The Wandering Swiss

I'm back

2009-09-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Have been for a bit, life has been hectic and slow at the same time. Soon as all this dust settles I can return to normalacy once more...

One bit of news though - I am now a member of Malibu Kayaks Pro Staff and am currently awaiting the arrival of my Stealth 14...soon as I get that sucker in there will be plenty of fish porn to enjoy, cheers

To the mountains once more...

2009-07-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

will have pics upon my return! Celebrating Swiss Independence this weekend, in style

"Some birds feathers are too bright to be caged, I know I'm not that colorful but a bird just the same"

Festivals and mountains

2009-07-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

So Paleo ended up being much cooler than I thought it would be and as always in life it seems the best was encountered while wandering off the beaten path. There was this group, which for the life of me I can't remember the name, regardless, they rocked: Trumpet, Piano, Tabla, and Indian Vocals...very interesting. The piano player was an indian version of Thelonius Monk, beautiful accents and voicing, but enough of that. Great festival, great food, and cheap beer! Cheap Good Beer! Thats an oxymoron in itself but the Hoegaarden's flowed that night.

The next day we took a leisurely drive into the mountains near Gstaad. Any direction you look is a postcard, without exception. We took Shannon's dogs with us and it was quite picturesque: dogs frolicking with mountains in the background, the mountains change color as the sun gets lower in the sky so even though you remain in the same place the scenery changes.

We slept at Shannon's apartment in Gstaad and ate at a place where they specialize in Rosti...man, that was some good rosti, who knew bacon and pears go so well together? Anyway, enough of my stupid rambling, pictures are better, enjoy

Fortress Europa - Geneve, Lausanne, Montreux, Nyon, Paris, Paleo...where the hell am I?

2009-07-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Paris...

Montreux late night

Paris, outside Le Pompidou

PlaceMonge...where its at
Everyones got a voice here
The 5th
Riding that train...

Lac Leman...I mean Lac D' Geneve, Montreux
Crepes, Crepes, Crepes
Best bookstore ever, you the man Brian
Le Suisse invade Paris by night

So its been pretty crazy so far this July...thats an understatement.

I arrived in Geneve at the beginning of the month, I think the 9th or 10th, can't recall. Haven't had internet, or a phone, and although it made some things difficult I can now say it was good thing, still no phone, and no intention of getting one soon either...the freedom is beyond liberating.

So I've been running around town with French courses, paperwork, looking for work, and taking in the sights when I can...my sister makes sure of that...she is too good to her brother. We spent last weekend in Paris for her boyfriend, Frank's, birthday...man what a town. I blitzkrieged that place and in three nights and two days I saw as much of the city as was possible...a man could grow rather rotund with great speed in that place as every little cafe, boulangerie, bar, and vendor has great, no, excellent food...the mouth waters right now.

So we stayed at a friend of Frank's apartment in the middle of the 5th quarter, no one slept much as far as I can remember and that caused me to miss out on a morning hike with a very intriguing Canadian fellow who owned a marvelous bookshop in the 4th quarter...the dude had everything, rare finds, I spent way too much money in the book shop but i've been reading nonstop lately, finishing close to a book a day...haven't been able to do that for a long time. Regardless we made the best of it and tramped all about Paris with many many crepes devoured.

So Besides Paris, there has been a string of festivals, Montreux Jazz (Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, AND Victor Wooten in one band...WTF?, John Schofield and much more) and Paleo all this week, there are many more to come and besides the big name events there is La Fete D' Geneve running all the way till August: Free concerts every night by the lake...lots going on to say the least.

I am still running about like a fool so I don't want to waste too much time on the computer, plenty more pictures but uploading requires time I simply can't, or won't, waste...I'll post something up again when things cool down a bit, till then Bon Chance!

Sun Sentinal Article

2009-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here she is: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-everglades-canoe-b062609,0,4874018.story

Rainy Day Flamingo 06/24/09

2009-06-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

10 knot winds my azz! Me and my buddy Ken arrived at the marina in Mingo at 5am sharp, greeted by thunderstorms and rain we passed out in the truck till about 6:30, by then they had mostly disappated and we launched in a light rain and headed towards Christian Point.We weren't too happy about the conditions, the weather report called for a mild day and it was later on, but not when we were out on the water. Those 10-15 knot winds were closer to 20-25 knots, and this was confirmed when we got back to the marina later in the afternoon. The West winds limited us to fishing to backside of islands and that was fine, the fish were stacked on the lee-side anyway and this made fishing very easy...shooting fish in a barrel came to mind.

Both me and Ken tossed big topwaters all day long, the snook were ravenous! This was my buddies first time down there and he was amazed at how aggressive the fish were, 5-6 hits a cast, coming completely out of the water for it...pretty cool stuff. We fished through the rain and even that wouldn't kill the bite, I actually caught the biggest fish of the day in the middle of a downpour!

I can't really remember how many snook we caught, we both lost track at some point in the day, I'd have to say around or just under 2 dozen for me and Ken must have been close behind, he got the only red and I got a tarpon near the marina that actually towed me into the marina, well, that and the tide. I guess that rain cooled down the water a bit and made the bite last all morning long....we had a great outgoing tide too.

