# Go when you can, trust what you know, and where I caught them



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

I couldn't get away this morning until about 11:00, so I almost didn't go. I went ahead and ran across the bay, though. St. Jo Island looked like a boat parade. Actually, it looked like a giant game of boat leap-frog. People parked all up and down the island, and always someone picking up and heading to the spot someone else just vacated.

I was going to run back into the lakes, but there were people parked up in most of the drains. I waited for a boat to poll out of one, and headed in. The water was lower than I was expecting, and I had to air motor in. I was going to head to a hole I know, and when I got about halfway there, a boat came from the other direction and parked on it. I started to head down to another little hole farther down, but about halfway there I could see someone was on it, too.

So I headed back out, and thought about going home. It was blazing hot already, and there were boats buzzing around everywhere. I remembered that one of the things I used to do a lot on days like this was "go where they ain't". I've caught a lot of fish that way.

So, okay... where? The water is approaching 90 degrees, and I've been saying that the fish must be moving deeper. I don't want to head out to 6 feet of water and blind cast. I can't think of any reason for them to be one spot along that shoreline than any other. Plus, six feet of water may not be enough. So where is the biggest structure in the area, and the deepest drop-off? I just headed out to the middle of the bay, pulled up just off the edge of the Intracoastal drop-off, where I would drift along and slightly toward the drop. I pulled up near one of the marker pilings, so that I could use it as a reference point for where I started my drift.

The trout were staacked along the edge of the deep water. My drift was carrying me down the edge, but also out toward the deeper water. I caught a couple of fish, missed one, and I was in the middle of the channel. So I wheeled around and made the same drift over and over. I never made a drift without catching at least one trout, mostly two per drift, sometimes three.

I kept the first five fish I caught (and I refuse to cull). They were only 15-18", but I caught some bigger ones later that went back. The biggest was still only 21"... but did I mention that they were staacked? Considering I don't think many other people were catching, based on the boats running, I had a blast. Several boats whizzed past me. One even stopped and watched me reel in two fish. I had seen that boat jumping around earlier. Why they didn't just pull up on a similar spot down the way is a mystery to me.

I don't know exactly how many I caught, but it was more than twenty. I finally decided I had punished enough of them, and got home and unloaded the boat by 2:00. All were caught on the new TroutSupport lures, on keeper hooks with a 1/8 oz weight at the bend. Today I used the bone diamond and WhoDini colors. Sorry, Tobin, but after a while I pushed the plastic down and left the hook exposed just like on a normal jig. There was no need for it to be weedless, and it was just quicker that way.

Leaving at 11:00 on a hot day like this isn't ideal, but if you don't go you won't catch any. The two biggest things I knew was that the water on the flats was really hot and full of fishermen and boats. So I went looking for deep water without lots of people. I've never seen ANYONE fish where I was fishing today, in four years of living here and fishing this area. Never once. Luckily, the fish didn't know that it's a bad place for them to be.

My little mid-bay, mid-day trout:


----------



## walkinwader (Jul 17, 2012)

Nice..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


----------



## Moochy (Sep 13, 2014)

I'm going to start calling you the fish whisperer if you keep this up


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

StabbinFlatties said:


> I'm going to start calling you the fish whisperer if you keep this up


Today was fun. I've been in sort of a rut lately, and even when I've caught fish it's been sort of business-like. Today I just went off the grid. I don't know if it would have been as much fun if I hadn't found fish, but I went exploring like I used to do and it was a blast.

I have this gut feeling that there are redfish out cruising the Intracoastal, too. I'm going to give up some catching if I have to, and go looking for them. Maybe look for a technique that will work. It's funny, because these weren't big fish, but I'm all pumped up over finding something new.


----------



## shane.shipman.72 (Jul 29, 2017)

Great report!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


----------



## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

pocjetty said:


> . I don't know if it would have been as much fun if I hadn't found fish, but I went exploring like I used to do and it was a blast.
> .


That sums up your trip well. It is hard to change your mind set and getting away from the usual is what separates the average fisherman from the excellent fishermen when conditions, man made or nature, throws you a curve.
I enjoyed the report a lot thanks for sharing.


----------



## Prizepig (Jul 13, 2012)

Nice report. I'm willing to bet that the fishing pressure will drop off significantly after this weekend with summer ending for many.


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Sorry, but I have to give a mention. I was PM'ing with TXMav about the fishing this weekend. It was the last big hoorah before school starts, and the whole town was crowded - as were the bays. This is a quote from one of his messages:

" ******* ********was packed too on Saturday morning. Shoulder to shoulder. Hope it slows down. *But hey, I'm out there too adding to the traffic jam*."

I couldn't say it any better, so I just quoted him. That attitude would make a lot of people a lot happier, and maybe even keep some cooler heads out on the water. When you're looking at the crowds on the bay, always remember that they are all doing exactly the same thing you are. (Even if they aren't as good at it as you are. )

You always have to fish the conditions, no matter what. The crowds are just part of the conditions. TXMav still managed to come up with some good redfish, in spite of it all - including one big girl that was over the slot.

If that's no consolation, then what Prizepig said - this weekend should have been the worst of it, other than Labor Day weekend.


----------



## blackjack runner (Feb 24, 2015)

Good report followed with a great attitude. 
Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Puddle_Jumper (Jun 30, 2014)

Awesome report with a kewl story to go with it... Thanks for sharing !!


