PAGE 6C, OCTOBER 25-26, 2006 NORTH FLORIDA FOCUS Fall fishing is fast, furious and FUN! By: Capt. Brian Smith, "Me, my brother, Curtis and but... I've seen Bonita and Big Bend Charters son, Evan are coming down Spanish mackerel crashing the for your next available day bait pods on the ride home The Joy of Fishing: Revisited during the week!" over the past couple of weeks. Last month I wrote about "Charles, I've got to be hon- How about doing some light the slump in the grouper fish- est, the fishing ain't that tackle?" ery and some alternatives to good." They were all for it. They making a better day offshore "I don't care if we don't asked what to rig up with. I fishing. catch a fish, we're coming told them small flashy jigs or Well, now I'm happy to re- down." silver spoons with a one foot port, the grouper fishing has "The grouper bite hasn't section of No. 1 wire as a vastly improved. I've had the been..." leader against the mackerel best grouper fishing of 2006 "I'd be just as happy catch- teeth. They rigged enroute and occur since the beginning of ing grunts or anything, don't w e r e October. It is difficult to ex- worry about the grouper, let's r ea d , press how happy it makes me. just go have some fun." on jr- , Over the past couple of weeks "I think I can do that." I r '. al. we have been bringing back a mustered, wondering if I T h e dozen or so keeper grouper could shake off the funk and first per trip. Both red and gag actually have fun. grouper are being taken on Charles loves the outdoor s. live pinfish and cut bait.-Pin- Fishing and hunting are mete- fish has been the most consis- ly excuses to be outdoors I tent bait. We are also bringing believe the man could stand in some king fish and cobia. on the curb of a flooded park- ... Huge pink mouth grunts ing lot after a storm and cast a (Florida snapper) are being Pop R to parallel yellow added in to make a good look- stripers and walk away ing box of fish. If you haven't thinking after the next had a plate of fresh fried pink storm those yellow mouth grunt lately, do your- stripers might just bite. self a favor and take an hour He isn't that crazy but af- out of your offshore day to ter approximately 50 catch a mess of them over any years of fishing, he has .. hard bottom area. They are de- come.to appreciate every licious. aspect of fishing not just Fishing can be hot one day the catching part. and cold the next but when His brother, Curtis, is fishing is sub par for a long likewise a fishing enthu- period it can be depressing; siast who would attempt especially, if you happen to to pull a red fish out of an fish for a living, oyster bar choked creek us- For a while even pink ing sewing thread.for fish- mouth grunts weren't overly ing line just to see the strike cooperative. I was feeling like and have that brief moment Forrest Gump pre-hurricane. I ..with the fish. was working harder-than ever Evan, the teenage son. to bring in what fish I had to doesn't stand a chance of the dock. We did the altema- normal development. He'll be . tives I wrote about. Some- a product of his environment: times the .techniques worked maybe an American Steve Ir- . out as planned. Most of the win of the fishing world. time I'd find myself telling The three came down with a pods of glass folks what had happened in truck bed full of fishing sticks minnows we fished were get- the past when I did the same of various sizes and a couple ting tore through by a small trick and that same spot. Peo- of tackle boxes of dreams to horde of Spanish mackerel. ple were smiling at the end of come. ., .,, ..,, ..The mackerel % ere selectively the day but I felt-their disap- We set out just wantingg -feeding. In other \"ords,' iitf pointment be ihd the'smile. I' enough fish for dirher that wasn't t a glass minno4, thK\' was far from happy with the night. I planned a 'Pat Mc- didn't want it. We spent an outcome myself. Thankfully, Griff grouper trip in 45 feet of hour bouncing from one pod most of,the people had fished .water with squid but lots of to the next fruitlessly. Then. with me during better times. A live bait on the side and full the Bonita came in. You can couple of times I overheard, tank of gas (always). I had tell the difference. Fish were "If