All in all another great day down in Flamingo and the best part was that there were no bugs to speak of! I didn't get bit by any bugs at all! And the overcast conditions allowed us to throw topwaters until noon! The only tough part of the day was paddling back from Palm Key to the marina with 20 knot winds in our faces...I needed the workout anyway. On the way out we saw tons of wildlife, crocs, gators, snakes, and bald eagles...everything seemed to be out and about yesterday...makes me wish I was down there today!

Flamingo 06/18/09

2009-06-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

White mangrove at the trailhead

gone...like magic

Bear Lake

Yesterday was hot...I feel like I'm still sweating. Me and David (Perch) hit the water a little before 5:30, we played with the little tarpon outside the marina for a bit, they were crashing the skitterwalks but rarely connecting with it. Had to help David removed a treble from his finger early on in the morning, sorry you had to start your day like that David, I felt your pain.

There were reds cruising the flats on the way to Christian point but they weren't hitting anything, out in Snake Bight the reds were just as spooky but I managed to fool one into hitting my rootbeer DOA Cal. I also got a snook off that same flat before starting to drift back towards the launch.

Daivd stuck it out and I left him fishing Joe Kemp as I searching for reds on the flats. I saw bait jumping near the West end of Joe Kemp and tossed the skitterwalk to what turned out to be another snook. Near the marina I lost another snook on the skitterwalk and jumped two little tarpon on the Cal before calling it a day...too damn hot to be on the water.

I wish I had more days off, I'd really like to spend 2 weeks at Flamingo and fish every possible tide to see where the fish are holding. There are lots of big big big snook hanging around Florida Bay right now and the reds seem to be out on the flats every day...if you can get past the bugs it really is fishing paradise down there. I think next time around I may fish West Lake, I stopped at the launch on the way out and saw a ton of action on the water and lots of little tarpon rolling around. I think the rains have finally cleared all the sludge out of Cuthbert and the Lungs so now the passage down to Garfield Bight may be open...so the fish (and tide) can flow in and out.

The work on the trail was tough, we had a new deadfall right at the launch itself, took us an hour to clear that before we could paddle on down to the planned work. We saw a huge crocodile in the canal as well and I was "bumped" by a small gator as well.

The next day I awoke feeling pretty sore but thought nothing of it, went to work, had to move a heavy desk and as I was lifting it I felt a pop in my back...man oh man, I've never felt pain like that in my life, dropped me like a ton of bricks and I've been laid out all day at home. I doubt I'll be able to help out next week and that really upsets me, but in order to be of some use for the rest of the summer I must rest now...like the saying goes: A good soldier knows when to sleep.

Flamingo 06/11/09

2009-06-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Man the skeeters were bad! I met Perch at the marina a little before 05:30 and we were hoppin' around getting our gear together with the swamp angels singing around us till we launched.

Our first spot was the best for us throughout the morning, I boated 3 decent snook and one slot sized fish, losing a couple (the curse of topwater) to pulled hooks, David got a couple of nice snook on the skitterwalk as well.

We made our way over to Christian Point to find a red hot ladyfish and jack bite, there were tarpon rolling but it was impossible to get a bait past the ladyfish. One of the big pilchards rolled next to me and like the amoeba that I am (stimulus = response, tarpon rolls = cast) I pitched a gulp shrimp at it tied to 30lb leader on my stradic 2500...of course it inhaled it.

So now I have this 80-100lb tarpon clearing the water in front of me, peeling line, and towing me in circles around snake bight channel...I knew I wasn't going to land this thing but yet I gave it my all, for what felt like hours, probably about 30 minutes before I got overzealous and palmed the drag a bit too hard...friggin tarpon. Perch got some video so I will post it up when I can get my hands on it.

That was pretty much it for me that morning and I think David too, great fishing with you btw (see you out there next thursday...with bigger rods), I made a mental note to bring my tarpon rig (which will ensure that I won't see any more tarpon) to Flamingo next time so I can devote my morning to catching one of the truly large ones from my kayak...no fish makes a fool out of me!

2009-06-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Low tide was a 3am this morning, winds out of the South at 5 mph when I first wet the line at 5:30am at Dania Beach. I'm always alone at dawn on Dania, nost of the other snook fisherman arrive after sunrise...missing the best part of the bite. I got two schoolie's this morning, one a bit over 22''-24'' and the other at 16'' or so, and a couple of small jacks fell to the white bucktail...it never fails, was home at 7am and went back to bed till 9, good start to the day.

First week of June and Flamingo 06/04/09

2009-06-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Monday Morning

Tuesday Morning Dania Beach Snookin'

Wednesday with a buddy @ the pier, Dania that is

Flamingo Florida - Paradise, with bugs

I've been moving at very high speeds for the last few days, moving really took it out of me and since then I've been cramming as much cleaning and upkeep as possible into my days.

So with all the work/fishing last week I wasn't expecting to make it out to Flamingo on Thursday but last minute I called my buddy Matt and we met at Flamingo at 5:15am.

The mosquitos were pretty intense in the marina, they followed us around for an hour or so before slowly disapating, we weren't catching anything but ladyfish until then anyway. When we made it to Christian point we were greeted by snook roving the shorelines, my skitterwalk was hit by a small snook, Matt's topwater was engulfed by a much larger snook that broke him off on the first jump. There were Tarpon about as well and Matt jumped one, I jumped two, landing one for a few pics.

