The Last Tide Out

williamsBy Capt. Mike Williams
December 21, 1983 I was working as a field tester for MirrOlure on different color patterns and also on rattlers that would later come the R series in a MirrOlure. I was fishing with another man and we stated fishing at daylight. The air temperature that day was in the low seventies and the tide came in most of the morning; we were able to catch some really nice trout. At the top of the tide, we took a break for lunch. Then about 1 pm the wind really started to pump up out of the south and was off and on raining. We were fishing a location that was somewhat protected from the south wind. we starting fishing again and the tide turned-going out. The next 3 hours was the best, the very best trout fishing I have ever seen in my life time; I am almost 69 years old and have been a full time fishing guide for more than 30 years. ALL the trout were large, 4 pounds to almost 10 pounds, and all the fish came on 51M series MirrOlures, a black back, gold side, orange belly prototype that I was field testing.

51MR808

51MR808

[The next year the lure came on line and they numbered it 51MR808. I named it the WIDOW MAKER.]

Just before dark, the wind backed off and water was slick, and we were catching big trout almost on every cast. A hard BLUE NORTHER north wind hit us, the wind pumping big time out of the north. The next day, December 22, the low temperature was 24 degrees; on Christmas Day it got down to 14. We did not know it at the time, but we had fished the last tide out before the Great Freeze of 1983 and the trout of East Bay were getting the hell out of town through ROLLOVER PASS trying to reach the open Gulf.

Read the interview with Mike Williams; “Stalking Trophy Trout with MirroLures,” September 1981 issue of Gulf Tide Magazine

(This article published 12/29/2014)

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One Response to “The Last Tide Out”

  1. edsnyder says:

    The MirrOlure is DEFINITELY a big trout lure- It’s unbelievable how this piece of plastic and hooks can attract these, what I call, Gator-Trout- The feeling of the HIT is awesome, but the feel of the big speck shaking its head while fighting is absolutely incredible!!- I rarely keep big specks, choosing to release them instead- only if they’re gilled and bleeding –

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