Did a solo, exploring trip, on Thanksgiving day this past week. Wife out of town, seemed like the thing to do…This entire past week the weather has been perfect with clear skies, and light breezes with air temps in the low to mid- eighties most of the week - but a modest cold front coming Thanksgiving night. At the ramp, I noted that I wasn’t the only one in the backcountry that day - but the area itself is so large that I wouldn’t see many other boats at all…
That day I started out tossing an old topwater plug (rapala Skitterwalk, full sized, on its third set of hooks) and could have found decent action all day long with it - but the fish were mostly on the small side. That topwater action ended with a good strike, followed almost instantly by a shark that ate both my target fish - and the plug itself… Not a big shark - just a hungry one… Leaving the interior for the rivers that drain out into the gulf coast, I found a strong outgoing tide and all the tributaries into the Little Shark river active - mostly with small ladyfish and trout feeding on the bait the tide was pushing out. There were lots of speckled trout as well in every river - but all on the small side. At one river mouth I did find a few small snook - here’s a pic of the best one - but only 24" on a leadhead with a DOA plastic tail…
carefully released to fight another day !
Everywhere I went for the remainder of the day these small leadheads were the ticket to constant action… A few days earlier they worked just fine on redfish up to 21" - both inside and outside along the coast. That day, though, the bigger reds weren’t showing.
The last hour of the falling tide that day, I set up for redfish again - in just a few feet of water, hoping for a last minute fish for the table. Just when I was ready to quit - both rods went off and the first rod I picked up had a really big fish on the other end… With two rods to handle and only one angler - the first thing I did was break off the second rod - to get it out of the way. After that it was a real struggle and I found myself with an unknown fish and needing to take that rod right out to its limits with 20lb braid - and still no idea what was on… in less than three feet of water. About 15 minutes later, right at my skiff - I got a look - at a ten foot sawfish… Surprise, surprise, and I quickly broke it off.. Years and years ago, before they were listed on the endangered list we used to fish for them (strictly catch and release) so I’m familiar with handling them at the boat. Once they were listed the only time we ever hook up on one - is usually while redfishing - and then only accidentally. At the boat a big saw is dangerous (think of a blind man in a bar fight equipped with a board studded with nails… so being careful goes without saying…). The saws are actually making a great comeback in recent years - not because of the endangered listing - it’s Florida’s net ban that should take the credit. What almost wiped out the sawfish? Inshore nets since saws ran into them - and died, while destroying whatever net they were entangled in… With inshore nets in our state no longer used - the saws are increasing in numbers again (and that would happen worldwide if inshore nets were banned on every coast..). No pics of that saw… I was busy hanging onto my rod and doing my best not to break it. I have to make a replacement for every rod we break on my skiff… Here’s an old pic of a small saw at my skiff… the saw that day was twice this size…
Like I said, they’re a handfull at the boat…
That day water temps were quite warm, with 80 degree waters everywhere that afternoon. Those temps have fallen quite a bit since the cold front - today they’re at 72 degrees in the Shark.. As we move towards winter and waters continue to cool, the fishing should get better and better with fish along the coast moving very gradually back up inside into the backcountry. In just a few weeks we’ll be working up inside along shallow shorelines - doing more and more sight-fishing - great for fly anglers or anyone using the lightest of gear…
Tight Lines
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
“Be a hero… take a kid fishing…”