Category: Nature

Best way to spend a Rainy Day

Waking up hearing the light pattering of rain off the roof, I would have never have guessed I’d be spending my whole day fishing out of a kayak.  After sleeping in for the first time on this trip I woke up only to find out Ben was already out on the water in his kayak. After rushing through breakfast, only grabbing a handful of sausages, I quickly gathered some gear and got out onto the water, finding Ben after only 15 minutes. One of the key things forgotten in my sprint out the door was an anchor for my kayak which as it turns out is very important in windy and rainy weather. Thankfully nearby there was a small grass island I could beach on. We didn’t have long to wait before getting a plethora of fish in quick succession. After bringing in two Red fish ,he first, and second Redfish i’ve ever caught, I hear Ben holler out that he had a “giant” on his line. Once pulling it in and finding out it was 25 inches I had to concur that it was indeed a giant. After bringing in the giant we decided to head back to the dock for some lunch, bringing in the haul of two fish (a smaller Redfish that Ben caught before I caught up to him)

Ben with the morning haul, a giant 25 inch Red along with an 18 incher.

Once getting back in for lunch the rain really started coming down for an hour or so, leaving us stuck inside to watch syfy movies most of the afternoon. The skies cleared in the late afternoon allowing us to get out of the house for a bit. Since our luck had be so good in the morning we decided to head out once we got home from dinner. Seeing dark clouds in the distance and the sun dropping quickly we knew we only had around an hour to get in the water and get fishing. We stayed out till after the sun had dropped without catching a single thing, but that didn’t phase either one of us. I’ll include a few pictures below to show you why…

I’m currently writing to you at 12:26am, since I have to be at the tackle shop in a little less than 6 hours this is where I leave you, hopeful that ill be back tomorrow with more fun stories (and hopefully less of a sunburn) so this is me signing off till next time.

 

The Red Kayak

As expected, the day started out bleak , with around 30 minutes of pouring rain during breakfast. Thankfully the rain soon cleared and not long after there were beautiful blue skies. Ben and I decided to take advantage of our good fortune, so we headed to the beach to try a bit of surf fishing. this time we decided to try something a little different for getting our baits into deeper water. We were gonna use a kayak to paddle out past one of the sandbars where the big fish like to sit. But as you can see in the video below my kayak paddling skills need a little work.

 

Once past the breakers, I was able to drop one of our baits out deeper but on the way back in of course I got caught by a wave breaking over the back of the kayak and ended up having to swim back to shore for the third time. Eventually our efforts paid off resulting in a little shark on the end of one of our lines.

After a few more hours without catching much (apart from a few catfish) we were treated to the company of a nearby pod of dolphins as the were chasing bait fish. I was able to quickly throw my drone up in the air to get a glimpse of the large pod before they all disappeared back into the murky water.

Not long after the pod passed us by we decided it was time for some dinner, so we packed up all our gear and headed out on the search for food. I’m currently writing to you after having successfully found a “tasty burger” and placing second in a riveting game of put-put. We’re not exactly confident we’ll be able to get back out on the water tomorrow due to weather conditions but if today is any indication, we’ll definitely remain hopeful that the rain will hold off a bit longer.

The Day of the Drum

Like most good fishing days it started out with an early morning run to the local tackle shop to resupply on gear and snacks. After a quick pit stop to grab a new battery for the trolling motor, Ben, Chris,Colton and myself soon set off into the bay. As we cast off we all shared a mixture of feelings from uneasiness and trepidation due to the weather. We quickly forgot about the weather due to Ben hooking our first fish of the day,which turned out to be a huge 25 inch Red Fish.

 

Ben With the first fish of the day.

 

Confidence was high from bagging our first fish of the day after only being on the water for 15 minutes . This newfound confidence soon turned into a bit of frustration as we were soon plagued by a swarm of Lady fish stealing our baits. After trolling along the shallow grass flats, we decided enough was enough and headed to a nearby railroad bridge to attempt to bring in some Sheepshead.

Despite it’s appearance this bridge is still in use.

As we soon came to realize the bridge itself was not only still being used, but two osprey had made it their home. They then treated us to the spectacle of watching them bring home their dinner, a large catfish caught not too far from where we were fishing. After passing under the large structure, graphing the ocean floor as we went, we soon decided to drop anchor and get some bait in the water. We didn’t have long to wait as our baits were soon being stolen by arguably the most annoying fish in the ocean the infamous: Sail Cat. We were slowly becoming annoyed and disheartened by the vexing and slimy fish. Our persistence though, soon paid off with a reward no one was expecting.

 

After a 5 minute fight we received the surprise of the trip so far, with Colton reeling in a massive 21 lbs. Black Drum. Sadly once they get to that size they become infested with parasites, so instead of keeping him we let him go back to his gloomy underwater dwelling between the pylons.

Colton and his 21lbs Drum

Not long after catching that monstrous fish we felt the winds and barometric pressure change, the telltale signs of an incoming storm. We quickly packed our gear and headed back for the dock getting off the water just in time to avoid the rain and wind. After only being on the water for a few hours we filled the rest of our day with numerous games of poker, Halo, and even a game of tennis when the weather allowed. After diligently looking over the radar we’re hoping to get back out again tomorrow wether that means fishing either on the boat or just off the beach. Till then I’ll just leave you with a view of a gorgeous sunset we witnessed on my first night of being here.

A photo I got soon after arriving the first night of the trip.

 

Destin, Florida (Day 1)

After an early morning and four hour drive, we finally made it to the beach. Of course our first order of business was to gather and arrange some fishing gear and head straight to the beach. Once getting our baits into the water, we didn’t have to wait more than five minutes before Ben snagged a huge Redfish. 

We couldn’t have imagined a better start to our trip. After this we were full of confidence and were ready to set out the next day on Ben’s new boat.

We set off early the next morning, only to find out the boat’s battery had died, so after a quick run to a local auto repair shop, we finally were able to set off and get out on the water. We had a pretty slow morning fishing for Jack and Grouper under a nearby bridge. Once the tide started going back out we decided to a small inlet to try and catch some redfish or trout. We worked the docks for around thirty minutes. Soon after, it was as if someone flipped a switch and within five to ten minutes Ben had to fish on the line, the first was a Speckled Trout.

Only moments later we had our second Red of the trip, this one was a bit smaller than the first one on the beach but it was definitely a welcome change from the slow morning.

We stayed out for a few more hours without catching anything, a the sun started dropping we decided to head back in and grab some dinner and get our gear ready for the next day.

 

Snow Day

After being a bit under the weather and not getting much sleep I woke up to a pretty awesome surprise. Being from Alabama we don’t get much snow so I knew I had to get out and try to get a few pics before it all melted.

 

After sitting in a hole for about an hour a bird finally came close enough for me to get a decent shot.

Then of course Burton had to come in and scare all the birds away.

Beach Lightning

This is by far one of my favorite shots I got while at the beach this summer. I woke up at about 4:00 in the morning and was out taking photos by the water for about an hour and a half, once it started to rain a bit I decided to take about one or two more shots and this happened to be the last photo I took that morning before it started to pour down rain.

 

Got this shot at about 5:00am right before it started to pour down rain.