January 1, 2004 |
John, Melanie and I loaded up the boat and headed out to try our luck
in the New Year. We managed to get several dozen mullet and I also bought
a couple of pounds of shrimp. We managed to pickup a couple of nice trout
and one small Redfish in Buns Hole , and then after trying several other
spots with no luck we tied on some plastic and drifted the channels and
cuts and caught a bunch of small trout. Not a bad way to start out the
new year. photo |
| January 10, 2004 |
Hello everyone, been a cold weekend. Melanie and I started our
Saturday about 9:00am, we couldn't find any mullet so I finally gave in
and bought 3 dozen mullet from the local bait stand and headed out to try
our luck. We started off on the side of Morris, Cummins cut with no luck.
So we headed out to South bay and started catching fish right away. We
moved several times on the north side and picked up fish at each spot.
By the time we were done we had caught almost a dozen nice Redfish, kept
6 and headed home about 2:00pm. photo |
| January 25, 2004 |
Well boats broke, had to catch a ride with a buddy. Mark just bought
a new boat so I caught a ride with him and Travis. We started out rough,
a dead battery, then casted for a while with no luck, finally another angler
was coming in and offered us his leftover mullet and off we went. We tried
South Bay, LReef, Buns, Cummins Cut, and Two poles and only picked up 1
Redfish. Was a pretty day, clear water but couldn't find any fish. Still
better than a good day at work. photo |
| February 7, 2004 |
Hi everyone, I have been real busy with lots of side projects around
my place and at Melanies. We did manage to sneak out this afternoon and
had to buy mullet after casting for 30 minutes or so. We started out in
South Bay and worked our way back, but could not get a fish to bite. We
didn't even loose a bait. Was still nice to be out on the water with my
favorite fishing partner Melanie. |
| February 21, 2004 |
I left the house today about 10:30am and picked up my Dad and Niece
Lindsey. We managed to get a nice batch of mullet out of the harbor and
headed out to try our luck. We started out north of Bird Island but the
water was real shallow and we didn't get a bite. We then ran down to Buns
and anchored up around some sand pockets. We waited for almost and hour
and finally dad picked up a small red. We decided to call it a day and
began to reel in the rods. Lindsey picked up the last one to bring in and
starting saying it was stuck in the grass. I then noticed that the grass
was moving away from the boat. After a nice fight she pulls in a 28 in
Redfish and proudly begins her bragging ritual ( as she always seems to
catch the big ones) So of course we had to recast all the rods in anticipation
that they were moving in. 20 minutes later dad finally caught another nice
25 " and we called it a day. It had been windy and cold and a slow bite,
but still a great day fishing with the family. photo |
| March 6, 2004 |
Melanie and I took of about 10:00am and tried to find some mullet,
after an hour our so I finally gave in and we went to the bait stand to
get whatever we could, we picked up some tiny little live shrimp and headed
out to our little hot spot in buns. The day was beautiful but the action
was slow, we caught a nice 27" red pretty quick then released a few undersized
ones. After a couple of hours we had 4 reds, 2 trout and a sheepshead when
the bite quite. Melanie suggested we move in closer to the island, as the
water may have warmed up and they are in shallower so we did. In about
15 minutes we had a double on, a 25" and 26" to finish out our stringer.
Again Melanie catches the most fish and I am sure I will hear about this
all week. ha ha . photo |
| March 20, 2004 |
Hi guys, I took my niece out today. We bought some shrimp and left
the dock about 8:30am. After stopping off at Mullet island to cast for
some bait and getting a couple of dozen nice size mullet, we started out
down at Bunns but didn't get a bite. After trying the L reef, and south
bay we stopped off inside one of the islands in the Klondikes and picked
up a nice 26" & 27" Redfish. We called it an early day and went in
to clean our catch. photo |
| March 30, 2004 |
I just couldn't stand it today. It was such a nice day that I left
the shop early and picked up my dad and we headed out to try our luck.
We stopped as usual at Mullet island and got a few dozen mullet. We then
headed out to Bunns and setup anchor. After about 15 minutes the bite was
on. W caught fish for a couple of hours almost non stop. Twice we had a
double on, (once with both 26 inchers) and once we had a triple on. It
was quite a time. We brought home six nice reds, the smallest 23" and broke
off two, lost a couple and threw back a few smaller ones. We had left the
dock around 4:00pm and was back by 6:45pm. I cant wait for the time change
so I can do this more often. photo |
| April 3, 2004 |
Melanie and I left the dock about noon today and stopped by mullet
island to get some mullet. The tide was a little lower than it has been
so it was a little tough getting bait. Finally after many many casts I
managed to get a few dozen nice size mullet and took off to Bunns. We anchored
up at our usual spot and in 5 minutes Melanie had our first fish, a 26",
on the hook. We caught all the fish in about 2 hours then the bite just
stopped. We tried for another hour and two more spots but didn't get another
bite. Was a nice sunny day but kinda windy. photo |
| April 28, 2004 |
Today I decided to leave work early and go fishing with my buddy Gary.
