The hidden importance of catching bait

What is the importance of catching bait?

I guess the obvious answer is to catch fish but for those of us who catch bait day in and day out there may be something more to it.

I tend to wake early, and by early, I mean 3:45 or 4 a.m. My first steps outside are observing the conditions as I load the truck with my essentials: fishing rods, cast net, gas, sunglasses and plenty of water and Gatorade.

Is it cloudy out or is it going to rain?

Is it hot? And most importantly is the wind blowing and if it is what direction is it coming from?

East winds are generally favorable, and put my mind at ease, but if the wind is blowing out of the west, I typically feel that knot in my stomach as I prepare for a tough day on the water.

It’s about 4:30 a.m. when I pull my Chevy truck out of the drive to head to the boat. The roads at this hour are typically empty as most normal people are still asleep, making for an easy drive free of traffic that has plagued our sleepy little island.

The traffic lights are still blinking.

Only sign of life is possibly the Holmes Beach police typically staged up side-by-side, forming some kind of speed trap at Kingfish Boat Ramp. The boat ramp parking lot is completely empty aside from the police.

The Island is still asleep as I arrive at the marina. I load up and fuel the boat. After loading the cooler with ice and setting the fishing rods in the rocket launchers on the tower, it’s time to pull out into the darkness of Anna Maria Sound to the flat to catch bait.

I travel over calm water in the darkness with only the help of my GPS. The disorientation of not knowing where the water stops and the sky begins can be a real experience as I soar smoothly over the glassy waters eastward toward the bait spot. Upon arrival, I lay the boat down off plane and idle to the mark where I like to catch my bait.

It’s now about 5:15 a.m. and I am the first one on the flat. The bait typically doesn’t show until just before sunrise, leaving me about 30 minutes to wait before it’s time to throw the net. The stillness and peacefulness vacuum is quite appealing as I sit and look at the constellations, contemplating what I’m going fish, and where I’m going to fish.

Are the fish I caught yesterday still going to be in the same spot or maybe I’ll try some new spots today and just see what happens?

Sometimes I just think about things unrelated to fishing as the cool predawn breeze gently presses against my face.

As I look east, the twilight before sunrise creates a glow of light blues, purples and pinks as the new day is being born. The faint hum from distant outboard motors as other anglers are arriving to the flat signifies it’s time to prepare to throw the net for bait.

I throw small handfuls of chum to attract shiners to the boat as the sun is just barely peeping over the horizon, causing a warm, orange glow to emanate from the east.

I scan the water looking for dimples on the surface caused by the arrival of bait.

With the net loaded and ready, I make a throw, opening the net in a perfect circle behind the boat. As the net lands, it causes a green circle in the water as it agitates the bioluminescence and it quickly sinks into the grass.

Pulling on the rope to retrieve the net, I see the bait darting and scurrying inside the net as it is pursed shut.

I reach to grab the horn of the net, shaking it to let the bait settle to the bottom, before pulling it over the gunnel and emptying it into the bait well.

Some days I repeat this a few times before I have an ample amount of bait.

Those are the good days.

Some days it’s not that easy.

Having caught enough bait, it’s time to clean the boat and go fishing.

The peacefulness has ended.

The noise of the Island being awake is upon me as the tranquil thoughts of being alone on the water slowly fade away.   It’s time to go to work.

       On my own Just Reel charters, I’m fishing deeper water due to the high water temperatures.

Targeting mangrove snapper in depths of 20-30 feet results in limits of fish on most days, depending on the tides.

After catching snapper, I’m targeting spotted seatrout along the beaches and in the bays on deeper flats and structure in depths of 10-15 feet.

Many trout are on the bottom end of the slot, but the number of fish results in a catch on nearly every cast.    Early morning catch-and-release snook fishing is productive, although there is a small window of opportunity as the fish seem to turn off in the shallows once the sun gets high.

Random catches this week include cobia and black tip sharks.