Tag: trolling motor

Overboard! And a New Recommendation.

After the shark selfie episode, my fishing trips have been more sedate. Brody (the amazing fish finding dog) and I have been concentrating our efforts in the rivers and creeks. For the most part, the Trout, Flounder and Redfish have been very cooperative. All are readily striking a Z-Man Trout Trick rigged on a quarter ounce lead head jig. On Sunday, we were catching and releasing Trout at a rapid pace. After about 30 minutes, a porpoise (with a distinct notch in its dorsal fin) began following my Pathfinder around and eating the fish we were releasing. Brody did not approve and began barking each time the porpoise approached the boat. So, we left the fish biting and moved to another location. Brody and I used the trolling motor to slowly move along the creek bank and cast the Trout Trick to points and pockets in the marsh. It did not take long to find another school of hungry Trout. A few minutes later, the porpoise with the wonky dorsal fin found us again. As it approached the boat, Brody began barking and jumped into the water nearly on top of the porpoise.

Brody is not much for swimming. Thus, he wears a floatation device when we are on water. As it turns out, Brody is a good swimmer and likes being in the water. However, I was thankful that he was wearing a floatation device. The handles made it easy to lift my 52-pound dog back into the boat. After drying Brody off, I resumed fishing. The porpoise never came back. Brody is now the amazing fish finding and porpoise scaring dog.

On occasion, I discover something that is worthy of sharing. All my fishing rods are lightweight, sensitive and very expensive. Recently, I purchased a Shimano Sellus spinning rod. It is reasonably light, sensitive and costs only $49. That is 1/10th the cost of my normal fishing rods! If you are thinking about getting a new inshore fishing rod and don’t want to invest $500, check out the Sellus. I think you will like it.

A Very Happy Birthday

For years, it has been a tradition for my son, Elliott, and I to fish together on my birthday.  However, now that Elliott lives in Japan, my brother, David, has picked up the tradition.   So, on my birthday we launched the Pathfinder and set off in search of fish.  Idling away from the boat landing, I asked David what fish he felt like targeting.  He said it was my birthday so I should decide.  Without much thought, Bull Redfish became my birthday target species. 

After a quick run to the jetties, I spot locked the Pathfinder within casting distance of the rocks.  The out going tide was creating current seams as it passed between gaps in the rocks.  We cast Z-Man 4-inch Jerk ShadZ on 3/8-ounce jigs into the current seams.  Our most productive casts were literally right on top of the rocks.  The current was strong enough to sweep the lures off the rocks and into deeper water.  Speckled Trout, Weakfish, Bluefish and Ladyfish were crushing our lures as they bounced down the rocks.  This technique caught a lot of fish, but we also caught a lot of rocks.  If you give this technique a try, bring lots of jigs and lures!

The bite hot with a wide variety of specifies, except Bull Reds.  So, I set the trolling motor on a track parallel to the rocks and we began casting our lures to fishy looking places that we passed.  We continued to catch Weakfish and Bluefish.  The Bulls Reds were elusive.  Then, we passed over an area that was slightly deeper and I could see big fish on the side scan sonar.  On my first cast into the deeper area, an upper slot Redfish ate my lure.  The Redfish bite was steady.  However, none of the Reds were Bulls.  After releasing several, we left them biting to seek out my birthday Bull Redfish.  As it turned out, I never caught one, but David released a couple of nice ones.

On the ride back to the boat landing, Elliott called to wish me a happy birthday.  I stopped the boat and put him on speaker.  David told him to come back soon because he was getting tired of carrying me.  We all had a good laugh.  It was a very happy birthday.