Some Southern Exposure...

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RJ
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Some Southern Exposure...

Post by RJ »

Just settling back in to some normalcy after the longest break I've taken in about 30 years...19 days off. It was nice to kick back for that time with friends and family in the sunny South.

First trip was to Cuba. Joining us this year on our annual trip was our regular travel partners Markus and his wife Alison. Ariel and her boyfriend Ben came along as well as Charles and his friend Jen. It was bound to be a great time with this crew and it lived up to it.

The weather was mint. 28 and sunny pretty much every day with little breeze. We did some fishing, snorkeling and lots of beach time. Perfect recipe for a vacation really.

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We fished the surf everyday and landed Grunts, Snappers, Needlefish, Pompano and other unknown stuff. Small tube jigs drifted over eel grass was the ticket.

We did end up on the Hobie Cats a few times to do some trolling. Waaaay cheaper than booking an excursion that is no more effective than doing our own thing. We quickly came to realize that 2500 sized reels aren't really suited for the ocean.. :lol: Markus got spooled 3 times in one trip by god knows what... :lol:

I landed one Snapper out on the Cats.

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We did spend one night fishing the pier with shrimp. Landed my first Stingray, kinda cool creature.

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We had a great week and I urge everyone to try to make the time to do these trips, they aren't crazy expensive and really help the winter blahs.

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After being home for 5 days, Birdee and I then boarded a plane for Sarasota to spend 5 days with my folks who winter there. Sarasota is a beautiful area with endless fishing opportunities.

The ponds at my folks place is loaded with Largies, my Pops has always done well. We had a blast spending the last hour of daylight fishing them and even one early morning. Sure felt nice to feel the thunk on the jig again, especially in February.

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Cookie cutters mostly but Sr. did get this beauty in our morning trip.

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One day we went down to a local beach that is famous for Shark's teeth. Birdee did some sifting while I casted the various obvious rockpiles from the beach. Two Snook and 3 Bluefish graced the beach. Every fish that day were caught on Jackall Squad Minnows, heck pretty much every fish we caught in the salt came on that bait.

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Birdees Shark Tooth loot.

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With the Sens in town we had to take in the game in Tampa. Fun night but for a fleeting moment I think I was a Tampa fan... :lol:

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The Sens won an entertaining game. Glad we made the trek in to watch.

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On our last day we decided to rent a boat and fish the Intracoastal. All four of us hopped aboard a 19 foot centre console for the day to fish the various flats and weed flats. What a blast. Landed a pile of fish casting.

The Intracoastal is a wild place to fish. The homes are ridiculous.

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Flounder on a jerkbait... :lol:

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Pompano fool ya every time and make ya think you've got a monster on, such a hard fighting bugger.

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The highlight of the day was Sr's reel screaming and my head spinning around to see a fish clear the water by 2 feet. Wow. This fish made the day for sure! Wicked Snook.

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We ended the day drifting the shrimp we bought in case the jerkbait bite didn't work just to get rid of them, Snappers and Sheepshead ate em up.

As winter goes on my mind will wander back to moments like this.....

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RJ
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Lenny
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by Lenny »

Great shots RJ!! That snook is a beauty. That 'pompano' is actually a jack crevalle. Definitely one of the hardest fighting fish I've ever caught. Caught some dandies on poppers in Costa Rica.

Cheers,

Lenny
spyman48
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by spyman48 »

Great report. Love fishing salt water. Snook are crazy fighting fish. I used bass gear on a trip to Florida last year fishing for Reds, Sea Trout and Snook. I was in my kayak, so it acted as a drag to wear these hard fighting fish out, otherwise I would have been spooled on a few fish for sure.
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CanBassK
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by CanBassK »

Wow! Looks like a blast!!!
Taking names, and catchin bass
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lape0019
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by lape0019 »

Looks like everyone had a blast!
riverdog
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by riverdog »

Looks like good times Rj. I need to get back to Florida!
Fishing the St.Lawrence 12 months a year!
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Gord
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by Gord »

SCHWEEEEET!.......looks like good times all around, sir!!! :D :)
I'm a goin' fishin', mama's goin' fishin' and my baby's goin fishin' too.

.......Taj Mahal.... "Fishin' Blues"
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CBB
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by CBB »

Nothing beats the cold weather like a trip south and you did it right RJ. Great fishing in the salt water and you never know what is going to bite next and you guys did great with some nice fish. Congrats and great pics
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Markus
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Re: Some Southern Exposure...

Post by Markus »

Always a great time hanging out with you guys. Looking forward to white sands again next January and exploring some new water together.
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