Raging Mullet
Tuesday late afternoon I had the pleasure of having the President (Bob) of the Raging Mullet Hunt & Fish Club onboard. Along with the President was Charlie RMIT (Raging Mullet in training). Also onboard was Captain Chris Colvin.
We started the afternoon like most any trip gathering baits on the flats near the Skyway Bridge in lower Tampa Bay. This was not your ordinary bait gathering experience as President Bob manned the chum bucket. At first the white baits we needed were a little skittish and keep their distance, we moved slightly deeper and got them chummed up. Now we had Charlie on the net and he did not let anyone down with several quality tosses of a 10' Moonlighter cast net. With the bait tucked away and a little clean up it was show time.
Captain Steven has been bragging about catching monster redfish in big quantities for over a month so with that said I headed to the semi top secret honey hole. The first 10 minutes were boring at best, and then Bob hooked up. The fight seemed too easy as the fish ran out of the cover, it was clear this was not the 10 pound redfish we have been pounding on. Small gag grouper was quickly released. I switched to a pinfish and was immediately hammered only to get cut off on the oysters. About this time a diver came up out of the water not 50' from where we were fishing. About now I was beginning to smell something. Is that a good excuse or what!
A quick move towards better moving water did not fair any better. A flounder was all we had to show for our work. And the smell was beginning to get worse.
We ran to Pinellas Point to get in on some fast action. First cast and Charlie landed a chunky trout. This was looking better; I had to get the President of the Raging Mullets on some quality action and quick. So much for quick the sun is now setting, did I mention the lovely weather? HINT when Captains start talking about weather and tides it's not a good sign. Charlie got slammed, the reel screamed only to lose the fish (unseen) after 10 seconds. A couple of ladyfish, another trout and 3 spine snook (catfish) were all we could muster. And the smell well its clear it was Captain Steven smelling up the place! While shaking hands on the dock Bob said it best, it was like a locker room out there this evening. So true 4 guys having a great time. Thank you Bob, Charlie and Captain Chris for a great experience.
Capt. Steven
