Fishing this week was excellent, and for the most part the catching was, as well.
First up on Tuesday were Chuck Kindt and his ten year old son, Chip, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The factors that would control the fishing were an extreme low tide that would be incoming all morning, and we'd just had another front pass. I expected the bite to be slow in spite of the good tide.
We headed to the flats adjacent to St. James Creek, and began our quest for bait. It wasn't what I'd call easy, but with Chip chumming, we had bait in about an hour. We were ready to fish.
I went straight to my favorite extreme low outgoing tide spot knowing I would be the only one there. You must run in extremely shallow water (5 inches) to get there on that tide. Once there, I was pleased that we had snook and speckled trout willing to eat. In fact, we weren't there a half hour when things got very exciting for young Chip.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
His reel began screaming under the strain of a big fish, and I knew it was likely a big female snook. Having never had a fish like that on the end of his line, Chip was clueless as to how to stop the fish or try to fight it in. With some fast coaching and visual illustration, Chip was ready to do battle with the fish, and brought her to boatside. We were all relieved as I clamped the Boga Grip around her lower lip, and we began high-fiving. Chip had an beautiful 8 pound snook, which was about all he could handle.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
We caught snook and trout at each of the sections of that shoreline we fished. Once the tide turned and began coming in we moved to another nearby area and caught a few more snook. Finally, it was time to move on, because the water was getting right for snook fishing in the next spot I planned to fish. We were off.
I wondered if I would make it into that next spot, as the water around the pothole was so skinny that even in the talon I was touching with the motor. But, we made it, and the fish were on. Chuck and Chip caught lots of snook and had a great time, but Chuck was having a harder time getting the knack of not striking until he was tight to the fish, and missed lots of hits that should have been hookups. Of course, Chip was counting, and kept reminding his dad of how many times he'd missed fish. I think the total for Chuck for the day was 9 missed fish.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER
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Once things were over at that spot we moved on. We fished trout and snook, and Chuck lost a big trout (I think it was Chuck), and got another snook or two. By the time things slowed there it was because the tide was over, and the bite done. The boys had put together a great day with at least two dozen snook, and several trout. Chuck and Chip were great guys, and good anglers, and a joy to have in the boat. The thing that really gets in the way for folks new to this fishing is their muscle memory from fishing back home. It just won't work here, and is very hard to overcome.
Next up on Thursday was my friend Andy Mount, and his daughter Rachel, of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. And, Rachel, and I have fished together for the last two years, and have drawn some cold, blustery days. By the time our last trip was over Andy was no longer a customer, having graduated to friend and fishing buddy. Andy and Rachel are great folks, and fun to be with, and I was looking forward to our third trip. I was also hopeful that the weather and water temp would hold, and bait would stay in so that we could do something different than we had to do on our cold winter days before. I wanted to take them shiner fishing for snook.
After a reunion at the dock we were off to St. James Creek to see if bait would cooperate. It wasn't exactly jumping in the boat for us, but with patience and pain, Andy and I got the well full enough for a day of snooking. We had a nearly identical tide and weather, and I planned to retrace my steps from the day before. The timing would be a bit different because the tide was just a bit later.
We headed to the first stop, where we'd done pretty well the day before. And again we were able to do pretty well, with Andy and Rachel getting their first ever snook. They bagged a half dozen or more, along with a couple of nice trout for the well in an area close by.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
As the water began coming with the new tide it was time to move to our next spot. There, Andy and Rachel had many snook hits, and caught many snook. It was a good bite and good fun. As the water began to fill things up, it was time for the next stop, which would be different from the day before. Andy had informed me that there were folks back at the condo expecting a fish dinner. Well, with all the limits imposed upon our resources this time of year the easiest way to fill that order is with winter trout. You can only keep one redfish per person, and snook are closed to harvest. So, fish like trout (limit 4/person) and flounder, are the way to bring home fish dinner. At our next stop Andy and Rachel quickly had 5 nice speckled trout and a big flounder in the well. I asked them if they wanted to go back to snook fishing now that the dinner order was filled. There was no hesitation with a resounding, "Yes!"
We moved on to an area that we'd fished in prior years with jigs, catching trout and grouper. This time we would be snook fishing. And, this time with live shiners there were lots of snook hits and about 6 in the boat. Then, it turned off!
We headed north to a lovely spot I hadn't fished since last spring. I've cut down on the long distance running with the ever increasing cost of fuel and oil. But, I wanted Andy and Rachel to see some new parts of the Sound they hadn't seen before. And, darned if we didn't have another good snook bite, and put some more of them in the boat.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
The tide was now nearing full high, and I thought it would be worth a shot at a redfish or two. I knew I could get on the fish, I just wasn't sure they'd eat. They didn't. So, we did. At that point Rachel was showing evidence of sunburn on her face and arms. She'd had enough. We headed to the Waterfront Restaurant for a fantastic lunch. J.D was doing the conch salad, and it was awesome.
Back at the dock we said our good-byes. It had been a great day, and Andy made it even better for me when he paid me some very high compliments as a guide. Words like Andy's are the greatest gift a guide can receive, and I was walking a few inches off the pavement for the rest of the day.