We caught nothing but lady's for the next hour and at slack low tide we started drifting over the grassflats on the way back to the marina...they were loaded with reds, friggin reds everywhere! The were incredibly spooky in that thick grass, I got a shot at 4 tailers and Matt had a few attempts as well...no takers. We were just staked out with reds all around us, talk about frustration. I was off the water by 9:45, Tom was a litte late getting to work so I fished from shore where I could, landed a little snook and a small goliath, pretty cool way to kill some time.

Working on the trail today was particularly tough, the bug suits were a must as the mosquitos are back in full form...they are our constant company and so were the sankes! I counted 10 pygmy rattlers on the way out from Bear Lake, I also shoo'ed a large cottonmouth off the road after almost running over the thing. Another great day in the park, all 17 hours of it, got home at 10:15pm after leaving my wife sleeping that morning at 3am.

Flamingo Quickie and a little pier fishin' 05/28/09

2009-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

This morning the snook took me to school... tarpon too.
I paddled out of Flamingo marina at around 6:50am, heading into the SW winds and drifting the shoreline towards Christian point. My first cast lands a hefty jack that straightened out one of the hooks on my skitterwalk :cuss: And like an idiot I left my other skitterwalk sitting in the truck, useless.

Nevertheless I proceeded to lose snook after snook for the next hour or so, I was amazed at the sheer concentration of snook on the shorelines, I was getting 5 hits a cast in some spots...a lot of missed connections and pulled hooks, I think I was off my game but will blame that straightened hook for the record. I landed about a dozen small to mid-sized snook and then a monster slob engulfed my lure...he jumped twice before shredding through the 30lb leader, looked to be a big girl in the upper 30 inch range.

So now I had no big topwaters left, the mirromullet wouldn't swim right in the chop and neither would the top dog...but the trusty chug bug worked pretty damn well in a pinch and boated a few more snook before starting to drift back towards the ramp. I finished up the morning by jumping two tarpon near the marina; one jumped off first time up, the second I leadered but lost at the side of the boat, both probably around 15-20lbs. I must say the snook really seem to be active down in mingo, and that wind combined with the overcast skies made the topwater bite last till I had to get going at around 9:30.

I really do love those mornings, hope they last through this hot summer…now if only the bonefish would hit like that. I also made a quick stop a little spot I know off near home for a quick shore-bound session now that my little yellowtailed friends are back for the summer:

not bad for the cost of a dozen shrimp, not bad at all.

Indian River Gheenoe Trip 05/27/09

2009-05-29T07:54:00.001-07:00

Took The Gina out with my buddy Rigo near Ft Pierce, launching at about 7am after a stop at the Snook Nook for live shrimp, they have the best livies, stayed frisky till we got off the water at 2pm!

We started out fishing the causeway and almost immediately Rigo hooks up with something substantial that I backed away from the pilings, unfortunately Rigo got a little overzealous and palmed the drag too hard so the fish broke off...we were wondering what the hell it was the rest of the day.

We fished the flats for a bit with a few dinky trout to show for it before moving on to the real quarry: Tripletail. Managed to put Rigo on his first of two different fish, its always cool to wittness those events unfold and recall your own experiences at the same time.

We did pretty well, managed to catch a mixed bag of sheepshead, 3 nice sized tripletail (including a double hook-up!), and various short muttons, grays, and lane snapper. All in all a great day on the water and I only burned $8 in gas while covering nearly 20 miles, pretty friggin sweet, off the water by 2pm right before the rain came down in true SoFla fashion.

Ding Darling 05/23/09

2009-05-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

No rain all day, man I love that Sanibel "bubble", seems to swing the rain clouds just off that island, everytime.

We fished all over, went into Pine Island Sound and caught alot of nice-sized trout on topwaters and jigs, I was tossing a mirro-mullet when everyone got into to the bite and did pretty well as the water had a little chop to it.

The fishing wasn't as good as I had hoped, it may have been all the freshwater instrusion from all this rain we've been having...the bite would have been better in Flamingo but the winds and more importantly the thunderstorms wouldn't have allowed us to fish very long.

We got off the water around 3pm, trout all day long, nothing else, not even ladyfish, pretty strange for Ding Darling I felt, usually I at least get a redfish or some small snook...it was a spec-filled day.

Magical Mingo 05/14/09

2009-05-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

I had a 9am report time in Flamingo for a little volunteer work and so I decided to get there early and do some fishing. I got to the marina at 5am but was greeted by a bit of wind out of the East, around 10-15mph. I was tired as hell from waking up early all of this week so I said "screw it, going to sleep" and passed out in th truck with my alarm set for 8:45. I was jolted out of my sleep after about 30 minutes, don' know why but I was wide awake now for no reason...time to fish.

I hit the water a little after 6am and paddled into the wind towards Christian Point. The wind wasn't fun but I fought through it to a nice flat that offered a bit of protection and casted out the skitterwalk. First cast comes walking in and is engulfed by I-don't-know-what, it hugged bottom and ran. I fought this creature for 15-20 minutes before getting a good look at it but I thought it was a small shark or a big bull red from the way it was running. It starts taking me into the mangroves so I had to take the chance and palm the drag hard to bring her head out, thank god the line held.

