Fishing Trips 2007

FISHING TRIPS 2007
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On Thursday we were scheduled to go out on an offshore charter but it was too windy so we had to cancel. Tim called our inshore guide, Jason Dill, (www.charlotteharboroutfitters.com), who we had for Friday to see if he knew anyone who could take us out. Jason said that he was catching some fish in the canals around Charlotte Harbor and that he was available for a half day. We took him up on it and met him at the Port Charlotte Beach boat ramp, on Alligator Bay in Port Charlotte, where he used a cast net to catch some small baitfish about 4-5 inches long called Greenbacks. After getting bait, we headed across the harbor and made our way into some canals in Punta Gorda Isles where we tossed the bait up under docks and boats. We used spinning rods with braided line and a fluorocarbon leader.

As we worked our way around the first few canals Tim landed a few Red Snappers. After a while, we moved into another set of canals and soon I felt a fish pick my bait up. As soon as I swept the rod to set the hook the fish boiled and pulled back and snapped the line in a split second. It was a big fish and Jason said that it was probably a Jack Crevalle. A short time later I finally got bit again and this time after hookset the fish took off and my drag screamed! The hard pulling fish swam directly toward a piling where it broke me off once again. It most likely was another large Jack.

It wasn’t long when I got another hit and this time when I set the hook I leaned hard on the rod and maneuvered the fish out into the open water in the middle of the canal. It pulled strong and fought hard. Finally, I boated my first Florida salt water fish, a 9.5 lb Jack, one of the hardest pulling fish that I ever caught on spinning tackle! Later on we both caught a few Snook, another fish that I have never caught.

On Friday we met Jason in Placida at a boat ramp on Gasparilla Sound for a half day of flat fishing. Upon leaving the dock he maneuvered the boat around numerous mangrove islands and eventually stopped just downwind of a sandbar. He then anchored the boat and rigged the spinning rods up with circle hooks and pieces of frozen Sardines.

Before we got our bait in the water a lady in the boat next to us landed a large Spotted Seatrout. Not long after we had our lines in the water the lady again had another fish on. It pulled her drag and made strong runs all over the place. We reeled our lines in to avoid tangles and watched her land the fish. After about a ten minute battle she finally got the fish to the boat and they netted a 12 pound Redfish!

A short time later I felt something pick my bait up. When I leaned on the rod to set the hook the fish pulled hard for about a second and then, snap, the line broke. That was the third or forth time that I had the line break in the past two days. In the next hour Tim caught a small Redfish and a few Catfish. We moved after that because Jason said that the Catfish would run the Reds out of the area.

He again weaved his boat through numerous mangroves and finally stopped downwind of one of the little islands in Turtle Bay. He then tied on a Gulp Swimming Minnow for Tim and a spoon for me. We were instructed to cast the lures into various sand holes among the mossy bottom or to cast as close as we could to the edges of the mangroves. After fishing around a few islands Tim finally hooked up with a few Redfish. It took me a while but I finally caught my first Red.

At our last stop of the morning Jason anchored the boat a long cast away upwind of another mangrove. This time we tossed the cut Sardines up close to the edge of the cover. Tim was the first to get a hit and he landed a nice size Redfish. A short time later he caught a Snook. I also managed to catch a small Red and a Snook.

MARCH 14-16, 2007-FLORIDA

After watching some Florida fishing shows on TV, one long, boring, cold day in January I emailed my brother, Tim stating that I would like to try that kind of fishing sometime. A few hours later I got a call from him and he proposed the idea that maybe we could make it happen. He was going to be down in Sarasota in March and said that maybe I could meet him down there for a few days of fishing. I jumped at the chance and soon he had charters scheduled for three days.

We fished Wednesday day for Largemouth Bass on a shallow inland lake in central Florida called Lake Istokpoga. This lake is the 5th largest in Florida. We met our guide, David Miller, (www.thebasstamer.com), just before daylight and he took us out in his 21ft Triton to a weedy spot on the lake where there was a slight change of depth. He explained to us that the lake was full of a weed called Hydrilla and that the bass move along the edge of the weeds. He said that the lake is full of big bass up to 10-12 pounds and that the best method on this particular lake at this time of year was to use live native Wild Shiners.

After we anchored David soon had us rigged with the 5-7 inch shiners on circle hooks using baitcasting rods, spooled with 30 lb braided line and fished below a baseball-size bobber. All in all, he had 8 rods rigged and in the water. It wasn’t long before the action started. When the bobber went down we had to raise the rod and take up the slack then sweep the rod and wrestle the bass out of the shallow weeds. We lost more than we caught!

Tim had an interesting experience that only could happen to him. While reeling in a three pound bass he thought that the fish had taken his line into the weeds. When he dragged the heavy load closer to the boat it was discovered that he had two fish on his line! He had the bass on the hook and a Mudfish (aka Dogfish) that had bit down on the bobber! Dave netted the bass along with the weeds and Dogfish. I wish I could have taken a picture of that mess, but they were in a hurry to get it back into the water before I had the chance!

My biggest bass weighed 6.10oz while Tim’s was a 6 pounder. These lunkers are our biggest Largemouth Bass that we have ever caught. A fisherman in the boat anchored next to us landed one that weighed 10 lbs.!