Capt. Tim Ramsey
Tight. Interesting word. Lots of uses. Sleep tight. Tight fit. Tie it tight. Uptight, hang tight, tight drag, zoom in tight, held tight against the dock, etc. Good word. Fish know it. Believe me.
Fishing in South Jersey recently, we searched for what seemed forever to find striped bass. Had to tighten our aim. We found them in three places:
1. Holding tight to the back-bay sod banks.
2. Sitting tight to the beach jetties. When I say “tight” I mean in-between the rocks.
3. Migrating tightly along the 3-mile curve. Some fish were literally in single-file like tarpon.
Fishing recently in Naples, the cooler weather tightened-up my various favorite species:
1. Snook held tight to the sunnier parts of the backcountry creeks.
2. Bluefish held tight to the passes in the 10k
3. Reds held tight to the muddier bottoms that warm in the sun
4. Black drum held tight to the hard bottom in West Pass
Then there was the guy that should have kept his boat tight to the mangroves, but ran over the oyster bar in the middle instead. Or the girl who should have held tight to her boyfriend on the jet ski, instead of trying to take a selfie. He gripped the bars tightly and turned; she kept going. Or my not making sure my waders were tight and a breaking wave sent 54-degree water right down them.
Now I get to make sure my hitch and straps on the boat are tight and trailer the Skeeter back to Naples. A friend said Stuart is the snook capitol of Florida. Gonna stop by and see if that’s true. See you out there.