I only got to run two of the four trips I had scheduled this week. So, it was another typically slow week. And, if things aren't slow enough, we now have the red tide back in the Sound!
There was hardly anyone around at the ramp Monday morning as I showed up around 5:30 AM wondering what state I would find the parking lot in, and if I'd even have a place to park. I slipped the Maverick into the water and waited in the cool dark of the morning for my customers Jim Owens and his beautiful girlfriend, Naiomi. I'd fished with Jim and his Dad a couple of years ago, and had a great time. But, this was my first time to meet Naiomi. Jim had told me he'd be very early, and he was. We headed up the river in total darkness.
It was a cool morning, and there was a lot of active weather about 50 miles offshore that appeared to be stationary. I hoped it wouldn't be a factor as we rode along toward our bait destination at Kiesel's flat. Dawn was just beginning to break as we arrived.
Jim and I elected Naiomi to do the chumming, and she was busy calling our bait before the sun was up. Bait was tough, which I expected. There were plenty of pinfish and small threadfins, and a couple of catfish to mess up my net, but we barely got enough bait to fish with. We wouldn't be doing any live chumming on this day.
Our tide was a funky one. It was coming off a low that was around 1.7 ft., which is much higher than a winter high tide. It would be full at around a 2.5 ft. level, which meant it would be a big high tide, but a very weak tide. It was hard to call how it might go, but one of the guides I chatted with at the ramp reported that he'd had two good days over the weekend. I was encouraged.
With the tide already so high, there were lots of places to fish. I headed to a favorite southerly wind spot for redfish to see if we couldn't start right off with some fast redfish action. Well, there may have been redfish there, but we couldn't get a bait in front of them for the snook. They were small snook, but fun, nonetheless! I like to call them training snook, as they give anglers new to this kind of fishing time to get used to how snook run and jump, and time to get used to using circle hooks. Naiomi was no different than anyone else, but got the hang of it pretty quickly. Once the action slowed we moved on.
I headed to a favorite snook hole that I love to fish on the big tides of summer; the diurnal tides. It hasn't failed to give me a good bite, or at least some very nice fish once this summer. True to form, the fish were there, but they weren't very interested in eating. Jim and Naiomi managed 2 or 3 snook and Jim got a nice redfish. After working the area well, we elected to move on.
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
By this time we were on the last part of this big high tide, and I had just the spot I wanted to be. We fished our way into the spot, because there are often fish along the shore as I approach the actual spot. Once anchored on the spot the action was immediate. We had a triple hookup on redfish right off the bat. But, not long after getting started on the reds, we realized that as we were enjoying the action the weather had pulled up on us. It seemed that suddenly we had very threatening looking weather coming at us out of no where! Jim and I quickly agreed that we should beat feet toward the ramp. This appeared to be a large frontal line of storms.
As we cleared St. James City, I asked Jim if he'd like to fish some spots near the ramp, keeping an eye on the weather. He was in agreement. Well, by the time we'd fished the first hole it appeared that the weather was falling apart as it came ashore. Bummer! We'd left a big redfish bite to run from the weather and it didn't materialize. Well, we agreed better safe than sorry, and Jim noted that it had been a good day, regardless.
We decided to hit one more spot before heading to lunch. But, the tide was now done, and the water not moving, and all we could manage was one mangrove snapper. It was time to eat! So, if was off to the Waterfront Restaurant. It was a great end to our day, which had been lots of fun.
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
Ironically, back at the ramp I ran into the same guide I'd spoken to that morning. He asked me how I did as we walked towards our trucks. When I told him we'd had a great day, he told me he hadn't been about to beg a bite. I guess that really illustrates why they call it fishing. He'd had two good days, and today he couldn't find a fish. We had a good day. Go figure!
After a last minute cancellation that left me at the ramp with the Talon ready to go, I decided to take a little boat ride to give her a little exercise. We'd had a front pass through on Tuesday evening, and the humidity was down. It was a glorious morning to be on the water.
All the guides I chatted with before leaving the dock had told me about how bad the red tide had gotten during the week. Some had even had problems keeping bait alive on Monday. Ironically, I'd had none. Most had given up on catching bait and trying to keep it alive as an exercise in futility. They were all fishing with shrimp.
