But on to my subject of mullet fishing. I've lived in Florida just about my entire life and have been fishing most of it. I recently experienced something I had never done before. Mullet fishing. I'll have to admit, it's different. It takes a lot of patient to be a mullet fisherman. If I'm totally honest, it's not for me.
Last Friday my parents and I and my Uncle and Aunt went mullet fishing. We found a spot along what is called The Mullet Hole and began to get everything ready for the action. After we were all prepared there I stood with a rod and reel in my hand. The line had 5 tiny hooks, each hook had a tiny piece of white rubber worm impaled on it. Above all these hooks was a bobber. Now here i stand with 5 foot of line protruding from my pole and wondering how the heck I was going to cast out into the water without catching something on shore with one of the hooks. Sad picture.
Well I finally figured it out and I cast my line. Now here I stand holding my pole and watching my bobber waiting for it to be pulled under the water. My father proceeds to walk over and "chum" the water. Chumming consists of throwing a mixture of wet oats and laying mash out into the water and hoping it lands near your bobber. This is suppose to attract the mullet.
We stood there for hours...watching bobbers and chumming. Never got the first nibble. Shoot we never even had one brush our lines much less nibble. I did however get to watch an alligator glide gently through the water. Was a nice sight but I remained ready to run in case he decided to come on land.
After those hours we gave up and went home. Now on this day just down the Mullet Hole aways there were people catching mullet quite quickly. They'd cast out their line...watch the bobber land and rest, pull it in with a big mullet on a hook. I don't know how many they actually caught but we decided we couldn't catch any because they weren't letting them come up stream to where we were. They weren't giving them a chance.
Well two days later (having the first event fresh on my mind) my father decides he wants to try again but wants to go earlier so we could get the "good spot." So reluctantly my mother and I decide to go with him. We get there early and get the "good spot." We get everything ready and begin to fish and chum. A couple of hours later we have gotten not a single nibble. By this time i am becoming very bored with the entire mullet fishing thing. We continue to fish a little while later and low and behold, someone a Little ways up from us begins to catch some mullet.
Once again we are hopeful. Then the lady sitting a couple of chairs away begins to catch some. However her husband who is using the same kind of pole, hook, bait, and fishing the exact same spot, isn't. And guess who else isn't, that's right, us.
After a little longer without ever getting a nibble I decided this was not my thing and gave up. I was totally and completely bored with watching my bobber continue to float calmly in the water, barely moving at all. I was so very thankful when my father gave up as well and we went home.
I may try it again someday but if I do, I will drive my own car and when I get ready to leave I will. I have heard people say a bad day fishing is better then a good day at work, well when it comes to mullet fishing I'm not so sure. Least at work you aren't usually bored to death.
If you decide to give this a try at some point in your life, I wish you luck. You will need one pole, either a rod and reel or a cane pole. You can put as many hooks as you wish to on the line but they should be small ones. And you will need one bobber for entertainment purposes. The mixture for chumming is one part oats to one part laying mash, moistened till it will stick when made into a ball.
If you try this, give it a fair shot. Don't take my word for how boring it is because i actually saw people out there enjoying themselves. If nothing else it's relaxing, gets you outside into fresh air and in most cases it's tranquil enough.
Learn more about this author, Teresa Roberts.
Polarized Sunglasses for Fishing, Cycling, Kayaking. (P. Gray & Silver)
The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories
Fishing 16 Rods and 16 Reels With Line
The Greatest Fishing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Eight Unforgettable Fishing Tales
