Combat fishing in the rain........
The Plan - was to catch over-slot Reds using only topwater plugs .......
The Place - a little piece of sand surrounded by water ........
The Players - Capt. John, Capt. Junior & the Boy Scout - me, because I was prepared with the only pair of pliers -
( Why do we call it a pair if it's only one ???? ) ......
Now everyone has heard the myth " Fish bite better in the rain... "
But this was an all day rain, more like torrential downpours with a little lightning in the distance for effect.
If this was a baseball game it would have been called, but these two came to play.
I on the other hand, am having second thoughts - or maybe it's my wife's voice, questioning my sanity ?
( " 4 pm & your going fishing in the rain ! Why ??? " )
We leave the dock with the rain pounding us & we are three men determined to complete our quest.
I am feeling the pressure of putting two highly qualified guides on topwater Reds.
After anchoring, we start our long walk thru the rain,
discussing tactics, hearing tips & sharing insults, we arrive at base camp.
Our base camp consist of a 5 gal bucket for tackle, 3 bottles of water & 2 extra rods - all on high dry ground.
So we thought ........
The rain is starting to slow down & optimism is looking up.
We have to still cross the flats with the current running out, next to a deep channel to get to The Spot.
The channel that had produced over slot Reds on topwater, on every cast, earlier in the week.
Shows no love, no bait & no fish, so we head to The Spot ........
When we finally arrive at The Spot,
It's little more then 2 sand bars surrounded by water, loaded with fish in less then 2 feet of water -
Combat Fishing at it's best !
We decide to split up on the inner bar -
Capt. John goes right, Capt. Junior goes left & I stay in the middle ( because I have the pliers ) .......
Look over to see Capt. John jump about 3 feet straight up & turn white, when he spots a 5 foot Blacktip swimming near him ......
Did I forget to mention the 3 resident Sharks that have been cruising the same water we will be knee deep in to Capt. John ????
Capt. John is the first to hook up, rod bent, reel screaming & he fighting a 4# Blue -
that's acting like a Tarpon, leaping & head shaking all the way in ........
Meanwhile Capt. Junior moves out to the second bar & is fighting a mystery fish on topwater,
that turns out to be about a 32" Red - that is lost at his feet ...........
Both Captains are catching Blues on every cast & losing a few topwater plugs to bites off, until the switch to a wire trace & heavier leaders.
The Boy Scout finally hooks ups - after being smoked by these two .........
The rain is slowing down, while the bite is heating up -
Then the start of an explosive Bluefish blitz, a rod's length away - busting bait, hungry Blues & crazed Blacktips running thru the blitz ........
We are catching 3 & 4 # Blues on every cast. Fighting to keep them away from the Sharks.
And then it happens, Capt. Junior lobs out his favorite topwater Zara Spook & a Blacktip crushes it ........
He's got about a 75# Blacktip screaming PowerPro off his small reel,
pushing explosive wakes with frenzied tail slaps, while zigzagging parallel to us .
Now, Capt. Junior is doing a great job staying with this Shark, until we tail whips the line - game over..........
We could have stayed out there & waited for the Reds to start biting .........
But a little miscalculation with the effects a rising tide would have on our base camp -
forced us to leave them biting & run to prevent any more lost of tackle ........
When we gather up what's was left & made our way back to the boat, that seemed like it was anchored in another zip code -
The rain had stopped & we were feeling rewarded for going the distance ..........
Many thanks to Capt. John & Capt. Junior for going combat fishing in the rain .......... ICM
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