Keaton-Spring Warrior 4/18
Posted: April 19th, 2007, 10:01 am
Played hooky from work yesterday and slipped off with What A Mess and a couple of other guys. What A Mess wanted to take his scratch'n sniff skiff so that we would have a trolling motor to fish around the bars.
Here's the report:
Arrived at WAM house at 5AM for an expected 5AM departure. WAM fiddle farted around for nearly 30 minutes before we left. I'm thinking I could have stopped and had breakfast had I only known.
We pull out of WAM's place and travel though every pig path and minor highway between his house and Perry Florida. We stop at Wilson's and buy ice. Then we stop at Hardees to feed the unfed.
Now, with the sun high in the sky, we are off to Keaton. On the way we discuss the fact that WAM nearly lost his trailer (see thread) on the last trip and that the Marina sling is only $15. WAM, being a good member of the lost tribes of Israel, insists that we launch at the $5 ramp. Its his boat and his trailer, so who am I to argue.
We pull out and 3 of us beginning to fish while WAM tries to catch a few pinfish. Pinfish are whipping out our gulps, but WAM can hardly buy a pinfish bite. We were in a school of trout, but it was an elementary school and only one was big enough to go the college bowl (aka the fish box). Ole Jerry who refused to take WAM's fishing advice all day, is putting on a clinic of how to teach small trout to water ski on the way to the boat. (this bit him in the butt later in the day as he attempted this with a keeper fish who suddenly decided he didn't like to water ski). A flat fish answers my call and makes it to the college bowl. WAM suddenly announces that we are to batten hatches and prepare for launch and off we go heading north at a rapid rate of speed to the bars between Keaton and Spring Worrier.
Time to use the trolling motor. WAM perches his big ole butt on a bucket on the bow and commences to see just how fast he can troll the Scatch'n Sniff Skiff up to the bars. He has the boat perfectly positioned for him to cast to the bars, while the crew gets to watch and fish well away from anything that might hold a fish. While trolling my CT I accidentally accost a trout who nearly was ready for college, but not quite. WAM carefully guides us around one bar and between two other formidable looking shell mounds only to carefully ground us on another. How the shaft of that electric motor didn't bend, I don't know. Suddenly, we were no longer going to fish the bars, instead we needed to drift fish.
Out we go in front of the Spring Warrior tripod. A couple of drifts results in a couple of keeper trout, but the tide, wind and water dies. Along comes some sprinkles. Batten down the hatches and we are off again raising to get in front of the rain all the way to the Keaton channel. The rain seemed to match us for speed until we are nearly at Keaton.
Fishing around the channel results in another nice doormat for the college bowl. As we drift away from the channel, ole Jerry again begins to put on a clinic on how to catch trout under a CT without all that annoying popping action that WAM was preaching about. However, as stated earlier, a rather nice trout decided he did not like Jerry's water skiing retrieve and ended his play short of the boat and net. Most of the trout were from the elementary school again. Soon the rain caught us and we ended our day huddled behind WAM and his center console as the rain beat us all the way back to the $5 ramp. I think we ended the day with the following colleg bowl participants: 7 trout, 2 doormats, one spanish and one blue.
Fortunately, this time the ramp did not try to claim the trailer.
Oh by the way, I pointed out to WAM at the launch a rather large yellow sign that mentions something about a sharp drop off at the end of the ramp and possible danger to damage the trailer. I'm sure WAM missed that sign on his previous trip
All and all, it sure beat werking
Here's the report:
Arrived at WAM house at 5AM for an expected 5AM departure. WAM fiddle farted around for nearly 30 minutes before we left. I'm thinking I could have stopped and had breakfast had I only known.
We pull out of WAM's place and travel though every pig path and minor highway between his house and Perry Florida. We stop at Wilson's and buy ice. Then we stop at Hardees to feed the unfed.
Now, with the sun high in the sky, we are off to Keaton. On the way we discuss the fact that WAM nearly lost his trailer (see thread) on the last trip and that the Marina sling is only $15. WAM, being a good member of the lost tribes of Israel, insists that we launch at the $5 ramp. Its his boat and his trailer, so who am I to argue.
We pull out and 3 of us beginning to fish while WAM tries to catch a few pinfish. Pinfish are whipping out our gulps, but WAM can hardly buy a pinfish bite. We were in a school of trout, but it was an elementary school and only one was big enough to go the college bowl (aka the fish box). Ole Jerry who refused to take WAM's fishing advice all day, is putting on a clinic of how to teach small trout to water ski on the way to the boat. (this bit him in the butt later in the day as he attempted this with a keeper fish who suddenly decided he didn't like to water ski). A flat fish answers my call and makes it to the college bowl. WAM suddenly announces that we are to batten hatches and prepare for launch and off we go heading north at a rapid rate of speed to the bars between Keaton and Spring Worrier.
Time to use the trolling motor. WAM perches his big ole butt on a bucket on the bow and commences to see just how fast he can troll the Scatch'n Sniff Skiff up to the bars. He has the boat perfectly positioned for him to cast to the bars, while the crew gets to watch and fish well away from anything that might hold a fish. While trolling my CT I accidentally accost a trout who nearly was ready for college, but not quite. WAM carefully guides us around one bar and between two other formidable looking shell mounds only to carefully ground us on another. How the shaft of that electric motor didn't bend, I don't know. Suddenly, we were no longer going to fish the bars, instead we needed to drift fish.
Out we go in front of the Spring Warrior tripod. A couple of drifts results in a couple of keeper trout, but the tide, wind and water dies. Along comes some sprinkles. Batten down the hatches and we are off again raising to get in front of the rain all the way to the Keaton channel. The rain seemed to match us for speed until we are nearly at Keaton.
Fishing around the channel results in another nice doormat for the college bowl. As we drift away from the channel, ole Jerry again begins to put on a clinic on how to catch trout under a CT without all that annoying popping action that WAM was preaching about. However, as stated earlier, a rather nice trout decided he did not like Jerry's water skiing retrieve and ended his play short of the boat and net. Most of the trout were from the elementary school again. Soon the rain caught us and we ended our day huddled behind WAM and his center console as the rain beat us all the way back to the $5 ramp. I think we ended the day with the following colleg bowl participants: 7 trout, 2 doormats, one spanish and one blue.
Fortunately, this time the ramp did not try to claim the trailer.
Oh by the way, I pointed out to WAM at the launch a rather large yellow sign that mentions something about a sharp drop off at the end of the ramp and possible danger to damage the trailer. I'm sure WAM missed that sign on his previous trip
All and all, it sure beat werking
