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It's Christmas week, and there's not a lot going on between the holidays and cold fronts. I managed to run two trips, with two of my most valued customers.
My old friend Tom Ross brought his 6 year-old son Brett down from Tampa for his first trip in the shallow water. Tom said Brett had had a bad experience on an offshore trip, and he wanted this trip to be part fishing, part shelling, and all fun. He wanted Brett to see that he could go out on a boat and have fun on the water without getting sick.
We began the day with an effort to catch bait at the third span of the causeway. We managed to catch threadfins, some pinfish, and mojarra, but I really didn't expect much to eat them with the water so cold. We had a seriously low tide, and I knew a lot of beach would be exposed, so I suggested to Tom that we do the shelling part of the trip first. We headed to the beach at Cayo Costa, where Tom and Brett walked about a mile, and filled a large bag with great shells including many olives, angel wings, kings crowns, turkey wings, welks, pectons, and others. Tom was just amazed at the quantity and quality of the shells they found. He even found a part of a jennonia.
Happy with the success of their shelling excursion, we decided it was time to let Brett catch a few fish. Trout were the obvious target for the youngster. Tom and I did most of the fishing, though, as Brett seemed to be winding down. He did reel in a few. We caught 15 or so trout including a dozen really nice fish at the top of the slot and bigger. Most were caught on Bass Assassin jigs, but one big trout did crush my Stillwater topwater plug. We finished our day with a fabulous lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant in St. James City.
The day after Christmas my good friend John Hitt and I were out for the first of two days together to wind up the year. I told John that bait was all but impossible, and that even if we caught bait nothing was likely to eat it, anyway, and we agreed to fish artificials. John and I both enjoy fishing with lures.
We had one bodacious low tide, and I began with a run up to Demere Key, where we fished the large holes and edges. We caught a number of really nice trout there, but never really got a good bite going. From there we went south and fish some other potholes without much success. Finally, we headed in to Long Cut to see if we could jig up a snook or some trout there. We caught a few more trout for a total of a dozen or so, and John got one snook nearly to the boat on a curly-tail jig.
Yes, the fishing is tough right now. They all seem to have a case of cold water lethargy. We need a couple of good weeks of warm weather to get things back toward normal, but the cold front just keep on coming!
I want to wish all my customers and friends a most healthy, happy, and prosperous 2003. I look forward to seeing many of you again next year, and to renewing old friendships and beginning new ones.
Tight Lines!
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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