Fishing with Patrick - still early summer patterns

We had Patrick down here this past weekend for some fishing, World Cup watching and beer drinking.  We started off Saturday morning at Cockroach looking for snook up top as we had Patrick up on the bow with the fly rod casting to the mangrove points.  We didn't have a single taker unfortunately so we ran north to fish another couple of shore lines and look for some trout.  We fished Schuster's hole with no takers but a missed flounder that followed a shrimp off the sand and missed the shrimp the second time when Patrick stopped the bait.  We started seeing a lot of activity off the mangroves as the tide was falling out so we turned and started fishing the mullet and started catching a few trout.  Well it wasn't long until we found quite a few fish with some larger fish mixed in. Both of us connected on 22-23 inch fish and with the 19 inch fish we had in the cooler already we had dinner before 9:30.

Well you shouldn't "leave fish to find fish" but we wanted to see if we could find some reds and snook.  So we made a quick run back south and set up along some of the outside mangroves and started working the edges.  We caught a quick snook and had a couple of other bites but nothing consistent so with the tide finally rolling in we moved inside to set up on some inside mangroves.  Well my first hole didn't really produce much off the bat other than a catfish so we moved down to the cut and first cast in we were rewarded with a nice snook.

Well I thought that was going to be the beginning of something good but we really didn't get any more bites even though the current was just getting up and moving.  We putted around there for a little while longer and had some lunch and let the cut rest and ended up a smaller red after a little break.

After another long break and a finish up with lunch another first drift through the cut produced a quick bite which peeled off line back underneath the mangroves and took a couple of jumps.  Well after a quick 20 seconds of horsing it out of the mangroves Patrick was able to pull the fish down and out of the mangroves.  As he was getting the fish back to the boat it decided to turn and head back to the mangroves which in turn sliced right through the leader.  Either it was frayed from the mangrove roots or the gill covers when right through it since more than likely it was a solid snook.

The point of a lost fish.  

From there it was getting later in the afternoon and we were getting low on shrimp and still had plans on fishing that evening if the weather cooperated so we decided to load up and head back to St. Pete.  Well unfortunately after a great dinner the weather turned ugly so we decided to visit Cycle instead and have a couple of Doug's great beers. 

The following morning we decided to throw all the eggs into the tarpon basket with an east wind and ran off the beaches early looking for rolling fish.  Well it didn't take long to spot our first fish but without it coming back up again we really couldn't get an idea on where it was headed.  We moved a little further north to more boats and caught a couple more fish rolling as well but they all looked like they were on their way very quickly to Key West as they were making serious time down the beaches.  After that we waited a little while longer and saw one more possible roll but it was time to make our way back to the launch to load up to make sure we got Patrick back to the airport.  Overall it was a great way to spend the weekend and we accomplished everything we set out to do even though we didn't hook up on the tarpon.

Fishing with Vance - Early summer patterns

Fished with Vance a few weeks ago out of Cockroach Bay under some early summer patterns.  We started early throwing topwater to snook and had a few blow ups right off the bat but not hook ups.  Finally after moving a little into the back country did we get a taker and get one to the boat though it was pretty small.  So as the tide was slowing down we made a run north to catch the last part of the falling tide at Schuster's hole.  Well it was occupied so we figured we could find some trout in some of the pot holes and we weren't disappointed.  The trout seemed to be hanging off the holes though and some of them came from the thick grass around the holes.  The big trout of the day was one that jumped out of the water chasing bait 15 yards from the boat and took the shrimp a few seconds after it hit the water.

We caught a couple of nice trout and decided to run back south to fish some mangroves for snook and reds.  We got back and set up in some of my favorite summer holes and did pretty well. 

Some smaller reds and a nice snook at the first stop throwing up under the mangroves.  We moved to a summer cut and first cast in Vance hooks and catches his first snook. 

So by that point we had the boat slam all sealed up and were looking for enough fish to take home so I suggested we take a shot at one more hole out front where I've had some success in the summer and high tides.  It wasn't long before I got on a nice red that made a really good dinner fish for Redfish tacos. 

After that it was time to call it an afternoon and get back to clean fish and get the boat all cleaned up.  Good day on the water with a couple of slams and some solid fish with some diversity as well. 

