Southwest Florida kayak report

June 27, 2007


Fishing has been good in both fresh water and salt water.
Will Huibregste and Dave Biber of Zionsville, Ind., fished with us for two days recently and enjoyed decent action.
On June 22, they fished Joe Bay and caught and released 50 spotted seatrout to 17 inches, a 23-inch snook and a doormat flounder.
They caught trout and snook on topwater plugs at dawn on the shallow flats. When the sun came up, they switched to the deep grass in southern Tampa Bay about 200 yards north of Joe Island.
I found several good trout spots in that area and entered them in my GPS. It amazes me each time I return and immediately catch fish. The GPS has been worth every penny it cost.
I?m convinced that there?s no way I could find the spots without the GPS. Each and every patch of grass in that area looks the same.
Later in the day, we anchored our kayaks and waded the sand bar in front of Joe Bay. Our plan was to sight-fish for redfish and whatever else might be on the bar. We didn?t hook any reds, but we did get to cast to four or five.
Dave hooked and landed a 22-inch flounder on a soft plastic.
On June 23, we headed for Pine Island Sound. We launched just south of Pineland Marina and paddled a little more than a mile to Cat Key, normally a very good spot. Will and Dave began peppering the shoreline with topwater plugs, but didn?t attract a thing. The water was crystal-clear, yet void of marine life.
I paddled to Rat Key, about a half mile to the west. I caught a snook on my first and fifth casts. Then, I paddled back toward Cat Key and had Will and Dave paddle to Rat Key.
Good decision.
Dave saw a tarpon roll and cast his Rapala Skitter Walk toward the fish. He didn?t hook up, but experienced a heart-pounding blowup. A few minutes later, Dave hooked a big redfish. While he was battling the red, Will paddled around the point with a nice snook.
Dave landed his red, a 30-inch beauty. We snapped a few photos and went back to fishing.
That?s when the snook bite erupted. Dave and Will anchored on the southwest corner of the island and caught 25 snook to 25 inches on MirrOLure MirrOminnows, MirrOdines and Yo-Zuri 3D Fingerlings.
When the bite subsided, we paddled to a bayou were they caught 5 snook. We paused for lunch, then fished sand holes with Gulp Shrimp on jigheads.
I love fishing sand holes, and this time didn?t disappoint. Will caught and released six redfish to 26 inches and trout to 17. Dave managed several trout to complete his slam.
I?m done with my Everglades trips for the season. We?ll resume them in the fall when the weather cools off.
Our recent trips down there were a blast. Using 3- and 4-weight fly rods, we caught up to 300 fish per trip, including largemouth bass to 5 pounds, Mayan cichlids, oscars, bluegill, stumpknocker and shellcracker.
Top producer was a No. 10 chartreuse popping bug in the morning. In the afternoon, we switched to the infamous Myakka minnow.
Last time out, Sarasota?s Jack Hartman caught 40 Mayans, 50 bluegill, several stumpknocker and a handful of bass. A neophyte fly-fisher, Hartman caught all of his fish on a popping bug.
This is a great outing for beginning fly fishers. Not only will they succeed, but also catch a lot of fish.