She went way over my 36'' measuring board, she looked to go another 5''-7'' over the board but she was seriously fat and very heavy, I would have to say at or near 30lbs, easy.
So After that debacle I tossed the skitterwalk back out and instantly hooked up with a nice snook, and then another, and another and so on...I ended up going 6 for 8 on snook before moving on to another spot.

At the next spot the skitterwalk started getting blown up without a connection, again and again, finally I made contact and after a tussle I brought in a nice red, then another, and another, and so on, 13 from one spot alone, 3 on topwater and the rest on a rootbeer DOA cal as they started to get finicky with the skitterwalk.I caught the last red at 8:30 and rode the wind back into the marina ready for work.

What a morning, wasn't going to go out but I'm sure glad I did. Had a great day working in the park and even the bugs were mild today, it was a good day.

Key Largo/Butternut Key 05/09/09

2009-05-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

A "complication" in scheduling at work resulted in me getting a paid day off...so I went fishing, my mother celebrates mothers day earlier in the month so I had no obligations!

Decided to head to the keys, Key Largo on the bayside from the Carribean Club. Hit the water at 7am with a bucketful of shrimp and my wife in tow. We headed out towards butternut key and fished Little Buttonwood Sound on the way out. There were fish biting all day but everything was small: 8'' Mangroves, 13'' trout, and even short grouper (red and gags).

We relaxed on Butternut Key before heading back, The engine ran great all day, we ran about 25 miles without a problem when a 1/4 mile from the ramp the engine cut-out. It would restart but only run for a second before stalling out again. There was pressure in the fuel hose, fuel, oil mix was good, it didn't seem overly hot.

When I first got the engine it stalling out but I found that it was a air leak from one of the fuel hoses, I clamped them with cable clamps and didn't have a problem again...till now. When I got home I figured it should be okay but I couldn't get it running to flush the engine. I finally did by gunning the motor everytime it sounded like it was dying, I did it long enough to flush and noticed that the water coming out of the motor was much warmer than usual...could this have been a simple over-heating? This was the longest I continually ran the motor as previously I was making short runs and stopping for a bit as opposed to running 5-7 miles at a time and idling at fishing spots instead of shutting her down. I'm clueless at this point and I haven't had a chance to mess with since, hopefully tomorrow I can get a break and troubleshoot a little more.

despite the frustration I felt at the end of the trip it was another great day on the water...I just hope it isn't my last for a while.

Chokoloskee with Gina and Gina 05/07/09

2009-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

My wife took the day off and came down with me to chokoloskee to finally see the 10K Islands...she refused to come paddling with me for years so now with the Gheenoe she had no excuse!

We left ODR at 8am, later than I'd liked but the Alley was closed and I had to take Tamiami. We hit the oyster bars in the bay at nearly dead low tide, nothing but catfish. I ran into a dozen or so Trout in Rabbit Key Pass with a few decent ones thrown in, nothing huge though.

We fished the flats near Rabbit Key with nothing but catfish to show for it, oh yes, and one tiny gag.

I brought the grill in the boat so we landed on Rabbit Key and cooked lunch, met some paddlers who had been out for a few days, gave them a couple of beers and few smokes and they told me I was sent from heaven...I just know the feeling: 7-day paddling trip, beer runs out on the first night, smokes soon to follow...those beers sure tasted sweet I'm sure.

Before taking off I saw that skinny lone shadow of a snook off the beach but didn't have anything with me to throw at it, so I threw a plain chartuese jighead, ripped it fast past his head and sure enough he smacked it, only snook of the day.

We headed back on the last part of the incoming, fished the same spots and caught more trout and catfish. Not the best day fishing on the water but a great since my wife could finally come out and enjoy the day with me.

all fish, besides the snook, were caught on jigs tipped with live shrimp.

Convoy Point Slob 04/16/09

2009-04-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

HA HA HA!!!

Hit Convoy for an hour on the way to work today, went looking for bonefish so I had the peekaboo and my wife's stand-up paddle, two rods with 20lb leader, thats it.

I paddle/poled across to the spoil islands and blind casted while scanning for those elusive grey ghosts. Near the canal I was working the really shallow stuff against the shoreline when I spotted a black shadow near the point. I joked to myself "thats a monster snook" and pitched a line near it, I was 100% sure it was a snook-shaped log on account of the size...I was shocked when the snook log came to life and engulfed my 1/16th oz jighead tied to my 20lb leader!

So the snook cleared the water at least 3 times before settling into long runs, taking me into the canal and towards the rocks across the channel. I was afraid to put too much pressure on the fish so I just held on and went for the ride. Fighting the fish from the standing position was definately an advantage as I was able to better anticipate any turns the fish was making and could adjust my angle accordingly.

So after about 15 heart-stopping minutes I get her to the boat, heave her up over the side and let out a wookie-like yell I'm glad no one was around to hear. My measuring board was in the truck and I wanted her back in the water fast on account of working her for so long. I laid her across the deck of the peekaboo (35'' wide) and even without her laying straight she still went a good 2''-3'' over on each side. My best guess is somewhere between 41''-43'', she was fat as hell and a good guess on weight is somewhere between 22-25lbs, my biggest yet to date!

