Friday I had the pleasure of fishing the 2009 TAMCO Foundation annual Grand Slam Fishing Tournament benefitting The Children's Home and The Coalition to Salute Americas Heroes. You can still help, please take a moment and visit www.tamcofoundation.org . Two great beneficiaries and one fantastic event held Thursday and Friday.
My home marina is O'Neill's adjacent to the Skyway Bridge. So the plan was to hit the bridge by 6 am, fill the live well with whitebaits and make the 21 mile run to the West shore Yacht Club. Mother Nature decided it was time once again for the winds to kick up; this time the forecast was for NE winds pushing 21 mph. So I trailered to the Gandy Bridge boat ramp and head to the Gandy Bridge for bait. It's an amazing sight to see so many Captains tossing cast nets side by side at 530 in the morning. Unlike the Skyway Bridge which is holding great whitebaits the Gandy was holding primarily Threadfins. With the bait well full it was time to head to the West shore Yacht Club for the mornings activities. Giving back and helping 2 great organizations is what the day is all about but I have to say the Tamco Foundation puts on a great event. Breakfast was outstanding as was the Crawfish Boil the night before.
At 9 am I met my 3 anglers and we quickly made our way north to a protected canal. The wind kept me from running to all the locations we have been scoring on the last several weeks. My thought process was to fish cleaner water, warmer water. Our first stop yielded several nervous baits but no hits, we then slide down to a trout flat nearby with no success either. I have never been to these 2 holes without some success; it's always good or great. Not a good omen. Next stop another goose egg; just 2 days ago I was on an awesome big trout bite now I could not find a bite. My guys were doing a great job placing cast after cast right on the money. They were up for a bumpy ride so we ran to the backside of Weedon Island to my can't miss trout holes. I went from hero to zero in just 2 days! So far we have several catfish, crabs for our efforts. Tossing threadfins, whitebaits, shrimp and pinfish were all for naught.
Next move was back North to an Island close to the marina, I set up on an area known for snook and trout action. Finally a bend in the rods, we were sitting on a school of nice size ladyfish. Then we got a big snook to play, numerous runs and big head shakes had everyone excited only to have the hook pull.
Captain Bret Gamrot had a group that did not want to venture out past the island next to the Marina and be in by 1. They scored 3 snook sitting within shouting distance of the marina. That's fishing folks!
Capt. Steven