Back to Back Slams--and a Boat Grand Slam!! Two fishing reports

Hi,

Long time, not many posts. I've been fishing some in the lagoon and catching small snook, trout, jacks and ladyfish-- the usual suspects.

My best fishing days continue to be with my fishing buddy Jim Bohrer, president of the Stuart Rod and Reel Club. on Tuesday and Thursday I got an inshore slam (trout, redfish and snook). On Tuesday the boat (Jim and I combined) got a grand slam (tarpon, snook, trout and redfish).

Here's two reports with a couple pics.

Fishing report Tuesday August 23, 7:00am fishing in Jim's boat; Vero Beach lagoon, low tide, then incoming. I was fishing topwater, skitterwalk, then 1/16 oz jig with various paddletails, mostly white. jim was fishing mostly jig with Cal/white and Berkley shrimp. Not much wind, west then north then East. Water temp, upper 80s air temp low 90s- hot!!

We started fishing on the West side near a deeper channel, Jim caught a mutton snapper, it was not 16" so he threw it back (I've been keeping some snappers to eat and occasionally a trout or two- if they're gut hooked). We moved to a grassy flat still on the west side. I caught an 18" trout on my Skitterwalk and after a few more strike caught another 18" trout topwater -who swallowed the treble hook, so I kept him. Jim caught a nice trout on a jig and missed a couple on topwater.

It was slow on the next drift no fish- we tried drifting in shallower but no luck so we moved North past Peck's Cove and fished the west side. We drifted South fishing for redfish near the shore and I caught two trout on a jig and Jim caught one trout. I pointed out some fish feeding South off a point and eventually the wind blew us over to them. You could hear the pop, pop, of snook feeding all around us- the water was shallow- only 18" deep. First cast I caught a snook, next cast I caught another. My line got tangled when I released him. Meanwhile Jim caught a small snook and then a nice 12 lb tarpon on a gold redfish spoon who jumped 4 or 5 times before getting off at the boat. I couldn't get untangled so I threw my topwater- a snook missed-- then Jim caught another tarpon about 9 lbs. This tarpon jumped several times and also got off at the boat.

I couldn't get a snook or tarpon to take my Skitterwalk so I got my jig untangled and caught a 4 lb snook (about 27"), my biggest of the day. The feeding fish started to move north. They were gone.  The feeders were hitting small mullet and schools of glass minnows. we went north and drifted back towards the cove. Suddenly the trout moved in, feeding on schools of bait fish. We both started catching trout- not on every cast but we had 7 doubles (trout on at the same time) in the next 20 minutes. After an hour of drifting in that area we had 50 more trout-- and mangrove snappers--and one more snook.

We had 55 trout, 7 snook, and 2 tarpon-- but no redfish. No slam or grand slam. So we started fishing the shallow areas around the mangroves for redfish. An hour later 1 got a hit on my jig-- it was a small redfish and I got it in. Jim took a picture:


Small Redfish that gave me a slam and the boat a grandslam.

We drifted along the shoreline casting jigs. Finally I had a big fish on and I assumed it was a slot snook. It pulled drag twice and ran around the back of the boat. Jim was giving me advice (or whatever you'd call it :) and I finally saw the fish-- it was a big trout. The only problem was the wind had blown us nearly into the mangroves. The fish was finally tired but Jim had to run the trolling motor to get us away from shore. I lipped him myself and lifted him over the side- he was around 8 pounds (I weighted him quickly) and over 28" probably my second biggest trout. Jim took a few pics:

                            8 lb trout around 28" my biggest of the day. (click to enlarge)

We went back to the trout hotspot and caught a few more trout and snapper but that was about it- too hot (92) to fish much more-- we fished a spot on the way back and Jim caught a bluefish and we called it a day.

Our totals: 60 trout, one about 8 lbs; 2 small tarpon, 7 snook one about 4 lbs; 1 small redfish; a bunch of snapper; 1 bluefish; and a couple jack and ladyfish.

