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The week began with rain, the threat of rain and bad weather, and wind. I didn't get on the water for the first time until Wednesday.
Wednesday's trip was my second with Dr. Joe Sandza. He and his wife Helen fished with me back in September, and we had a great day. Today, he had a couple of his good friends, Tom and Bob, with him, who had seen the pictures from the first trip and wanted to come out and catch some of those beautiful redfish.
We had several factors I wasn't thrilled with working against us. First, we were coming up on the full moon, and the nights were bright. Second, we had a weak incoming tide that was moving only a foot over a 6 hour period. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the fish.
We left the dock at 6:30 and headed for the long bar off marker 34 in the Sound. Bait has been thick here. We anchored and I put out a little chum, and within a minute we had bait flicking everywhere. I threw my big heavy 1/4 inch by 10 ft. Caloosa net, and could hardly lift it out of the water. We had a well overflowing with bait on one throw. But, there were very few pinfish in the mix, and I decided to go to Kiesel's to catch a few for the redfish.
After the short ride, I stopped to anchor the Talon, and there was total silence. We had lost power to everything. The Power Pole, instruments, engine, wells, etc. Nothing worked. We'd had a major electrical failure of some kind. I did a couple of quick checks and didn't see anything obvious wrong, so I instructed the guys to quickly turn all the bait free. I didn't want to kill hundreds of shiners and pins for no good reason. Of course, within five minutes of turning all the bait out, I found one of the battery connections loose, and we were quickly ready to begin anew.
So, it was back to our original bar. I anchored a little shallower this time, and it took a little longer, maybe four throws, but we had a good mix of shiners and pinfish. We were finally ready to fish, if delayed a bit!
The battery ordeal had cost us a precious hour or so of a very early high tide, and I feared I might have missed the bite. But, from the time I got to the first, and as it turned out, only spot, the bite was on, and it was hot. I threw some live and cut chum, and within five minutes we had the first redfish in the boat. We had a blast catching those big redfish. We had doubles, triples, quadruples, and even had five on at one time. That is done by hooking the fish and then putting the rod in the rodholder until there's someone free to catch it.
Best we could tell, we caught in excess of 30 big redfish. It's funny! As the bite went on, we had a number of boats come to within easy watching distance of us trying to get in on the action. One boat, obviously a tourist because of the type of boat he was in, anchored within 50 feet of my port side, just like someone had done in the previous report. It always amazes me that people can be so clueless of the etiquette of the flats, and so inconsiderate. There was also a young couple in a Carolina Skiff who had watched the show for some time, but had kept their distance. Once we were ready to head to the Waterfront for lunch, we gave them a bunch of our bait. I told them to go and park right where I had been, in front of the intruder, and hopefully they caught some fish.
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So, a day that had started off a bit on the wrong foot, had turned into a stellar day. Joe, Tom, and Bob had a blast. And, so did I!
Thursday, it was time for my old buddy Capt. Mark Bess, and I to get out for our first day on the water together in a good two years. Far too long. I still miss the days when Mark and I did trips together and would have unbelievable redfish days sitting next to each other on the flats. But, today would be different. Mark and I were out for a day of relaxation and camaraderie, and there was no pressure to produce.
We headed back to the same flat for bait, and were loaded with a good mix in just a few throws of the net. We headed back to the scene of the previous days carnage, knowing full well the fish would be right there. The question would be, "Will they eat?" The tide was a bit lower, and we were much earlier, and as I poled onto the flat we found big redfish tailing in all directions.
Well, Mark and I are both lovers of catching redfish on topwater plugs, and we quickly tied on a Yozuri Walk The Dog for Mark, and I tied on a red and white Johnny Rattler. It was a sight to behold. For those of you who have never seen redfish tailing on a flat, it's hard to describe the beauty and excitement. There were big pods of them actively feeding and showing us their broad, bronze tails. But, as exciting as it was, the redfish had other ideas. They wouldn't give our plugs a look. Mark did catch a nice speckled trout on his Yozuri, but that was it.
Finally, we moved on up to slightly deeper water, and began our chumming routine. We weren't met with the great bite of the previous day, but we had a bite. More than enough to keep Mark and me happy. We steadily caught redfish for the rest of the morning. We didn't keep score, but from experience I'd say we boated 15, or so. When things slowed down and we were sure they were done, we headed home. Mark was taking a weekend trip to Orlando the next day, and had lots to do.
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Saturday morning I was up early and catching bait by 6:30, for the Big Brother/Big Sisters event that many of our local Lee County guides support each year with the donation of their time, boats, and talents, to take kids fishing. But, I was way ahead of schedule, as I put probably 800 baits into the boat in two throws of the net. Of course, there were a handful of guides that didn't show at the last minute, but there were also less kids than originally anticipated, so things worked out well.
My party for the morning was Rita, and her little sister Genesis. Genesis is a thirteen year old Puerto Rican girl, who is just as cute as she could be. From the time I rolled the throttle on, she was laughing and screaming, and having more fun than the law allows. We headed to a hole that gives me lots of big trout and snook on dead low tides, and although we caught some nice trout, we didn't get the bite I expected there, and saw no snook at all. But, it was perfect for a young girl on her first fishing trip, and Rita showed that she was quite a good caster, in spite of the fact that she had never fished with live shiners. It didn't take young Genesis to get the hand of pumping and reeling. It never takes the ladies long to catch on. They do what you teach them, and they catch fish, unlike us guys who have to get past the male ego thing!
After a bunch of nice trout, we moved to a snook hole. We only managed two small snook, but that was still a thrill for Rita, who said her brother has been here for 30 years and never caught the first snook. The third stop gave Rita a nice gag grouper and a ladyfish, and somewhere along the way there was a catfish to round out the "Trashcan Slam". We had many baits that were hit by snook at all three stops, but most of them weren't even felt by the girls. When the snook have full bellies, they'll hit a bait and kill it, but not eat it, and often, if not most often, the hit can not be felt.
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We only had a couple of hours to get it done, but the girls had a great time, as did I. Back at the second spoil island of the Sanibel Causeway, where everything had begun, we enjoyed a great lunch and watched the kids get their prizes.
And, that's how it went. Not a busy week, but a fun one. The weather forecast for next week is a good one. I have three trips on the books, and one is with a young lady in her 90's. Stay tuned. Should be a fun report.
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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