Ok; let me back up just a little.
I had no intention of fishing today. I was in church and received a text from Mako Mike. He had been very successful this morning in an area I had not tried yet this year. He gave me detailed info and I started getting the itch
I believe it is supposed to be wet tomorrow (Mon) and the trees were pretty calm in the early afternoon (Sun), so I called a friend that lives close to my boat, and said "Let's Go".
I ran down to where Mike was this morning, but now it was around 4:30pm and EVERYONE was headed home from the 4th of July Holiday. 35,45,50 ft cruisers were running past me and rocking the boat
I said, pull em up; lets head to the eastern shore
Once I got across the bay, there was still a ton of boats anchored up and chumming. I dropped trolling lines and slid into 30-35 ft of water. We had some marks, and pulled in some shorts. I swung out into deeper water and found better fish. We picked up some 20-22 inch fish, but released them looking for a better grade. My buddy wanted two to take home to his Mom and Dad.
I was in a search mode and saw a froth on the water about fifty yards away. It actually took me by surprise
Hey, those are breaking fish
As I got closer I could see smaller fish breaking the surface
I had three rods deep, and hoped there was a better grade under them.
Three rods bent and looked promising. Now number 4 and 5 started twitching!! Keep cranking the deep rod, I yelled. I had one of the other deep rods, and we both brought in some 24 inch fish. The other rods were covered up in 19-22 inch fish. We released all the smaller fish and by the time we were back in the water fishing again, we were significantly away from the fish (I don't want to hear about the need for Autopilot).
Thank goodness for chart plotters
I reversed my direction and followed my track back to where the fish were. But, they were no longer breaking. They had sounded, but the meter still lit up from 10 ft on down. Once again, rods started dropping. By looking at the bend in the rod, you knew which fish to bring in first. The biggest fish took preference (still nothing over 24). We released fish and racked rods.
With my sunglasses on, I thought it was later than it actually was
I wanted to get in with plenty of time to clean fish and wash the boat
We slid into the slip, and my buddy went to the fish cleaning table while I drank a beer and started cleaning the boat.
It was a good trip for a quick evening run. We did see several Deale boats again. The Miss Susie II and her sidekick Fin Finder were trolling planer boards while Backdraft was livelinning spot. She got her overs and unders in about a half hour
My friend Doug was mating for Charlie and called on the phone to let us know how they did.
So, the fish are still there
Looks like I may not be headed out until Weds (even though Tues looks really good). Maybe I can sneak out for another evening trip Tues night:roll eyes: I love the fish being in my backdoor for a change.
Catch em up; take only what you need; C/R the others.
5th