Yesterday I intended to fish salt water up at the Snook Islands in Lake Worth, about 15 miles north of Delray Beach. These islands are man-made. I think they're called the "Snook Islands," not because there are many snook around them but because the government agency that created them thought (or hoped) that snook might eventually be attracted to these ovals of sand, rock and gravel that were dumped in Lake Worth and then planted with mangroves. I've fished them several times in the past and haven't done particularly well. But I've seen videos of fish, including snook, caught there in recent years, so I know my not-very-good luck there may be an anomaly. Anyway, now that I'm learning something about the importance of tides in salt water fishing, I thought I'd apply that knowledge and give that spot another chance.
I checked the tides before leaving home and saw that high tide was around noon, meaning that there'd be slack water an hour before and an hour afterward, when probably there wouldn't be much action. It seemed best to arrive in the early afternoon, when the water would begin to move.
I left home around 12:30 and got to the boat ramp around 1:15. I was so focused on getting my kayak in the water and paying $10 bucks to park my trailer in a nearby lot (and so avoid a ticket from the police officer who was parked in the mostly empty lot) that I didn't really notice the conditions out on Lake Worth itself.
When I last tried this spot a major marine construction project was underway on the south side of the Lake Avenue bridge. This was back in the spring and I hoped that by now the project would have been completed. In fact, I found that yesterday a large quadrant of water on the south side of the bridge was cordoned off to boat traffic. Instead of hugging the western shoreline, as I usually do, to avoid the sometimes rough seas out in the middle of Lake Worth, I would have to pedal almost halfway across it, so that I could then pass beneath the bridge and head up toward the Snook Islands. Between the boat traffic up and down the Intracoastal Waterway, of which Lake Worth is part, and a 15-20 mph breeze coming in off the nearby ocean from the southeast, there was a pretty substantial chop on the water--more than I thought prudent to be out in a 12 foot kayak. I'd only gotten out a few hundred yards from the boat ramp before I made a 180 and headed back to shore. I was disappointed and a little frustrated, especially about the ten bucks I'd just wasted on a parking spot I'd only needed for 20 minutes. But better safe than sorry.
Once I re-trailered the kayak, I considered alternatives. The nearest salt water destinations were too far away, given that it was already almost 2 p.m., with sunset at this time of year only a few hours away.
It seemed my choices were the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, or the small lake at West Delray Park. I opted for the latter mostly because its shape provides a bit better protection from the afternoon breezes than does the long and narrow canal at Loxahatchee.
I arrived at West Delray around 2:45 and figured I had a little over two hours to fish, before I'd need to be packing up before the park gates closed. I started out with the fly rod, throwing small poppers as I'd done earlier in the week at Riverbend Park (see previous blog entry.) A few fish were hitting the surface along a shoreline that was protected from the wind. But none were interested in my popper.
I then pedaled across the lake to the western shoreline, which is lined with sawgrass and where I know some pretty big bass lurk and even some snakeheads, having caught one there last spring. I changed over to spinning tackle and a plastic worm. That usually does the trick. Not yesterday. I added a slip sinker to my rig to get the worm down deeper. All that did was allow my hook to catch and snag bottom structure.
Eventually I went to a different kind of worm with a thicker body and tail than the "trick" worms I usually poke through the point of my hooks. I believe it's called a "fluke" worm. It's got a bit more weight than the trick worm and you don't need to add lead to get it down in the water column pretty quickly. A bass grabbed it on the first cast but let it go when I tried to set the hook. But this was encouraging.
I stuck with the fluke worm for a while and then I had a solid strike a few feet from the sawgrass shoreline, close to an island in the middle of the small lake. This fish immediately went for the sawgrass, where my line could get tangled and allow the fish to break free. Fortunately for me, since I'd thought I'd be fishing salt water, I had brought my heavier line and reel with me. I tightened down the drag and refused to let the fish get into the sawgrass, as another fish had done a couple weeks ago when I was using my lighter-weight reel and line.
I cranked the fish toward the surface and sensed it about to jump. But it was too big and heavy to elevate out of the water. I pulled it in beside the kayak and lifted it by hand up out of the water. Here in Florida, bass of the size of this one are not uncommon. I don't have a scale with me on the kayak, so I don't know how heavy this one was. But my tape measure had it as 21 inches long. A conversion chart you can find on the internet says a typical 21 inch bass measures between 5 and 6 pounds. All I know is that when I pulled it out of the water, it felt as solid as a brick in my hand. If it was a female, its weight may have been augmented by a belly full of eggs that she would be depositing a month or two from now.
The bass had swallowed the hook and fluke worm too deep to extricate it safely with my pliers, so I just snipped the line and spent several minutes reviving it alongside the kayak. Eventually, its huge mouth clamped down on my hand as I held it and so I let it go.
I went back to the fly rod for a little while after that with no more luck than I'd had earlier. Then it was time to head back home.
To read more of my writing about fishing, check out my e-book TRUSTING THE RIVER, which you can download at amazon.com, or my soon-to-be available audio book of the same title on audible.com.
Thanks for reading my blog. I hope to see you on the water. Leave a comment if you can so I'll know someone is actually reading these posts.
nice blog, dad! thanks for sending me the link.
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