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With the passing of the last cold front we saw our water temperature drop to 60 degrees! That's bad news for inshore fishing. Most of the redfish move offshore in late November/early December, and leave behind mostly puppy drum. Snook loose interest in eating much at 70 degrees, and their metabolism begins to slow until it all but stops at 60 degrees, at which point they go hibernative. Bait virtually disappears, and trout slow to a grind when the water is so cold. In addition, snook season is closed from December 15, through January 31, precisely to protect snook that may be stunned by the cold waters and floating after a long cold spell. Trout are also closed under the new law during November and December, which I just don't understand. As you can see, the inshore meat fisherman doesn't have much to fish for this time of year. As a professional guide, my philosophy is to take what Mother Nature is willing to give you when the water is so cold. That most often means ladyfish, trout, jack crevalle, sheephead, snapper, and small grouper.
I decided to take the new Maverick on her maiden voyage Monday, while my good friend Russ Hubbard was in town with his son David. I didn't want to do a guide trip in her without having been out in her with someone along, to allow me to get familiar with the boat, and figure out where everything needs to store. So, Monday was the day, and I knew Russ who absolutely loves the Talon, would be a fair and honest critic for the new boat.
We spent some time in my boatyard making sure we had everything in the boat we would need for a day of fishing. I put together some new tackle trays full of lures and put them on board. Russ bought a new chum bucket. I dug out a new rubber mat for the net to rest on. The castnet, tray, and pushpole were all moved. Finally, we were ready.
At the ramp, I realized that the trailer was the roller type, and that I wouldn't be able to do my usual one many launch. I would have to put her in the water and slide her off. Oh well! I don't expect the trailer will last a very long time with regular use, anyway.
It had been so long since I had been in the Maverick with John, that I had forgotten how nice she rides. She has plenty of power from the Yamaha 130, is dry, and runs around 45 MPH tops. Russ, David, and I made several stops to see if we could find some pinfish in less than 6 feet of water, but we didn't see a living thing in the shallows that day. So, we resolved to fish with lures.
We were on a sea trial, and we had no agenda other than to enjoy ourselves. We weren't hell-bent on catching every fish we could, or on catching anything at all. We hopped from place to place jig fishing for trout, and we managed to catch a few, as well as a ton of ladyfish up in the river. We had a great time together, and the boat performed flawlessly. She doesn't have the room/deckspace that the Talon has, so I expect two anglers will be the limit on the Maverick, but other than that, she's a great boat, and will make a perfect backup boat. She will also be a great boat from which to chase tailing redfish, as she's lighter, easier to pole, and floats shallower than the Talon.
Tuesday was the first of a number of holiday trips with my good friend Dr. John Hitt, who made it possible for me to have the Maverick. I met him at his dock, where he, his son Charles, and grandsons Gerrod and Alex were waiting. We were soon drifting our favorite shoal for ladyfish, and John and the boys had me doing triple-time trying to keep up with all the ladyfish they were catching. They caught them two and three at a time for a couple of hours. No, they're not all that big, and they aren't good to eat, but the run and jump all over the place, and are a riot to catch.
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From there we moved up into the Sound in search of trout, and they didn't' come easily. It seemed the holes would only give up a few trout, and we'd have to move. We finally found lots of trout back in a canal on Pine Island where the water temperature was about 1 degree warmer than on the flats. It was a fun day, and everyone caught lots of fish.
Wednesday will go down as one of the most memorable trips in a long time. Jeff McCrea, who I hadn't seen since I bought the Talon, was down from Jacksonville, and wanted to take his sister Karen and her boyfriend Axle on a trip. The trip would be a Christmas present for Axle, who has been recently introduced to fishing, and loves it. Jeff's folks have a place in Placida, on Pine Island, so I picked them up in the Talon at the Waterfront Restaurant docks.
Jeff was primarily interested in putting Axle on some kind of action, and of course, that meant a trip up the river to ladyfish heaven. I anchored the Talon on the edge of a drop where the fish like to gang up, and the mayhem was on. For the next couple hours we laughed, carried on, cut up, and caught fish after fish. I had to give Karen and Axle a bit of a casting clinic, and as things progressed I borrowed on a phrase that Russ Hubbard likes to use, "Duck or bleed!" That means someone with a propensity for being wild is about to cast and you'd better get out of the way. Of course, every time someone yelled "duck or bleed" we all had a laugh. But, we were all on the deck with laughter when Karen inadvertently yelled, "Duck or die!" At first she didn't know what was so funny, but we soon explained to her that is was "duck or bleed".
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Once they had caught so many fish they were getting bored with it, we pulled anchor and headed up into the Sound to see if we could find some trout action. We did some pothole hopping with limited success, and finally settled into the same canal as the day before. We caught plenty of trout there, and went home with big smiles on everyone's faces. It had been great to see Jeff again, and meet Karen and Axle. The three of them were as funny and fun as could be, and I realized at the dock my ribs were sore. They gave me the highest of compliments when they used the "A" word! No, not that one! They said it had been an awesome day, and that is better than a great big tip!!
After a nice, quiet Christmas day, I was back at John's dock at 9 AM on Friday. It would be John, Charles, and Alex. The lure of the fun of all those ladyfish is hard to pass up, and we were right back there, again. This time I decided to see if I could get John's anchor to hold the 22 Coastal in one spot so we could just catch fish instead of having to make drifts through the fish. With a lot of scope on the rode she bit, and we were able to concentrate on catching fish. When you're catching them two and three at a time, it doesn't take long to rack up big numbers. Once we figured we'd caught upward of a hundred, we decided to go trout fishing.
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We had a pretty stiff northerly breeze, and decided to stay on the east side of the Sound. We began in the canal, and caught lots of trout there. Once that slowed, we headed up into the Sound and began working potholes. We caught plenty of fish in some, and few in others. Probably the best news was that by the time we headed home, the water temperature on the flats was 64 degrees.
And, therein may lie the silver lining for next week. We are looking at a week of warming weather with temps pushing into the high 70's and no cold fronts in sight. That could well mean some good fishing in the week ahead. Time will tell. Stay tuned. Have a great New Year!
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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