Archive for February, 2011
Got Kapers out today bright and early to get in on some of the big black drum action from kayaks in Tampa Bay. I told him it would be tough for a weekend with all the boat traffic on the first really nice weekend of the year and he understood so off we went. Temps have been steadily rising, today they nearly reached 80 degrees!
After paddling for about 15 minutes we reached the area that I have been targeting these drum. There were lots of boats out already, so I knew these fish would be extra spooky today. We waited for the tide to start coming in and like clock work we started seeing fish. I had told him that there is no need to chase fish as these fish will come to us, and boy was I right! Our first shot at the school resulted in a hook up and Kapers fought the fish like a champ bringing him yak-side after a brief fight. We continued to chase the school, hooking up two more times. Average size again was about 50 pounds and the fish were taken on gulp shrimp with 20# leader, 10# braid on 6-12lb TFO spinning rods. Enjoy the pics, book your trip today, the action is hot!
Got Mike out bright and early to get on the black drum action this morning. We launched just as the sun was rising and were on fish within a half an hour. Fish were tailing in only a few feet of water so we opted to wade to them to be more stealthy. In about two hours of steady action Mike was able to land two of these brutes and broke off three more. Again fish ranged right at around 50 pounds and were taken on scented soft plastics on jigheads. The tide came up and the fish dropped into deeper water making them difficult to locate so we called it a day around 10:30. Not bad for four hours, especially from the kayaks! Here’s some more pics from the day, book a while the action is hot! Fishing is only going to get better in the coming months! 
Launched my kayak this morning around 8 am into Tampa Bay. With an early spring upon us, I had a hunch that with the changing season so would the annual migration of black drum into Tampa Bay arrive. After a brief paddle I began finding schools of several hundred large (40-80 pound drum) tailing happily in only a couple feet of water. I got out of my kayak to wade to them, and chose a scented shrimp imitation to entice these crustacean eaters. My first cast of the day yielded about a 40 pound fish, and from then on I caught black drum on almost every cast, until I couldn’t reel anymore in. These fish move in every year from offshore and take up residence on grass flats near the mouth of Tampa Bay, well within reach of a kayak, before moving up into the Bay where they will stay until the fall. Average size of the fish caught today ranged from 40-60 pounds, all fish were taken on Berkley Gulp Shrimp on MirrOLure twist on jigheads on 20 # leader and 10 # braid. These fish all came on my redfish rods (7 1/2 ft 6-12lb TFO spinning) and 3000 series reels… makes for a terrific light tackle fight! They won’t be here long so book your trip soon to ensure that you can get in on the action! Won’t be long before we see a large influx of redfish moving into the area, kayak fishing in Tampa Bay is getting hot!
I’ve included some self timer shots I took of myself as well as a few shots I got of the fish tailing. Enjoy!
Fished Charlotte Harbor today with good friend Cameron Schurlknight aboard a Hewes 17 Tailfisher… it’s always nice to get a change of pace away from the kayaks, but always reminds me why I prefer fishing from a kayak as well.
At any rate, we launched into the Harbor just as the sun was rising. We fished from the West Wall to Little Gasparilla and had good success finding tailing redfish early while the tide was lowest, then trout and redfish in the potholes as it began coming in, followed by redfish on docks after the tide had reached its peak.
Baits of choice today were MirroLure’s Lil John in natural shrimp color, and DOA 4″ split tail all rigged on 1/8oz MirrOlure twist on jigheads.
This past Saturday, February 5th, myself and tournament partner Cameron Schurlknight competed in the Hard Core Kayak Angler’s Club (www.hckaclub.com) Tournament Series Event #1 which took place on the south shore of Tampa Bay.
The rules are simple, two man teams compete within the designated boundaries (Bullfrog Creek south to Miguel Bay) to catch th largest inshore slam (one snook, redfish, and trout). The largest combined inches of the three fish wins, with prizes being awarded for the lagest fish in each category as well.
The day start early with the captain’s meeting from 5:30-6:00 am and launch time being at 6:30. Cameron and I launched into a very foggy, gloomy morning at 6:30 sharp. We chose to fish an area that we have had a good deal of success in before, and an area that I have spent much time fishing and learning.
