Fishing at the Channel 5 Bridge

    Eager to go fishing at a new location after spending pretty much an entire summer at home and taking classes, I convinced my family, who also desperately wanted to leave the house, to head down to the Keys, a fisherman's paradise, where I could go fishing with my brother. We headed to the Channel 5 bridge, a location I had heard much about and had wanted to fish for quite a while. On the way I stopped at two different bait shops. At the first, I had planned to get live shrimp and maybe some ballyhoo as a backup plan. I entered the store with my bait bucket and aerator, but upon seeing the bucket, the woman at the cash register immediately told me that they unfortunately did not have any live shrimp, seeing as how in the summer months it is harder to acquire them. I settled for frozen ballyhoo and chum, which happened to be all I needed. She kindly instructed me to check out the marina behind the Bass Pro Shops a bit further south and closer to the bridge to see if they had any shrimp, but they only had mostly small dead ones. Nevertheless, I self picked as many adequate shrimps that I could and payed less that $4 for the "dozen." I had a pack of 6 ballyhoo, a block of chum, and some shrimp, and I was ready to go fishing.

    The bridges on the way, from the southern tip of the Florida peninsula to Islamorada and on, were awesome. The blue water and the multi-colored reefs were always, of course, quite the sight. I'm very glad to be able to live in an area so close to such pristine nature and fishing grounds. We arrived at the pier next to the bridge and started fishing We arrived as the tide was reaching it's lowest point. Seeing as the channel marks a passage in between Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, it is not surprising that the current was very strong and that single egg and split shot sinkers did not suffice to keep the bait on the bottom. I had to put on extra sinkers to keep the bait on the bottom. Soon after we started, Jacob hooked up and reeled in a small Porkfish that took his shrimp. The colors of the fish matched the colors of the water and the nearby reefs. It truly was a great spot to fish, what with the sights and fishing quality. We were glad to start off the day with a catch, albeit small. We waited for the sun to defrost the chum, and we used the knife to cut up the block and toss out pieces. After fishing on the bridge in direct exposure from the sun and heavy current that made the chum less effective as we had hoped without a chub bag, we decided to pack up and he'd to another spot on the channel that was under the bridge, closer to the base. There was ample space both on the bridge and under it at the second spot to which we had moved to maintain social distancing and negate the need for a mask.

Under the bridge and in the shade, it was very calm and nice. Being so close to the water really helped, too. We could get away with less weight and the chum was more fictive. We got into the bites soon after we settled. At first my brother and I switched off with the shrimp and the ballyhoo. The ballyhoo wasn't being taken very much at first, but the shrimp did catch fish. My first fish of the day, on shrimp, was a small French Grunt. Also on shrimp, Jacob and I started off with a few small Mangrove Snappers, which were there in abundance. He caught 2 and I caught 1. But then I decided to target the bigger fish and switched to the cut bait, while Jacob was satisfied trying to catch fish on the tried and true shrimp to which he was accustomed. He caught another Porkfish. While we were happy he caught something, I suggested he switched to the ballyhoo. I was using it, and it was working well because of how thick and sturdy it was, so it was much harder for fish, specifically the smaller ones, to take it off the hook. He ended up switching, which proved to be the right move. I baited his hook with his first piece of Ballyhoo, and he immediately hooked up with a nice fish. It was taking line off the reel and Jacob struggled to hold the rod still and reel in. I helped him land the fish by grabbing the line and pulling it over the ledge, and it was in; Jacob's PB Mangrove Snapper, a keeper of 10.5 inches. While this wasn't the biggest Snapper I'd seen, we were both ecstatic to have brought in Jacob's best Mangrove Snapper. While we stuck with the cut bait, we both kept on reeling in keepers. We outfished the others under the bridge by far. Since we didn't have a cooler and had no intention of keeping the fish, even if they were legal, we gave the legal ones to the other people fishing near us. After reeling in some more quality fish, we ended with a 12 inch Mangrove Snapper, our biggest of the day. It was around 3 o'clock when we left, which means that we had been fishing for around 4 hours.