So, I was surprised that I saw no floating fish carcasses, and smelled no evidence of the red tide as I speed along making a loop up the river, down Miserable Mile, and across to the second span of the causeway. But, as I cleared the causeway and readied to take off, the Talon went into alarm. I quickly determined that it was an oil alarm, as the oil level in the engine supply tank was below minimum level, even though the big supply tank was OK. That seemed to indicate that the pump that pushes oil from the big tank to the tank on the motor, wasn't working. Damn. And, worse. During the troubleshooting process, I discovered the smell of gas in the bilge. It wasn't an overwhelming smell, but there, and worrisome. After adding some oil to the tank on the motor, I was off. This would mean a visit to Danny at Fowler Marine. I just hope it won't be a protracted one.
The thing that bothered me more than the trouble with the boat was that while I was trying to figure out what was going on, several guides passed me, obviously having a problem with the engine cover off, and not a one stopped to see if I needed help.
Thursday evening I called my friend Tim Morey about our Friday trip in his Ranger. I wanted him to know about the red tide, and the prospects for fishing, bait, etc. Time decided he'd rather be fishing that working, and the trip was on. I decided to drive to his place in St. James City, rather than have him run to Punta Rassa to pick me up. Given the parking situation, it seemed a better option. But! It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get to his place from mine in Friday morning traffic. I couldn't believe it.
As we rode out of the canal, we discussed our options for bait, and decided we'd go ahead and try to catch bait, and then see if we could keep it alive. We headed up to Kiesel's once again, but after chumming three different areas had nothing but pinfish and very small mojarra in the livewell. It wasn't looking good.
We headed north to the bar at marker 32, where we found birds working several areas, and bait spraying along the edges of the shallows. We took up position and began chumming in the fast current. We managed to get two descent strikes on shiners, and then the bait just disappeared. So, we had enough shiners to fish with, and plenty of threadfins with which to chum, IF we could keep it all alive.
But, as it turned out keeping the bait alive in the humongous waist-high above the deck well on the Ranger, was the least of our worries. There wasn't enough bait in that huge well to stress any of them. It quickly became quite apparent that our problem would be catching fish!
I won't bore you with the details, but we hit spot after spot on both sides of the Sound, but aside from hooking and releasing a few training snook, there was absolutely no bite. ANYWHERE! We stuck with it until nearly two o'clock, and the tide was well done. The fish just wouldn't eat. Oh! They let us know they were there, but wouldn't actually eat a bait.
I have a theory as to why, and I believe it is a correct one. The theory is as follows. Once the red tide organism is at a level sufficient to cause oxygen depravation to our gamefish, but not at a level high enough to either kill them, or send them scurrying to safer waters, they become lethargic, just as they do on the coldest winter days. In their tiny little minds, guided my instinct, they measure how much energy must be exerted and therefore oxygen expended, to catch a meal. Suddenly, a frisky shiner, which would normally draw a strike from a hungry critter, is ignored. This may explain why, as in winter fishing, shrimp can be the bait of choice. The shrimp doesn't enjoy the mobility or speed of a shiner, and is much easier to prey upon. I really think it's as simple as that.
Well, Tim and I stuck with it until the tide was done, and headed home. Although it had been a beautiful day on the water, with good company, and even great fishing, the catching had been non-existent. I know Tim was disappointed, as he's a guy that's into catching. So, we made a dockside adjustment to his bill.
Ironically, we didn't see a whole lot of floaters, and weren't bothered by the stench of the rotting fish or red tide organism. But, it's there. I have no idea how to call the coming week. Fortunately, red tides don't seem to last long here, or have the devastating effects that it does in other parts of our coastline. But, I will be fishing hand-picked shrimp next week, for sure.
Until next week.....Tight Lines!
NOTE: Again this week, I added more items to my Fishing Stuff For Sale page, including some flyfishing things. The page includes everything from Shimano Stellas that are perfect, to old collectibles, some of which are perfect, and many that aren't. There are some great rods, both inshore and offshore, old bamboo flyrods, and more. Take a few minutes to check it out.
I've also added a new page Cool Non-Fishing Stuff For Sale,which includes collectibles, electronic items, and other stuff. Check it out!
