A long time tradition for my family is to gather at dad's place on Christmas Eve. Having lost him earlier this year, it was tough to sit on dad's patio without him this year. As in years past, we gather family and friends together for a feast of finger foods and snacks to relax for a moment before the big day. This year we changed up the menu a little bit. Mike brought some clams and stone crab claws up from Ft. Myers. After our family luncheon, Mike and I took a short boat ride to do a little fishing in the river. We found some nice trout and river rat redfish as the sun set. We returned in time for another traditional dinner at our friend's home and we gorged our self once again with
delicious Cuban cuisine.
After all these years, I still wake up on Christmas morning with the same excitement as I did when I was a kid. I couldn't wait to tear into the gifts to find the one that I have been waiting for; the one that I knew I was getting. To this day I still get what I want every year. Am I spoiled? You betcha! Only now, 30-something years later, I don't mind sharing my gift on Christmas morning. This year, my brother got to be a part of my Christmas wish come true. My list to Clause is a short one but the only item I wish for myself is to have the entire flat to myself at least one day out of the year. Once again, he did not disappoint.
The morning started out with a chill in the air and a light breeze from the East. Wearing a pair of waders and a rain jacket kept us dry and warm enough to tolerate the ride through the bay. The water level was perfect for sight casting redfish on the flats and that is where we headed. When we arrived, the tide was still dropping. I lifted the outboard and picked up the push pole. "There's too much water in here" I told my brother. "We need to head towards the whoo-de-dos ." The series of sand bars separated by troughs create paths that funnel fish when the water drains off the flats.
When you run out of water underneath a 16ft Carolina Skiff, you know it's just about the right depth. We had to jump out of the boat to get it to float across one last bar that ran parallel to the shoreline. I set the anchor out and we began to walk the flats and pitching into sand holes surrounded by grass. "There's still too much water" I said and we worked our way shallower still.
We stepped onto a sand bar that was exposed by the dropping tide. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" I always hear people say that the water was too shallow to catch fish. No wonder they look at me funny when I tell them that I look for dry land when I am fishing.
Without fail, the fish were using the gullies much like game trails in the woods. After catching several fish we changed lures to see if different baits work better than others. Although brand names did not seem to matter to them, size and shape did. Scented baits such as the Exude DART got respectable response but the RT Slug did not receive the same attention. Top producers were the CAL 3" shadtail and the DOA 1/4oz shrimp. These fish are foraging for crustaceans and other tasty morsels which explains the numerous empty mollusk and horseshoe crab shells that littered the area. Dragging your bait along the bottom send vibrations that grab their senses and send them into hunting mode. No matter how many times I see it, I am fascinated by watching a redfish pin its prey to the bottom or seeing trout dart out from the shadows of a grass bed to inhale a passing jig.
The tide started to rise and it was early afternoon before we knew it. It was time to start heading back for yet another feast... and we were ready to eat again.
It was not the Christmas kayak trip that I traditionally embark but as I reach over to twist the knob on the space heater and listen to the wind howl through the patio outside my window, I think that some alterations to tradition aren't such a bad thing after all.
