A Bad Backcast And Other Inane Musings

In Case You Didn't Notice....

2010-10-27T14:35:00.002-04:00

The site is still moved....it hasn't come back here or anything like that. Feel free to check out the goodness of the NEW site by clicking right HERE

We've Moved

2010-10-07T08:44:00.005-04:00

As I'm sure some of you have heard, I've moved my blog to a new domain, A Bad Backcast Fishing This gives me the ability to do a bit more with the blog plus gives me the options needed that go hand in hand with my new kayak guiding venture...it's very similar to this site just minus all of the same pastel vented sun shirts and Columbia hats...just add skulls and flames.

It still has that new car smell so, please bear with me while I fumble my way around!

All of the blog posts here have been exported there, but I'll leave this blog up for a while until everyone gets used to where the new site is.

Special thanks go out to Mark Watanabe (Yaksushi) At Yaksushi Media for all the hard work and logo design! I owe you a few kayak trips the next time you're down!

Lets Go Rays!

2010-10-06T08:51:00.002-04:00

Not really a fishing post! Lets hope the Rays bring their bats to the playoffs.

Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!Lets Go Rays! Lets Go Rays!

We Like It

2010-10-05T07:39:00.002-04:00

Nice logo - Skulls, Kayak Paddles! What else do you need?

Snooktastic

2010-10-03T09:07:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, Keith, in his search for a new kayak, took me down to Sweetwater Kayaks to test drive a few Malibu's. We took our fishing stuff just in case he didn't buy one so we could fish while we were out near Gandy. Problem was, they only had one for him to check out and no Mini-X in stock.

After his test run, we unloaded our gear and headed out to fish the always popular "Boat Graveyard" which is a mangrove area with a collection of dilapidated and sunk boats and docks, abandoned and left to rot. Oyster bars dot this habitat as well.

We also wanted to test out a few new home made stake out poles, which were 8 ft long and made out of green plastic gardening poles with a PVC t at the end. These initially worked well and fit through the scupper holes nicely but wouldn't hold up and kept cracking and bending under the stress of leaning. The great thing about having a longer stake out pole like that is giving me the ability to have something to hold on to while standing up in the kayak, as well as having something to pole the kayak along. We think that inserting these green gardening stakes inside a length of PVC will add a bit more toughness and support.

We paddled through the honeycomb of wrecked and sunk boats, docks, oyster bars and mangroves. There were numerous "fishy" looking areas along the deep mangrove shoreline that didn't seem to be holding fish on the dropping tide. Finger mullet and pinfish were plentiful along the mangrove prop roots.

We found a tidal creek with a depression at the mouth dotted with piles of concrete slabs and caught a few dink trout but, beside that, all was quiet.

I cast a DOA Shrimp into the mangroves next to a concrete pile and it immediately got hammered by an 18 inch snook. My drag was set fairly loose, so he initially dragged me into the bushes, but the 30 lb leader and 20 lb Power Pro held. He was a bit on the skinny side but swam off after a long reviving.

None of his buddies that we spotted in the area were interested in playing so we called it a day....awesome weather and light breeze made it a great scouting trip.

Victory At Sea

2010-09-28T17:49:00.008-04:00

Wind and large waves have made taking the kayak out a dangerous chore....but there's quite a bit of fishy activity in the area. I started out on Saturday, but decided against launching when I saw how nasty it was.

Yesterday was a different story.

By the time I flew over my spot on one of the bridges, I could see white caps and feel the wind buffeting the Bad Backcast Mobile.

I went out yesterday amid 4 foot waves and 15 knot winds. Paddled out to one of my favorite local flats with an excellent incoming tide. The wind was blowing from the south and the tide was coming in from the north. This confluence of elements made fishing synonymous with a washing machine.

No one told the fish it was too windy and wavy.

I started tossing a DOA Shrimp (of course) but, it kept getting shredded by needle fish. I switched up to a Mirr-o-lure Mirr-o-dine XL, speed reeling it over the drop off, hoping for some Spanish Macks, but it kept getting hammered by 12 inch grouper and black sea bass. I'm pretty sure a few of these were juvie Goliath grouper.

After a few hours of looking for 2 'O clock Charlie, I packed it in....

The dink grouper were fun, though....never did run into any of the Spanish Macks.

Girls a Cryin'

2010-09-27T19:57:00.006-04:00

I'm sure that most of you have a wife or girlfriend or significant other that might say something along the lines of "Why do you have to be fishing all the time?"

Well, the above photograph is my equivalent to that. This is what I come home to...Lacy "yelling" at me for going fishing...

But get the ice cream out and put on the Ray's game, and she's all good....

Los Bastardos

2010-09-27T19:17:00.003-04:00

Needlefish - 1

A Bad Backcast - 0

'nuff said.....

New Logo

2010-09-24T09:13:00.003-04:00

Like it, Love it or Hate it....here it is.....

Done by Mark Watanabe (Yaksushi) At Yaksushi Media.

Good Things, They're a'comin'

2010-09-23T09:06:00.003-04:00

As some of you may know, big things have been happening at A Bad Backcast Central. I've brought in some advisers on the local, state and federal level, as well as social media experts....together, we're creating a bigger and badder Bad Backcast Land

Here is what's coming.....

*I'll have a new domain and website which will make things a bit more interactive. Even though Blogger is easy to use, it's quite limiting with what you can do.

*The site will have a bit more of an edgy feel to it....complete with a new logo to put on everything from stickers to t-shirts.

*In the near future, you'll be able to book a fishing trip with yours truly...should be ready to go by the first of the year. Right now, I'm in the process of securing a kayak manufacturer to sponsor this endeavor as well as various lure makers, and gear makers.....so if you're interested in becoming a sponsor, shoot me an e-mail at rob@abadbackcast.com It takes a bit time to get the Inc. registered, business licences, etc. Not to mention obtaining all the gear.

*You'll also be able to have me speak at your event, seminar, gathering or school.

*Not to mention, articles, reviews, funny stories, and photos. Not to be only limited to fly fishing, but the dark side of fishing too. I'm still against treble hooks and replace all of the trebles on my lures with single hooks.....

Autumn Transition

2010-09-22T09:14:00.003-04:00

This is the time of year when football starts, NFL Films music is playing with slow motion images of players running out of the tunnel, You can smell brats cooking on the grill.

What a lot of folks don't know is that with less heat, shorter hours of daylight, and dropping water temperatures, this is also the kick off to one of the best Florida fishing periods of the year. Like people, after the fish have been beat down by bright sun, and water temps in the 90's, they become more active....feeding periods are extended.

This is the "transition" between summer and winter. Fish are more mobile and bait is plentiful. I realize that fish do not feed 24 hours a day however, like people at a football party, even though you might not be hungry in the 4th quarter, we still are apt to eat some of those wings and blue cheese....same thing with fish. They might not be hungry but, seeing a fly or lure moving through the water might cause the fish to eat.

A few good places to look for would be creek mouths on an outgoing tide, inlets, oyster bars and other spots that you might hit during low light times....

I'm currently scouting for a good fall fishing pattern for when the summer spots become unproductive.....

Bump In The Night

2010-09-18T10:55:00.011-04:00

Strange things happen when fishing. Even stranger things happen when fishing at night.

We launched our kayaks right before sunset with an incoming tide and a plan to fish the lighted docks in a different section of the area that we've been targeting as of late. These docks were in deeper water, and stuck out into the current a bit more than the other docks we'd been fishing. We hoped to find snook.

The wind was an issue right off the bat, blowing 15-20 out of the north, the water was roiled up and wavy and the water clarity was murky. Luckily, we were heading south and I was hoping that the wind would calm down by the time we made our return trip to the put in.

The first docks we wanted to hit were dark, so we paddled into one of the inlets in an attempt to get out of the wind. We found some lights and went to work. Two underwater lights and one above water. Nothing. No feeding activity, no darting bait...all quiet. We paddled to the next set of lights - three docks in a row with above water lights on....perfect.

The first dock yielded nothing and after 15 minutes working DOA Shrimp around the light and adjacent shadows. Keith had moved to the second dock while I was getting my DOA from the maze of pilings it was wrapped around. He scored a nice trout within seconds of casting to the same light we had just moved from. I leapfrogged to the third dock and hooked into another good trout. The size of the larger trout mouths are quite different from their juvenile counterparts...maw-like and can eat quite large prey items. They seem quite a bit thicker as well. Keith had to get on someones dock at least once to retrieve his lure....

We pulled a few more fish out of these three docks and paddled on to find another spot. The wind had died down a bit, so we paddled out of the inlet to a perfect dock with a sweet light right above the waters surface. This dock was sticking out into the main channel, so the current sweeping by was stronger than that which was pushing through the inlet. We could see baitfish hopping on the surface and shadows beneath.

Now for the strange part....I started pulling out fish on almost every cast....a few dinks but mostly keeper sized trout. Keith was getting nothing. We were using the same lure, DOA Shrimp Clear-Red Flake, and he was pulling water while I was pulling fish. I don't get it. I switched over to a Storm Wild Eyed Shad in gray and black. These are 4 inch jerkbaits that look a lot like a finger mullet. I had it rigged on a 2/0 offset worm hook with the hook point inside the hook flap and no weight to allow for a slow sink rate and slight darting action. This worked better than the DOA Shrimp. I could see multiple trout getting into position and chasing it as soon as it hit the water. Keith managed to pull in only one fish out of this spot....Weird.

We paddled across the channel to a dock with green underwater lights. On my first cast, I caught my best trout of the night at around 20 inches. A beautiful, solid fish.

We continued working the docks with only a few more fish. Recorded a big "0" under the lights in another inlet....Weird.

Strange days (or nights) indeed.

Open Letter To Local Residents With Docks

2010-09-16T08:42:00.002-04:00

Dearest Residents,

This is a letter to remind you to keep your dock lights lit on the evening of Friday, September 17th, 2010 in the Inter-Coastal-Waterway areas north, south, east and west of Belleair Causeway, Sand Key, St Joseph Sound, and Dunedin.

This Notice is, in good faith meant to notify you that there will be at least two (2) kayak anglers fishing around your docks on the aforementioned date. This is no cause for alarm.

I can assure you that I (A Bad Backcast) will do everything in my power to conduct my angling operations in a quiet and professional manner and if I happen to hang one of my lures on said dock or property (boat, jet ski, yacht, sailboat, naked woman statue) I promise to make every effort to remove said object quietly and without malice from the confines of my kayak. I can't really say the same for my colleague (Old Guy Keith).

Please understand that we are over the age of 40, and our eyes don't work very well at night. Leaving your dock lights lit will certainly help in this respect. I'm sure you, the residents, can sympathise with losing your nighttime depth perception, and we appreciate any help in regard to good lighting.

Please try to ignore the noise created by Old Guy Keith. He really is a nice guy and he does mean well, I just think that sometimes, he forgets that he's literally fishing in your backyard....and, he doesn't have a Malibu Kayak and has to fish his anchor out of a crate behind his seat, which gets tangled up with a bunch of other stuff that he doesn't need.

Thank you for your kind assistance.

Sincerely,

A Bad Backcast

Paddle In The Park

2010-09-15T10:15:00.002-04:00

This promises to be a fun event - bring your kids...

Sheena Was Right

2010-09-12T09:06:00.009-04:00

One of the good things about getting up early to go fishing on a Saturday or Sunday morning is getting the weather forecast from Fox 13 weekend weather anchor and super babe Sheena Parveen. She helps make the rumbling and the stumbling of an ugly early wake up time a bit more bearable....one of these days, I'm going to get her out fishing with us....but anyway, the forecast was HOT, low chance of rain, and no wind.

Just getting to the put in was a bit challenging. On my way across the causeway, one of the last remaining draw bridges in Florida decided to go up. I was feeling a bit perturbed when I didn't see any sailboats coming through and after 15 minutes, the bridge finally went back down.

There were a bunch of hardcore kayaking vehicles at the put in...you know the kind - rusted out Ford Ranger with an old topper, fishing stickers plastered all over the back end but a nice Yakima system on top....I meant to take some photos but got distracted by a girl in a bikini with a lime green kayak. After closer inspection, I saw that all she had was an Ocean Kayak, so I went back to loading up my gear.

Now back to the fishing....

Slick seas, clear skies, incoming tide and bait all over was the scene.

Fifty feet off the beach is a trough that runs parallel to the shore line. This backs up to a fairly shallow grass flat with sand potholes and nice grass. At around 75 feet from shore, it drops back down to around 8 feet....only to rise back up again to another shallow flat at roughly 500 feet from the beach. We fished these areas briefly while heading to our destination - the southernmost tip of a barrier island about 3 miles away. We should have stayed near the put in because we started catching fish right away.

I caught a dink trout and 2 juvenile grouper and Keith caught a grouper. But with the tide pushing over the flats, there was sure to be bigger fish....and there was.

I saw a 7 foot bull shark pushing across the shallow flat, dorsal and tail out of the water like a scene from Jaws heading toward the beach....Eeeesh. I made sure to warn the surprised folks close to shore.

We paddled south to a deep cut along a sandbar and fished for a while. There were a lot of kayak anglers around this spot, so I'm fairly certain there were fish around. I had a hook up with a sold fish, but lost it.

We continued south through a really shallow section of grass flat, seeing large tailing mullet and wakes pushing everywhere. No redfish among them though. The water quality was getting murky as we pushed south. By the time we got to the southernmost point, there was a boat on the spot. We saw them pull in 2 nice redfish and move on....of course blowing out the spot in the process as they gunned the motor on the way out.

