After a brief break in the Redfish tournament action the Pure Bay of Barkhurst/Landry was hooked up and headed back to Florida.  Hopefully, for more of the same results they enjoyed on their first stop to the Sunshine State.  This area has treated them well before, so the anticipation to get the boats in the water was high.  “We’ve actually been here several times before at different times of the year.  The fishing is always tough no matter what you do.  There are places that traditionally hold fish time and time again.  The game plan is to target those areas and just see how much these spots have to offer.  Then on game day get there before anyone else, or get there before the fish move off of the flats and hide back in the bushes as the sun rises.”   
  

            With the late take-offs this season it didn’t take long to realize that Barkhurst/Landry couldn’t make it to certain areas in time to capitalize on the fish that were still outside the Mangroves.  They needed to find some fish that were more exposed and couldn’t hide as easily.  Hopefully some fish that had migrated from the flats to deep holes as the heat of the day grew on. This meant trying to find a school that they could pick from throughout the course of the day. “I remembered a little honey hole that I found about five years ago.  I was fully aware of the fact that it was a community spot.  Under the circumstances we faced we needed to slide in there and check it.”  Barkhurst/Landry snuck over various shallow flats to reach the area and when they did it was just as Barkhurst had left it years ago. “We pulled up and predicted right where the Reds would be sitting.  They were there and in huge numbers. We caught several of them and left them alone.  Mostly just watching them swim around the boat.  Surely several teams had to know about this huge school.  Too good to be true is the norm, so we just sat there and appreciated what we obviously couldn’t reap the benefits of on game day.”  Back to scouting they went.  Seeing a handful of fish here and there but nothing to really bank on.  Several days passed and for motivation they just had to see that huge school of fish again.  They made their way back to the community hole and couldn’t find the fish.  “We searched the area as slow and methodically as we could.  Just couldn’t locate them to save our lives.  It wasn’t really as disheartening as it sounds.  We aren’t that lucky to have that many fish to ourselves.  We both agreed that the school had been found and either run over or busted up by someone.  We jumped up and ran around this large vast flat looking for them but mostly just leaving the area.  Wouldn’t you know it we found the fish adjacent to deep water preparing to drop into it.  On top of that the size of the school had doubled.”  They didn’t catch any this time, as the fish were now in a serious panic and more concerned about escaping than eating. 

            Barkhurst/Landry figured if anything they should give that spot an hour or two the first morning of the tournament.  Especially if no other boats were around when they passed in the morning.  From prior experience they knew where the fish should be first thing in the morning with the low and incoming tide.  They also knew where they could set up and catch the Reds as they moved out across the flat to deeper water.  It was a pattern they just couldn’t resist.  “On day one we ran straight to this spot and nobody was there.  We eased on in and put the Power Pole down and just sat there for a couple of hours waiting for the fish to come out of this large pot-hole in the flat.  If we had set up right on that pothole, with that many fish, we wouldn’t have a chance to catch many.  We could have hooked one or two I am sure but they would have scattered and not followed a normal feeding route throughout the day.  Almost at the point of losing patience the fish started creeping out of the hole and easing up to an oyster reef we were using to shield our presence.  This oyster reef was also something that the Reds had to go around to get where they wanted. It was perfect! We started picking them off as they came by.  It was a nice steady stream of fish. Then it stopped for a few minutes.  The next thing you know the giant school we had seen on the last day of scouting had risen out of the hole and just swarmed us as they passed.  We had fish flying everywhere around the boat in the boat. It was on!”  When all the slime settled they had captured enough weight that day to plant them in 7th place for day one.  A community hole had paid off in a big way.  Could this spot produce two days in a row like that though?  “On day two we stuck with the game plan.  The fish were still there.  The only thing that really changed was that this day we had company.  Three boats staged up on where all the fish were settled in that deep hole and drove them out of there like rabbits.  It was tough to watch.  Since this was first thing in the morning there may have been enough time after the boats left them alone for the Reds to settle back down and cooperate.  By late in the day some fish started to come back.  There was no chance of catching them though.  They had been so spooked earlier that even the thought of us casting to them would send them shooting out across the flat.”  Day two yielded Barkhurst/Landry one freshly laid goose egg.  Taking them out of seventh after day one and landing them into 38th.  That’s how tough this fishery is.  So tough though, that this finish only moved them from 7th in the Team of The Year Points Race only down to 11th. 

*A special thanks to Louisiana Sportsman Magazine for sponsoring the Blue Wave Pure Bay teams of Barkhurst/Landry and Ballay/Ballay at this event.

Ross Barkhurst owns and operates Argonaut Charters in Venice, LA