TALES FROM THE TUPPERWARE NAVY
Welcome back yak fans. April is upon us and what a year it’s been so far!! I’ll tell you what, if I could press the do over button for 2017, I think I would and we’re only four months in. I’ll give you the reason why, my 90-year-old father was in the hospital, my grandson broke his arm, and my daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Then when I went in for a minor procedure to help with the blood flow in my leg, and they told me it was a low invasive procedure, and that I’d feel the difference the next day. Silly me, I thought they meant for the better!! I came to after seven hours of surgery with a new incision in my leg, and couldn’t walk for nearly a week. The great news is, they are not done. Now, you see why I want to hit replay. This year’s been crazy. However, the good news is, I hit the water before all the fun began, and so here’s what’s happening.
Snook is open again, and I made a road trip to Little Sarasota Bay, putting in at Vamo. My friend and fellow guide, Eric Henson, gave me a report on snook, and recommended a new lure to try (sort of). What he was using was my trusty Zara spook junior, but in chrome, and I’ll tell you what, color matters. I was working both spooks, my Old Faithful in bone silver, and the new one. The chrome was lighting up everything; needle fish, trout, and snook, blowing up on almost every cast. I can’t wait to try it out on my home turf.
Locally, trout, reds and black drum been doing well, though snook have been a little slow.
On a recent trip, I was fishing with my longtime fishing buddy Lew, and couldn’t figure out why he was catching more trout than I was, and to be honest, I was getting a little annoyed. We were both using soft plastics on a jig head. He was using his favorite four-inch glow, chartreuse shrimp, and I was using a mirro lure Littlejohn in molting. Okay, I know that the gulp products are very effective, but Jeez!!
Then, I noticed that after every retrieve, he turned sideways in his yak. I asked what he was doing, “Nothing.” he replied. This went on for a bit. I asked again. He grinned and showed me he was using the gulp alive spray in the crab scent to recharge bait before each cast, and it was working!! The gulp sprays come in flavors such a shrimp, garlic, and crab, but I’ll tell you, the crab is the bomb. I picked some up at Bass Pro Shop on my way back from Sarasota, and I can’t wait to see how it will work for me, that is of course, when the doctors tell me I can launch a boat again. To tell you the truth, I think I was happier with a sore leg.
That’s it for this month’s “tackle tips ” and if you get a chance to try either of the tips this month, please let me know how they work. As I said, I’m off the water for a bit and would appreciate some vicarious living, with some decent reports.
See you next month.
Bruce