Coryphaena

Sometimes things come together in the best of ways, especially when fishing is involved. Saturday I had the great fortune to fish with an entirely new crew of folks whom I was introduced to through my buddy Captain Roger. Actually, I'd met2 of this group a year ago for just a brief moment at last year's Pirates on the Gulf tournament weighin, and I remember at that time secretly wishing I could fish with them some day because of the impressive load of fish they had brought to the scales. Funny how things happen.......:angel

I met Delynn, his nephew Kais, and a big handful of their friends and family at the Bayou Texar launch around 8am. An offshore machine sat at the dock awaiting the day's adventure, and as things were loaded up Kais and I decided to head across the street to Dizzy Lizzy's for a bucket of shrimp. As usual, we got the star treatment and a loaded bucket to put in the livewell. With a crew of eight, we headed out for a day of fun! Delynn's Cape Horn is accustomed to much larger game than what we were seeking, as he and Kais have loaded it with big amberjack, tuna, and grouper. Case in point and the fish that I remembered them for: Kais, last yearat age 11, picked up the AL state record for speckled hind ("Kitty Mitchell") at 31.1 pounds. Today, though, we were headed for the bay and a load of white trout for their family fish fry, and a few for my lab too.

Our first spot was on the Pensacola end of the threemile bridge. Delynn put the anchor out and we put down some cut baits. Schools of trout were moving through and gave some of the crew double hookups, like Lulu, who is all smiles with a pair:



This young lady is an excellent angler and stayed bowed up for most of the trip. We had some neat fish take baits, as Lulu shows with a cutlass fish, and a healthy one at that!



Kais and I made fast friends, as he was just as excited about the assortment of fish as I was, and he decided that he wanted to dissect one of them. A Fish Nerd in the making!!!!:clap

We moved around the bridge a little, and kept up with the white trout. My wierdest catch for the day was a rather large croaker- not strange in what species it was, but strange in the way he was caught. I felt the tension on my line and reeled him in, but he wasn't hooked- not by my line, anyway, but the leader he'd broken off at some point before I'd encountered him was long enough to get wrapped around my line and snare him. That croaker was probably the biggest fish I've neverhooked.....

On one of our passes around the bridge, family friend Willy got a solid bite with a run, and after Delynn backed the boat away from the pilings, a 24" redfish came aboard. Not long after that, Delynn had one of his own, and Kais got in on the photo with his uncle:



This beauty was just over the slot at 28.5", but was our biggest fish of the day. Lulu wanted in on a photo before Delynn released the redfish- it was the fastest fish photo session I'd ever witnessed!



A few more trout later, we took the first of the group back to the dock and returned to fishing. The trout were not interested in the live shrimp, and we began to wonder if we even needed them as almost all of the fish were caught on cut fish belly. Even more trout later, we made our second crew drop at the dock, unloaded a huge cooler full of white trout, and then there were three! We had a livewell full of shrimp, and Kais was determined to catch a redfish as well.Kais looked at me, I looked at him, we both looked at Delynn andI guess we had greatpuppy-dog eyes since theybought us the rest of the afternoon under the bridge! Why not- the day was gorgeous and the bay got even calmer as time went on, and the three diehards had a blast refilling the fish box, only we upped the diversity factor of the day.

We put the shrimp to good use and fished close to the pilings. Kais bowed up on what he thought would be his redfish...



Much to our delight, it was something with stripes.....



A beauty of a sheepie, and Kais's expertise and finesse paid off- the fish hadn't hooked himself but ratherhad loopedthe leader around one of its snaggled teeth. Bait thief, indeed!

