The Jeff Calkins Report
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Trolling for snook " It's a River thing"

            Well it is good to see that the weather is ready to finely change. I do not think that I will complain about any cold weather this year! It seemed as if this past summer was plenty humid.

            The last time I wrote, I said that the fishing would change by the end of the month. Hang on, here it comes. We took a ride up one of the rivers in our area on Wednesday to partake in a little fishing trip. I had a friend with me that I have not H had on the boat since last season.

            We started out at about nine thirty in the a.m., a late start for me. The ramp that we put in at is private and they do not open until nine. It is a gorgeous day out though and my attention quickly turns to fishing. Lures are tied on, tossed in, and we begin. So many people do not troll, but I find that trolling is very effective at locating fish over a big area. When we locate fish, we will then stop and work the area with either live or more artificial baits. My favorite would be live bait.

            This area has escaped the wrath of our past hurricane seasons and looks much like it did twenty years ago. The orchids have already bloomed, but there are still blooms of all kinds on almost every tree that overhangs this river system. I believe that we trolled for about fifteen minutes before we got our first hit. There is not much room up here to fight a fish. The river is a little wider than most creeks, and there are allot of obstructions above and below the waters surface. This first hit was just that, a hit, and broke off, just that quick, wow.
                                                                                                   

            We probably had four fish hooked before we got one in the boat. Usually losing them when they would go airborne on us. If you have ever had a snook go in the air for you. You will not forget it to soon. Your lure sounds like rattlesnake. However we were able to boat a couple of snook. The first of which was a hair below the legal twenty eight inches with the tail pinched. #$*~?!! could be heard in the background, as the fish was released back into the river, but you know it is not worth the boat.

Normally we would work this area for more fish, but this was also a trip to find out how far up the fish have moved so we troll on. We have several more hookups, but are unsuccessful at bringing them in the boat for a closer  i.d.. Our second boated fish was a keeper sized snook, and I was almost quick enough to catch him in the air, not quite though. He or she was twenty nine inches and was quickly put in the live well.

            It was a challenge  to keep two baits in the water trolling without tangling up in the sides of the river, and drive the boat at the same time. Almost like a full time job. The objective was met though. Finding out that the snook are on the move, and the next time we go, we will have a more successful results. This type of fishing is going to get nothing but better as the weather gets colder. and the view is gorgeous....

                                                               Like I said before. If you can go. GO FISHING !!!!!!

Jeff