Ed Sessa, a pediatrician from Schenectedy, New York, his dad, and his good friend Lynn, also a pediatrician. Lynn's son was also to join us, but had taken very ill and was in a local hospital. He would be OK! The weather was passable with a northwest wind at around 10, and the forecasted high around 70, but the guys soon found that they were a little under dressed for the very nippy early morning Florida air as we headed up the river to ladyfish country.
For the first time in memory, the spot didn't produce ladyfish. Oh, the fish were there, and we caught one, but they just refused to bite anything. After spending probably more time than we should have trying to catch some, we headed back down the river to the causeway to scout for bait. I already had 6 dozen nice shrimp from the Bait Shack across from the ramp as backup. At the bridge I ran into two of my guide friends who had both been throwing the net for going on three hours, with barely a bait in the well. I made the decision right there to go with the shrimp, and not waste a lot of the best part of the tide chasing bait we probably wouldn't catch.
We headed up the Sound in search of trout. We found enough to keep the boys busy, and predictably they missed a lot of hits. The popping cork fishing and long casts were all new to them, and it takes time and practice to get it right. The motley crew caught a dozen or so trout, but only 4 of them were keepers. It really left me wondering what happened to all the big trout we've been catching. At least they had enough for dinner. We capped the day with a great lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant. I hope I'll get the opportunity to take them out again under more favorable conditions.
Wednesday, I was ready for another attempt at getting Bill Owens out with his friends Jake and Bill. Bill is a great looking 82 years young, and hales from McHenry, Illinois. He let it be known that they were meat fishermen, and wanted plenty of trout. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem this time of year, as we have plenty of big winter trout around, some going as big as 8 pounds. We headed up the river for some ladyfish action, and to put a couple in the well for bait. It took a few minutes to find them, but once we did, we had a good bite, and quickly put 3 in the well. After catching a few others, along with a small jack crevalle, Bill, Jake, and Bill were eager to move on to trout. First, I wanted to check on bait.
We headed back up to the causeway. There I ran into my second cousin Capt. Sean Middleton, and Bruce Ringsmuth, who had both been throwing the net since before daybreak, with nothing to show for it. With that news, I was really tempted to say to hell with bait again, and go with the shrimp I had in the well, but the tide was just turning, and I decided to make a few throws. With Jake at the helm, we actually caught enough shiners and pinfish to fish with. Frankly, I was surprised.
As we headed up the Sound, I asked Bill if he wanted to give a snook hole, or two, a look along the way. He was agreeable. We couldn't get a single snook to look at our baits, but did catch small redfish that was just under the limit. With nothing doing on the snook once the water was moving well, we headed to some of the finest trout holes the Sound has to offer. We fished hard, and hopped from hole to hole, and couldn't even get a hit, say nothing of missing a hit. We finally caught one trout. I was baffled! Why were these holes, which are always full of nice trout, not producing? We managed a couple of flounder, but only one was big enough to keep. We went to a totally different area to see if we could find some redfish. There were so many boats on the flat that I just turned around and headed to the next area. With the weather warming, and the sun out, boats were coming from everywhere. It was like a weekend afternoon.
We made our final stop at a place that usually has redfish and big trout on it this time of year. It was time to chunk up the ladyfish and see if we could attract a red. After a few minutes we got a good solid redfish strike, but it was missed because the angler got to anxious. A little later something began bouncing another line. I knew is wasn't likely to be a red. It wouldn't commit. I explained that sometimes the fish, especially trout, will eat the bait and lay right where they are with it, sunning. After a couple of more wiggles, I decided it was time to test my theory. I reeled and reeled until I was tight, then struck. Sure enough, the fish was there. I passed the rod, and a few minutes later Jake reeled in a beautiful trout of about 5 pounds. That was the last fish of the day. The tide, and bite, were over. We headed to the Waterfront to lick our wounds. Back at the ramp I apologized for my inability to find them fish, but I had the feeling that Bill wasn't in the forgiving mood.
Yes, the fishing has been slow, and I'm believing that whoever it was that said they'd rather be lucky than good at fishing might have been correct. But, on the subject of catching as opposed to fishing, and measuring the quality of a trip in terms of fish in the boat, instead of the overall experience, I want to share something that a future customer recently shared with me.
Capt. Jeff Tropf, who recently booked March 29, with me, wrote, "When a new client questions me about my charter fees and the number of fish ... my reply never waivers .. Yes it's a lot of money, but you can't put a price on a good time with your family, and if you are going to spend the trip concerned about the number of fish you are catching against the cost of the trip, I recommend you not go, take your family out for a nice fish dinner, and spend the balance on what you would have spent on something tangible like T-shirts, golf, ... ." I thank Jeff for sharing that we me. It was encouraging to read after coming out of confession, and I think it's the only attitude with which to approach a charter!
I spent Friday with my fishing bud, "Fishoholic Dave" Latimer, playing with my favorite toys. We met at the Cockroach Bay ramp, and didn't think we'd even be able to get out of the basin the tide was so low. We headed down to the Port Manatee area, where Dave quicly caught a keeper red on a real expensive rattling spoon he procured somewhere. That fish turned out to be the highlight of the day, fishwise. We fished our hearts out, and saw lots of big redfish, trout, and tons of sheepies. We even found a big school of reds ganged up in a big pothole, but didn't catch one. We caught tons of small ladyfish back in a cut in Bishop's Harbor, and later a trout and a flounder, but that was it. But whether Dave and I spend 3 hours aground, or really spank 'em, we always have a great time together. This day was no different. Dave wears his title "Fishaholic Dave" very well. He's an obsessive, compulsive fisherman. The kind I love to fish with! And, it was a beautiful day to be on the water.
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The weather is warming nicely, now. I'm betting that with a couple of weeks of warm weather, if we can pull that off, the fishing will bust loose. Stay tuned.
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