I hadn't been all weekend. Problems with my ankle so I was nursing it after a doctors visit on Sunday.
So I said, "Got me plenty of drugs now and the ankle is all better....let me take you and Colin to the jetties tomarrow."
Nick said, "That's great, I didn't want to go out there in my smallish boat, anyhow."
We met up at the bait shop and were at the boat ramp pulling away around 8:00am. The tide would be high at 9:30 so we'd be on time for that. Colin needed to be yanked by a big Redbass. Ya just can't come here, all the way from Scotland, and fish and not be yanked by Brutus T. Redbass!!
So that was my goal. But when we arrived on location, there really wasn't any strong current. The rising tide was a 5 footer, so I expected a bit more than what we got. Of course, there was fellow Blog readers out there trying their luck and of course thought that the big reds were gonna make their appearence just as they did in my Friday report. But no one was catching any.....I know I wasn't! And like my dad always says, "If Dave ain't catching them, how am I supposed to?" Meaning, I've fished these spots a time or two, before.
So after just one Speck at 15" I put in the box, we made a move to reposition, then another reposition. And it was all too apparent those big "RB's" jus' weren't around. So we moved on.
We made our way up into the river and caught lots of Bluefish, and small Trout, boxing one more keeper Trout. In between eating 3 tastey Publix Sub's and bags of potato chips, shooting the bull, tossing back a few more trout. Boxing one more keeper. We ended up on a "Hail Mary" spot.
By now Nick had 25 backlashes, 14 knots in his line, and was as heated as a Irishman can be, at his tackle. So he gave up. While Colin and I continued fishing.
(And my goodness the live shrimp today were OUTA THIS WORLD, perfection!)
My float goes down, I set the hook and it's a drag taker! So I hand my rod to Colin, and he finally gets that Redbass I told him all about. I let him reel it in against the now ebbing tide that was New Moon strength. And he does really good. The Red throws up the white flag, and into the net it goes!
It's a perfect keeper at 25 inches. The weird thing was that this Redbass is now the second one caught on my boat in a year or so with what looked like a broken back.
Take a close look just at the end of the dorsal fin, see how it just doesn't look streamlined? The fish had some kind of injury in it's earlier life. And on top of that looked to be blind in it's right eye! Holy smokes......I told Colin, "even a half blind crippled Redfish can find an acorn every once in awhile.
We'd had enough so we headed back to the dock. And that was my day with two guys that make their living keeping the beat going, banging on the drums. Which is alot different than the life I lead, for sure.
OH......and by the way.
IT HAD TO BE 80 DEGREES OUT THERE THIS AFTERNOON. IT WAS ACTUALLY HOT!
Ya' think the "snow birds" would be eating this up? Where are they?
I'll be heading to Sportsmans Paradise, LOUISIANA, Feb. 4th..."hope to get lost and have to send for my boat!"