I found a kayak trail through the mangroves that looked like it would be a great spot on an outgoing tide. A deep hole formed the mouth of this small creek, giving the fish ample cover to lie in wait for prey to be swept out.

We worked the edge of the mangroves on the return trip. There were several guides with clients asking us where the fish were. We kept seeing scatterings of finger mullet along the treeline so, we knew there were fish around, but had no takers.

On the long paddle back to the causeway, I noticed that the wind had shifted to blow right into our faces...of course....we stopped and fished a few spots and caught more juvie grouper.

I'd forgotten my Buff, so when I arrived home, I found a nice red raccoon face staring at me in the mirror....

So... lesson learned - when you're catching fish close to your put-in, stay there and fish...and pay closer attention to what Sheena says....

Wanna Win A Pair Of Costa's?

2010-09-10T12:23:00.003-04:00

Yakangler.com always has great prizes for their contests.

This time, you can win an awesome pair of Costa Del Mar Wave Killer Sunglasses.

Check here to see how to enter.

Rules:

-All YakStaff members may participate, Adam and I will not
-All pictures must be at least 800X800 pixels in size
-Photographs do not have to be taken during the contest they can be older ones
-Maximum allowed pictures are 1 per photo shoot, but you may submit up to 5 photo shoots
-All pictures must be of good clear photo quality
-All pictures must be submitted by October 6th, 2010
-All pictures must be emailed to: events@yakangler.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-Your full name, your username "if applicable", title of photograph, and location of photograph

Thai Fish Dish

2010-09-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going out on a limb with this one, but I'll share it with you anyway....

The ex used to make a KILLER Chicken Penang. This is MY version of it. You can use fish, chicken or just veggies with it.....but since this is a fishing blog, we'll stick with fish. I totally LOVE this dish.

Please excuse my redneck recipe writing style.

Boil a pot of water and get your jasmine rice started.

In a large skillet, cook 4 fillets of flounder with a bit of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a pinch of freshly ground lemongrass.

When the flounder is cooked, shake, open and pour a can of coconut milk. Pour over fish into skillet.

Add 2 teaspoons of red curry paste and stir with coconut milk and fish.

Add a head of fresh broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

Cover skillet and simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Serve with the jasmine rice.

Smile and enjoy.

Up On The Downsize

2010-09-08T10:24:00.010-04:00

There seems to be a recent movement toward larger lures...larger flies....build it bigger and they will come. For me, there certainly are times when I want to chuck a 8/0 Deceiver with huge dome eyes at a bunch of rolling tarpon. One of D.O.A's latest additions is the Big Fish Lure - an 8 inch soft plastic.

There are times and places for the big stuff....but why is it that no one ever thinks to downsize the lures being used?

I know the word "Downsize" is a dirty word in most circles but can prove invaluable in the world of fishing. Just by simply tying on a bonefish fly or small jig, you can often get fish to bite who were previously suffering from lockjaw.

The reason is quite simple.

On the flats that I fish, small prey items are quite numerous. Summertime redfish are often keyed in on grass shrimp which are less than an inch in length. When casting to spooky fish, try tying on an Epoxy Charlie or #2 Clouser Minnow. I've witnessed large tarpon feeding on schools of glass minnows, one of the smallest baitfish in the sea, swimming through the school, mouth agape, gulping mouthful after mouthful on each pass. Maybe a small plastic crappie jig or Clouser Minnow might do the trick....

So, the next time you're seeing fish but can't get them to strike, try scaling it down a bit.....

Fly Casting Like A Golf Swing?

2010-09-07T09:19:00.003-04:00

I've had this crazy notion for a while now.

Fly casting is quite a bit like a golf swing.

If you've ever played the game then I think you'd understand what I'm getting at. No matter how good you are, there are always things to remember and learn. Even the best golfers on earth have swing coaches....But enough about golf.

Fly fishing ninja/author and marine biologist Aaron Adams tends to agree...

"It doesn't matter how many times you've watched or listened to Lefty Kreh talk about fly fishing, there is always something new to learn. Even if you have all of his books and videos, there always seems to be something not yet revealed in those books that comes out during a presentation. For example, during a recent lunch with Lefty, he said to me "I've seen you cast, I bet I can add 10 or 15 feet to your cast in 10 minutes." I said "You're on", and damn if he didn't add 10-15 feet to my cast after lunch. And it was just a simple adjustment to my stroke. Nice. Lefty recently gave a presentation to a group in Sarasota, FL, so I drove up to see Lefty, and to sit in the back of the room to pick up some more tidbits. I did, of course, pick up a couple more fishing tips. I think part of the reason that Lefty always has new tips to provide is that he's always thinking about ways to improve fly fishing. In any case, it's a good thing for the rest of us."

For those of you who don't know...Lefty Kreh and Joan Wulff are probably THE best fly casting instructors on the planet. If you're trying to improve your casting skills, look up their instructional DVD's

Now...you don't need to cast 100 yards to be a good fly caster. In most cases (and this can be debated) you only really need to cast ACCURATELY 30-40 yards. This is just my opinion of course....

I've found that when I'm trying too hard and the fly rod, line and reel feels like it weighs 100 lbs, I just need to relax...breathe....don't try to overpower the forward cast....that things usually tend to feel a bit lighter.

Lights On, Nobody Home

2010-09-04T10:13:00.012-04:00

In life and fishing, sometimes the things you plan might not go exactly the way you envision them, but if you improvise, adapt and overcome, you can go from scratching your head.... to watching your rod bend with a fish on the other end.

Keith and I paddled out to a string of docks that I found lighted on a scouting mission earlier in the week. The plan was to concentrate on the docks that were sticking out into the incoming tide and hopefully locate a few snook.

The problem was....someone forgot to tell the folks who live there to turn their lights on for us. It was a bit like Halloween. Several residents actually saw us out there and turned their lights off! I asked Keith to go knock on a few doors and ask them to turn their dock lights on, but he wouldn't do it. These same docks were lit earlier this week....I need to remember to bring the rolls of toilet paper and burning dog shit bags me thinks.

Now, I understand why some folks might not want folks fishing around their docks. I get it. A few errant casts clanging off their boats, fishing line draped across their boardwalks, and hooks left laying exposed to bare feet. I get it. A prudent fisherman needs only to realize a bit of respect to not do these things and to remember that you're literally in someones back yard.

Ok...back to the fishing part.

Conditions were just PERFECT. The sort of night that brings on a sense of Zen peacefulness...no wind, slick, flat calm seas, painted skies, and less humidity than you'd expect for an early September night in Florida. I could have just laid back and took a nap if there wasn't fishing to do. The water temperature is a bit cooler for sure.

So lights out on the docks we planned to hit.

We paddled into a clover leaf of docks in the inlets. It seems the lights were out more than on, but we could see feeding activity along the lights that were lit. The pattern was whomever got into position and got a cast off was almost guaranteed a hook-up.....cast....plop....thunk....tension....fish! Trout were everywhere. I started with a 9 foot leader and had to keep trimming it because it would get frayed. It's probably about a 5 foot leader now. The larger specimens really tend to put up a fight and I had a few that actually leaped free of the water. There seemed to be a lot more schoolie sized fish than the last time, but we were getting a few that were in the 18-20 inch range.

We came upon a submerged amber colored light that had quite a bit of feeding activity around it. I pulled a few decent fish out and just sat back to watch the them interact with each other. I often enjoy just observing the fish as much as catching them. What was strange was, I could see the trout, who were mixed in with a gaggle of sail cats, just lazily swimming on their side. A few of them looked like flounder and would require a bit of a double take.

The last dock that we hit had a light that was placed about 10 feet above the water. There was surface action everywhere for about a 100 foot radius around this light. You could cast in any direction and immediately have a fish on. They were feeding on finger mullet, greenbacks and shrimp....but I think you could have tossed a frying pan and it would have received a strike.

A Sad Day

2010-08-31T10:33:00.004-04:00

Break out the Kleenex! This is truly the end of an era.....

I was recently informed that Plueger Has stopped making the Purist line of fly rods....

Nooooooooooooooo!

So much for being Mr. Current Events.

Due to my propensity to break fly rods with aplomb, the Purist line was one of the best fly rod deals for me.....$37.00 for a quality 8 weight delivered to my doorstep from W-flies....plus I really like the way that they perform.... where will I find an affordable replacement the next time my backcast snags a mangrove branch and I shatter my last Purist into a million pieces?

At least Pflueger hasn't stopped making the Trion line of fly reels yet. I use a 1978 and 1912 respectively and am happy to report that these are virtually bullet proof with solid construction and smooth drag that won't burn up with a fast tarpon or bonefish. I'm really surprised that more saltwater guys don't use these fine reels.

World Angling

2010-08-29T08:15:00.004-04:00

Here's a nice little ditty for your Sunday morning. I LOVE the flat calm conditions shown here. It's not only beautiful, but very relaxing to fish in. I know that a lot of folks hate fishing in flat water because it's easier for the fish to see you, but this guy loves it.

I didn't know that the guy from The Hangover fly fishes for tarpon.....

If you're like me and want to see who the World Angling guys are, check this out...I just need to know if they've got an extra couch for me to sleep on....hell with the couch, I just need a corner for me and my Thermarest.

Inane Randomness

2010-08-26T09:40:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow night, there is a showing of the movie Jaws at The Capitol Theater in downtown Clearwater. I DID see it in the theater in 1978 when it was re-released, but this will be cool. My brother has never seen it in the theater.

It's weird, because I'm currently reading a book about the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks in which the book Jaws by Peter Benchely was loosely based. I've always been intrigued by sharks and shark behavior. It's amazing to me that there is still a bit of debate and speculation about whether or not the shark was a Bull Shark or Great White. I'm currently on the Bull Shark side as I've never heard of a case where a Great White has swam up a river or creek. This of course is normal behavior for Bull Sharks....I LOVE history.

The rain has really dirtied up the water clarity around here and all of my scouting trips have been cancelled due to bad weather. Might do one big scouting trip on Friday...but I'm not sure yet.

Behind The Fly Rod

2010-08-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

I had the honor of doing an Angler Spotlight piece for Yakangler.com this week. Don't mind the first photo though as I look like I'm sinking my kayak. After mentioning this to the photographer, my brother, he commented that he thought he was shooting it for "cakeangler.com"...guess admitting that you have a problem is the hardest part....

Oh, and the article can be read here

The rain for the last three days has pretty much ruined my scouting missions for the week. Three days of constant rain? Really? The last time I can remember that happening was in 2004 when the weekly hurricanes would roll through. So lack of scouting missions and I'm guessing, super murky water and short tides might make it one big scouting mission this weekend....was going to target snook on the dock lights, but not sure now.

Shrimp Burgers

2010-08-23T11:19:00.004-04:00

A bit of Southern Fried Goodness for your Monday. Preseason football.

Beer Battered Shrimp
Coleslaw
Sourdough hamburger buns
Cocktail sauce on the side
Bread and butter pickle chips

Serve with a light wheat ale.

Daylight Dies

2010-08-21T11:11:00.010-04:00

I arrived at the put in spot at 7PM. The conditions were ideal: Sun low in the sky, the tide was just starting to come in, a light breeze tickling the waters surface. The water temperature felt like bath water and was just ticking 91 degrees.

The plan was to head back to our favorite redfish spot and fish the oyster bar that backs up onto a lush grass flat. Keith was working the drop off along the channel and I was opposite him working the shoreline on the way back to the oyster bar. There was fishy action going on all around us with finger mullet scattering, fish wakes chasing, and birds wading and diving. The area was ALIVE! Perfect conditions....but...the problem was, someone forgot to tell the redfish to show up.

We worked the area and the entire water column with a myriad of flies, soft plastics, and Mirr-o-lures. Nothing. Not even a chase or a tap. When you see about 100 finger mullet scattering and spraying into the air, that usually means a bigger fish is chasing them. Casting past this spot and working the lure with the tide SHOULD trigger a hook-up, right? But once again, the fish haven't read the latest issue of Florida Sportsman.

After an hour and a half, we decided to target some docks with lights to see if we might be able to find some snook.

"Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light" (Who would've ever thought I'd resort to using an Eagles lyric?) There was an eerie green glow next to the seawall. The shade of green that you might see in a sci-fi film...around the same shade of green as my kayak. As we paddled closer, I could make out baitfish darting and large shadows chasing. It looked like some sort of sci-fi aquarium.

Bingo!

We started casting. Nothing. Changed lures. Nothing. Changed lures. Nothing. What would Captain Kirk do? "Captains log....suplemental....we've discovered an eerie.... green.... light with fish feeding around it....yet.....we can't seem to....catch any.... fish Mister!" (Wow...a Star Trek reference? Really?)

After 30 minutes of this, we decided to try another dock. This time, with a light that pointed downward. First cast, BAM! 22 inch trout! Keith got the hook-up on it's twin a few moments later. After about 4 fish each, all between 18 and 22 inches, and FAT, the action quieted. I made around 6 casts without a fish.

Time to move.

Over the next 2 hours, this cycle repeated itself over and over. Cast, catch, release. Cast, catch release. Cast, catch, release. Cast.....cast.....on to the next dock.

I think the reason that the first light didn't produce was because the light was projected upwards, giving the fish a better view of it's prey. Any other time, it's the opposite, with the light projecting down. All they can see is the profile silhouetted against the surface.

We eventually got tired and headed back in...today, my wrists are sore from horsing so many large trout out from under the docks. The bigger trout put up a harder fight for sure.....

Inane Randomness

2010-08-18T10:20:00.002-04:00

This weeks Inane Randomness!!!!!

