The weather and the fishing were hot, and we got to enjoy a month of great adventures with lots of new and old friends!
The main target in June were inshore redfish - they were picky with all the bait having moved inside, but we tricked a pile of them!
The grass is green and the tides are bringing "cooler" water in. I had so much fun with some fantastic folks this month and can't wait to get out there again with some better weather!
John Longest on the Eastern Shore
Bluebird skies and lots of heat started off the month with John and I chasing redfish on the Eastern Shore. The bull reds weren't up near the top willing to play outside in the big water, but we were able to find their smaller brethren hunting for crabs and small shrimp inside. We had a lot of shots, but not too many takers. John named this one, "Willy", leaving us a plethora of jokes about how we had to "Free Willy", and put him back to be a "wet Willy", amongst others that can't be posted online. Either way, he swam off fine, and we had a great time out on the water. Thanks, John (JD).
Shark hunting with midwesterners!
That's not fair - Joe Dockers was a local who just left the area, but had his friend Brian and Dad, David, in town for some tuna fishing. They wanted to catch some sharks before they headed back out to Kansas. We had a wait until the tide started moving, and just didn't get into anything at our first spot. After an adventurous ride through the marsh, we reset everything and ended up hooking up with a few sharks close to an ocean inlet. We only brought one to the boat, and Joe fought it perfectly. I know he was hoping to bring it up for pictures, but he would've had to hook a smaller one for that. It was a gorgeous sandbar in the 5 foot range that went on more than 5 reel screaming runs. Thank you guys, and I hope the move out to Ohio works out well for you, Joe.
Father's Day with Dave and Andy
Had a last minute trip come together for Dave and Andy to take off at sunset. I absolutely loved being able to do a father/son trip on Father's Day, and it was an honor to be there as they both got into the fish later at night. We had a big swirl on top water at the start of the trip, but the fish didn't get the hooks planted, so we ended up decorating the docks with some lures into the evening. Andy brought a nice 18" red to the boat, and Dave followed that up with an even bigger one that broke off as Andy pulled him in. In true Father's Day spirit, Dave took that with the grace that only comes as a father of three boys - and everyone had a great time out there. Happy Father's Day, Dave. Hope we get to do it again, soon.
Earrrrllllyyy morning with Dan
Dan McGrath came straight from a wedding, with plans to fish with his nephew David... but David wasn't able to push through to the 4 AM meetup at the dock. Dan and I got to go out and quickly found some reds near bends inside the inlet, but they were keyed in on the fingerling baitfish that were flooding the area, and we weren't able to get any on. I wasn't able to find the right fly, and that was tough because Dan's casting ability was superb. He was putting it where he wanted to, but the strike just wasn't coming. We ran out into the big water after sunrise, but couldn't find the best spot to lock things down, and while we ended up empty handed regarding the fish, we both enjoyed it, and Dan was a great sport about it - understanding that every day isn't a banner day. Next time we'll absolutely get on them - perhaps when there's more than a combined 3 hours of sleep on the boat!
Kevin and Joey get a dream double
This one didn't take long at all. Once we arrived on the flat, Joey was the first to cast and immediately got blown up on by a big houndfish (the largest species of needlefish in the world). They got called all sorts of names that day, but the one that seemed to stick was Kevin's hard North Carolina accent calling out "them green gar". We hooked several, and they put up a great fight, but they weren't our target quarry - but those didn't take long either. Shortly after sunrise, small schools of large (over slot, but not quite bulls) reds started showing themselves. When we saw huge tails waving in what was more than 2 feet of water, we knew that we were on some good ones. Joey again struck first with a great cast and after one missed his topwater lure, another strike that seemed more subtle than the first made the entire bait disappear. He ended up landing a 32-1/2" redfish that went on several runs. With the shoulders on that fish, I'd put it in the 14-15 lb. range. An absolute stud fishing inshore. Shortly after that we got back on the school, which had split into two, and after some chasing Kevin got his hookup... followed quickly by another hookup for Joey. It was the best double of the season as they both sight-casted to, and landed, redfish over 27"! We found several inshore, and got another to take, but the focus on small fingerling baitfish (silversides and peanut bunker) was again too much to overcome. Another couple "green gar", one spot that Kevin held way out for the camera angle and back to the dock after a fantastic day of redfish on the flat.
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