A break from the yak, with two dads and their boys

 

  Before the storms rolled in this week, I received a phone call from an old buddy, David Caserta, that I usually only hear from during hunting season, asking if I would mind going fishing with him and Joey on their boat.
Being I haven't seen David since before his son was born, and I haven't seen Joey in almost a decade, I was quick to jump at the opportunity to reminisce about the old times.  The opportunity to out fish David in front of an audience was a big kicker for me too, since he only calls once or twice a year to rub in the monster buck he just shot.
I made a few calls and got some first hand guidance from Rory Rorison of United Charters and Rory shared some areas that would go along nicely with my plan for staying in and around the marsh close to Shell Beach.  With a plan in hand, I called Joey to talk about what I was thinking and Joey was real quick to say, "if we catch more than 5 fish, we are breaking a record on my boat." I laughed and asked if he was serious, the line went silent, apparently when the call for a fishing trip came, it was more like a call for help.
I met David and Joey and their two boys, Sam and Scott, the next morning bright and early.  The boys were excited, they asked questions all the way to the launch, where are we fishing, are we gonna catch some reds, how many fish are we gonna catch, what kind of baits are we using, how long a boat ride is it, and the questions kept coming and coming.
As we reached Campo's we filled the bait well with some live shrimp for the crew and I was rigged with my normal Vortex Shad and Skitterwalks.
Within minutes of getting the 21' Blazer Bay on plane, I had Joey pull back on the throttle and shut the engine down.  I dropped the trolling motor and trolled for about 10 minutes to the hole.  As we pulled up I laid my lure right where I wanted it and before it hit bottom, trout on.  As I pulled the trout over the bow, the two boys were giddy with excitement, and before they could get their shrimp in the water, I had two more trout laying on the bottom of the boat.  And that's all I needed see, it was kid focused from here on out.  We put the anchor down, and Sam came up and stood right next to me and with almost every fish I hooked, he reeled in and slung em in the boat, and when he wasn't reeling my line in, he was reeling in his own with a trout or sheepshead on the other end.  Sam was the Sheepshead king of the day, with I think three hooked and three landed.

Scott on the other hand was in the rear of the boat and he and Joey were bringing in trout after trout.  About every 3 fish were too small, so we would TAG and release them back to water.
As the tide finally came to an end, the trout bite stopped and the mullet began to surface.  After about 10 minutes of no action, no wind, and no tide, I pulled out the skitterwalk.  I told Sam and Scott to watch, and if I got a strike, it would be a good one and it would be where they could see it.  As I cast the lure out, the boys were watching like hawks, and after about 5 feet of working the topwater, it exploded out of the water.  Joey and David focused in on the lure now, and I kept working it in another 5 feet, the trout came up swam sideways around it and blew up on it again, but missed.  I crippled the lure another 15 feet or so and she came up again and missed it, there was an awww and a "did you see that" with every blow up.
 Finally the lure was within 8 feet of the boat and I was working it up to the bow, when she came up and engulfed the lure, it was one the most memorable topwater moments I have ever experienced. Right in front of the two young anglers, this trout demolished the trout colored skitterwalk, I quickly worked her around the bow, grabbed the net and put her in the boat. Her tail was beat up from spawning, her color was dull, but she was full of energy, although her site must have been hindered, because she was sure off target when attacking the top water lure.  She wasn't my biggest trout by far,  coming in just under 4 lbs, but she will be my most memorable, and I am confident the boys will have those topwater explosions arising in their dreams at some point in the future.
It was a great day on the water, with overcast skies 99% of the day, a slow tide ending around 9:30 a.m., great friends,  and a lot of fish in the boat.  We closed out the morning before 10a.m. with over 100 fish landed and somewhere around 50 keepers.  The boys said it was hands down the best day fishing they have ever had and couldn't wait to go again.  I am no guide by any means, and I am sure not a professional, but leading this crew and seeing those smiles, and feeling their excitement, sure makes me wonder why I don't do this for a living.

Until next time.....

Stay Safe and Catch1