    All in all, it was a great day. I caught 2 French Grunts on the shrimp and 3 Mangrove Snappers on the cut ballyhoo (2 of which were keepers) while Jacob ended with a French Grunt and 2 Porkfish on shrimp and 6 Mangrove Snappers, some on shrimp and some on ballyhoo, 3 of which were legal to keep. Truthfully, fishing in the keys feels like a rite of passage, a necessary pilgrimage for fisherman, both land based and from boats. It's an incredible area, and especially in the region around Islamorada, very fishing oriented. The towns and waters seem like they were made for fishing and diving. The Keys truly are a fisherman's paradise. It was great to get out of the house and experience this magnificent environment once again, catching some quality fish in the process.

COVID-19 Closures

After being quarantined for the last month, not really able to leave my house due to the coronavirus, my family and I finally found an opportunity to leave, and we took it. I had planned to spend the day fishing at a new spot, the Rickenbacker Causeway, which is the bridge connecting Miami to Virginia Key and Key Biscayne. Next the the bridge is part of a bridge that was not completed. This section is now a fishing pier. I had wanted to fish at this spot for a while, as I had heard some good things from there. This would be my first fishing trip of the year. (Trust me, it's been tough.) I was very busy for the beginning of the year, and with the Coronavirus, I hadn't really been able to find time. On the way I stopped at a bait and tackle shop, and, with a mask and all, I bought two dozen live shrimp for the day. It was a beautiful day, and there were lots more people out then I expected. When I arrived at the pier, however, I found that both the parking spaces and the pier itself were closed because of the pandemic. I then checked, just to be sure, whether Bill Baggs State Park was closed, and it sure was. It was disappointing, but it was understandable. We had to move on. We still had to find a way to kill some time, so we went north to pickup some food and to find another spot. Both the Haulover jetty and the Newport pier at Sunny Isles were closed. By now we had just decided to go home and fish across the street. Again, I did not expect to see so many people out. But the time it was much more reasonable; all were on boats heading out of the canal, away from people, and I'm sure that they, too were anxious to leave the house. Jacob and I faced a few challenges. The bigger fish were only around for a few minutes at a time. Then they would suddenly vanish. Another was the constant threat of Puffers coming in to steal our baits. I like to catch all fish, and I appreciate each fish I have the opportunity to catch, but Puffers can be quite the nuisance when targeting other fish. Jacob caught three nice fish: a small Blue Striped Grunt, an 8 inch long Mangrove Snapper, and a Puffer fish (he enjoys the Puffers more than I do. I have grown rather weary of them.) I, on the other hand, had only managed to catch an unavoidable PUFFER. I've had better results. Welp, it was a nice day of fishing anyways, even though we only managed to catch 4 smaller fish in total, and missing many bites by bigger Snapper and such. Regardless, it was great to finally go outside and enjoy the beautiful Miami weather and waterways.

Small Bass at Orange Lake

Back at Orange Lake Resort in central Florida, I was excited to hit the water and try again at catching Bass. I started out waking up early in the mornings and trying different lakes, however none of them worked. They didn’t seem to have much life either, and the water was flat and quiet, which isn’t exactly a great sign for active, feeding fish. I ended up going back to the lake on which I had caught a Bass before. There I had seen many birds, small fish, and splashes in the water caused by predatory fish chasing prey. I went fishing over the course of about 4 mornings, walking around to different lakes, casting with my bait caster reel and Zoom Trick Worm, and I had started to go to the Bass lake on the second day. That day I saw Bass bear the bank, however, I noticed that they were rather small. I got one strike and no hookup, while not enticing any other Bass, probably due to to the small size of the fish and the large bait and hook I was using. On the third day, I arrived to see, to my dismay, that it was raining and there was no life to be found. I casted around the lake for a few hours, but I did not manage to catch anything. I didn’t even see any fish this time. On the fourth day, I decided to change up my presentation. I used a smaller Zoom Ultra Vibe lure in the same color, Watermelon Red, and cut off a piece in order to shorten the lure. Now, the bait was manageable for the smaller Bass of the lake. I got to the lake and immediately started casting. I saw many small Bass schooled up near the Bass. (By small Bass I mean Largemouth Bass under a pound. I thought it must have been post-spawn for the Bass, as these were young.) I decided to focus my attention to a patch of weeds near the bank, repeatedly making casts around the patch. My retrieve was based on a pattern of making two quick jerks of the rod to bring the lure up off the bottom, letting it fall again, reeling in the slack, and repeating. At one point, a Bass hiding in the grass made a big splash as it jumped to try to take my bait near the surface. I got really excited, but the fish didn’t bite the bait. However, in about 20 minutes later, at 9:17 AM, I hooked up with a Bass and reeled it in. It was small, but a fish is a fish. Unfortunately, the fish was barely hooked and it came off and flopped down the bank and back into the lake before I could take a picture. I kept fishing afterwards, but not for long, without any other results. It was a fun trip, even though I only caught 1 small Bass. I was happy that I was able to come away with with a Largemouth Bass, even if it was a small one. That seemed to be how it was this winter, just small Bass swimming close enough to the bank to be caught.

