Sunday, July 8th, 2012

Kelly and I had an unusually smooth transition from pick-up to coffee to launch. We were on the water by 6:15am in anticipation of a 6:45am sunrise. We tried a couple of quick shots along the way, but mostly focused on paddling to our new spot, "Carrabas." 

We paddled until we found a few mullet schools, then started casting. I was throwing my SheDog early on, and after a few blow-ups, hooked up with a 20" trout. Kelly picked up a trout along the way as well.

We fished the mullet schools pretty hard until they dispersed into smaller groups, then started blind casting around the activity.  I worked a spot to the east while Kelly fished a spot to the west. I was able to hook up with a ladyfish on topwater, but the area I was in was too weedy, so I paddled over to Kelly's spot. He said he had caught a nice red in the area he was in, and was in the process of cutting up a big pinfish he had caught on his Spook.

I started pitching a gold spoon in the same area, and a few casts later got a big hit and hooked up with a nice red. He tried to drag me toward a piling out in the channel, but I tightened down my drag and used a free hand to paddle backwards away from the obstacle. Soon I had the red boatside.

A short time later, Kelly caught a big old stinky catfish on his cut bait. After freshening the bait, he got a big tug and had a solid fight on. A few minutes later he had a true slobberknocker of a redfish in his hands, a 28" behemoth.

At that point we decided to move, as we were running out of water at Carrabas. On our way to the channel I saw some commotion and threw my badonk-a-donk topwater toward it. The lure got slammed and a fish jumped out of the water. On the second jump I knew I had a snook on the line, and jumped out of my kayak to finish the fight. A few moments later I had the snook and hand and had completed my first every saltwater slam. It was a long time coming...

We finished the afternoon on Bunce's pass throwing everything we had at some bait schools. Kelly and I both picked up a trout or two and Kelly tried to pick up one of the bonnethead sharks cruising around, but by then it was 90 something degrees and it was time to get off the water.

We were due to have an epic day, and today proved to be the one. Great weather, wind, and a decent tide produced a good bite. I've the the fishing bug something fierce now.

June 16th, 2012

Kelly and I launched this morning from our Bunce's Pass Launch at 7:00am. As usual, it was windy as hell, but we had a great high tide topping out at 2.2 feet, so we were able to get pretty far back into the mangroves to get a break from the wind. 

Early on, we each had a few small blowups on our topwater plugs but no hookups. We eventually retired the topwater and started throwing gold spoons and jerkbaits. I had my first good chance at a fish on a gold spoon, with a nice red following it up to the boat and taking two good hits at it before turning away. 

A short time later, Kelly was doing some exploring and found a school of lower slot redfish. He pulled one out of the school on a spook. I came around the corner and took my shot, throwing a big She Dog topwater at the school. There was a red on it as soon as it hit the water. 

The school spooked at that point but we continued to fish the area, seeing a lot of action, but no further hookups.

Toward the end of the time we drifted out over a flat and started blind casting our spoons. Kelly was rewarded with a big pig of a redfish, a rod bending 24" beauty.

We chucked some bait toward the end of the day, but couldn't get anything going there, and finally got off the water after a little contest to see who could catch the first trout.

It was me.

June 3, 2012

I launched this afternoon from the east end of the bridge to Bay Pines into Long Bayou. It was hot and windy with a falling tide.

I started fishing the oyster bars around the bridge, alternating between a weedless shad tail and a flat rap. It looked really fishy, but I didn't get a single bite, so I paddled around to the mangroves below the Cross Bayou Canal and worked them over with the same combo of lures. Eventually I hooked up with a ladyfish, but the water was otherwise quiet back there.

I continued along the mangroves and up into the entrance of the Cross Bayou Canal, finally seeing some action as a gamefish was busting bait flowing out of the canal. I made a few good casts, but there was nothing doing.

I ventured 50 yards up the canal, casting at the mangroves, but it was dead, so I drifted back out and returned to the bridge to fish the now exposed oyster beds. I saw a big red tailing and made a few casts at it with my shad tail, but to no avail. I was wishing for a popping cork and a few dozen shrimp at that point. I finally hooked up with a trout a short time later on a shad tail.


I ended the day by paddling up into the canal toward John's Pass. I stopped at the narrow bird preserve there and threw my topwater over and over and over. I had three blow ups there, but nothing big enough to connect. At that point, a thunderstorm was bearing down on me, so I paddled back to the launch and called it a day.

May 27th, 2012

"The sea was angry that day, my friend."

Despite the steady 15 knot wind with gusts over 20, Kelly and I decided to give fishing a go today. We launched at the south pier of the Skyway Bridge around 2pm, fishing the Miguel Bay area. Some of the swells we encountered were a good three feet.

Needless to say, the fishing was terrible. I was able to ward off the skunk with one ladyfish to boatside, while Kelly took a full skunking. The wind was terrible, the water quality was nil, and the only person I saw catching anything was a guy chucking hundreds of threadfins into the water to net a trout and and a red.

We were determined to stick it out till sunset, but had an unfortunate near-miss where a boatful of drunkards came hauling full-throttle through the mangroves, and had I not paddled quickly out to of the way, I might be chum myself. I looked at Kelly after that and said, "That's it, let's head in."

May 22nd, 2012

I left work Tuesday afternoon and tried a quick hit at the mouth of Coffee Pot Bayou. I launched from the beach adjacent to the North Shore Pool parking lot. It was an easy paddle to the right depth of water.

The reason I wanted to fish this area is due to the multitudes of mullet that I usually see in the area. Today would be no different. I anchored up near an area where schools were moving through, and tossed my She Dog topwater around the edges.

Using this technique, I was able to catch two trout, both in the 15" range. I had another five blow-ups without a hook-up. The bite was slower than I expected, but I'll definitely return in the near future, especially considering that I went from my desk to casting in under a half hour.

May 11th, 2012

True to form, the wind was fierce today, 15-20mph out of the east. The sunrise was pretty much the highlight of the day.

We fished Fort Desoto at Bunce's Pass. After a windy paddle out, we got in behind an island and threw everything we had at a few schools of mullet. Kelly hooked up with a redfish about 30 minutes in, which would be his only fish of the day.

I eventually gave up on the mullet and drifted out to one of the channels where I bounced a gulp shrimp along the bottom. I was rewarded a few casts later with a 15" flounder. It self-released at boatside so I didn't get a photo. I was glad to get the skunk off, and even happier at the end of the day when it proved to be my only fish.

April 28, 2012

Kelly and I met up at the Rally at 6:00am and were launched at Mullet Key at Ft. Desoto by 7:00am. For the first time in months, the weather was epic. The wind was around 5mph at the start, and fell to a light breeze by the time we got off the water.

Though the weather cooperated, the fish didn't. 

Kelly and I both picked up a a trout on topwater on our first casts, then I followed up with another trout on my second cast, a 26" gator trout that was my biggest of all time. But the sun came up a few minutes later, and with it, the bite died. 

I finished with five trout and five ladyfish on the day, and Kelly didn't manage much better. I packed it in at 11:30am, but Kelly fished on at Bunce's Pass for a couple of hours and caught a nice redfish on a gold spoon just before quitting time.