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As I mentioned last week I had three trips this week. They were pretty good trips considering how tough the fishing has been this year, especially this summer, and were all fun days because of great customers.
The first trip was on Wednesday, with my old friend Jeff Stevens, of Naples, and his daughter Lauren, and father-in-law Bill, from West Palm Beach. Jeff and I have been trying for some time to put together a trip for he and his daughters, but schedules have made it difficult. We finally managed to get something organized right in the hottest part of the summer when the fishing is the slowest.
Jeff wanted to catch bait so that Lauren could be a part of that and see what it was all about. So, once we had idled out of the channel through Punta Rassa Cover to the mouth of the river, we headed to Chino Island to see what we could dig up. It was just beginning to crack dawn as we got there. There was a slight breeze that I prayed would stay with us for most of the morning.
Jeff and I had fun catching bait, and teasing Lauren with puffer fish, needlefish, and pipefish. She was in no hurry to handle them, but was a very good sport. You should have heard her squeal when I tossed a puffer at her! We were having fun. We did managed to get a couple or three dozen shiners big enough to toss, and a zillion small fries and pinfish to top off the well. We were ready for the first hole.
We headed to a beautiful creek where I hoped the poor tide would at least be crawling. It's hard to catch anything if it's not. It did crawl for a while, but the fish didn't care. They weren't about to eat. We drew a goose egg!
On to the next spot on a beautiful piece of shoreline in McKeever Keys. The first several baits we cast were hit quickly, but the hits were missed. We kept feeding the fish until we caught a few of what turned out to be small snook. They were sneaky. But, after several of those they shut down, and we moved on once again.
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We headed on further north into the Sound, and settled on another spot where I hoped for some kind of water movement. We had the best bite of the day there, and caught 2 redfish, one on jig, and lost 3, along with 2 snapper, and 2 snook.
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Once we were sure it was over, we moved on to try our hand at grouper. I wanted Lauren to feel how hard they fight. We did manage to catch 2 jewfish and 3 gag grouper, but Lauren didn't happen to be on the end of any of those rods. She was about to run out of gas, and was laying down on the seat more than she was up front fishing. The sun had taken its toll on all of us, and it was time to call it a day. It was time for the Waterfront Restaurant! It's like an oasis in the middle of the desert.
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All things considered, it had been a descent day, and certainly a fun day. It was great to see Jeff after so long, and to meet Lauren and Bill. Lauren has one of the greatest smiles ever to grace a face, and I hope she keeps on wearing it! Check her picture.
On Thursday, I had my first trip with Dr. Patrick Reidy, and his good friend Frank Cupiec, of Naples. Patrick has been in Naples for two years, and told me he was having trouble catching anything other than catfish and the occasional ladyfish. So, the emphasis was to be on teaching.
I suggested that we fish artificial lures so that we didn't waste an hour or more trying to catch enough bait for a short morning of fishing. My logic is that the best bite you're going to get in the first half of the day will be from daybreak to around 8 AM. Why spend that time catching bait, when you should be fishing, and hopefully catching a few fish. Patrick and Frank were in agreement, so that became the game plan.
When we arrived at the first spot it was still so dark I could barely see to tie on our lures. Probably couldn't have done it without the trust old TieFast tool. I tied on Exude RT slugs in a couple of different colors, and we went to work. Almost immediately, we had a red in the boat. Then, we lost a red, and caught a small trout. Hummm. Two-thirds of the way to a Slam. We had lots of hits that we couldn't connect with, probably because the fish just weren't aggressive on the slow moving tide. Our decision to move on was made when our light breeze died and the noseeums attacked us with a vengeance. They were awful, and will just drive you crazy.
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With the breeze gone I knew from experience we'd have to fish out in the open to keep from being eaten alive by the noseeums. That greatly reduces the opportunities for snook and red fishing, so my next spot would have to have lots of cover/structure that wasn't near mangroves. I had just such a place in mind, and off we went.
Once there, I tied on spoons: A small hammered finish silver spoon the size of a glass minnow for Frank, and larger silver and gold spoons for Patrick and me. I explained to the boys as I was re-rigging, that I wanted both colors because redfish will eat both silver and gold, but that I'd never caught a snook on a gold spoon. And, don't you know that the first snook we caught was on a gold spoon!
We moved from hole to hole, covering the area well. Frank actually had the first hit, and it was a big one. A big redfish grabbed that little spoon and got all the way on the drag. But, the spoon didn't stay put, and the fish got away. I could tell it was a big red by the amount of water it moved when it hit. Of course, Patrick and I teased Frank for the rest of the day about that redfish, and he beat himself up along with us. Frank was a good sport, and a lot of fun to have in the boat.
As we fished, I told the guys that there was one particular area that always gave me plenty of snook and redfish when I fished it with live bait. I figured that would backfire in my face, but as it turned out the prophecy was fulfilled. We caught quite a few snook there, including several on gold spoons, and Frank had one cut him off. More harassment for Frank! The best fish was another nice redfish to go with the one we already had in the well! And, the boat had a Slam!
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Friday was my first trip with Michael Williams, and his beautiful girlfriend, Sherry, from St. Petersburg, Florida. From talking to Mike I already knew that topwater fishing "walk the dog" style was his passion. Perfect! He brought along a couple of his own rods and a giant tackle bag. Mike was serious!
I stopped at a couple of docks that are lit all night long along the way out, but with the water laying stagnant, nothing was about to eat, even though Mike made some great casts in the dark. I knew I had a seasoned angler in the boat.
But, as we made our way up into the Sound to what was to be our first stop of the day, it became apparent that my plans would have to be revised. The water was glass slick. There wasn't a whisper of a breeze. We would not be able to fish near any mangroves.
I decided on a beautiful spot that's a hundred yards or so from a mangrove island, hoping the bugs wouldn't find us. Mike immediately had fish blowing up his topwater plug, but they just wouldn't eat the darned thing. We did manage to get a redfish to eat a Mirrolure topwater plugs with spinner blades on each end, and Sherry brought that one to the boat.
We moved to another similar kind of spot and went to work. The spot always has plenty of fish, and it did this day. We had redfish all over the place, and even pushed a school. But, they weren't about to eat. We worked the area over hard for more than an hour without a take. Time to move on.
I took us to the same place we'd caught all the snook and a redfish the day before, hoping the fish would eat, again. We fished the area hard, and saw lots of snook and reds. In fact, Mike got to see his first actual school of reds from close enough where he could see the fish. The fish were so skittish we could hardly get close enough to take our shots. When we did, they just ignored our baits and took off. Later, Mike did catch a nice redfish on his topwater plug, which he had stayed with. We were fast running out of gas.
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We decided to stop at one more place on the way home. The story was the same. We saw lots of snook, but they just wouldn't eat. I have to say Sherry was a real trooper, and hung in there to the very end. We were dying in the heat with no air moving, and headed in around eleven o'clock.
It was a two redfish day, but it was a fun day with a great couple. I think Mike was pretty surprised at how much hotter it seemed down here, and how different it was. I hope I get a chance to take Mike and Sherry on a livebait trip down the road, once things get back to normal, and let him get a taste of that.
Well, that was how it went. I've got three trips again next week. I'm praying for some breeze!
Be sure to check out www.BestFishingBooks.com, Books and gifts for fishermen from my friend Jim Dicken!
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