For quite some time now, I've been fortunate enough to "be on some fish". The clearing waters of Baffin and the rising water and air temps have really turned on the fishing. It seems the word is out because the number of boaters on the water this past Saturday was unreal. Granted 90% of them were camped out along the Tide Guage Bar which is historically the place to be this time of year.
Several times this week has found me in the same area. We have had trips of varying success here and have picked up some nice fish. But, its nice to know that when things get just a bit too crowded, the fallback plan is a proven winner.
Our hot colors this week have been Dark Strawberry, Pink Lemonade, Rootbeer/red glitter Brown Lures Devil Eyes along with some that my clients had confidence in such as DOA's and Berkley Gulp Shrimp. I have always been a proponent of using "confidence lures" by my clients and its always interesting to see what these folks hang their hats on when it comes to catching fish.This week its been all trout which doesn't bother me one bit. I love stalking and catching skinny water redfish but when the trout bite is this good, I just save them for another time.
We have been catching several trout in the 28" range virtually every trip. With numerous Big Girls topping the 24" mark. I managed to catch this rather thin trout (as most are this time of year) early one morning this week.
I followed up a short time later with this little beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtDjjYaMPlU
I even let my trusty photographer get in on a little action LOL.
And then there was Saturday. I had a trip scheduled with a good friend from Houston and he had to cancel at the last minute due to his job. So the phone call
I got on Thursday asking if I was open by any chance came at an opportune time. Brad brought down most of the offshore fishing crew that had been fishing on
Friday around 60 miles out. They had had a good trip with lots of fish but were looking for more. They seemed a bit tired when they arrived at my place Friday
night around 10:30. In fact, I'm not sure we even got proper introductions out of the way before heads hit the pillows.
I'm sure some of these guys thought I was crazy when I flipped on the lights at 4:30 telling them that breakfast was ready. It was a sad sight seeing all
those guys with dark circles under their eyes and still a little stiff and sore from their offshore adventure. Gotta give em credit though, they hit the ground
running and we were loaded up and at the boat ramp by 5:30. It was flat calm out there and the air was cool. The boat ride was very comfortable, almost too
comfortable for some as I noticed a few bobbing heads on the way out.
We piled into the water at our first stop. Carl, Ben and I managed some quick action right off the bat and then two things happened for us. First, we had boat
after boat file into the general area we were fishing and second, our bite just stopped. I don't mean trickled off I mean it stopped like a slammed door.
We prodded the water for another hour with every offering we could come up with and no takers.
Anyone that fishes with me on a regular basis knows I don't like to move around a lot on weekends. Its almost a guarantee that any area that likely holds
fish on a weekend will have boats on it. But, reluctantly I decided to hit one of my lesser known spots and see if things were happening there. I was slightly
surprised to find no boats within 1/2 a mile of one of the spots I had in mind but I was grateful.
We motored the boat into place and I secured it with the Stake-Out Stik and we eased into the water with high expectations. Brad was first to hook up and it
was looking like it might be a good choice of fishing spots when this one came to hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXVu-FrkZW4
And the release
Just a few casts later, Ben got in on the action, trying his best to top Brad's fish in a "friendly(?)" competition.
Brad quickly answered back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNbOfY-CdY
I got to play a little bit as well.
All this time, Jason was just quietly plugging away. He had a few fish on the stringer but was intent on the task at hand. With all the whooping and hollering
going on from everyone else, it was luck that we caught anything at all. I happened to be looking Jason's direction when I saw him set back hard. The
pronounced "bow" in his rod indicated that this might be a rock. That is until the "rock" broke the surface about 40 feet in front of him
doing its best tarpon imitation. I immeadiately grabbed the camera and started filming. I knew this one was going to get good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM4HnqqnCok
We caught and released 6 trout over 25" and had a whole slew of solid fish between 18" and 24". It was a very memorable day to say the least. We
topped it off with a dip in the pool, some delicious margaritas (thanks John) some shrimp and fajitas and then it was almost comical watching the heavy heads
and heavier eyelids as we all sat around the living room. I finally woke up at 2:30 and realized I was still sitting in my recliner and I wasn't the only
one. Had a great time and a great week of fishing. Looking forward to another one as our weather pattern looks stable and the winds look to be light for a
while.
Don't forget to give me a call about our night time wadefishing trips. Its a great way to beat the heat and feel the excitement of topwater bite in the
dark. Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey
