Eighteen: And I Don't Know What I Want- Fishing Report

Hi,

Went fairly early and stayed way too long. Electric chicken got me singing this song:

Eighteen, and I don't know what I want,
Eighteen I just don’t know what I want
Eighteen I gotta get away
I gotta get out of this place
I’ll go runnin’ in outer space oh yeah (Alice Cooper)

I'm thankful that it took an "electric chicken" color paddletail to get trout number eighteen. And not only that, it was 18" long, so it didn't know what it wanted but it got a mouthful of electric chicken (sorry Alice). Today was another slightly bizarre and almost disappointing day.

Fishing Report 6-3-15 Walton Scrub, water clear, wind then no wind, then too much wind out of Northeast. Various DOA plastic baits thrown on a 1/8 jighead. Low tide, incoming.

I got there at slack low tide. There was a nice ripple on the water from a gentle Northeast breeze. The osprey came out for a while, then disappeared. There were pelicans on the piers and a few on the water. No fish activity or signs of feeding fish.  I went deep past the sandbar and cast for 10 minutes nothing. I charged the battery of my camera so at least today I could get some pics. But now no fish were biting. I got ready to move then I got strike as I pulled the bait up- fish on. Since it was near my rod tip it pulled drag and turned me around in a circle- it was a Jack, not very big, but it was a fish. I pulled my camera out to take a pic, it didn't work!!

I released the jack and checked my camera- I had put the battery in backwards, good thing it was a Jack and not a big trout or snook. I finally got a trout bite and missed it, then waded South into "the dead Zone," an unproductive stretch of water. Could I conjure a trout from the "dead zone?" Not today!!! I did conjure another Jack who struck the lure just as it hit the water:


    2nd Jack, about 2 lbs splashing (click pic to enlarge)

I went past the 4 posts to the edge of the productive 3rd weedbed located out from the first (white) pier. I cast deep and got a trout bite, but it didn't take it. I cast again and got bit, this time it pulled the tail off. Will I ever catch a trout??

I moved closer to the 3rd weedbed. I cast deep, tap, tap, hook-set, trout on!! I pulled the trout up and it swam right at me. I grabbed my camera:


 First trout, 3rd weedbed. (Click pic to enlarge)

I caught another smaller trout the next cast and a bigger one the next cast. "3 fish 3 casts," I thought, maybe I'd found them." I got one more bite there and it pulled the tail off of the bait but I missed it. I started to move directly out from the white pier.

I caught another jack and then 2 more trout, then something peculiar happened: the wind died. It just stopped, the water was dead calm, and. . . the fish wouldn't bite. It was, however, cool to see the bottom of the Lagoon in 4 1/2 foot of water. The water was crystal clear-- I could clearly see my tennis shoes!!

I changed colors twice, nothing happened. After 30 minutes the wind started picking up and it blew like before. I caught a trout deep, missed one deep then I changed to forked tail and caught a trout shallow. I was through fishing the 3rd wed bed - I caught 7 trout and 1 Jack there in over an hour. Not good. I had now been on the water for over 90 minutes.

I went fishing for snook shallow, but just like yesterday, nothing was going on. The wind started to really blow now at 12-15mph. I fished the three piers and went deep to fish the 4th weed-bed. A trout grabbed the tail of my last white paddletail but I couldn't catch a fish there. I headed for the 5th weed-bed directly out (a little South) from Walton Rd. where I caught 14 trout yesterday in 25 minutes. Would they be there!!??

I cast out and felt a bump and another bump very shallow. Trout?? I wondered. I cast again and got bit but didn't set the hook. A trout followed my lure in and tried to take it when I pulled it out of the water. Trout!!

I caught a good sized trout on the next cast and the bite was on. They were mostly small trout with 3 keeper slots out of 9. I had 16 total trout. I lost at least 3 there that came off after they were hooked. I headed for the last pier and the hopes of a snook.

I put on a fork-tail watermelon color DOA because it's darker and longer. "Maybe a snook will want this," I thought. I cast under the pier for 15 minutes- nothing. I cast shallow and got a slap and a miss by a snook. Twitched the lure, strike two-- I pulled it to the top, strike three and you're out!! Yes, that snook did not bite again. I did manage to get a strike later but it was a jack. I fought it and when I pulled it up, no snook- how disappointing!!!

I headed back. I had been out for over 3 hours and it was a long way to go. A guy pulled up in a boat fishing the 5th weedbed. He was using live shrimp on a bobber with two poles. He caught three fish while I was there trying to catch number 17. I finally got a strike and pulled in number 17 but I was tired and started to go back.

I cast shallow on the way back- nothing. I decided I really needed one more trout (to catch 18, I don't know what I want!!!). I went out in the third weed bed and missed one, lost one. Missed another one, lost the tail. Put on an "electric chicken" color and caught number 18-- and it was 18 inches long. I took a pic:


18, I don't know what I want-- see the waves now!! Don't be scared that the earth is slanting off its axis. That was just me- not holding the camera str8!!! Just tilt your head to the right and everything is OK!!!

I headed in shallow trying in vain to catch a snook. I didn't. This was it for me, over 4 hours. It takes a long time to make it to the last pier and back!!!

My totals: 18 trout (18 and I like it), 4 jack. A great day on the water!!!