Little Florida Surf Reds
 

Hit Little Florida this morning with my dad to do a little surf fishing. It was quite an adventure from the moment I started catching bait. I was cast netting just south of Hackberry when a guy pulled up and informed me there was a bobcat watching me about twenty feet behind me. I was still able to scratch out some bait as my new friend kept his distance. This morning, as we had just set rods out, a guy came down and told us there was a 4 foot gator swimming around in the surf. At first, I thought he just wanted our spot, but sure enough, there he was. I watched his head pop up a few more times as he kept moving east, and away from us. Once it seemed kind of safe, I reset everything with fresh cut mullet and caught a nice little black tip. Right after that it was game on. The first red went about 38", and didn't really want to fight until he got inside that first sandbar. Dad caught the next one as I was unhooking the first. That one went about 33". I threw that one on ice. The third one was the pig of the trip at 40", and put up a good stout fight. All in all, a great day. Once the tide went slack, we bugged out.

Sorry for the upside down pic. I'm riding, and uploading from my phone. You get the idea.

Sounds like a good trip to me, and spending the day with your dad was awesome too I'm sure.

Those are some big redfish! Always fun to hear the drag working.

You were out there with the predators today, huh? Bobcat, gator, and a shark!

Was it still dark when you saw the bobcat? I have never seen one in daylight.

Have you ever tried to eat blackfin shark? We kept one before and fried it up but did not care for the way it tasted. Almost tasted the way a skunk smells. I have heard that many people like eating them though. Maybe we cooked it wrong.

Anyway, I think they have a 54" minimum fork length. That's a HUGE shark to bring onboard!

Crazy about the alligator. A few weeks ago a big shark attacked my basket of fish floating about 4ft from me. Never had one go after fish in a basket, usually just the ones on a stringer. Dangerous out there.

Gators aren't shy about taking bait. Especially when you're crabbing.

I've never eaten a blacktip, but have heard they are good. It seems like there is a whole process to killing and cleaning them that I'm not entirely familiar with. Plus, every one I've caught on the beach has been way shy of 54".

The bobcat was out right before dusk. It was pretty much still light out! I thought that was odd.

And I saw the post about a gator being caught at Grand Isle. I told my dad I had never seen one at Little Florida. That definitely changed! I saw a couple more out getting some sun back toward deep bayou. Quite an active day!

Did you leave a little bait on the ground for the Bobcat?

Many years ago, I cleaned a couple of sharks.....did not know what kind they were. The skin was very tough and hard to cut. Probably the most important thing when cleaning a shark, is to cut off "ALL" the red meat. It has a very strong taste.

NICE!! I love catching bulls, don't get to do it much for I have my 13yr old son with me most of the time and I think big bulls like that might be the ones catching a 13yr old!!!

NICE!

I had just shown up at the bobcat spot. I hadn't set any bait out that's for sure! I want those banks free of things that can bite back. Or if they are there, at least keep back in the grass where I am pleasantly unaware.

And I agree on those bulls. I love catching them! It's really my only option without a boat. I considered getting a boat a couple years back, but I'm only really able to get out and fish hard core 4-5 times a year, so it wouldn't be worth the investment. Finding out how to catch these surf bulls has been a process, but man is it fun!