October 11, 2011

Location: Coffee Pot Bayou

Tide: Outgoing

Today I left work a little early so I could do a quick hit and run at the inlet of Coffee Pot Bayou. Reports from area captains had recently reported trout were moving in, so I wanted to do a little scouting along the seawall. Though my go-to topwater lure lately has been a Spook Jr., today I opted for a full-size She Dog in mullet color. The She Dog is my heaviest topwater lure, and I needed the weight to get the lure out over the flats to deeper water.

When I got out there, there were mullet busting everywhere and I had the seawall to myself. I started casting and on my third attempt, had a trout take the lure under. It was a sure set, and in moments, I brought the trout over the wall. A guy jogging by offered to take a few photos for me.

I continued down the wall, getting another four or five fish to hit the lure, but no more hook-sets. Thirty minutes later I was back in my car and on my way home, a smile on my face and trout slime on my hands.

October 2, 2011

Location: Ft. Desoto – Mullet Key

Tide: Outgoing

I hit the Rally at 6:15am for coffee and a doughnut, and then drove out to Ft. Desoto. For the second trip in a row, the primary deciding factor for my location for the day was WIND. After a week of nary a breeze, it was blowing 10-20mph as a cold front pushed through.

Though it’s a bit early in the season for 4^th street, I was temped to load up on some shrimp, find a calm spot, and fish the mangroves. The wind app on my phone showed the wind trending below 10mph, so I decided to head out to Mullet Key at the

Fort. I paddled out right at sunrise.

The waves were nil at the outset, but as I got into deeper water, they picked up. I finally anchored near the channel marker and the seas were about a foot—just at the edge of my comfort zone. I started throwing topwater and really chugging it hard through the waves, and right away jumped a ladyfish, and on the ensuing cast, another.

A few casts later, a larger fish came out of the water and really whacked my spook. I thought it might be a snook. My next cast to the same spot picked up an instant and aggressive strike. The fish stayed down and had a few headshakes, and I thought it was a big trout. I was a little surprised to see a big Spanish mackerel instead.

Knowing I was into the macks and ladyfish, I tied on a 1/2oz gotcha lure and started to fan out some casts. I quickly brought two ladyfish to the yak and another, smaller mack, as pictured here.

The bite died down after that as the wind picked up, and I decided to paddle back in to the north side of the key and try my luck. I threw a couple of topwaters around Conception Key (that’s what Google earth calls it) and then worked my way around the mangroves to a series of large potholes that I didn’t previously know were there. A couple of guys throwing shrimp under popping corks were lighting up the small trout, but I had nothing to show. I did get a lot of follows, but the fish weren’t committing to the bite.

After an hour the wind died down and I paddled back over to the channel to try my luck again at the marker. I trolled my Yo-Zuri crystal minnow on the way out and caught a ladyfish and perhaps a world record lizard fish, but nothing else.

By then the flat was nearly out of water so I paddled in fifty yards, anchored up my yak and hopped out to stalk the flats. Right away I saw a large fish working a sandy patch, so I started creeping my way over into casting distance. Then I saw a big grey dorsal fin pop out, and reversed my course. I don’t mess around with sharks.

I threw a weedless shad tail for a bit and had a legion of pinfish and needlefish chasing it around, but nothing big enough to get my attention.

By then it was 11:00am and I decided to throw in the towel. The flat was totally devoid of water at that point, so I tied my anchor rope around the front of my yak and walked it back a few hundred yards through the grass.

Overall, not an ideal trip, the wind and tide played the primary factor in my catch to cast ratio, but I had a lot of fun and got some good scouting in.

Fishing report September 18, 2011

Location: Ft. Desoto – Bunce’s Pass

Tide: Outgoing

Kelly and I met up at the Rally at 6:00am and decided to head out to Ft. Desoto. The wind was blowing over 10mph out of the north, and we were hoping that the unusual wind direction would not effect our new favorite fishing spot out at Mullet Key.

When we rolled up on Mullet Key it was still dark, so we had to get out of the car to check the wave action. The waves were down as we expected, but the wind was blowing onshore at such a rate that we knew it would be a tough day of fishing. We decided to drive back to our more sheltered launch by Tampa Bay Watch.

The launch was deserted when we arrived, and we were out on the water by about 6:45, about thirty minutes before sunup. With the wind at our backs, we made a quick paddle over to our favorite mangrove island and started throwing topwaters. I focused on the edges of a big pothole, and Kelly threw toward the mangroves.

His site selection was the better of the two, as he caught a trout and then a snook on back-to-back casts. The snook was a healthy 24” and put up a great fight.

It wasn’t until we went around the other side of the island that I picked up my first fish—a trout on a chartreuse jig head and rootbeer shrimp tail. I would catch another two out of the same spot and that would be the end of my catching for the day.

We spent most of the rest of our time trying to find tailing reds amongst all the tailing mullet. We tried everything from gulp shad tails to cut bait, but didn’t have any success. At one point I trolled a weedless gulp shad tail through some shallow water and had several hard hits, but I think the pinfish were the culprits.

