Nearly every fall there is
a *Magic Day* or two. If you are lucky enough to experience one of
these days, you will never forget it. I*ve seen several and, after
looking back through my log books for the past twenty years or so, I
have a pretty good idea when to expect the next one.
Two years in a row this day came on the same day of the same month.
Four years prior to those two trips it had occurred on the same day of
the month. I saw more fish caught on each of those trips than I
sometimes see in a month of fishing. When the time is right, it seems
like every fish in the Gulf is biting.
Imagine catching Kingfish, Bonita, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and
Grouper and yes, even a big Tarp! on on the same trip. Not just a few
fish but constant action from dawn until dark. I*d call that a *Magic
Day.*
On one of those special days I was fortunate enough to have my best
fishing buddy along. My son Rhett is my best fishing buddy. We were
trying out a new boat on this particular *Magic Day.* I had just
bought a little 14* Starcraft with a 25hp Merc. and we decided to take
it out for an afternoon trip. Of course, we took tackle but we would
have carried more if we had expected the action we found.
A few miles past Yankeetown Marker 1 Rhett noticed lots of birds
just North of us. I turned that way and, as I got closer, I could see
that the sky was packed with Pelicans, Terms, Gulls, and Cormorants.
Tons of baitfish were being driven up from below by big fish and the
birds were attacking from above. I picked up my favorite bait casting
rod and hooked up with a 20# Kingfish on ! a Zara Spook. Rhett hooked
something equally as large. Every cast for two hours was met by a big
fish. Just before dark, Rhett hooked a 130 pound Tarpon. When we
released him, it was almost full dark. Luckily there was a near full
moon to run the Withlacoochee River by.
I don*t always get to see the year*s *Magic Day.* I may not have a
charter that day or it might be too windy to go out but I*ll just bet
that there is a *Magic Day* most every year. This year I plan to fish
every day from October 23rd. until November 10th. Some day during that
period, they will be there and I will be too.
Three years ago I found the fish and all of the sea birds from a
hundred miles around in the ! area between the Whistler and the Steel
Tower. The baitfish crossed Seahorse Reef and moved slowly into
Waccasassa Bay. Of course, the birds and fish moved right along with
them. I didn't take me long to realize that all I needed to use was a
Captain Action spoon to take all of the Bonitas and Kingfish my party
was able to land. How many Kingfish did we catch? Darned if I know but
when we quit trolling around 11:30 we had limits for all four guys and
one of them said that he had personally caught 10. From that, I*d
estimate we had caught 40 Kingfish in the space of 3 hours fishing
time. Add to that several Bonita, a Cuda or two, Ladyfish, a 30# Jack
Cravielle, Spanish Mackerel and one huge Bluefish and you can imagine
how fast the action was. I made one stop for Grouper on a rock right
in the middle of this mass of fish and had near limits of good fish in
an hour or so.
We only fished the leading edge of the school. How long the school
was, I*ll never know but I intercepted them again near CFBC Marker 14
the next morning. I trolled darn near all day within a few hundred
yards of 14 while fish passed on both sides. I never saw either end of
the school. I tried to keep count of the fish but gave up after 50 or
so. Again, Captain Action, Tony Accetta Pet, and Huntington Drone
spoons were eaten constantly. I bent the barbs down on these single!
hook lures to make unhooking and release easier and we still caught
more fish than I see some months. A cold front passed through that
night and pushed the fish far to the south.
Of course, baitfish migration is the key to this phenomenal
fishing. Predatory fish, birds, and Porpoises follow. These mass
migrations are governed by the length of the photoperiod (hours of
daylight) and to a some extent by water temperature. If a strong cold
front passes, it can speed up the migration to the point that the
entire mass of fish passes in the night. Granted, all of the fish do
not migrate in one large body. Good Kingfish fishing sometimes lasts
for 2 or more months in Spring and Fall but there is usually one or
two of these *Magic Days* each Fall.
The three *Magic Days* I mentioned all occurred on November 5. Deer
hunters and foot ball addicts miss a lot of these *Magic Days.* I
wouldn't t! rade one of these days for a free ticket to any football
game ever pla yed or a shot at a big buck..
