14 Apr 2009

Tennis champion Nick Taylor called me on Monday. He had managed to make time in his tournament schedule for a fishing trip this afternoon. I had the pleasure of fishing with Nick last year, what an inspiring guy. For those of you who haven't heard of him, check out the report for our last trip, and be sure to watch the linked video here.

We immediately headed for the Pass and anchored up along the jetties. Nick struck first, boating a nice Sheepshead. A few casts later his reel starts screaming! This had to be the Redfish Nick was after. Once he initial run was over Nick began to gain line then the fish turned it around on him and dove under the boat. This move forced us to get off of the anchor and drift down-current with the fish steadily headed for the Gulf.

The fight lasted about 20 minutes, Nick working for every inch of line he could get, only to have it torn off the spool on yet another run. It was a close race, but the fish gave up before Nick did. Nicks prized Redfish was 28 3/4" long, his biggest fish to date! Awesome job Nick, congratulations.





While all this was happening, Bill, Nick's dad, hooks up with a nice fish. As it neared the surface in the off colored water my first thought was Flounder. Bill got it closer and closer and my "Flounder" mysteriously transformed into a Stingray, the oddball catch of the afternoon.



We relocated, got settled and hooked four Redfish, back to back. And back to back the all came unhooked. Lousy luck. The fifth fish was evidently less lucky than we were and Bill was on with another Bull Redfish. We got the fish boat-side just as the light was falling. As the fish swam away we headed back to the ramp. Nick had an even bigger day ahead of himself on Wednesday at the tournament.

Thanks again Nick and Bill, it was a pleasure fishing with you guys again. I hope next years schedule works out as well!

11 Apr 2009

Dennis, Julia, Sean, and Daniel were ready to go the moment I got to Shoreline Park this morning. We immediately headed for the Pass with hopes of finding a good spot. There were very few boats around when we arrived and the anchor set right on the first drop. Sweet! Deploy the Shrimp...and wait. Although it felt like forever before someones drag started screaming, not more than 5 minutes had passed.


I cannot explain the feeling when the first fish of the day is in the net, it's smiles and high fives all around, camera shutters are clicking...success!!!

After that, it was all fun and games, and boy did we have fun. The fish bit steadily all morning and we caught a variety of species. Redfish, Black Drum, Sheepsheads, a Porcupine Puffer, and a Pigfish all found themselves flopping around on deck at some time during the morning.


The time between bites was spent laughing, joking, and generally "carrying on", as my Grandmother would say. It was a riot, I felt like I'd been fishing with these guys for years. I commend Dennis and his wife for doing a great job with their kids. We'll get you out next time, Mrs C.


All together we caught 7 Sheepsheads, 3 Black Drum, 2 Redfish, 1 Pigfish, 1 Porcupine Puffer, some lost fishing line, and Sean repeatedly attempted, to no avail, to catch the rock on the bottom of the pass. I give him full credit for his effort.


Thank you guys again for fishing with me today. It was a fantastic morning! I can't wait to do it again!

Thanks very much to the readers for stopping by...but really, get away from the computer and wet a line, if you have a kid, take them along, have a good time, laugh, catch a fish, then call and give me a report!

06 Apr 2009

Met up with Dean, Matthew, and Lauren this morning at 0730. Although the wind was howling at 20+ knots, our particular fishing spot was protected from the strongest of the winds. Upon arrival I deployed the anchor and the catching began. On our very first cast Matthew bowed up with a nice Redfish. Game on!


Matthews Red was just a little over-sized;

so he took the honor of releasing his fish.
Lauren followed him up with a nice Black Drum of her own.(I'd have a pic, but I had to hold her fish for her picture...she was not touching it) Then the Sheepsheads started. The bite was nice and steady all morning and we took advantage of it.


We boated 11 Sheepsheads, 1 Redfish, 1 Mangrove Snapper, 1 Bluefish and 1 Black Drum. An excellent morning, despite the seemingly poor conditions.

Thanks again Dean, Lauren, and Matthew for a great, if chilly, morning. I hope we can do it again sometime.

04 Apr 2009

My friend Howard, and a few of his friends, Joe, James, and Wayne, joined me for a morning of trying to catch dinner. These guys were fired up to, as Wayne says, "dry off" some Sheepsheads, and give them a formal introduction to the frying pan! We went directly to the jetty, anchored just off the rocks, and began pitching baits. We were soon rewarded with bent rods.


James added this nice Black Drum to the well (top);
Joe answered with one of his own

James, not to be outdone, closes the book with this perfect slot sized Redfish. Nice job James! You think he's proud of that one?


Howard was too busy fishing to have a picture taken, nothing was about to slow him down! By the time I would get a fish off of his line, he'd already have it baited and ready to go back down. He and Wayne both added fish to the box, bringing the cooler count to 6 Sheepsheads, 5 Black Drum, 2 Redfish, and 2 Mangrove Snapper...excellent morning!


Thanks again Howard, Joe, James, and Wayne, I can't wait to do it again.

And, as always, thanks to the readers for their time.

03 April 2009

I picked up Pat, Matt, and Dan at their condo this morning at 0700. The bay water has been inundated with freshwater over the past week due the the large amount of rain; turning it a dark coffee color brown. The rain water, coupled with nearly a week of South winds at 20+ knots, had the bay system filled with an extra foot of water. It sure made the Sheepsheads tough to catch. Our first attempts went unrewarded, hooks came back empty, or pulled free from the fish we did fool.

There is somewhat of an art to hooking Sheepsheads, they're able to pilfer bait in seconds, often before you even have a chance to feel them. Using a live shrimp, you may get tap,tap,tap,...a fourth tap if you're lucky (or the shrimp is really big). But, if you miss that window, your fishing rod has gone from "tool" to "accessory".

We "accessorized" quite a bit to start, some guys even seemed to prefer that; instead of using the rod for our intended purpose...didn't they Dan? ;P

Once we anchored over some shallow water rubble, rubble that had an appetite for hooks, we began catching a few fish; and doing battle with lots of rocks! A later move proved even more productive (with fewer snags), bringing our tally to 7 nice Sheepies in the 3-4 pound range, along with a few juvenile Gag Grouper and small Mangrove Snapper and a lone Catfish (yes, I'll admit to catching it), making for a nice mornings catch. The guys wanted to keep a few for lunch so 3 fish went into the live well, en route to the plate.

Thanks again Matt, Dan, and "The Barracuda Man" Pat, I had a great time, hope to see you again in the summer!

Capt Josh

Thanks for stopping by!