Aucilla - 4/4/09 - April NFGFC Tourney
Posted: April 6th, 2009, 11:05 am
Pat and I got to Jerry’s at 5:40 on Saturday morning and were met by several NFGFC members in the parking lot. The folks at Jerry’s were nice enough to open a little early and Theresa even had a table for us to use during registration. Pat and I were able to get everyone registered by 6:30 and after a quick stop at the gas station, we took it to the Aucilla ramp. I was nervous that the ramp (and parking lot) would be underwater with all the rain we’d gotten in the last few days. The water level at the ramp was high, but we were able to launch and ran out to the mouth. We then noticed that the water level at the mouth wasn’t so high (crab traps were out of the water) and were able to set the boat down before hitting anything. We continued idling to spot #1 and finally got into position at 8:10 after squeezing in between BB / CT and the Showboats.
First cast was at 8:15 with both of us slinging spooks. No love for the first hour as the water was dirtier than Britney Spears. We decided to move out to one of our offshore spots to see if the water was a little cleaner in deeper water. We started drifting over the spot and I was able to box a 17” and a 19.75” in the first drift. The second drift Pat was able to box a 16” and I picked up another 16” on the twitchbait. During this drift I’d just hooked up with a little trout and all of a sudden Pat’s rod just bows over. He was throwing the Bomber and something (no positive ID on the fish) ripped out drag, came up and wallered throwing water everywhere…and then it was gone. It was definitely bigger than a trout or red… Who knows? Could it have been one of the elusive early April Tarpon or a foul hooked gar?
We moved west and hit up some rockpiles and Pat was able to box a 16” and a 20” trout on the Seaspot Spook. We had our limit and were able to give each other some knucks. We then moved over to a ridiculously crowded RFP and fished for about 30 minutes with no love. We exited the area dodging boats and headed a pretty good ways back East. About this time the wind died and the fish were not cooperating. We moved again, back to spot #2 where we’d caught most of our fish. BB and CT were close and we watched CT whacking and stacking the trout on the popping cork. We caught a few fish, but none enabling us to say “lemme upgrade ya.” Thank you, Beyonce, for that gem of a song.
We moved one final time and had a couple blow ups on the Spooks, but no dice. We then ran back through the West Cut and found class 3 rapids back at the ramp - someone could offer rafting or tubing trips at the Aucilla River right now. Water was pouring out of the river making loading the boat quite a task. Fishing was tough, but SNR and I had a good time and were able to win a little dough. It was great seeing everyone and I hope to see y’all in SJB. Special thanks to Pat and Steve Stinson for their help at the weigh-in.
First cast was at 8:15 with both of us slinging spooks. No love for the first hour as the water was dirtier than Britney Spears. We decided to move out to one of our offshore spots to see if the water was a little cleaner in deeper water. We started drifting over the spot and I was able to box a 17” and a 19.75” in the first drift. The second drift Pat was able to box a 16” and I picked up another 16” on the twitchbait. During this drift I’d just hooked up with a little trout and all of a sudden Pat’s rod just bows over. He was throwing the Bomber and something (no positive ID on the fish) ripped out drag, came up and wallered throwing water everywhere…and then it was gone. It was definitely bigger than a trout or red… Who knows? Could it have been one of the elusive early April Tarpon or a foul hooked gar?
We moved west and hit up some rockpiles and Pat was able to box a 16” and a 20” trout on the Seaspot Spook. We had our limit and were able to give each other some knucks. We then moved over to a ridiculously crowded RFP and fished for about 30 minutes with no love. We exited the area dodging boats and headed a pretty good ways back East. About this time the wind died and the fish were not cooperating. We moved again, back to spot #2 where we’d caught most of our fish. BB and CT were close and we watched CT whacking and stacking the trout on the popping cork. We caught a few fish, but none enabling us to say “lemme upgrade ya.” Thank you, Beyonce, for that gem of a song.
We moved one final time and had a couple blow ups on the Spooks, but no dice. We then ran back through the West Cut and found class 3 rapids back at the ramp - someone could offer rafting or tubing trips at the Aucilla River right now. Water was pouring out of the river making loading the boat quite a task. Fishing was tough, but SNR and I had a good time and were able to win a little dough. It was great seeing everyone and I hope to see y’all in SJB. Special thanks to Pat and Steve Stinson for their help at the weigh-in.
