As part of my ongoing interview series “On the Hook”, I
sometimes get to fish with some interesting people. Recently I fished with
Willie Eyre, a retired MLB pitcher. Willie played for several teams including
the Twins, Orioles and the Rangers. He is also an avid angler and this wasn’t
the first time I had him out in a kayak.
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| Willie Eyre |
We chose the Imperial
River in Bonita Springs
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| Fighting jacks |
We chose topwater lures to start the day. All along the
banks there were the crashes of jacks hitting the many schools of finger
mullet. The water temp was about 65 degrees, a little too cold for a good snook
bite. It wasn’t long, however, before Willie hooked up on a good jack. The fish
put up respectable resistance to the light tackle as it ran circles around
Willie’s Revo. It was the first of several such fish as we worked the river
banks.
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| One of Willie's fish |
The sun had been up for a few hours warming the day, but the
water temps were slow to keep up. By noon the water was only 68 degrees, and
while that is on the lower end of the activity spectrum, there wasn’t much
going on. On the way back to the launch I spied some movement on a shallow
flat. I eased up to see a couple of big snook trying to squeeze some warmth out
of the sun. I tossed my TA Crossover at them, but they slowly moved off to
deeper water without showing any interest.
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| Back at the launch |
It proved to be just a little too chilly for snook that day,
but we had fun with what was there. Any fish on topwater makes for a good day.
We wrapped up with an interview and a few fish stories at waterside. I promised
Willie the next time would be peacock bass, but we will have to wait till the
water warms up for them too.
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