Things Got Salty Yesterday!

It was an angry sea that day! Not really. I just always wanted to start a story that involves the ocean that way. In all honesty, the weather in Destin, Florida, was overcast and in the 80’s. We decided to rent a pontoon for half of the day and do some sightseeing and swimming. I almost didn’t bring my fly rod but Wendy, as she is apt to do, talked me into making the right choice. 

We arrived at Crab Island around noon. It wasn’t so much an island as a large sand bar type place. The water was between waist and knee deep in places. Folks were playing catch, cranking tunes, and having fun. There were little hermit crabs everywhere too which made revealed the name of the place was apropos. I had found a few crabs with the boys and then saw the first fish. It didn’t take long to see the second, third, and fourth either. I had no idea what they were but they didn’t spook easy and seemed to be cruising for food. I couldn’t resist this opportunity so I rigged up a fly rod. 

I didn’t have any crab flies so I grabbed what works back home. Now I’m not sure if wooly buggers are popular saltwater flies, but I figured that a wooly can imitate just about anything. I went with a olive and white pattern because it was kind of dark and kind of light for clear water and overcast skies. 

Of course when I finally got rigged, they vanished. I decided to head to a drop off nearby. Oddly enough, another dude was fishing the spot with spinning tackle. The second thing I noticed about this dude was the enormous St. Louis Arch tattooed on his chest. Surely enough, he was from Missouri and we had a great conversation. While we’re were talking, I watched a fish roll on my fly. I missed it and I’m not sure why. I was extremely disappointed, but I took solace in the fact that a fish wanted my fly. 

I headed back to the boat and saw some 12-15 inch cruisers again. After about 7 casts where I was trying to put a fly right in front of a fish, I got to get my fly right in front of a fish at just the right depth. I didn’t feel the take but saw it instead. I set the hook and the fight was on! So there I was, on some saltwater flats, with an unknown fish on a fly rod, and making a dream come true. It felt so good! Wendy snapped some pictures and took some video too with will make the memory even sweeter. Some folks nearby even came over to watch the show. While excitement and adrenaline surges, or course my mind was screaming, “Don’t you lose this fish!” 

I really wanted to land it to complete the process and identify what in the world I had hooked. After about 2 minutes, I finally got the fish in my hand. I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know that there were catfish that lived in the ocean, but there it was! After some pictures, and sharing my catch with onlookers, I released the fish back to the water and he swam off looking healthy. I am still in shock that I put myself on a cruising fish on a saltwater fish. Hopefully this isn’t the only time I get to do this, but if it is, I can check this off my bucket list! Thanks to Wendy and her folks for giving me this opportunity and to my boys for cheering me on while fighting the fish!