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Between a doctor appointment and dinner with the wife's boss, I really didn't have time to go out today. But I got tired of inane discussions in the TTMB Forum. (If anyone catches me posting about anything other than fishing, please verbally kick my ***.) So at about 2:00 I decided to go out for an hour and a half. I ran straight back to the Intracoastal. I caught the two trout in the picture, and missed a couple. The bigger of the two is 22" - a good solid fish.

Today I decided to tie on a heavier jig and fish deep, right in the middle of the Intracoastal. You really can't anchor, since those big boys don't have brakes. And today it seemed like every time I came around for a drift there was another one bearing down on me. A couple of cool things, though.

I had one fish hit so hard that it almost took my rod out of my hand. At that moment I was fishing with a pretty stiff rod and braid, and I had no chance to do anything but keep from losing the rod. Big fish, on the move when it hit. I'll be looking for a re-match soon.

I had another hit that felt strange, but I could tell that it was a good sized fish. As I fought it, I began to suspect. It came up near the boat, and it was a big flounder. I could see it wasn't hooked well - I should have taken a shot at hoisting it. I reached for a net. End of fish story.

The big fish had to have been either a redfish or a jack. And now my wheels are turning at the thought that there are bigger flounder hanging down in the deep water in this hot weather. If I'd had a little bit more time, I like my chances of picking up some more trout. Not bad for just over an hour of actual fishing time, in the hottest part of the day.


----------



## barronj (Sep 30, 2013)

Thanks, you're pulling everyone off the shorelines and drains ;^) It's going to look like a drift regatta down the ditch.

What were the winds like where you were? Any protection?


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

barronj said:


> Thanks, you're pulling everyone off the shorelines and drains ;^)
> 
> What were the winds like where you were? Any protection?


I'm hoping some other people will give it a try, and maybe we can learn from each other.

The wind was actually down a lot this morning. Naturally, since I had things to do that I couldn't get out of. By the time I got on the water, it had picked up, but it was switching directions too - so the waves weren't too bad yet. It was due south or even a touch southwest when I got there, but turned SE and just kept rising.

By the time I headed in, it was probably gusting to around 18 or so, and it was starting to get pretty choppy. And, no, there's no place to hide out there.


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

I came straight home from church and get my stuff in the boat. The wind had been down all morning (naturally, I couldn't go early), although it picked up quite a bit in the hour between getting out of church and getting on the water. The entire bay, as far as I could see, was trout green. I had big plans of going straight back to the Intracoastal and catching a lot of fish.

I guess I got lucky on the other trips I've had there recently. I managed to catch three adequate trout, and had a few bumps, but all were strays. I started farther north, where Long Reef crosses the ICW - nada. I jumped a mile or so further south each time I moved, and drifted across the channel the way I have been doing. I never had any sense that I had found any repeatable source of fish.

I kept an eye on my sonar this time, and I'm learning a lot about the bottom profile of the ICW as it cuts through the bay. (The consequence of fishing shallow so much is that I don't automatically think about it.) I marked a lot of bait hovering around the 9'-10' depth, which I will guess was the result of a thermocline around that depth. Since a lot of the bay floor on either side, away from the Waterway, is around 7.5-8 feet, that would seem like a setup for finding some fish. But I never marked anything that looked like bigger fish holding in the deeper water.

The few fish and hits I had were all as the deepest water was giving way to shallower - so more along the edges of the channel. The edge is less well defined in a lot of areas, but I got no interest while fishing in the deepest section.

I don't know what that all means. I could probably learn more if I was fishing croaker, but I'm too hard-headed for that. The overall water level today was higher. Half Moon Reef, for instance, was comfortably submerged, where a good bit was exposed the other days. Plus it was pretty much high tide, ahead of a pretty solid falling tide later in the afternoon. For what it's worth, the solunar tables said that it was a major feeding time. 

Maybe the fish hang out in the deep water when everything goes slack during the dog days? Today they didn't need to escape to the deepest part of the bay? Maybe the concentrations of fish move along the channel, and I just got lucky the first couple of times? I'll post some results from time to time, in case anyone else can help make some sense of it.

I enjoyed exploring and learning today, but I've decided it's more fun when you find some fish, too.


----------



## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

pocjetty said:


> The trout were staacked along the edge of the deep water. My drift was carrying me down the edge, but also out toward the deeper water. I caught a couple of fish, missed one, and I was in the middle of the channel. So I wheeled around and made the same drift over and over. I never made a drift without catching at least one trout, mostly two per drift, sometimes three.


I love it.. this is exactly what I've been telling my customers this summer. perfectly executed POCJetty...

As far as the bigger flounder, they stay deep in the bay almost all year... Phil Ortiz (flounder Pounder creator) always talked about hunting bigger flounder on the channels and channel structures. Wish you would have landed that fish brotha.

Good work


----------



## barronj (Sep 30, 2013)

pocjetty said:


> I kept an eye on my sonar this time, and I'm learning a lot about the bottom profile of the ICW as it cuts through the bay. (The consequence of fishing shallow so much is that I don't automatically think about it.) I marked a lot of bait hovering around the 9'-10' depth, which I will guess was the result of a thermocline around that depth. Since a lot of the bay floor on either side, away from the Waterway, is around 7.5-8 feet, that would seem like a setup for finding some fish. But I never marked anything that looked like bigger fish holding in the deeper water.
> 
> I enjoyed exploring and learning today, but I've decided it's more fun when you find some fish, too.


Thanks for the report, especially these details. I have NEVER used my down scan or sonar, but I will learn to now!


----------