Catch up post

So it's been a little while since my last posting but I've been busy fishing and playing a little golf. 

I caught my first tarpon in April down in Pine Island.

I've been snook fishing a couple times with Dr. Schuster and got out with Dad as well with Dr. Schuster. 

Overall an ok spring as far as the fishing went as we've had some really up and down weather but you can't complain at all with fish in the boat and time on the water!

First Osceola

Took my first Osceola turkey this morning around Orlando.  It was my first time out hunting these birds but they didn't seem that different than easterns I've had the chance to hunt.  So we got into the cow pasture and set up along the creek as the sun came up and I could tell my cooperator that I was hunting with had done some scouting and work around this set up and had a pretty good idea that something was going to happen this morning.  Well the first hour or so was quite and we did catch some movement back out in the pasture and saw some hens with and without jakes but never saw a bird to put a move on. 

Eventually we moved around and started seeing some new birds and by 8:45 we were easing back to the truck when we catch movement out in the pasture and Tom gets the binos up to see the hen moving out into the heart of the field.  But as he watches over that hen he notices something further out back towards the hard road.  Two mature gobblers were strutting and feeding around the cows up closer to the gate.  So we put a plan in place and used the fence row to hid our movements as we eased up to close the gap.  Unfortunately, when we got up there the truck was only like 20 yards from our set up....  Well since the birds were already pretty close inside 100 yards and the cows didn't seem to spook them as they were agitated because of us we decided it was now or never.  Then one of the birds gobbled (first gobble of the day) we figured we might be able to trick them into closing the distance.  Tom did some great calling and here they come on a b-line towards us.  I eased up and got a good place to shoot through the bobwire and cabbage palms and waited until they cleared the last few oaks but they turned back to the left still gobbling and competing for that hen they thought they were on.  They crossed back through another opening and luckily they were free of the cows and I was able to take the back bird.  He went right down and the next thing I know was that the other bird hadn't moved at all and had stuck his head even higher to give a look and we were able to re-arrange really quickly so Tom could get a shot off as well.  Well he was successful with his shot as well and we had two great birds on the ground in the matter of 10 seconds.  We got them back to the truck really quickly as it was only like 30 yards away.  Amazing hunt!

It's been a while but living's good

It's been a little while since I've posted but I guess I should update on my fishing and hunting trips.

I fished with Greg a few weeks ago at the Fort and we ended up doing pretty well even though it was a kinda slow tide and subsequent bite.  We started off by drifting a trout flat and caught quite a few trout up top along the pot holes on top water.  Nothing huge but good solid fish on top.  We had a couple of close encounters with some big sharks and had one almost suck down a fly and we saw something very large chase a top water (probably a cobia) but we weren't able to get a good bait out there in front of it to find out.

After drifting for a while we decided to go into the cut and chase some reds and unfortunately we found the kayakers but did find some reds.  First fish came at the first stop along some oyster bars but nothing else.  Then we moved to the back and first cast in the middle of the mullet in the broken water yielded a lower slot fish so we set up and fan casted the pot holes and found a couple of upper slot reds just like the one below. 

That was pretty much it for the day as the tide peaked out and it was time to run back to the house to clean up one of the fish we kept to split for dinner. 


I also went out with Dr. Schuster to Cockroach Bay two weeks ago and it was slow slow slow.  We only caught three fish and I did get the inshore slam the trout was a large as the snook and the red. We never even made it to Schuster's Hole as the weather man lied to us and the waves and wind kicked up so we were pretty much forced to fish the inside areas.  I did find a couple of new spots to look at on some new tides so I will have to check those areas out again as we get into some higher water times. 

Mid-Feb. Fishing with John

Took off with John on this morning on a much needed fishing after spending some time on the road at meetings lately.  We launched at EG Simmons and headed South towards CRB to find some redfish.  There was a light chop on the way south so it was a quick run and I was on the poling platform pretty quickly looking for fish.  It took a little while to find some fish but John got us on the board with a great 25+ inch red that I happened to see out in the hole.

By then we both thought we were in the right zone.  We pushed along that same depth and saw some flashes and more fish and John was slammed by another nice red.

We set up on that hole and it wasn't long before John found another fish that we were able to get a great release video of.

Well a local dolphin had the same idea we did and came through not to long after that fish and after scattering all the reds (they were flying around underneath the boat) we decided to move around and head North to grab lunch and fish Schuster's Hole.

We get back to another flat and start looking for fish but it looked like the tide had already moved in quite a bit so we decided that it was time to head to the mangroves for a little higher water fishing.  We took quite a while to get on the board there and finally I broke the ice with a nice solid red from the front of the hole.  It was a slow bite like the last time I was there and we managed one more fish and a couple of misses as well.

We spent the remainder of the tide at that hole and then got up and out and back to the launch to clean some fish and get home.  We pulled in a total of 5 fish but with the cooler waters and the recent cold front we considered this a success and will be having some fresh fish for dinner. 

Jan '14 Fishing with Doc

Went out last weekend on some low water on the South Shore to find some cold water fish.  We ran out of Cockroach Bay into a chilly morning air and headed north to pick up the last bit of the falling tide.  We worked our way around some pot holes and the sandbar looking for some fish to site cast to.  Well the water was a little cool and the fish weren't really cooperating until Dr. Schuster picked up a small flounder in a deeper cut along a pothole and we started seeing a little more life on the flat.  Next thing we know we feel the water sucking out into the bay like one of those movies about tidal waves.  Well there was large container ship out in the bay and apparently when their wake comes by that flat on a low tide in creates waves that you can surf on.  We floated over those waves and that pretty slowed everything down as the water was all turned up so after missing a couple of trout and getting to a group of ladyfish we pulled up and headed south to another flat.

Not long on that flat with the new incoming we started seeing some fish including some trout and bigger reds.  I scored sightcasting to a smaller red which was pretty cool but we didn't really find much more there other than maybe to much water.  I'll have to take note of that in my tide notes.

We grabbed a lunch and headed back north to the flat that we started the morning on and didn't really find any fish in the zones around the sandbar so we moved 30-50' inside of those sand holes and the trout just started appearing but unfortunately we weren't able to catch any of them as our gear wasn't really set up for that.  They were holding in 2 ft of water over broken bottom and our rigs were getting to much grass on them so we decided to make our way to Schuster's hole.  Well as the story of the day, it was pretty slow in there as well.

We managed to find a handful of fish with Doc getting on the board with the first keeper red of the day and a little while longer I followed up with another keeper with a lot of spots.

We had a couple of missed strikes that were just me forgetting that the bite was slow and every time we would get a bite we would think that it was going to just turn on but it wasn't meant to be.  We ended up the tide and the day with one final solid fish. 

Well though the fishing was a little slow behind these cold fronts the day we were out was light winds and it probably got into the mid 70s which you can't beat during Jan!

Early '14 Fishing

Fished the other weekend with Greg on the South Shore to try to find some low water reds and trout.  Well we started the morning off very slow with little to no action.  We just couldn't find any bites early though we did find a couple fish moving in and around the potholes on the falling tide.  We were throwing artificials and maybe it was just a little cool so we pulled some of our shrimp out of the bait well and Greg quickly missed a red over the sand and then was rewarded with a very nice 23 inch trout. 

Above is the reason we fish during the winter.  You just don't have many shots at fish this size during other times of the year esp. when you are more or less sight fishing.  Well we started seeing some fish but the tide was going to slack so we motored down South to try to catch up with the rising tide.  Well we went further south than I've ever been and we just didn't find the zones that were holding any fish.  So after searching for a little while and grabbing lunch we got back to the spot that we were fishing earlier in the morning and started working pot holes until the tide got right to go to Schuster's Hole.  Well it wasn't very long until we got into some fish.

We started catching them on back to back casts and they seemed to be swimming under the boat to get into the hole.  Like usual the fish seemed to be content laying off the mangroves as the hole extends 20 yards or so off the mangroves.  If you got a good presentation in there you'd usually get a strike and the next couple of videos show that.  We also had a nice double as Greg was getting a bite and said as much then I hooked up and as my fish was moving over his bait he got bit.  Pretty cool. 

From there we ran out of shrimp and the day was winding down so we headed back to the launch to get loaded up and get back to the house.  The days bounty is below.