Chokoloskee 04/12/09

2009-04-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hit Chokoloskee for a charter today, managed a gag, flounder, a mess of silver and spotted trout before calling it a day. All fish were caught on a glow DOA shrimp and from what I gathered at the launch it seems that no one did particularly well...I should consider myself lucky that all my cilents caught something (two of them cleaned up on trout near Rabbit Key), I find this odd as the weather was practically perfect, nice warm weather and moving tide...no fish, weird.

Biscayne Bay Baby Tarpon 04/15/09

2009-04-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Went chasing bonefish on wednesday, couldn't find any of those stupid snooty fish so I went to my tarpon holes hoping that the warm weather has brought my little friends back to play...and it has!

Jumped two little guys and brought one to the boat, called it a day after that as the rain looked to moving in, not looking forward to the summer thunderstorms but the fishing has been stellar as of late....so glad my little silver friends are back!

West Lake Full Moon Snookin' 04/10/09

2009-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Friggin' West Lake! That dead-zone stench hole excuse for lake actually produced some nice fish for once! I finally figured out where those stupid snook are hiding and the chances are elevated on the full moon at night so now I have a good spot to night-fish come summer time! I brought Bob Stolzberg with me, he's a fella from St Louis and he's going out on a full day charter with me and another guy on sunday down Choko way.

Bob sounded like he needed to get away when I talked to him so I told him I'd bring a kayak for him if he wanted to join me fishing in West Lake, I wouldn't charge anyone to fish West Lake as I told him I'd be surprized if we got anything good.

Sure enough Bob hooked up with nice snook, first snook too! The big grin says it all. I managed a few nice snook before we had to pack it up, all in all a great night. All fish were caught on Carbonated Glow DOA shrimp...that mad scientist Mark Nichols never seems to fail me.

Bear Lake Canoe Trail - Day 1

2009-04-11T07:40:00.001-07:00

So I volunteered for the first time at Everglades National Park on the Bear Lake canoe trail. The Bear Lake Canoe Trail has been closed for years, it was dredged back in the 20's during the time of reclamation, the hundreds of miles of canals that severed and crippled the natural flow of water that has since been hampering the natural order of things in the ecosystem throughout South Florida.

The canal was dug and has remained since, covered by years of dead falls, brush, and whole trees due to storms and hurricanes. The tidal flow was no-existent until Thomas Rahill came along with his partner Jim and they volunteered to clear the debris and make Bear Lake accessible once more. The work those two men have done is nothing short of extraordinary, working with equipment dating back in design to the 1890's. Since this is a national park everything must be done with the utmost respect and care to ensure that no trace of our work is left behind.

Tom is quite the character and immediately gives the impression of a big-hearted woodsman, his knowledge of the Flora and fauna is incredible and it betrays his deep passion for the park in a most intriguing way. Out of respect for Tom and the project I will refrain from going into too much detail as to the work involved as their have been a few obstacles that could become obstructions if too much is said regarding the nature of the work. Once the trail is done Tom feels there will be little objection to continuing on from Bear Lake to Gator Lake and then eventually all the way down to Lake Ingraham, restoring the safe inland passage, that was the Homestead Canal, to Cape Sable.

I will be in this for the duration and although it is back-breaking, hot, sweaty, wet, gator-infested, mosquito-ridden, and tiring work I felt a sense of satisfaction like never before when at the end of the day I could say "I did this" and when it is all through I can only imagine how it will feel to see people paddling down the canal for the first time.

I got there early so I could go fish Flmingo for a couple of hours...jumped a tarpon near the marina and caught a few trout...damn full moon always messes up that morning bite.

Stand Up Kayaking for bass 04/08/09

2009-04-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Headed over to my parents house to visit and the lake looked so calm and placid...and that "historic" cold front never really reached historic proportions, this was made even more apparent by the fact that the bass and exotics were going crazy. The peekaboo hasn't seen use for quite some time but I feel that with the stand-up paddle the boat will get a new lease on life, its really well suited for poling and the stand-up paddle. Once the bonefish in Biscayne get acclimatized to this warm water again and the winds settle me and the peekaboo will be all over South Biscayne.

Morning Slob 04/06/09

2009-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hit North Biscayne Bay early this mornng, started off pretty nice with an overslot snook! I was casting at what I thought were baby tarpon rolling when the glow gulp shrimp I was using got rocked. I thought she was a huge jack since she stayed down and peeled line like crazy. Almost flipped my kayak during the fight as she pulled me into the mangroves at one point and I was leaning out of the kayak as far as I could to keep the line out of the myriad of snags along that shoreline...it was the closest I've ever come to flipping a boat and I had wet butt the rest of the morning as a result, which was fine by me.

After that debacle we fished the flats for trout but got nothing but a few dinks and some cudas, Lefty had a fairly good-sized cuda on before we called it a day around 9am.

Keewadin 04/01-02/09

2009-04-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

We hit the water from Shell Island road around 7:30am on Wednesday, the weather looked iffy and the conditions were not promising as we paddled out into the 15 knot headwind...building later to 20 with gusts to 25 as the afternoon wore on. That didn't stop the snook from chewin' though.