My fishing buddy Keith loves gear. He has loads of kayak fishing "stuff" that he drags out like outriggers, a leaning post so he can stand up and fish, a poling platform, a portable A/C unit, and a flag/light rig. Actually, it's not THAT much stuff, just less than the amount of stuff I drag out. Even though I'm TOTALLY the opposite, it gives me a good reason to give him a good natured ribbing from time to time. Yesterday, I found this which is actually pretty cool because there is no drilling involved. The mount just fits in your flush mount rod holders. Not a bad deal for the money either. This is not really something that I'm looking for, although it WOULD come in handy on the long paddle back to the put in spot....

Don't forget to listen to Kayak Fishing Radio this Thursday at 8 pm Eastern. If you can't listen or call in, listen to the podcast later.

Saw this story about a Great White Shark biting a kayak of the coast of Northern California. This guy is lucky that he only got a few holes in his kayak.

Of course my sick and twisted mind was trying to determine if I was in that situation, what sort of fly would I toss at a Great White Shark? Am I alone in thinking this way?

Here is a video one of my friends from California sent me...White Sharks among the surfers....

Night Ops 2

2010-08-18T09:24:00.004-04:00

I have the plan worked out for another night trip this week. The tide is forecast to be low at 6:00pm, sunset is at 8:15pm with high tide at midnight. The lights are rigged and ready to go.

I like fishing at night. It's easier that getting up at the crack of dawn, the boat traffic is almost nonexistent, and the fish become a bit more active since the water is a bit cooler.

The question is this: should I fish where I've recently seen the finger mullet along a ditch that cuts through a shallow sand flat and cast finger mullet flies for snook? Or should I fish the oyster bar that separates the channel from the shallow grass with crab flies for redfish?

Decisions....

Photo Essay - 8/15

2010-08-15T16:42:00.007-04:00

The gathering storm.

Enough napping Keith...that's why you didn't catch anything.

Sand Key Bridge

Like Forrest Gump would say...."There's muh boat"...

Juvie grouper. Not sure if it's a Gag or a Black. Note the blue hued anal fins. Was a surprise being in such shallow water.

The Hatch

2010-08-14T09:34:00.004-04:00

One of the best features on my kayak are the 3 middle hatches that make up the casting deck.

The middle hatch gives me the ability to have everything I need close at hand. This middle hatch can also be used as a livewell for live bait (Although I can't remember the last time I used bait)

As you know, I approach my gear with a basic school of thought. I only carry a medium fly box, a water tight box for my phone, keys, and camera, a GPS, a few soft plastic jerk bait bags, a box for hooks, swivels, and weights, a multi-tool, and a pair of scissors.

This basic approach allows me to worry about less stuff and be able to concentrate on finding fish.

Inane Randomness

2010-08-11T10:48:00.004-04:00

I'm still bummed that I missed out on Lamb of God and Shadows Fall yesterday at Mayhem Fest, You'll have that when you're spending all your time fishing I guess....

The Tampa Bay Rays have lost 5 in a row and their team batting average is in the .100's but they're still only 1 game back from the division lead.

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Director of Operations, and personal favorite fly fishing ninja and author, Dr. Aaron Adams, was interviewed by online fishing blog GoFISHn about the current state of the tarpon fishery. More importantly, the interview lists precautions that all anglers can take to reduce harm to tarpon while practicing catch and release.

Don't forget to listen to Kayak Fishing Radio tomorrow night (Thursday) at 8pm Eastern for all the goodness related to kayak fishing. I may or may not be a guest on tomorrows show due to a previous engagement, but one never knows. You know how people can be.

Night Shift

2010-08-07T12:38:00.004-04:00

Last night, Keith and I did a night trip. Arriving to the beach at around 7pm, we had excellent conditions. With an incoming tide, light breeze and sunset at 8:30, we hit the grass flat along the drop-off with no fish but a lot of diving bird action.

I set up a lighting rig with battery powered camping lanterns inside large, clear,water tight food storage containers fore and aft. Worked like a charm until the batteries died after 3 hours use. Keith said he could see me a long ways off.

Keith caught a small trout along the weed line, then we paddled over to the bridge. There was bait everywhere...glass minnows, needlefish, and majorra. I hooked up with a 15 inch trout on a shrimp pattern, but switched to a white baitfish pattern when I observed snook blasting bait on the surface.

I changed to a topwater, crease fly pattern which drew a few misses. I tried working it fast, slow, painstakingly SLOW to no avail.

Keith caught another trout, but we couldn't seem to entice any of the snook to take our offerings. I think they would have turned their noses up at live bait.

We worked the rock jetty, nothing....the bridge pilings...nothing....all the while watching and listening to "SLUR-POP!" happening all around us.

We headed in at about 1:00 am on a falling tide with a lot of activity still happening. Night fishing is great because the heat isn't as intense, the fish are out, and there is no boat traffic to speak of.

We'll be doing more of this night fishing to be sure!

Kayak Fishing Radio

2010-08-05T21:35:00.004-04:00

You can hear yours truly on Kayak Fishing Radio Thursday nights at 8pm Eastern talking about whats happening in the world of kayak fishing. It's a call in show, so listen, and call in with questions or report what you've been catching!

Chip Gibson is your host and is a wealth of information in regards to all aspects of kayak fishing.

There's also a chatroom if you don't feel like calling in.

I think this is a great thing that is sure to get bigger with time.

Shot In The Dark

2010-08-04T14:23:00.004-04:00

Friday night, I'll be heading to an undisclosed location to see what sort of fish I can find on an incoming tide after dark.

Of course, after dark means making a few special, handy-dandy modifications to allow for night time kayak fishing - not only to keep from being sunk by some idiot blazing through at top speed, but to keep from being cited for having or not having an illegal vessel.

I had a hard time finding the information needed, so I posed the question to kayak fishing guru and "Google Masta" Mark Watanabe from yakangler.com

Of course he found the information for me (let me Google that for you)and here is what he found:

"Where do Kayaks and Canoes fit into the Navigation Rules? Neither the International nor Inland Navigation Rules address "kayaks" or "canoes" per se, except in regards to "vessels under oars" in Rule 25 regarding lights. One could infer that a "vessel under oars" should be treated as a "sailing vessel" since it is permitted to display the same lights as one, but, ultimately the issue of whom "gives way" would fall to what would be "required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case"

RULE 25: SAILING VESSELS UNDERWAY AND VESSELS UNDER OARS

(a) A sailing vessel underway shall exhibit:

1. sidelights;
2. a sternlight.

(b) In a sailing vessel of less than 20 meters in length the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule may be combined in one lantern carried at or near the top of the mast where it can best be seen.

(c) A sailing vessel underway may, in addition to the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule, exhibit at or near the top of the mast, where they can best be seen, two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being red and the lower Green, but these lights shall not be exhibited in conjunction with the combined lantern permitted by paragraph (b) of this Rule.

(d)

1. A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters in length shall, if practicable, exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.
2. A vessel under oars may exhibit the lights prescribed in this rule for sailing vessels, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.

(e) A vessel proceeding under sail when also being propelled by machinery shall exhibit forward where it can best be seen a conical shape, apex downwards. A vessel of less than 12 meters in length is not required to exhibit this shape, but may do so. "

I've got a few battery powered camping lanterns with clear waterproof cases that will come in handy for this....

The Return Of 2 O' Clock Charlie

2010-08-02T09:30:00.003-04:00

2 O' Clock Charlie made another appearance yesterday...this time right off the west end of Dunedin Causeway.

I arrived at the causeway late, as usual. I could see Keith paddling about 300 yards offshore as I unloaded the kayak and got ready to go. When I looked up again, I could see his kayak but not Keith. I wondered to myself if he just took a swim or something.

He paddled in a little while later to tell me the chilling tale of a run in with 2 O'clock Charlie. Towed him around for a few minutes but dumped his kayak when it quickly changed direction.

Local anglers are taking no chances, often packing dynamite and depth charges on their fishing boats.

In a statement issued by an anonymous government source, residents are urged to use caution - "We don't think it's a shark but, but bathers should use caution...as always."

Shrimp Cocktail

2010-07-31T14:19:00.012-04:00

Since almost everything in the sea eats shrimp, it's a good idea to have some of these patterns and lures with you when fishing. I've caught so many different fish on shrimp lures and patterns. These small crustaceans pack quite a large caloric punch so maybe that's why fish like them so much.

The D.O.A. Shrimp is one of my favorite baits to find fish. Remember, when using any shrimp lure or pattern, the key is to fish it S-L-O-W. For some reason, everything that swims seems to LOVE this color (Clear/Red Flake).

Chartreuse Sparkle is nice in dingy or stained water.

Grass Shrimp are prevalent on the flats in the summertime. They are small (less than an inch) but numerous. If you're on fish and can't get them to eat, try tying on a Crystal Shrimp size #4.

Crystal Shrimp in gold and white with beadchain eyes instead of burned mono.

E.P. Shrimp. AWESOME when you can get it in front of shallow redfish on the feed. Let it sit on the mud bottom and give it a twitch as the fish approaches. Should trigger an immediate strike.

Not sure what this Double Bunny is supposed to look like but I fish it like a shrimp and the trout seem to like it.

Photo Essay - 7/25

2010-07-26T18:45:00.005-04:00

Sunday Keith and I paddled from Dunedin Causeway to Caledisi Island to scout new spots. I caught 3 flounder and lost a 20 inch redfish at the boat.

I need to rethink just how I put fish in the boat. Teeth on those flounder could be bad news.

How big was that redfish that I lost, Keith?

An Osprey. Haven't seen one of those in a while.

Scouting New Spots - When?

2010-07-24T10:35:00.003-04:00

In this installment of Scouting New Spots, we'll combine the things that we learned from the first post - Where? - and try to determine when is the best times to fish and how it goes hand in hand with where.

For starters, you need to understand that I'm not a marine biologist or expert on the subject of finding fish. All I'm doing here is passing on things that I've learned in the hopes of helping other people find fish on more of a consistent basis....I'm always learning new things too. This year, I've really been putting an effort into being able to find fish.

Now...when the best times to fish is an oft debated subject. Some say the best time to go is low tide, others will tell you high tide, and of course, the incoming or outgoing tide is thrown in there as well. Going at night or the break of dawn?

I've found through trial and error that fish can be caught at all stages of the tide, night and day...you just have to know where to fish.

At my special little oyster bar spot, there's an oyster bar on the edge of a drop off that backs up onto a lush shallow grass flat. My favorite time to fish this spot is at a dead low tide with the sun low in the sky. The flat is almost totally dry, but the water leading up to it and around the oyster bar can hold fish. This area just comes alive at this time, with little shrimp, fish and crabs coming out of their hiding places. I've witnessed redfish stacking up on the edge of this flat, working their way into the grass as soon as the water is deep enough to hold them.

In the wintertime, I've seen redfish at the lowest stage of the tide, holding in pools of water with the surrounding areas completely dry, waiting for the tide to come in. A deftly placed shrimp or crab pattern will be sure to draw interest in a situation like this.

Snook, on the other hand, are notorious nocturnal feeders. The Mad Snooker, Captain Dave Pomerleau can attest to this fact. I can't tell you how many times I've seen these fish cruising along a mangrove shoreline or hanging around a boat dock, thrown everything I can at them and either spook them or they refuse EVERYTHING. You'd think they either never eat, or are smarter than your average fish.

Truth be told, they DO eat, but at certain times...and only for a short time. I have yet to figure out the formula, but they DO prefer an incoming tide at night. Lighted boat docks with moving water is what to look for. They hold in the shadows, waiting for baitfish to be swept along in the current where they can dart out and grab one.

Flooding tides give gamefish the opportunity to catch prey among the mangrove prop roots. A deep mangrove edge should be explored at this stage of the tide. If you're not hanging up on prop roots or branches once in a while, you're not casting close enough.

But what do you do along the mangroves on a falling tide? A lot of large mangrove islands have "creeks" that, if you were looking at it on Bing Maps, you'd swear it was a checker board. These are breaks to allow for tide and current flows, since the mangroves are in the middle of a current, these creeks allow the mangroves to stay put and not be swept away. Where these creeks empty out, there is often a depression or hole. Fish like to wait in and around these holes on a falling tide to feed on the prey items that are swept out when the water level drops. This is a great spot to find any of the big three year round. Combine this with a low light situation, and the fishy fireworks can be intense.

Another spot that I found that holds fish no matter the time of day or tide stage is a sand flat that drops off into a channel. The edge of this channel is grassy. What I like to do is bounce a black and purple bendback down the hill as it were.

But why does this spot always seem to produce trout?
A few reasons to consider. The temperature of the deeper water makes the fish a bit more comfortable, the eyes of the fish are sensitive to bright light and on a hot summers day, cool darker water seems to be preferable to these fish. There always seems to be moving water along this edge and trout like to lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting prey items washed to them in the current...tide changes from incoming to outgoing, they just turn around.

So any stage of the tide and time of day should find you still able to find fish, you just need to know where to look and at which time.

The Legend Of 2 O'Clock Charlie

2010-07-21T12:01:00.005-04:00

There's something in the water here...the makings of an angling legend of epic proportions.

We call him 2 O'Clock Charlie - He usually hits right around 2 O'Clock...when we're on our way back in.

Recently, almost every time that I've been fishing out at Sand Key, someone has a run in with a large fish - either a big snook or a tarpon - that manages to break the line or straighten a hook....tow around the guy who hooked it. We always seem to run into him in 8-10 feet of water. I've seen it several times and it's right around the length of a yardstick.

