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capt hoop · #1 06-09-2015, 08:11 AM

This was the answer I got when I asked them what they were looking for. To start off I was called at 6:10 and asked where I was. Unfortunately the Marina was packed and not only did I have to go a long way to get a parking place for my truck and trailer but there was a line for ice. We made a long run down river and as I was getting close to my targeted area I noticed some bait working. I shut things down and we started fishing.

These kids had never caught a redfish before let alone a bull red. On about the second cast the drag starts singing and the older brother is hanging on for dear life. I instructed him about holding the pole up a bit and letting the pole help you. I also showed him how to hold the pole at the balancing point. He was holding it on to the butt end for dear life. "Got some big old bass in this pond Bubba!" It took forever to get this hog into the net. Every time he would attempt to reel he would lower the rod allowing the fishes head to drop giving the fish a chance to dive and run out further. The markings on this fish were beautiful but the tail was damaged a bit.

A few more casts and we are hooked up again. They are feeding here like crazy. Our job is to get them to find our artificial bait amongst all the natural bait in the water. I was lucky and stumbled upon a hot batch of feeding fish.

Once we had the picture and as I am releasing this beauty the same guy is hooked up again. Talk about some hot action and I never made it to where I wanted to go yet. I had some large Vu Du shrimp on and never bothered to change anything over. These were working just fine.

From there the action slowed down and we were on a fishing trip. Every now and then between the bull reds a freight train would go steaming through. Although a bull red will give you all the fight you could ask for every now and then a shark or a jack Crevalle will find your bait. Suddenly the reel screams more and the spool thins out a lot quicker. They fight good but the table fare is poor at best.

The younger brother is trying very hard but nothing is finding his bait. He is doing nothing wrong or different just not having any luck at all. I grab a pole and tell his father if I hook up his younger son is going to fight it. I keep looking for any sign of a fish around like a swirl or some bait getting nervous. I hook up and tell him to hold my pole. He handles the fish like a pro and in almost no time we have this one in the net.

Although he did not have the initial hook up he at least broke the ice by fighting a fish instead of watching everybody else do it. I think that move changed his luck because he started taking over the fish catching duties.

Just before noon they were getting some snacks as things slowed down a bit more. We had already caught a lot of big fish and they were happy with the trip they had. The highlight of the day was just about to happen. Although funny now it was a bit scary as it happened. We were in 4 feet of water. The younger boy was sitting on the bow relaxed reeling in his pole off his left side looking at his father snacking. Just as the cork and lure gets to the tip of the pole a Jack Crevalle hits the bait and runs off. The fish splashed the bow of the boat and the kid. The powerful run spun the boy around as he reacted to what was happening. He was now laying on the bow trying as hard as he could to keep from being pulled out. Somehow he was able to stay in the boat and hold the pole. By the time he got up and set to battle this monster the fish had made a very long run and was still running. I lifted the power pole and let the fish drag the boat around while the kid attempted to put some line back on the reel.

We were right next to the 2 boats in the left of the picture when the fight started. There was no wind or current. This was just the power of the fish after it got the jump on the fight with the element of surprise and a good first punch.

We went back and caught another but with the slack high tide it was evident the bite was over. I picked up and went inside looking for box fish before calling it. I bounced around in almost dirty water searching for anything to put in the box. Ended up with 2 flounder, 2 sheepshead, 1 speck, 1 white trout and 4 slot reds.

Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM