Buttonfly
08-15-2006, 07:56 AM
I had limited time available this past weekend, so I ran out to the St. Joe pier (south) both Saturday and Sunday mornings for the sunrise bite. I figured with the east winds, there HAD to be fish in . Didn't take a water temp Saturday, but the guy next to me Sunday measured it at 52 degrees.
Saturday morning just "felt" like it would be good. Walking out on the pier at 4:30, the moon was bright and a couple of shooting stars streaked by. Guys left and right of me were hitting steelhead on alewives under bobbers, shrimp on the bottom, and glow in the dark 3/4 oz. Cleos before sunrise, and then orange wobblers after sunrise. A few kings were taken at the ends of the piers, but I don't know what they took. Me? Never got a hit. I hadn't been out on the pier in a couple of years, and forgot to bring a strong light to charge the glow-in-the-dark Cleo; and last fall's spawnbags were pretty nasty and freezer burned.
Sunday morning I got out a little earlier. Got worried when I walked out on the south pier and there were only a half dozen guys there. The north pier, though, had quite the party going on. Don't know whether they were hitting any fish, but from the sound of it, the beer was flowing and guys were having a good time. This time I was better prepared. Had dyed some shrimp tails the night before (orange), they looked good. Set up that rod first. Also had the lantern with me to charge the spoons. The Cleo took the first hit, WHAM, but when I set the hook the line went slack. Reeling in, I knew the spoon was gone. I figured it was a bad knot, but it turned out that the snap-swivel broke. : ( Over the course of the morning, the shrimp took a couple of hits, one came up mangled and another time it disappeared completely, but I just couldn't set the hook. All I caught for the day was a dandy perch - and it came on a Cleo. Met and chatted with a few good people out there, who were a lot more successful than I. Saw a 5-6# laker, and three steelhead taken just to the right and left of me; all on shrimp tails and orange spoons.
Saturday morning just "felt" like it would be good. Walking out on the pier at 4:30, the moon was bright and a couple of shooting stars streaked by. Guys left and right of me were hitting steelhead on alewives under bobbers, shrimp on the bottom, and glow in the dark 3/4 oz. Cleos before sunrise, and then orange wobblers after sunrise. A few kings were taken at the ends of the piers, but I don't know what they took. Me? Never got a hit. I hadn't been out on the pier in a couple of years, and forgot to bring a strong light to charge the glow-in-the-dark Cleo; and last fall's spawnbags were pretty nasty and freezer burned.
Sunday morning I got out a little earlier. Got worried when I walked out on the south pier and there were only a half dozen guys there. The north pier, though, had quite the party going on. Don't know whether they were hitting any fish, but from the sound of it, the beer was flowing and guys were having a good time. This time I was better prepared. Had dyed some shrimp tails the night before (orange), they looked good. Set up that rod first. Also had the lantern with me to charge the spoons. The Cleo took the first hit, WHAM, but when I set the hook the line went slack. Reeling in, I knew the spoon was gone. I figured it was a bad knot, but it turned out that the snap-swivel broke. : ( Over the course of the morning, the shrimp took a couple of hits, one came up mangled and another time it disappeared completely, but I just couldn't set the hook. All I caught for the day was a dandy perch - and it came on a Cleo. Met and chatted with a few good people out there, who were a lot more successful than I. Saw a 5-6# laker, and three steelhead taken just to the right and left of me; all on shrimp tails and orange spoons.