Saint Marks Report 4/7/11- Spanish, Trout and One Porpoise!

[GaWhaler]

Headed out of Shields around 9:30 with a buddy of mine just before the low tide. We wanted to start off trolling for Spanish because I wanted to try and find some so I could bring the kids back on Saturday. Started at the tripod marker at the sand bar hump and headed east just outside the buoy markers using a spanish rig and banana spoons. Quickly hooked up on a nice keeper in about 5.5 feet of water. Continued heading east and landed 16 keeper spanish and 5 blues before lunch between the tripod and Gray Mare. Most were in about 4-6 feet of water, but i think they were everywhere.

After lunch we decided to try the trout on the rising tide. Started throwing gulps and ended up with 8 nice keepers and threw back probably 15 that were short (half of which were 14.5 inches). Most all were in 3.5 feet to 5 feet of water. Could not land our final two to make our limit before we had to head back on what turned out to be a pretty rough ride. The wind had really picked up and got good and wet for the first time this year. Actually felt pretty good.

I am real curious to hear if any of you all have this happen to you before. It was a first for me. On one of our drifts i was throwing a Gulp and had a porpoise take it and proceed to rip every bit of line I had on my spinner. He knocked the crap out of it and all I could do was hang on and watch all my line disappear. It was the best 10 second fight I have had in a long time..

Overall, could not have asked for a better day. Fish were biting and weather was perfect. Hope to hit it again Saturday with the kids and see if we cannot hook some spanish for them to fight.

[SHOWBOAT]

Can't guarantee it, but I would assume you had a fish hit your Gulp and flipper hit your fish. It could have been instanteous when the fish rolled on your lure and showed his belly to the dolphin. Nice report

[lordsfisher]

Good report... thanks. I saw a buddy using live mullet hook a dolphin. The initial excitement goes when you realize what's happened. More than likely an accident, but maybe it did it on porpoise?

Ok, that was bad! Hope you and the kids can catch Spanish tomorrow.

[Gulf Coast]

Dude, where is your line now ? Got to think quick and break off so all your line doesn't in up in someones prop. Anyway good report glad you got out. Love taking my kids too !

[GaWhaler]

I really did not have much line left on my spool anyway. By the time I figured out i was hooked to a porpoise it was gone. There was really no time to cut it...

[Hit-n-Miss]

Sounds like those spanish rigs, you showed me, did the trick.

[onefishtwofish]

I think they cruise out there a lot. I was tooling along, faster than trolling speed and had one ease up next to the boat and eyeball us. Was pretty cool actually.

Friend of mine had them stealing her fish off of Mex beach. Said they could not keep them on. She said she cruised about 2-3 miles and started catching them again and said more showed up. I told her they were probably the same ones that had followed her. She did not think it was funny, she wants dinner when she fishes!

We had bull sharks stealing our reds last year. We would catch until the sharks showed up and then we would move away. usually could catch for about an hour or two until they showed up. I finally got rigged up for one and had a nice fight for a while. He did not get the same treatment a porpoise would get. I made him pay for tryin to steal our reds with about 30 minutes of entertainment!

[silverking]

gaWhaler,
Glad my advice about the Spanish paid off. I had a few swipe at DOA shrimp back inside Stony, but they didn't stick around. The trout bite was slow for me.

Good luck with the kids tomorrow. Hopefully you'll get on 'em before that wind picks up again. It was a sloppy ride back in yesterday.

[GaWhaler]

Silverking, your advice did work. i appreciate your input.

Went back with the kids on Saturday. Never seen so many boats in my life. We caught a few spanish, a blue, and my 3 year old son caught his first trout! Can't tell you how excited he was (and still is). I think I have him hooked for life. All in all, it was a wonderful day with the wife and kids out on the boat. Did not really care if we caught anything..