When a Plan B Comes Together: Redfish Off Sebastian, Florida
Wild Fish Wild Places 05.21.13
When planning trips for Wild Fish Wild Places we need cooperation from many different entities such as the local government, tourist agencies, airlines, and outfitters. This type of planning takes months and months of hard work and communication. So, when a trip falls apart just days before the departure date, it is a test to get something else lined up.
The Wild Fish crew had the bags packed and ready for a long trip to the country of Colombia to chase the Payara, peacock bass, and many different species of piranha around the Rio Orinoco basin. A day and a half before the departure date, we received a call from the booking agent with the news that the outfitter had to go in for emergency surgery and cancelled our trip. With network obligations to fulfill and our biggest filming trip of the year cancelled, it was time to use our network of friends to schedule a trip!
My first call was to our great friends in Orlando from Fishing Florida Radio. Mike Ortego and Steve Chapman responded immediately with some ideas that could possibly save our season. We re-booked flights and made plans to head to the sunshine state in a few short days. Mike Ortego, owner of Tackle Webs, had a pro-staffer that was on big redfish in Sebastian that he felt would be a great fit to the show. We confirmed the plans and made our way to beautiful Florida.
When we arrived in Sebastian to meet up with Captain Glyn Austin, the sun was rising and the tide was outgoing, perfect for this type of fishing. Glyn painted a picture of giant redfish feasting on crab floating out to sea on the outgoing tide and a plethora of top water action. It all seemed a little too good to be true, but away we went.
As we approached the buoy line and manned the i-Pilot, Glyn ran through the pre-game drill. “Watch for the explosions, cast 10 feet up current of them and twitch the top water bait. Make sure you don’t overwork them, just wiggle them. Otherwise they won’t hit it.” John BooDreaux from Fishing Florida Radio made the first accurate cast with the Rapala Skitterwalk to an explosion and it was game on!
Five minutes into the morning and we were chasing a giant red toward the breakers, 10 minutes later a 45-inch behemoth was landed for the cameras. As the day progressed you could actually watch the crab come floating by your boat as if they were just waiting to get slammed. We finished the day with twelve redfish to the boat using Storm Chug Bugs and Rapala Skitterwalks, 11 of them were 40 inches and over!
Captain Glyn Austin has this fishery figured out to such intricate detail I swear he had the fish named. This has to be one of the most incredible fisheries I have ever witnessed. A 40-inch redfish seems like a once in a lifetime fish for most anglers and to get 11 in one day just mind-blowing. If you are ever looking to catch some great fish in the Sebastian area, get in touch with Captain Glyn. He is a world-class fisherman and one of the most enjoyable guides we have ever fished with. Check him out at www.goingcoastalcharters.com.
FISH AND FISHING. TWO WORDS HAVING A MYRIAD OF MEANINGS TO A MYRIAD OF PEOPLES. TO FISH FOR FOOD, FOR LIFE, FOR SURVIVAL; OR TO FISH FOR FUN, FOR SPORT, FOR MONEY.
When, almost 5,000 years ago in China, man first attached a hook and line to a bamboo rod to catch carp a little further from the river’s edge, little did he know that this creation would evolve into an industry which at the early part of this, the twenty-first century, is worth over $108 billion annually to the US economy in terms of sport fishing alone!
The variety of fish species is infinite. From cold water inhabitants such as members of the Salmonidae family, to warm water, tropical dwellers like the Cichlids. From the gigantic Tarpon of the Florida Keys to the gentler Arctic Charr spectacularly attired in their vivid courtship colors in the frigid rivers and streams of the arctic tundra. Take the celebrated Coelacanth, over three hundred million years old and still found today in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean around Madagascar, or the seemingly ubiquitous Golden Orfe, or the goldfish, which completes endless circuits in so many glass bowls in family homes in every corner of the world.
In this series, we will seek out great predatory fish. Fish that are much revered, fish that strike terror at the very mention of their name and fish that are the staple diet of many peoples subsisting along the shorelines and riverbanks of the great waters we will visit during our odyssey. Positioned at the very top of the food chain, these apex predators reign supreme in their own domain, be it mighty river, great lake or ocean.
Our quest will take us across cultures and continents to exotic locations of immense beauty and wealth as well as lands poleaxed by poverty. We will explore not just these wild and wonderful places, but the significance of our target species to the different groupings of peoples in terms of social, economic and cultural values.
Our travels in search of extraordinary predators will take us from the cold, unforgiving waters of the West of Ireland to the steaming jungle swamps of India. From the frozen, pristine wilderness of the Canadian subarctic to the sun-baked backwaters of Northern Australia. This will be a series of contrasts and comparisons where we will meet people who live to fish and people who fish to live.
