Yeah; I know, I've added a few pounds now that I've gotten older. Now that I have a 27 Judge with trim tabs
that help to compensate the weight, why not
Maybe part of my problem is days like yesterday. My sphincter was so puckered up, that has to be a problem
I arranged to have 3 guys meet me at the pier at 6:30am. Not knowing exactly when it would be bright enough to run, we were early
I just had to stop by the place Mako Mike picked up a winning fish last weekend, but we couldn't pull anything at all out of the area
As daylight slowly poured enough brightness to "run", we all said "hello" to Uncle Jake as we headed for the channel.
I ran north to an area that has been very good to me the last several outings. It has become more and more popular and with the great weather forecasted for November 2nd, I anticipated a crowd. Not to worry I told myself, we are going to be one of the first boats there. We were, but it was mostly unproductive water today
We picked up one 22 inch fish and lost a monster (bent my hook). This was not a "ghost pot". Rod was "pumping" hard and Lou had difficulty getting it out of the "hip" rod holder. Oh well, we were "meat hunting" today, not looking for trophy fish. There will be no problem replacing him in the cooler with a nice fat 23; or so I thought.
We; along with too many others, beat that water for too long. Eventually, I said "pick em up", we needed to move. I beat feet to the eastern side of the bay. We checked out Swan Point with "glasses" and fish finder (nothing). Ran further south to Rock Hall (nothing). Headed to the mouth of the Chester and found "liar birds" working. Dropped lines and caught several unders. This wasn't working either
Pulled lines and ran west, hoping to see a bird show in the middle bay. Lots of bait; unmolested. Glasses the middle bay area to no avail.
Kicked the Honda in the ass and ran to western side. Once there, we shut down and while glassing the area, I walked up to Jay and said, "Well Captain, if you are going to find fish today, you are running out of time". I figured if I could place the blame on someone else, I would feel better
While glassing, I noticed a few birds flying high over a particular stretch of water. When things are tough, I don't need to see birds actively working over feeding fish, I grasp at ANY straw that says, bait and fish are here, but too deep for the birds to feed.
We ran to the area and dropped lines. In very little time, Jay had a nice fish on the line. A beautiful 32 was added to the box. A minute later, Lou put a good eating 23 in the box. This area was going to save me
I was actually wishing we could find one more fish so each of us could take home a fish (two nice filets).
Well, the next thing we saw was BREAKING FISH. Nice swirls, with birds working over them. These were going to at least be keepers. A rod went down HARD. Calvin picked up the rod and SLOWLY began bringing in the fish. I slowed the boat to assist. Even then, he was having a tough time. When Lou got ready to net, it turned out to be two 28 inch fish on the umbrella
No wonder Cal was huffing and puffing.
We filled out our limit with these fish and threw back a couple of keepers for another day. It was getting late (we didn't find these fish until about 12:30ish).
We racked rods, put umbrellas away, and started for the barn. Two minutes into our run, someone says, "There's more breaking fish". I swerved the boat to starboard and told them to get the jigging rods ready. Calvin is a Fresh Water fisherman and always looks forward to catching on the "skinny" rods
Both Calvin and Lou hooked into keeper fish. Cal wanted a pic of his jigging fish to send to friends
Don't you just love it when us "retired" guys can rub your noses into the fact we are fishing while you sit behind a desk or walk on roofs
Once again, Uncle Jake pulled my butt out of the fire. We all said "Thanks Jake" as we ran past #5 day marker. The guys cleaned fish while I cleaned the boat. But we did take one photo of them holding some nice fish before cleaning.
Enjoy the pics. I burned some fuel today. I had to make up for the last several trips where we only burned a few gallons per trip. Have to do my part to keep the economy going
It was a great day with friends. First time this year Jay (Lucky Jay) fished with me; even though I slip at his marina (anchorage).
Come to think of it, with both Lucky Jay and Uncle Jake onboard; the outcome was predetermined.
Thanks guys for a fun trip.
5th