By: Capt. Armando Alejo
We recently set out seeking our share of blackdrum gamefish which are in season during our cold months (at least cold for Florida!). My crew for the day were super excited to enter the waters of SWFL, a trip they had never done before, and quite simply didn’t realize there was so much opportunity in our area to fish. We made our way through the beautiful and majestic Intracoastal waterways and within a short boat ride, and almost immediately, the wildlife was abundant. Snowy Egret, Osprey and Anhinga birds peppered the navigational aids that led us toward the area we chose to fish. As had been a common site for the previous half a dozen trips, we came across a pack of bottle nose dolphin, feeding in the narrow channel we were on. I gave way, pulled back on the throttle and allowed us to enjoy the sight of a dolphin family feeding on mullet off of a grass flat. The dolphin gave us a show for a good thirty minutes, and I made my standard comment “some folks pay to see Dolphin perform!” With A2 charters, the dolphin are part of the show and we all laughed and enjoyed what remained of the dolphin program for that part of the morning.
As we continued our trip west toward the first stop of our trip. On a five-hour trip, I knew our window of opportunity for a good bite was small, so I took us straight to my ‘A’ spot rather than try others in anticipation of my go to stop. Within an hour’s time, and after we waited for the best part of the tide, the peak of the high tide, we boated our first drum. Shortly thereafter, we had a half dozen boated drum all between 5 and 20 lbs.
Among the most rewarding moments of the trip were to see the two siblings fighting fish, enjoying themselves and making memories! Our youngest angler Noah, hooked, fought and enjoyed bringing the biggest drum of the trip aboard. Mom and dad also hooked and landed their own fish, and they were pleased to feel such power with an inshore fish. Mom and Dad both also appreciated the time I spent working with their two boys Noah (4) and Brian (10). They commented in appreciation for the patience shown to ensure EVERYONE aboard enjoyed their fishing adventure. Join us aboard today to get in on the winter bite! This time of year, has some of our best weather and bite!
