Sunday, February 8, 2009

2/7 - After the big CHILL

If you are anything like me, you just can't deal with high winds and bone chilling (for us) temperatures. And the first break in the cold, just have to get out there on the water.

I wasn't alone Saturday. Plenty of other's were obviously feeling the same way.

I was up and bright eyed at 4:00am. Just couldn't lay flat any longer, and at B&M bait & tackle by 5:30am. But it wasn't going to be light'ish till 7am. So I just hung out watching the crowds pour on in to the shop and accessed where people were heading, be it either inshore or offshore, by what bait they bought.

Heck it's been 4 whole day since I was in my boat. And if you are in love with "your" boat as much as I am mine. That's just way too long. Just being on it's deck makes me happy.

So off I headed, fresh live local shrimp in the well. It was still damn cold. And why the hell I headed westward, then northward on a full moon, high tide was beyond me. I stopped looked down at my RayMarine C-120, and saw 47.2 degrees in 3 feet of water, where I planned on setting up shop. Yeah, like it was April, or November....."I was gonna fish a shell bar where I usually see Reds move, as the sun peaks up on a high tide", at least that's what my brain said. Reality said, "Hey fool.....look at that water temp.....don't ya know it's freezing out here, and two days ago it was 18 degrees!!!!!"

Well, I was here now. And that was really reality. So I chucked out a bottom rig, and made a cast with a float rig. The only sign of life I saw was one Mullet jump along the grass. No other bait movement, no swirls, no nuthin'!

It took me about 20 minutes to say, "I'm outa here!" As I pulled anchor and headed to the river, where the tide had started to fall.

With a serious NEGATIVE low tide, this was gonna be a real belly washer. So I decided to take it easy on myself. I went to look for new possible Trout spots. Which can always be other fish spots too.

And I went to an area that has held some interest of mine for awhile. Previously, I have caught Black Drum, Reds to 45 pounds, sometimes a few keepers, loads of Croakers, but never a single Trout.

Every five minutes the tide made the landscape of the river bank change. If you don't take advantage of super negative tides just to look around. You are missing out.

Especially, if those tides come with zero wind, on a bright beautiful day. Versus a negative tide, when the winds howling from the west at 25 knots.

I learned more about this spot then I have while fishing it for the last 10 years!

And I found LOADS of school sized Trout, too. I know now exactly where they like to hang out, and why they hang there and for how long. To put it plainly, "I now have a file on them."

Come spring time, when the big GATOR Trout are on the move, following the bait. This could be an area where I could come on in, hit a few Trout, maybe a GATOR or two, maybe a Float-rig Redfish, and move on up river with the tide. That's why I like to think of myself as a "tide runner", which is also another nick-name for Weakfish, or Specks. Move when they do!!

I tried, but I never caught a Drum or a Redbass there, and then ended up at the jetties.

And believe me, it was no party out there either. But did manage some Yellowmouths, and several Specks to 20 inches........"of course I was fishing for Reds, Drum and Sheepshead", I told myself.
It just felt good to get that tug on my Biscayne rod, after watching the float go down.

It was way cooler at the jetties with a slight easterly breeze blowing.













I'm heading out Monday......this time no Crack O' Dawn departure. And this time I hope I can fish were I want too, rather then fishing where I have too. Because of so many people.

Louisiana, or even way north of this urban'ville, sure needs to be in my future before my fishing days are over.