Last Sunday, it was on a DOA Shrimp with 10lb Power Pro. I thought I had him, but he broke off when I tried to tighten the drag down too much.

Give it some time and it'll be 8 feet long, have teeth like sabres, and has 3 heads. If you fell out of your 'yak, he'd swallow ya whole.

2 O'clock Charlie, Why do you torture me so.....

Scouting New Spots - Where?

2010-07-19T11:41:00.007-04:00

One of the most challenging things about saltwater fishing is finding fish. You may find them one day and they won't be there the next. My friend Scott likes to say "Well Rob...the fish must not have read Florida Sportsman this month."

Knowing where the fish like to hang out and feed is the first thing I consider when scouting a new area. Sometimes I see a spot as I'm driving past, other times, I use Bing Maps to find features that fish commonly use as either a highway or a hole or hill that they might use as a current break. It's similar to bass fishing - the fish relate to contours and structure much the same as largemouth bass, but you have to account for moving water, time of day, and tide movement.

Here are a few things that I look for when looking for new fishing spots...

Is there grass? This is an important factor to think about. Favorite prey items for gamefish use grass to hide, feed and reproduce almost year round, so make sure sea grasses are in the equation.

The ICW from Memorial Causeway north to Anclote Key has some of the nicest grass flats I've ever seen. The water is always clear and the grass is always thick and lush....but....I haven't had much luck in that area. There are a few spots that I've found that SHOULD hold fish, like a grassy 10 feet deep hole in the middle of a 3 feet deep grass flat that doesn't hold fish for some reason. But on the other hand, when looking at a few spots on Bing Maps near Old Tampa Bay, I noticed an absence of grass. I was assured that there WAS in fact grass there, only to find the area as bald as I am...and ended up going home empty handed.

Deep water nearby? Gamefish are preyed upon as juveniles by birds and bigger fish. This sticks with them as adults. Deeper water acts as security for these fish and it's always a good idea to look for some sort of depth variation close to where you'll be fishing. Deeper water also holds cooler temperatures in the summer.

One of my favorite spots to fish is at Sand Key. There is a grass flat that drops off into a deep channel. There are always trout holding at or close to this edge. I've also caught snook and tarpon there. Recently, I was wading in knee deep water at this edge, catching trout and I noticed that the water blowing from the channel on the incoming tide felt about 10 degrees cooler than the water I was standing in.

Other structures - Oyster bars, sand bars, docks, pilings, rocks and rip-rap? Just like bass fishing, you have to locate the structure. Baitfish use these features to hide from gamefish. Gamefish use these locations as a current break and to be able to ambush prey. I like to find docks that house sailboats because they need to be fairly deep to allow for the keel of the boat.

Another of my favorite spots features an oyster bar. It's located between two mangrove islands with deep edges. The front side of the bar drops into about 6 feet of water. The back edge sweeps into a shallow grassy area that is mostly exposed during low tide. I've often witnessed redfish following the incoming tide into the grass, but make a stop along the front of the oyster bar foraging for mud crabs that make the oyster bar their home.

In the next installment of "Scouting New Spots", we'll focus on when to go.

YakAngler Comes To Florida

2010-07-14T21:48:00.008-04:00

Mark and Adam, the founders of Yakangler.com are in Florida this week to hang out and fish all over the state. What I think is really awesome about this is the fact that they came to fish in Florida for a week instead of going to Vegas for the ICAST convention....plus they're really cool guys who love fishing!

First stop on their whirlwind trip was to go fishing for trout and reds with me.

I met them at the always popular Sand Key. Of course I was a few minutes late. Being a Wednesday, there was no boat traffic. The conditions were perfect with a slight breeze and no rain in the forecast. The tide was on the latter stages of outgoing and would be low about 2 hours after our arrival. Florida native Chip Gibson and his son Brad drove all night from Georgia to go with us as well.

They secured a few Emotion Grand Slam kayaks from David Sims at Action Watersports which are pretty nice boats.
We paddled out to "The Corner", a grass flat on the edge of a 20 foot drop off. I broke my rod on the first cast by trying to unsnag a hang up. We caught a few trout and a few lizardfish and a needlefish.
We paddled over to an island and found a strong incoming tide along a shallow flat that dropped off into a channel. We caught a few more trout and spooked a few redfish. Was trying to get Adam a fish before heading back to the beach, but were unsuccessful in our attempts.
It was a really fun day out fishing and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to meet up, fish and enjoy some wings and beer at Mugs after....

Inane Randomness

2010-07-13T12:24:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, I have the honor of taking Mark and Adam, the yakangler.com guys out on a kayak fishing expedition. We'll be heading to Sand Key with hopes of getting on some trout and redfish. Should be a fun time and I'll be sure to get a lot of photos.

I have a confession to make; None of my technology starts with i. I don't have an iphone, ipad or ipod....however, for those of you that DO have these toys, there is a new app for iphone called Whoppa.

From the Whoppa site - "A 2-in-1 app that enables you to keep a detailed personal log of all your catches AND get up-to-date information on what's working for others in your location.
How many times have you walked past a fellow fly fisherman on the banks, and in passing you enquire, "Had any luck? Oh really... what with...?" Well, this is what this app is about: instant access to local knowledge. That, and being able to keep your own detailed record of all the catches that you make – learning and remembering from your successes in the past is invaluable, and the app does the remembering bit so you can simply reap the rewards.
With GPS capability to pinpoint your location on googlemaps and automatic date and time entries, it's never been simpler to log a catch. You can add as much detail as you like with options such as techniques, equipment, species, weight and length, fly type, hook size, season, weather, water type and water body... you can even add a picture. All the information will be automatically stored on your phone with the added option of being able to upload it to your account on the Whoppa website for safe-keeping.
And, if you want to see what's working for other fisherman at your spot, just click the "Recent Catches at This Spot" button to pick up some top tips and handy information. You can even adjust your retrieval area within a 1-mile, 5-mile, and 10-mile radius. With so much knowledge at your fingertips, Whoppa is your secret weapon to building an impressive catch portfolio."
Available from the itunes store.

Weekend Update - A Close Call

2010-07-10T10:36:00.006-04:00

Wow! Hard to believe I haven't posted or written anything in a week. It's not that I haven't been fishing. I have been. I've taken a bit of a break due to un-birthday parties, busy at work, and other things.

Since I have off every Friday in July, I've been taking full advantage of my 3 day weekends. Friday, I went to the always popular Sand Key to "the spot" and fished the outgoing tide for a while on some deep flats. Large needlefish were harrassing my lures and flies, so I caught one and turned it into chum....next thing I know, my 12 weight is SCREAMING with that sound every fly fisherman wants to hear....Zeeeeeeee....zeee...zeee....

An 80 lb tarpon took off at light speed across the deep flat towing me along with it....leapt clear of the water twice before rolling over and seperating line from leader....A black and red Keys style fly with holographic dome eyes was the ticket. Didn't even see it before it started taking off with it.

Happy July 4th

2010-07-04T09:30:00.002-04:00

Inane Randomness

2010-07-02T13:33:00.003-04:00

Wow! A four day weekend! What will I ever do?

Today, I'll be doing the domestic chores, cleaning, laundry, napping...

Saturday, I'll be out at the always popular Crystal Beach with the yak, chasing redfish on a falling tide first thing in the morning. The shrimp flies and gurglers are stocked in the flybox....weather permitting of course. It's been rainy and stormy for about a week now.

The Friday Pin-up on Moldy Chum is quite impressive. Looks like someone I know!

Not sure where I'm watching fireworks this year. I wanted to launch the yak in Clearwater Harbor or Belleair and view them from there but, as you could probably imagine the amount of boat traffic and drunk idiots on the water at that time....

Kayaking Hangover And The Silver Kings

2010-06-29T13:05:00.005-04:00

After fishing all day Friday and Saturday, by the time I was crawling up the beach with kayak in hand Saturday afternoon and sleeping the rest of the weekend away, on Monday, I was suffering the kayaking hangover.

Not like a drinking hangover where you're swearing you'll never drink again. The refreshing, relaxed, my hand feels like it weighs 300 lbs, I'm too tired to write sort of tiredness.

Friday Morning, I met Keith at Sand Key at first light. The tide was dead low and just starting to turn. We headed out of the Pass and worked along the rock jetty. When we go to the end of the jetty, there was a HUGE school of threadfin shad. The next thing I saw was a pod of tarpon about 60 yards away, headed in our direction. My plan was to hold within casting range of the threadfins (which were holding roughly in the same place) and wait for the tarpon to start feeding on them.

The tarpon approached the school....and kept going. I pulled my anchor and started paddling after them as fast as I could. They must have had other things on their minds....and managed to keep just out of range.

A while later, we got on a school of black sea bass. They were undersized but fun to catch.

Saturday morning, met up with Keith and Pettay. Same spot, but we paddled over to W island. Caught a few trout with Keith getting a really nice 20 inch specimen.

The was a school of bait right where we were fishing and a boat full of less than scrupulous folks decided to kick us off our spot in order to catch said bait....why do people have to be such douche bags?

It was a beautiful few days of fishing.....

Photo Essay

2010-06-25T23:04:00.004-04:00

Sunrise
Rollers
HUGE school of threadfin shad
Black Sea Bass

Crabs To Yield Bigness

2010-06-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

I'll be on the water by the time you're reading this, but thought I'd share.

Every full moon during the summer, tarpon swim out hundreds of miles offshore to spawn. Right before the full moon, they like to eat a lot for their journey...to fuel up, as it were. This time of year, large numbers of swimming crabs are sucked out of the passes on the outgoing tide. Crabs happen to be one of the tarpons favorite things to chow down on....

I hope these crabs will help me on my quest....

2 inch Gulp Peeler Crab

Location X and Keys Style Flies

Big Eye Hommassasa Deceiver

Tarpon Killer X 2 - Ego Vs Common Sense

2010-06-23T14:57:00.004-04:00

This sickening story came across Twitter today via Skate The Fly blog. Apparently, this guy likes to kill huge adult tarpon and try to get his name in the IGFA.

Anyone who knows the odds of a larvae far out at sea growing into adults like these wouldn't even think about killing one.

Disgusting. You should be ashamed Tom Evans and Capt. Al Dopirak....

Inane Randomness

2010-06-22T08:45:00.008-04:00

This is the time of year for Spanish Mackerel. I love catching these toothy fish because they usually cooperate with fishermen and are the main ingredient for my smoked fish spread. They're very speedy and have razor sharp teeth. Good times to fish for them are early in the morning during a rising tide. Per the FWC, bag limit is 15 a day per harvester and they need to be 12 inches long at the fork in order to keep.

Mark and Adam from yakangler.com will be in town for a week next month. I plan on taking them to a few favorite spots, but we're a few boats short. Can anyone help us with this? Wanna lend us a yak or 2? We'll make sure you get a lot of press for it I can promise you. Check out this cool story about Kayak Kevin's trip kayaking Chesapeake Bay

Yours Truly is headed out ugly early Friday Morning to get after tarpon and Saturday, ugly early again to get after some redfish....again. I have every Friday off in July and am ready to go on a camping/fishing/kayaking excursion....

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-20T10:44:00.004-04:00

Sunday Morning... Nag Champa burning....French press coffee....the delicate sounds of a Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd play list....Lacy snoring gently.

Even though I don't have any human children, I like to be the best dad I can be to Lacy.

We went to her doctor yesterday for her annual check up and shots and was given a clean bill of health. She's in much better shape than she was last year. She weighed in at 57.2 lbs where last year, she was 68 lbs. Instead of her laying around by the pool, I've been running her around.

Today, I'll be getting my gear in order, changing the backing on the 12 weight from 20 lb gel spun to 30 lb Power Pro since those silver beasts made short work of it last time, repairing the kayak where the seat cleat was pulled clean out.

Rob's Smoked Fish Spread

2010-06-18T10:44:00.005-04:00

Here is one of my most kept secrets for smoked fish spread. With the impending Spanish Mackerel invasion, I thought it proper to share this. One of my all time favorite fish for this dish is smoked Spanish Mackerel.

The best way to catch macks during the summer run is early in the morning. I like using a silver Gummy Minnow or silver spoon fly worked fast. Spots near Fort Desoto or the mouth of the Bay are good. Make sure you use a strong wire leader for these toothy torpedoes.

Here's my strange way of writing a recipe.....Ya'all pay 'tention nah...

Smoke 2 average sized mackerel filet's. I put them on a low heat charcoal with Jack Daniels chips for around an hour and a half.

Crumble warm mackerel filet's into a bowl. Not too fine...we want it to be a bit chunky.

Add a container of Philly Cream Cheese (one of the ONLY things from Philly allowed in my house) and a cup of your favorite mayo. A bit of horseradish will work too.

As much as I hate celery, a little won't hurt.

A bit of fresh cilantro.

A squeezed lemon.

Some paprika for garnish.

Serve still warm with crackers or soft bread.

Mmmmm...c'mon macks c'mon....

This is perfect for your summer get togethers or birthdays. A good Belgian White Ale compliments this nicely.

Appology To You From Me

2010-06-17T15:19:00.003-04:00

I'd like to take this time to apologize to my readers for blathering on about BP and the oil spill in the Gulf. One thing that I personally don't like is when I go to read a good fishing blog and it's chock full of environmental issues. I'm not trying to disguise the blog as a fishing site only to cover the oil spill. Even though the area that I primarily fish (Tampa Bay Region) is not supposed to be affected like the areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, the spill still disrupts the ecological balance. I've added a spill tracker gadget to the blog. Feel free to post it on yours.

This issue is very important to me, But I promise not to bore you with the details any longer.

