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Below you will find the details of the selected field report.
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| Event Name: |
INDIAN RIVER LAGOON (cond't) |
| Event Date: |
8/20/2009 |
| Event City: |
Fort Pierce |
| Event State: |
FL |
| Event Type: |
Fishin' Adventure
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| Attendance: |
3 |
| Event Description: |
CONTINUED FROM PAGES 1&2 … PAGE (3)
While fishing one dock, we noticed a BIG Snook chasing bait on the next dock down from us. We baited-up with fresh live Pinfish and Capt. Charlie maneuvered the boat into position, and Ty made a perfect cast into the Snook’s lair. It took about 6 seconds for the Snook to grab the Pinfish, Ty to set-up on him, the Snook to run through the dock and make a left turn, heading for the channel and break off, as the drag hummed and Ty leaned into the bruiser, trying to stop his forward progress. Short lived action… But extremely exciting!!
Suddenly, a giant sized shadow appeared behind the boat, and much to my pleasure a HUGE Sea Cow (Manatee) appeared behind the boat and surfaced right behind me. I reached out with the tip of my fishing rod and scratched her head for a few moments, until she quietly swam away. Just another awe inspiring perk for those who enjoy all of God’s great creations. Finally the tide went slack, and so did the “Catching”, so we idled back out to the channel (idle speed only when you are out of the channel, to protect the gentle giants of the Indian River Lagoon, the Manatee).
We ran several miles up the river and idled into a quite lagoon filled with Mangrove islands. Mullet and other baitfish were in abundance everywhere, but someone forgot to ring the dinner bell for the predator species. The slack tide had everything shut down, but we fished the edges of the Mangrove overhangs with lures and live bait and did manage to hook and boat a couple of nice sized Jack.
We didn’t waste much time on the Mangrove flats and headed back down river to one of Capt. Charlie’s “Secret Spots”. The tide had begun to flow out and Capt. Charlie knew where the good ole bigguns’ would be lurking, waiting for baitfish to be flushed from the shallow coves. Capp anchored the boat just up-tide from a long pier jutting out into an out-flowing estuary. We flipped live pinfish, impaled on a 1/4oz. jig head, under the dock and it didn’t take long for me to hook into a nice Redfish. Not only are these wonderful fish hard fighters, but they are some of the best eating fish in saltwater, so after a short but hard fought battle, this “slot fish” went into the livewell. It wasn’t long until I had another “Red” hooked, and he too was a legal “keeper” and joined his brother in the box.
Capt. Charlie rigged up a heavy duty baitcasting outfit, spooled with 80# test braided line, set it up with a basic “Carolina Rig” and tied on a 1/0 size Circle Hook, hooking a 6 inch Pigfish through the nostrils and tossing it out under the dock. He placed it in one of the rear rod holders and within minutes the rod bent double and the drag started singing my favorite tune. Ty grabbed the rod and bore down on whatever had eaten the unlucky little “Piggy”. A big fish surfaced on the opposite side of the dock (we couldn’t tell if it was a Snook or a Red), and made a spectacular run, abruptly braking off on the barnacle encrusted pilings. We hooked and lost 5 more fish in this fashion. There was nothing wrong with the tackle we were using, or Ty and my abilities… They were just too big and powerful to handle. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!
(4)
Action finally slowed on this spot, so we pulled the hook, motored out into the channel and headed back up the river to another “Charlie Spot”. We fished along the lee current side of a breakwater and on my first cast I hooked and boated a 15-20 pound Goliath Grouper (we’re not allowed to say “Jewfish” anymore… Politically correct fishin’ you know). For the next couple of hours we continued to fish the breakwater with much success. Ty boated a 19 inch Flounder and we both landed Grouper, Snapper and Snook with arm wrenching frequency.
Time to move again and the clock was winding down on a GREAT day of fishing and “male bonding”. We motored over to another one of Capt. Charlie’s “secret spots” (one amasses quiet a few of them with more than 25 years experience on a body of water) and began dropping live Pinfish and Pigfish into 20 to 25 feet of water, along a steep drop off. Within moments I felt a slight tap on my line. I took up the slack and leaned into something BIG! Capt. Charlie and I both thought I was hung on the bottom for a few seconds, until the bottom started to move. My big 7 ½ foot heavy-duty Penn rod bent double, the 80# test braid line strained to it’s max, and the drag yipped in short bursts as the behemoth fish moved about at will. It only took a minute or two for my foe to find something sharp or barnacle encrusted to cut me off on and I was almost glad to see him get away. It’s a lot like WORK battling a fish this size! NOT!! I was a little heart sick… But THAT’S fishing! We figured it was a BIG Grouper of some type. We hooked and lost a couple more big fish on this spot and the sun was beginning to sink into the western horizon. My arms ached and I was OK with the idea of calling it a day. It had been quiet a fishing experience and one of the most fun-filled and memorable days of my fishing career.
We motored back to the dock and while Capt. Charlie and Ty loaded up the boat and put our gear back into the truck, I went to the cleaning table and filleted our dinner… Two nice big Redfish and a tasty Flounder.
I hope you enjoyed reading this little “Fishin’ Tale” as much as I enjoyed writing it! I thoroughly enjoyed my day on the water and the chance to spend some quality time with my son. I can most HIGHLY recommend Capt. Charlie Conner and his “Fish Tales Charters” and I can assure you… The next time I go south for a family visit, I will be giving Capt. Charlie a call. Check out his web site at www.fishtalescharter.com and strongly consider a trip to the Sunshine Coast of Florida in the near future.
Until next time… Safe boatin’, good fishin’, keep your net wet and…………
Tight Lines,
Will Whitehead
“The Fishin’ Gypsy”
And Jesus said to his disciples… “Follow me and I will make you fishers’ of men”!
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| Comments: |
I am pretty much "ANULL" when it comes to "NEAT" and "ORGANIZED". You can bet that EVERYTHING in my boat is easy to find, organized and in GREAT condition. In all my years of tournament fishing, guiding and fishing in general, I have had only three times when anything caused me a problem. BELIEVE IT OR NOT!! Once when a shifting cable broke on the outboard; once when a trolling motor steering cable broke and once when a power-pack on the engine went out. |
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