Today Shawn took Reilly to the zoo with a friend and her daughter, so I took out my pal Kelly on a fishing expedition. I didn't take him along for friendship as much as someone to prove that I was actually catching fish.
We started out at the Vinoy basin up by the channel. I was throwing a Yo-zuri (silver body, black top) and caught a 6 inch lizard fish after a dozen or so casts. Kelly was also throwing a hard bait.
After 10 or so minutes we tied on 1/4 oz jig heads (red for him, chartreuse for me) and slipped a Berkely Gulp shrimp over the jig. The action was immediate, but light. Lots of little bites. A pesky puffer fish bit my shrimp in half.
A few minutes later, Kelly did reeled in his first lizard fish of the day, so at least he got the skunk off his rod. The miss of the day also went to Kelly in the same spot--he got a big hit, and when he pulled up his plastic shrimp, it had two vertical slashes through the bait--likely a nice trout did the honors.
We worked the spot a bit longer than we probably should have, but just as we were about to give up, I caught a small trout, which self-released about halfway to the seawall. A few casts later I brought up a 12" Gulf Kingfish (also known as a "whiting"). I didn't know what it was at the time, but its distinctive downward pointing mouth helped me identify it when I got home.
Next up was Coffee Pot Bayou. The tide was still coming in, so we fished the most western part of the bayou, where the water is deeper. Kelly pulled in two more lizard fish, and I caught another as well. All three were 12" plus, which meant a decent fight for a little trash fish. We gave up on Coffee Pot pretty quickly and drove over to my secret spot on Snell Isle.
We fished the hole from the seawall first, and Kelly wasted no time in catching a couple of lizard fish. I made a few hookups, but wasn't able to bring any to shore. Either way, the bite was on. We were getting pounded on the Gulp shrimp.
After a bit we drove over to a dock near the secret spot and as an experiment, I suspended a Gulp shrimp under a bobber and tossed it out into about 5 feet of water. Then, I tied my trusty gold/green Yo-zuri onto my other pole and went to work.
On my second cast, I pulled in a 14" ladyfish. Kelly, not to be outdone, pulled a ladyfish up using a Gulp shrimp. I moved a bit further down and hooked up with another ladyfish, this one 12" or so, and on my very next cast, pulled in a pretty 12" sea trout. Kelly then got his entire Gulp shrimp chomped off his jig, and went to the truck for a lure. I caught two more ladyfish, who self-released on their first jump, and then got a call from the wife that it was time to come home.
Kelly and I finished off the day with a burger at El Cap, then headed home.
We started out at the Vinoy basin up by the channel. I was throwing a Yo-zuri (silver body, black top) and caught a 6 inch lizard fish after a dozen or so casts. Kelly was also throwing a hard bait.
After 10 or so minutes we tied on 1/4 oz jig heads (red for him, chartreuse for me) and slipped a Berkely Gulp shrimp over the jig. The action was immediate, but light. Lots of little bites. A pesky puffer fish bit my shrimp in half.
A few minutes later, Kelly did reeled in his first lizard fish of the day, so at least he got the skunk off his rod. The miss of the day also went to Kelly in the same spot--he got a big hit, and when he pulled up his plastic shrimp, it had two vertical slashes through the bait--likely a nice trout did the honors.
We worked the spot a bit longer than we probably should have, but just as we were about to give up, I caught a small trout, which self-released about halfway to the seawall. A few casts later I brought up a 12" Gulf Kingfish (also known as a "whiting"). I didn't know what it was at the time, but its distinctive downward pointing mouth helped me identify it when I got home.
Next up was Coffee Pot Bayou. The tide was still coming in, so we fished the most western part of the bayou, where the water is deeper. Kelly pulled in two more lizard fish, and I caught another as well. All three were 12" plus, which meant a decent fight for a little trash fish. We gave up on Coffee Pot pretty quickly and drove over to my secret spot on Snell Isle.
We fished the hole from the seawall first, and Kelly wasted no time in catching a couple of lizard fish. I made a few hookups, but wasn't able to bring any to shore. Either way, the bite was on. We were getting pounded on the Gulp shrimp.
After a bit we drove over to a dock near the secret spot and as an experiment, I suspended a Gulp shrimp under a bobber and tossed it out into about 5 feet of water. Then, I tied my trusty gold/green Yo-zuri onto my other pole and went to work.
On my second cast, I pulled in a 14" ladyfish. Kelly, not to be outdone, pulled a ladyfish up using a Gulp shrimp. I moved a bit further down and hooked up with another ladyfish, this one 12" or so, and on my very next cast, pulled in a pretty 12" sea trout. Kelly then got his entire Gulp shrimp chomped off his jig, and went to the truck for a lure. I caught two more ladyfish, who self-released on their first jump, and then got a call from the wife that it was time to come home.
Kelly and I finished off the day with a burger at El Cap, then headed home.
Above is the undisputed hero of the day, complete with battle wounds.
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