Crystal River Mini Slam

8.13.11

Tide: outgoing

Doug and I went out in the back of King's Bay this morning.

I came down to wish him happy birthday and we were looking for a reason to smoke the cigars I gave him for his bday, so we decided to go fishing and use them as insect repellant.

He said the jacks had been back there, and he was right as he immediately sacrificed a chrome chug bug to a big jack that thought it was a fleeing mullet.

We eased around his favorite corner and I had a bass hit my toxic mullet badonkadonk and promptly pulled loose.

As we headed towards some culvert pipes I threw a nice cast down the edge of the seawall and had this good jack try to take my (Doug's) rod away.  It didn't work.  We got him in the boat for the first half of the saltwater mini slam.

We continued easing our way around the multiple cuts and coves in the back of the bay.  As the sun got higher and the tide got lower the topwater bite was diminishing  

Doug managed to land this nice bass for the other end of the freshwater mini slam.  

I can't remember what he was using, but it must have been something he can soak for a while, cause  he get pretty quick on the trigger on anything he can see bite.

We called it a day as the flotilla of boats headed out for a day of fun.

And, the Nan still runs also

8.11.11

Tide: low to High

Water Temp: 88 deg.

Got the little tin boat out, the Nan, to go for a cruise and try and catch a fish on the new, old penn 650 ss I purchased recently.

We started out at the oyster bars at the OR mouth.

I finally hooked up with two reds, but both came unbuttoned before getting to the boat.  They were on the last bar on the incoming tide.  I couldn't turn one of them, so I think he was a good'un.

We hit the flat between the sticks and caught some pinneys to go try and catch a tarpon or a shark down at Mud Cove.

We headed down there about 9:30.

No bait was balled up, so we continued all the way down to the jetties at the tip of Alligator Point.  All we got for the travel was two ladyfish and a good sweat.

We came back up to Mud Cove and decided just to drift in the incoming tide with what live pinfish we had left.

We saw some nice tarpon still in the area, but it looked like the bait was working more offshore by the looks of the pelican activity.

I didn't want to got out there due to the rougher conditions than my back can handle in the flat bottom tin boat.

Finally, I hooked up  on a sail cat to break in my new, old reel and rod.

I took liberty to stylize the picture, because you can't make a catfish look pretty.

We headed to the hill after this one.  It's amazing how well your boat runs after you figure out your gas filter was a couple of turns loose.