Summer is officially over. College football is back and shrimp baiting season begins on Friday. For me, these are sure signs that Fall is here. In preparation for the start of shrimping season, I brought a 12-foot deep hole cast net on a recent fishing trip with my son (Elliott) and brother (David). Our plan was to catch Spanish Mackerel and Trout in the harbor on the falling tide then to cast the deep hole net a few times before heading home.
Turns out, catching Spanish Mackerel and Trout was pretty easy. The Spanish were busting schools of baitfish near the Yorktown. Elliott, David and I caught several casting Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Blue Back Herring) lures on 3/16th ounce finesse jigs. A rapid and erratic retrieve produced a strike on almost every cast. With Spanish Mackerel checked off the list, we left them biting to search for Trout. A quick run to a submerged ledge put us on a really good Trout bite. Most of the fish were small but there were a few big ones mixed in. The Trout (like the Spanish) found the StreakZ 3.75 to be irresistible. We decided to try and catch (and release) 30 Trout before going deep hole shrimping. It did not take long. As the water cools, the Trout bite will get even better. I expect Trout fishing this fall to be nothing short of epic.
When we started deep hole shrimping, I picked up the net and it felt a lot heavier than I remembered. David and Elliott had a good laugh when I said that the net gained 20 pounds since last season. It took a few tries before I got into the swing of casting the big net. About that time, I remembered that deep hole shrimping was a lot of work and turned the net over to David. As he took the net, he said it felt about the same weight as always and perhaps you are the one that gained the weight. Shrimping was delayed for several minutes because David and Elliott found this to be extremely funny. When we finally got around to casting the net, the shrimp were very spread out. However, the few shrimp we caught were large.
On Friday evening (opening night of shrimp baiting season), I will be casting the net on the bow of my good friend Julian Levin’s boat. I hope he does not make fun of my weight!