Just a slow day- filled with folly. First I forgot my tennis shoes. When I got there I tried going out in flip-flops. I took two steps and both flip-flops got stuck!!! I drove back home and got my shoes. On the way back, there was a car accident. Walton Road was blocked off!! It took a few minutes to figure out how to by-pass the accident, eventually I got back on Walton.
I finally made it on the water. What a nice sunny day-- except the sun was in your eyes. Someone was already wading North shallow and another guy came on after me and went shallow North. The tide was outgoing and getting low. It started off very promising but ended in disappointment.
Fishing Report 6-10-15 Walton Scrub. 8:15am-- Water clear, tide outgoing, gentle wind from Southwest. Using 1/8 oz. CAL jig with a variety of DOA paddletail/forktails.
I went str8 out deep past the sandbar. I fished slightly North of the 2nd weed-bed then cast straight off from Walton Scrub. I was way out very deep and cast as far East as I could. On my second cast I felt some weight and knew a fish has taken it hook-set, fish on- a big trout came up and jumped half-way out of the water and the lure came off. Oh!!! What happened!!??! I thought, "Maybe I set the hook too fast." But the next cast was heart-breaking.
I cast out maybe 20 feet North of the last cast and again...the line was heavy- a fish had taken it. Hook-set and a huge trout came up- I have caught one 5 lber and this one was all of that and more. It shook it's head and I kept the pressure on. The fish went down and the lure popped off. I was stunned but I knew there were big trout there so I immediately cast out in the same spot- trout on. This was not big and I took a pic and measured it- just over 15":
I spent a long time on that fish (pic, pliers, release) and got nothing on the next few casts. I moved South and hooked another small slot that was well hooked and also needed pliers to release. I cast a few more times and had another hard bite- missed it!! Then I had a tap shallow- it didn't take it. More casts-- the bite there was over.
I went into the dead-zone, a stretch of unproductive water- it was dead. I crossed the 4 white posts to the edge of the 3rd weed-bed. It had been slow here the last few days but I always caught a fish there. I fan cast and got a strike but missed the hook-set. Slightly South, and far out I saw a fish chase some minnows. I cast and missed by 20 feet- nothing. I cast over it and wham- fish on. It was a good fish whatever it was and soon it jumped and I saw it was a nice trout. I got a pic of it coming in:
21" trout splashing, my third fish
I got a couple pics of it and measured it- a whopping 21". My third big trout of the morning but the first one I actually caught.
I couldn't get much action on the 3rd weed-bed. I cast shallow and hooked a small trout and released it, my 4th trout. I fished the first pier for snook- nothing. I fished the 3rd weed-bed, nothing. Then I headed through the 2nd dead-zone to the 4th weed-bed. It was dead too.
I made it to the 4th weed-bed and got a strike, it ripped the tail off my last good color paddletail. I might have been a no-catch-em (Lane Snapper) which are little reddish snappers that peck at the tails of the lure. Their mouths are too small to take the whole 4" lure (there are bigger ones in the Ocean, I've seen pics of them around 16").
I got another strike but headed for the 5th weed-bed which has been hot lately. I was using an electric-chicken color paddletail and got a couple strikes but no takers. I switched to a black and silver color and finally caught a small trout. I got a couple more misses and then switched to a fork-tail.
I was pulling it in fairly fast when wham- fish on. This was no dinky trout and after it went sideways and around me i saw it was a nice 2 lb jack. I got a quick pic:
I looked up, the wind was from the west now and slower but some black clouds were heading my way. I had to go back in case it got worse. The wind blew a huge rainstorm in front of me but it was far away- but not that far!!!
I got moving and went casting back to Walton Scrub. Some baitfish were surfacing and occasionally a bigger fish would chase them- mostly it was the bait. In the second dead zone I cast over some bait- fish on!!! Fish off!!! I felt it but it was only on for a second. I went back to the 3rd weed-bed. It was dead low tide and the storm was right in front of me. If I slowed down it would blow by me. After a couple minutes I got a strike and it missed, I pulled the jig up- the fish hit it on the surface, it missed again. I pulled the jig slightly out of the water when it went in the water- fish on!!! Fish off!!! I'm pretty sure that was a jack, but I'll never know.
The storm passed in front of me and the wind changed direction and was blowing North!!! Crazy!!! I went through the first dead-zone, nothing. I stopped at the 2nd weed-bed edge and cast for the big trout that were there earlier. No trout, but an nice 2-3 lb jack grabbed my lure and put a strain on my line.
As I released it, I looked up- more black clouds were coming!! Time to get off the water.
My totals: 5 trout (1 over 20") and two lost big trout, 2 Jack. A great day on the water!!!
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