he would have taken us to caught'a few nice fish in the not just zipping in and out 6f water at this depth and fished area the week before. The the minnows occasionally tak- with that bait, we'd have grouper gig didn't pan out. Af- ing flight. The water frothed caught fish." ter the third no hit .wonder like beating egg whites for a They didn't realize 'I had .hole, Charles switched to a long .time. Fish bounced off been there and done that earli- grunt outfit and proceeded to. one another in chase. A blind er and it turned out to be a entice the rest of us to put to- man could find the schools by wasted. time. My lack luster gether a couple of five buckets hearing the splashing fish and catches weren't due to lack of of those delightfully delicious the screeching of gulls. Any- effort or wanting to save mon- prides-of-Steinhatchee and thing tossed into the froth of ey on gas or not trying here, beyond. fish didn't make it out. ,, there and everywhere \%ith this Dinner was taken caie of We were using 10 pound bait and the other. It was what and it was fun doing it. On test, except for Curtis the four . it was. I Was having trouble light tackle, a big grunt. puts pound test pilot. When we'd like everybody else. But it up a quality fight. After we get a'Bonita on, lhich was hurt because I caie. met the grunt dinner quota, I seconds after the lure hit the Charles Lowe 'called me. said "I know this sounds crazy water, the drag would scream I4' r,'''',4'74"," '" : ,--Licensed Real Estate 'Broker :'3S.E. U.S. Hwy .27 -fl Toll Free 800-426-8369 ,P.O..Box 94" J J Office 386-935-0824 Brapfard, FL 32008 Fax 386-935-3539 I y)fu re looking for a vacation tilled w'uh fishlug opportuntis on iic6 Gulf, or lut, rehlaing and enjoying the beautiful .i.sets and peacefidul atmospliere tli little twn ofSteiliatchlee has to offer, then look no more Call us today to make ". *otrres'ervatron Or ero'e of our 2 Condo re'tl I. Boil have 2BR.'2B., ad are fidull equipped with (terh'ilng you will ie'ed. Out other vacation or get-a-way rentals are near tiie town or Branford. tt'e hlave 2 on ithe Icheucknee River andu one on the'Suwanhee River You mav .'itsi our website in'wn lanidbrokeragere'altlor cor) or more pictures and ,: ." ." infornmatiion Lat us help' iou enjoy rorr siayow'y from hIomei Stelnhatchee Place Resort letuc uwannee River .'lhis 3 bedroom,'3 both house offers the most modem conveniences on ; the'.Suwannee Riv'er and js great for all types of boating, swimming, "' fishing and 'other actvities. This house overlooks the Suwannee River and is lbcated at Suwannee River Mile 71 min Hatchbend, FL This,peaceful country seningis perfect for weekend getaway., S' vacations, or tfamil', reunions. Line would burn off the reels at a rate and duration you'd swear something would give way or melt down. It took at least 15 minutes to bring the six to 10 pound fish to the boat. For Curtis, it sometimes took 20 minutes or more. Mul- tiple hooks were the norm sometimes requiring us to do the docy-doe dance to keep the lines straight. It was an ex- hausting pandemonium. Our forearms throbbed after se\- eral hook-ups. |et at the next chance, te would d do it all over again. I was going to turn us around back to the fish after Curtis landed his forever- fought Bonita. "Hey, ya'll look at that!" I said before starting the motors. There was a wall of feeding Bonita, at least a ;quarter mile long, coming at us sounding like a train. "Let's go get us some of that" said Curtis. And we did. Charles, some how, caught a huge blue runner amongst the Bonita. I took it and free lined, it off the'leeward side using a 4/0 grouper out fit as a what, the heck bait. I'put the clicker on. In less than three minutes the clicker buzzed. I grabbed the double over pole just as a six foot shark came complete- ly out of the wvater marlin style. The line was cut instant- ly. - -"Did you see that'?" I asked Charles; Judging by Charles face and him trimming up a whole lady' fish bait, he was well aware of what just happened and in- tended to catch it. Evan and Curtis were both battling Bonita and loving every moment. I joined in the fun. It is amazing how far and how fast the fish would run with our baits. We would fight them back in only for it