We burned through a good many shrimp, inspired by Kais's catch, and though thievery was rampant (no doubt there were other sheepies down there as well as bait-stealing pinfish) we brought in a small handful of grey snapper, and kept one monster pinfish for the lab. Delynn found fish feeding as his baits fell- a welcome surprise as he landed 2 pompano of about a pound and a half each. We moved a little farther down the bridge towards Gulf Breeze to try and hook me into a redfish, and on first cast I thought I had. Bam, zzzzzzz...... drag headed towards a piling and a few good runs- not a redfish but a fat pompano we guessed would be just over 2 pounds! All of the pompswere lit up with bright yellow bellies- beautiful fish. Another drift through the pilings, and I am hooked up again- drag pulling, head shaking, would this be my redfish? Delynn backed me away from the pilings and I walked the fish around- stripes came to the surface and I danced to the beat of black drum..... the Captain and the Nerd get a photo:



Paying respect to my biggest fish of the day.....



At this point we were beginning to realize that we were perilously low on bait. Kais didn't seem to be the one to pass up an opportunity to dig in the livewell:



This is part of what I like about this young man- when he wasn't bowed up on a fish, he was elbows-deep in bait/fish guts- no fear whatsoever!

Out of bait, we pulled out the fish that the three of us had caught on the final leg of our trip:



Final tally for the day- a cooler slap full of white trout (we guessed about 50 pounds worth), a handful of grey snapper, 3 pompano, 1 stud sheepie, 1 black drum. And a handful of lab specimens...... Sunday's fish fry= absolutely divine!!:hungryHow could I turn that down????

I could not have asked for a better day Saturday- a great crew, some super new friends, beautiful day, a veritable seafood platter in the fishbox...... thanks so much to Roger for being the catalyst here, and to Delynn, Kais, and their family for having me aboard and sharing the family's Sunday fish fry. :angel

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Garbo

Good Morning Karon,

Great Report, and as Great Pictures.

Are there alot of Pompano caught around the 3 Mile Bridge?

Coryphaena

I have caught a small handful around the bridge- seems that I catch them there during the cooler months (some in January, some in February of different years, and then these). This was the first time I've seen 3 in the span of an hour or so under the bridge. The yellow that lights up on their bellies seems to be brighter than their surf-caught counterparts... just beautiful fish.

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Doogiesar

Sounds like a great day to be on the water spending some family time. Thanks for the report and great pics. What a great day to be on the water. Your post are always a good read.

Garbo

Then 3 in the span of an hour, shows your fishing prowess, Good job by the way. Im am not trying to derail your report, and will delete my question if needed.

I don't know as much as you have forgotten about fish or marine life, but, I have always thought the fall caught Pompano Yellow up more after they are caught and in the cooler than the spring caught fish. Is there anything to that?

Coryphaena

Garbo, I am not sure what factor(s)will influence that brighter yellow but I strongly suspect diet. You've piqued my interest- I need to see what, if anything, has been published on that one! The bay water might have had some influence on those, like with some other species. I have caught pomps off Deer/Fair Point in Gulf Breeze, and they too have that super yellow belly color.

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cobe killer

great report karon!!:clap glad that you had a great time. would have liked to have seen ya at the reef building but i wouldn't have passed up a fish fry either.. i really need to get me another bay boat, i used to have so much fun in the winter months fishing in the bays and always had fresh fish all winter. wish i wouldn't have gottin rid of my 16 footer.:doh

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wrightackle

What an outstanding report! It is really neat that folks that are used to offshore fishing can downshift from that and have so much fun messing around in the bay. I am looking forward to having that little nub of a bay fishing bridge available. It sure seems from all the reports that the bay fishing is really getting good. Great pics of the kids with the fish. That is what fishing is all about.

naclh2oDave

Way to go guys! Good job getting the kids out and bowed up. Nice mess of fish and the variety, gotta love it.

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Capt. Delynn

Hey Karon

What a treat to finally meet you and even more to fish with you. We all had a great time also. It is nice to down shift and have a great time relaxing and fishing in the bay with family and friends. Can not thank you enough for the kind words and for taking so much of your time for the kids. Kais and Lulu had a blast. Sassy says she is staying home next time. She has more fun sitting on my shoulder reading fishing reports than being in them. Your reputation is well deserved. You have more knowledge about fish than anyone I have ever fished with. What a treat forKais and I. Can't wait to get you offshore. I have a yellowfin and grouper with your name on it. Thanks again for a great trip.