No Birthday Catch -- Ft. Desoto County Park
Well, the park did catch me -- for $5 to just get in and a couple tolls on the road getting there from I-275. One of the tolls (50 cents) was for a bridge just over the first open bay (maybe Boca Ciega or some such name) -- turns out that might be the better spot to stop and fish a sandbar there (according to a map I had been given at a kayak shop a few days back). That spot looked pretty good as I came back over the little draw bridge (after waiting for a sailboat to pass through). Four-wheeling onto the beach would save me the 50 cent toll too. Water really looked nice and turquoise in color against the white sandy beach.
That day was my birthday so, I had decided to fish somewhere with the leftover bait I had tried at John's Pass on Treasure Island the day before. It was a great day to fish until about 1:00 p.m. when the next cold front came visibly pushing through bringing some big clouds and rain -- exit time for me to get off that fishing pier in the park. The only thing I managed to catch from the pier was a crab pot that had been planted some distance to the south off the pier.
I had been the first fisherman to arrive on the pier and had even walked out first without any fishing gear to see if anyone else was fishing already and if anything was biting. The only people there were waiting for the ferry trip which ties up to the pier there and there was a little shop halfway out that sold bait, tackle, coffee, ice cream and other snacks and drinks. It's not a very long pier and it's T-shaped and since the wind was blowing from the west and southwest, I took up a spot on the east end of the pier -- had my big surf casting rod for the bait and a smaller one with a lure attached.
I had talked to the woman in the shop to see what she knew but, she said "she didn't know because the fishermen never came in to tell her about their catches". On my way off the pier, I thought to go in to tell her about my "catch" but, she was closing shop and a woman just had placed an order for a cup of coffee so, I relented and decided to not mention anything about the bogus catch.
I had lots of nibbles from the little "bait stealers" as expected but, nothing willing to make a big hit and get hooked as I had hoped. No strikes at all on the lure. That fateful cast to the south was a really good one (for distance) but, it wasn't as far to the right of the marker float as I had hoped and almost immediately after putting the rod down, I picked it up to find I was hung up on something or something really big had taken the bait. As I pulled and tugged on the rod, I intermittently had hopes that a monster Jew Fish or Grouper might be at the end of the line and "twanged" the line while alternately giving it some slack hoping to see some action on the rod tip. No such luck.
As I tugged more and tightened the drag, I became more convinced that it was probably the crab pot and slowly pulled harder and harder on the 50 pound line and steel leader -- thinking the leader might break or the line. About a half dozen people took some interest too in what I had on my line but, I had been watching that float for the crab pot getting closer and closer to the end of the pier as I dragged the pot closer. Eventually, I had the float and rope off the east end of the pier and began to pull on the line which was hooked to a knot in the rope at which time a female angler came to help me by holding the rod while I pulled the line by hand out of the water -- she expressed some interest in seeing what might be in the crab pot.
After I got my line unhooked from the rope, I continued to pull the rope until the pot surfaced but, we couldn't see anything inside because it was made of wood slats all around and most of the openings or gaps seemed to be covered with weed, shells and some slime. I suppose I could have pulled the pot up onto the pier to get a closer look but, since the pot was private property, I decided not to do so. Be my luck that the Coast Guard or some constable would show up and show me the way to the "plank" (as in Treasure Island).
I did finish that book earlier yesterday morning and had the other four cinnamon rolls for breakfast -- leftovers from my birthday. Shorts and sandals, Birthday cards and a big package at the door of my RV when I got back to the RV park -- a hammock and frame from my son and daughter-in-law. I put that together while cooking a big Rib-eye steak on the grille -- pretty tasty. All in all, a Great Day!
That day was my birthday so, I had decided to fish somewhere with the leftover bait I had tried at John's Pass on Treasure Island the day before. It was a great day to fish until about 1:00 p.m. when the next cold front came visibly pushing through bringing some big clouds and rain -- exit time for me to get off that fishing pier in the park. The only thing I managed to catch from the pier was a crab pot that had been planted some distance to the south off the pier.
I had been the first fisherman to arrive on the pier and had even walked out first without any fishing gear to see if anyone else was fishing already and if anything was biting. The only people there were waiting for the ferry trip which ties up to the pier there and there was a little shop halfway out that sold bait, tackle, coffee, ice cream and other snacks and drinks. It's not a very long pier and it's T-shaped and since the wind was blowing from the west and southwest, I took up a spot on the east end of the pier -- had my big surf casting rod for the bait and a smaller one with a lure attached.
I had talked to the woman in the shop to see what she knew but, she said "she didn't know because the fishermen never came in to tell her about their catches". On my way off the pier, I thought to go in to tell her about my "catch" but, she was closing shop and a woman just had placed an order for a cup of coffee so, I relented and decided to not mention anything about the bogus catch.
I had lots of nibbles from the little "bait stealers" as expected but, nothing willing to make a big hit and get hooked as I had hoped. No strikes at all on the lure. That fateful cast to the south was a really good one (for distance) but, it wasn't as far to the right of the marker float as I had hoped and almost immediately after putting the rod down, I picked it up to find I was hung up on something or something really big had taken the bait. As I pulled and tugged on the rod, I intermittently had hopes that a monster Jew Fish or Grouper might be at the end of the line and "twanged" the line while alternately giving it some slack hoping to see some action on the rod tip. No such luck.
As I tugged more and tightened the drag, I became more convinced that it was probably the crab pot and slowly pulled harder and harder on the 50 pound line and steel leader -- thinking the leader might break or the line. About a half dozen people took some interest too in what I had on my line but, I had been watching that float for the crab pot getting closer and closer to the end of the pier as I dragged the pot closer. Eventually, I had the float and rope off the east end of the pier and began to pull on the line which was hooked to a knot in the rope at which time a female angler came to help me by holding the rod while I pulled the line by hand out of the water -- she expressed some interest in seeing what might be in the crab pot.
After I got my line unhooked from the rope, I continued to pull the rope until the pot surfaced but, we couldn't see anything inside because it was made of wood slats all around and most of the openings or gaps seemed to be covered with weed, shells and some slime. I suppose I could have pulled the pot up onto the pier to get a closer look but, since the pot was private property, I decided not to do so. Be my luck that the Coast Guard or some constable would show up and show me the way to the "plank" (as in Treasure Island).
I did finish that book earlier yesterday morning and had the other four cinnamon rolls for breakfast -- leftovers from my birthday. Shorts and sandals, Birthday cards and a big package at the door of my RV when I got back to the RV park -- a hammock and frame from my son and daughter-in-law. I put that together while cooking a big Rib-eye steak on the grille -- pretty tasty. All in all, a Great Day!
posted by Ray at
2:13 AM
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