--------------------------

Fishing Report Thursday August 25, 7:00am put in at round Island on East side. Heavy wind and rain predicted. Water temp upper 80s air temp 80s tide out going then incoming. We started fishing jigs around the  mangroves for redfish on the east side. We came to some bait and Jim caught a jack, and while he had that on I hooked a nice redfish. Jim took a pic:

                                                     My redfish (click to enlarge)

There was alot of bait around and when I cast deep I caught a trout and lost another trout. In 20 minutes all I needed was a snook for a slam. I started casting the mangroves for a snook. We worked north along the east shore line- there was bait but no snook. We moved into a cove and finally on a point I caught a small snook for my slam. The wind was bad but the tide was very low. I started fishing topwater. I immediately got some action and caught a trout, lost two trout and had a big trout leap in the air with my Skitterwalk but I missed her. The wind blew us away from the trout and we caught two jacks, Jim got a trout and I caught a 5 lb bluefish that put up quite a fight.

We finally headed to the west side and caught a few more trout, and a bunch of snapper (I kept a few for dinner). It was windy but fishable and I caught a nice snook along the shore line. Jim caught a couple trout and I caught one before a big storm moved in. we move south to Peck's Cove to get out of the way. Then it happened-- Jim's trolling motor went dead (low battery) with it extended 2 feet in the water!!! We could drive the boat but the trolling motor would not come up. We headed back into a big rain storm and got soaked. Jim turned the trolling motor baclk on and there was enough juice to pull it up- so we started fishing- in the rain!!

We were in Starvation cove drifting in a steady rain and I caught two nice trout topwater in the pouring rain and Jim caught as good snook and I also caught a snook. After two drifts we headed home.

Out totals: I had a slam; 5 trout, 3 snook, 1 redfish, 1 bluefish a bunch of snapper, a couple jack and ladyfish and 2 catfish. Jim caught 6 trout, 1 snook, and a bunch of snapper.

Topwater Tips for Trout

Hi,

You make a long cast. You twitch your top water plug twice. The water boils-- one more twitch and a gator trout explodes out of the water with your plug under his fangs. Fish on!!!

[photo of author with a 30" nine pound trout caught top-water]

There's nothing more exciting than catching trout top water-- it's a heart pounding experience. I've been fishing mostly top water for speckled-trout the last month. Here are some tips to get started: 

Your Gear: A seven-foot spinning rod and reel combo spooled with 6-10 lb white-braided line. Set the drag medium to light. You want to play the trout without ripping the lure out of his mouth.

Your Set Up: Tie a two-foot mono or fluorocarbon leader (20 or 30 lb tied with double uni knot) to your braided line. The lure is tied to mono/fluoro with a loop knot which allows better lure movement.

Your Lures: 1) Poppers (MirrOlure She-Dog); 2) Zara Spook type lures (Rappala's Skitterwalk; MirrOlure Floating Paul Brown) ; 3) Prop-type lures (Heddon's Torpedo, Slush Daddy, Devil's Horse) 4)  floating plastics. Some lures have thin treble hooks- you can change them out or check the hooks after each fish- a big fish can straighten out a hook. Lighter lures (small topwaters and plastics) can't be cast as far and it's easier to spook the fish when making short casts.

Your Technique: Make long casts, give the lure action, allow the lure to stop, try a slower retrieve. Wait until you feel the fish before hookset and retrieve. Do not give hard hook-set. After setting the hook, keep your rod tip low near the water and use a steady retrieve with light drag.

From June to July I've been catching top water trout in the lagoon. My best day I caught a dozen trout with six trout over 23" and one just under a whopping 30".  These six trout in the 4-9 pound range were all in the same area and I lost a bigger one on the hookset!!! When you fish topwater the trout are going to miss the lure and getting a good hookset is not easy-- that's the exciting aspect of fishing topwater. You get some terrific strikes but the fish misses the lure.

Because the fish will miss the lure do not jerk the lure or try to set the hook until you feel the fish on. Once the trout strikes and misses if the lure is still there, it will strike again. I've has six strikes in a row by a hungry trout and never got a hookset! Sometimes they'll knock the lure in the air. Remember a feeding trout has friends nearby. Sometimes there will be three or four trout trying to get your lure. If you get a strike and the fish misses leave the lure sit for a couple seconds, if they don't hit it again twitch it once, then wait. Then continue if nothing happens.

