Do you ever feel like you're stuck on 13? Well I did today. Because I was stuck on 13 for over and hour and the whole day went that way.
Fishing Report 6-2-15 Walton Scrub, 8:15am. Lowish tide incoming. Water very clear. Wind out of South a little East. Not windy at first then very windy. 1/8 oz CAL Jig on 4" DOA paddletails.
The day didn't start out unlucky, it just ended up that way. Not that a day of fishing in the Lagoon is unlucky. I went down the bank to the water and there was a guy fishing shallow only 150 yards North of me. This was upsetting in itself and I didn't know whether to try and talk to him or fish. I fished.
There was no activity shallow, just glass minnows, a few mullet jumping and baitfish, but nothing feeding on them. I went deep. The other guy stayed shallow. The water was clear and there were only a few ripples on the water from a gentle breeze. Third cast I felt a tap and hookset- trout on!! I pulled it up and it splashed across the calm surface. I pulled the small slot (15") trout to me and measured him on my rod (I put tape at 15", 20" and 28" on my fishing rod yesterday, to be able to tell the length of the fish accurately). I turned and looked back-- the other guy fishing was watching me. I released the fish- I had forgotten about my camera.
I cast North and then South and I had a hit- bigger fish!!! I pulled it up and it jumped a nice 18" trout! I pulled it down and it went around me I pulled it up and tried to take shot with my camera- I missed. I pulled it up and it shook it's head on the surface, insta-release. The guy fishing shallow was still watching me. He turned and started fishing North. I decided to go South- my usual pattern.
I went into "the dead-zone," recently an unproductive area, but yesterday I caught three big trout there. After 100 yards I had a hit, hook-set- miss. I should have had that fish!! I was working my way to the 4 white posts and I fell something- my jig stopped. I lifted my rod tip felt some weight- hook-set, fish on!!! Woah, this was a nice one. It didn't jump and just shook it's head from side to side and I applied more pressure. I reached for my camera and turned it on. It came up and I took a shot of it--"big trout" I thought:
Biggest trout of the day, 24", splashing
I pulled it around, it jumped but not all the way out of the water- I took another shot and pulled it to me:
My biggest trout today (click to enlarge)
I measured it on my pole- it was about half-way between 20" and 28" so we'll say it was 24"- a nice trout.
I released it and fished the area- nothing. I was heading South out of the dead-zone to the 3rd weed-bed out from the first pier.
Just like yesterday there was nothing on the North side of the 3rd weed-bed. I fished South and finally caught a small trout out from the 3rd pier. I decided to go fish shallow so I fished the first and third piers- nothing. A boat was stopped out from the 3rd pier in one of my spots. A guy was casting off the back. I went out from the pier and he saw me and immediately cranked his engine and moved across the Lagoon- strange. I then went out deep off the third pier.
When I cast to the same spot in front of the 1st pier, cross wind (there's some bow on the line)- I got a strike. Next cast I caught a trout. Then 2 more. They were all in the same area. I moved South casting in the wind. My plastic paddlebait was all torn up so I shortened it an inch- now it was a 3" lure. Then I caught a nice trout deep (that was 7 total) and lost one ten feet way (didn't count that one).
I moved to the South part of the weed-bed, it had been very active. I caught nothing but when I moved a little further South- fish on!!! A small trout came up and shook its head. I pulled it across the water and released it. A bigger trout struck my lure just 15 feet out- I had it on but just for 2 seconds- can't count that one, I didn't even see it! I caught a small fish and lost one on the hook-set. almost every cast there was a fish. When I caught number thirteen I thought, "I'll catch one more (I ain't superstitious but a black cat just crossed my trail!) and then go shallow." I lost one on hook-set. I lost another one that struck near me and never got hooked. I pulled my jig up- tap, tap, miss. "Oh well" I thought, "time to catch a snook!"
I went shallow and pulled the jig along the weed tops. It was 3 1/2 feet deep and very clear but wavy. When I got to the 4th pier I cast along the East side and wham!! snook on. It jumped it was small and it threw the hook. Not much you can do about that!!
I fished the 4th and 5th piers and the shallow flat. The wind was really blowing now and it was hard to cast unless you went into the wind or with the wind. I shed up to the six pier nothing. I went out to the 4th weed bed- nothing. I was stuck on 13 fish!!! And no snook!!
I decided to go back North but fish shallow. The wind made it really rough and I got tired of the dense weeds near the 3rd sandbar. I went back over the sandbar and fished deep. There was a spot I caught two yesterday. The wind was bowing my line but I cast deep away and waded back North facing North. Suddenly I got a hit, then it stopped. I cast back and felt one tap- fish on- then off. Stuck on 13.
Two cast later I got some weight on my line, hook -set and fish on, finally, number 14. I took a photo:
Still no snook!!! I went back and fished the 1st pier, then fished shallow for a ways- nothing. I went out to my spot on the 2nd weed-bed to try it before I left. Tap, tap, hook-set miss. Next cast tap, tap, hookset, miss- took the tail off!! two cast later tap tap hookset- trout on!! Number 15 came all the way in and flipped off when I was trying to release it.
I had fished over 3 hours- I was beat, no snook caught and I missed at least 12 trout today, and only caught one big one. Oh well, some days you just get stuck on 13.
My totals: 15 trout (one over 20"), lost a small snook when it jumped. Still- a great day on the water!!!
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