Outdoors Column | Stormy weather leads to a great day of fishing by myself

When early models forecast then-Tropical Storm Laura as a hurricane near the west coast of Florida for this past Tuesday, most boating activities and fishing trips were rightfully canceled in advance. But as the time came closer, Laura remained further south and west eventually ending up in middle of the Gulf.

This was great news for surfers, as between Hurricanes Marco and Laura, plenty of big swells were sent barreling to the Gulf Coast. As a result, tides ran about a foot over predictions, strong southeasterly winds persisted and atmospheric pressures were constantly changing. With these three factors I had a good feeling fish would be plenty active and hungry.

So Tuesday I loaded up a paddle board, some light tackle and a few artificial lures. I paddled to a protected Bradenton shoreline to see what I could find.

I kept my eyes peeling as I got to the area I wanted to fish. I noticed mullet actively working the flats and decided to throw a small silver spoon on 20-pound Shinsei Fluorocarbon to cover more water that mimicked the small bait and finger mullet I was seeing. If the fish were going to be active, they would surely eat it.

The outgoing tide and wind worked together at my back, so I hopped off the paddle board when the drift became too fast. I focused my casts on where I was seeing active mullet and other surface activity. After just a few minutes I hooked into a snook that threw the spoon after making his first jump.

Next cast, another snook was deceived. This one was landed and measured around 24 inches and was quickly released. I was already excited as catching snook on artificial makes it very rewarding. A few more fan casts around the area were uneventful. I hopped on the paddle board to get a look around and scout. Not far along a school of about 20 big redfish nearly ran into the paddle board, forcing me to once again hop back into the water to slow down.

Now my adrenaline was flowing. I noticed the redfish were moving quick and knew if I stayed in the area they’d probably be back. So I kept casting as I slowly walked.

Then it happened. On a long cast with my 2000 Penn Fierce and 10-pound Power Pro the spoon hit the water and was immediately eaten. The fish went for a run and when it slowed I could see a red tail out of the water. The big redfish I wanted was at the other end of the line.

I worked it closer, keeping pressure while keeping myself between the mangroves and the fish. It ate quickly, so I wasn’t sure how well the hook was set. After five minutes it was close and I could see three or four other redfish that stuck by it’s side during the fight. It made its way into my net. I measured it out at 30 inches, making my trip worth it for that one fish.

As soon as that school showed it disappeared is when I reset. To complete my inshore paddle board slam I went to a little deeper water to fish trout, where I quickly caught a 16-incher.

On the paddle home I ran back into a school of smaller redfish, getting one more around 23 inches. The best part was not seeing another boat out all day in an area that’s usually covered in anglers chumming the shoreline and buzzing around. It was refreshing to have a popular area remain undisturbed in a time when people often run and gun all over the flats.