It was good to get back on the water, and it was a fairly satisfying fishing session, considering the weather. Looking forward to getting back out there in a couple of weeks.

Danger: Skunks ahead

Location: Mullet Key and Mullet Key Bayou

Tide: Outgoing

Kelly and I tried for an afternoon session today, and you could tell our lack of confidence by how many beers we packed.

Fishing is tough in the summer, and toughest in the afternoon. If the storms don’t chase you off the water, the piss warm water will send the fish into deeper water or a lockjaw coma.

We hit the water around 5:30pm at the same launch as Saturday and paddled out to the same water where we lit up the fish on Saturday and generally threw the same lures we threw on Saturday, except today was Tuesday, not Saturday, and so the fish were on their weekday schedule.

In short, we caught nothing. I had a follow from a ladyfish on my Yozuri, and if the ladyfish aren’t biting, nothing is. (Except pinfish. They are always hungry.)

The wind was brutal and the weeds were bad and so after a half hour, we packed up the kayaks (without breaking them down first) and drove down the road a bit to try Mullet Key Bayou East.

The mangroves gave us a good windbreak at MKBE but the only fish to be found were pinfish and mullet. I might have been satisfied to tail-hook a mullet, but nothing was doing. Kelly and I got double skunked.

At least we had the beer.

Fishing report - July 31, 2011, Afternoon Session

Location: 4^th Street

Tide: Outgoing

After an excellent morning session, Kelly and I decided to push our luck and go tarpon hunting over at 4^th Street. We stopped at the bait shop on 4^th for some shrimp and pinfish. The shrimp were pitifully small, but since we were low on options and time we bought 5 dozen from Brittany the bait hag. Griping aside, while I was in there I noticed a familiar sight – some rootbeer-colored shrimp tails, so I bought a pack, but that is another story for another time.

We were on the water by 5:30pm and the tide was the highest I’ve ever seen it. As we paddled out I noticed some commotion over by the westernmost mangrove line before the Howard Frankland Bridge. There were so many mullet jumping it looked like bombs were going off. I was tempted to investigate, but we paddled on.

Right before the bridge, I saw what I thought was a snook busting bait right at the seawall. It took me three casts, but I finally landed my Spook Jr. right at the wall. I got a hit right away but the fish missed. Subsequent casts were ignored. I paddled on.

Kelly and I fished The Cut first. We each caught a junk fish (Kelly: catfish. Me: Ladyfish) on a shrimp under a popping cork before giving up and paddling over to our tarpon spot.

It took me awhile to catch a pinfish for bait, and meanwhile, Kelly’s shrimp died of lameness, so it put us in a tough spot. Kelly caught a couple more catfish on my remaining shrimp, and then we decided to set up in the tarpon hole with about 45 minutes until dark. The bugs were fierce. I floated a pinfish under a cork while Kelly threw his Spook Jr.

While we fished, a manatee kept flirting with Kelly. It would pop up behind him, go under his yak, pop up on the other side, and then do it all over again.

After only 10 minutes, we saw tarpon rolling along, a big single fish in the 100lb class and three juveniles in the 30lb class. We threw everything we had at them, but they sniffed up their noses and swam away. I might have done better if my second pinfish didn’t flop in the water as I went to hook it on.

Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be. We were under-prepared, tired as hell, and eaten to distraction by the bugs. We packed it in and paddled back to the launch just as the sun was beginning to set.

You know it's a good day fishing when you see the sun rise and set from your kayak.

Fishing Report - July 31, 2011

Location: Mullet Key

Tide: Incoming

Kelly and I launched at 6:45am just as the sun was rising. The water was glassy and would remain that way our entire session. In fact, with the heat aside, the conditions were near-epic.

We paddled out from the point toward Egmont Channel and started fishing in a few feet of water just inside the channel marker. Kelly throws his Spook Jr. topwater out and hooks up with a trout on his first cast. I followed up with a Spook Jr. cast of my own, but couldn’t get the lure to work properly as there were seagulls dive bombing my every walk-the-dog effort. Eventually the seagulls departed and we settled in to a topwater throwing bonanza.

I was keyed up to throw the topwater because I had taken the time to rig my Spook Jr. weedless with a couple of 1/0 circle hooks. The weedless Spook worked perfectly as far as keeping the weeds out, but after missing the hookset on trout after trout, I pulled out my split ring pliers and put the original treble hooks back on.

Meanwhile, Kelly was lighting up the trout. He eventually hooked into something that pulled some drag, but it turned out to be a big ladyfish. Unfortunately for him, the ladyfish also broke off his bone-colored Spook Jr. right at the side of the yak. Those bone Spooks are hard to come by. Tough break.

He would make up for it a short time later with a big topwater strike from a big trout. The way it came out of the water on the initial hookset made me think it was a snook, but once he landed it, it turned out to be a huge 24” trout.

I eventually set up in a good spot and caught two trout on topwater, one pushing 20”, and then when I felt the fish were getting wary of the topwater, started throwing a DOA Cal rigged weedless on a weighted hook and caught two more trout on back-to-back casts. I was pysched to finally catch a trout on DOA Cal. I know a lot of people fish well with them, but I have never caught anything but ladyfish.