Another Great Day Across the Street

Today was yet another great day for fishing in sunny South Florida. I woke up, looked out the window, and immediately called Arky's Live Bait to ensure they had some live shrimp waiting for me. It was a great day to fish. The temperature was in the 80s, there was a nice breeze, and not a single cloud in the sky. I went over to Arky’s, bought 2 dozen live shrimp, and then prepared to catch fish across the street from my house in a saltwater canal connected to Biscayne Bay. We started off by dropping our shrimp down near the dock into the clear water, and, sure enough we instantly started feeding frenzies. Schools of Snapper, Jacks, Pinfish, and more were fighting for our bait. Less than five minutes after initially putting the baits in the water, Jacob and I doubled up and caught a Mangrove Snapper each. The catching continued as Jacob then caught 2 more Mangroves and a Needlefish by suspending the bait on the surface of the water. I caught 2 Mangroves and a Schoolmaster in the same amount of time. We had our eyes on the Jacks and bigger Snapper, however. Jacob, once he started targeting Jacks, even had a Jack bite his shrimp, but then it spit it out only for a puffer to eat it and get hooked. Jacob then caught a Mangrove Snapper on the next drop. After catching those fish, Jacob went back to the house to bring some bottles of water. Meanwhile, I saw that the school, for the most part, had moved over to another part of the dock while the Jacks were still under me. I dropped the shrimp in front of their faces, and they couldn’t resist it. Two or three Jacks fought over the bait until one took a big bite and I set the hook. It put up a nice fight. Jack Cravalles are considered by many to be the best fighting saltwater fish pound for pound, and I strongly agree. I brought it up just in time for Jacob to see. We unhooked and released the fish. Then Jacob finished off the shrimp by surprisingly catching the only Pinfish of the day. This was surprising because Pinfish had made up around 40-50% of the school and yet we had only caught one all day. That was the last fish of the day, and Jacob and I went home satisfied. It was a great day to be outside catching fish, in late fall where the weather is just right in Miami. Today helped me really appreciate the area in which I live, where beautiful fish that are fun to fight can be caught literally right across the street from my house. Overall I caught 5 fish and Jacob caught 6, with my 9 inch Mangrove Snapper being the biggest fish caught, not including the Jack or Needlefish. We fished for about two hours combined.

Today was great. Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving Dock Fishing

It was Thanksgiving, and so I met up with family once again to eat, watch football, and go fishing! My cousin, Nathan, and my brother and I went over to the dock to cast a few lures in hopes of enticing any fish down there. On the second cast, Nathan casted out by the piling, and reeled in his lure.  During the retrieve, we saw a flash in the water, and the line got tight. Fish on! He reeled in while I grabbed the line and pulled the fish onto the dock. We caught it. A nice Jack to start off the day. The fish were there all day under the dock, but we only managed to catch 2 in about 30 minutes combined fishing. One time, I hooked one at the surface, but it came loose. Another time, Jacob and I brought a fish close to the dock, but it then powered under it and broke us off. We caught the second fish by using a white bucktail jig under the dock to imitate an injured baitfish. Overall, we didn't have much time to fish but it was great to be back at it, especially since I hadn't had the time to fish since August.