Tentative plans were made weeks ago to organize a group kayak fishing date for any of the NCLA members who had a little extra time on their hands and were interested in spending a relaxing day on the water fishing and socializing. Socializing, after all, is just plain healthy for the female soul and nothing beats fresh fish on a dinner plate. A total of five ladies responded to the invitation: Alice, Delores, Liz, Martha Ann, and Virginia, and so plans were finalized.
Alice and Delores left Ocala at 7:00 a.m. and unexpectedly ran into Virginia, and her husband at Moore's Bait & Tackle on Ft. Island Trail. That's where any member of the Nature Coast Lady Anglers club gets 50% off all live shrimp as long as they have their discount card (which, of course, they always carry with them).
By the time 8:00 came, Alice, Delores, and Virginia arrived at the Ft. Island boat ramp where Liz and Martha Ann (who both drove up from Homosassa) were already in the process of unloading their yaks and transporting them to the water. The next half hour was spent chit-chatting and rigging kayaks for a day of fishing. With the fact that it had rained for the past two weeks straight, and scallop season had just begun, it was anybody's guess what the boat ramp parking lot would look like upon arrival. Lucky for those girls that they had picked a work day for most folks and the ramp traffic was lighter than expected.
Alice and Delores left Ocala at 7:00 a.m. and unexpectedly ran into Virginia, and her husband at Moore's Bait & Tackle on Ft. Island Trail. That's where any member of the Nature Coast Lady Anglers club gets 50% off all live shrimp as long as they have their discount card (which, of course, they always carry with them).
By the time 8:00 came, Alice, Delores, and Virginia arrived at the Ft. Island boat ramp where Liz and Martha Ann (who both drove up from Homosassa) were already in the process of unloading their yaks and transporting them to the water. The next half hour was spent chit-chatting and rigging kayaks for a day of fishing. With the fact that it had rained for the past two weeks straight, and scallop season had just begun, it was anybody's guess what the boat ramp parking lot would look like upon arrival. Lucky for those girls that they had picked a work day for most folks and the ramp traffic was lighter than expected.
Liz's kayak all ready to go...just look at that cute little pink thing!
Martha Ann's kayak equally ready to get on the water...she's no newbie at this.
Just one look at this picture and it was "clear" (pardon the pun) that the ladies had picked an absolutely splendid day to go kayak fishing together. The breeze was mild, the no-see-ums were - well, nowhere in sight, thank goodness. The water was as calm as it could be and the sky had just enough cloud cover to make it comfortable. The weather gods were smiling down and saying "Go, Fish, Have Fun". The morning just couldn't have started any better.
Our girl, Alice, had unfortunately strained a muscle in her back a few days earlier so paddling a kayak all day as not in the cards for her. Luckily, she had an alternative. She opted to bring her little tricked-out jet-ski that had been converted to a fishing vessel. She motored out to deeper water before anyone thought to snap a picture of her. When one of the ladies asked about Alice's location, another would point to a white speck in the distance and say, "I think that's her way over there.". Compared to the rest of the group, Alice was deep sea fishing and reportedly bagged some Black Sea Bass, Gray Snapper, Jack Crevalle, and some keeper Spotted Sea Trout for some future meals.
Delores, along with the other three ladies, spent most of the day exploring and fishing the edges and cuts of some nearby oyster bars that were exposed as the tide receded. They fished the outgoing tide until about 10:30 a.m. and then the incoming tide for the remainder of the day. Delores caught a couple of Gray Snapper, some small Spotted Sea Trout, a few lively Jack Crevalle, and a Stripped Burrfish. (below)
Liz, unfortunately, had run into a little misfortune the last two attempts at kayak fishing with the group, first not being about to hook into any fish during the inaugural excursion a couple of months earlier and then secondly, losing her kayak seat somewhere during transport to our most recent kayak fishing outing. This was the first time she overcame both of those earlier obstacles and landed her first Spotted Sea Trout from her kayak using her cute little closed face spin-cast rod & reel. By the day's end, she brought in a few Spotted Sea Trout and a Jack Crevalle. All in all - an excellent day for her.
Martha Ann is one of the newest members of NCLA but quite an experienced angler in her own right with living marine side all of her life. She even has her captain's license, so it was no surprise that she immediately zoned in on a few productive areas right from the get-go and spent most of the day bringing in catch after catch of feisty little rod bending Jack Crevalle. They were schooling through the oyster bar cuts that each of the ladies had claimed a stake to.
Virginia, on the other hand, seemed to be attracting the majority of the trout. She spent much of her day out of her kayak and stretching her legs by walking and casting along the length of the oyster bars instead of just the cuts. That paid off with quit a number of Gray Snapper and Spotted Sea Trout by day's end.
By 1:00 p.m. we were calling it a successful day and paddling back to the launch site for the ride back home. It was the proverbial 'icing on the cake' when Martha Ann spotted a horseshoe crab gliding by our feet as if we weren't even there. Heading over to the spot where a few left-over shrimp has been tossed for an easy meal, no doubt. A quick picture was taken and then promptly forwarded to the local FWC horseshoe crab research site where they are diligently tracking sightings around the Florida coastline.
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