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Ladies & Lures
By: Heather Hickman
I
recently made my first bay fishing trip on the Laguna Madre. I had no
idea what to expect or how much fun I would have. I grew up fishing
lakes in Wyoming and Utah with my Grandfather’s and Father. I loved to
fish as a kid and looked forward to each trip I made. Many of my
fondest childhood memories are of fishing. But I can now say that
fishing the bay is a completely different type of fishing. James and I
spent about 25 hours on the bay fishing. We may not have landed a bunch
of fish but I sure learned a lot and saw things I have never seen
standing on the beach.
The first lesson I can offer to all of you women…never tell your husband to take the keys out of the boat! I learned this the hard way. I being a city girl told James to take the keys out of the boat and now wonder where in the world they went. Maybe they will show up on a shore in Florida. Beware not having the keys makes it very hard to go fishing. After searching for 2 hours we ended up at the SPI Tourist Information Center for help finding a dealer who had our type of boat engine. They gave us the help we needed to find the one and only dealer Cougar Marine in San Benito that was close to SPI. I say close lightly because it was a 45 minute drive one way. I did turn out good and we got out on the water later that day.
On Saturday morning we got up early and met with our guide for the day. Our guide took us to South Bay where we drifted into the Snook. Be ready to remain as quiet as possible or you will never hook a Snook. The guide hooked the first Snook and then James followed up within 10 minutes with another Snook and a Redfish. We did release all of these catches after photos but you must move fast. Snook are very sensitive and should only be out of the water for a few minutes or they will die. The boat traffic picked up in the area and began scaring the Snook so we moved on. I would like to offer a tip to boaters on the Laguna Madre do not drive thru another boats drift and stick to the channel.
Later that day we saw sharks, giant manta rays, and dolphins all within arms length. It sure made me nervous. We began drifting south of the old causeway and we got into the fish. The Redfish were hiding in the grass lines and laying wait for smaller fish. James hooked a Redfish and then allowed me to bring it in. I certainly had no clue what I was in for. Every time I got the fish to the boat it would take off again. It took me a few tries but I finally got it in the boat. Wow! I can not explain the excitement I felt fighting with the Redfish. It is nothing like fishing lake trout or bass. I think the smile in the pictures shows it all.
I will remember this trip the rest of my life. I realized how quiet, tranquil, and relaxing it is to fish the bay. I know that I will be making many more trips to SPI and hope that each and every one is as pleasant as this one.
Tips and lessons I learned:
- Never take the keys out of the boat.
- Remain as quiet as possible or you will never hook a Snook.
- Snook are very sensitive and should only be out of the water for a few minutes or they will die.
- Boaters on the Laguna Madre do not drive thru another boats drift and stick to the channel.
- Redfish hide in the grass lines and lay wait for smaller fish.
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