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We had great weather and caught some nice fish. Karen was kicking my butt for the first couple of hours!
Our guide wanted to wait about an hour to hit the flats, so we started out fishing for ladyfish. These things are related to tarpon and jump just like 'em, jumping over and over. They were around 2-5 lbs. and were a blast on light tackle. They were tough to hook and tougher to land. We probably hooked 8 but landed only 3. We were also joined by a bunch of dolphins, so we were really having fun. Score= Karen 2, Greg 1.
We then headed for the flats to pole for redfish. Karen nailed a jack crevalle on topwater. Karen 3, Greg 1.
The sun got a bit higher, so we switched to plastic jerk baits and began to search for fish. I spotted a wake and threw to it and the fish hit. I fish mono, the reel had braid. I set the hook real hard and snap! Suddenly my wife is hootin' and hollerin' and she's on a nice fish. She lands a beautiful redfish. Karen 4, Greg 1. No panic.
After seeing a couple more fish who wouldn't take, we moved to some mangrove islands. I got casts to a couple more cruising fish who weren't interested. Finally, I found a hungry one and threw out in front of him... it is so cool to spot the fish, cast, and see the take.
It was about a 8lb. red. I was off the hook. We poled around a couple more hours, I caught a small snook, and another nice sized red. Then the wind kicked up and the sky became partly cloudy. We saw some more fish, but we were mostly spooking them. I wanted Karen to get another red, so I was letting her throw to most of the fish. She had two get on the lure, but no hookups. The conditions became tough.
Their slam is a red, a snook, and a trout (grand slam includes a tarpon, but they aren't running yet), so we focused the end of the day on trout. I convinced Tod, our guide, to throw since we were just drifting, throwing jigs.
He hooked something huge that we never saw... it finally snapped the 8lb test. He thought it may have been an early run tarpon but we'll never know. We caught some small jacks, hooked some more ladyfish (landing one), and Tod finally caught a small trout to complete a group effort slam.
It was awesome. Poling the shallows for a tough fish like reds is addicting. We were so intense... I've never seen my wife so into fishing. We both had a great time. If our casting hadn't been so rusty early, we probably would have had a few more fish.
We also had a great guide and if anyone is planning a trip to central Florida, I would be happy to give you his name, number, etc.
I'll put up some photos when we get them scanned in... gotta run.
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