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Date: Add Saltwater 2
Title: May 22, 2005
Date: 24 May 2005
Time: 04:30:26 -0400
You Never Know When You Add Saltwater I’ve used the title before. Everyday off the coast is exciting because you never know what is going to happen over the course of the day. Saturday it happened and I wasn’t there. I was aboard Miss Wanda, fished by Jimmy and Wanda Bostic (how they came up with the name is a “wanda” to me?). They took me and family out to spread the ashes of my father-in-law on the Gulf. A mournful occasion shared amongst us; it was where I needed to be on Saturday. Everyone needs gracious and giving friends like Jimmy and Wanda. Just to write a bit, the pure giving of many people during hardship is an exposure of character that must touch the hardest of hearts. Goodness, it is wonderful to be loved. Special thanks to the folk at First Baptist Church of Steinhatchee for supporting my wife when I was away floating. Hometown stuff is good! In my absence, the guys, Lil B and Capt. Richard Taylor, took Cat Nap out for charter Saturday. Seas were rough that day, turning some planning to fish far off bottom, back to the river. Smartly, the guys set up short, in 24 foot of water, to grouper fish and lay out a flat line for kingfish. The day before, I had darted in to grouper trick fish in the same location. Seas where fairly calm that day. We tricked ~50 pound of grouper (four fish) into the cooler in 45 minutes. The two big ones were taken free lining dead baits. The look on the guys’ faces when I parked the boat in shallow water and told them we were grouper fishing was lackluster. The look on their faces when I pulled anchor was priceless. Back to the point, Lil B is observant, and we took time together to explain what we did because the next days weather, Saturday, was predicted to be nasty. That’s why he directed Cat Nap to shallow water Saturday morning to start fishing. That is when IT happened… The 8500 Penn spinner bowed down running line off. In brief time, the fish jumped. It tail walked twice. When it did that it showed its’ unbelievable species…sailfish!!! The fish walked on water. Lil B, Capt Richard and crew went into hyper mode after seeing the show. They cleared everything, neat, so Brad Carroll, the angler, could tend to the sail at hand. Over the excitement of time, the fish was hand landed, photographed and released. The fish was 60 inches in legal length (three inches short) and weighed 29.5 pounds. A rare and wonderful event happened within sight of tree-line. Add saltwater, you never know… Grouper fishing is wonderful in the hard bottoms between 40-55 feet using dead bait. Live bait is great but not that necessary at the moment. A box of frozen goodies or chopped up grunt is fine bait over good bottom. Save gas ($) and grouper fish closer to shore is the point. Kingfish are running around whacking deep trolled lures from 30 feet on out. Putting out a CD18 or CD22 Rapala in the spread will improve the opportunity of enjoying the scream of a kingfish run on your rod. If nothing else, flip a free-lined dead bait off the stern while bottom fishing to take a chance at a good kingfish. One king during the day is worth the effort just for fresh steaks on the grill. I enjoyed fresh grilled kingfish tonight. Trout and red fish seem to be jumping in five gallon buckets to get to the docks. Guides and recreational anglers are bringing up outstanding loads of fish. Baits run the gamut. Spend time on the flats with a bait and something will hit. Cobia…they are on the flats. Float a livie behind the boat while you’re trout fishing. Thanks for reading. Take care of yourself and the tackle. Capt. B A visit to a first class fishing-tackle shop is more interesting than an afternoon at the circus. THEODORE GORDON (1906)