 | I found myself with a day off of work and reached out to several friends to ask if they'd be interested in going on an adventure with me in my new Gheenoe. To my surprise, those I called already made plans to spend their day. I continued down my list and finally connected with a friend who didn't have any particular plans for the day so she agreed to join me. I followed my Preparations List carefully the day before so I wouldn't forget anything and by 6:00 a.m. the day of, I was ready to pull out of the driveway. I was really looking forward to some fun. |
Bill is a good friend of several of the women in the NCLA club. In fact, he was introduced to us by one of our members. He and his wife, who passed away several years ago, spent much of their time together on the water fishing. He continues to do so and in that way honors her memory and love of the hobby/sport. So Bill, here, has a soft spot for lady anglers. He's plays the role of "Guardian Angel" for any women who wants to get on the water but feels safer with a stand-by. Bill is always willing to be that safety net. That's why he agreed to meet us at the ramp this morning. Debbie and I were taking our first trip out in the Gheenoe together in an area that I'm not 100% familiar with, but he is. He was there to make sure we didn't run into any problems getting the boat in or off the water.
Bill has been buzzing around Fish Creek in his Gheenoe for years. He knows the area like the back of his hand so when I asked him to lead the way out to the end of the creek, he didn't think twice. My goal was to capture the route on my GPS for future reference. I needed to know the deepest part of the creek so that I didn't run aground on an unknown underwater obstacle that I wasn't aware of. We followed him and his companion, Linda, all the way to the end. The water was flat clam and I was really tempted to discard my original plan and stop to fish but I really needed that route so I pushed on and stayed behind Bill.
Debbie & I made it out to the end Fish Creek where it spills out into the Gulf of Mexico. It was pleasantly calm and quiet. The water was calm and clear with a swift outgoing tide. I lowered the stick-anchor so it would hold us in place. Debbie and I needed to organize a few things and I wanted a few minutes to just let the scenery sink in. It doesn't look this beautiful everyday.
While we were focusing on organizing our gear, something caught Debbie's eye. A large manatee slowly glided himself to the boat and welcomed us to his world. He and Debbie had a nice chat greeting one another.
We had a really nice visit with Mr. Manatee. He stuck around for about 10 minutes or so and then wandered off to scout out something a little bit more interesting that us girls. That pleasant surprise visit really put us in a great mood. So far the morning's events were confirming that we had picked a great day to get out on the water despite the foggy drive. I pulled the stick anchor up, turned on the trolling motor and slowly crept the boat toward a large outflow between two mangrove islands. It would be our starting point for the day.
I decided to start off the morning by using my topwater lure. (Zara Spook Jr in red/white with inline hooks). I cast once or twice and really hoped that something would strike right from the get-go. It seems the current was moving at a steady pace, not too fast, not too slow, and the water was flat calm. Topwater should have attracted something fairly quickly but about 5-10 minutes went by without a single hit. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see a school of bait fish jumping out of the water in the near distance. I could hear the sound as they broke the water in masses and then splashed back in again. It was a long-shot. I wasn't sure if I could cast that far or even if the predator would still be around by the time I got my lure there, but instinct and reflex took over and I just couldn't stop myself. One of my longest casts and I made it to the sweet spot. One...two...three twitches later and....SMACK !!! I had a fish on !! Off she went, pulling line farther away with each second. I was keeping my fingers crossed that my line was strong enough and my knots were secure. Then suddenly my line went slack. For a split second I thought I'd lost it. I reeled in my line double-time and after a few seconds I had a tight line again. She had turned direction and was heading straight for the boat, although she didn't know it yet. As soon as she realized she'd been duped, she made another run out. What a fighter...never giving up until she'd expended all of her energy and was exhausted. It was only then that I felt confident enough to try to net her.
| If it weren't for Debbie being on the boat with me, I don't know that I wouldn't have been able to boat that snook. My adrenaline was running so high, I couldn't hardly think straight. Debbie was so cool and kept her composure and just went right into action with the net. I'm so thankful she was right there to assist. #teamwork! |  |
 | Once we got her netted and in the boat, I was focused on getting it and the lure cleared from the net and on the measuring board for a length. I knew that after the fight she gave, she would be exhausted and fragile if left out of the water for too long. To my surprise, she measured in at a perfect slot size of 31 inches. Well within the slot range of 28-33. Now I had another decision to make...harvest (using my snook stamp) or release. I was sharing my thoughts with Debbie and I was torn. I decided to have Debbie put her back in the water temporarily while I called my husband for his input. |
| He struggled with making a decision himself but ultimately asked me to harvest the snook. I handed my phone over to Debbie and got it ready for photos and then pulled the fish back out of the water and posed for a few shots before dehooking it and carving out an area in the cooler so I could put her in it. |  |
It took about 15 minutes for the adrenaline rush to wear off and once it did, I turned on the trolling motor and we headed in a different direction. Our plan was to anchor down periodically and just cover all of the ground surrounding the boat. Debbie would cover half of the area, I'd cover the other half. She was the first to hook-up when we stopped. Puffer fish are amazing creatures and we had a little fun with this one. He wasn't thrilled with our antics....evident by the "stink-eye" he was giving us! Back in the water he went.
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We meandered around a little. By this time there were several boats that had taken up residence in the other spots I had wanted to hit so we flexed that plan obviously and threw some blind casts in areas that we thought might hold some redfish. Debbie got lucky and lured an unsuspecting red to her lure and boated him long enough for a few quick pics and then back in the water he went to hunt another day.
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We wrapped up the day with a few other small trout and slowly made our way back to the ramp. It's always nice just to spend a little girl-time out on the water, catching up on the latest news and sharing fish stories. This day was an exceptionally therapeutic one for the both of us and hopefully we can do it again soon.
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