Hello everyone. Tania and I hope you all had a great week thus far. January 1, 2019, was one of the more memorable fishing trips for Tania and me. It was a bit windy, but the water was absolutely beautiful and we brought home one sheepshead and eight mangrove snappers. We caught a bunch of other fish and lost a few decent fish, so we had some highs and some lows but all in all it was a great day.

The day began with my reel feeling really tight and not winding right so I had to put it away. I pulled out my other rod and reel, which I usually have set up with artificial bait. While fishing our first spot we had three manatees swim past the boat. With the crystal-clear water, we saw them plan as day. I wasn’t getting many bites in the first spot; however, Tania couldn’t keep the bait on her hook. Although I think she was more interested in being able to see the bottom and the manatees. After about 30 minutes in the first spot with no fish to bring home, I decided to move.

In the second spot we caught several mangrove snappers and lost a few nice fish, however, we didn’t get them close enough to the boat to see what we lost. After about an hour there we ran out of bait. Neither Tania nor I were ready to head home, so I docked the boat and ran and got more shrimp from Debrook’s, then we came back to the South Causeway bridge. By the time we got back, we had to change sides due to the tide change.

Tania’s first fish on the south side of the bridge was the sheepshead, which we almost lost to a barracuda right behind the boat. We stayed there for another hour and on our last shrimp Tania caught another mangrove snapper; however, she never got the snapper to the boat as the barracuda decided it wanted lunch.

Tania fought the barracuda for about 15 minutes. It made three big runs ranging from 60 yards to nearly spooling her, which we have 280 yards of line on her reel. After the third run, the barracuda was tired and came up to the boat. We did not have a gaff so I tried to net the fish.

When I grabbed her line the 20lb leader broke. It was so disappointing not to get it into the boat and get a picture with it. But since the fish was at the boat and it wasn’t fighting anymore, I told Tania the fish was as good as caught.

While Tania was fighting the fish, I tried to record the fight. I was giving a great narration, even Morgan Freeman would have been proud. After the fish self-released, Tania went to my phone to watch the video only to find out I took a single still shot and wasn’t recording.

Oh well, I had a good laugh at myself. Tania didn’t think it was funny.  On the bright side, I did get a new reel. Since my Penn Conflict was just under a year old, BassPro exchanged it, however, they didn’t have any more conflicts so I upgraded to the Penn Slammer III 4500. Well, I should say Tania upgraded. She catches more than me so I thought it would be best if she got the better reel.

Tania and I hope you enjoyed our memory. We pray all who made it out this week had blessed and safe trips. May you have tight lines and good times.

The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong is now holding monthly meetings in Fort Pierce. The meetings are being held on the 4^th Thursday of the month. The next meeting will be on August 24^th. These club meetings are for inside members only. If you would like to become an inside member here is what the membership includes: access to the in-person meetings as well as all the other perks such as 20% off all tackle, Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on trends in your area. We will also have guest speakers at our meetings and we will be holding monthly tournaments. Click the link below to get a FREE pack of slam shady or a 10-Day Test-Drive of The Smart Fishing Spots App and The Salt Strong Insider Club . . . And We’ll Ship You $35 Worth of FREE Lures, an “Inshore Fishing Manifesto” Book (Physical copy) & Decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!