Late 4/16-17 report St. Marks
Posted: April 20th, 2011, 9:10 pm
It's been a while since I did some inshore stuff, so excuse the gap since my last post. Had to leave my camera with my daughter for the prom, so no pictures, but then again, save the Bald Eagle on the oyster bar in the river there was not a whole lot worth tying up the photons for. A friend and I put together a father/son trip which with teenager sons is worth it even if the fish aren't jumping in the boat. Got down to Shell Island in time to catch a few zees before sun up. Then thank the Lord for smart phones. Was able to see the radar and not launch just in time for the thunderstorms. Waited them out and put the boat in the water at around 0930. Headed west out of the river on almost calm seas. Caught just a few shorts in 4 ft of water. Anything more than 5 or less than 4 ft and the pinfish wouldn't even bight. We joked about NOAA missing the forecast for 25 mph winds. Haha! I hate to admit is, but we did buy a few shrimp after a friend's report from a couple of weekends before. We caught 3 in the 17-18inch range, plus a 24 inch Spanish. But that was about it save a few catfish and shorts. Did I mention NOAA's forecast for 25 mph winds out of the south. Just as it seemed the fish were going to cooperate on live bait, it became great sailing conditions. We braved the wind 'til about 2pm and called it quits opting for an early dinner and early bedtime since we had driven thru the night.
Sunday am it was nice until we got to the mouth of the river where we could then feel the stiff breeze out of the north. It seemed all the air that had been blown north the day before was now rushing back south. The GPS was requiring frequent wiring checks to keep it on, so I decided to just stay south of the stake line since the tide was a "ways" out. Well, I didn't stay out far enough and soon we found ourselves in 10 inches of water which is fine unless your boat drafts 11 with the prop out of the water. Figured we would have to wait on the incoming tide to move, but with the prop up and the two heaviest fishermen in the water pushing, plus the lift from the north wind, we made it back deep enough to get out with the trolling motor. Made it to the east of the rock garden. Was able to put one keeper on ice. Caught very few shorts and decided about noon to head back to our "hot spot" from Saturday. Well it was one of those almost perfect days. The wind died to just enough to keep it really nice. While the other three in the boat couldn't catch a cold, yours truely finished his five trout limit on ice, plus a bunch of shorts. It did not seem to matter what I threw, there was a fish waiting for my offer. I am sure I will pay for it later! On the way in I decided to put the others up near an oyster bar with some live shrimp while I kept the boat in position with the trolling motor. Figured I would sling a Gulp up there. Baam! Redfish on the first cast. He was an inch shy of going home with us and that was the only thing that kept it from being perfect. The live shrimp went unnoticed.
Til next time, tight lines to all.
Nuts
Sunday am it was nice until we got to the mouth of the river where we could then feel the stiff breeze out of the north. It seemed all the air that had been blown north the day before was now rushing back south. The GPS was requiring frequent wiring checks to keep it on, so I decided to just stay south of the stake line since the tide was a "ways" out. Well, I didn't stay out far enough and soon we found ourselves in 10 inches of water which is fine unless your boat drafts 11 with the prop out of the water. Figured we would have to wait on the incoming tide to move, but with the prop up and the two heaviest fishermen in the water pushing, plus the lift from the north wind, we made it back deep enough to get out with the trolling motor. Made it to the east of the rock garden. Was able to put one keeper on ice. Caught very few shorts and decided about noon to head back to our "hot spot" from Saturday. Well it was one of those almost perfect days. The wind died to just enough to keep it really nice. While the other three in the boat couldn't catch a cold, yours truely finished his five trout limit on ice, plus a bunch of shorts. It did not seem to matter what I threw, there was a fish waiting for my offer. I am sure I will pay for it later! On the way in I decided to put the others up near an oyster bar with some live shrimp while I kept the boat in position with the trolling motor. Figured I would sling a Gulp up there. Baam! Redfish on the first cast. He was an inch shy of going home with us and that was the only thing that kept it from being perfect. The live shrimp went unnoticed.
Til next time, tight lines to all.
Nuts