|
There were five trips on the books going in to this week, but the mid-week trip was canceled due to bad wind, cold, and a guaranteed non-bite after the passing of yet another front. It was a week of very poor morning tides, followed by very slow moving afternoon tides, that combined to make catching bait and fish tough. Still, though the numbers weren't there, we managed to put some nice fish into the boat.
I was looking forward to my Monday trip with Tony Ronci with great anticipation, as Tony has been a good friend since we first fished together around this time last year. I really wanted to put him on a good bite. Actually, we had the best tide of the week to work with, but we were also cursed with a tough northwest wind at 25 that served to undo any tidal advantage. Still, we did manage a pretty good day with such conditions.
We first headed to Tarpon Bay in search of bait. Bait was tough, to say the least, but I had stopped at Shack Baits and bought an inexpensive West Coast 8 ft. net to help easy the heavy burden on my back caused by all the green slime on the bottom. I had forgotten how much difference there is between and 8 and a 10 foot net. The 8 foot net is like a toy by comparison. Very much lighter, and easy to overpower. But, it holds much less water and slime, and I didn't even feel tired after throwing it time after time.
Once bait was caught, Tony and I were off in search of hungry fish. We never really found a big bite in any one place, but just kept plugging along catching a few here and a few there, and by the time we were done Tony had caught a dozen snook including 2 nice keepers, and over a dozen big speckled trout to 4 pounds. Not a bad one angler day under such windy conditions. And, it was great to see Tony again, and spend some time with him.
 |
Tuesday, I met my good friend Dr. John Hitt at his dock at 8:30. I was glad to see the wind was not as high as the day before. We headed straight to Tarpon Bay for bait, and although it started off slowly, we finished strong with plenty of bait for the two of us. Time to fish.
We headed to some potholes expecting to begin with big trout, but the tide aided by the wind was already high enough to have the fish out of the holes. We only caught one. We moved on, and switched gears to snook. We moved to an area where I've seen and caught many nice snook over the years, that not many folks know about. Not long after getting there, and after only a couple of fish, I saw a boat approaching that turned out to be my good friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez. I wondered why he was approaching, but as he got closer he asked me how I had found his fish! We had a good laugh, that we were both fishing the same fish and didn't know it. We shared the spot and had a blast catching and missing snook after snook, and razzing each other every time one of us missed a fish.
Once the action slowed there, John and I moved to an area not too far away. We were immediately on a good snook bite, and John boated a beautiful 9 pound fish. I called Rey and had John hold up the fish, and Rey quickly joined us for more action. The fun continued. John finished the day with over two dozen snook, including several keepers.
 |
Wednesday was supposed to be my second trip with Chris Sentimore and his buds. But, the front had passed through over night, and it was now howling out of the north, and I knew in my bones the fish would not eat. I didn't have any way to contact Chris that night, so I went through the motions Wednesday morning, and got everything ready and put the Talon in the water. I was ready to go if they REALLY wanted to go, but I knew I had to tell them the truth of the matter, first. The boys arrived on schedule ready to go, but I quickly took the wind out of their sails when I explained the facts to them. The had a pow-wow, and decided they would go golfing on my advice. Chris vowed to be back next March.
Thursday brought more northerly wind, and a tough bite for my second trip with Ed Regan, and his great buddies Horst and Frank. I had fished with them first on February 19, and as I remember it had been a tough weather day. We had a hell of a good time, though. I had hoped we'd have a good day to fish the second time around, but it was not to be. Predictably, the bait and the bite were tough. We got bait at Tarpon Bay, but I really worked for it.
But, trying to get the fish to eat those beautiful baits was like inviting you to a smorgasbord as you exit the Outback Steakhouse. You're not going to be hungry, and neither were the fish! The boys were in great form, and we had lots of laughs throughout the morning. They fished hard, and had fun, and when we were done they had 5 snook to 28 inches including several that were just under the slot limit, and a three pound trout. It was a tough day, but we had fun, and they had snook and trout for the table.
 |
Friday was my third trip with Bill Odell, who by this time I greatly admired. This was to be our snook and redfish instruction trip, and I had greatly hoped we'd draw a good weather day. But, the post front gremlins were still about. Bait, and fishing, were tough.
But, the fish Bill did catch were quality fish. He managed to coax 6 or 7 snook to the boat, including a 27 inch keeper. He also caught 3 and 5 pound trout, and toward the end of the trip we managed to talk a 10 pound redfish into eating a bait. Bill got the Slam on a really tough day. Bill is a fun and interesting guy, and a real fisherman, and I greatly enjoyed my time with him. He's in the process of buying a home in St. James City, and I look forward to his being my friend and neighbor.
 |
We have some really tough tides coming up during the first part of next week, and we know going in the fishing will be tough. Let's hope the weather is warm, and the bait situation improves.
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!
Go to NEXT
Go to PREVIOUS
Or, call 1-239-633-5851.[Site Index] [Highlights] [Capt. Butch Profile] [About the Boat] [Kayak Fishing] [Testimonials] [Booking Tips] [Weekend Policy] [Great Rates] [What to Expect] [Cheap Accomodations] [Send Email] [What to Bring] [Directions to the Ramp] |
[Snook] [Redfish] [Tarpon] [Trout] [Jack Crevelle] [Tripletail] [Customer Tales] |
[Fishing Reports] [Articles] [Newsletters] [Angler of the Month] [Angler of the Year Awards] [Manatee Zones] [Tackle Service Center] [Cool Fishing Stuff For Sale] [Hot Links to Cool Sites] [Send Email] [Back to Home] |
OTHER FUN STUFF TO DO![Shelling & Sightseeing Trips] [Dolphin/Manatee Watch Trips] [Lunch & Bar Hopping Trips] |