I'm tired of being accustomed to losing everything I love.

Please forgive me.

I promise to return to our regularly scheduled programming....already in progress.

Rob

BP Spills The Coffee

2010-06-15T10:16:00.001-04:00

I found this pretty funny considering the fact that the oil spill isn't funny at all.

Belleair Causeway

2010-06-14T09:45:00.002-04:00

Friday after work, I went to the always popular Belleair Causeway to hit the dead low tide and incoming tide at sundown.

It was a textbook situation; the incoming tide started covering the almost dry grass flats and the redfish were close behind. This was a magical time on the flats. You could see all of the fishy activity in the pot holes and deep edges. I spotted tails waving and saw humps moving and baitfish spraying. At one point, I got out of the yak to chase them on foot and to be able to cast better. All I managed to do was spook them in the fading light with unweighted flies.

Sunday, I met Keith at the same spot at first light. The tide was incoming. There was quite a bit of fishy activity going on around the mangrove edges.

Keith was working an edge and I was on the other side of the channel working the docks when he hooked up with an 18 inch red on a Brown Lures Flappin' Devil...

French Connection

2010-06-10T12:17:00.007-04:00

This blog is read in 19 different languages, from every conceivable OS, iPhone, iPad and ISP.

Looking through stats, I often wonder why people read the blog. (I'm glad that you do) It's a predominately saltwater fishing based blog yet, I get a lot of traffic from fly fishing meccas like Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Idaho....but no saltwater there. Before I start sounding like Howard Dean, my question is this....

Who is my reader in France? There is a hit from French Wine Country at least once a day, which is cool, my ancestors come from there. I'm just wondering why...what's the deal?

So send me an e-mail and say hello....

Bring On The Night

2010-06-10T08:38:00.006-04:00

Skunktastic.

My last few fishing trips have been skunktastic.

Of all the research I do pertaining to finding good fishing spots that should hold fish and actually plying the brine and catching water or spotting dolphins leaving me scratching my head....then, it finally hit me.

Like a bolt out of the blue.

It's summer stupid! (Not officially until June 21st, but in Bad Backcastland it's after Memorial Day...wonder if your birthday falls on this day if that makes you extra hot?) Fish are pretty much inactive during the heat of the day. Things start turning on during low light. Crabs, shrimp and other prey items get active as the sun goes down....or comes up. The water temperature drops a bit. Fish notice these things and will start looking for prey.

The spots I've been hitting are too good not to hold fish....with nice grass, oyster bars, current breaks and mangroves, you'd think I'd be on them.

This week, dead low tide is around 6:30 - 7:30 pm with sunset at 8:30 pm.

This also gives me the option of fishing the docks at night for snook.

Perfect.

On the tarpon front, I'm going out Sunday morning looking for them around Clearwater Pass/Sand Key. I haven't abandoned them - I just haven't been writing about it.

BP And The Oil Spill

2010-06-08T09:41:00.001-04:00

Far be it from me to have an opinion on the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster. I know that I don't have to show photos and write about how horrible this is and how important the Northern Gulf Region is to the ENTIRE Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Even if we don't have oil washing up on the shores of the Tampa Bay area, this does affect it on a grand scale.

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney with my opinion, am I the only one who, while watching the evening news, is screaming at the TV to "stop trying to save the well!"?? If BP could forget about profits for a few days, chalk this up to an expensive learning experience and CLOSE THE WELL with explosives, then we won't have thousands of gallons of crude drifting about destroying everything....

This is my opinion. I'm not sorry for having it. I'm tired of becoming accustomed to losing everything that I love....

An Andy Rooney Rant....

**UPDATE** This evening the Times website contains models that would suggest that oil could be headed in the direction of Pinellas County. It suggests that there is some quantity of oil in the FL Straits.
After further review and discussion with the CO of the St. Pete Coast Guard Station, the CG concludes that while these models are based on the theoretical movement of oil driven by currents, the present situation is affected by wind direction. Thus, we continue to work under the assumption that any oil in the loop current would stay 80-100 miles off of our coast. That does not rule out the presence of tar balls/patties that could affect our area. In other words, no change from current assumptions for Pinellas County.

Kayak Ditch Bag

2010-06-06T11:29:00.004-04:00

Fishing the inshore saltwater grass flats and passes of the Tampa Bay area may seem easy and harmless, which it can be. Of course I've never been one to just settle for the easy things so I sometimes find myself at the mouth of the Bay grouper fishing in deep water, around Johns Pass or Clearwater Pass, or the always popular Fort Desoto...all of which offers the opportunity to find yourself swept out to sea by an outgoing tide, storm or wind.

As evidenced by my close call at Sand Key I thought I'd share a simple yet important piece of gear that I take with me on every trip out with the kayak.

I made mine out of a water tight stuff sack and attached it to my PFD.

Inside, I keep a lightweight First Aid kit, a 20 oz sealed bottle of water, a small survival kit, (small rope, signal mirror, plastic shelter, small headlamp, small muti-tool)and super loud high pitched whistle.

Keep this with you while out on the water. It'll help ease your mind and might even save your life one day.

Advancements In Dolphin Eco-Tourism - St Joseph Sound

2010-06-05T12:11:00.006-04:00

I've been thinking recently that maybe instead of fishing, I should turn the blog into a dolphin sight seeing tourism cash grab. 8 out of the last 10 fishing trips, I've seen dolphin up close - so close in fact that I could see the famous toothy grin. I've seen dolphin more than caught fish recently.

Yesterday morning was no different.

I left the house at 5:30 AM to meet Keith at St Joseph Sound and to launch at first light in the hopes of finding early morning redfish on the feed on the lush grass flats. The water was glassy calm as I drove along Edgewater Drive, but as soon as I arrived at the launch site, the wind picked up and I could see flashes of lightning in the distance and hear thunder booms a few miles away to the north and south. The gray dawn revealed rain clouds everywhere.

This large expanse of grass flats between Anclote Key and the Tarpon Springs shoreline are some of the best I've ever seen and have a unique feature; 10 feet deep holes amid 3-4 feet depths with decent moving water. The plan was to cast to the edges of the holes on the up current side and let the fly drift and bounce down the slope...this didn't produce any fish so we drifted across the flat.

The wind pushed us fairly hard. Cold down drafts from the thunderstorm cell to the southeast. The thing I kept thinking about was "We're going to have to paddle back into this wind to get back to the car" but, by some small miracle, the wind slowed...and we were able to paddle back the way we came with ease.

That's when the dolphin showed up. You could see and hear the furious splashing along the shallow mangrove shoreline as the dolphin herded the fish against the bank. Again, only a single dolphin. As we drew closer, I could see that it was around 6 feet in length, and was "fluking"...where it swims on its side and the fluke sticks out of the water. It wasn't shy or afraid of us and I paddled right up to it to snap a few photos.

On the paddle back to the car, the rain started....a free rinse job for the drive home.

Stinky Birds And Sheeps...head

2010-06-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

The other day, Keith and I hit a nice area near Belleair Causeway that had all of the necessary ingredients conducive to holding fish - an incoming tide, deep water near shallow grass beds, a confluence of currents intersecting at a large oyster bed, residential docks, mangrove spoil islands surrounded by oysters bordering deep water, baitfish, and the always popular bridge pilings....the only thing missing was the fish.

The two state bird sanctuaries on either side of the confluence smell really bad, but you'll have that when there are flocks of pelicans and fleets of diving birds. It's obvious that these birds aren't underfed, that's for sure.

Keith did something that I wouldn't have believed had I not been there - caught a sheepshead around the bridge pilings on a soft plastic jerkbait. The sheepshead were hitting my crab flies as they drifted down the pilings, but I couldn't hook up. All I ended up with were ripped up flies and a better tan.

The only reason I believe we couldn't find fish holding there is water temperature. The temp in the Gulf at the moment is 86 degrees F. I think the best time to fish this time of year would be dawn and dusk. That's why I'm going out tomorrow at ugly early 5:30 AM. Will be checking out a new spot in St Joseph Sound.

This is quite a large area of shallow grass flats with large and deep holes, from 1 foot to 10 feet in depth. I'm thinking that fishing the holes at dawn with an incoming tide just might work.

I need a slump buster....

My Memorial Day - Just Like A Publix Commercial

2010-05-30T12:40:00.008-04:00

For this year's Memorial Day celebration, Mom, Brother Steve, Lacy and I went to Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. Mom and Steve did a great job of planning, and making awesome food!

We had sun dried tomato brats, potato salad, roasted corn in the husk, watermelon, and Jim Jones Desert (a concoction invented by mom that's made out of angel food cake, lemon pudding, blueberries,and whipped topping...all mixed together, not made out of Kool-Aid, you sick people)

I launched the kayak during the incoming tide. The mangroves were packed with blennies and finger mullet, and crabs. I was working the mangroves in an area that has a nice drop off from a sand bar just inches from the tree line with lots of prop roots with a dark brown crab fly. My quiet drifting along this tree line spooked a few redfish. I watched one shoot into the mangroves. I cast the crab about a foot away from where it went into the bushes and he came out and hammered it while the fly was falling. Of course he turned right back into the trees and my 25 lb leader quickly broke on the barnacle encrusted prop roots as I tried to horse it out.

Lacy did some things I've never seen her do - like gallop in the water and try to bite the small baitfish that were circling around her legs. It was hilarious! She also dug up a dead horseshoe crab and proceeded to have a not so fresh crab dinner. Needless to say, she was pretty wiped out at the end of the day.

We got packed up in time to beat the impending thunderstorm bearing down on us...

I fell asleep on the couch, feeling super relaxed after a nice day and a nice shower. I'm recovering for tomorrow....Tarpon...

Gordons Stiff Worm

2010-05-28T14:26:00.004-04:00

In honor of the Atlantic Palolo Worm Hatch going on in the Keys over Memorial Day weekend and I'm not there to be a part of it, I'll post this fly pattern I found on Saltwater Fly Fishing Magazine

Materials
HOOK: Gamakatsu SL12 1/0 (silver) or Owner Aki 1/0 (black)
THREAD: White, flat waxed
BODY: White fish hair
COLOR: "Clay Rose" #137 Prismacolor marker
FINISH: Silicone (Goop) and two-part epoxy

Step 1: Cover hook shank with thread base, and snell leader onto hook with approximately 8 to 12 wraps (depending on line diameter). This is more wraps than necessary for knot integrity, but a huge snell knot imitates well a worm's upper head. The rings of the knot are almost identical to the worm's bumps, with the same light, translucent look. Furthermore, the knotless appearance of snelling also helps tremendously with picky fish. I try to use silver hooks on light bottom situations and a black Owner hook over grass.

Step 2: Layer on white fish hair. I don't think brand is important, but different types absorb the color from the marker differently. Layering the fish hair rather than clumping it all on at once simply adds to the fly's durability.

Step 3: Color the upper layers only, as the worms have light bellies.

Step 4: Silicone the material into a straight form and allow to dry (at least one hour).

Step 5: Epoxy over the hardened silicone body, including a light coat over the back of the knot. I have tried using only silicone, and I have tried using only epoxy. Silicone alone gets mushy, and epoxy alone is too heavy and hard to work with, and it distorts the color. The combination has served me well and adds to the translucent look.

I wish I could be there for this, but you can just bet that you could cross 7 Mile Channel stepping boat to boat and never get your feet wet....

Memorial Day Means Start Of Summer

2010-05-25T09:48:00.004-04:00

...or at least it means the start of summer to me. Cookouts with the family, cold sweet tea, Mexican style beer, 4:00 thunderstorms, camping trips to the springs, Rays and Threshers baseball, ice cream on sale and sleeveless skull shirts just to mention a few summer things that I love....

But it also means tarpon, snook on the beach, more daylight to allow for fishing after work, snook in the lights at night and tailing reds early in the morning.

This weekend, the fam and I will be doing our cookout shindig Saturday at the always illustrious Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. Yes, I'll be spending the day searching the flats of Old Tampa Bay for reds....again....and Monday, will be plying the flats at Belleair Causeway. The Bay has been a bust the last few weeks, so I'm getting back to the Gulf.

I'm also formulating a few plans to go out with the yak after work if the weather and tides permit...

Ass Not In The Grass

2010-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday, my buddy Keith and I launched our kayaks in a section of old Tampa Bay near the Christian College. We were on the hunt for the elusive redfish. The weather was beautiful, but a bit on the humid side. There was no wind and the water temperature was in the mid 80's.

My gut feeling about this particular area and the time of year was the absence of grass. I was reassured by another buddy that there is indeed grass there. He said the map I was looking at must have been shot in the wintertime and that he had waded there many times and it's very grassy.

We arrived at the launch site and put in. Water clarity was murky at best. There is a spot where two channels form a cross between 2 mangrove islands that I thought would be a perfect spot to find redfish with the incoming tide.

I plied the water with a dark crab pattern for a while, then a black and purple weighted bendback, then a chartreuse and white clouser. No dice.

We paddled over to some large oyster bars dotting the shore and spooked either a school of 30 inch mullet, or redfish, couldn't tell which...they kept coming back....until the dolphin showed up.

This time, I decided to stand my ground with the dolphin...it was very brazen and came within about 10 feet of me in the kayak, but decided to move on to other feeding grounds.

The oysters were really taking a toll on my leaders. Had to change them twice as they would get frayed pulling them through the oysters. I was concentrating on the outsides of the beds where the water was a bit deeper and the current would wash prey items near these ambush points, but no luck there either.

I spent the rest of the day sneaking around the mangroves, looking for tails or maybe snook...at one point, I paddled full speed about 200 feet to where I kept seeing tails sticking out of the water. These "tails" turned out to be a stingray.

