Islamorada and Hilton Head kicked my butt!

[Chris at Tech]

We were fortunate enough to get away for a few vacations in quick succession, but the fishing did NOT cooperate as I had hoped!

 

First, my wife and I got away to the iconic Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada for our 15th wedding anniversary.  The accommodations certainly did not disappoint!  I highly recommend this place if you find yourself in or around the Middle Keys.  I know you'll all be shocked to hear that I took the opportunity to get some fishing time in, but things didn't work out as I wanted them to.

 

It was hard not to get amped up when I saw this at every stinkin' marina we were at.

 

 

We took a drive down towards Marathon and ended up in Curry Hammock State Park, and that's where I put the travel combos to work.  I managed to fool a few barracuda, and they are always fun.

 

 

If you look in the background here, that land is owned by Mr. Johnny Morris himself.  While I was there, a gentleman who looked an awful lot like Mr.  Morris drove by on a golf cart and waved to me...so I got that going for me, which is nice...  Needless to say, it seems ole' Johnny is doing just fine for himself.

 

 

The next day was the day I had been waiting for -- backcountry charter day!  We left out of legendary Bud n' Mary's Marina, and things got off to an odd start.  The plan was to chase tarpon and snook, so we had to wait around for the bait guy to deliver the day's shrimp.  Apparently that was the day that the bait guy decided he just didn't feel like making his rounds.  Captain Ted grabbed a few pinfish out of his dockside bait pen, and we set off to top the livewell off with fresh pinfish from his trap.  Only we couldn't find the trap -- it seems it was stolen.  Great...  Nonetheless, we proceed on.

 

After a long, winding way across Florida Bay, we finally arrived at our spot where we set out a few pinfish to drift across a channel hoping for the silver king.  Those punks where nowhere to be found after 3-4 spots.  At that point we had nothing to show for our efforts besides a few sharks and catfish.  

At that point, we turned out attention to snook, and we finally started getting some desired results.  Up until that point, I snook had eluded me so I was happy to get a new species added to the list.

 

 

 

We were on a good run of snook and medium-sized jack crevalle and then the sharks showed up to make things interesting.  And I'm not talking the little guys, either.  A few times while trying to get hooked fish in the boat, we were treated to some National Geographi- level footage of the food chain in action.  Really neat stuff to see!

 

The next bite was a truly an unexpected one -- an endangered sawfish!  Certainly not a monster specimen, but an awesome site!

 

 

 

At that point, it was time to call it a day.  I was pretty bummed out to not even get a shot at a tarpon, but the captain did everything he could.  It just wasn't meant to be.

 

The next day we wrapped up our trip by driving back to Miami to fly out.  We drove up and down Miami Beach for a few hours, passing right by the Surfside Condo a few times.  We woke up the next day to hear the news that it had collapsed.  Eerie feeling to have been there just the day before!

 

After a week and a half back at work, it was time for the annual July 4th pilgrimage to Hilton Head Island.  From start to finish, this was THE toughest I have ever seen the fishing.  Saltwater, freshwater -- it didn't matter, they all had lockjaw.

 

Multiple sessions fishing the golf course ponds yielded TWO bass total for the week.  No bueno!  I even fished right before the arrival of TS Elsa -- you know, the time the fishing text books tell you that the fish strap on the ole feed bag.  I even fished the saltwater ponds with only one dink trout and one dink flounder to show for it.

 

This run of poor luck even extended out to the guided trip we took.  The day set up perfectly to chase tarpon and big jacks -- calm seas, a light breeze, and ACRES of bait on the beach.  We filled the baitwell and moved onto our fishing spot, which was also chock full of bait and birds.  Usually that's a great sign, but there were no gamefish to be found.  We tried a few really fishy looking spots with the same results - no target species to be found.  The two highlights of the day were a ~5lb spanish mackeral caught on a telephone pole of a tarpon rod, and a very fiesty ~60lb spinner shark that made it boatside.

 

Man -- what a frustrating run of fishing in really good destinations!  I guess I'll have to get them next time!

[roadwarrior]

[GTN-NY]

I like watching the tv shows that are in Islamorada. It’s a dream thing for the wife an I to do. 

[Chris at Tech]

58 minutes ago, GTN-NY said:

I like watching the tv shows that are in Islamorada. It’s a dream thing for the wife an I to do. 

Me too -- my problem is that it pi$$es me off when my results don't match the TV show! 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Those are some beautiful pictures. 

[TnRiver46]

I’ve been to both of those places! South Carolina locals always tell me to come back in the fall but my fiancé’s birthday is in June so we usually catch croakers and whiting haha

 

i can’t remember exactly what all we got in Islamorada but I think the best thing was yellow tail snapper. I did hook a baby tarpon in a kayak in key largo but it defeated me easily 

 

great pics and great results even though disappointing. I’ve never got a snook, I had to watch one stare at a live pin fish on a hook all week at a place we stayed at one time. Followed them for a week but never bit 

[bulldog1935]

@TnRiver46

You hear snook slurping around dark boat docks at night.  

Our standing winter Arroyo dock-fishing trip, broke off my lifetime snook.  

 

Saw it gliding by our lighted dock right under my feet, to the next dark dock - it was well over 30" and was a shocking dark mass as it glided by.  

This was about 4 am, and I had just got up from a cat nap - no coffee yet.  

He slurped at the next dock, I tossed a blue SS3 over there, he nabbed it, and the rod was bent deep for a short run.  Probably cut my line on his gill plates, but one of those disappointments you never forget.  

 

So far everyone on our Arroyo trips has landed snook, here's my dad with a 17" - he hates releasing fish after a good fight - his 90 b/d trip.  

He looks 10-years younger holding his limit of specs after the next night.  

 

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@TnRiver46

You hear snook slurping around dark boat docks at night.  

Our standing winter Arroyo dock-fishing trip, broke off my lifetime snook.  

 

Saw it gliding by our lighted dock right under my feet, to the next dark dock - it was well over 30" and was a shocking dark mass as it glided by.  

This was about 4 am, and I had just got up from a cat nap - no coffee yet.  

He slurped at the next dock, I tossed a blue SS3 over there, he nabbed it, and the rod was bent deep for a short run.  Probably cut my line on his gill plates, but one of those disappointments you never forget.  

 

So far everyone on our Arroyo trips has landed snook, here's my dad with a 17" - he hates releasing fish after a good fight - his 90 b/d trip.  

 

The locals all told me to fish lighted docks all night. I got excited about trying it until I realized I would be canoeing in the ocean in the dark. Oh dear, No thanks!! Back to bed 

[Captain Phil]

I lived in the Keys in the nineties.  Fished there all my life.  If you want to catch snook and tarpon this time of year, night fishing is much better.  Your guide should have told you this.  Unfortunately, customers seem to always want to fish when the fishing is tough.  They either show up in the heat of summer or during a cold front in January. We had a serious snook cold kill off about ten years ago.  Since then, a restocking program has been very productive.  The Everglades is full of small snook.  It's nothing to catch 5-6 a day out of Everglades City or Flamingo.  TV shows are entertainment, not fishing forecasts.