We left the shop around 4:00pm , got some mullet and went to our hotspot
and anchored up. We got a few reds but the hardheads were pretty thick.
We still had a good time and got some nice reds. Gary and I always have
a good time fishing together, we spend most of our time telling great stories
and making each other laugh, and still caught a few. |
| May 8, 2004 |
Well I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to
go and grab some lunch. I loaded up the boat and ran down to the bait stand
to pickup some croakers and hit the outside beach off traylor before any
else. I was anchored by 5:30am and started catching fish. I boated 4 nice
Gafftop at the first stop. I then moved down to the mouth of trout bayou
and got 6 nice trout. I then headed over to the Bass docks to try to finish
out my limit. Before I could catch any more the weather turned bad. I had
to pull anchor fast and head for the dock, I was soaked by the time I reached
the boat ramp. Still a fun time and great lunch. Sorry no Pics, the rain
ruined my camera. I have ordered a new one and should be back to normal
soon. |
| May 15, 2004 |
After a couple of extremely rainy weekends, allot of flooding, and
storms we finally got a nice weekend to get out and catch some fish. I
met my niece Lindsey at 5:30 at the Circle K and we headed out to buy some
Croaker. Neither bait stand had any where we launch the boat so we had
to run down to Palm Harbor. We then headed out to the outside of Traylor
island but the wind had picked up out of the ENE and it was pretty rough.
We tried to fish and got 4 trout but finally had to head back in to Estes
Flats. After throwing the cast net for what seemed like forever I finally
got a couple of dozen mullet and headed out to try for some redfish. Our
favorite spot was already occupied so we tried a few spots close but no
luck. We then ran over to the Klondikes and finally got a few fish. 4 nice
redfish but it was getting late so we headed in. Still had a good time,
and got a good meal. photo |
| May 27, 2004 |
Well I left work early and snuck out again to do some afternoon fishing.
The wind is still howling but I sure am not going to go during the memorial
weekend so I figured I better get some fishing in. I met Tyler and Susan
and we headed to the ramp to try our luck at some reds. We had a lot of
trouble finding mullet again with the tides up and the wind blowing 25
mph. We finally got some and headed to our hot spot in Bunns. We dropped
anchor and got the first 4 lines out and within 5 minutes had our first
red on. That's when the anchor pulled loose and we started drifting in.
I had to start up the boat and back back to our poles while Tyler was fighting
his fish. After several failed attempts at trying to get the anchor to
stick we finally stuck the pole down and dropped the anchor over it and
let it sink around the pole. That worked and then it was just 1 after another
till we had our limit. It was really muddy and I sure didn't expect as
good a day as we had, but luck was on our side. photo
failed to tell yall about last Saturday. I tried to go, got to the boat
ramp at 5:20 and the line was halfway down the road to the ramp, I stopped
at a couple of bait stands to try to get some croakers, but they were all
sold out so I called Melanie and told her not to meet me and I headed back
home. Figured if there was that many boats I didn't want to fight the crowds
anyway. |
| June 1, 2004 |
John and I snuck out early today and met crystal and Melanie for some
evening fishing to scout out for this weekends Kid Fish Tournament. I am
taking my niece Lindsey again this year. We struggled to find mullet again
but finally managed to get some and headed down to Bunns to try our luck.
The bite was slow but steady and we managed to boat 5 nice reds, two over
27", broke one at the boat that was close to 28 and broke one off that
was just stripping drag then popped the line. We also missed a few so all
in all not a bad hour and a half of fishing. photo |
| June 3, 2004 |
It's getting close to the kid fish tourney so Mark and I took off early
and went scouting for fish. We managed to get some good mullet and headed
out to our hot spot in Bunns. We fished for an hour and picked up a 23"
Red and a 20" Trout, we then moved closer to the island and tried again
for another 45 min with no bites, we then headed out to show Mark some
of the other spots I usually try. We stopped in the Klondikes but no luck.
