Febuary 2005
We had a bad case of cabin fever. We'd been on the water just a couple of times this winter. It was hard to remember the last quality fish landed. The weather had been very cold lately with lows in the 30's and highs in the 60's with enough wind to keep the birds on the ground.
The cold snap broke on a Monday and the weather guessers were predicting a beautiful day on Tuesday with highs in the mid 70's and winds under 10. The next front was due the day after. That meant only one thing: work had to wait . . . it was Playin' Hooky time!
The day broke bright and clear but there was no rush to get on the water as the 8:00am temp was 60 and the water was cold. I checked the tides, wind direction and charts and picked a few flats to try early. Our goal was to ambush a few tailing reds. The eastern flats of Pine Island Sound would be out target area.
I knew our plan was in trouble as we drove south along Pine Island to launch in St. James City. The flags were standing straight out in a 15 knot wind; about the limit of what Black Fly can comfortably handle in open water. At least the wind was out of the east giving us a lee shore to work with.
We launched, cleared the manatee zone and took the Middle Cut Off at speed heading north. The ride was smooth close in. The water was crystal clear and only a foot deep as we skimmed the flats heading for a resident school of reds. Problem was, we didn't blow out one fish. Obviously, conditions weren't right for our plan. Time to reconsider our options.
We headed for the bushes, into the creeks and mud lakes that is the labyrinth of the west shore of Pine Island. Here, we hit the sight fishing jackpot. In clear water barely deep enough to float Black Fly we would have a shot at either a red or snook every few minutes.
The tide was just beginning to flood, the sun was warming the dark bottom and we poled the slick spots in the lee of the mangroves. Much of Charley's destruction is disappearing behind new growth. Buried back in the swamps we felt far removed from the rigors of work.
The fish were aggressive but dopey. They would turn and track the fly before attacking; but they missed the hook time after time. They seemed hungry but lacked the ability to execute the strike. Several reds and especially one over slot snoot knocked the fly out of the water. Some of the snook were especially spooky, leaving a long mud streak as they rocketed off for the next planet just because they saw the fly line in the air.
As the water warmed the mullet schools became active creating huge muds making visibility difficult. Still, Angie spotted a big red finning at three o'clock just a half cast away and immediately put the fly in front of him. The fish was huge. He turned and tracked the fly only thirty feet from the boat. Suddenly he struck, but missed! I heard his mouth snap shut while thinking "that's it, he's too close." But he struck again, this time with the most vengeance I've ever seen from a red fish and the hook set deep.
The big red gave Angie all the fight she wanted for about six minutes before he finally submitted. Because we were worried for the fish after such a long fight, we snapped a quick photo and put him back in the water. He proved he was fine by kicking out of my grasp before we could pose him again. Adios my friend, and thanks!
We just wanted to get out and enjoy the day so Angie wasn't rigged for IGFA. We've been looking for a big red to round her IGFA World Record count to ten and this fish may have well done that. No worries! We had four hours of the best fishing we've had anywhere.
Copyright © 2005 - Palmtree Software - All Rights Reserved