We fished the upper reaches of rookery bay catching a mixed bag throughout the morning and early afternoon. Snook up to 20'', little goliath groupers, whiting, jacks galore, and I managed to jump a nice tarpon in the channel leading to Hurricane pass, he smacked a White and Chanteuse bucktail bouncing on the bottom. We explore this little creek leading a big lagoon in Rookery bay, at high tide there was just barely enough water to make it through so fishing time was limited but we managed to pull a few snook out of the mangroves before the tide started heading out.

Keewadin itself was quite choppy, the wind and surf had churned the water up quite nicely and the snook were plentiful and uninhibited when it came to hitting DOA cals and mirro-dines. My previous experiences on Keewadin consisted of decent snook action in the morning and right before sunset, this was a constant bite from 4pm until sundown, we were sight casting snook surfing in the shore break! Most of the snook in the backcountry were small, less than 20'', on the beach they were a little bigger on average, and they were hungry.

We fished and drank till the sun went down, the when just drank, it was a cool and bug-free night with the breeze running through till the morning. I woke up at dawn and caught another dozen or so little snook on a white bucktail before something of decent size pulled my line-to-line knot out...always humbling, always makes me feel like a damn amateur.

We got going off the beach around 9am and drifted back down Hurricane pass with the wind and tide, we caught a few little snook on the way in but only in Hurricane Pass. the backcountry was deserted it seemed. We packed up and had lunch w/margaritas at the Iron Rhino off of US41 near Goodland.

Glad to see the snook off the beaches again, means more morning fishing for me close to home on Dania Beach, not the craziest snook spot in the world but 5 minutes from my house and productive when the time is right…and the time seems right as I must have nailed around 30 snook on the first day and a little more than a dozen on the paddle back the next day. Most of my fish hit either white bucktails and holographic DOA shrimp.

Long Point 03/18-19/09

2009-03-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

So the weather changed our orginial plans of beach camping on Keewadin to camping on Round Island...but then the rains made us run all the way up to Sebastian Inlet. We ended up staying at Long Point State Park, just North of the Inlet, which was car-camping instead of paddling out to a secluded island but we made the best of it.

The campsite was actually very nice, every spot has direct access to the Indian River Lagoon via a series of sheltered lagoons and creeks. We made camp, relaxed and ate a light lunch before going out and exploring with the paddlecraft. The wind was still howling but from the East so we were sheltered from the worst out it, the fishing was ok only because of the weak cold front that brought all the rain down south. Lots of trout, saw a giant snook, and tons of manatees...Gina had her first run-in with those "murderous sea-cows" and she survived, as I knew she would.

We made it back to camp just in time for a little rain to roll through, we had been up late the night before and had also woken up very early that morning so we took a little nap and awoke just as the sun was coming back out, perfect timing. I cooked Gina her veal cutlet and then we built a fire and drank wine and beer till we fell asleep...quite glorious.

The next morning I woke up to watch the sunrise and go fishing, Gina slept away in the tent while I went out into the lagoon and caught a ton of trout, I eventually had me fill and returned to the camp to find gina just waking up. We broke camp and headed down to the inlet to check it out. Lots of surfers and fisherman, huge standing waves were breaking just outside of the inlet, some were pushing 10'-12', pretty gnarly.

We left the inlet and had some breakfast in Vero Beach, drove down A1A to Round Island near Stuart and went out paddling again. Round Island was placid and peaceful, not much for fishing but it was nice to get out and work off the deadly deadly breakfast of french toast, bacon, sausages, pancakes, toast, and home fries...ughh, deadly greasy breakfast I love so much.

On the return from one of the spoil islands near the west bank of the IRL the wind changed direction and picked up, Gina had a little trouble tracking into the wind but we eventually returned to the launch, loaded up and headed home...stopping at Sonic for more deadly greasy goodness...and milkshakes, delicious milkshakes.

Been computer lazy lately...

2009-03-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

Ever since I returned from my nine day odessy into the deep Everglades backcountry I found myself having trouble with basic tasks involving technology...computers especially. I will eventually put a trip report up here but for now the pictures lie in wait. I am also hoping Flex will have "processed" some of his pictures so that I can put some of those up or links to his work, he did get some incredible shots out there.

Since I've returned there has been alot of fishing, its been very windy as of late, spring is here and the rains have begun to peak their heads above the horizon...soon the mosquitos will rule me in the mornings, not looking forward to that at all.

So with the wind blowing 20-25knots on my days off I have been fishing the Loxahatchee alot, I'm not complaining, the snook have been getting bigger and the bass as well but soon the warm weather will push those snook back out towards Jupiter Inlet and the beach snookin' season shall begin!

Instead of relating the many outings here are some pictures from the trips I did in March, lots of paddleboard shots too as now my wife can join me out on the water...pretty cool.

The Big Trip pt.II

2009-02-09T10:46:00.001-08:00

Changes, changes, changes...to much to see and so little time will make us do crazy things...So after several "meetings" Flex and I have finally chosen a set route, well two set routes: Plan A and Plan B. Its always best to start at the beginning...and when you get to the end, stop:

02/15 - Day 1 - Coot Bay Pond to Osyter Bay Chickee - 15 miles. Whitewater Bay can get nasty with a little wind, thus its name, hopefully we'll have a good day as the kayaks will be at their heaviest on the first day, the tide is unimportant on this particular day.

02/16 - Day 2 - Oyster Bay Chickee to Highland Beach - 16 miles. This day will be one of the larger open water crossings, anything but a NW wind is okay but if it does blow hard out of the NW then we will have to lose a day taking the sheltered route via the Harney River.

02/17 - Day 3 - Highland Beach to Willy Willy - 17 miles. This is the whole reason for the trip: The Lostmans River, no other place in the Everglades holds as much appeal as this, the most remote area of the park. The water by Willy Willy is completely fresh so we are expecting gators galore as well as big snook wintering in the deep backcountry. Willy Willy is a Calusa mound and the surroundings of the campsite resemble a rainforest more than a swamp...very cool.

02/18 - Day 4 - Willy Willy to Camp Lonesome - 10 miles. A nice relaxed day, no tides to worry about, short mileage, and beautiful surroundings. Camp Lonesome is well known for having big Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes so we will have to be on guard...which reminds me I need a cockpit cover for the kayak to keep unwanted travelers from trying to hitch a free ride.

02/19 - Day 5 - Camp Lonesome Exploration - ? - There is no passage from Camp Lonesome to Canepatch (Shark River Terimus) but there are some "holes in the wall" that look like interesting places to go rippin' into. We are going to initially try and bushwhack our way into Canepatch but most likely we won't make it so we'll probably just try and break into the freshwater marshes behind the wall of mangroves for some pictures. If we do make it through to Canepatch we will have successfully have blazed a trail closed for decades and the whole trip will have to be changed...no worries.

02/20 - Day 6A - Camp Lonesome to Highland Beach via Wood River- 14 miles. The Wood River is quite infamous, it is one of the routes more prone to closure after storms as the already tight confines become blocked by deadfallen trees. The Wood River is a very constriciting route and it is never used by motorboats and still not so often by paddle-craft, definately something we must see for oursevles but once we have commited we will have to finish as there may not be room to turn around a 19' sea kayak. This route will be taken if the weather is crappy and will be crappy for the rest of the trip...otherwise we will take the "plan B" route along the outside of Cape Sable. We love the backcountry but both me and Flex will always prefer the beach in the end because...well, because life is a beach. Staying at Highland Beach again will set us up to re-enter the backcountry via the Harney River on our way to Canepatch.

02/20 - Day 6B - Camp Lonesome to Graveyard Creek - 18 miles. If the weather is nice we will push down the Graveyard Creek (supposedly haunted between the hours of 3-4am) as that will set us up perfectly for rounding the Cape the next day. This would require good weather for three days in a row as it will be three days of open water paddling in some of the more notorious waters in South Florida...my last experience here was in 8'-10' seas off NW Cape Sable, not fun for me.

02/21 - Day 7A - Highland Beach to Canepatch - 18 miles. Half open water and half Shark River, it will be a long day and we will have to start early as the tide starts incoming at the mouth of the Shark River at 6:50am and then slacks at 12:45pm...a very short window to paddle up into the tidally-unaffected backcountry. Canepatch is, along with Willy Willy and Camp Lonesome, one of the most remote campsites in the park. At one point it was a backwoods agricultural center and thus the name, Canepatch, sure enough you can find wild coffee, bananas, Sugarcane, and wild corn growing in the surrounding area. There is talk of a big and aggressive gator hanging out there so both and Flex will have our gator-fighting sticks at the ready!

02/21 - Day 7B - Graveyard Creek to NW Cape Sable - 15 miles - All open water, this is where I got beat to all hell last year and I'm not looking to repeat it. There is not one safe landing in that 15 miles so basically once you start you are commited to finishing, I'm praying for good weather.

02/22 - Day 8A - Canepatch to Watson River Chickee via "The Labyrinth" - 15 miles. Should be an easy day, the only thing to watch out for is paddling through the labyrinth, it is a maze but it will cut significant mileage from the trip.

02/22 - Day 8B - NW Cape Sable to East Cape Sable via Little Sable Creek/Lake Ingraham/East Cape Canal - 16 miles. I've always wanted to explore the inside of Lake Ingraham and until recently there was no way to know if these little unmarked creeks actually lead somewhere: http://gladesgodeep.ning.com/ - This is best site for those of us who enjoy going completely off the map and blazing our trail. The guys who run this site are very helpful fellows and through conversing with them we decided on our final trip. Without this site I would have never chanced paddling into Little Sable Creek or The Wood River as there is just no information out there regarding these little off-the-map areas. This should be the day we see crocodiles as Lake Ingraham is home to the largest population in Florida besides the Turkey Creek cooling canals.

02/23 - Day 9A - East Cape Sable to Flamingo - 11 miles. A good closure to a great trip, this paddle is a breeze as we've done this more than anything else in Everglades National Park...one of us will have to hitch/walk the 5 miles to Coot Bay Pond to get the truck though.

02/23 - Day 9B - Watsons River Chickee to Coot Bay Pond - 12 miles. Finally an easy day...but I know I just jinxed myself though.

