Hero, Zero, Or Somewhere Inbetween.

Fishing Report 9/23/2019

Recently, inshore fishing has been outstanding.  Especially for Trout and Redfish. Now that summer is over, predators are feeding aggressively in advance of Winter.  So, they are pretty easy to catch. While Trout and Redfish are abundant inshore, they are often on the smaller side.  

This weekend, I decided to fish a “hero or zero” strategy.  Exclusively targeting larger fish and significantly increasing the chance of catching nothing.  When inshore fishing, I typically fish with a Shimano Expride 7-foot light action rod with a Stella 1000 frame reel.  This outfit is very light, sensitive and easy to cast all day long. When hero fishing, I use an Expride 7-foot medium action rod with a Stradic 3000 frame reel.  This outfit casts larger lures and handles hero-size fish extremely well. However, it weighs significantly more than my light tackle outfit.  

My plan was to fish at the jetties for the first half of the incoming tide.  When fishing with lures, clear water is important (so fish can easily see the lure).  At the jetties, the incoming tide usually brings clear water with it. On Saturday, this was not the case.  High winds and big waves stirred up the bottom sediment and poor water clarity prevailed. Undeterred, I selected a chartreuse Z-Man 4-inch Jerk ShadZ (the most visible lure in the conditions) and rigged it in a 3/8-ounce jig.  Then began casting the lure to the rocks. Two hours and hundreds of casts later, I had no bites and a sore elbow from casting the heavier tackle. I made a note that hero fishing is not as much fun as I recalled, took some Advil and started casting again.   Over the next 2 hours, I made hundreds of more casts, caught one small Redfish and made an appointment with my doctor to look at my elbow.  

On Saturday, I was not a hero or a zero.  Today, I am an orthopedic patient

Preparation is Key!

Preparation is instrumental to fishing success.  For me, having tackle rigged and ready is a big part of my preparation process.  Fishing opportunities often present themselves unexpectedly and disappear quickly.  Having the right tackle (rods and lures) readily available can make the difference between fishing and catching.  

This was the certainly the case when fishing with Luke Bishop this weekend.  Our plan was to head offshore and vertical jig for Vermillion Snapper and Black Sea Bass.  However, we loaded the Pathfinder with offshore and nearshore spinning tackle. On the ride out, we saw a bunch of birds hovering over feeding fish.  I vectored the boat towards the feeding fish and Luke picked up a nearshore rod rigged with a 3/8-ouce jig with a Pearl Z-Man 4” StreakZ. Before I could deploy the trolling motor, Luke was fighting a Spanish Mackerel.  I picked up a nearshore spinning rod rigged with a Shimano Orca popper and cast it underneath the birds. A big Bluefish crashed the lure, knocking it out of the water. Soon as the Orca popper landed, another Bluefish inhaled it.  Luke and I were catching a Spanish Mackerel or Bluefish on nearly every cast. The bite was so hot, I decided to use my fly rod. For the next few minutes, I looked in every compartment in my boat. Then, I remembered taking the fly rod out of the boat for the hurricane.  While Luke and I caught a bunch of fish, my lack of preparation cost us an epic fly-fishing opportunity.

Preparation really can be the difference between fishing and catching.