Windy day makes for OK fishing, but great time with friends

They say that March is a windy month.

 

Well, whoever “they” are was right on Saturday. I was fishing with my old friend Tom Nawrocki and his son, Chris. 

 

Our plan was to target redfish on the falling tide and switch to trout as the tide began to rise. The forecast was for breezy conditions in the morning and a gale in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, the gale arrived early.

 

Undeterred, we stayed with our plan and started fishing near a shallow oyster shelf that dropped off into deeper water. I cast a Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 on a 1/8-ounce Eye Strike Finesse jig to the oyster bar, and a redfish ate it.

 

While I fought the fish, Chris cast a Z-Man Finesse TRD on a 1/6-ounce NedLockZ jig and hooked up as well. The fish were not large, but we were happy to check redfish off the list.

 

Shortly after releasing the redfish, the wind picked up. It was so strong that the trolling motor struggled to hold the skiff into the wind. The area we were fishing in quickly became unfishable.

 

So, we left the redfish biting and went in search of a wind-protected bank. After a bit of looking, we found an oyster bar that was adjacent to a tall tree line. It was still pretty windy there, but at least I could control the skiff with the trolling motor.

 

Tom and Chris joked about casting 10 feet to the left of the oyster bar and letting the wind push the lure toward the oyster bar before it hit the water. Conditions were not optimal, but it was fun hanging out together. Whenever we could cast the lure to the right spot, we would catch a trout.

 

Unfortunately, the wind made accurate casting a challenge.

 

In three hours of fishing, we released 40 fish. The entire time we were joking and laughing. 

 

On the ride back to the dock, I summarized our trip: the wind was awful, fishing was OK, but the time with friends was great.

 

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.