Cold & Breezy Week

Jeff receives a great surprise as we fish the skinny waters of the Mosquito Lagoon in search of slot sized redfish and spotted seatrout!

It’s been a cold water and breezy week for us and this combination of weather factors tends to keep me off the water. I ventured out only two times; a scouting trip with my friend Capt. John Tarr on Tuesday and again on Wednesday for a Mosquito Lagoon charter.
John and I launched from Marina Park about 8 A.M. and the expected three to four mile an hour wind was already double the forecasted wind speed. We decided to hide from its northerly direction and I headed to a sheltered bay.

Setting up with the now gusting wind to our backs and poling into the sun (not my favorite strategy) we methodically covered the area. With an hour’s worth of bottom and stained water behind us we started the motor and headed to what we hoped would be a fishier spot. It wasn’t, nor was the next and the next place we tried. Neither of us was foolish enough to want to continue so we made a very early day of this trip.

One might think Tuesday’s trip was wasted. It was not as I now eliminated an area I was considering for Wednesday’s charter. An area my client has fished in the past with another guide who is now retired. An area which has treated me and myriad of anglers well in the past and expect will do so again in the future!

Again, due to the colder than I like water temperatures we launched at 8 A.M. on Wednesday morning. My first intended spot had four boats on it and I made a quick decision to head elsewhere. My run farther south proved to be a good choice.

It was great choice as fifteen minutes into our actual fishing time Jeff lets out a slight but audible grunt as the rod arcs over and the drag starts playing my favorite tune! It was clear he was tied into a refish well over the slot, but with the stained water and precious little sun to see into the water I couldn’t tell HOW over the slot this was.

Jeff was ten minutes into his battle before the monster was near enough to the boat to see its forty-five plus inch length and it’s very full girth. I struggled to keep the bow pointed towards the fish as it tended to fight its way into the wind. The fight continued for just over twenty minutes before I was able to descend the poling platform and leader and land Jeff’s trophy.

A couple of quick photos and I placed the beast back into the water, half expecting to need to revive the monster. No reviving was necessary; it was all I could do to keep its tail-wrist in my hand. The fish swam off strong with no obvious signs of being caught.
The most interesting set of factors which made this catch special for us both was we were targeting slot redfish and trout. We were using my lightest gear with a soft-tipped rod, 2500 series reel and eight pound braid. The lure was a simple pearl white Z-Man Curly Tailz rigged on their Finesse Bullet jig-hook. Catches like these are not uncommon when the rod/reel/line and DRAG are well matched. In the hands of a good angler or even a novice willing to take directions from their guide trophy fish are possible on tiny gear!