Tales From The Tupperware Navy

Welcome back yak fans, and for those who served, and are serving, my thanks, a nation’s thanks, and happy Veterans Day.
This month– the fishing report, a forecast, and a story, but first, a prayer for all who just came through last month’s storms. To my Tampa Bay readers, once you are north of the Pasco line, you can keep your fish; it’s all just fine.  (Ok, so I’m not a poet.)
First, the story on a recent trip. I was working an outgoing tide, but was only about an hour or so from the high, which meant I had a lot of water. Pulling into a small bay, and by small, I mean about the size of a large living room. In this bay, I have caught many nice reds, snook, and black drum, and it is fed by three small creeks. When I say small, these creeks are hardly wider than my kayak, and you have to push through the grass and the rocks, we’re talking tight!!

I set up on the northwest side to cast, and pull the lure with the outgoing tide.  First cast with (of course) my trusty Zara spook, and this monster fish, of at least 30 inches plus, starts following. Three times he missed the lure, and I’m running out of room, when the fourth time he nailed it. Game on!  About this time, that little voice went off in my head. “I remember telling myself to retie that leader that was a little too long, and was catching on the front eye of the rod. I realize that weakens the knot, and it’s been like four trips, I am so screwed” it said.

I’m telling the little voice to shut up. I’m busy!  As the fish headed for the grass, I turn it the first time, but not the second, and bink, the line broke at the knot.

Don’t you hate it when that little voice is right? I paddled over the area with the hope it got hung up, or had thrown the lure, but he headed back into the marsh. (I’m glad fish can’t laugh!) After a vain search, I left that little bay and worked my way north for about three hours.  By this time, it was getting toward the low, and I’m fishing an outside bay, about a half a mile from where my lure was taken. I got set up facing to the northwest, and see something big roll out in front of me, and then, I see something white close to where the fish rolled.  I’m thinking, maybe a diamondback terrapin, but the color was wrong, so I started paddling, and lo and behold, there was my lure. How in the heck it made it with two-plus feet of leader and treble hooks, through all that grass and rocks, I’ll never know, and if I had been there three minutes later, it would have been gone. I will never know if the fish I saw roll, finally got it loose, or was sent to attract my eyes in that direction, and I guess I never will.  So, tying the lure back on, at the proper length this time, and telling that little voice to go “suck eggs”. I smiled and paddled on back into the inside to finish the day’s fishing.

Okay, on to fishing and forecast. The fall’s definitely cooler water, is bringing in the sheepshead and black drum. The trout are finally moving back into the flats, which is great news. I was wondering if I would ever to see a trout again.

Having hooked into more than 20-plus reds on each of my last two outings, I would have to say, that the red bite is phenomenal. I’ve seen black drum tailing and sheepshead cutting through the grass, with their backs up out of the water. I love this time year.
So blow the dust off your boat boys, and make sure your leaders not tied too long, and get out there and go fishing.

Tell next time, Bruce