Fish Catching Travel
The Shoedog got a hold of me on Sunday wanting to know if I could fish Monday and Tuesday. So I somehow managed to make time in my busy schedule (not) so Monday morning we were up at 4:30 and at 6:45 anchored off the old Coast Guard station.
My fishing the last couple of weeks has been spotty. One day I manage some good trout, the next day I have struggled. And with the Mako still in the shop, our range is somewhat limited, so that played a role in deciding to wade the flat next to the old station.
Shoedog started up shallow, right on the bank, throwing a topwater. For the first couple of hours he boasted several small trout and reds. He chose the Top Dog in a bone and was working it fairly fast. Unfortunately he also lost 3 really nice trout. His excuse was he still has not mastered the keeping the line tight while he gets the net. At least that is his story and he is sticking to it.
Meanwhile I headed out to waist deep where I caught them a couple of weeks ago. I threw the topwater some, but knew if I threw the plastic I would catch more, so next for me was the 4″ chicken on a chain paddle tail. And just like my last trip there I started catching the snot out of them. Most were small, and then a few started chasing bait and I tossed the topwater in and caught a nice 20″. Then a couple of minutes later I put another keeper in the boat on the KVD Sexy Dog topwater in a sexy shad color.
And to add insult to injury I managed to miss 3 really nice trout, one the biggest one I have ever had hit a topwater. That fish came out of the water and pounded it just like a bass. So finally it started to sink in, all the big fish were hitting topwater and not plastics. When they slacked off about noon we moved.
First it was Bayucos Point. The tide was up and not moving when we fished the end of the island. There was some good looking points and shell but we just could not find anything. Next it was an oyster bar in Big Bayou. The water was just starting to move out when we got there. I lost a red, but other than that did not have a bite. Shoedog added to our “almost whacking them day” by losing a nice big flounder and catching a couple of rat reds.
For our final stop we headed to the first big drain from Big Bayou into Barroom. The water was really out now, and sometimes the reds gang up there. Shoedog stayed shallow and I fished around waist deep, both of us throwing topwater. And of course I had a real bull red follow the topwater to right in front of me and just do the old boil the size of a wash tub thing and miss the bait. And then we called it a day.
We probably caught 25 – 30 fish all day, but by time we quit we had a total of 2 keeper trout. The total count for the “almost whacking them day” was lots of good fish that did not end up in the boat. Funny how that works, some days you only get a few bites and end up with a nice sack, Monday was the opposite, we had the bites, they just did not end up in the cooler.
So we had a good time and a couple of things really made the day. People who steal your spots by seeing you fish are called “Potlickers” by a lot of the guides and others online. Well the original “Potlickers” are dolphins. You can be standing in a wad of trout biting like mad, and then here they come, doing their dolphin thing. And it happened today when the bite was on and here they came.
So anyway, when I caught the 20″ on the KVD a big dolphin swam to within 5 feet of me and stopped while I landed the trout. And then the stare down began. I was holding the trout and the dolphin kept easing his head out of the water broadside looking at me with one eye, or probably looking at my nice trout. Either way he was sideways while he watched me and we were eye-ball to eye-ball. It was truly awesome and the first real personal interaction I have ever had with one. So he kept watching, I did not put the trout on the stringer, and after 3 or 4 minutes he finally swam off when he realized that trout was not his dinner. He was close enough I could have reached out and touched him with the rod. I am thankful I was there.
Shoedog had his little outdoor moment also. He was wading along and saw a dead fish so waded over to see exactly what it was. It turned out to be a really big mullet. So what’s the big deal? It had a star fish on it. Now that is cool. I have seen them in Florida and Belize, but have never seen one here. Another gift from the great outdoors. These are the memories that will live in our mind forever, and like all good things will grow with the re-telling. We are fisherman you know?
On another note, while we were wading I saw Faye and Steve go by. I waved like a freakin’ lunatic later when they were going in, but they did not see me. So Faye, my apologies, I promise we will get together on one of your trips. Hope you caught a few fish.
There are no pictures today. Dead fish are not all that attractive. And of course going along with our “almost whacking them day”, a picture of 2 dead trout just doesn’t cut it. So that was our day, catching small fish, losing big fish, and having a big time. Tomorrow it is back at it again, We will be up at 4:30 and on the road by 5:30. At least we have a pretty good idea what we need to be doing. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