Atleast we made our plan of attack for the weekend. photo |
| June 5, 2004 |
Today was the TPWD Kid Fish Tournament. Melanie and I took my niece
Lindsey and went after Reds. The wind was a factor, out of the south, then
north, then east, north again and then finally out of the south. Then a
small rain shower, Thanks to Melanie bringing trash bags we didn't get
soaked. It made for a slow day. She managed to catch her limit of reds
but the biggest was only 24". Tomorrow will be another day but we have
to be in by 11:00am so we hope to get our fish early and that they are
a little bigger. Lindsey has taken 3rd a few years ago and 2nd last year
in the Redfish category so we are looking for a good showing. photo |
| June 6, 2004 |
Day 2 of the Tournament. Melanie, Lindsey and I left the dock at 6:00am
and headed out to Bunns. We tried for about an hour and then headed to
the L reef. There we picked up 4 keeper reds, 3 nice trout and 1 oversized
redfish. We made it back in by 10:30 and headed to weigh in. We then met
at the awards ceremony and found out she took 2nd place again. Was a wonderful
weekend. photo |
| July 17, 2004 |
Well Melanie and I finished our yard work early and decided to run
out and try to catch some redfish. We left the dock around 5:30pm and headed
out to find some bait. We got a big batch of mullet and headed to the L
Reef. On the way we notice a whole lot of boats stacked up on Cummins Cut
so we ran over to see. Just as we got there a boat pulled out left a spot
open. We then noticed that several boats were fighting fish so we ran over
and anchored up. We got 7 nice trout and then picked up one nice redfish.
We also released a few smaller reds and then we started getting hardheads
so we called it a night. photo |
| July 24, 2004 |
Well Dad and I decided that the gulf was going to be calm enough and
we kept hearing about all the Kingfish being caught that we had to go out
and try for ourselves. After a week of preparation, no sleep from excitement,
we finally headed out about 5:00 am to try our luck. Well Dad lost his
lucky Fin and Feather hat in the dark and we couldn't find it. But even
with this setback we headed toward the jetties with high expectations.
As we reached the tip of the jetties we realized that we might have left
just a little early as it was still pitch black. There were lights all
over the Gulf but we had no idea what was what so we just headed straight
out until the sun finally peaked out. We then headed to the whistler and
made a troll or two around it but no luck. We then spotted a shrimp boat
anchored up and headed to it. We hadn't got our lines in the water more
than 5 minutes when the first king hit. Then within 15 minutes it was all
over. We had reached our limit and didn't know what to do. After a few
minutes of discussing our options we decided to head in and try some redfishing.
We managed to find some nice mullet but no luck on the redfish. Had a wonderful
day, Love getting to fish with dad, weather was beautiful and catching
was fun. photo |
| July 25, 2004 |
I had so much fun yesterday that I called Cal and suggested that him,
John and I go offshore again today. We left the dock at 5:30am and hit
the jetties just as the sun was starting to turn the sky pink. It was a
perfect day, the water almost slick, the fish were biting and the company
was great. We got our limit and then caught and released Kings until we
ran out of bait. We stopped on the way in and took a nice swim to cool
off and then came home. Couldn't have asked for better weather if we tried.
photo |
| August 1, 2004 |
It turned out to be another nice weekend so we decided to head offshore
again. Melanie and I met my parents at Con Brown Harbor and headed out
about 5:30am. They took their boat and we took ours. We found a ship about
6 miles offshore so we headed to it to start out. We didn't have any luck
so we kept going out and looking for shrimp boats. Finally about 16 miles
out we found several shrimp boat anchored and started trolling around.
We got a couple of pilot fish first then started picking up kings. We also
hit a little school of chicken dolphin and got a couple of small ones.
We ran over to Old Yellow to try some snapper fishing but there were divers
on it so we went back to the shrimp boats and caught a few more kings.
