Three of the Nature Coast Lady Anglers made plans to meet at John's Fishcreek Camp in Ozello, Florida. Two of the three were eager to launch their new fishing kayaks and spend the day fishing & getting comfortable in their new yaks. The morning started off great. Delores made plans to swing by Moore Bait & Tackle on Ft. Island Trail and pick up a bucket of live shrimp for the whole group to share. Dave and Lauren Moore, the owners, had given all of the members a special discout card that entitled them to 50% off of live shrimp. So a bucket of 100 shrimp that normally would cost $30.00 would end up costing a Nature Coast Lady Angler club member only $15.00. That's a really great member benefit! The only thing the bait shop was out of was bags of ice for the ice-chest, the one that was supposed to hold the piles of trout and redfish they were planning on hauling in that day. Another unplanned stop would have to be made for that.
As Delores was leaving the Shell gas station with a ten pound bag of ice, she ran into Mike, the designated safety escort for the NCLA group, heading inside. Mike had never fished Fish Creek before so he was a bit unsure of its location and so he followed Delores there. The timing was perfect.
As Delores was leaving the Shell gas station with a ten pound bag of ice, she ran into Mike, the designated safety escort for the NCLA group, heading inside. Mike had never fished Fish Creek before so he was a bit unsure of its location and so he followed Delores there. The timing was perfect.
Delores and Mike both arrived at John's Fishcreek Camp at the same time. They threw their $5.00 parking donation in the mailbox, backed up to the ramp and proceded to unload kayaks and fishing gear while they waited for Dot to arrive.
They were lucky enough to have made plans on such a beautiful Spring day. The weather was in their favor, the midges (no-see-ums) were nowhere to be seen, the breeze was slight and the tide was going out which made it an easy paddle for them.
They were lucky enough to have made plans on such a beautiful Spring day. The weather was in their favor, the midges (no-see-ums) were nowhere to be seen, the breeze was slight and the tide was going out which made it an easy paddle for them.
Dot arrived on the spot at 8:00 on-the-dot - no pun intended. Delores and Mike were putting the finishing touches on their yaks - getting things nice and organized. The camp caretaker, Gerald, came out to greet us and he and Delores had a nice chat while Mike helped Dot get situated. By 8:30 am. all three had launched and began heading past the residential houses that led out to Fish Creek. They chatted all the way. This was the perfect opportunity to get to know the individual club members on a more personal level as they searched for the perfect fishing spot.
Poor Dot spent the entire day shaking her fist and cursing at the onslaught of pinfish, lizardfish and catfish that continually feasted on the 'shrimp-on-the-barb' she kept offering to them. They were no fools! They stripped her hook bare cast after cast after cast. They had no mercy. She just never seemed to be in the right place at the right time to pull in anything bigger than an annoying catfish. However, all was not lost. Just being able to effortlessly paddle around on a beautiful, peaceful Spring day before she headed back up north was worth the time.
Mike fared slightly better. Call it 'beginner's luck' or whatever. Shortly after the three settled down into a comfortable spot, Mike pulls out his first spotted sea trout in his new fishing kayak since he moved to Florida less than a year ago. Not only did he land his first trout ever, it just so happened to be an 18 inch keeper. Needless to say, he was quite excited. A picture was taken to mark the occasion. The extra gear it would have taken (that he didn't have) in order for him to keep his catch raced through his mind and he made a spontaneous decision to release it back into the water to live another day. That was the point at which he made a mental note of some possible future kayak investments (a cooler and a good fillet knife). Mike spent the rest of the morning feeding pinfish, lizard fish, and catfish while fantasizing about hooking into another nice trout or even a redfish.
While Mike was trying to come to terms with his new fishing addiction (thanks to his first 'fish-on' experience) Delores was letting her kayak drift with the current as she continued the untangle wind-knot after wind-knot in not only one, but both of her rods. She found herself floating over a huge grass patch when she finally untangled one of her knots. She cast that line out with a shrimp and let it sit on the bottom while she commenced to tackeling the other bird's nest. Within a minute she had found a baby red had taken her shrimp. In the yak it was pulled, a picture quickly snapped and then back in the water it went. What a cute little small-fry he was. But now that the second tangle was undone - it was time to get back to business.
Mike and Dot struck up an extended conversation in which they realized, both coming from New York (Long Island & Staten Island to be exact), that they had quite a lot in common. Meanwhile, Delores had drifted about 100 yards away from them, jabbed her mud anchor down and started catching trout. Well, only one, to be specific. But...it was a good one, thankfully. Another 17 inch trout to compete with the one Mike had hooked into and released earlier. Luckily, her last minute decision to bring along her brand new ice-chest for the first time ever, was a good one. And like Dot and Mike, she too brought in her share of pinfish and catfish.
Being new to the kayak fishing experience, everyone was a little anxious to get out and stretch the legs a little. A solid oysterbar was found and they each carefully climbed out of the yaks and stood up for a while. It was a nice time to come together and talk about the morning activities after having been seperated by a football field lenght of space. They watched the blue herons effortlessly pluck fish from the shallows. Jealously set it. Why was it so easy for them?
The sun was shining down pretty good at this point and it seemed like a good time to shed a few layers of clothing. But it was also slack tide and we decided to leisurely head back to the ramp.
Gerald, the property manager, once again greeted us on our return and kindly offered to fillet the trout Delores had caught. Mike had the presence of mind to video tape the fillet lesson on his iPhone for future reference. We all said our 'good-bye's and promised to share our photos upon arrival home. It was a great start to a fun-filled year of fishing with new friends.
The sun was shining down pretty good at this point and it seemed like a good time to shed a few layers of clothing. But it was also slack tide and we decided to leisurely head back to the ramp.
Gerald, the property manager, once again greeted us on our return and kindly offered to fillet the trout Delores had caught. Mike had the presence of mind to video tape the fillet lesson on his iPhone for future reference. We all said our 'good-bye's and promised to share our photos upon arrival home. It was a great start to a fun-filled year of fishing with new friends.
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