Adventures With Wild Bill

By Bill Miller

Beep beep beep....I pried open one eye to look at the obnoxious noise coming from the dresser, 5:10 read the alarm! As I hastily rushed to turn off the alarm, I thought to myself, “What am I doing up this early on my day off?” Then I remembered, it’s time to go Fishing!

You see fishin to me has always been one of the finer enjoyments in life. Not only does it allow me to practice my casting skills it also allows me the gift to enjoy nature and the solitude of paddling my kayak with the animals of the salt water flats as the sun breaks the horizon and the salt air clings to my skin. It’s a time of rejuvenation and spirituality. A time to clear my mind of the perils of day to day living. As I pulled my kayak from the back of my truck I couldn’t help but think what the day would bring. Would I catch the big one this time? Would I run into any other pursuers of this great game fish? Would the ever curious Florida manatees grace me with their presence? One question was answered quickly as I noticed some movement in the water in the channel that runs through this particular flat, As I headed in that direction with the anticipation of witnessing the mother of all redfish feeding on small crustaceans, I saw the smooth gray back of a manatee. Dad gum it, I better stay clear as not to spook them and send a wave of water my way.

As I made my way to some water I have had luck in before, the flat was eerily calm. Usually during this time of the year and at this hour of the morning the water is exploding with mullet jumping and being chased by hungry predators. But not this morning. I continued my paddle to a cove that had some nice grassy bottom and plenty of sand holes. You see the baitfish find security in the grass and can hide better from their enemies. Redfish and trout will lie in the sand holes and wait for the bait to swim by and grab a quick snack. Still no activity even in the area that I thought would be holding fish. As I turned my kayak around and made my way back to where I came from I started seeing some nervous water, wakes and ripples from baitfish! I watched for a while then decided to sink my anchor pole into the soft sandy bottom and sit for a spell to observe. I noticed a school of something moving back and forth over this one grassy area.

I decided to tie on a plastic bait fish imitator and give it a whirl. After a few casts, BAM! FISH ON! With the violent head shakes the fish was making while trying to dislodge the hook from the corner of its mouth I couldn’t help but think baby tarpon or big trout! The later of the two was correct. After body rolling a few times I came to the conclusion that this was a big fat female trout! As I fought her to get her to my yak as quick as possible, I remembered my drag wasn’t set properly for the paper thin mouth these speckled trout possess. “I’ll just try and get it in as quick as possible to allow here the miracle to birth all those babies in her belly”, I thought. My first attempt at grabbing her under her belly and lifting her gently into my kayak only made her realize she was in danger and she went running a good 15 feet from my kayak. I reeled it the line between her and I and went for my lip gripper, a handy tool used to grab the fish at the lips and protect the fish from the contaminants of my hand and removal of protective slime coating her skin to keep her free of parasites. As I approached her lip with my wonder tool, I watched as the hook slowly pulled through her paper thin mouth and she was on her way. Oh well, at least I got close to this beautiful fish and she was able to return to her sanctuary unharmed.

After changing baits and casting in the same general area I had another thunderous hit! My drag was screaming and my pole was bending! Redfish, I thought! I was right! This little guy had a lot of fight in him and took off on several short runs after getting him boat side. Finally the fight was over and I had him in the boat! 19.5 inches, perfect size! I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a pic then decided he was coming home for dinner!

I caught one more red and several more small trout and decided it was time to paddle back with the approaching thunderstorm enticing me to paddle a little quicker than usual. Along the way back to the truck I spooked several more redfish and even stopped to cast to them looking for another fight, but no more fighting for me today as these reds had a sever case of lockjaw!

Once back to the truck I took a moment to look around and thank God for the freedom to explore the outdoors and be consumed in his awesome creation! As I slowly drove down the dirt road taking me back to civilization, I couldn’t help but be eager for the next time that, it’s time to go fishing!

Wild Bill has recently join the group, His real name is Bill Miller and resides in lake Mary,Florida	Born in KY. Moved to MI when I was 4, Moved to IL when I was 6, Moved to MS when I was 8, Moved to FL when I was 12, Moved to TN when I was 21, moved back to florida in '04. Been brought up in the outdoors! Not married(yet) no kids