Still, it was nice to get out on the water on a nice, calm day even though we got skunked.

Margin Of Safety

2010-05-18T14:04:00.005-04:00

A late post about my trip on Sunday....Busy working on my Florida Sport Fishing Magazine article.

I took the kayak out Sunday with my Mom and Lacy to Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. The weather was very warm, very little wind and an all day incoming tide.

Located in the northern part of Tampa Bay, referred to as "Old Tampa Bay", the waters surrounding Philippe Park are quite shallow, but if you follow the power line towers, you'll soon find a drop off from 3 feet to 10 feet.

My crab fly was getting some interest from something as I felt a few hits, but no real takers. Was hit and miss as I drifted along the edge...until the dolphins showed up. When a dolphin or manatee surfaces within 10 or 15 feet of the yak, it tends to startle me. When they take a breath, the sound gets your attention in the quiet serenity, and when you look over to see a large dark shape...well...you know.

The dolphins wouldn't stop following me and I would see them close by when I would paddle to a different spot....so after an hour, I went in and had lunch with Mom and Lacy.

As I said, It was very warm and Lacy kept digging holes to lay in to keep cool. She even found a bird or fish carcass to chew on that she didn't want to give up.

We headed home....and just in time to avoid a thunderstorm bearing down on the area....better luck next time.

More Inane Randomness

2010-05-16T09:29:00.003-04:00

Hitting the Northern part of Tampa Bay in the yak today. Bing Maps has revealed a few nice spots that I think are worth checking out. Mom is tagging along too, but not in the kayak.

My good buddy and fellow blogger Mrs Oh To Be Was kind enough to give me 2 kayak paddles that she didn't need anymore (apparently, they sold the canoe that couldn't stay upright)I'm happy to have them and she can be assured that they'll get plenty of use. Now I have an extra paddle in case I decide to drive off without it again. Here is me right after the canoe sinking incident with the most underfed raccoon in the world.

Rebecca at Outdooress has gone over to the dark side of fishing; bass fishing. I'm happy about this. Being introduced to "other" fishing is great for a world class angler like her. Nothing like getting out of your comfort zone....I can only hope that she doesn't buy a "NASCAR Boat" and start donning all of the sponsor related gear.

Inane Randomness

2010-05-13T13:34:00.002-04:00

First off, I'd like to let you know that I've got a real writing gig with Florida Sport Fishing Magazine .I'll be in the July/August issue, so get your subscriptions now before they sell out. (joking of course) It's a great magazine that I enjoy reading and I'm really excited to be writing for them.

Fly Fish Chick and Team Paddlefish have the Texas Water Safari coming up soon. It's a brutal, 100 hour canoe trip from hell. Donate gear or money if you can. I just want to see pics of Fly Fish Chick all buff and jacked up after training....

This local kayak fishing story is awesome! I'd go fishing with that guy anytime.

Up A Creek - The Trade Off

2010-05-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

Finally....FINALLY the wind laid down to a manageable 3-5 MPH. It was a beautiful day for kayak fishing Saturday, with an incoming tide and partly cloudy skies, it looked like a day to be remembered.

But, as often happens, a great day on the water can cost you....as I soon found out. Is this trade off worth it? You decide.

When I came across Sand Key Bridge, I could see that my friend Keith was already there, with his kayak sail cruising him along. You have to understand that Keith likes to put a lot of stuff on his boat....Outriggers, a leaning platform, mast for the sail, crate, among other stuff. A lot of the gear he made himself, which I think is admirable, I just prefer to go basic with my rig, The "Bad Rebecca" - sort of like it's namesake.

He paddled in to meet me and I asked him if he had caught any fish yet. "Nope, nothing yet."

He was using shrimp. We paddled out to "the spot"...the flat between two drop offs. I started with the Brown Lures Black Cat Devil Eye to see of I could locate fish. Sure enough, first few casts I was getting hits and had the first fish within minutes. A 12 inch seatrout. Isn't this how it's supposed to be? Just like the fishing shows?

I switched up to the fly rod with an olive and green half and half. No dice. Changed up to a chartreuse and white Clouser. Nothing. I put the fly rod down and went back to the Devil Eye. Fish on. Another 12 inch trout. Furious action that you dream about. Cast, count one - one thousand, two - one thousand, pull the rod tip up 12 inches and there was a fish on. Repeat. Keith still didn't have any luck, so I gave him my last Black Cat. Of course, a few fish later, my lure got torn, so I changed to a Devil Eye in Amber. Nothing. Keith got a few fish with the Black Cat. I tossed a DOA Shrimp in chartreuse. Nothing.

Never in my life have I seen fish so dialed in on one color scheme. I put on a Brown Lures Flappin' Devil in Glow color. Got a few fish on it, the biggest being a 15 inch seatrout. It was crazy. Fish were still hitting when we paddled in three hours later. I totaled 15 trout and Keith totaled 3 (one being a lizard fish.)

Here's where the trade off happened - When I arrived home and was unloading my gear, I couldn't find my paddle (the one from a few posts back.) I went back out to where we were located and couldn't find it. I guess I was too busy jabbering with Keith and got distracted. I almost NEVER drive off without my gear.

Looks like I'm up a creek.....

Book Review - The Flycaster Who Tried To Make Peace WithThe World

2010-05-08T07:00:00.002-04:00

This is an interesting and therapeutic book showing how fly casting, fly fishing and long distance fly casting can assist in healing a person who has gone through traumatic events. This book also explores some of the history of long distance fly casting in the 1900's in a fictional sense. Randy Kadish has masterfully described locations that "take you there", and you can almost smell the surroundings. It's a delightful journey into a society that once was.

I am not big on novels and I couldn't see how someone could write a readable one about fly casting. However, once inside the book what I found was an engaging tale of a young man coming of age.... All the while dealing with his own tragedies and successes.

Overall, This book speaks to me and feels all too familiar after dealing with my own personal demons and using the outdoors as a life buoy. It has also inspired me to write a semi-fictional piece.

The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace With The World is available from Keokeebooks.com. It is published by Saw Mill River Press, 255 pages, ISBN 1-879628-26-0. It is also available via Amazon.com

Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad

2010-05-07T10:26:00.003-04:00

My last kayaking trip coincided with 90 degree F beginning of summer (Not officially, but by me. I can usually get into June before turning on the AC) One thing I can assure you of - my Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad will come in handy in the sweltering heat of Florida summer on the flats.

It works! As long as you keep it damp, it'll keep you cool.

This is made of some sort of "space age" material (that's what we call things that tend to be technologically advanced) that stays cooler than the surrounding air as long as it's wet. It doesn't feel like a damp cloth either. It sucks up sweat leaving you cool and is good for anyone outdoors in the summer. This will be a staple in the kayak for sure....

Carlisle Day Tripper Paddle

2010-05-05T10:13:00.004-04:00

The Carlisle Day Tripper kayak paddle is a fairly basic paddle in the world of kayak paddles. It's the most used paddle in rental fleets the world over, and most used by beginning kayakers.

I find it to be a good solid paddle all around and it works equally well if I'm "digging" (trying to go fast) or just lazily cruising along. It doesn't weigh a ton, but isn't made out of carbon fiber either. The adjustable, 2 piece paddle also can be allowed to be feathered up to 60 degrees if need be.

The fact that rental fleets use this paddle is a plus in my opinion....it means it will hold up to just about any beating I can put on it. It's an affordable yet rugged option if you're in the market for a kayak paddle.

Weekend Wrap Up 5/2

2010-05-03T08:52:00.002-04:00

Loaded up the kayak on Saturday morning to hit the incoming tide at Sand Key... but the weather had different ideas. When I arrived at Sand Key, the wind was at a gale (Looks like the forecast was right... 25-30 out of the SE and humid.)and kicking up the waves in the inter coastal. Had to go to Plan B, which was Belleair Causeway. Only a few folks were there as the heat kept everyone at home. As long as I stayed on the north side of the causeway, I was semi- protected from the wind. I tried to venture over to the other side, but there were rollers coming over the sandbar. Everything was ok if I didn't venture past the 100 yard mark or so. Water quality was very murky.
Used several crab patterns and a shrimp pattern with a rattle chamber....no dice. Switched to spinning gear soft plastics. Nothing. Skunked.

The heat and humidity came in making the AC a necessity at home. My Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad will come in handy this summer. Will post a review soon....also used the Carlisle Day Tripper paddle which is a good piece of gear to review as well.....

Update 4/28

2010-04-28T18:11:00.002-04:00

No no no...I haven't forgotten to post anything here. In fact, I've been up to my ass in stuff to write about, I've got a few gear reviews, a book review, (yes Randy. I finished it and I love it) among other things going on with the blog. As my friends in the UK would say "Get on with it!"

Truth be told, I've been writing a semi-fictional piece loosely based on my obsession with tarpon fishing and the healing properties of said obsession (Yes Randy, you've inspired me)....Check it out if you want....just keep in mind, I've never written fiction before. This is my first attempt at such a thing.

Part 1

Part 2

In the meantime, listen to a cool song that I've been digging on while I write.

"...A Three Hour Tour..."

2010-04-25T09:36:00.006-04:00

I'm tired of looking at the weather and seeing "Winds 20-30 kts, small craft exercise caution", so I loaded up the kayak (much to Lacy's chagrin) on Saturday morning and drove out to Sand Key....bugger the weather. After spending a weeks worth of vacation and only getting to go fishing twice, both times minus the kayak, I'm over it.

It was a bit breezy when I arrived.

After unloading the kayak and rigging up, I tied on a black and purple bendback and a few Black Cat Brown Lures Devil Eyes to my spinning rig. As I'm putting the boat in the water, a fellow fisherman decides that this is the right time to get a clinic about all things kayak fishing and fly fishing. I'm standing in the surf, kayak in hand, being buffeted by waves and he wants to chat....

It wasn't too bad after I got past the surf line. Just 4 foot swells to navigate. The bow smashed through them fairly easily, but it reminded me of those old WWII Victory at Sea clips where the huge battleships were crashing through the rough seas, sending a deluge of spray over the deck...just on a much smaller scale.

I paddled out about 300 yards off the beach to a spot that had sparse grass about 3 feet deep and dropped off into a channel. This was the spot. I started using the flyrod, but the wind was making a mess of everything so, after about 5 casts with that, I decided to switch to the spinning gear. Third cast and it felt like I had a fish on. I reel it to within sight in the clear water and it's a snook! This is when it decides to start pulling back and after fighting for a few minutes, I brought to hand a 20 incher (sorry, was too wavy to attempt to get the camera out of the dry box and snap photos, no matter what Micheal Gracie says about it) I was getting hits on almost every cast and could see fish chasing my jig bouncing across the bottom. Caught a few 15 inch ladyfish too as well as another snook about the same size as the first.

Then, I felt a "thunk" on the end of the line, set the hook and started reeling. Dead weight. I thought I was snagged on a rock.... then the rod doubled over, line coming off the reel with that "zzzzzzzzz" sound that we all love. With 10 lb braided line and a 30 lb leader, I decided to play it safe. Drag was set perfectly, giving the fish the ability to pull some line, but having to work at it. After about 20 seconds of this with a potentially huge black drum...slack line....nothing....I reeled in a broken leader....frayed....whatever it was, it was pretty large to pull like that.

I'm trying to re-rig as my other spinning set up was safe and sound at home. I noticed that the seas had picked up quite a bit and whitecaps were slamming into me sideways. Trying to re-rig like this was like threading a needle while jogging. There was a spoil island about 300 yards away and the shoreline was about the same distance in the opposite direction. I decided to go for the shoreline. After 20 minutes of paddling into the wind with everything I had, it felt like the kayak was reacting slowly and that having to paddle 4 times on one side to turn was strange. Waves were pounding me every few seconds now but my kayak is super stable....right? I arrived at the beach winded and had to drag the boat down the shoreline to get to the car. It felt about 3 times heavier than normal. After dragging it up the beach to the car, I opened up the hatches to find that the entire boat was close to half full! No wonder it was so sluggish and heavy.

I'm lucky that I went in when I did. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have eventually foundered and sank with the tide turning a short time later, I would have been sucked out of the pass and into the Gulf....

Don't tell me that I need to invest in an EPERB now.....

Kayak Fishing for Tarpon Tampa Bay Area

2010-04-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Kayak fishing for tarpon. This is what I'm looking forward to in the next few weeks....except with a fly rod!

Bjorn From Bonefish On The Brain Interview

2010-04-18T07:44:00.005-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to fellow blogger and bonefish brother Bjorn Stromsness. He's a West Coaster who writes Bonefish On The Brain which is a blog dedicated to fly fishing for the elusive Grey Ghost. Bjorn finds something to post about bones EVERYDAY, and is a member of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. Bjorn and I both appreciate Aaron Adams, fly tying, and of course....bonefish. I'm sure that if Bjorn lived in Florida, we'd be going to the Keys as often as possible. Without further ado....

Rob - How did you get into bonefish being in California? I always thought they were located in the Caribbean in places I'd never go to.

