Archive for January 27, 2012
Next Stop – Fishing in Islamorda
We traveled to Key Largo on Friday with a goal of continuing our Florida fishing adventures.
Our first stop was our overnight lodging at the Holiday Inn in Key Largo. This hotel is a full service with restaurant, pool and newly renovated rooms. It turned out to be very nice and a great value. During your next stay in the keys, you need to check this one out.
The next stop was the Yellow Bait shop and we picked up shrimp and fishing advice. They directed us to the Tea Table channel just opposite Bud and Mary’s Marina – about the 78 mile marker.
Once we arrived at the channel bridge, we rigged our rods with a Carolina rig – 1 oz. barrel weight and a single #4 circle hook. The current was strong so we needed something to help restrict the movement after of positioning cast.
We alternated between the main channel and bridge piles. We rigged the entire shrimp on the hooks thinking that we would hit something big. Only problem, the small mangrove snappers would steal the entire shrimp without touching the hook. Solution was to cut the shrimp into three pieces. Bingo – each cast brought a nice mangrove snapper to shore. This catching continued for well over an hour.
A short time later the first mate hooked up to what she thought was a snag. It turned out to be a huge jack cravelle. With a little help from me, we brought the 24” fish to shore. As always, my philosophy is that a fish is too valuable to catch only once. So we carefully revived the big girl and allowed her to swim safely away under the watchful eyes of a family of brown pelicans.
After we ran out of bait, we headed across the street to Bud and Mary’s Marina. There we shared our story and pictures and they were amazed and happy that we were able to land this huge fish directly from the shore.
Our next stop was the Salt water Sportsman / Bass Pro Shop. This is a fishing supply store like no other. Also, we eat dinner at the Islamorda Fish Company restaurant next door. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for another busy day.
Until next time, Tightlines
NCsaltaire 