Go to NEXT Report
Go to PREVIOUS ReportClick here to book a trip with me on "the BarHopp'R", or call 1-800-545-1853.
Well, here we are again; gathered together to talk once again about El Meanio.
Sunday was lost to another passing front. Monday I was scheduled to fish with Bob and Christine Zickus, who were down from the Chicago area for a fishing vacation. Bob and I had been cooresponding via email for some time, and I felt like I was going fishing with an old friend before I ever actually met him. We put our collective heads together Sunday night and decided that we might have a better shot at getting out of the wind and catching some redfish in Sarasota Bay. Bob and Christine were happy to drive up for a shot at some fish.
That morning we were greeted by the sight of an angry Sarasota Bay with a four foot chop and whitecaps driven by a 30 knot northwest wind. Bob was ready to cancel the trip, but Christine was anxious to get out and catch a fish. She said she'd be happy if she could catch just one fish that day. My plan was to run up the lee shore and fish the lee side of the mangrove keys where there are always redfish prowling. By the time we ran to Hart's Landing and bought some shrimp, the wind had shifted around to the north. There was no water to run in that wasn't angry.
We tried for some pompano first, trying to bump jigs along the bottom, but that was all but impossible with the boat drifting at about 10 knots. We did manage to catch 2 pompano, one quite nice. Cristine, who was certainly not your typical lady angler not only handled her bait but her fish, too. She also caught one of the largest whiting I've ever seen on a pompano jig tipped with shrimp, as well as a trout and a flounder. We made the rough, wet ride north to the redfish flats, but the ride was in vain. The reds just weren't there. So, we made a run south, but there just weren't any more fish to be found.
We parted that day with plans to meet for diner one night, and to try to get out on another trip if I had any days left unbooked, but between the weather and my schedule we just weren't able to pull it off before they had to leave.
Bob and Christine are the kind of folks you just fall in love with. I think I've made some friends for life. In fact, they've invited me to come north to Chicago for some Great Lakes fishing and some serious partying. There is a great ChicagoLand Fishing Show up there every February. I'm going to try to make it up there before long to do the show, visit, and fish with my new friends. Only problem is, that's right at the beginning of our really busy season.
My trip for Tuesday was to be with Dean McDaniel from Hobbs, New Mexico. We had an afternoon tide, and because the weather was still uncertain, had decided to make the final call to fish or not the morning of the trip. I was ready to fish Tuesday after seeing the day unfold, but fate had a different plan. I tried to call Dean at around 8 o'clock. The motel clerk said he wasn't answering his phone. I figured he was at breakfast. I left a message. I tried again at 9 o'clock. The clerk once again said he wasn't answering. I wondered if he had decided to say to heck with the fishing and gone to a ball game. I left another message with a different number.
At around 1:30 I got a call from a Doug McDaniel, who said he had a message to call this number. I explained I had been leaving messages for Dean McDaniel, and he told me Dean was his dad. Suddenly, everything started to make sense. The clerk had been ringing the wrong room. Turns out, Dean had waited in his room until 11:30 for me to call. We missed our trip because of a motel clerk who could barely speak English. In fact, her English was so bad as to be almost unintelligible on the phone. I finally got to talk to Dean and apologize for the situation, and suggested he file a complaint with the motel. I hope he did. Dean lost the only opportunity he had to go fishing, I lost a day of income and the chance to spend the day with a guy who sounded like one hell of a nice guy on the phone, because of a clerk who could barely speak or understand English. Unexcuseable!
Wednesday belonged to Dr. Gary Grob, baseball coach at Winona University in Winona, Minnesota, and his brother Ken, his assistant coach Kyle Poock, and their top home run hitter, Jayson Moe. Parties of four are usually tough on the flats, but we had a comparatively beautiful day with breeze 10 to 15 from the northeast, and a high of 73. There was still no bait, so we were fishing with shrimp.
We started off drifting the flats for trout and managed 18 of the speckled critters. The boys also caught one snook and one jack. Gary and the boys were great guys. We had a lot of fun, and I hope to see them again someday.
After a day off, I was back on the water again, this time doing a two boat trip with my good friend Capt. Mark Bess. We were to take Tom Davanaugh, his best friend David Bielen and his dad, Tony Bielen, and another angler who didn't show up. I wound up taking Tony, who was a grand ole gentleman of about 68 years. I thought I'd start Tony off on some trout in order to measure his angling skills, and because I knew there wasn't much chance of finding snook or reds that would eat. Not long after we started catching trout Tony proclaimed, "Now this is what I call fun! It's almost like walleye fishing." I figured as long as he was having fun and the trout were biting, we'd stay right there and let him catch them.
After the bite slowed, we did mount a search for reds and snook, but ultimately wound up back on the same flat to end the day with more trout. By day's end Tony had caught somewhere between 30 and 40 trout, and Tom and David had caught a small red, a couple of sheephead, and a lot of trout. I know Tom had high hopes of catching snook for his friends, but it just wasn't a realistic expectation considering the weather, water, etc. We all had fun.
On the Sarasota front, Capt. Al Shank of the "Gotta Go" ran a trip for me Friday with David Mahar of IBM. David sent me an email saying he caught 3 big jacks, and could have caught them all day, as well as some trout. But David was hellbent on catching some redfish, and insisted that Capt. Al take him for reds. David reports that he caught 5 redfish on spoons, and lost 2. Incredibly, one ripped the hook right off the spoon. Dave thanked me for putting him with Capt. Al, and said they had a great day with a lot of action, especially for such a miserably windy day.
If we could just string a few warm days together in a row, I believe the bait would start to show up and the fish would start to eat. But, the immediate forecast is for a big arctic cold front to come rumbling down the country toward us any time, now.
If you have questions or comments, or would like to book a trip, please email me at capt@barhoppr.com.
Go to NEXT ReportGo to PREVIOUS Report[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] [TV Quality Video Clips] [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] |