Wading in the flats and fishing in St. George Sound was as soothing and relaxing an outing as I've had in years. Getting out of bed early, my brother in law and I left the rest of our vacationing family and drove the mile to St. George Island State Park, Florida. We'd scouted the area the day before and found that the boat landing area at the park wasn't deep enough to safely launch the boat. The island was still digging out of the sand due to Hurricane Dennis.
Since we couldn't put the boat in the water there, we just pulled the truck, boat and trailer into a nice shady spot close to the water and decided to wade. It was a beautiful morning for wading and we almost had the whole bay to ourselves at 8:00 in the morning. There was only one kayaker paddling around about a half mile from us.
The gentle lapping of the water around my knees, the picturesque morning sun and the mist on the water made this morning a magnificent one. We slowly eased around the oyster bars that seem to exist throughout the bay. About a half mile away I could see a boat cautiously moving through the open water of the bay, careful not to run aground because the water could change from 4 feet deep to 0 in a flash!
Before I left the shore I had stocked my fishing vest with a couple of spoons, a gold one and a silver one. That was the only tackle I had with me. When wading I carry a mesh nylon bag to carry my fish if I'm going to eat them later. I also put my Florida non-resident fishing license in a zip lock bag and stuffed it in one of the many pockets of my vest.
Tying on my gold spoon, I cast into the shore side weeds. I hadn't retrieved it more that a few feet when something grabbed it and headed for the other side of the bay. After a few wild forays up and down the channel between the two oyster beds where I was standing in waist deep water, I brought the fish up to me. It was a beautiful trout about two pounds. I continued wading and casting down the shore line and eventually worked my way further out into the bay. During this time I caught one more trout and nothing else.
Tiring of not seeing another fish, I changed to my silver lure. Within a couple of casts I had a good sized fish on the end of my fishing line. This time it felt like I had hooked a concrete block. I brought him to the top of the water. When I measured him on the inch marks I had painted on my rod, he proved to be 22 " long; well within the 18-27 inch size regulations for a Red Fish. I put him in my mesh bag that was tied to my fishing vest and let him swim around with the two trout.
My silver spoon seemed to be the bait of the day for within 10 minutes I had another fish on the line. As I brought him closer to me I saw that it was another Redfish; a little larger than the first one. Since I had already caught my limited of Reds for the day, I released the one in the bag and replaced him with the larger one I had just caught.
Every fisherman who has ever caught a good sized fish looks around to see if anyone else had witnessed his great achievement. I scanned the area around me and saw there were two other fishermen now standing on a sand bar about two hundred yards from me. There was also the kayaker I had seen earlier, closer to me now, paddling around the oyster bars enjoying the morning. My brother-in-law seemed to be didn't seem to be having much success for he merely shook his head in disgust as I held up the beauty I had just caught.
As I was about to cast again, I saw the Kayaker getting close to me. I was about to become irritated about someone invading my fishing space when the girl who was paddling the boat yelled, "Are you Bob Alexander?"
Now this was spooky! Out in the middle of Apalachicola Bay, almost 500 miles from home and someone is looking for me? She certainly didn't look like a bill collector or the IRS. For a moment I thought I must be in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode.
As the girl paddled closer, she proved to be a mermaid with a gift! As I waved my hand in acknowledgement, she held up the zip lock baggie that I used to carry and protect my fishing license. It must have fallen out of my pocket and drifted on the wind to where the lady kayaker was floating.
Not only did we have a great morning of fishing, but I had also experienced a miracle. You can't ask for much more from a sunny morning in June.
Northern California is home to a plethora of famous cities, such as San Francisco, Sausalito, Napa, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Oakland, and other lesser-known cities. The weather is always pleasurable, never getting too hot in the summer, and never getting too cold in the winter. The Bay Area is a popular vacation destination with local tourist attractions, such as the infamous prison Alcatraz, cable cars and trolleys, the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk, Wine Country, and many, many more.
Perhaps one of the things a visitor must do before leaving San Francisco is see the beautiful expanse of beaches that line the west coast of San Francisco city. Baker Beach is no doubt the most scenic beach with spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County just across the bridge. With all the beauty the Bay Area possesses, it's hard to swallow that the waters in this area are also one of the most dangerous.
Danger lurks underneath the surface of the tumultuous waters of the Pacific Ocean. Stretching up from Bodega Bay, which is north of San Francisco and Marin County, out past the Farallon Islands and down to Point Sur, which is below Monterey Bay, lays an area called the Red Triangle. This area has been nicknamed so because of the blood that turns the waters red after a shark has attacked.
Due to a very large population of marine wildlife, great white sharks flock to the area to feast on their flesh. Great white sharks are carnivorous and eat all sorts of marine wildlife, including fish, smaller sharks, and even dolphins. The Red Triangle is home to elephant seals and sea lions, which are a particular favorite of the great white sharks. Of all the documented human attacks in the world, over half have occurred within the Red Triangle.
There are many myths about when a shark would attack, but most have proven to be false. It is widely believed that if you swim where there is kelp, the shark will not attack you, but a large white shark was seen attacking a sea otter in a kelp forest. Surface swimming is said to increase your chances of being attacked; in fact, it may decrease those chances because of a shark's preferred hunting method, which is to attack its prey that is fully submerged.
It's tempting to get in the water, more so for surfers who want to challenge the boisterous waves and for divers who want to explore the vast water world, but there is much at risk here. Your life is at risk. So don't be another statistic. Stay out of the water.
Both Bob Alexander & Rachel Yoshida are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bob Alexander has sinced written about articles on various topics from Alternative Medicine, Marketing and Food And Drink. Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: