A group kayak fishing excursion for Monday, February 9th has been set weeks ago without any knowledge of what the weather would be that day. All weekend long the weather predictions varied from 40 - 60 % chance of rain and even called for lightning at one point. Knowing that the weather man is as often wrong as he is right, the of the NCLA we threw caution to the wind and decided to spend a few hours on the water that morning keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would hold off for at least a few hours while we were out there paddling around.
We met at the Ozello Park launch site at 8:00 a.m. Delores had fished these waters several times in the past, Nan only once before, and for Val, it was her first time fishing from a kayak all together. We scurried around getting our kayaks organized and vehicles parked and by 8:30, we were on the water. Val's first lesson was to make sure she brings her scupper plugs next time!
We met at the Ozello Park launch site at 8:00 a.m. Delores had fished these waters several times in the past, Nan only once before, and for Val, it was her first time fishing from a kayak all together. We scurried around getting our kayaks organized and vehicles parked and by 8:30, we were on the water. Val's first lesson was to make sure she brings her scupper plugs next time!
So the distant view didn't look too promising (it was 55 degrees and very cloudy - and no wind) but we decided to go ahead and get out there anyway. There have been plenty of times when the cloud cover looked a bit frightening and scared people away without cause. We were hoping today would be one of those days. Our plan was to go ahead and paddle out but stay close enough to shore so that if it did come down in buckets, we could make a fairly quick escape. But in true Florida form, the skies cleared up less than thirty minutes later. We were safe to wander at our leisure....which we did.
Val here is not new to fishing in general, but she is new to the concept of fishing from a kayak so today was her trial run to see how she would like it. We three split up and went in different directions for an hour or so, wandering here and there....getting a few nibbles....getting picked on by pinfish and blue crab....but not having any luck with reds or trout even using live shrimp. A bit frustrating but also a good lesson in patience.
Nan and Val both had an overcast and got their line caught up in some nearby mangrove branches. Hard to keep your cool in situations like that. These predicaments are time consuming and frustrating but Nan takes it all with a grain of salt. Cuts her leader and reties her circle hook on with a Palomar knot and gets back in the trenches!
By mid-day the clouds had thinned considerably and the sun was able to peek through a few breaks here and there. As the sun broke through on those rare moments we felt a surge of hope that it would bring the fish out from hiding but even if it did, we weren't able to find them. Low tide came by 1:00. It was now 70 degrees and even though the water was flat as glass, there was no movement to be seen other than the occasional dolphin and a raccoon or two crossing an oyster bar bridge to get from one mangrove island to another. Clearly it was time to pack it in for the day. The temperature began to drop again and the wind picked up suddenly so it was back to the parking lot to load up and head home.
So even though it wasn't a great day for catching fish, it was a really fun day just hanging out with one another and becoming better friends!
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