Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 1/4/09
A new year is upon us. My resolutions are to lose ten pounds and ride my bike more, as well as learning to use Lightroom in an expert fashion. That ought to be enough for a few months, anyway!
On Monday long time friend Rick DePaiva and his friend (my new friend!) David McCleaf joined me for a day's paddling on the Banana River Lagoon. We launched our boats in the fog and began our paddle.
The first fish I saw I at first thought was a dolphin. The fog was playing tricks with my depth perception. It turned out to be a large black drum, tailing and happy. Ricky rudely interrupted his happiness by dropping a black streamer near him. When he ate, Ricky stuck him, and happy time was over.
The beast was at least 30 pounds, a heck of a way to start the day. The event was duly recorded with pixels, and Mr. Drum was released to go on about his business.
There was a long dry spell. Ricky cast a DOA shad tail while I poled, and he got a couple of more-or-less 15 inch trout, which he released. Then we found a school of black drum. These were smaller fish, five to ten pounds. Each of us got one, all on black streamers (mine was a bunny booger). The commotion moved the fish and we couldn't find them again, so Rick and I went looking for crawlers.
We found one fairly quickly. Ricky, still using his black fly, had it take his second cast. The redfish turned out to be about 28 inches long. The event was duly recorded with pixels, and Mr. Red was released to go on about his business. That fish completed a lagoon slam for Ricky.
Ricky then poled me to one, which I got on the black bunny. The fish was released without any photos. It was again about 28 inches.
Now working south again the sun was in our faces. We saw the tailing fish here and there, and Rick got one more red.
We ended the day with dinner at El Leoncito. It was a good day.
Tuesday I had a donated charter. This trip was donated to www.helpholly.org. Holly Patterson has syringomyelia and by the age of 13 had already had 15 major surgeries. Her father ties flies and all proceeds go to this organization. His website is at www.pattersonsaltwaterflies.com. If you can help with either a donation or a purchase, please do so.
Anyhow, I digress. Jon and Tim, 20 something year old brothers from North Carolina, were the recipients of this particular trip. The water in the lagoons is very low now, and there were no fish at our first stop. It hurt, because it had been reliable for weeks. The search was on!
At the second spot we got one nice redfish and three trout, these on a four inch DOA jerk bait. One of these trout was the smallest I've ever seen take a lure other than a fly. It was maybe five inches long. Beautiful, but tiny. But a fish!
We went and looked on the flat inside of Tiger Shoal and again it looked like the boat show out there. We avoided the cluster of boats. While we saw some fish there we failed to get any.
Time was winding down so we tried one last spot. There was a small school of 20 or so redfish there and Jon and Tim doubled up, which was a very nice way to end the day.
Why I Hate Gulp!
Jon and Tim each kept a redfish. When I fillet a redfish, I always check the stomachs to see what they have been eating. In both of these fish were small fish. One of them also had a Gulp! In it's stomach.
This was the fourth redfish that I've cleaned that was in gastric possession of a Gulp! The manufacturer claims that this product is "biodegradable," but is it digestible? Or is it plugging up the fish and causing death by gastric disturbance?
This product is finding its way into our waterways. Fish are eating it. If you're going to use bait, use natural bait! Don't use synthetic baits like Gulp! Yum! and other similar products. I don't think they are in the best interests of the fish we seek.
Don't Use Gulp!
Wednesday I fished Colin Jaye. Colin is 15, the brother of one of son Maxx's best friends. Colin had been fishing once before, with me, about three years ago. The plan was simply to catch Colin some fish.
The fish had other plans. The wind was cold and fairly strong, probably 15, out of the northwest. While I poled Colin cast a four inch DOA jerk bait and a three inch DOA Shrimp, alternating depending on the spot. We didn't get a fish on either all day.
We would stop and fish in holes periodically, using cut mullet, a natural food fish can actually digest. We had two beautiful hardhead cats and a very exciting little stingray under our belts when a 27 inch redfish made the mistake of thinking our mullet chunk was safe to eat. The event was duly recorded with pixels, and Mr. Red was released to go on about his business.
Finally, with time winding down, I spooked a few fish out of a hole. The boat was staked out and mullet baited lines deployed. We got nine reds to 28 inches and a trout out of that hole. Colin kept a 21 inch red that was gut hooked and all others were released. Mission accomplished!
Life is short- GO FISHING!!!
Life is great and I love my work!
If you have any questions or comments, or if you'd like to go fishing, please feel free to email me at spottedtail@spottedtail.com, or call at 407 977 5207.
John Kumiski
member, Indian River Guides Association,
Florida Outdoor Writers Association