We gave 1 to my parents and then decided to head back. We stopped and tied
off to the whistler and tried to coax a ling into biting but no luck. We
then picked up 1 more king bottom fishing at the rig. It did get a little
choppy and boy were we sore the next day. photo |
| August 8, 2004 |
Today Melanie and I took my old buddy Randy Foote and his wife Emily
out to try to catch some Reds. We left around 9:30am and stopped at mullet
island to pick up some mullet. We got a few nice ones and headed off to
our little hot spot in bunns. It was a beautiful day and the fish were
biting. It was slow but steady until we ran out of good bait. Emily caught
her first Redfish and seemed to have a good time. We managed to get 5 keeper
reds, 1 nice trout and let 6 undersized reds go. It was a great time after
not seeing Randy in over 20 years. Shows that good friendship never dies.photo |
| August 9, 2004 |
I took off from work today and took Randy, his brother Ronnie and Ronnies
son Kenney out for a day of fishing. We first ran into a good rain shower,
got soaked, ended up at Palm Harbor to dry off. then headed out to Lindseys
hole. We broke off several in the shell and got a keeper and a couple of
rats before we ran out of bait. So we headed out to get some more bait
and try another spot. After casting for some mullet we headed to the west
end of California hole and got a couple more keepers and a few more small
ones. We then went to our spot in bunns and got a nice trout and then the
hardheads started biting so we called it a day. Had a great time hope yall
come back soon. photo |
| August 14, 2004 |
Hi guys, well Melanie and I went out in the afternoon and fished several
of our favorite spots but caught no keepers still fun. |
| August 21, 2004 |
Today was scrap booking class for Melanie so my dad and I took my niece
Lindsey out and fished all over but only caught 1 keeper redfish. We tried
everywhere from bunns, klondikes, L reef, southbay, cummins cut and north
of bird island with no luck. |
| August 29, 2004 |
Aaron and I ran out to spend the day throwing lures. We fished half
the day and picked up several small reds and small trout but no real good
ones. Still a fun day. |
| September 4/6, 2004 |
Well my buddy Ronnie and his son came into town and we fished both
saturday and monday. Saturday was a real slow with several wind changes
and some rain. We caught a couple of small ones. Then Monday Ronnie, Kenny,
John, and I headed out, got some mullet and tried a few spots. It was slow
but we finally found some fish on the east shoreline across from the Fin
& Feather. We got 3 nice reds then John landed a nice 29" and started
talking noise. It was fun until I hooded up something that I couldn't hardly
budge. After 15 minutes or so I finally go the horse in the boat. 36" on
10 pound test is really fun. That's my biggest on light tackle. Turned
out to be fun day, but I hope to get Ronnie and Kenny on some good fish
next time. photo |
| September 18, 2004 |
Cal, John Manual, and I left the dock about 5:45am and headed to Blind
Pass to get some bait. We got a nice batch of mullet and headed to the
back side of Mud Island. The tide is so high from Hurricane Ivan so we
had to go way up inshore to the islands to find water under 3 ft. W picked
up several small reds and a couple of trout plus the 1 keeper redfish.
We decided the grass would be greener somewhere else so we tried several
spots and ended up back at the east shoreline again and Cal got the big
trout. After getting some more bait we tried the Con Brown flats, L Reef,
Klondikes, and Bunns Hole with no luck. We called it a day and headed home
to cook what we caught. photo |
| September 26, 2004 |
Mark and I launched his boat at about 9:15am and ran over to
the ranch house on San Jose island. We cut back by blind pass and tried
to get bait but the tide was so high it took us forever to get 3 dozen
or so. We then fished the backside of mud island for an hour with no luck
and then had to headed back to the dock to pick up his wife, her sister,
and son. We then ran over to Lindseys hole, a shallow flat with lots of
reefs. We got 1 keeper red 23", a couple of undersized, and an undersized
trout, broke off 4 or so and then ran out of bait. I had to to be back
by 3:30 to get ready for a family birthday party so I ran to mullet island
around palm harbor and spent the next hour or so getting bait so they could
go back and fish after dropping me off. It was nice to go out and not have
to clean the boat. At least I got fresh fish for dinner tomorrow. photo |
| October 3, 2004 |
Mark and I decided to give it a try again even though the wind and
temp had changed drastically overnight.We got bait and fished until 12:30
with nothing. We picked up his son Mathew and went back out and fished
for quite a while but still no luck. Was still fun and better than sitting
at home. |
| October 16, 2004 |
A good and bad day today. I invited my niece Lindsey out to catch some
redfish. It started out with the truck not starting so I had to call my
ex girlfriend to borrow jumper cables. My sister ran over to get them for
me. We jumped the truck and headed out to launch the boat. We ran over
to the Ranch house and got bait, stopped behind Mud island and picked up
two nice reds in the first 30 min. We then ran all over and started throwing
lures drifting north of Bird Island. We caught 4 undersized reds, and 6
undersized trout and we ended up with 4 keeper reds and a nice trout. It
was fun, I took a few pictures of Lindsey while she tossed lures. When
we got in I stopped by the house to take pictures and clean the fish. I
pulled out my camera and something had shorted out, it was so hot it melted
around one battery and we couldn't even get it out. I just bought it 4
months ago for $400.00. I hope it will be covered under warranty. So I
walked into the house to call my sister and have her bring her camera over
and I had forgot to turn the A/C back on in the morning. It was 96 degrees
inside. We finally got picture and cleaned the fish, even with all that
went wrong it was a good day. photo |
| October 17, 2004 |
My buddy Kyle came by this morning and invited me to go shark fishing.
