A Windy Sunday Afternoon Fishing Trip

It was a windy Sunday afternoon fishing trip for Karen and our two wonder dogs, but the dogs were begging to get out of the house and take a ride.

We decided to hit areas we hadn't been to for a while so we headed for the Jones Street boat ramp in Mims for our first stop.   

The bait shop that once stood here was long closed and an old hull that once was inhabited looked like it was being restored.

I was going to fan cast the area but decided to move on to our next area instead.  This particular area is noted for gator sea trout that can be found in the adjacent flats.

We decided to drive up to Scottsmoor and see what the water level at the boat ramp looked like.

I'm still hoping to get my Maverick out for a spin when the weather gets a bit cooler.

When we got to the boat ramp, there was only one other vehicle parked and they were in a pontoon boat.

We let Elmo and Odie out to do their duty and walked around to see if it was worth casting a topwater bait around the area.

The wind was blowing into the shore and there was a layer of sea grass bunched up at the bank which made  fishing a waste of time.

I took a few pics and we decided to ride over to Shiloh Marsh Road and see if there were any Tarpon in the canals.

When we got to Shiloh Marsh Road, they still had the refuge signs up despite the fact that the area will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

A Wildlife Officer I spoke to a couple of months ago told me that until the road gets a makeover, it will remain closed.  As of now it is only open to bike and foot traffic.


In any event, we drove down to the barrier and stopped to fish an area I knew held juvenile Tarpon.

I pulled out a rod with a Chug Bug and started casting into the shallow creek.  I had a couple of followups but no hits.

As I came up to a small pond I spotted a couple of Tarpon cruising in the shallows.

I cut up a chunk of ladyfish and dropped it into the pool but the fish showed no interest.

Normally when they can see you, they will not bite and this was no exception.

I went back to the truck, got my camera and took a short video of one of the fish.

After a half hour or so, we decided to drive over to Patillo Creek and see if any Tarpon were in that area.

Elmo and Odie were in their cruising mode and were having a great time hanging out of the windows on the way over.

 

We drove around the area, took a few pics and fished awhile but didn't catch any fish or spot any Tarpon.  After a half hour without a follow up or a bite on Karen's cut bait we packed up the dogs and our rods and headed for Peacocks Pocket Road.  

I told Karen about the partial road improvements and wanted to show her where I missed a nice sea trout yesterday.

We drove into Peacocks Pocket road and spotted a couple fishermen dunking cut baits with no success so we moved up to the area where I lost the fish.  

I cut up a couple of ladyfish "steaks" for her to fish with and I put on my new sports camera and started casting a Chug Bug smeared up with Pro-Cure offshore formula.

I hooked and lost a nice sea trout in the marsh canal before I even turned on the camera. 

Undaunted, I turned on the camera and started wearing out my arm casting the topwater bait.

Karen missed a huge redfish because she forgot to set the hook and we spotted several other nice reds in the area. 

The weather was getting foul and the fish were beginning to get active.

We spotted three small pods of redfish and two more bull redfish before the bite went down.

Karen missed a second redfish that took the bait and ran towards her.  She didn't know the fish was even on until it turned in the middle of the marsh canal and headed back onto the shallow grass flats.

Meanwhile I nailed a nice sea trout on the Chug Bug just before Karen hooked and lost her fish.

The video from the sport cam is below.

Maybe next weekend the Tarpon will be more willing.

Till next time, Tight Lines,.