I had Les and Paul from Missouri for 3 days of inshore fishing. The first day then winds were crazy and limited me to where I could run. We tucked up in the marsh and even with my 10 foot power pole I still had to use my Cajun anchor with it to attempt to hold. The spot lock on my trolling motor even had trouble even had trouble holding in place. At times it was kicking up so much mud it was useless. The other issue was the casting in the wind. With the wind it kept sailing and never hit the water. It ended up on land. Against the wind it almost landed in the boat and at times we were holding sewing class 101 with all the knots.

I explained this day would be a challenge and it was. Our quest for some slot fish turned out to be a major task. We found many rat reds. I was thankful for them giving us some action at least. This was the first time for both of them fishing here. Neither have ever caught a redfish so they enjoyed the first day not realizing what this place can give them. We managed 6 slot reds, 3 specks, and 2 sheepshead for our efforts under very tough conditions.



The next day although still windy, but not as bad, I was not limited to fishing up in the marsh. This weekend was the first weekend of duck season and launching out of Venice Marina or Cypress Cove were out of the question. The parking at Cypress was out to Tide Water road and Venice Marina was just as bad. I hit an area that gave us a chance for some very nice trout. I basically worked one area only moving slightly or resetting when the boat got dragged off the area. Yes the winds were gusting over 20 knots. As the water got murky the bite would slow but occasionally one would bite and cleaner would move through at times so I just sat and let the fish find us. All the other boats picked up a few dozen and left. I was the last to leave figuring I had in the upper 40's or maybe 50 good trout and some sheepshead.

I went to a bit more protected place looking for some slot reds. This place only had rat reds but there were a bunch of sheepshead in the area and they were chewing well. A boat with 2 guys from Georgia were there trying for some fish but were just watching us catch. I not only gave them some bait but I gave them 5 sheepshead. We kept a dozen and called it for the day. One of the sheepshead weighed 8.8 pounds. That is the biggest sheepshead I have ever seen or caught. It is on the bottom of this tote so we did not get a picture.



The last day they wanted to go for trout again. Once again we did well but not as well as the day before. We has about 35 in the box when the bite ended for sure. I bounced around trying to find more action. There was a dead end canal that had some cleaner water in it. We managed to limit out with 51 trout (I miscounted) and 7 white trout that were big enough to keep. Once again I had Venice marina clean these for us. Did I say I like the extra service Venice Marina offers?



I was able to make something for these two lifetime friends to talk about until they come back again next year or sooner. These guys were not into taking any pictures on the water. We never had a chance to get out for bull reds. With it being so windy and rough I did not want to be pulling someone out of the water. Always another time for the bulls.



I then had 3 generations with me for another 3 days. I met Jerry grandfather, Jerry father, and Cory son, at Cypress Cove. They had trouble getting their licenses so that delayed our starting time. It had something to do with a letter in the drivers license number. Seeing we had 3 days the first day was to put some meat in the box. I started out with a whole fleet of boats that had been set up for about an hour before I got there. To quote one of the captains the bite was "not good but just enough to keep us here". I set up. We landed a few rat reds and only 1 of 3 trout was a keeper. I picked up and left the fleet. Two more spots did not get my liking. Although it was a long run, I ran to where I had all the trout the other day. They were gone as well as the birds so I moved on. While I was going to this place I noticed a spot of cleaner water so I doubled back hoping to find a slot red or two. As luck would have it I found where the trout had moved to. Dad Jerry landed the first good trout and we were set from that time on. Seeing this area was in front of a drain we also found some other fish besides trout.



This place gave us a lot of good action. We sat in one place and started putting blood, slime, and fish in the boat. I was blessed once again! We had constant crazy action. One of my buddies came near and could not get anything hooked up. I had him come close enough we were crossing casts. Our setups were slightly different. I had no idea that would make a difference but I was taught something that day. One minor thing different made all the difference in the world.



Once the bite slowed down I bounced around looking for a slot red or two. I have one place that is either on or off. No in between action. I was lucky enough to have a small bite here today. I also found a very colorful slot red casing while grandpa Jerry and Cory were having a snack. It was so beautiful I hated to take it out of the gene pool but The meat goes to the customer. This fish was Soooo beautiful. It had Bright golden color with orange fins and a blue tail.



We went back to Venice Marina and got the fish cleaned while we ate a meal. We discussed the next days fishing. They were dreaming of getting on some hard fighting bull reds. This day turned out to be more than they had expected.



Ended up with over 50 trout, some nice redfish and some sheepshead. Day two for bulls is another post.

Life is Good!