Hi,
I'll recap a couple trips in the lagoon. This was March 9 at Walton Rd. 10:00 AM low tide with tide just starting to come in. I put in at Walton, knowing the big snook (not monsters but over slot size) had come into the shallow water to feed. I was averaging releasing 5-8 snook a day and losing a good number as well.
I caught a small snook on a opaque paddletail with a 3/8 ounce jig-head on the shallow shoreline as I worked to the first pier. All I fished that day was a DOA paddletail but I changed colors twice. I missed another snook or jack as I fan-casted to the pier. I fished under the pier from the side and then swam the jig along the pier posts -Bam- snook on. I went as far from the pier as possible and luckily the snook didn't go back under the pier. He was about 25 inches maybe 3 1/2 pounds and I quickly released him.
I looked around and to my surprise another fisherman wet-wading with a big knapsack and fish ruler came down the hill into the water not far from me. I asked him if he saw me catch the snook and he said, "No, I'm in a redfish competition." He showed me his waterproof camera and said he took a photo of the redfish on the flat ruler and I assumed he was fishing against other waders in the lagoon. Wild.
So I told him I had only caught two redfish but one was about 6 pounds and I took him to where I caught them and let him fish the pier and surrounding area while I went deep. He showed me his swimming bait on a jig-head and I watched him fish. He made short casts into the wind and crawled the jig back- twitching the tip occasionally as he reeled. I fished the shallow side along the sandbar and it was clear he wasn't catching anything. Then suddenly in 4 foot of water something stopped my lure. I set the hook and my jig start slowly swimming away toward the sandbar. It was huge-- a huge stingray!!!@$% I didn't want to lose my jig and leader since I only had one spare so I reeled down until the tip of my pole was in his mouth and tried to pry the hook out. Suddenly the string-ray took off-- but my two piece rod came apart and the sting-ray swam away with half my pole!! I still had him on my line but was mortified. I already told the redfish guy I had a ray so he wouldn't think I had a twenty pound redfish. Fortunately he didn't see the stingray heading to the sandbar with half of my pole in his mouth, pulling my drag. I chased him into two feet of water and grabbed the pole tip with my hand until it came free. I'd had enough of this ray and cut my line.
I retied with a new jig and leader and decided the redfisherman was going way too slow and watching him was not an option so I headed south fan-casting to 2-3 foot of water along the shore and fishing the piers. The tide was starting to roll in and I caught another small snook in skinny water in front of a mangrove.The snook were swimming along the shoreline in water 6 inches deep to two or three feet deep. I couldn't believe how shallow they were.
I was moving fast headed for a hot spot in front of two separate mangroves. It was about 80 yards wide and 30 yards deep with water only 3 feet deep. I saw some baitfish and mullet jumping. My second cast I got hit and it missed. Then I got another hit but missed- I was swimming the jig fast and the water was choppy with some wind and dingy- perfect. When I got to the last part of that spot another nice snook took my swimbait and went airborne- he threw the bait but it was exciting.
I headed for my hotspot near a fallen pier with slightly deeper water- nothing. I fished the long pier and the fallen down pier- nothing. On the other side a guy was wading - he was standing where the snook were- where I was fishing. I went around him and fan-cast down toward the last pier[1].
Suddenly the bite was on. A big slot snook grabbed my bait and headed right for me-- she turned 20 feet away and jumped. I put my rod tip in the water and she pulled drag twice before I swung her around and put my hand under her. When you do this - it's the strangest thing-- the snook stop moving and become paralyzed. It's easy to unhook them and you just have to watch out for their sharp gill-plate.
Two casts later I had another snook on- two jumps and it was off. A few more casts and I hooked and landed a bigger one almost as big as the seven pounder I landed in December off a pier. I made it to the pier but was tired and it was a long way back. So I started back and hit the same nearby hot spot and caught another nice snook before I came to the guy wading who obviously saw me catching fish.
He showed me his Berkley gulf shrimp and told me some fish stories. He looked at my paddletail and I told him the fish were shallow not around the sandbar where he was casting. When I saw him the next week he was fishing a paddletail and told me that the fish were shallow along the shore. He even caught a fish when I came near him which was about all I caught that day.
I had caught five snook so far that March 9 day, lost three that I had on and missed a bunch completely. I was whupped and headed back. The water was getting deeper and near high tide. I didn't stop and fish the piers I was just casting into 2 foot of water near the shoreline and burning the bait back. Suddenly, in between two piers, I had a strike, and set the hook--snook on. This was no average snook- I knew this within seconds. She ran 40 feet along the shore pulling drag the whole way- I could not turn her. Then she ran again this time going for deep water. I fought her and slowed her keeping my rod tip down so she wouldn't jump and throw the hook. She jumped anyway- what a fish!!! She pulled drag two more times and finally I pulled her up on her side. She was huge I'd say a good nine pounds and I could put my whole hand in her mouth- which I did to unhook her. Off she swam and in a second she disappeared in the mucky wind-swept water.
I fan-cast on the way back not stopping and didn't have another strike. I saw another wader with a jerk-bait headed toward the first pier. I asked him if he caught anything he said, "No, I'm just getting started."
Then I saw the redfisherman again. He came up to us and asked if we had a leader saying he'd lost his last one in Fort Pierce[2]. I said, "Mine's a bit frayed but you can have it." He cut my leader off with pliers and handed me my jig back. He only had two feet of usable leader, the rest was frayed.
I told him good luck and said, "I caught a lot of fish on that leader- do the same."
Richard
1. The last pier is the big pier South of Walton Rd. get-in.
2. Apparently he left and went up and fished up North a bit then came back. He said he hadn't done anything.
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