Crystal River Snook and Big Redfish

Report Date: January 1, 2003

I met Matt and Dave at the dock at 7am. Both are originally from Utah and had never caught a Redfish. Our goal was simply to catch as many big reds as possible on light tackle.

We left the dock at MacRae?s on the Homosassa River and headed for the ?Backcountry?. We skimmed across the shallow back bayous on our way past mangrove islands and rivers of sawgrass as the first orange rays of sunlight broke through the partially overcast morning sky. An osprey glided overhead as if to tell us? good morning and good fishing?.

The 19? Hewes Redfisher tunnel powered by a 140 Suzuki 4 stroke cut through the calm water leaving a trail of spray behind. As we came off plane, I told Matt and Dave we would try some topwater action first, since it was early and overcast.

On the first cast, Dave had a big fish roll behind his Mirrorlure Top Pup but didn?t take it. A good sign, though. A few casts later, Matt had the same thing happen. I told them,? I hope these fish hurry up and wake up and start hitting with a little more enthusiasm?. A couple of casts later, Matt placed his Yozuri next to some mangroves, started ?walking the dog? and Bam! an explosion of water beneath the plug! Redfish On!! The drag started to sing, the rod bent double and Matt couldn?t believe the power and strength of the Red on the other end of his line. ?They are a lot different than your Utah trout?, I yelled. After several runs and a couple of times around the boat, Matt did a masterful job of bringing the first Redfish of the day to the net. A beautiful bronze back, white underneath and black spot on the tail, 25 inch Red.

After high fives, several pictures, exclamations about the battle and tenacity of these fish, we continued in our quest of RedfishHunting. By now the sun had burned off the haze and was bright and glistening on the water. Topwater action had ended for the day. We switched to one of the old reliables, the gold spoon. With all the rain we had recently, the backcountry water was stained with all the runoff. Excellent conditions for this lure.

As Dave worked his lure along a gravel, oyster bar, something hit the spoon hard. Dave?s line went tight and his drag started to whine. Fish On!! His rod bent with the weight and power of the fish. At that point, I don?t know which was bigger, Dave?s smile or the bend of the rod. Either way, he was experiencing the excitement of backcountry, light tackle fishing. His Daiwa BG13 and 7? Daiwa Coastal Inshore Medium Light rod did it?s job.
His fish put up a good fight and after a good battle, he brought a nice sized Jack Crevalle to the boat. We CPRed the fish (Catch, Pictured and Released) and continued in search of big fish.

We fished several coves and sawgrass shorelines with no more hits. I was just about to move to another spot when Matt struck paydirt again. Slam, Bam!!!! Big swirl followed by a long run. Another big red!! This one was a hog and he wasn?t giving up without a fight. He headed straight for the mangroves. ?Matt, dip your rod tip in the water opposite the direction he?s headed and try to turn him?! I said. This technique works well when you want to turn a fish. It worked. The big fish turned and the first battle was won by Matt. However, the war was not over by a long shot. The line zipped through the water as he headed for open water, peeling off more of the 10 pound Trilene Big Game mono. A big swirl of his fan shaped tail sent droplets of water spraying through the air and off he went on another long, head shaking, drag screaming run. Matt was getting his money?s worth from this fish! Ol? Mr. Red repeated this time and time again, until finally, after about 5 more minutes of battle he came boatside to the waiting net. As I lifted the big fish into the boat, ?That?s a Bubba Red. Just what we have been looking for?. I said. (Bubba is my nickname for a lunker). Matt was similing like a mule eating briers and Dave was busy taking pictures. The Red was around 10-12 pounds and after several more pictures, we placed him back in the water, revived him and released him to fight another day. Thanks ol? pal for the battle.

By now Dave and Matt were beginning to understand why I say my favorite backcountry fish is the Redfish. He is the Bulldog of the backcountry and I think they were having a good time catching them.

Well, it was Dave?s turn, now. Fishing from the front platform as I worked the bow mount trolling motor, Dave worked the shoreline. Several fish were working just ahead. Dave made a perfect cast next to a mangrove clump when we heard a commotion in the back of the boat. As we turned, we saw Matt?s rod once again, bent double. Fish On!! Then the water exploded and one heck of a fish leaped into the air. Redfish don?t do that. But there was no mistaking what this was. A big ?un with a big mouth, stocky silver body, wide tail and a black line down his side.
Big Backcountry Snook!!! Probably a 12-15 pounder, and he was pulling drag heading straight for the mangroves. ?Matt, try to turn him and I will move the boat away from the mangroves to open water?. I said. ?If that bad boy gets back in those mangrove roots, we?ll loose him?.

Well folks, at this point in the story, there are two possible endings: One, Matt fought the big snook, turned him into open water and later landed him. Or, Two, Mr. Snook, made it to the mangroves and got off. Keep in mind, we use medium light spinning gear with 10 pound test.
Normally, I would ask to you to tune in to my next fishing report for the ending, but as you can see by this picture, Matt won!!! One heck of a job.. That snook jumped, made long runs, and did everything he could to get off. But today was our day and after battling ol? linesides for what seemed like 15 minutes, we netted the bad boy and onboard the RedfishHunter he came.
Emotions were running high. Adrenaline was pumping. High fives and handshakes and a few ?I can?t believe it?s? were heard. At that point, I don?t know who was happier, Matt for catching a Bubba Snook, Dave for being part of his friend?s adventure or me, their guide.

It is moments like these, that all anglers yearn for; to catch the biggest, baddest fish on the lightest possible tackle. Then, after capturing the moment on film, carefully releasing the fish back into the wild. Watching the big fish swim off and see the last flip of his tail as if to say thanks, but next time? I?ll win?..

Normally, this would be the end of the story. But, Dave had not caught his big fish, yet. So, our adventure in the backcountry continued. I had spotted a school of big Redfish several days prior. So I ran about 3 miles through the mangrove bayous and quietly, eased the boat into position. We freelined a jumbo shrimp on a circle hook their way. After a few minutes, Dave had his first big Redfish on. A 10 pounder. Then, another and another. He had caught up in a hurry. We landed and released several more big reds before we decided to call it a day. And what a day it had been! Backcountry Redfish and Snook on light tackle. May every day be like this one.

My thoughts went back to the osprey. Thanks ol pal for wishing us good fishing.

And thanks your Lord, for making such a wonderous place as this for us to enjoy and protect.

May the Great Master of all fishermen be with us until we meet again.

Captain Ed Lewis

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