We loaded up the offshore equipment and headed out to find some mullet
to use for bait. We got 8 big ones and ran out to super flats and started
drifting with the big mullet rigged on Kingfish rigs and their tails cut
off to create a blood trail. We hooked up a huge one but it broke off.
(40lb test) shortly after that the reel was singing and we had a 4ft Bull
shark hooked up. It was great. We landed him and a 3.5 ft bull , and had
5 other hookups but lost them. We also threw out the small rods with cut
perch and picked up 4 Gafftop while we waited for the sharks to bite. It
was awesome we ended up with 6 / 1 gallon bags of meat. photo |
| October 23, 2004 |
Well we had so much fun last weekend we had to go out and try to the
sharks again. My dad and niece Lindsey came with me today. It took us an
hour and a half to get 3 decent mullet and some perch and smaller mullet
to gafftop fish while we drifted. We caught 4 nice gafftop, a small blacktip
shark about 24" and a big skipjack. We had a couple of hits on the big
rods but no takers. Still was fun, always a good trip when you get to go
with family. photo. |
| October 24, 2004 |
Dad, Lindsey and I decided to try for some redfish today. We got out
a little late and took awhile to get some bait so we only had a couple
of hours to fish before the Nascar race started. We tried down at Bunns
with no luck and so we stopped on the way in at the pipeline and picked
up 3 reds, 1 was an inch too small and the other two were 22" and 25".
I was a nice day and as usual allot of fun. photo |
| November 20, 2004 |
Dad and I headed out about 8:00am We bought a quart of shrimp and a
couple of dozen mullet. We started out just north of Lindseys hole,
broke off 1 and caught a couple small ones. We then headed over to bunns
but didn't get a bite there. Off to South Bay we went but only caught a
couple of tiny trout. I thought the tide was falling so we headed to one
of dads spots but it wasn't moving when we got there. Cal called and said
he had a few north of Bird so we headed over there, but still didn't get
anything. We then made a couple of drifts throwing shrimp and a popping
cork to get 2 Trout and a Red. photo |
| November 26, 2004 |
John and I took off work today and went fishing. We got out and picked
up some mullet in the channel and ran north of Bird and just happened to
get to the spot and the sun peaked out so we got anchored up quick while
we could see the sand pockets. I casted my first line about 10:25am . We
caught 11 Reds by 12:30, 5 were keepers and 5 were just under 20, 1 was
about 6" long. We then ran in to Palm harbor Marina to grab lunch with
Crystal and Missy, then headed back to the same spot and fished till 2:30,
but didn't catch another. photo |
| November 27, 2004 |
Dad took Lindsey and I out to fish in his boat today. We picked up
some mullet in the channel again and headed out to try out luck, the wind
had changed from south to north overnight and was pretty gusty. The water
was real dirty. We headed first to the same spot as yesterday, north of
Bird and didn't get a bite, we then tried Bunns with no luck then stopped
behind one of the Klondike islands and picked up a 24" and 28" Red, and
a keeper Flounder then it just stopped, so we headed by Lindseys Hole and
tried some sand pockets there but didn't get another fish. Still was a
fun day. photo |
| December 11, 2004 |
Dad and I headed out to catch some dinner in his boat today. We bought
some shrimp and castnetted some mullet in the channel and headed out to
south bay. On the way we stopped in cummins cut but no luck there. We tried
a couple of spots in south bay and no luck. We then headed north of bird
and found a trout and red in the potholes. We tried drifting with shrimp
and popping cork and then called it a day. photo |
| December 18, 2004 |
I worked on the boat this morning and then picked up Dad after lunch.
We bought some shrimp and a couple dozen mud minnows and headed out to
bunns. Didn't get a bite so we ran to the rocks in the channel and picked
up 4 nice trout and a few small reds. Then the wind changed and the bite
stopped. We took off and stopped in the klondikes, picked up 1 red
and lost 1, then nothing for 30min. We decided to try one more spot and
headed north of bird. We got another nice red, and 2 nineteen inchers,
then I got the big one. It was a great day and a blast fishing with Dad.
photo |
