Just had to find out if the 'gills and Crackers had gotten busy yet, but I knew when I got to the ramp that today was going to be different. It was 7:30 and I was the first truck to park at the ramp. Well, all dressed up so I might as well go. No wind yet though predicted to be 15 plus, I headed off to the first place I had in mind. Having fished here a 2 weeks back I kinda knew what I might find. Little did I know. It seems the FWC had been around spraying and all the veggies I had as friends just a short time back were either gone or looking real bad. Strike two. I hit em as best I could and wound up pulling 2 Crappie out of that area and a few small 'gills, all throwing a 1/32 hand tie of mine. To say it was slow was a big compliment. Some other folks slid in behind and put out about 6 rods with minnows and they did little better than I. As I worked out of the deeper water I found no fish at all, so off I went to see if I could do any better elsewhere. After a stop by the little boys room. Strategic placement.
So I motored off to where I was last week only to find more of the same. The high spot of the day was the wildlife. Water birds were everywhere. I need a better camera to capture some of those that were close to me better. This one was Purple and had a black Mohawk that he fluffed up whenever he looked my way. Smaller than most and agile, he was all over the place. He was fishing too and doing better that me. Of course the Gators were in full swing with their backup bass notes, and a few extra large ones were around now and then. Limpkins and Ibis and Herons are always around and singing their own songs. Not much on melody but after listening to traffic all week it sounds pretty good to me. Started getting hungry and figured it was about noon, and I was right. 12:15. It was just before this that one of the coolest boats I've seen on the river in months went tooling by. Had to have been made in the 50's. A runabout that was 15 or 16 feet long with a newer Mercury motor on a 4" jack plate, looked to be a 50 hp. What set this apart from the rest was it was a hard top made of all aluminum. Extra cool looking. Folks just out for a ride. Traffic getting up, no fish, and hungry, I headed for the ramp. Being first at the ramp had it's advantages when it came to pulling out. No one else there when I arrived, I was out in record time. Back at the house and the boat covered with no fish to clean at 1:25. I'm thinking of giving the bigger lakes a try with the trolling setup next week until things stabilize after the spraying. The spawn being over for the most part, this might be just the ticket. Cross your fingers for me..........Skeet.