The common advice you get about when to fish a top water is morning or evening in low-light but the best time to fish a topwater is: all day! Here are some factors that give you an edge:

1) Fish when the tide is moving. My favorite time is the last half of out-going first half of the incoming.
2) Fish in an area where's there's bait. It easy when you see schools of mullet splashing the surface. Sometimes a few pelicans or an egret standing on the shore will tell you there's bait around when you can see it.
3) Fish in shallow water. How shallow? A fish in two feet of water will notice your lure. I like fishing in less than 4 feet of water.
4) Fish in the right areas. Cast over weeds and along weed edges, around and under structure or piers. Sometimes a slight depression in the bottom or a hole in the sand will hold a trout sitting on the bottom out of the current. Fish shallow ridges, sand cuts, drop-offs and any potential ambush points.
5) Retrieve in the direction of the current, if there's not much current in the direction of the wind. Trout will face in the direction of the current or wind and wait for the bait to come to it.

My favorite top waters are Zara Spook and lately a Skitterwalk. With both of these lure you need to get the lure to go from side to side by twitching the rod tip twice then reeling. twitch; twitch; reel. The Skitterwalk splashes more but is erratic and harder to get hook-ups on.

Nice trout on Skitterwalk (photo)

Although I've caught some small under-slot trout on top water it's definitely a big-fish technique. There's nothing finer than having a monster trout slam your lure and sky in the air.

World Record Trout: June 2016

Hi,

There are two IGFA record's for Spotted Sea Trout, one is weight and one is length. The "length" record is a new record which is intended to promote catch-and-release. The weight record is 17 7/16 pounds from Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1995 by Craig F. Carson.

                                             Luke Ledbetter with his record trout

The new length record is 34.25 inches by Luke Ledbetter of Alabama on a boat guided by Captain Peter Deeks of Merritt Island. It was caught in the Lagoon in the Melbourne area on live bait. Deeks estimated the weight to be over 14 lbs.

The question is: how many more big trout are swimming around from Fort Pierce to Melbourne. There have got to be a few.

This is a record that is within reach- whereas catching a 52 lb redfish in the lagoon is not practical. I can always dream. . .

Richie

Fishing Repot 7-20-16. Big Redfish- and the one that got away!

Hi,

I caught my biggest redfish yesterday - one inch and 2 lbs bigger than the one I caught at Walton wading a few months ago.

                                              My redfish over 12 lbs and over 31" (Click to enlarge)

It was big-- so big  its tail wouldn't quite fit in the picture :) Jim had a nice trout that was around 8 pounds- it wasn't long just stout:


       Jim's chunk of a trout

So here's the report of our day yesterday and the big one that got away!!!

Fishing Report 7-20-16 around 7:00 am wind east 10-14mph. Jim's boat fishing Lagoon in Vero area, high tide going out water temp mid-80, air temp about 92 when we left. I fished Skitterwalk on top and various plastics on jig. Jim fished a jig and red mirro-lure on top plus a popper.

We got on the water fairly early a little before 7 am to beat the heat. I was fishing top water and Jim was using a jig. We went out to our best trout spot and there were some fish there. I got three hits on top - all misses before Jim caught a nice trout on a jig. He caught another trout before I finally got one on my Skitterwalk. I got a great strike and then wham- nice fish on! My drag whirred and when I got it the boat it was a 4 lb bluefish. Jim helped get it unhooked and I was back working the Skitterwalk on top.

I caught two more trout then switched to a jig and caught a nice 18" fish that flipped off at the boat. I switched back to topwater and threw my lure 50 yards away twitch, twitch and wham!! Huge explosion - I set the hook-- but the line broke. My 8lb test must have been frayed or something cut the line.

