Kayak Fishing On Fathers' Day
Capt. Butch Rickey
August 16, 2012
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Week ending 6/23/12...........
It's Fathers' Day, and I am at Week's Fishcamp to meet Dr. Mark Dreyer and his son, Pat at first light, to do the second instructional day. This one on the water. I had to install an anchor pulley system on their other Hobie, before we could hit the water. Launching that morning was uneventful, and we were on our way. I had not launched there before, but had scoped the area out on Google Earth, and knew there were some shortcuts to the area I had chosen to fish. Mark was familiar with one shortcut, which was a beautiful mangrove tunnel. Pat led the way and took down the spider webs. The water was low, so passage was pretty easy. We exited right at our target area, a series of oyster bars. For me, fishing heaven!
We went to work immediately. I instructed Mark and his son Patrick on how to set up and fish each area. I went hunting for a bite. I had several good hits early, which mangled the weedguard on my spoon, but didn't get hooked up. The redfish weren't aggressive. Mark actually struck the first redfish, which turned out to be a fraction of an inch short of keeper size. Pat was catching ladyfish, jacks, and trout, early. I also caught some small jacks and trout early. Later on the tide, I got on enough of a bite to complete a SLAM, which is a snook, trout, and redfish in the same trip. If I remember correctly, Pat got a couple of redfish, including a keeper. It was a tough, and typical summer bite, but everyone got some fish. Mark and Pat had a good time, and told me that the two days, on and off the water, were just what they needed.
The water was much higher for our return trip through the mangrove tunnel. I got out of shape once, and wound up in the groves. I think my trailing redfish got hung on something, as my steering input to the motor didn't turn the boat. Other than that, it was a beautiful ride, and we only had to lift one limb to make our exit. It was fun talking to Mark as we rode home.
Back at Weeks Fishcamp, the guy that runs the place came over and gave me a piece of his mind, saying that there were people ahead of me. Well, I was the only one with a boat staged to come out, and didn't see a line, so I don't know where he learned his ramp etiquette. He was basically a grouch with no people skills. Just a friendly word that he thought I was out of order for pullout would have been fine, but as it is, I'd never step foot in the place again. Seems everyone around said that was his normal demeanor. Too bad.
Target Species:
The SLAM
More Fishing Reports:
