Archive for June, 2011
From the months of April-August when I’m not in the kayaks I spend my time on the water almost exclusively pursuing tarpon, much of which is done from a power boat. I spend the majority of my tarpon excursions mating for Capt. TommyZ of action-charters and this summer has been no different.
Whether it be by kayak or boat however, the tarpon bite has been excellent with many bites coming in the first few hours of the morning on blue crabs anywhere from 3-6 ft under a cork. Positioning your self is the most important part when pursuing these fish on the beach. After locating a pod, observe them and determine the direction the fish are moving. Stealthily position yourself ahead of the pod of fish, being sure to give them plenty of berth. Cast your baits well ahead of the pod of fish where you think they will be intersected. When fishing with a cork it is especially important to place your bait well ahead of the fish, because often the loud splash created from a cork landing can spook them.
Most bites will come from the lead fish in the pack, so be prepared for that cork to go under! Fishing on the beach is my favorite way to target these popular sport fish. The shallow water of the beach often allows you to see the fish eat your bait, and many times will cause the fish to jump more as well… and as far as I’m concerned, the jumps are the best part of the fight!
The action on the flats is still hot! Redfish schools are around and snook are feeding well on/near local beaches. Call to book your trip today!
Today I had the pleasure of taking Selena and Jay from Minnesota out in the kayaks on the flats of Tampa Bay. We are experiencing strong outgoing tides during the evening in correlation to the new moon so I opted to launch at 3 pm and fish the evening outgoing tide.
When we put the yaks in it was hot and balmy so we began wading mullet schools throwing spoons for redfish. We spent the first few hours going over how to properly work the spoon, the things I’m looking for on the flat, and fishing for redfish on the flats in general. After the tide finally dropped low enough we relocated to an area with deep potholes to continue our search for redfish. It didn’t take long for Selena to hook up to to a solid top slot redfish on the silver spoon and the fun began. We stayed in the area for several more hours working spoons and eventually topwater picking up redfish and trout.
We had intended to spend the last hour or so of daylight targeting tailing redfish, however on our way to my spot the wind picked up making it very difficult to spot them, and even more difficult to make accurate casts to them. We got off the water shortly after 9… Selena put a whoopin on Jay today, outfishing him by a landslide and catching her first redfish, which happened to be the biggest of the day!
Redfishing is in full swing right now, book a trip while the action is hot!
For the last week we’ve been experiencing a strong east wind in the morning upwards of 12 knots, which has made for difficult paddling conditions. Instead of letting the wind keep us off the water, I’ve altered my tactics and spent much of my time fishing the other side of Tampa Bay known as the “southshore” to stay lee of the early morning east winds.
Yesterday, June 3, I got George from Montana out on the South shore of Tampa Bay in the kayaks. We spent the first few hours of the morning going over how to “walk the dog” with a MirrOlure topwater. George enticed a few fish to strike his topwater but with no solid connections, but that’s okay, learning is part of the process and for those with patience, persistence will pay off! As the sun grew hire, I opted to tie on a subsurface plug called a MirrOlure MirrOdine. George was able to translate the techniques I had taught him for working a topwater to using the MirrOdine. It didn’t take long before George was hooking into snook, at first they were small. But eventually he was able to land his biggest snook ever at 26″!
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After the tide slowed and the snook bite with it, we stopped on a sandy shoal for a quick break and lunch. We then began drifting deeper flats still throwing the MirrOdine where George was able to hook into several trout and ladyfish. Before long the heat became unbearable and it was time to head in.
Every year starting as early as March and ending as late as November, giant tarpon begin invading Tampa Bay during their annual migration along the gulf coast. These fish can vary in size anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds, with some fish being even bigger! Targeting these silver monsters can be particularly difficult from a kayak, and at times even dangerous – making it not for the novice paddler or angler. This being said, most of my time spent tarpon fishing during the peak of the season is from a boat instead of a kayak.
Last week I was fortunate to get out with my friend Mike aboard is skiff, with plans of putting him on his first tarpon in mind. We began by getting about a half dozen 3-4″ blue crabs to use as bait. We then ran out to the beach and began idling parallel to shore looking for signs of fish. It was not long before we spotted fish, and not much longer before Mike was hooked up and fighting his first ever tarpon… and a big one at that! After a 15-20 minute fight Mike had his 150 pound monster tarpon boatside and ready for a photoshoot and release.
After a healthy release, we began searching for more pods of fish. It did not take long to find them, and it took even less time for our offerings to be greeted by a hungry tarpon! We would end up hooking two more this day, making our days total 1 for 3. Finding and hooking these beauties is only half the battle, keeping them hooked up is the other half!
These fish are best targeted by kayak off our beaches and amongst the back waters of Tampa Bay. Action is heating up off our beaches with the fishing inside the bay only improving as summer goes on! Dates are available to get your chance at hooking the ultimate sport fish from a kayak!
Like any other day on the water in Florida, we were departed by a beautiful sunset to end the day.
