On Wednesday I looked at the marine forecast as well as checked Windy, and the weather for Thursday looked good. Since this was the only day that looked decent until next week, I took the morning off and went fishing. Since it was last minute, I wasn’t able to get anyone to go with me, so I headed out solo.

I arrived at the dock about 6:30am and the boat was already there waiting for me. I got loaded up and headed out. It was almost the top of incoming tide, so I decided to drift south from South Causeway bridge. Unfortunately, the water was dirty and the only thing I caught was a catfish.

I decided to head south and see if I could catch any Sheepshead on the channel markers. I hit channel markers, 190, 192, 196 and 198 (red markers) all with no action. After Marker 198 I decided to head to the power lines.

I arrived at the power lines about 8:30am. I fished the power lines on the west side of the river. I was a little frustrated that I didn’t even get a bite. Since the boat I was on had a trolling motor, I decided to move to the west bank of the ICW and fish the docks going north.

There was a lot of action with pelicans and other birds feeding in the shallows, so I was hopeful to catch something. I was throwing the Slam Shady paddle tail. It’s one of my go-to artificial baits. I finally put my first fish in the boat, a Jack Crevalle, or the correct term Crevalle Jack. Unfortunately, the Jack was pretty short, so I released it to fight another day.

I did not get another bite in the area, so I decided to head north back towards the marina. I hit channel markers 197, 195, 193, and 191 (green markers). Once again, I did not get a bite, so at this point with the outgoing tide I drifted and jigged with a pompano jig tipped with shrimp. I got a few bites and when I caught a catfish I decided to move on.

I ran over to the Smithsonian Dock to see if I could save the day. As soon as my first bait got wet, I had a 12-inch mutton on the line. My second bait I landed a 15-inch Sheepshead! It was great to get a targeted species on the boat. I ended up fishing here the rest of the day hopeful of putting more fish in the cooler. I caught about 15 Mutton Snapper ranging from 10-14 inches.

I ended up back at the dock around 12:30pm. I stayed out longer than I wanted but the bite was slow. All in all, it was a beautiful day on the water, and I did come home with a Sheepshead. I also got to see lots of God’s wonderful creations including a pod of dolphins. I pray everyone stays warm and safe with the inclement weather forecasted. If you go fishing, I pray for the blessing of protection and for a bountiful catch.

Merry Christmas all!