# Ponce Inlet report (12/9/07): RED LETTER DAY



## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

well last week short of a few a jacks, snapper blues, and seas robbbins this was the best we could come up with. A nice 5lb slab caught in the tradional sheepie way. Rod in holder, fisherman halfway across the boat grabbing a beer. To this day I can't figure out how that bait stealer managed to hook itself. She has managed two big sheepshead this way.









So this Sunday we decide we'll hit the jetty again and try for the drum I missed and the sheepshead that are stacking up there. I got up at 3:30 AM to net bait and had 65 mullet and 6 mud minnows at their place in the livewell by 5:45 AM. It was more bait than we've ever come close to using, but hey, I'm greedy and like a boy scout, I like to be prepared.

We hit the jetty by 7:30 AM and were anchored by 8 AM (couldn't find a rock to snag to save our life) and fishing. Some guys next to us were chumming up the sheepies with barnacles and fishing fiddlers with success. One guy in the boat managed 9 himself over the 2 hrs we were anchored. His other buddies boated another 5-6. The FIL weighted up his rig more and tossed it near their chum slick and robbed this huge slab of a sheepie. It was a good 7lbs and nearly as wide as our ice box!








We pulled anchor and went to a creek that last week I had lost two drum and a flounder near the oyster bars. I preceeded to lose another drum and flounder there as well. One fish hit a mud minnow so hard it tore free from the hook even though the baitrunner was in free spool with minumum resistance. The other bait, mullet, was taken for a ride before the leader snagged the oysters and pulled the bait free from the fish's mouth. That mullet had the tell-tale criss-cross lacerations of a doormat flounder.

After a good 1.5hrs the MIL managed to negotiate a lunch stop at Down the Hatch. We agreed for a short stop to replenish spirits with beer and burgers but, one beer led to another and we ended up 3 beers down, buzzed, well fed, and minutes from dead low tide. We swore when we saw the time and tide and chugged the boat out to our favorite channel and disappearing island. We went over so fast I lost my hair tie overboard, so you may notiuce a Jesus-like figure in the pictures. No Jehova witnesses, it aint the rapture, just the "capn" fishing away.

It was 1 hr away from dead low tide and we felt pretty pessemistic about our prospects. After a good 45 minutes I managed one tiny, I mean tiny, flounder on a finger mullet. He was only 50% bigger than the 4" mullet he ate. He self released as I fiddled with the hook and my skunk was washed from the boat.

We pulled anchor and moved down the channel closer to the river and set up in the middle of the channel so we could fish the oyster bar and drop off on one side and the pothole bearing sand flats on the opposite. The FIL cast out for the drop off and before he could even reel in the slack the fish had done it for him.








We were unsure of what the fish was, but the head shakes and huge boil on a flat let us know it was large. We quickly reeled in the other lines since this fish was in control on his light tackle. After a while we finally had color; just what we were here for, red drum. He brought the fish boatside and I netted the fish.
























This fish was barely in slot (26 7/8") and fat. It was also a testament to the strength of these fish. Inside the fish's gill plate was a Cotee wild eyes 1/4 oz jig head embedded in its gills. 








The area was scarred over and apparently had not killed the fish. Gives you something to think about next time you gill hook a fish. Snip the line, revive him well and someone else can boat him later. However, we were hungry so this monster joined the sheepie in the box.

We quickly got our lines out and it was surreal. As soon as your bait touched bottom your lines was peeling off and you had to set the drag and begin the fight. If it wasn't a nice drum, it was baby gag groupers, juvie 12-14" gag groupers and 20" blues. Our bent rods had attracted attention and two boats set up on either side off us and managed to hook 7 drum and land 4 between them. We lost more drum than we could number and lost count of the grouper and blues.

The MIL managed 3 drum in rapid succession, no more than 15 minutes between first fight and last boated. There was a 27 3/4" overslot, a 14" rat, and a nice 21.5" slot that joined his buddy in the box.
















27 3/4" overslot








14" rat








21.5" slot heading for the box

The bite was so strong we had many double and triple hook ups that required some serious finesse to boat a few of the fish in quick succession. One example was the FIL and MIL both on drum managing to boat both and keep the lines untangled. One such double header resulted in the MIL's third under slot drum and the FIL's 26" drum that finished out our bag of drum.








redfish doubleheader









From here on out we caught and released our drum and tore the place apart. Both sides of the channel were productive, but hook ups were better on the oyster bar bearing drop offs. We were quickly going through all our mullet and mud minnows. We started grabbing mangled baits and throwing them in a bucket to use as dead bait when live mullet ran out. We started tossing sailor's choice we caught on mullet strip jigs into the ice box for later use. We kept hooking up on drum and other fish and were getting wore out. The MIL snagged her 4th of the day and in the background you can see a little 7 year old girl in the front of a boat fighting a huge over slot drum. 









That girl probably weighed as much as the heaver she was using, but managed an over, under, and in slot drum. And to prove how tough she was she was heaving it herself with half a sailor's choice as bait. She cast it for distance that put me and many of you heaver-lovers to shame.:redface: That little girl was so hard core she must be made of rusty nails, piss and vinegar. She was in heaven and it was great to see her have so much fun.

Finally it was my turn to land something other than blues and grouper and managed 3 drum in quick order before heading back into more lost drum and a blue frenzy.








24.5" slot








24" slot








17 3/4" under slot

Even if my luck was turning the MIL and FIL still had it in them. It was now heading into sunset and our buzz and bait was running low. We had long ago run out of live bait and were using strip on a carolina rig to bounce along the bottom. It was getting engulfed every cast. The FIL managed a 23 1/4" drum on my rod after he claimed he was done fishing. I went to the front to fight another drum (lost it) and my line off the oyster bar starts tearing across the channel. He grabs it with much regret rolleyes and fought the fish in.








The MIL finished off our last peice of strip from a sailor's choice (we had long since used their heads for bait with success) and landed this 17" underlsot. With absolutely no bait left and darkness no more than 30 minutes away we chugged back to the dock and headed back for Mims.









Once at their place (~7 PM) I began the long task of filleting some very large fish while the FIL finished cleaning out a slimey fish box and well used live well. Here's the catch lined up with my apprentice fillet-master's paw in the corner. That's the in-laws' white german sheppard, Lady, who loves fish as much as we do. 








So while I fillet I always give her her favorite organs (liver, gonads, and heart). This dog also lives on a diet I would kill for: all the best sashimi I can carve off the carcass after I have taken the fillet. Needless to say she shadows me anytime the boat comes back home.

So the day was pretty productive with more grouper and blues than we could count, along with a slab sheepshead, 10 drum, and a great sunny warm day. Next week we plan to hit the jetty for high tide headhunting and try low tide in the channel again to see if it will stack up the reds.
Tight lines fellas :fishing:


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## LiteTackleChamp (Jul 29, 2005)

sweet i had a good day like that this weekend to


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Your day Sunday sounds as good as my day Saturday!! No wonder the fish weren't around Sunglow Pier come Sunday, they were all down at the inlet apparently =)


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