Oct. 13, 2007

Two words describe our recent activities: fresh, water.

September and October are great months to load our fly rods in our Heritage Redfish 12 kayaks and hit fresh water. Armed with No. 10 popping bugs, Myakka Minnows and gold beach Hare?s Ears, we?ve found bluegill, shellcracker and largemouth bass willing participants.

Our main location has been Lake Manatee, a 2,400-acre body of water located 9 miles east of Interstate 75 off State Road 64 in Manatee County. The lake is full of fish and endures very little pressure. Often, we?re the only boats on the water.

In late September, we took Sarasota fishing guide Pete Greenan to Lake Manatee for a day of light fly-rod action. Greenan, president of the Florida Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers, had a ball, catching and releasing 40 hand-sized bluegill and shellcracker on 3-weight fly rod, No. 10 chartreuse poppers and No. 12 Myakka Minnows.

Our usual modus operandi is to fish poppers until the topwater bite subsides. When it does, we switch to the mighty Myakka Minnow, a tiny minnow imitation that slays panfish and bass.

On Oct. 12, Tony Saviano of the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers joined us for a day at Lake Manatee. He paddled his new Redfish 14 Angler. Tony caught and released 40 bluegill (most of them as large as his hand) and one small bass.

He caught all of his fish on a popping bug. The best fish of the outing was a 3-pound bass that inhaled a No. 10 popper on a 2-weight fly rod.

I?ve made several solo outings to the lake in the last month. Fishing hasn?t been up to Lake Manatee standards, but it has been decent. We normally average 60 fish per trip. This fall, it has been about 40 fish per person per outing. The bluegill bite has been the best. Bass have been slow for some reason. However, we looked at our log from last year and noted that the bass should begin to school up soon.

Freshwater fishing in Florida is lots of fun. Fish are plentiful and willing participants. And fly-fishing is the way to go. Imagine catching 40 or more fish per day on fly rod!

Recently, Pete Greenan and I taught fly-casting at the grand opening of the Bass Pro Shop in Doral, Fla., near Miami. We instructed more than 100 people over two days. We were there to represent the Federation of Fly Fishers. In addition, FFF had two fly tiers in the Bass Pro fly shop each day. Also on hand were legendary guides Bill Curtis and Lee Baker.

While there, we couldn?t pass up a chance to fish for peacock bass with famed guide Alan Zaremba (http://www.floridapeacocks.com/). We?ve fished with Alan a number of times and always have done well.

Fishing was somewhat slow, but we still caught and released 16 peacocks to nearly 4 pounds, a largemouth bass and two Midas cichlids.

For fast and furious fly-rod fun on peacocks, February and March is the time. Last March, I caught and released 25 peacock bass to 4 ? pounds with Zaremba.

Peacock bass were released in south Florida waterways in 1984 by the state of Florida. They?ve taken hold and provide fun for thousands of anglers annually.

They?re butterfly peacock bass and grow up to 10 pounds. The larger peacocks that you might have seen on television or read about are barred peacocks, which grow to 20 pounds or more. The barred peacocks were stocked in south Florida waters, but couldn?t withstand the winter.

We fly fished The Everglades recently and found good action on Mayan cichlids, oscar and bluegill. We caught a number of fish in Picayune Strand State Forest and in canals along Tamiami Trail. We?re happy to report that the oscar population in the Trail canals is up again after a three-year lull.

In salt water, Sarasota Bay has been alive with spotted seatrout, ladyfish, jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel. Redfish and snook have been somewhat slow.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, I will be giving a kayak fishing seminar at Boater?s World in the DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton.