CUT PERCH FOR REDFISH

 5-26-2013--We had an early incoming tide today along with a stiff breeze so I went for redfish first with my fishing couple.  They caught two early and then the bite died.  After several moves we found reds again and boated the remaining four for their limit.   Redfish all came on cut pin perch.  We tried cut menhadden but only had trash fish bite it.  

Then around noon we set out for trout.  By then the tide was slack & any trout bite had ceased.  They managed 2 trout on croaker before we called it a day.

 Friends Paul and Billie Jeffrey came for a visit and Ron took us all fishing.  We didn't get on the water until after 10:00.  It looked like we might have missed the good fishing, but then the big reds started hitting.  We boxed 6 reds, including one oversized.  They were biting cut menhaden.  We also caught several hardheads, a stingray and a couple of toadfish in 4 hours of fishing and had a great time.    Margetta

BABES ON THE BAY

5-18-2013--We had one new member on the Spice Gills team for the Jim Ehman Memorial "Babes on the Bay" fishing tournament this year. In past years each of the members has had a nick name i.e. Hot Spice, Princess Spice, etc. I forgot to ask about the name for the newest member but I know she replaced  "Old Spice", who still came to the functions but retired from fishing this year.  They easily caught 8 large reds and decided to go for trout because the stringer for weigh-in is limited to one red and three trout.  Trout were not as easy to come by.  They ended the day with only two trout.    I don't yet know where they placed overall.  Last year the team was 10th and we had hoped to move up but I'm sure they moved down due to being one trout short.The red they used to weigh-in was 27 1/2 inches long and weighed 7.88 pounds.  One member sent me a text that the red came in third in the cash pot for largest redfish, with the winner at 7.96 pounds.  You might know the cash pot only paid for two  places.

The bay was so crowed with about 1500 ladies in the largest women's fishing tournament in the world and assorted other people fishing that we just anchored up in the flats and stayed in one place while others chased the reds to us.  All the reds, along with a lot of hardhead catfish,  came on cut menhaden.  The team members always call hardheads "boy fish".

As usual the tournament sponsored by the CCA was a huge success and a lot of fun for all concerned.

FIRST REDFISH

 5-16-2013--Had two youngsters who already love fishing along with their mother and grandmother today.  With winds in the high 20's it wasn't the best day to introduce someone to coastal fishing.  With the winds making trout mostly unavailable we concentrated on redfish with cut menhaden.  They caught some reds, in fact the boy got his limit of reds, and lots of hardheads.

TWELVE REDFISH

 5-10-2013--Had two couples that last fished with me about 4 years ago.  They are already planning to come back in the near future. We used cut menhadden for redfish.  They caught 12 mid-slot size  reds before 9:30.  We moved to look for trout with croaker but the tide quit and wind died.  We moved several times hoping to find a spot where the fish would bite under the conditions.  During this time we had misty rain and then the north wind hid.  At that point we gave up the
 quest for trout.

 

REDS AND TROUT

5-9-2013--The couple fishing with me today truly enjoyed just being on the water.  We started the day looking for trout but gave up after two stops.  The redfish were much more cooperative. After putting 5 keepers in the ice chest we moved to look for trout again.  They landed several trout before the bite slowed at which time we went back to the flats to try for one more redfish but were rewarded with several hardhead catfish before we gave up.  The baits used today were croaker for trout and cut skipjack and cut menhadden for redfish.

REDFISH SAVE THE DAY

5-8-2013--Spent about an hour with my one client this morning trying for trout with croaker.  He had booked a half day, hoping for either trout or redfish, so we moved to the flats for redfish with cut menhaden for bait.  Within less than an hour he had his limit of reds plus one trout.

BIG FISH

5-6-2013--Great day.  This was the first day I've used croaker this year.  My two fishermen caught all large fish. They didn't catch a single fish that wasn't big enough to keep.  Six large reds and eleven trout mostly over 20 inches.  

HALF DAY FOR REDFISH

    5-5-2013--Had a father/son for a half day.  They caught a lot of small trout and redfish but ended the day with 3 keeper redfish.  Other guides told me the redfish bite was later in the day.  We only fished from 6:30 to 10:30 so we missed the better fishing.  

BIG REDFISH

5-3-2013--Started the day at 6:20 in north winds over 40 mph because my 3 guests only had one day they could fish.  No other boat trailers were in the parking lot.  The tide level was very low which limited even further the places we could fish in a strong north wind.  Started catching fish about 10:00 with an oversized redfish.  Bite was never fast, but about every 30 minutes we were rewarded with a nice redfish on cut menhaden.  Ended the day with 7 reds including 2 oversized.  The larger reds were full of 7-8 inch mullet.  One had 2 mullet, 1 5-inch perch and a 15-inch needle gar in its stomach.