Watching the Sunday fishing shows makes angling look easy. Reality is a bit different. TV anglers book days of fishing during the best conditions to get enough footage for a show. The rest of us have to work with limited time under less than good conditions.
Such has been the case with August. Warm water, screwy winds, Erin, who knows why, but the bite has been off. But when you have clients, you gotta put in the work to bring some fish to the boat.
Such was the case on Tuesday. We went out with father-son team Brett and Josh Herr from New York. Our plan was to head down to fish the cement ships at Kiptopeake State Park. But when we cleared Cape Charles harbor, the north winds were a bit much, and put a decent chop on the water. We could have made it down with the following seas, but the ride back would have been bouncy. So we opted to fish our way down towards Plantation Creek, figuring conditions in sheltered waters would make for more comfortable fishing.
We started at the fish weir off Bay Creek. Bouncing live minnows and Berkely Gulps off the bottom produced a few hits, but getting a hookup proved a problem. That's when Josh got the skunk off with a decent 12 inch Flattie.
We continued down the shore, hitting fishy-looking spots. As we neared the entrancce to Plantation Creek, Brett got on the board with a snapper Bluefish.
Conditions in the creek were perfect. No wind, calm water. We cruised up and down, hitting known Flounder spots, and tossing popping corks up against the grass. Not much to show for it, but Josh got it done again with a Flounder that went about 14 inches.
Yeah, the catching was off. But the fishing was great. Brett and Josh had the attitude you're looking for when on the water. Excited to be out, and happy to land even a few small fish. And it was great watching their casting skills improve as the afternoon went on. By the time we had to head back, they were drifting popping corks next to the bank like pros.
Hopefully we'll get the chance to take them out in the fall. With water temps dropping, the Redfish and Speckled Trout bite should be picking up in a week or so.
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
Postscript: Sometime during our outing, Flip Pallot passed away. For those of us who had to fish vicariously through TV, Flip's Walkers Cay Chronicles was one of those shows I never missed. His angling adventures were more than just about catching fish. He was an ardent steward of the environment, particularly the fragile ecosystem of south Florida and the Everglades. I think he put fishing in perspective; catching was just a small part of being on the water.
Flip was a true philosopher-angler. At times he was a bit too zen, but I think this quote offered a good perspective about fishing, and life:
"Life in my world comes down to the last 40 feet," he concluded. "If there's anything left for me to do, it's to make people aware that life, and most particularly this lifestyle, is tied to the natural world and not to a credit card. Many anglers have amassed wealth that gives them the opportunity to make a fishing trip. They go to their local pro shop and buy all the right clothes, rods, reels, lines, and flies. They present their credit card. They arrive at the lodge, also paid by credit card. They step onto a skiff, resplendent with all the right clothing and tackle. The guide poles them within 40 feet of a tailing bonefish. Sadly, their credit card won't take them that last 40 feet.
So, they either figure out how to have a good time, or not. But it all comes down to that last 40 feet. Life has just made it too complicated for them to understand the value of that last 40 feet."
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