This week was a tough week of fishing. I worked an evening shift, 3:30 pm to midnight, so I went out on Monday and Thursday. On Monday, I went out with my friends Don and Steve. This was the first time Steve joined Don and me, and we met through Salt Strong.

We met at the dock around 8:00 am and went on our adventure. Unfortunately, we didn’t know it would be a tough day fishing. We started heading north and tried to fish the spoil islands just past the North Causeway bridge.

When we came up to the first spoil island, I wanted to fish, we realized it was too shallow. I don’t recall it being that shallow before, but it was, and we almost got stuck. I spent about ten minutes looking for a channel to get to the east side of the spoil island, but then decided to run further north.  As we headed out to the channel, Don was trolling a shallow diver behind the boat, and he hooked up with a baby jack. Little did we know that would be the last fish caught the rest of the day.

Once in the channel, we made the run to Round Island. I was hopeful as I heard some trout were being caught up there. We worked our way from the northwestern point of the island and all the way around without a single bite. We saw birds and lots of blow-ups on the schools of mullet, but the fish didn’t want what we were throwing.

With it getting late in the morning, I headed to Harbor Branch. Once again, we had little luck here. Although about halfway to the west shoreline, I did hook up with a short snook, but it was short-lived, as the first jump, he shook the hook. I didn’t want to stop fishing on a bad note, but I had to get to work, so we headed back to the dock at this time.

Even though the fishing was slow, we had good fellowship and beautiful weather. We saw several manatees and a pod of dolphins. I joked that today’s trip was a sightseeing trip rather than a fishing trip.

On Thursday, I managed to get another boat, and since it was last minute, I texted Don to meet me at the dock. Since we went north on Monday and didn’t do well, we headed south. We went to marker 192 and decided to fish the west bank docks. After drifting for a while, I realized it was difficult to fish the docks without a trolling motor, so we changed it up and headed east to Bear Point.

Bear Point still has a lot of grass, but once again, we struck out. There were lots of mullet again, and every once in a while, we would see something chasing them; however, we were unable to get any bites. With it approaching 11:00 am, I started heading back to hit the oyster bars on the way back. As we were heading to the channel, I was trolling a slam shady bomber, and it paid off, as I caught the only fish of the day, a baby jack crevalle.

When we got to the oyster bar, our first hit was a shrimp on a float. It caught us by surprise, as Don and I were both throwing paddle tails. All of a sudden, I heard Don’s reel screaming. I was closest to the rod, so Don told me to grab it. Whatever it was, it was heavy and was running hard. Unfortunately, it broke me off about 15 seconds into the fight. I felt bad as I lost Don’s fish. This was the moment my luck changed. Once I handed Don his rod back, my reel started screaming. I spent the next five minutes. With the way it was fighting, I thought for sure it was a stingray, but it turned out to be a 4-foot bonnethead. Over the next thirty minutes, I caught eight ladyfish and lost at least that many before I got them to the boat. Unfortunately, Don didn’t get anything to the boat. I even offered to let him use the cork popper I was using to catch the fish, but he continued to fish with what he was using.

When we returned to the dock, I felt guilty that I had caught fish and Don had not. But Don is easygoing and said he enjoyed being out on the boat and fellowshipping with me. He reminded me of the importance of friendship and being in the moment.

Even though the fishing was tough this week, friendships were forged, and memories were made. Tania and I send our best wishes to all fellow anglers. May your fishing adventures be safe, blessed, and filled with tight lines and good times! Until next time, keep casting and chasing those dreams on the water.

The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong now hosts monthly meetings at Islamorada Brewery and Distillery on the 4th Tuesday of each month. These meetings offer members a range of benefits, from guest speakers to fellowship with local anglers who like to help each other catch fish. Membership to Salt Strong includes a 20% discount on tackle, access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. Additionally, there will be monthly tournaments and guest speakers featured. To learn more about Salt Strong, click the links below for a FREE pack of Slam Shady or a 30-day test drive.