Feb 1 -
Loaded up the boat late morning and headed for Hickory Mound to see if we could find some reds. This was one of the most productive days I have ever had that completely missed the target. We launched the jon boat and began fishing creek mounths working from one to the next. The tide was so low that there was not a lot of fish out in the Gulf. In the creeks, however was a different story. We caught trout in some creeks on about every cast. By the time we hit three different creeks we had well over 30 of them, with many over 20 inches.
We did manage to catch one pup red, not big enough to be legal. Next year, I will make the scouting trip the last day of Jan. instead of Feb. 1.
Feb. 7
I rousted Andrew out of bed very early to make Jerry's Bait and Tackle before 6:30 am. We had the boat loaded and poles rigged from the evening before, so there was not a lot of prep time needed. Lady (our dog) acted like she wanted to go, so we put her in the Jeep as well. We arrived at Jerry's just after 6:00, but could not fit in the parking lot
, so we parked in the vacant lot next door. We got signed up, picked up a little tackle and headed to Savannah's with everyone else for breakfast to wait on the tide. We arrived at Hickory Mound way before the tide did. I went ahead and launched the boat, but found that I was confined floating in the prop-wash hole at the end of the ramp. I pushed, pulled, drug and rocked the boat into deeper water, only to get stuck again halfway down the creek. At this point, after a long discussion about why we should have brought the kayak instead of the jon boat, Andrew and I decided to walk a little further down the creek to fish a deep hole.
Pelican (one of the FCKA forum members) came by us in his kayak and was fishing the same hole. I figured we would fish until our boat came drifting by us, then hop in. Andrew had a great time playing in the mud, making stick houses, and shell collecting. I managed one redfish out of the deep hole, and Lady wandered around the mud flats exploring. After another trip back to the boat, then back to the deep hole to get Andrew a drink of water, I managed to get the boat afloat. We planed off and ran out of the creek, then got scared to slow down again due to the still-shallow water.
We tried a deep hole for flounder, but no takers. Chatted with a very large eagle perched on the one remaining platform South of Rock Island, then headed back to the creeks. At the next stop, we ran back into Pelican, who had boated 3 reds, and caught a trout as we were talking. We only managed one undersized red in that creek. My apologies to Pelican if he reads this forum. Being a fellow kayaker, I realize you probably didn't want us running into you at every creek you tried to fish. (Our boat is a 17' alum. with a 40 hp Mer Jet Foot. It runs VERY shallow, but is about as gracefull, quiet and subtle as an approaching warship firing a howitzer across your bow).
We fished a couple more creeks moving West each time and managed our second red. Both reds were about 22 inches. The water was very clear, and I could see fish in the creek holes everyplace we stopped. Even with my depthfinder reading 8-9 feet, I could see the spots on the trout sitting on the bottom. Once the tide came in, we saw multiple fish out in the edge of the Gulf as we worked our way back to the ramp. I believe we would have done better with the kayaks due to the fish spooking so easily.
We ended the day with our two reds, very hungry and worn out. Had a great time at the weigh in, and look forward to the Keaton tourny in March.
- Steve Stinson, Andrew Stinson, and Lady.