Bjorn - My love of bonefish all started because my parents decided to celebrate their 40th Anniversary in Kauai. I had heard there were bonefish there and I had read an article in This is Fly that had said something like “Bonefish show up on more people’s “To Do” lists than obituaries” and I decided that I’d try to make it happen when we went. Turns out, totally accidentally, that the house they rented was on the one real flat in Kauai and the one place known to have bones. My dad and I went out with a guide one day and caught a couple of Bluefin Trevally, which was really my first saltwater fly-caught fish. We didn’t even see a bone that day. A few days later I was out wading by myself and I had been walking this one little section of the massive ruble flat for about 3 hours and I was figuring that I just wasn’t going to even see a bone on the whole trip. After I strung up my rod and was walking in I saw a gray shape at 12:00 coming right at me. I fumbled to get the fly off the guides and totally flubbed the cast. In short order I saw 7 fish, cast to 5, hooked none of them. They were all massive fish… I had one swim right by me and coming from more of a steelhead background I would have thought it a 20 pound fish, although now I know how silly that sounds… I figure it was big… really big… maybe 14-15 pounds, but probably not a world record fish. Basically, after that, I was fixated.

Bonefishing was so different from the trout fishing I do, which is mostly short-line/tight-line nymphing in pocket water and short runs. I may cast 1,000 times in a given day. I never see the fish before I hook it. I’m casting to fishy water, trying to get the drift right, but it is always a guess. Bonefishing… the stalking, the visual aspect of it… only casting when you have something to cast to, watching the take… it was a revelation. The power of the first fish I caught (a year after the Kauai trip) also just blew me away. I’ve caught lots of 20” trout and even an 18 pound steelhead, but the power:weight of bonefish was incredible.

I don’t get to fish for them very often, but I think of them every day and I started my blog because I was looking for something to read, a blog focused on bonefish. I tell people that my interest level far outstrips my experience level when it comes to bonefish. I’m not an expert by any definition, but I am really, really interested. I’m never going to be a guy that gets 20 days on the water casting to bonefish… that’s not the life I live.

Rob - How bad were the first flies that you tied?

Bjorn - Not too bad… but it started simple. I also had the opportunity to learn bits and pieces from some really great tiers. I was living in San Francisco when I started tying and would go down to the Golden Gate Casting and Angling Club for lunch sometimes and tie/listen to the actual war stories of the old timers there. I also worked as a short time as a trout guide up in Northern California and when you guide and use a lot of your own flies, you get pretty good at tying certain patterns and you pick up a lot from other guides. I can still tie some crappy flies, but the ones that are really crappy never make it very far from the vice and certainly not in any of my fly boxes. I tend to tie what I tie well and I tend to avoid patterns that I don’t tie well… I wish I could get away from that, but that’s how I end up tying. Means I don’t branch out as much as I should.

Rob - What's your favorite fly to tie?

Bjorn - “Tie” is maybe not the right word, but the Velcro Crab is just such a cool looking fly. It is more assembling than tying, and its use for bonefish is an open question, but when you put a Velcro Crab together it just looks so frigging… crabby! I also had to figure out a lot to get that fly right… like how best to get it to land hook up, how to add weight, how to get the thing to stay closed. It is probably the fly I’ve tinkered with the most. A Merkin would probably be a lot better bonefish option, but my Merkins still look like crap.

Rob - When you do get out onto a flat, what's the first fly that you like to go with?

Bjorn - Pink winged gotcha, maybe with a barred wing.

Rob - What's your current favorite bonefish rod and reel set up to use?

Bjorn - The last trip I used a TFO Clouser 8 wt. and I really liked it. I paired that with a TFO Large Arbor 375 Reel that I was really impressed by. I didn’t even know TFO made reels, but they do, and the LA is awesome. I’m a value-for-money guy and so I like cheap rods and moderate reels. You are not likely to see me casting a lot of Sages or Ables… they are probably great, but I have a real suspicion about how much brand reputation mark-up is in there. I’d rather spend my money on airfare.

Rob - Do you make your own leaders or do you buy tapered?

Bjorn - I buy from the store… maybe at some point I’ll look at making my own leaders, but at this point, I’ll leave that up to the leader makers.

Rob - Any favorite "go to" beer for after the fishing excursion?

Bjorn - Well, you can’t go wrong with a Kalik, because it means you are in the Bahamas. If I’m fishing one of my home waters (the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers) for trout, I’m more likely to have a Newcastle or Downtown Brown. Love a good nut brown ale, although that feels a little heavy for the tropics.

Crabtastic

2010-04-16T16:43:00.003-04:00

There seems to be crabs on the grass flats in droves. All sorts of crabs. In fact, crabs are probably the most found food in redfish and trout stomachs.

I'm having issues making some of these - First is an EP Crab. The bottom fly is a small crab fly I bought in the Keys. I can tie Merkins, but I want to use the crab coins.

Location X Floaty Fly

2010-04-16T14:07:00.003-04:00

Here a video from Fishbuzz TV on how to tie a Location X Floaty Fly....one of my favorites. I make a smaller #1 variation of it in tan and brown and black and tan for redfish. This is an awesome fly for tarpon in the morning...

http://fishbuzz.tv/index.html?channel=flytie&videofile=fishbuzz/jamiehoward/locationx_3

Of Wind Knots and Tides

2010-04-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

Clearwater Pass can be an excellent place to fish, with it's swift current and close proximity to lush grass flats. That's why I took my buddy Frankie and his 18 year old son Vinny there for a few hours fishing. Vinny is in the Navy and is on leave for a week before starting Basic Warrior Training with the Marines. I've known him since he was a kid, so it was really cool for me that I was able to be there for his first time fishing.

The conversation beforehand went something like this;

Frankie - "Man...I haven't been fishing in years"
Me - "That's ok dude, it's like riding a bike....I have all the gear you guys will need"
Frankie - "Oh no...I'm bringing MY pole...and I have a lot of stuff in my tackle box"
Me - "What kind of 'stuff'?
Frankie - "Oh you know...hooks, weights, leaders..."

Sigh

I'm sure that anyone out there who reads this and has been into fishing for any length of time will understand what the Florida elements will do to fishing gear that has been stowed in the garage. Add in factors of salt water corrosion and you have a potential recipe for disaster on a fishing trip if left unchecked.

This isn't some sort of "I'm better than you" rant or in any way shape or form a way for me to cut down my buddy. Bottom line is I fish a lot and he doesn't. I use my gear and...well....you know.

I brought 3 spinning outfits and my fly rod.

We arrived at Sand Key to a howling 20 knot wind out of the east. Not a good day for fly fishing...at least not for me. I wasn't worried about it though. I was planning on playing the role of captain, guide and instructor and just enjoying the time with my friends. I can fish anytime, but I don't get to hang with my buddies very much.

Frankie started rigging up his rod and I took a section of his mono line and tugged. It snapped right away. A true sign of old and rotten monofiliment. So after I get them set up with sliding sinker rigs with shrimp, I rigged up my fly rod with a white bendback. Vinnie had a fish on right off the bat. A nice 10 inch flounder that got off the hook as he pulled it in. I gave him a quick crash course on setting the hook...a quick learner, he had another fish on in minutes...looked like the same fish.

Now, we can debate the pros and cons of braided super line all day long. One of the cons is the potential to develop wind knots. This potential grows worse in inexperienced hands. All it takes is for you to not be paying attention to a reeled loop, cast and WHAM!...birds nest from hell. Trust me, I've bird nested reels so bad, you're better off with a pair of scissors and a new spool of line. Vinny had a mess there that I was unable to fix at that moment, so I gave him my spinning rig. Kids who just get out of boot camp seem to listen up really well. He kept responding to what I was showing him with "ok" and "yes"....After picking out a few wind knots with the awl on my multi-tool, we had totaled 4 flounder, 3 pinfish and 2 lizardfish.

When we left, we almost got the truck stuck in the sand....but we managed to avoid that by Vinnie and I jumping up and down on the back bumper.....

It was a good day! Beautiful weather and good friends outside.

Bendback To The Future

2010-04-13T16:04:00.002-04:00

Here Redfish Redfish...

Yes, It's weighted....

Required Reading

2010-04-12T09:21:00.003-04:00

Some of you know that I can be a voracious reader at times. Instead of getting all of my reading from online sources, I like to sit with god old fashioned books...you know. Paper with words printed on them? I often read several books at the same time. Most of varying subjects...like WWII history, Clan Of The Cave Bear series, and fly fishing....don't call me weird, I'm 40 so I prefer the term eccentric.

These are a few that I'm reading at the moment:

Fisherman's Coast By Aaron Adams - A book about warm water fish habitat, science behind why, where and when for fly fishing....a book I keep returning to. A great reference for saltwater fly fishing.

The Fly Caster Who Tried To make Peace With The World By Randy Kadish - A deep and therapeutic book about the history of long distance fly casting. I'm not done with it yet but I REALLY like it so far.

Fly Fisherman's Guide To Saltwater Prey By Aaron Adams - Yes! Another book by "The Ninja". Nothing quite like a marine biologist who fly fishes and writes about it. This is a book that I go back to often. Shows what saltwater game fish eat and lots of fly patterns to imitate them.

So if you haven't done so, check them out!

Mangroves

2010-04-11T09:56:00.003-04:00

Hiking the mangrove swamp at Weedon Island can be truly surreal.......

Advancements In Sun Protection

2010-04-10T10:22:00.004-04:00

This is a public service announcement from the kind folks at Did It So You Don't Have To and Sunburn Hurts.

A few weeks ago while on the maiden voyage with the kayak, My legs received a majorly bad, keep you up all night, take a bath in After Sun Gel sunburn. I had on a long sleeved skull shirt, wide hat and Buff...but what I didn't realize was just how exposed your legs can be to the sun while sitting on the kayak...hence my journey as Red Lobster poster boy began.

Now, this hasn't been part of my quest to be unattractive to the opposite sex, even though the itchiness and the peeling skin coming off in sheets is sure to help in this matter.

So remember - The sun is not your friend. Wear your long sleeves, hats, Buffs and don't forget the sunscreen.

Spring Flies

2010-04-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a selection of my favorite flies to use for spring.

Inane Randomness

2010-04-06T12:14:00.007-04:00

As usual,when I find entertaining and thought provoking bits around the blogosphere, I like to share them.
A humorous post over at Lunker Hunt about How Do You Know If You Caught A Fish is very humorous and entertaining. How many of you make up rules like that? Do you count "Drive by's" and "Leans"? ( A Lean is when you cast to a sighted fish, and it swims toward your offering only to turn away before taking the bait. A Drive By is when you cast to a sighted fish and it just swims right by your offering - essentially, a Lean without the "leaning" action). In my neck of the woods, If you get the leader to the tip and the fish comes off, we call that a "quick release".....

I'm on vacation next week. Was supposed to be in the Keys but, unforeseen circumstances have intervened making it impossible for me to make it to Long Key. I'm pretty bummed because that is one of my favorite places in the world to camp and fish.....

....so, I've been looking at some maps of my area and some of the "spoil islands" in and around the inter coastal waterway. I'm going to reconnoiter several of them and I might camp out there for a night if it's suitable. I'll make it "My Private Island" as it were. Solitude, fishing, swimming and being out in this beautiful weather is anticipated indeed.

I've been into Mexican style beer lately. If It's Corona or Landshark, I like it...which is weird. I generally go for wheat ales or brews that you can use for hair gel. Must be the weather or time of year. My brother gave me a Bud Light Lime the other day. Tasted like watered down Kool Aid.....

Randy Kadish sent me a copy of his book "The FlyCaster Who Tried To Make Peace With The World" to read and review....looks interesting so far.

Fort Desoto 4/3/10

2010-04-04T10:42:00.007-04:00

Brother Steve and I loaded up early yesterday and headed out to Fort Desoto to do some kayaking and fishing. He rented a Ocean Prowler 13 and we headed out. He'd never been kayaking before but, picked it up quickly. It was a beautiful day for it. I had to cover my legs with a towel due to last weeks sunburn. My blistered skin didn't care for being exposed to the sun, even though I had sunscreen on.

The water was a bit dirty so I started out drifting a grass flat with shrimp on an idiot rig. Nothing. We paddled out to the bomb hole, ever watchful for fishy activity. Mullet were quite active on the flat east of the road, but still no takes on the shrimp. I kept seeing tailing action and after chasing it down, it would turn out to be mullet. I think the redfish somehow pay the mullet to imitate them and misdirect unwary fishermen.

Along the eastern side of the park,there's a mangrove shoreline with oyster bars along with a steep drop off. I could see a few nice redfish cruising along. I cast a Bang Bang Shrimp pattern about 5 feet in front of them and they bolted as soon as the fly softly landed on the water. Spooky, spooky to say the least. This happened several times and couldn't even get them interested in real shrimp.

Skunked....

We headed back to load up the boat and head home.

At least I was able to locate some fish in the giant expanse of Fort Desoto Park.

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-31T09:28:00.004-04:00

Easter is a holiday that I usually spend with family. This year will be no different. This year, dinner is at Nana's house at 4:00pm which leaves the entire day for what every kid loves... Easter Egg Hunting. But this year, the Easter Eggs I'll be looking for are copper in color, have a slight hue of blue on their tail, and a spot or two above the blue.

Yes, You're right....redfish.

The venue will be Fort Desoto, early in the morning. And this time, I'll have photos since my photographer friend will be going along.

According to Free Tide Tables there will be an all day incoming tide, which is good. We'll be launching kayaks around 8:30 and will be able to access the entire park. I'm furiously looking at the maps to figure out the best spots to hit.

Will they be in the oyster bars?

Will they be in the grass?

Will they be deep or shallow?

I'm loaded up on crab flies, Bang Bang Shrimp flies and Clousers of various color schemes.

Last year, there was no fishing. Maybe I can make up for it this year....

Happy Easter!

It's All In The Name

2010-03-29T13:47:00.005-04:00

I've recently been thinking about naming the kayak. Ancient nautical lore dictates that an unnamed water craft, whether powered by oar, sail or motor is unlucky if not named and we all know I don't need any part of that. I've also heard that you're supposed to give a boat a girls name, but I think we're going to steer clear of that. They name hurricanes after women....

....so this is where you, the reader, comes in.

I'm looking for a name fitting for this boat....something humorous, something short. There's not a lot of stern to adorn with a name.

Here are the factors to consider -

It's lime green

I'm a fat bald guy

I dig the outdoors and fly fishing/fly tying

I don't wear your typical Orvis gear/pastel sun shirt and pleated Dockers. I'm more of a skull with flames shooting out the eye sockets long sleeve or Miami Ink shirt.

So here's the deal....either leave a comment or follow me on Twitter and tweet this "I'm going to name @ABadbackcast 's kayak __________" We'll vote on the winner weekdays on Twitter. Final day of voting with be 4/9/2010

One winner will get a nice Bill Jackson's fly box full of hand tied by yours truly flies and some other miscellaneous swag....

Maiden Voyage

2010-03-28T09:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the maiden voyage with the new yak. What one needs to realize is the difficulty of getting a 12 foot 60 lb boat out of my small apartment, down the stairs, out the the parking lot, and loaded onto the car. Now you might say, "60 lbs? I can haul that around with one hand", which is what I thought but, up and down the stairs is the hardest part...and the way my body feels today, I should make a workout video like "If you've got a door...you've got a gym", but instead "If you've got a kayak, you've got a gym." Even with the WheelEez, it was tough. Then getting the boat up on top of the car and onto the foam blocks and strapping it down. Of course, getting the boat off of the car and into the water takes a bit of gumption too....at least there are no stairs. You've really got to love doing this if it requires this much effort. I really think that Malibu should include Beth Phoenix or Randy Orton with the purchase of any kayak larger than the Mini-X.

There was no swanky send off...no champagne bottle across the stern...no cheering crowds (except for the one guy giving the "get the hell out of the way, I'm trying to launch my boat" cheer)

As you know, I like to travel light when I'm fishing. So, outside of the 60 lb kayak, I've found that I take even less than if I was wading. In the center console, I have a flybox, leader material, scissors, multitool, watertight dry box with camera,keys, cell phone and smokies, as well as a few jigs with jigheads, chopped shrimp for chum, and a first aid kit. Other items would include a PFD (Personal Floatation Device), spinning rig, and fly rod....ok ok...maybe I'm taking more stuff than normal, but it just seems like less....what I'm trying to say here is, you won't see me out there with a kayak that has fish finders, GPS, a poling platform, outriggers, bimini top and a trolling motor. If I wanted that, I'd just go get a flats boat.

Now to the fishing part.

After getting the kayak into the water, I found it to be super stable and handle well. The V hull really cuts through the chop and defies the wind for the most part.

One thing that I learned - rig up your fly rod before launching because it's a huge pain to try to do this in the boat.

After drifting across the flat with the wind blowing east to west, and the current running west to east while rigging up, I found myself on a deep grass flat (4-5 feet deep) with sand pot holes pock marking the area. I tied on a Crystal Shrimp and cast to a pot hole about 20 feet away. The fly hit the water and as I was stripping like crazy to get the slack out, WHAM! Fish on....a nice 12 inch spotted seatrout...first cast. Now, a 12 inch trout isn't gonna introduce you to your backing with an 8 weight, but it's big brother might. My personal best spotted seatrout was 46 inches...a true gator trout by any standards. Was expecting more trout as they usually hang out in large groups, but only got one more on the day. Again, inexplicably, I didn't take the camera out....

I was really amazed at how much water you can cover. In 5 hours, the distance traveled was about 100 times more than I could have done if I was wading for 8 hours.

After loading and unloading after paddling all day, I'm wiped out, as you might imagine....to add insult to injury, I'm the recipient of a really bad sunburn on my legs from the knees down. I was wearing board shorts, long sleeve skull shirt, fishing hat and buff. Looks like I need to invest in some Bullfrog 80 SPF.

New Look Backcast

2010-03-26T09:44:00.004-04:00

Do what do you think of the new color scheme and logo? Do you hate it? Do you love it? Is it just ok?

Well, Kyle Perkins (@kyleindenver)from Compleat Thought and his team of designers worked round the clock, meeting the demands of yours truly, to come up with a logo for this here blog. Do I think it's as cool as some of the other logo's out there? No. I think it's cooler. Now, I can slap that logo on everything....t-shirts, hats, stickers, DVD's, CD-ROM's.....or nothing at all. BTW, Before you get perturbed at this egotistical rant, I'm just kidding.

In other news, I picked up the kayak yesterday and let me tell you, it's even nicer than I thought it would be. One movie quote that won't find it's way in here would be "We're gonna need a bigger boat." This kayak is a true battlewagon that would be at home on Battleship Row. After wrestling it off of the car, up the stairs and into my apartment (scaring Lacy in the process)I found it to be too big for where I had planned to store it. After much playing with my new toy, I found that it will fit ALL of my camping and fishing gear at the same time with room to spare. I'm glad that I didn't opt for the Stealth 14, which is 2 feet longer. I think it's safe to say that one of those canoe rollers is certainly a must have. Now I just need to find and install a fly rod holder.

If you're looking at kayaks, give Malibu Kayaks a look.

Tomorrow is the maiden voyage. Will be hitting the nice grass flats around Fred Howard Park with my buddy Keith.

Happy Blogiversary To Me

2010-03-25T09:13:00.004-04:00

Sing it with me now....

I'm kidding of course....but today really does mark one year that I've been writing this blog.

Much to your chagrin... right?

It's a big deal to me. This is one of the things that keeps me sane and focused.

To celebrate, I'll be picking up my new kayak and spending tomorrow rigging it up in preparation for it's maiden voyage on Saturday. I hope I get the Fetha-Styx decals from Evan before then. If anyone has blog or gear stickers that you'd like to see me put on the new kayak, give me a shout!

I've been on some great outdoor trips this last year, and here's to going on even more!

Hot Products and Kayak D-Day

2010-03-24T09:44:00.007-04:00

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you're sure to know that when I like a product, I blather about it incessantly until you're tired of hearing about it. I did this with the Teva's...the William Joseph Stripping Basket...and the always popular Kelty Kestrel bag. Brown Lures also comes to mind as a product that I like.

I'm sure it'll be the same with Malibu Kayaks

As you know, I'll be picking up my kayak tomorrow, (which is a Malibu Stealth 12) making 3/25/2010 essentially Kayak D-Day. Can you tell that I'm excited about it? Can ya? Really?

Now...lets get something straight here. I don't work for Malibu. I'm just passing along the info to you if you're interested in getting a kayak for fishing...which is what Malibu Kayaks are made for...fishing and diving.

I looked at a lot of other fishing kayaks, all of them cost less than the Stealth. There are some nice boats, but the Stealth 12 had all of the features that I was looking for, like a center/close at hand livewell storage bin, large gator hatch, lots of storage space to be able to take it kayak camping, rod holders and the whole bit. Being 33 inches wide offers quite a bit of stability without being so wide that you can't get anywhere in it.

As you know, I embrace simplicity when it comes to gear. The only things I need to add to it would be a crate and a few fly rod holders. There are extra things that you can attach to it...pretty much everything under the sun.... such as a sail, poling platform, outriggers, dashboard mounts for electronics and rudder foot pedals. I don't need any of that stuff, but it's nice to be able to have those options.

Having a kayak gives me the freedom to fish just about anywhere, and I can launch it from just about anywhere as well. Can also fit my camping gear into it....

First Day of Spring

2010-03-21T10:55:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of spring and the weather cooperated likewise. Not a cloud in the sky and with the air temperature around 70 degrees F, it was a beautiful day to be outside. Lacy and I went to Bellaire Causeway. The big tide was about halfway in when we arrived. Water temperature was chilly, but not so cold that you couldn't get in. I was using a few light colored deceivers but switched to a weighted double bunny as the swift current wouldn't let the fly get down.

For some reason, I felt like I was fighting the rod....or the rod was fighting me. The line just felt SOOO heavy, like it was made of lead. Every forward cast and backcast just seemed to take a maximum of effort to get the line to go anywhere. Could only get it out to the running line before I would start losing control over it. Wind wasn't a factor...and I was only standing in knee deep water. My arm was getting really tired after about an hour, so I switched it up to the spinning rig and shrimp....this only succeeded in feeding the pinfish.

For some reason unknown to me, I didn't take one photo on such a pretty day.

Adventures In Kayak Shopping

2010-03-16T11:41:00.005-04:00

I've been kayak shopping the last few weeks. Like fly fishing, there is a lot of research to do. I've spoken to many folks who fish from kayaks and got their opinions on size, type, prices ect....All I'm looking for is a sit on top style fishing kayak with plenty of storage that I can get to while on the water, a stable boat to be able to stand up in, yet not so wide that I have to wear myself out just paddling across the flat and something light enough that I can haul around myself....all without getting soaked, as it were, on price.

Being the geek that I am, I've narrowed it down to two boats to have the dishonor of bearing the Bad Backcast name, it just depends on the deal that I can score.

Both are Malibu Kayaks - and I like both...here is the rundown -

The Malibu Stealth 12 is my favorite so far. It offers the storage/livewell compartment right in front of the seat as well as 2 smaller storage areas that make up the casting deck. That's right....casting deck. I can stand up in it. It also has a lot of storage space in the front under the "gator hatch". No trying to cram your camping gear into an 8 inch hatch. Here are the specs:

Length: 12'4"
Weight: 60 lbs
Width:
(at beam) 33”
Max. load: 450 lbs.

YES! I'll take one in lime green please. We'll add on a few fly rod holders and be good to go.

The other boat is a Malibu X-Factor which has a lot of the same properties of the Stealth, but at 14.7 feet it seems a bit long for me. I still have to keep in mind that I'll have to store the thing at my apartment....and space is at a premium there as it is.

Now I just need to come up with a name for it - TURD seems appropriate.

The Great Gear Pile In The Sky

2010-03-15T13:33:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make - Two broken fly rods in 2 years - that in itself is bad enough, but what really adds insult to injured pride is the fact that I've kept the shattered fiberglass pieces. I also keep failed attempts of flies that I've tried to tie (when tying a new pattern, often times, the first go looks like a mess of head cement, feathers, bucktail and thread) in the great ghosts of failed flies box.

Why?

I have no idea, but there they sit, propped up in the corner like some sort of pitiful broken dreams and long lost Halcyon days of a glorious past.

One time, I actually grabbed one of the broken rods in the dark at 5 am by mistake and didn't discover the error until I had reached my fishing destination, an hour away from my home, all the while watching snook bust greenbacks on the surface just mere inches from where I was standing. They might as well have been a million miles away as I stood there with a fly box full of perfect sized, tied the night before EP greenback imitations that were sure to draw strikes on every cast.

I can distinctly remember breaking each one - and I wish I could say their last gasp was fighting a trophy redfish or crafty snook, but alas, no such story exists for these piles of fiberglass shards. Both were broken on a bad backcast (hence the name of my blog).

The first rod snapped was an Okuma, and the debate about if I had been using a "quality" rod or not has been closed for good - same thing would have happened if I was using a G.Loomis or a Sage, bottom line....anyway, I was fishing along a seawall on an early spring day on a rising tide, looking for snook amongst the boat docks at Demens Landing in St Petersburg, not the best place to be using a fly rod, each cast requiring the precision of Peyton Manning passing to Reggie Wayne amidst triple coverage, threading the needle between a maze of flag poles, palm trees, sailboat masts and people. I was side arming a cast in an attempt to sling the fly under a dock with good current running past it...a sure snook hangout. The fly careened off the front of the dock, bouncing harmlessly into the water short of the target. The next cast snagged a rock behind me, pulling the line tight and forcing the rod down against the corner of the seawall now turned anvil. SNAP! NOOOOOOO!!!!
And the real icing on the cake was the guy drifting by on his boat deciding to tell me while I'm trying to make sense of my line and shattered gear, that my backcast was too low. I wanted to jump into the water and yank him off of his little skiff.

The second rod, identical to the first one....and this is no knock on Okuma (except, a certain saltwater angler thinks there should be a backcast indicator on these rods much like the back up indicator on a new Lexus). My fishing partner and I were wading a back country lagoon replete with oyster bars and a steep drop off about a foot away from the mangrove prop roots. She was off to my right a bit (I'm right handed), so I adjusted my casting to keep from giving her any new piercings...yep, right into a solitary mangrove branch that seemed to be reaching out for my speeding backcast and on the forecast, SNAP!!! The flying line stalling out short of the target like a failed Air Force proving ground victim with a short piece of mangrove branch and attached leaves crashing into the water, leaving ripples on the smooth waters' surface and ending the nice fishing expedition for the day.

I've since improved my casting and I'm a bit more observant while fishing around the obstacles found where I like to fish.....even though I still hang one in a tree once in a while.....

This is what it's all about...

2010-03-15T09:07:00.002-04:00

....minus the boats and the vented sun shirts.....

Slam by WorldANGLING fly fishing South Florida for Permit, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish from WorldANGLING on Vimeo.

More Fly Porn

2010-03-11T20:34:00.005-05:00

Tarpon Flies

2010-03-10T19:11:00.005-05:00

I have more but Blogger was having issues....

Lacy and the Big Screen

2010-03-10T11:11:00.004-05:00

Among all of the things to consider while putting together a film, locations, scheduling, transportation, weather, soundtrack, ect. one of the most difficult things so far is how to get Lacy involved....

She's such a big part of my life and to leave her out would not be an honest representation.