Ryan, Wenger, and I have been fishing together, and while we've been having a good time, we wanted to expand a little in location and species. So, we planned to head down to the keys to see if we could catch anything with more variety or substance. We drove down to the Channel 5 bridge, stopping off for live shrimp along the way. It was a sunny day with a few clouds, and we were eager to start fishing. However, the fish did not seem to cooperate for much of the day. We dropped our baits down, but, facing a lot of current and general lack of luck, we weren't able to hook up into much. We would feel nibbles at times, waiting for a bite, only to see that the fish had stolen our bait or the school moved away from our bait entirely. Clearly, something needed to change. I went to my backpack and pulled out one of my sabiki rigs, tying it to the end of my line and tipping the hooks with pieces of cut shrimp. Figuring the fish nibbling at our bait might have mouths too small for the hook, and the multiple hooks increasing chances of a fish in the school getting hooked, I thought it was worth a try. I dropped it down with a bank sinker attached to the bottom, jigged it for a bit, and a few seconds later the rod was bending over and bumping up and down quickly. I reeled it in, and we caught a Porkfish! Finally we caught a new species, and it was nice to catch a colorful reef fish while looking out over the patch reefs and corals you could see through the clear water. I then baited the hooks again and gave the rod to Ryan, who dropped it down and also immediately hooked up with a Mangrove Snapper. It wasn't a new species, but at least it got us on the board. On top of that, it was my 600th fish - I'm happy to finally reach the milestone and looking forward to surpass it. It does make me think, however, about how busy I've been with school, away from lots of water, and how little I've been able to fish recently. It makes me sad, but I still fish whenever I can, and look forward to many more fishing experiences to come.
Surprisingly though, there wasn't much after that. We caught one more Mangrove Snapper before moving on to the Channel 2 Bridge. There, we found more of the same, although we did have lots of nibbles. There was one time in which I felt a tug and reeled up a big, white round fish that seemed to be on the hook but came off right as it reached the surface. This really hurt because it seemed to me to look like a Permit, which have been known to frequent these Keys bridges and are on my bucket list. I guess we'll never know, and the search continues. I never would have guessed that one would take a sabiki rig (although a juvenile would be more likely, as this one probably was). The search for a Permit continues. Anyways, after that, we left and went to Robbie's for lunch, enjoying the great day out, the water, and the time we had fishing. My girlfriend and some of her friends were coming down for a trip, so Wenger and Ryan dropped me off at Key Largo with a suitcase and my fishing gear. Of course, they would not be arriving for a other two hours, so I did some quick research and made my way to the Adams Cut bridge with the leftover ballyhoo we used in addition to the shrimp. On the bank of the waterway, I found a spot and dropped my bait. There were people from different parts of the country there with whom I talked, sharing fishing stories and knowledge. It was a good time, and I was able to catch about 4 more Mangrove Snappers after finding a hole by the bank that had fish. I used a small, weighted jighead with ballyhoo to keep the bait closer to the bottom, especially in the current. I would also sometimes use split shot sinkers or an egg sinker. Soon enough I packed up and was picked up to continue the getaway in Key Largo.
