The Running of the Bulls - 12.29.06
Posted: January 1st, 2007, 10:42 pm
A couple friends, my brother and myself hit Sikes Cut for reds on Friday. It was a little windy and there were some pretty big swells rolling through when we got there around 11:00. Made anchoring somewhat difficult, but after 15 or 20 minutes we finally found a spot we were happy with and settled in for the day. After 30 minutes or so, I get a hit and begin to pull in the first fish of the day. I could tell by the way he felt that he wasn't huge, but he was still over the slot - around 30 - 32"....
Not a bad way to start the day. I've never done this before in Sikes Cut, and no one else on the boat had ever fished for bull reds at all, so I was happy that at least I knew we weren't going home skunked. A couple of hours went by with no action. Then the tide turned, and my brother's rod goes off....
It didn't take long to realize that this fish was substantially bigger than the one I had pulled in a couple hours ago. This fish made several runs, and probably took 15 minutes or so to get in. Ended up being what would be the biggest fish of the day by 2 or 3 inches - came in at about 42 or 43"....
Shortly after this fish was released, my rod went off. Turned out to be another red just a couple inches shorter than my brother's fish - about 40".....
Release this fish, and about 10 minutes later my third fish is on - about 35"....
I hooked another shortly after this one, but he came unbuttoned. Circle hook must have not gotten a good hold on his lip. (On a side note, we used circle hooks on all these fish, and more than not were gut hooked - couldn't figure out why this kept happening.)
The day was wearing on and it was getting close to 4:30 and my two friends still had not hooked up. We had planned to leave at 5:00, so it was starting to look like they might go home empty handed. Then Chris' rod gets a hit....
After a few minutes a 37" red comes to the boat....
Almost 5:00 now, and David still has no fish. Then another hit.....
And the final red, about 39", rounds out the day.
This turned out to be a great day with great friends, and one that we will all remember for a long time. We cranked the engine and headed to the ramp with an Apalachicola sunset to our backs.
PS: Redfin, let me know when you're ready, and we'll go get 'em. I think I've got it figured out now.
Not a bad way to start the day. I've never done this before in Sikes Cut, and no one else on the boat had ever fished for bull reds at all, so I was happy that at least I knew we weren't going home skunked. A couple of hours went by with no action. Then the tide turned, and my brother's rod goes off....
It didn't take long to realize that this fish was substantially bigger than the one I had pulled in a couple hours ago. This fish made several runs, and probably took 15 minutes or so to get in. Ended up being what would be the biggest fish of the day by 2 or 3 inches - came in at about 42 or 43"....
Shortly after this fish was released, my rod went off. Turned out to be another red just a couple inches shorter than my brother's fish - about 40".....
Release this fish, and about 10 minutes later my third fish is on - about 35"....
I hooked another shortly after this one, but he came unbuttoned. Circle hook must have not gotten a good hold on his lip. (On a side note, we used circle hooks on all these fish, and more than not were gut hooked - couldn't figure out why this kept happening.)
The day was wearing on and it was getting close to 4:30 and my two friends still had not hooked up. We had planned to leave at 5:00, so it was starting to look like they might go home empty handed. Then Chris' rod gets a hit....
After a few minutes a 37" red comes to the boat....
Almost 5:00 now, and David still has no fish. Then another hit.....
And the final red, about 39", rounds out the day.
This turned out to be a great day with great friends, and one that we will all remember for a long time. We cranked the engine and headed to the ramp with an Apalachicola sunset to our backs.
PS: Redfin, let me know when you're ready, and we'll go get 'em. I think I've got it figured out now.