to happen again, again and again until it became ridiculous. When I fi- nally got my fish in I took a break. I a as ha% ing fun fishing...real fun I liked catching some fish. and I en- J.Ioed watchingg Crnts artfully deal with a rambunctious fish on the se%% ing thread he called fishing line. I also enjoyed watching young E.an get caught up in the fever. Charles impressed me know ing he had caught all kindsand sizes of fish in his S life time. yet could fully enio\ himself fishing for, as he put it. "anything." The only pressure I had w\as in my left forearm gi\en to me ,'from a fish most people cared little or nothing about. Charles as hold- ing his grouper pole intently. "What's going on?" I asked. "I've been getting a bite" he replied. "I beer check my bait" 6 he said. We could see the tat-. tered lady fish coming. up through the %water. As it neared the surface an eight-foot hammer, head shark came after it. It boiled' away a foot or little more from the boat. It was so close, I stepped back. "What was it. what was it?"" Curtis questioned, while fight-; ing Boita niumber umpteen. Charles and I were explaining as Charles let the bait back .down, and I was hurriedly twisting a wire leader out of. No. 9 wire and cutting a Boni- ta in half. I literally tossed the bait in the water by hand. I was hoping ... Charles said, "He's after it,'! referring to his bait. In a second, he. struck. The thick grouper pole arched under the strain and line peeled off a firm drag. "Evarn! Put on a fighting belt and come here son," Charles de- manded. . I reeled in my gear, took the bait off and stowed it away, neat. Evan is thin compared to the rest of us, shall we say plus sized gentlemen. The transfer of the pole came with a jerk- ing and pulling action. "Keep him in the boat!" Charles was right there be- sides his son. I cleared the clutter from the front of the boat. Curtis was wrapped up in the final minutes of his Bonita number umpteen and one. The shark may pull Evan' all the way around the boat in, the mean time. When Curtis got his fish in, I turned the motors on to. keep the fight off the stem quarters. Evan would pump and grind to gain a few yards of line only to have more line pull off to his chagrin. Curtis took over the coach- ing for his nephew. His advice was on track and helpful to Evan, who was under duress. It was after seven in the evening. The sun was falling out of the sky. The backdrop was beautiful but darkness was soon be upon us. I called into any radio in Steinhatchee. "Mule Kicker". responded. I told him the situation and asked if he could call my wife to let her know we were fine but would more than likely be in after dark. He was happy to make the call for me. I was happy he was there. Evan was holding up well after the first 15 minutes, but he was under a constant heavy load. Another 10 minutes passed. The shark cruised just under the surface from starboard to port. It was as if he was check- ing out what he was fighting. The shark dove, taking line at will. The rod shuttered up and down violently in the next minute. Evan stumbled back- wards. The taunt line had part- ed. Without a steel leader the fight lasted longer than we all expected. Evan had fought his largest shark and fought it ever very well. .It was a 20 minute ride' to "the first channel marker. We re-lived the fight pla3 by play. We were in the triVf0durifii the last glimmer o0' light. We finished cleaning fish around 9 p.m. It was decided the fish fry was best suited for the next Seeing. I came in the house. "How was your day?".' my wife, Gina, asked. "I found what I didn't know I was looking for, the joy of fishing" I said. Thanks for taking your time to read this: Take care of your- self and your tackle. Captain B The contentment which fills the mind of the angler at the close of his day's sport is one of the chiefest charms of his life. William Cowper Prime (1873) For rates and information about Steinhatchee Overview, please contact Louise Sheddan, ext.141 at the Suwannee, Democrat 386-362-1734 or 800-525-4182 Carpet Wood Laminate *Ceramic ,..Tile ,* Vinyl Sales & Installation Carpet . Flooring 352-498-7400 352-498-7398 fax 352-665-8788 mobile 1502 1st Ave. SE PO Box 323 Steinhatchee, FL 32359307469-F A I