Undergrad is coming to an end soon, and Jaron, a good friend of mine, and I are applying to law school. One school offered Jaron an interview, and preferring to meet in person for the interview four hours away in Panama City, he called me and asked if I would like to join him for a roughly 24 hour trip in which we'd include a fishing trip. Besides the opportunity to just be on the water with a friend, which itself would be nearly impossible to pass up, fishing the inshore waters of the panhandle had always been an experience I'd wanted to have. I soon packed a backpack and we set off to Panama City. As soon as we got to the hotel, Jaron got ready for his interview and left while I stayed behind to work on some of my own applications. We spent the night recapping the interview, hanging out, watching sports, and getting ready for what was sure to be an awesome day of fishing.
We got up early and drove to meet Joe Watkins, the charter captain, at 8 ET, although there was a confusion due to the time difference; Panama City is in central time, but the dock, by Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe, was in eastern time. Regardless, the guide was ready to take us out. We set out through the backcountry channels, through typical old Florida marshes to get to the East Bay part of St. Andrew's Bay. It was surprisingly very cold, with temperatures in the 50s throughout the entire morning on the water - needless to say, the ride out was freezing. We made our first stop at a point by the entrance of a creek near the shore, casting into darker water, which Joe said meant warmer water. The reason we stayed in this part of the bay was because of the cold temps, and its unusual variance made for what would be a confusing day on the water; we would try the tactics and spots Joe knew best, but with relatively unusual weather comes unpredictable fishing. Luckily this trip would prove to be a successful one.
We were using popping corks with a swimsuit on a jighead, which we would cast out and retrieve by jerking the rod - popping it - to attract fish, then reeling in the slack. At first we missed on a few bumps by fish, but before long Jaron caught two Speckled Seatrout not too long after starting to get us on the board. These fish are classic inshore Florida species, and catching them is always a pleasure. These two were not big enough to keep but we would keep trying. The spot wasn't producing as much as we had hoped, and a pod of dolphins came by which were likely spooking the fish, so about 10 minutes after catching the fish we moved over to a new spot. The new location further up the bay was on a point that stuck out into the water. We fished on either side of it, mostly the side behind the direction of the tide, because that is where fish could be hiding waiting for baitfish to come. We fished the point, casting, popping, and retrieving like a fluid motion. I looked away for a moment, but felt a strong hit. I looked back at my line and set the hook. Not long into the fight, I realized that it was pretty big. Joe said it fought like a Redfish the way it was pulling drag. The fish took me all around the boat as I followed it with my rod tip, making sure to keep tension on the line and put the rod under the water at times to keep the line from snapping on the side of the boat or on the motor. At one point the line got caught in the pole for the trolling motor but Joe helped get it out. Once we saw the fish come to the surface, it was revealed just how big it was. It was a monster Bull Redfish! When we brought it close, it was still going on runs and taking drag. Joe instructed me to just keep pressure on the fish, reel it in slow and easy, and to let it run and tire itself out until it could be netted. Eventually we got it close enough to where Joe could net it and it was brought on board. What a fish! Jason and I couldn't believe our eyes. We brought in a beautiful 32 inch overslot bull Redfish. Now, most fish have only a size minimum to be able to keep. In Florida, as in most states, Redfish have a size minimum and maximum so that bigger fish are able to reproduce and sustain the population. While we couldn't keep this fish, it was certainly worth the tradeoff. It was huge, and truly a dream fish - especially given the beautiful backdrop of the natural, almost untouched classic Florida pine flatwood and scrub ecosystem. After taking pictures we released the fish, all of us hyped and stunned by our catch.
Jaron was next on the board with two solid Trout hiding behind the point. We kept on drifting over eel grass, a type of seagrass on the bay floor behind us. We were not in water deeper than 10 feet. Over this flat I caught two more Trout. When you're retrieving your lure, it's important to remember to keep going with the same pattern even if you get a hit on your bait. There is a solid chance the fish that hit it once will return to take it again. That's what happened for me with one of these fish.
We kept on fishing different spots, some by points, some by creek entrances, some drifting over grass flats, and some casting towards the shore. As the day went on, we kept catching trout, although none keepers until we made a final push at one spot right up against the flatwood forested shore. We first started casting towards the beach, but as we weren't catching much, Jaron casted out to the bay and soon found success. Soon, we all started casting out to the bay. Most of the day, we had been using the electric chicken color of swimbait, which Joe said was the best color for all purpose fishing. However, he wanted to experiment and put on a beer run color swimsuit, which worked like crazy. The race was on to see who could catch the most, and whether we could catch a keeper. Although we had caught ones just under the limit before, one of the fish Joe caught was our one and only keeper. That being said, we still had a great time casting and reeling in these fish. At the last spot, Jaron caught about 3 fish, I caught 5, and Joe caught about 11. He was totally schooling us, but that was due to experience; he was able to cast farther than us to the real honey holes which held the fish. Casting with a popping cork isn't the easiest, but with practice one is sure to get better, as we saw there.
With the one keeper and about 10 fish for each of us on the trip, including the accomplishment of that massive Redfish, we headed back in to the dock more than satisfied. Joe filleted the fish for us and we took it over to Shipwreck Raw Bar at Port St. Joe Beach, where they grilled it blackened for us with sides. It was a delicious lunch. Nothing beats fresh fish. After that, we set off on the calm ride along the beach back to Gainesville. This was seriously a dream trip, and I was glad to make it out there with Jaron following his fruitful interview.
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