By Gary Turner
We headed down to Clearwater beach for a little rest and relaxation, and yeah, maybe a little fishing. There are not many places I go where some fishing isn’t involved. I carry collapsible rods in the Rambox on my truck. When you go to a town to fish, there are several scouting options. First, I like to look for people fishing and see what’s biting and what bait is working. There was no one fishing on the beach, so I went to option number two and found a bait shop. Clearwater Bait and Tackle on Gulf to Bay Boulevard was great! A nice Italian gentleman who was a Manhattan transplant named John, gave us all kinds of information, and while we waited on the thunderstorm to pass, we bought some tackle and talked fishing. I had seen several sheepshead at the beach, so we bought some sheepshead rigs and a flatweight with a hook setting up from it, so when the weight sits on the bottom your bait sits up on it, making it easier to eat. With a bucket of fiddler crabs and tackle in tow, we headed back to the hotel.
Well Dax, my grandson who is two years old, had to check out the crabs, so several ended up running around the hotel room, and I had to track them down and put them back in the bucket. That reminded me of the time, years ago, when my girls were little and we caught a 2-foot shark and put it in the bathtub at the hotel. I hauled a tub full of saltwater, 5-gallon buckets at a time, to put it in. It swam back and forth and was pretty cool. After a few hours of entertainment, we released it unharmed. The crabs were a lot less work in their little bucket.
The next morning, we went to the beach to see what we could catch. Now Dax doesn’t know how to swim well yet, so I put on his floaties and gave him his Zebco Micro 33 on a 3-foot rod. I handed his dad the GoPro, and we headed out to about four feet of water. You could see the sheepshead all around us. If you kicked up the bottom, they would come in to see if there was anything they wanted to eat. We rigged up a crab on the sheepshead rig and dropped it. The fish hit it hard, broke the crab then snatched it off without ever getting the hook. The water was crystal clear so we could see everything and so could they. After six crabs served as practice and warmup, a big one came by and swallowed the hook. It was on now! Dax was reeling and was making headway when the fish just took off tearing line off the little reel. I had to help him get that fish back under control as there were people swimming not too far away. Once we stopped the run, Dax finished reeling it in. His first saltwater fishing adventure!
We had a great time at the beach and enjoyed Clearwater. A local restaurant we really enjoyed was Perkins, and we had the best waitress there whose name was Bambi. If you are ever there on vacation, give them a try, the food and service were excellent! I am attempting to revive my old YouTube channel, so if you want to see Dax catching this fish, check it out at FishingWithGary.
I’m not sure what next month’s article will be on or where I’ll be fishing, but remember, if you have an empty seat on your boat that needs filling, shoot me an email and maybe it will be about fishing with you!
Please remember, if you are not going to eat it, don’t kill it. “Tight Lines and Squealin’ Reels put a Smile on my face every time.” Gary Turner
If you are ever interested in info on any guides or places I fish, you can email me at gary@purgeright.com.