Jim had caught 10 trout to my 4 when we moved to another spot further North. We drifted through once and Jim caught a nice snapper, then on the second drift he caught a two pound black grouper- too small to keep tho. 20 minutes later we couldn't find any trout so we tried the middle section of the lagoon near near a sandbar. It was less than 3 feet deep an clear. I made long casts with the topwater and finally caught a nice jack. We drifted through another area fishing jigs but no trout.

Jim went to the East shore and we drifted out over a big shallow flat with jacks busting bait in the area. The grass which died off last year was starting to grow back. Jim threw a Mirro-lure twitching it on top and I used my Skitterwalk. Jim got three hits, one trout knocked his lure in the air. He got 10 strikes with no fish. Finally I caught a trout near the boat. Then he caught one and I landed two more on top. He switched to a jig and caught two more. We went back to drift through again but ended up further north. I caught one more trout on top and he got a nice trout on a jig.

"This is a big trout spot," Jim said. "I bet we get a big trout here and a redfish. We used to catch redfish here all the time but that was 6 years ago!"
"We haven't caught a redfish in a while," I said. "It's been two months since I've caught one, at Walton when I was wading."

We went back and drifted through again. Right by the boat-- with just 10 feet of line out-- a monster trout slammed Jim's jig. It pulled drag several times and Jim was right - there's our big trout (see pic at top) he predicted. She weighted almost 8 lbs but she wasn't very long, probably 26, maybe 27 max- still a beautiful fish. Jim also caught a 4 lber and I had a nice 20" 3 lber on topwater. The fishing wasn't fast but there were fish in the grass and bait swimming through.

We went back and drifted through near where we got all the trout strikes. They weren't hitting like before. Half-way through the drift it happened. by it- I mean a giant redfish, bigger than any I'd seen and bigger than any Jim had seen in Florida came up and swiped at Jim's jig not more than 12 feet from the boat. The water was crystal clear so the got a look at that monster. This redfish was way over 3 feet long and must of weighed over 25 lbs. After she swiped at Jim's jig, she swished her tail and was gone. We were both in shock.

I stopped fishing topwater and threw my jig. Two minutes later, I saw a huge swirl behind my jig. I lifted the jig near the top and shook it. Wham!! A big redfish grabbed it only 15 feet from the boat, and like the monster redfish we both saw this one too.
"Redfish!!!" I yelled as the fish pulled drag, "it must be over 5 pounds!"
"Take you time," Jim cautioned, "Don't reel in when he's pulling line!"
That's about all the redfish did was pull drag! I was reeling down but I couldn't get him in. 10 minutes later I'd bring him in 20 feet and he'd pull drag 20 feet.  He just kept pulling drag. Jim pulled up the drift sock and told me to pull him around the boat. Several minutes later I finally pulled the tiring redfish to the boat.

"That's a big one," Jim said, "way more than 5 pounds." He lipped him with his scale and handed him to me. "Grab him under his gills and we'll take a picture." We took a couple pictures (see one above) and set it free.

It was hot and we headed back to out honey hole to catch a few more trout before we went in. Jim caught three more trout and I caught one on a jig. We got off the water after over 5 hot hours.

My totals: 1 big redfish, 1 jack, 12 trout, 1 bluefish
Jim's totals: 18 trout with one 8 lber, 1 snapper, 1 grouper

A great but hot day on the water.

The Trout that didn't get away! July Fishing reports

Hi,

My biggest trout ever, just shy of 30" and around 9 lbs:

                                             My Biggest Trout (click to enlarge)

This beauty was caught on 7-7-16 in the morning on on top water (Skitter-Walk) and measured around 30" and weight around 9 lbs --almost caught my ten pounder!!!

I'll give a couple fishing reports. As you may know the South Indian River Lagoon near Stuart had some toxic algae and I'm not wading in that area- which includes Walton Rd. Even though it's not as bad that far north. The St. Lucie River and all the way to the inlet has been green- green algae in the water, so until it cools down it's best to stay out of the water. Most of the problem is the dumping of toxic water from Lake Okeechobee by the Army Corp of Engineers (more on that later).

The beach has been good for snook, ladyfish and jack in the early mornings and evenings (6:30-8:00) and I've caught good number and one over slot snook (around 33") but, in general, the large females have not shown up yet.