By 7:00 am Cameron was hooked up to our first fish of the day, a 24″ red. After landing, photographing and releasing the fish we both began to wade the flat dissecting the area we believed to hold larger redfish and large trout. After several trout and small redfish, I landed a 21.5″ trout that satisfied us both for 2/3 of our slam. By now it’s still only 9am and with 2/3 of our slam completed we were both feeling pretty optimistic.
We then paddled back in to relaunch our kayaks into the area I believed to be holding snook. After a short drive we were launching our kayaks into a south Tampa Bay creek that looks as pristine as the day it was flooded. Within the next hour we caught several snook, first a 22.5″ fish that completed our slam, but left us wanting more. We continued fishing when Cameron hooked up to a nice fish at 27.5″. I rushed to his aid to net the fish as it towed him into the trees… team work at its finest!
By now it’s still only 11am and we have a 73″ inshore slam. Confident that no one would best our slam, we fished a little while longer, but got off the water early enough to clean up and eat a well deserved lunch. The “weigh-in” began at 2:00pm, we were the second team to arrive which meant, should a tie occur between us and the first team, they would win. Fortunately for us, they were unable to complete the slam, which left us feeling very confident.
Team after team began arriving to the weigh in, and finally at 2:30 the weigh in was closed, leaving the judges and tournament committee to sort through the photos and designate the winners for each category.
To our avail we came out on top, finishing 1st place and besting 2nd place by nearly a foot! 2nd place came in with 63.75″ and 3rd place with 63.5″. Definitely a solid finish for Cameron and myself!
This organization is a great club full of even better people, the tournament series is well run and the prizes are great (cash and sponsors), but most of all good times with friends! If you’ve never heard of the Hardcore Kayak Anglers Club before, be sure to look them up, join the forum and participate!
I’ve attached some photos of the winning fish laid along a ruler.
Put int this morning around 7am and fished the Fort Desoto area. After a short paddle I started seeing tailing redfish in shallow water. The fish were very spooky and the tide was still slack so I decided to move on and continue scouting the area. Found more tailing fish just about every where I went, and located several schools of large trout in potholes 2-3 ft deep. Caught about 20 trout to 5 pounds on CAL golden bream paddle tail jigs before I decided to go after the redfish again. Found the redfish, still tailing, in the same area as I had left them. The fish were much more aggressive with the tide now coming in strong and though spooky were willing to feed. I landed one on a topwater and two on softplastics before heading in around noon. Water temps were in the low 60’s and the air temps were in the 70’s, starting to feeling like spring out there! Here’s a picture of the average size (20″) trout and the bait they were eating… would’ve had more photos, but I forgot my memory card at home and this was taken on my phone!
Sorry for the lack of recent updates guys, I’ve been very busy of late and have been neglecting my site, but that’s going to change! So, instead of giving you individual reports from each day I’ve been out so far this past fall and winter, I’m going to give you a conglomerate report highlighting my past couple months best of the best!
First thing first, the redfishing has been outstanding! Winter time low tides trap fish in potholes, channel edges and troughs which allows for some non-stop rod bending action! I have been targeting these fish primarily with soft plastic baits, with my favorite this winter being the MirroLure ‘Lil John in golden bream and natural shrimp colors on 1/8 oz and 1/4oz jigheads.
Big gator trout have also been a primary target this time of year. Every winter big trout move into Tampa Bay and take up residence until late spring. “Gator” size trout are large, over 4 or 5 pounds and often as long as 24-27″ with even larger fish being possible as well. Aside from the larger trout, small, keeper sized trout are readily available and can provide some non stop action when you find a good school of them! For the larger fish, top water plugs during low light conditions has produced some of the biggest fish. Subsurface plugs and soft plastics have also brought in some very healthy specimens.
Flounder have filled the niche once occupied by the snook for us here on the west coast. After a brutal winter and huge decline in the snook’s population here, flounder fishing has taken the front stage. Targeting sandy potholes, drop offs and canals have been key. Using small jerk baits and swimming soft plastics like the ‘Lil John and DOA CAL shad tails, and slowing bouncing them along the bottom has been very productive.
Spring is right around the corner and the fishing is only going to get better! Feel free to call or email with any questions at (727) 742-4736 or tampabaykayakcharters@gmail.com
