First Fish of 2019

I'm not sure which is worse: that I didn't catch my first fish of 2019 until the about the third week of January or that it took a two more weeks to finally mention it in a blog post. Both are true, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Fish No. 1 for me this year was the redfish pictured above, caught on a Bozka Salt Runner from Florida's Nassau River while I was fishing with Chris Holleman. It was in a high marsh area along the edge of the main river that you have to get into (and back out of) while the tide is pretty high or you'll be there till the next high tide! We managed to catch a couple of reds from that area and got out while we could. The same trip, which included time in the boat with Chris and with Nathan Johnson and Tim Mann, produced some more redfish, quite a few speckled trout and a few largemouth bass, although I didn't catch any of the bass, thus leaving my 2019 species list tally at two.

Next on the agenda is Santee Cooper, followed by Lake Guntersville, so it would seem I should start to get some freshwater species on this year's list. I would say, "reports to follow," but based on my recent blogging history and how it has compared to my intentions, I probably shouldn't state that as a fact quite yet.

Southbound Fishing Travels

My most recent blog post spoke about ice fishing and my odd interest in traveling north to fish during the winter. Still no ice plans in place for this winter, but tomorrow I'm hopping in my car and pointing it in the opposite direction, and I'm pretty excited about prospects. Plans include coastal fishing near Jacksonville for speckled trout and redfish with Bomber pro staffers Nathan Johnson and Chris Holleman and then moving slightly inland to catch bass with Tim Mann. The picture above is of Tim, from Lake George, earlier this year. Tim has a few ideas about stuff we might do, and all sound really good. We'll likely start at Rodman, which I'm really excited about, because it's spectacularly beautiful and one of finest bass lakes in the nation, and I've only been there once. Stay tuned!

Florida Fishing

When I spoke with Tim Mann and Chris Holleman about possibly getting together to fish later this spring and they both said they could make something work just a few days later, I couldn't pass on that chance, so a few days later I was in my car and had it pointed south. I fished Lake George one day, sight-fishing for largemouths, and spent two days chasing redfish and speckled trout in the Jacksonville area.

Sight-fishing with Tim is always fun and a learning experienced, and while the wind chased us around some in the afternoon, conditions, plentiful fish on beds and Tim's direction allowed even my untrained eyes to see several fish and catch a few. While we didn't land any real giants, we caught a lot of good fish, and our best limit would have easily weighed more than 20 pounds. Hard to say how big a bag Tim would have caught if he had just been fishing instead of mostly trying to help me! It's not uncommon for he and tournament to bring 30 pounds to the scales this time of year.

The saltwater days were extra fun for me because I haven't done a lot of that recently. In fact, my species list from last year didn't include any saltwater species because I never made it to the coast. This year's list now includes both specks and reds, and I hope to keep adding to that. I was actually supposed to be saltwater fishing in Texas this week, but the weather blew out that trip. However, my next two trips are to Louisiana and Florida, and plans for both include some saltwater fishing.

Naturally, I like the way a redfish crushes a lure and the fight that follows. Beyond that, though, I simply enjoy being out in the marsh, smelling the salt air, and watching the changes brought by rising and falling tides.

Looking At 'Em

Tim Mann does what it takes to put bass in the boat, but given the option, this Florida tournament angler would rather look at them. Mann, who considers Lake George on the St. Johns River his home waters, loves the game of finding big bedding fish and convincing them to take a bait.

And it really is a game. The game begins with finding the beds and the bedding fish, but it also includes gauging their size and likeliness to bite and then doing what it takes to convince those fish to bite. That might mean finding the "sweet spot" in a bed, catching the male that's guarding the bed at the right time (catch it too soon and it will often spook the female), backing up and "sight-fishing" from out of seeing distance, popping the bait up into the fish' face at the right time... The list could go on and on. Every fish is unique, which is part of what makes sight-fishing fun.

Some fish will bite immediately. Others require coaxing and serious patience. That's a big part of the game -- especially in a tournament setting. Mann must gauge the size of the bass he's looking at and that fish's likeliness to bite and then determine whether that amount of time would be justified by the amount of weight he could add to his catch. Of course, the answer also depends on how many fish Mann is seeing on beds and what sort of weights he expect other anglers to bring to the scales.

Mann , who typically targets bedding fish with a YUM Craw Papi or Vibra King Finesse Tube, plays the game well. He and his tournament partners have won a lot of sight-fishing-dominated tournaments over the years, and he's considered a serious threat to win any event this time of year.

The appeal of sight-fishing goes beyond the game, though. It's also the best opportunity of the year to catch really big Florida largemouth bass, which just happens to be something that Tim Mann really likes to do!

Sights Set on Florida Bass

"You should be hitting it about perfect," Tim Mann told me yesterday. Considering current conditions, the calendar and the 5-day outlook, Mann believes things are setting up nicely for a big wave St. Johns River spawners to move up between now and our Sunday outing. Things can change, I know, but I like Mann's confidence, and I'm looking forward to peering at some big ones on Lake George flat and hopefully getting to lock horns with a true heavyweight.

I'll also get to spend time fishing the St. Johns with Cliff Prince, a bass pro who will begin his rookie campaign as a B.A.S.S. Elite Series angler in month and a half on the same waters, which also happen to be his home waters. Terry "Big Show" Scroggins has said that Prince knows the river as well as he does -- and that says a lot.

Should be a great week of learning and gathering story material and a good chance to catch some nice Florida largemouths. Lawrence Taylor of BOOYAH Bait Company also assured me that he has some cool stuff to show me and for us to show to the fish. That means innovative tackle and tactics that I'll be able to share in stories.

First stop, though, is Orlando, where we'll attend the final-day weigh-in of the PAA Tour Team Challenge at Bass Pro Shops. The teams will actually blasting off at Lake Toho for their first day of fishing some time very soon. It sounds like the pros were down-talking what they'd seen in practice or not say much at all, so no one knows quite what will come to the scales. The lake is ultra clear now, and seemingly not many fish have moved up, so it could fish tough. But any teams find an early wave of spawners or the right pre-spawn spot, their bags could be enormous.