Jim Bohrer has taken me out fishing about once a week and we've done well, we caught 88 trout one morning in June (I caught 47 that day) and 45 the last week in June but not many good sized fish. That changed yesterday when I caught six trout 23" or longer.

Fishing Report 7-7-17 Vero Beach Lagoon, north of 2nd Ft. Pierce bridge, Jim's boat. It very hot 81 in the morning and around 91 when we got off the water at 11:15 AM. Water temp around 84 with a breeze fro the southwest about 5-12 mph. overcast but mostly sunny. Low tide and outgoing to dead low. I fished skitter-walk (topwater) and a 1/8 oz Cal jig with sparkle 4" shad-tail plastic. Jim fished poppers and mirror-lure on top and 1/16 oz jig with a white plastic Berkley shrimp.

We went out from the launch and there was a boat near out spot, so we went around him and fished North. We were still in out best spot this summer. I threw my Skitterwalk out and the second cast the water erupted-- fish on, this was good fish. When I brought him across the weeds I yelled out, "Bluefish!" I wheeled him down to Jim unhooked him.

Jim was fishing a jig and I cast the skitterwalk as far as I could- one twitch, wham! the water sprayed in the air as a big trout missed my lure. Two twitches later- wham - fish on! This was a nice trout around 24" much bigger than the ones we caught the week before.

                                                          My First Trout of the Day

I hooked and released a slot trout two casts later when Jim finally had a hit. "Big one !!!" he yelled. His drag whirred. The fish swam at the boat then took off into open water. Jim had 100 yards of line pulled out and he yelled, "We're going to go after this one!" He automatically pulled up trolling motor and cranked the engine. "Must be a shark," he said as we followed it for 1/2 mile as it headed North towards the bridge. The fish slowed and Jim gained about 10 yards before it took off again. He cranked the engine and we went across toward an island. "that's twenty-six minutes already" Jim said. The fish wasn't even tired and Jim knew it. 'I'm going to put some pressure on it" he yelled and cut off the engine. He pulled the propeller up out of the water. "It'll pull the boat around," he explained. The fish pulled the boat about twenty feet before Jim's line went slack. He pulled the line in--the fish broke the hook!!!!

"At least my knots held," he said. I was glad we could finally get back to fishing for trout again. "That was a big fish," Jim said and speculated that it could have been a 30lb redfish. I guess we'll never know!

The guy that was fishing our spot had moved east and was a couple hundred yards away. I immediately got some awesome topwater strikes before landing a 19" trout. Then I cast shallow and had a big hit, water spraying everywhere- fish on! This fish was every bit as big as the 4-5pounder I landed earlier- I got it to the boat with Jim telling me to keep my rod tip down. He lipped the trout with his de-hooker and we took another picture of another big trout!!

While Jim was tying on a different topwater I hooked another big trout and it jumped completely out of the water twice before making its way to the boat. I pulled it around to Jim who didn't even look up, the 4 pound trout splashed against the boat and flipped off. On the next cast I caught and 18" trout and Jim helped me get the two treble hooks loose. Jim set the trolling motor heading North and I was casting in the shallower water. I got strike, then I left it sit, twitch and wham!!!

"Fish on!!" I yelled.
"Is it a big one?" Jim yelled back.
"Yes, bigger than the other ones!!!" I answered. I put my rod tip down to keep her from jumping.
"She's going under the boat" Jim yelled.
'Turn off the trolling motor" I yelled. I walked around the deck to the back of the boat. "This is monster!!" I yelled and then I pulled her up.
"Keep your rod tip in the water," he warned.
I kept her beside the boat for 10 seconds before Jim could lip her.
"Nice trout Buddy!" Jim said. He took several pictures and the fish was so long it barely fit in the picture. He measure her and she was over 29" and under 30. "Closer to 30" he said later. He weighed her and she was just under 9 pounds. What a fish!!!

