Nick contacted me earlier in the week for a trip today. He is in town for a tennis tournament and didn't want to miss an opportunity for some saltwater action. Nick, his dad, Bill, and I met at Galvez at 1500; after a small production to get Nick comfortably into the boat, we were off.
We headed for the pass in hopes of finding a Redfish and maybe some Sheepshead. Upon arriving we found ourselves in a ripping current and blowing wind. These conditions aren't exactly perfect for what we were trying to do. The leads just would not hit bottom for more than a second or two before the current would whisk them away. This was not going to work.
Plan B: We'll troll the inside beach for the Spanish and Bluefish that Capt Wes has been catching. A couple of jigs and a lipped plug are deployed and the trolling begins.
A half hour or so creeped by without a bite. I kept a constant eye on the tide, waiting for it to subside enough to go back and fish the Pass. We finished our trolling run down Pickens beach, no fish to show for it. The tide had slowed a bit so we headed back to the Pass, intent on finishing our afternoon trying for big fish, no matter the outcome.
Plan A, take 2: Once we relocated (again) back to our original location we found slightly better conditions. The current had slowed just enough for us to have a shot at some action. With a little extra boat handling and a fair bit of luck, we succeeded. The catfish couldn't stand it anymore and began biting. We caught a few kitty cats, then Nicks rod took a turn towards the bottom. Watching him fight that fish was awesome. I know it wasn't easy, but he hung on, grunting and groaning, and boated our first Sheepshead of the day!
We kept plugging away at it and pulled another Sheepie and a few more catfish then decided to polish out our time seeking a redfish. We drifted a few times over my favorite redfish spot and came up empty each drift. I had just enough time to check another of my better spots. Within minutes of starting our last drift Bills rod started singing. The battle lasted for 15 minutes, the tide taking us well out the Pass, when the fish finally gave up we were rewarded with this LARGE specimen of a redfish.
A couple of pictures and a quick release later we packed it up and headed for the ramp. Back at the ramp we found it much more difficult to get Nick out of the boat. I called my dad who, along with my uncle, helped me get him back properly in his chair.
Thanks again Nick and Bill for a great afternoon!
Side Note: Just because you're not able to do everything doesn't mean you can't fish!
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