Rain, rain, go away – I need to deer hunt Saturday! Who’s with me? It’s looking like the whole coast will be covered up with rain this weekend. I don’t know if I will get in the deer stand, but I have to admit – the last time I fished in the rain, I had some pretty good luck…

The same weekend we kicked dove season off with a bang, I did a little paddle board fishing early Saturday morning. The tide was falling pretty hard, so getting to my [not so] secret spot proved to be a more difficult task than usual. Plus, the weather was extra grumpy and decided to start raining right as I got the board down to the dock. But… My gear was all packed & loaded, I was rocking my super sweet new super shirt John got me in Marathon, and the imminent cabin fever from being stuck inside all rainy-day was looming over me, so I figured HEY. I’ve never caught a fish sitting in the house. Why not give it a try? So, paddle away, I did.

Snotty weather = shotty photo quality. Sorry, friends. I just don’t trust myself enough on the paddle board to take my good camera, so an old iPhone in a LifeProof is what I was working with.

But I digress.

About 20 minutes later, I made it to my destination, dropped my little anchor, put a worm on my hook (and by “worm,” I mean mud minnow, but I’m still going to call it a worm), and tossed out my line. I opted for just one rod this time, and it wasn’t long before I was oh-so-glad I made that decision. Because of the ripping tide, my worm quickly floated to a not-so-desirable location (stuck in the marsh grass), so I reeled it in a re-casted. That little minnow wasn’t back in the water 2 seconds before SPLASH-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (!!!). Fellow anglers, you know that sound all too well – line being stripped from the reel at an [excitingly] fast rate. I knew had something with some size on my hook, so I carefully quickly sat down and began the fight.

Five minutes might not seem like a long time in regular life. Some would even say it’s no time at all. Hah! Let me tell you – when you’re sitting on a paddle board in the rain, being dragged around the creek by an unknown aquatic beast on the end of your line, despite your best efforts to land said beast without a.) breaking the line, b.) letting it jump the hook, and c.) falling over backwards into the water because you’re leaning & trying to keep the line tight… Well, 5 minutes seems like a pretty long time. Plus, it’ll make you wonder if that’s shark you’ve got on the hook, and what exactly are you going to do with that shark if you land it on your suddenly extra-small-feeling paddle board.

Dramatic? Me? Never.

Getting to the point of the story – about 5 minutes and a dragged anchor later, I had my catch close enough to break the surface and see what I was working with. MUCH to my delight, this guy finally showed himself.

At last! Thankfully, he was fairly worn out from the fight as well, so I had a few seconds to grab my phone and get proof that this actually happened. Yes! I think my coordination is improving.

He was very patient while I documented his existence (I promise I wasn’t planning on rubbing it in my dad/John’s noses when I got back…), and he only [almost] slapped me in the face with his tail once or twice. Such an upstanding fish. He gets it, you know?

Alas, it was time to set this beast free. After only a few seconds of reviving him in the water next to the board, he made one big swish with his tail and was gone forever.

I decided to fish for another hour or so as the tide continued to fall. I got a quick glimpse of some more redfish tailing nearby, but they just weren’t picking up what I was putting down. I tried a few more spots throughout the creek and had a few bites, including one enormous blue crab who just would NOT let go, but my efforts were ultimately in vain. I decided to call it a day when I spotted a 4-5′ alligator cruising for bait nearby.

He’s that little dot just below the left and middle docks in that picture. I know, I know. He seems small and far away, and you’re right. But the last thing I needed was to hook a fish and have this gator think it was a free lunch. Remember when that shark thought the same thing about my sheepshead? Yeeaaa – Not trying to do the same thing on a paddle board in 1-2 feet of water. Yikes. Instead, I paddled my happy self home and showed off the photos of my slot red. Woohoo! I definitely still call that a successful day on the water.

 

Maybe I should get a fish ruler for the side of the board? Or is that just too much?

#gear