Several minutes alter I landed another nice trout. We went by the our spot shallower and suddenly the water exploded around my Skitterwalk. Another huge trout grabbed by lured and with a tremendous splash of it's tail took off north. I set the hook and reared back- the fish pulled 10 yards of drag and just popped off. This was at lesat as big if nor bigger than the other one. I was shaking. I realized I put way too much pressure on that fish instead of letting it take line. I pulled back my Skitterwalk- the hook was bent, I lost a trophy trout.

We went to another spot but the trout weren't there I caught one small slot on a jig but that was it. We went North where Jim's friend had lost a big trout and fished the flat. Nothing. we caught a couple jack and made 5 passes with no trout. We hit another spot and nothing. Then I realized that Jim, the master, had not caught a trout. I'd only caught 11 but 5 of them were 23" or over so it by anyone's standards was a great day- especially with a 30" trout. We headed back to the honey-hole.

On my fist cast I got a vicious a strike on topwater and then near the boat a 19" trout slammed it and I got it over the boat side before it flipped off almost hitting the rail. Jim hooked a big fish on a popper but it was a 4 lb bluefish- he still didn't have a trout! I caught another 4-5 pound trout and we took another pic. I was hoping he'd catch a trout soon. Jim caught two more big bluefish. And I caught my last trout, nice slot, before Jim finally caught a slot-trout on his topwater.

It was getting hot and we made a pass in hte shallow water but I got just one strike before we headed in it was around 11:00 am. We'd fished about 4 hours.

My totals: 12 trout with 6 trout 23" or bigger and one almost 30"er (11 on topwater). I also caught 1 bluefish and 2 jack. A hot day on the water.
Jim's totals: 3 jack, 3 bluefish and 1 trout; most on topwater.

Troutarama with Jim Bohrer and Record numbers: over 100 each

Hi,

I have a couple pics that I'll put on later. We didn't catch many decent trout- probably three around 20" but we caught more trout than I've ever caught. Jim said he caught 111 trout and I caught by my best guess 101- I was more into the catching than counting. It was a day so active there wasn't enough time to drink water or eat. I also caught two fish at one time- more on that later. Trout, trout and more trout!!!

That 's 212 trout in about 6 hours woah!!!

Fishing Report 6-4-16; on water at 7:30 am Round Island (West Side) Water temp around 83, air temp about 78 then around 90 by 1pm, light wind from the east - later blowing about 12-15mph. Water clear to murky. Tide incoming then outgoing. Topwater early then Cal jigs with different plastic baits.

When Jim texted me to go with him I knew my only good rel was in the shop being repaired. My second reel worked but  it has a small spool. I put on new line that was way too heavy and so when we started fishing I got snarls and couldn't cast far.

We put in at a Marina off Dixie Hwy and as we went out Jim gave me a topwater to tie on. There was some bait 50 yards off shore spanning a long flat. We started casting out topwaters. Jim told me to slow it down and I did. My third cast a trout hit my plug and knocked it in the air!! Then it hit again and wham trout on!! I reeled in a nice slot unhooked it, and cast again. There were trout feeding everywhere. Jim caught a couple on top and I was getting a strike on almost every cast. They'd hit it three or four times before one would attack it and get hooked.

                                     One of my nice topwater trouts (click to enlarge)

In thirty minutes I caught about 12 trout topwater and had 40 strikes. It was awesome. I was still fishing topwater when Jim switched to a jig. Finally my line got snarled for the 5th times so bad I had to cut it. Jim caught 3 or 4 trout while I was messing with my line. Finally he tried to help me but decided to give me another rod and reel to use instead. Then I really started catching trout!!!


We had been following bait with the trolling motor across the flat in about 4 feet of water. The tide was almost high and the bait had gone under the surface. Jim stopped and we fished a spot next to a white buoy. I cast deep and got a hit- missed pulled it up got another hit- trout on-- it came in near the boat- then flipped off and I caught another trout following that one 15 feet from the boat which I released!!! Crazy!!!

We had double trout on probably 25 times and once I caught two and released them while he caught and released on. In that spot and another spot just 50 feet South we caught over 150 of our 212 trout.

