26/12/2008



Photo

I got a nice fishing ‘yak for Christmas—a twelve and a half foot Perception Caster. Bought it off a kid in Oak Hill for a great price. It’s tricked out—rod holders, wells, paddle holder. About sixty pounds, so a bit cumbersome, but I can get it on and off the SUV by myself. Took it for a spin today, launching from the Eldora Dock at Canaveral. Beautiful day, eighty and wind out of the south at around six miles per hour. Headed north, fishing the oyster bars and what grassy banks there are in that area. Nothing all day—heard some guys on nice flats boats complaining about how bad the fishing was, so I didn’t feel too down. Around two I came up on an island that looked perfect—sand holes, lots of grass, oyster bar, about two feet deep. I let the ‘yak drift up on the island, casting in front with my lucky gold spoon and trawling some Gulp shrimp on a popping cork behind. I saw some reds tailing for the first time that day about twenty yards ahead of me, and then a whole school of them shot out underneath my ‘yak—some of them were just huge. Instant adrenaline high. I cast ahead of them, and sure enough, something grabbed my line. Spun me around a couple of times—I had the drag set pretty loose, but it was a big fish and it just yanked the ‘yak like a toy. I kept my cool and wore it out. Very lucky to have gotten it onto the ‘yak, since it weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces and my line was seven pound test. We both sat there, panting for a second until I measured it up against the marks I made—right under twenty-seven inches. I considered throwing it back out, since the only cooler I had was a little fourteen-can cooler. But the spoon was set pretty far back in the mouth, and by the time I worked it out, I doubt the fish would have lived, so I crammed it into the cooler (had to use a bungee cord to keep the top closed). Cast a few more times, but figured I had had my fun for the day and there wasn’t much ice left. I’m sure that if I’d tooled around the tip of the island, I would have caught up with the school. I left them for another day… From redfish

I got a nice fishing ‘yak for Christmas—a twelve and a half foot Perception Caster. Bought it off a kid in Oak Hill for a great price. It’s tricked out—rod holders, wells, paddle holder. About sixty pounds, so a bit cumbersome, but I can get it on and off the SUV by myself.

Took it for a spin today, launching from the Eldora Dock at Canaveral. Beautiful day, eighty and wind out of the south at around six miles per hour. Headed north, fishing the oyster bars and what grassy banks there are in that area. Nothing all day—heard some guys on nice flats boats complaining about how bad the fishing was, so I didn’t feel too down. Around two I came up on an island that looked perfect—sand holes, lots of grass, oyster bar, about two feet deep. I let the ‘yak drift up on the island, casting in front with my lucky gold spoon and trawling some Gulp shrimp on a popping cork behind. I saw some reds tailing for the first time that day about twenty yards ahead of me, and then a whole school of them shot out underneath my ‘yak—some of them were just huge. Instant adrenaline high. I cast ahead of them, and sure enough, something grabbed my line. Spun me around a couple of times—I had the drag set pretty loose, but it was a big fish and it just yanked the ‘yak like a toy.

I kept my cool and wore it out. Very lucky to have gotten it onto the ‘yak, since it weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces and my line was seven pound test. We both sat there, panting for a second until I measured it up against the marks I made—right under twenty-seven inches. I considered throwing it back out, since the only cooler I had was a little fourteen-can cooler. But the spoon was set pretty far back in the mouth, and by the time I worked it out, I doubt the fish would have lived, so I crammed it into the cooler (had to use a bungee cord to keep the top closed). Cast a few more times, but figured I had had my fun for the day and there wasn’t much ice left. I’m sure that if I’d tooled around the tip of the island, I would have caught up with the school. I left them for another day…

From redfish