I had my first trip Friday with James Godinsky and his long-time buddy Gary, of Brunswick Hills, Ohio. After two days of good snook fishing, I was hopeful that it would continue. But, I also knew that we'd had tournament anglers pre-fishing most of the week, and the tournament was now in progress. Eventually, all that extra traffic and pressure could take its toll.
As soon as I met Jim and Gary, I knew I had a couple of good guys to fish with. I knew we'd have fun. And, we did. The fun began on the bait flats with Jim chumming. I couldn't get him dialed in to putting the chum where I wanted it, at first. It took a while before I realized that Jim thought we were drifting, when we were actually anchored on the Power Pole. We had a laugh over that, and then Jim got dialed in. Bait came slowly at first, but we eventually got it going and put plenty in the well. We were ready for our adventure.
At the first stop I was able to size up my guys. I could tell immediately that Jim was an experienced fisherman, and that Gary probably was not. That's not meant to sound condescending to Gary. But, as a guide I have to try to quickly access each angler's abilities, and then give the most help and input to the ones that need it most. In this kind of fishing, if that doesn't happen, that angler isn't going to see many fish come to the boat. He will be frustrated that he can't seem to get the bites, and then when he does, frustrated that he can't get the fish to the boat.
We had some snook and trout action, but not what I had expected. But, all of a sudden that little Stella 2500FB Gary was using began singing like an opera star as something took off with his bait like a rocket. Of course, I figured it was a big snook, since the place we were fishing is infested with them. I bolted into coaching mode, as I could see the disbelief on Gary's face at what was happening. He'd never hooked a fish that could strip line like that, and just didn't know what to do. I was afraid that the big snook would have him in the bushes and cut off before I could get Gary coached on how to stop and fight the fish. But, in the end it all worked out, and our big snook turned out to be a big jack crevalle; a fish that pulls harder for its size than anything else in these waters! Jim and Gary were both excited about that jack, as they had seen a school of fish blasting bait where they were staying, and didn't know what it was. It was classic jack!
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
At the next stop we found a slow snook bite. There were plenty of snook there, but they just didn't want to bust loose and eat. We had lots of baits that came back with the classic snook bite on them, that the boys hadn't felt. That was because the snook never moved the bait. It's what snook often do when they don't want to eat. It's as if they lip it just enough to disable the bait or kill it, but you can't feel it happen. I call it a kill strike. The boys did catch a few, though.
WINTER FISHING IS ALMOST OVER!
At our next stop we had some action. Jim had already put a 5 pound trout in the well, as well as another nice trout and a nice flounder. But, at this spot he hooked a huge trout and got it close to the boat before it managed to twist free. It was considerably bigger than his 5 pounder, and he was not happy with himself. We also missed a snook or two. Then it was over.
We moved on, and I decided to fish a shoreline I hadn't fished in years. We again had some snook action, and again Jim hooked a big snook and lost it. We saw the fish before it got away, and it would definitely have been a slot fish. The boys did land a few, though.
I moved on north to what would be our last stop of the day, and again we had snook action. Jim and Gary missed a few and caught a few more snook to wind up the day.
The bite had been way off the previous few days, but still wasn't bad, in retrospect. If the boys had converted all the bites into fish in the boat, they would have caught plenty of fish. As it was, they said they'd had a great time and knew they'd missed too many fish. Well, that's snook fishing! I'd had a great time with the boys, and left knowing I'd made friends that would enjoy fishing with, again.
Although I didn't count it as a working day, I was on the water Saturday with an old friend, Bubba Baker. Bubba and I met nearly ten years ago at the Punta Rassa ramp. I was pulling out of the ramp at the end of a trip, and Bubba and his wife Barbara were pulled off to the side after just having pulled out. He came over and asked me if I was Capt. Butch, and told me he'd been reading my fishing reports. That's where it started, and a lifetime friendship was born. We later fished together a few times, and began getting together outside of fishing. .
Well, Bubba's daughter Shelby is a multiple IGFA record holder and is fishing some tournaments and doing very well. She's even got quite a bit of sponsorship. Bubba doesn't have the time to pre-fish with Shelby as do most others doing tournaments, and asked if I could give him some pointers on finding reds in the Sound. He came over Friday night and stayed here with me, and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Pincher's Crab Shack. Saturday morning, we got up at a leisurely hour and dropped his Pathfinder in the water and went hunting.
We did take a couple of rigs with us just in case we couldn't' resist pitching a plug or two, but we were out there to scout, not fish. And, boy did we find redfish. After finding the first bunch at the first stop we made, Bubba had his favorite lure tied on and pitched it to the second pod of fish we saw on the edge of a mangrove island. He was immediately hooked up.
We covered quite a bit of ground over three or four hours, and in spite of not fishing much, did manage to catch 4 or 5 redfish. On the way home, Bubba aired out that Pathfinder with a big 225 Yammie on the back, and it's a beast! It's fast and rides like a dream!
It was a fun time with Bubba, and I hope that he took away enough to help him and Shelby do well in the tournament two weeks from now.
Well, that was the week. Four days on the water and I'm worn out. Got another four next week if the weather behaves. Stay tuned.
Be sure to check out www.BestFishingBooks.com, Books and gifts for fishermen from my friend Jim Dicken!