I also caught two fish at one time!!! I caught a small trout and when it splashed near the boat a bluefish came up and grabbed it. The trout was to o big to swallow so the bluefish grabbed it's tail- but it wouldn't let go!! So I pulled both out of the water and when I swung them over to the boat the bluefish came off.

We tried some other spots in the area and still caught trout but not at the trout for every two casts rate. Here's a pic of Jim with a nice trout he caught in the morning on topwater:

                                                       Jim's Trout

Eventually we went back to the same area we fished in the morning and caught a few here and there at a steady rate. Finally I caught one nice trout in the afternoon,

                                                              Richard's Trout

So it started getting windy and it was hot and we were tired- tired of releasing trout, so we headed in. What a day.

Our totals: Jim caught 111 trout and I guessed 101 plus we also caught 4 jacks, one around 4 pounds, 2 bluefish and 1 puffer fish. A beautiful day on the water.

A Day with Mr Trout --May 10 Fishing Report

Hi,

I finally hooked up with Mr Trout- Jim Bohrer, and we went fishing in his boat at Round Island. We got a late start and the tide wasn't right and we both had trouble retying lines- but in the end- it was fun and we caught a few fish too!!!

Jim is the president of the Rod and Reel Club and an all-around great guy. He has caught more big sea-trout than anyone in this area and maybe more than anyone in the country-- after all this is one of the best big trout areas in the country. I guess his biggest is around 34 inches and 14 lbs and he has the pics to back it up.

Fishing Report 5-10-16 around 9am at Round Island dead low tide to incoming- Windy from south-east mostly South--fishing in Jim's boat with different plastics on jigs.

We launched at the Round Island ramp and headed out through the deeper cut. There was some chop on the water. The bait was flipping on the top behind two small islands which blocked the wind. Jim slowed down and told me to cast to the islands. My third cast- trout on!! It wasn't big and I lifted it up and unhooked it and back in she went. We went out some and the wind drifted us across a flat- usually there was grass there - but all he grass died in late August, a truly devastating loss for the fish and the fisherman. Grass=bait=shrimp=crabs and that's were the fish go to avoid being a bottle-nosed dolphin's slurp. Where are the trout? Everywhere but they aren't stacked in a nice grassy spot.

I got a snarl and had to cut my line. Jim wanted to show me one of his knots but then just tied it while I fished his pole. Trout on!! I caught a nice slot on his pole!!! I had two trout and Jim's a hell-of-a-fisherman so that wasn't going to stand. I got another snarl and it took 5 minutes to get it untangled and my line was messed up so I cut it and retied. In the ten minuted that took Jim caught two very nice trout, one about 19" and the other a slot. We drifted through and I got another trout then he caught one more. after another drift we headed to one of his special spots. But no grass was there and no bait was there and no trout were there.

We headed across some boat markers to the East bank and let the wind and Jim's trolling motor (hand operated with a remote control from the back of the boat by Jim) guide us. We were drifting shallow along the mangroves looking for redfish. Jim caught another trout- which surprised us. Then he caught a small snook. Then a redfish followed his lure to the boat and smacked it. Jim set the hook but the fish popped off- no slam today.

I lost a small fish then lost a nice one before hooking a 24" snook which came to the boat and flipped off. Jim wanted a pic but I catch a snook every day bigger than that. Jim hook a nice fish that splashed and pulled drag- "snook" he yelled. Then we saw it - a big trout. It wasn't long- maybe twenty-one inches but it was fat, He weight it- over 4 pounds. What a fatso!! I took a couple pics and will post one soon.

                                                  Jim's fat trout (click to enlarge)

We headed back and drifted. I immediately caught a nice trout and Jim got caught up in a tree and busted his line. We drifted all over while he retied, I caught and small snook and missed a fish or two. We each caught another trout and he aid the total was 11. I knew he caught 6 so that was good. 

We moved to another spot and caught a bunch of ladyfish. I had to go help my girlfriend so we had to head back with only 4 hours or so on the water.

                                                     My crazy girlfriend (click to enlarge)

Out totals- 11 trout with one over 20 and 4 pounds, 3 snook, and a bunch of ladyfish. a great windy day on the water.