Florida angler finds surprise in a redfish — something his friends lost 7 weeks earlier

As anglers, we obsess about finding the right bait to catch fish.

We try to match the hatch with tackle boxes full of variety and have our presentations look perfect to hide anything that might turn away a bite.

Inshore fish like snook and redfish could see so many baits on a given day from constant boats trying to do their best to catch one.

And then there are stories like this which will leave an angler scratching their head when we can’t catch something.

Avoiding the constant barrage of boats and fishing pressure, captain Ryan Killoran spends his time away from the normal Tampa Bay fishing grounds by venturing up the Manatee River east of the I-75 bridge near Bradenton.

“It seems like a lot of guys from St. Pete and Sarasota come to fish Terra Ceia and the mouth of the Manatee River now. I like to get away from that,” the Bradenton raised captain explained. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning areas of the Manatee River other guys don’t fish.

Even on busy weekends, I might not see another boat fishing all day and that’s how I like it.”

One of the busiest weekends on the water is Memorial Day. Sandbars and islands are packed with boaters looking to enjoy sunshine and saltwater. So this year, Killoran suggested to his friends they spent some time around his secluded fishing spots where they could enjoy some privacy.

“I scouted and found a nice sandbar area near one of my fishing holes. We enjoyed tubing, rafting up and barbecuing. There weren’t any other boats around so we had time with friends and family.”

One of the friends had their one-year-old daughter out there.

Unfortunately she lost a pacifier they couldn’t find. Seven weeks later, it popped up in an odd fashion.

“Last week I was fishing near that area catching nice redfish. I usually don’t keep them unless a client wants to. So we had a nice 26-inch upper slot redfish we kept.

“We got back to the 59th street boat ramp, and I cut into that fish and noticed something,” Killoran said, immediately dropping the knife and reaching for his camera.

“In the stomach there was something rubbery. It was a pacifier that looked almost brand new. I sent a picture to my buddy, and his wife and both of them separately said it was their daughter’s. But both also said ‘no way that is real.’”

Despite their disbelief, Killoran kept the pacifier as a souvenir of the bizarre recovery.

“If I didn’t see it I wouldn’t believe it. That fish was doing well with no signs of stress and actually had 11 of my chum baits in its stomach as well.

“I think maybe it thought it was a crab or something similar. I’ve caught them on some pretty big baits but seeing that in its stomach I couldn’t believe it.”