Sunday, August 31, 2014

Fishing Report 8/31/2014 Part 1

Today we made the drive further south down to Sanibel Island. We actually fished three different spots and even checked out the Shell Museum - I'll post separately on these events. First stop was one of the Causeway Island Parks. My girl Noe can throw a mean cast net!!!! Check out this form and the full opening!!! She ended up catching some Killifish. Not bad for an 8-year old girl (bet your 10-year olds can't throw a net like she does!!!). And We caught a small Blue Crab, some Mojarra, Finger Mullet and a few Menhaden. I had the fly rod out and managed to get a few follows from some needlefish, but no other action in that department. It felt good casting a floating WF line again - WAY easier than casting an intermediate line.

Fishing Report 8/30/2014

We are visiting my Uncle and one of my Cousins this weekend down in Port Charlotte. Paul took us to one of the spots he's had luck at before - El Jobean Fishing Pier on the Myakka River. My nephew Lucas also came and had a blast with Marlon and Noe (who gave themselves new names - Marlon = Magellan and Noe = Amelia; I don't have the full story on that just yet). Everyone took turns throwing the cast nets (Paul's was way bigger - 8' diameter; our's was a 3' diameter). We caught a number of Menhaden, but no luck on anything else. We did see a manatee swimming, and one of the other fishermen caught a catfish. Oh well - you win some, you lose some...

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Surf Report 8/28/2014

The surf forecast websites indicated that this morning would be the biggest and cleanest the surf would be for at least a week. We got our share!!! This ULI Lopez 9-0 trifin is an awesome board - one of the great things about inflatables is I don't care how close I get to shore - beach break no longer means bad dings. And with the thruster setup, I can push some torque on the bottom turns. Now I just need to find some longer waves (probably the hardest thing to find in Florida). La felt confident enough to bring out her longboard. Here she is catching a few on her own (no help from me except a little encouragement and intel on wave selection) ;) Maybe we'll try again this afternoon on the low tide But if we don't - we did have a blast!!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Fishing Report 8/27/2014

Not Skunked! First cast and I felt a solid grab - I used a sliding weight rig with a steel leader - just in case I get a shark again ;) Instead of the usual suspects (Spot, Whiting), I was surprised to see this Stargazer on the end of the line. Well - this picture is of the stargazer buried - it was a quick bugger - buried itself in an instant. I poked at it with a shell and it popped back out of the sand. The two black spines on the front part of the dorsal fin are poisonous (if I remember correctly). Eventually we coaxed it back into the water. First time I've caught one of these... Really pretty pattern on it's back. I also caught this whiting. The big change today was switching out the pompano rig for the sliding weight/leader setup. I had way more sensitivity with the new rig and it made fishing with this substantial rod way more enjoyable. Last notable - the kids were playing in the surge for while - until La looked out and saw a lot of splashing about 50 feet away from the kids. And then we both saw a 4' shark jumping around in the surf for a fish, or three. We calmly told the kids to go ahead and come back in - good thing they didn't turn around... The men in grey suits are always out there - you just need to be smart and calm in their backyard.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Fishing Report 8/23/2014

Skunked!!!! I went out twice even... first time was on the paddleboard - and I got asked for my military ID. I had to paddle back and get it from my truck. Pretty neat experience getting "boarded"! The second session was at Little Talbot Island. I saw tons of schooling mullet, and a few schools were being tailed by something. But I didn't have any luck getting a chase. There were also a bunch of whiting and I did get some follows, but none looked like they were looking to eat the fly. Beautiful water despite the lack of catching action.

Surf Report 8/23/2014

There are times I wish I was 100 pounds lighter and 18" shorter... The kiddoroosters didn't care that the waves were 1' high - they charged and tore it up!!! Good time had by all at Little Talbot Island

Friday, August 22, 2014

Fishing Report 8/22/2014

We went to the beach in the late afternoon today. I brought the St Croix Surf Triumph and the Orvis Hydros - no paddleboard today because the afternoon seabreeze had kicked in. I set up the surf rod with a pompano rig and after a few casts, I caught this whiting - no skunk today. I decided that I could catch whiting again, or I could try catching whatever was chasing the smaller baitfish in the water. I broke out the flyrod and opened a huge can of "I can cast like a champ in my mind". I did make some good casts in the 50' range with an intermediate sink line, but I also did flog myself multiple times (the weighted fly hit me at high speed in my back several times and in the head a couple). Talk about humility. I decided to renew my confidence and picked up the surf rod again. I cast and felt a tug - set the hook and the drag started singing!!!! I'll let the pictures do the talking... This rod was AWESOME!!! Sweet bend and perfect backbone!!! I didn't hog all the fun - I let the kids take turns feeling a solid pull. I still can't believe I caught this shark using "Fish Bites" bait (clam flavor) on a $0.95 pompano rig!!!! This shark should have cut me off - but I hooked it right in the lip where it could only chomp on the hook - check this out!!! Proof of fair game (lip hooked) We took a few pictures and I quickly released this guy back in to the sea. I haven't had this much fun catching a fish in a long while!!!!

It's Been A While - Time For A Little Tying

I keep my eyes open when I hit the Fly Shops. Having been to a couple over the past weeks, the kids had seen enough and wanted to tie today. That gave me a chance to tie up a few of what I've heard the shop guys said were catching. Surf Candy Clousers and Schminnows. Well see how the real judges rate these (the fish).