We continued to pick up trout here and there until 11:00am, when the bite shut off like flicking a light switch. We tried the bay around the other side of the point, but nothing doing there either. We were off the water by noon, the water still as glassy as when we started.

All told, we caught a baker’s dozen of trout and a half dozen ladyfish between us. The water was teeming with life, with tons of cow-nosed rays, sharks, and maybe a tarpon or two. The mullet and other baitfish were thick out there as well. There weren’t many people out there with us, just a few guys wade fishing and a family of three in a canoe.

Mullet Key has turned into my go-to spot for the summer. I can imagine that the fishing will get even better as we learn the area. The only real strike against it is the wind—when the wind is blowing, it makes the spot very difficult to fish.

Fishing Report – July 17th, 2011

Location: Fort Desoto, Mullet Key

Tide: Incoming

Overall, a decent day on the water.

My friend Brad was in town with his family and was able to join me on today’s outing. Brad met up with me over at my house at 6:00am sharp, and we drove out to Ft. Desoto. Passed the Bunche's Pass launch and it was vacant. Drove all the way out to Mullet Key and parked on the beach side to launch. We were on the water by 6:30am for the last hour of a low tide before a good incoming tide that would raise the water from 1.1 to 2.3 feet. The wind was between 5-10 mph the whole time, blowing east to west, which of course is not optimal. We had to deal with choppy water the entire time.

Started out by going around the point of the key and straight out to the north in search of deeper water. The water was less than a foot. We paddled all the way past the end of the spoil island and the water just wasn't getting any deeper. This was confusing to me because I remembered the water there having a gradual slope. Eventually we got to the end of the grass where there is a rapid drop off to a sandy bottom in 4-5 feet of water. I saw some commotion on the surface and threw my pearl colored Spook, Jr. and an under-slot trout nailed it. Brad and I looked at each other like it was going to be on, but that fish would turn out to be a red herring (pun intended).

We threw everything in our arsenal at that spot and the surrounding area for a good thirty minutes but couldn't get anything to the boat. The weeds were thick there and everywhere we fished today, a good 9 on a scale of 1-10. I can't say that I brought even one cast back to the yak without some weeds on the hook. I have been meaning to try a single J-hook or circle hook on my topwater to see if it makes a difference.

Next up we paddled over to the spoil island and threw some gulps and topwater over there. I knew there were a few deep spots around the mangroves, that spot gets a lot of pressure. No bites.

I was sort of getting desperate for some good deep water over grass, so I suggested we paddle out to the marker to the east over by Egmont Channel. As we paddled out, the wind freshened and the chop turned to waves and we couldn't reach the marker. We paddled back toward shore a bit and anchored up in some rough chop and despite the conditions, saw a lot of action. Spooked some big reds, lots of rays and bait popping. I was facing the wrong way to where I wanted to cast, so I unclipped my anchor and switched it to the other side and started to cast. Next thing I knew, I was twenty yards away from Brad and I realized I was drifting. I looked down and NO ANCHOR. The carabiner that I use to connect my anchor rope to my yak had popped open and my anchor was lost. Major FAIL. As you know, not having an anchor is a major pain in the ass, especially on a windy day in strong current. I set up a couple of drifts to try to make up for it but nothing to show for it but pinfish.

Brad didn't have any luck either, so I signaled for him to pull anchor, and right at that moment, there is this loud crash and like 100 baitfish go fleeing and flying out of the water right next to his yak. I don't know what was chasing them, a tarpon or shark maybe, but it was pretty awesome.

By then, the tide had come back up and we paddled back to the bay side of the key, about 50 yards out. The bite started heating up and I picked up another under-slot trout on a 4” new penny Gulp on a 1/8oz red jig head. Brad soon caught his first and only fish of the day--a catfish. Bunk.

We got frustrated and just decided to drift all the way back to the mangroves over by the park access road. On that drift I picked up another under-slot trout on topwater, and then a short time later, a big bronze backed trout on topwater. Great fight, I thought it was a red all the way up until it got to the yak.

We fished the back mangroves after the drift, but it was dirty water and an 11 out of 10 for weeds. Paddled back up and fished the previous spot once more. I caught another big ass trout on topwater, again with the bronze back. I was drifting with my legs in the water, and as the trout approached it thrashed and stuck one of the trebles in my leg. It was in past the barb, but not too far, so I just yanked it back out. TROUT 1, BRIAN 0.

We paddled out after that, and of course the wind died right as we pulled to the launch. I hate summer fishing.

It wasn't too busy out there all day, though there were two guys wading who didn't stop talking the whole time they were out there. There was some excitement at one point when one of the two hooked into what he thought was a giant redfish. It ended up being a three-foot bonnethead shark.

On the drive out, I passed by the Bunche's Pass access spot and there were at least 30 cars parked there, bumper to bumper.

Not much else to report. It was great to get out there and I did okay with five trout, considering. Oh, I forgot to say that at some point I caught a ladyfish on a DOA paddle tail that didn't fight at all. No jumps, no thrashing, no pooping. Strange.