Lanark/Dog Island - 4/22

[Dale Hollow]

Skeeter and I took off work on Thursday to try some of his favorite honey holes around Dog Island with plans to get in 8-10 hours of fishing!

Got on the water by 10 am (dead low tide), caught a couple short trout in 2-3 feet of very clear. After about 1/2 hour I looked down and saw what appeared to be a 3 ft shark close to my Cajun Thunder / Live Shrimp combo and told Skeeter, "Watch me catch this Shark"! A couple of seconds later, "BOOM!", it hit. After a few minutes later, it totally came out of the water and it didn't look like a shark anymore (or anything that I had ever caught before). When we get it in the boat, we determine it is a Cobia! Turned out to be a 30 incher! What a thrill, my first Cobia! Too bad we had to release it. It was a great way to start the day!

We caught about 40 short trout in 2-3 feet of clear water. Temp was 74-78 degrees all day. Nothing would hit on mirror lures or SWAs (all colors). The key of the day was 'live bait' (shrimp and small pinfish)

Moved out to 5-6 feet of water around 1 pm (high tide was at 3:30), still live shrimp and pinfish was the key. Started catching keeper trout and spannies on Cajun Thunders with live bait. Water was cloudy. Continued to catch a lot of different kinds of fish...couple of sharks, ladyfish, catfish, hardtails, puppy reds, trout, spannies, etc... The 2 of us went through 200 shrimp by the end of the day...

Fished till the sunset.

Total in the box for the day:

6 keeper trout (1 - 22 inches)
6 keeper spannies

Left the ramp at 8:30 pm...

By the way, can someone tell me why I'm working today?

Dale Hollow

[Aucilla]

Congratulations Dale! That was a great report! It sounds like you had a ball!

I can't wait to get out there, and like you --until this trip you just had-- have never gotten a cobia. And boy I would have liked to have been with you this time.

Can you tell us a little more? Where'd you put in? How big o' boat? [Mine's a little 13-er] What leader? How deep, far out, etc., when you got that cobe?

What a great report! And with good results too!

[dowawoo]

I have caught a few Cobia near shore, and see hundreds more, this seems to be the best time..last year in Stinehatchee we saw some of largest cobia I have ever seen and we were only a couple hundred yards off shore...I always carry a rod for cobia now, caught on in Tampa Bay two years ago while fishing with my brother in law, weight 38 lbs and was 42 in long, had to play him on 6 lb test which seemed forever..

[Dale Hollow]

No problem Nolester....

I'm assuming this was more of a fluke of luck than anything else since I was targeting Trout and Spannies...

Anyway, we were on a 16' bass boat, in about 2 1/2 foot of water about 750 yards or so from the shore, put in at Lanark Market in Lanark Village. Bought my shrimp from Mike at the Market.

I was using an 8 foot rod with Stradic 4000 reel with 30'lb power pro. This is the first time that I have ever used this line before and love it! (I moved from TN only last summer, so, I've only been at this salt-water gig for less than 1 year.) On my cajun thunders, I use the nylon coated wire leader 30 # as well. I keep 3 leaders made up at 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 inches. That should serve me most of the summer. On the 24 and longer, I usually put a 1/4 oz sinker on it as well. I use a #3 bait holder hook (has the little burs in the hook shank) as it holds on Shrimp better than anything else that I've tried.

Now, I know that there has been a lot of dicussion on this board about what leaders to use and when to use them; however, my first 5 offshore trips last summer, I was losing too many fish. I switched to this nylon leader, and haven't lost one yet in my past 20 or so inshore trips since last year.

I basically fish for the 'action'. I have just as much fun catching an 8 lb sailcat, or a 3 ft ladyfish as I do as landing a nice trout. Actually, my wife prefers that I do bring something home for the grill.

On of the things that I have found out over the past 20 or so trips this past year, when fishing with live bait, you never know what you are going to catch.

Later...

Dale Hollow

[tin can]

Well, you met the man in the brown suit. That's what makes inshore fishing interesting. Sounds like you're hooked for life.

[Aucilla]

On my cajun thunders, I use the nylon coated wire leader 30 #

Dale ol' Buddy.... On those wire leaders, are you talking about those that are prerigged with with a clip for the hook and maybe a swivel at the other end?

[Dale Hollow]

Nolester, before we go much further, you have to be advised that I'm a card-carrying, true blooded, UT Vol Fan... But, in the spirit of sharing, please don't hold it against me..... ....

I tried those pre-rigged things last year and felt that it affected the bite too much. I wasn't getting as many bites and felt the fish could see all that metal.

I now purchase from Wal-Mart or Kevins the nylon coated 20 or 30# wire leader and the sleves that the label recommends. I loop through a hook on one end and crimp it, and then attach a clip on the other end. This clip the attaches to the bottom of my cajun thunder. This works well for Spannies as it seems that, here lately, I've been catching as many of them as I have trout.

There's probably a million ways to do this with different leader material that may get better results and a better bite. I've been thinking about just tieing up flurocarbon to the cajun thunder and the hook as well. I've read a lot on this site and a lot of folks appear to do it this way.

As for me, I'm still very naive to this salt-water stuff. Until last year, I had never caught a fish with teeth.

Now that I've got my confidence up with that Cobia, I would like to catch a small tarpon on this setup as well. My brother-in-law had one spool his line and jump out of the water to allow us to identify it last year. I would like to relive that moment again!

Hope this helps...

Dale Hollow
'Dedicated UT Vol Fan'

[Aucilla]

Thanks UT Dale! I appreciate the input on the wire leader. And, as you know, UT fans and FSU fans do have one big thing in commonn

BTW, I have often thought of changing my handle, having chosen "nolester" in a big hurry. But I have used it for so long that I guess I am stuck with it. I dunno.

As for the leaders, I was glad to hear of your rigging. When I first re-started fishing after a few decades off, I used the prerigged wire leaders with the clips at the hook, as they were so convenient. As I got into it furrther, I came to believe it did affect "the bite" and so I have gone almost exclusively with flourocarbon. But I have also lost some toothy fish, and I will never know what I have missed out on.

Due to my little boat, I am inshore mostly [and for my first several years back to fishing, up until a coupla years ago] all I did was wade fish.

Last time out, I lost my biggest mackeral before I switched to the wire.

Now I want to expand my repatory [?], catch a cobe, etc. etc.

Maybe I'll be a pro like you and get me some wire and do the crimpin'! I guess you get a crimping tool, etc.

Thanks for the info.