Keaton Beach May 5th thru May 8th.
Posted: May 10th, 2004, 8:23 am
Finally got on the water Wed. Wife and I launched at 8:30am. water temp was 68 degrees. Tide was out. Slight wind. Ran to the Pinfish hole first. Had a tough time catching enough bait, but finally got em up. Headed to my first planned stop in five foot. By this time the wind was building and so were the seas. Nothing in five foot, headed to seven to eight feet. Managed five keepers on live Pinfish before noon. Took til 7:00pm to get the other five to make our limit. Highlite of the day was the three Cobia we hooked. Lost two very large fish. Landed one 31inch. Which I had to wrench out of my wife's hands to throw back. She also landed a 30 inch Spanish. Tally for the day. 10 Trout, 4 Bluefish, 1 flounder, 3 spanish, and 3 nice Rock Bass.
Day two, Thur. Headed South again at 9:40 am. Water temp was 72 degrees. Wind was calm, tide was out. Arrived at the same spot as the day before. Within five minutes we had two Trout over 20 inches. (25-23) Within an hour and a half we had 10 Trout. We also managed 4 more Bluefish, 3 more Spanish, 2 Rock Bass. All caught in 7 foot, on live Pinfish.
Day three, Fri. Headed back to the honey-hole at 8:00am. Water temp was 74 degrees. Wind was calm. Tide was out. Arrived to "the place" and started the ritual again. Went to the hill at 11:30 with 10 Trout, 1 Spanish, 3 Bluefish, and 1 Flounder. Again, hung and lost two very large Cobia. Both broke #40 wire leaders as they jumped. Water stayed slick all morning. No drift at all. What a day!
Day four, Sat. With hopes high, we headed back to the "spot." Water temp was 74 degrees. The wind was already up. The seas were building also. Began to worry when we could not catch enough Pinfish to head out to deep water. By Noon we had not landed a keeper Trout. Lots and lots of Sharks. Some pretty large. Did hang another very large Cobia. Fought him for about fifteen minutes before he managed to break the wire leader.
Very poor day of fishing for us. Only caught 2 keeper Trout, one spanish, 2 Blues, and 3 Rock Bass.
Final tally for the four days, 32 Trout with only two over twenty. 13 Bluefish, 8 Spanish, 2 Flounder, and 8 Rock Bass. Best of all, four days on the Gulf.
Boat ran excellent, Camper didn't burn down. Truck ran like a top. Best fishing partner possible. (she caught more than I did) What a great life!
Only a few bad points, Keaton Marina went up on the price to leave your boat on the dock overnight. From $5.00 to $10.00. Cost us $40.00 for the four days. They have added a lot more floating dock behind the cleaning station. Many idiots out also. One who decided to rig his poles at the lift instead of moving off like he is suppose to do. Had a few choice words for him when I suggested he move his boat and he got froggy with me. He was schooled on proper procedure at the lift. Another dock fisher-idiot decided he didn't need to pull in his line that was cast clean across the channel. My boat (not my prop thank goodness) caught his line. I decide the best way to teach him proper edicate was to spool him. My wife got worried about all his jumping up and down and hollering, so I gave him a break. Backed up even with him, schooled him also with a few choice words, then set my Buck knife on his remaining line. He thanked me for the training as I pulled back into the channel. Another "Pro" decided he needed insurance for a good catch for his client I guess, so he sat his boat down within 75 feet in our drift, like he expected me to move somewhere else. In about an hour, we never saw them even hang a fish. Made me feel better.
Day two, Thur. Headed South again at 9:40 am. Water temp was 72 degrees. Wind was calm, tide was out. Arrived at the same spot as the day before. Within five minutes we had two Trout over 20 inches. (25-23) Within an hour and a half we had 10 Trout. We also managed 4 more Bluefish, 3 more Spanish, 2 Rock Bass. All caught in 7 foot, on live Pinfish.
Day three, Fri. Headed back to the honey-hole at 8:00am. Water temp was 74 degrees. Wind was calm. Tide was out. Arrived to "the place" and started the ritual again. Went to the hill at 11:30 with 10 Trout, 1 Spanish, 3 Bluefish, and 1 Flounder. Again, hung and lost two very large Cobia. Both broke #40 wire leaders as they jumped. Water stayed slick all morning. No drift at all. What a day!
Day four, Sat. With hopes high, we headed back to the "spot." Water temp was 74 degrees. The wind was already up. The seas were building also. Began to worry when we could not catch enough Pinfish to head out to deep water. By Noon we had not landed a keeper Trout. Lots and lots of Sharks. Some pretty large. Did hang another very large Cobia. Fought him for about fifteen minutes before he managed to break the wire leader.
Very poor day of fishing for us. Only caught 2 keeper Trout, one spanish, 2 Blues, and 3 Rock Bass.
Final tally for the four days, 32 Trout with only two over twenty. 13 Bluefish, 8 Spanish, 2 Flounder, and 8 Rock Bass. Best of all, four days on the Gulf.
Boat ran excellent, Camper didn't burn down. Truck ran like a top. Best fishing partner possible. (she caught more than I did) What a great life!
Only a few bad points, Keaton Marina went up on the price to leave your boat on the dock overnight. From $5.00 to $10.00. Cost us $40.00 for the four days. They have added a lot more floating dock behind the cleaning station. Many idiots out also. One who decided to rig his poles at the lift instead of moving off like he is suppose to do. Had a few choice words for him when I suggested he move his boat and he got froggy with me. He was schooled on proper procedure at the lift. Another dock fisher-idiot decided he didn't need to pull in his line that was cast clean across the channel. My boat (not my prop thank goodness) caught his line. I decide the best way to teach him proper edicate was to spool him. My wife got worried about all his jumping up and down and hollering, so I gave him a break. Backed up even with him, schooled him also with a few choice words, then set my Buck knife on his remaining line. He thanked me for the training as I pulled back into the channel. Another "Pro" decided he needed insurance for a good catch for his client I guess, so he sat his boat down within 75 feet in our drift, like he expected me to move somewhere else. In about an hour, we never saw them even hang a fish. Made me feel better.
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