I loaded my kayak and started my morning down in Sea Isle at about 12:30am, as I had time to kill and wasn’t in a rush to get down there. When I got there, I parked at the pier parking lot, and pulled a rod to start casting a 1/8oz Trout Eye with a DSL in Black and Gold off the bulkhead and rocks off to the side of the pier. The water was almost glass, and the wind was maybe 3-5mph, gusting to 5-7 at the most. Didn’t pick up on much, maybe a bite or two, but I snagged myself on the pier’s guardrail about 10-15 minutes into casting. Thankfully, one very friendly amigo was leaving the pier and happily un-snagged me, and then invited me onto the pier. Score! He gave me some tips on the bite for the night, which seemed to be at the 2nd and 3rd light, and at the end of the pier. He was right. Although they were all small, with the largest being *maybe* 15”, it was an all you could fish buffet. Fun nonetheless.
Around 3, I started conversing with a guy (who I later found to be another Aggie), who put me on top of two very upper slot reds swimming in circles at the 3rd-4th light. Despite what we threw, they wanted nothing to do with us. Oh well. The company was good and the conversation was like talking to an old friend. Towards 5ish, the pier became empty and I went to the end, where slightly larger (but still undersized) trout were biting on anything and everything. One had bitten off the tail to my DSL, but they were still attacking it like candy. Hooked up with a few ribbonfish, and watched the stars. It was a great night/morning.
As the horizon started to illuminate, I started walking back to my truck to unload. I saw two massive spadefish swimming casually around the rocks at the bulkhead to the right of the pier gate. Largest I’d ever seen. I let them keep swimming, and went to my truck to start pulling out my yak.
The sunrise was amazing, and the views from the water never cease to impress. Temperature was a cool 80° and the color in the clouds were gorgeous. Couldn’t ask for a better morning.
Got in the water, started heading towards sunset cove. The wind had picked up significantly, sustained at 8-10mph and gusting at 12-15ish. The swells became a little rough, but the yak did pretty well through the chop. Waves were (my estimate being) around 1.5ft at 1-2 seconds. Took a little longer to get to sunset cove’s channel entrance.
Once I got there, I kept my 1/8oz jig tied on and put on a Z-Man Scented PaddlerZ in the color Beer Run, and hooked up on quite a substantial amount of 10-12” speckled trout running the length of the channel, chasing small mullet on either side. No keepers. I tied on a New Penny colored Buggs curl-tail redfish jig at a few bottom dwellers on my fishfinder, but none were taking.
At about this time, the overcast skies had turned ominously gray and light rain started. The rolls of distant thunder could be heard miles away, but not concerning. I kept at it.
As I pulled in what felt like my millionth pre-pubescent trout, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of a large, round, brown scaled thing cresting the surface of the water. I went to investigate. Turned out to be two 4-5ft long gar. The rain stopped and the water glassed over.
I pushed into the main canal and the bite seemingly tapered off, as the thunder became more and more frequent, and cloud-to-cloud lightning started to become brighter and more pronounced. I figured I had about 30-45 minutes of safe fishing time before it was time to head back.
I was wrong.
As I got to the other side of the main canal, a crack of lightning shot across the sky, followed by about two seconds of silence and then, the kind of thunder nobody wants to hear while holding 7-foot graphite rods. I got the message and started heading back. The thunder and lightning- seemingly mocking me, became more and more frequent as I started pedaling more frivolously with each louder crack. I logged 4.6mph in the chop.
As I rounded the grass line about 1/2mile from the pier, the lightning quickly became cloud-to-ground, and started closing in around me. I passed a wader about 1/4 mile out from the pier who was completely unfazed by the present deteriorating weather situation. As I got to the put-in, the heavy rain started.
Once out of the water, I felt a lot better and started having fun loading everything in the cool rain. I appreciate mother nature taking care of the heat for us, but as the old adage goes… “damn nature, you scary!”
I write this as I’m sitting in my truck, waiting for the thunder and lightning to stop- but the wind is still and the water is already turning smooth again.
Now, the real question is… should I get back out there?