Total mileage will be anywhere from 115-130 miles, I can't wait to get the hell out of this concrete jungle.

The Loxahatchee Revisted

2009-02-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

So the front hit on my days off as usual and not to be beaten by the weather gods I decided to drag Lefty out to the Loxahatchee with me. I figured he'd never been there and last week I only paddled up to the first dam and turned around.

It was cold when we hit the water at 7:30am, oddly enough the fish were biting. We paddled upstream into the loxahatchee canal and casting the tiny gold rapala I was catching feisty little bluegills left and right, the occasional bass broke the cycle.

We paddled back downstream and into the river down past the first and second dams and past I-95. The water level was so low it was a completely new experience; I'd never seen the banks of the Loxahatchee before or the bottom for that matter, very picturesque.

On the way back the sun was warming up the sky and the bite really switched on, we found the snook on the return journey and in a 50yd stretch of river I got 16 to the boat, yep 16: Swordspine and common snook, with one of the common snook at nearly 20'' and what a fight on a 4lb test rod! With the drag and me screaming as the little 3lb snook made for the snags along the bottom...I got him though.

We lost track of time the fishing was so good, making it back to the launch around 4:30pm after a long yet satisfying day of catching. I have no idea how many bluegills and bass we caught, I caught one last snook near the put in before calling it a day. Definitely found me a new windy/cold day spot.

Ding Darling - Loxahatchee 01/28-29/08

2009-01-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning me, and my good friends Kenny and Justin were going to Chokoloskee but somehow on the drive there we started talking about Ding Darling and one thing led to another…

We hit Ding at 07:30 and paddled straight out to McIntyre Creek, the trout were everywhere. We could have limited out right then and there but after a few dozen trout we decided to hit the Sound for reds.

We poked around the sound with more trout and no reds, fished the inside of Ding Darling on the way back to the second launch with more trout, trout, trout.

We decided to fish the second launch in order to find some damn redfish, our cooler was nearly full, just enough space for a smaller-slot red once we took our beers out from under the trout slime…nothing like a fishy beer on a hot day let me tell you…

I managed to get a flounder later in the day and a few under-sized mangroves before we called it quits…it seems like the trout were biting all day, they were everywhere, places I don’t usually catch them…guess they were hungry that day.

On Thursday I met up with Palm Beach Pete up in the Loxahatchee, Pete invited me along on his charter and we hit the water at 07:30. The Lox is such a beautiful place, it never ceases to impress me every time I go there: giant cypress, tannin-stained water, and great ultra-light action.

I had to dust off my freshwater gear and through lack of practice when I launched I brought my big saltwater tackle bag instead of my little freshwater box…I fished the whole way the Loxahatchee canal with a tiny terror-eyez watching Pete & co. get bass after bass while I could only manage two little bream. Pete loaned me a little gold rapala for the trip back downstream and only then did I find the snook:

I’ve never caught fat or swordspine snook before and I’m glad to have checked them off the list. I caught 3 little guys and one miniscule snook that wasn’t much bigger than the lure he hit.

We were off the water around noon and I rushed off to pick up my glasses at Costco, and now I have a piercing headache because I think the prescription is too strong…another week with broken lenses…again. It was a great day on the water and thanks to Pete for getting me dust of the micro reels, I’d forgotten how much fun 4lb test was!

South Biscayne Lately...

2009-01-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Been spending more time further south in Biscayne, I usually avoid the area as its simply just too vast to properly fish with a kayak. Sure you may have a great day and really be on the fish sometimes but without the ability to haul ass over to the oceanside flats you lose the ability to truly spend all day fishing for bonefish or permit, stupid permit.

I'm getting sick of chasing these snobby flats fish around, I finally see a big school the other day but I was on a charter so I had to have the cilent take a shot at them. He casted behind them and hooked up...with a jack, the little bastard came in a grabbed from the bonefish, go figure.

It's been nice paddling different areas for a change but I will always prefer the "trout factory" of North Biscayne to the Bonefish/permit tease that is South Biscayne.

South and North Biscayne, failure then success 01/07-08/08

2009-01-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

ahhh, pictures are far better than words.

North Biscayne as always 12/31/08

2008-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

So I ended having to work today...no West coast for me, at least till next week anway. In order to lift my spirits I decided to hit North Biscayne for an bit before work and I'm glad I did.
The trout were all stacked up in the same place they've been for a week or so, moving it seems in 50yd increments across the grass flats in North Biscayne Bay between 79th street and the Julia Tuttle Causeway. An early morning incoming tide has the best bite and today I hit the water around mid-tide at 6:50am.

It took a few strikes before the trout started really connecting with the bone spook jr but it was fun to watch. Nothing big again today, I think the largest was 17'' today, most were around 14''-15'' but fun on light tackle.

The DOA shrimp came after I was tried of missed connections and I staked out behind an island in the lee of the current, casting the shrimp upcurrent and letting it drift down towards me usually ended up with a trout, sometimes a stinky cuda.

I fished till around 8:40, and then high-tailed it back to broward and to work, content with the smell of fish lingering just slightly. Happy New Years to all, see you guys next year.

Short Key Christmas 12/25/08

2008-12-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

Me and the wife decided to go check out Short Key, near Card Sound, on Christmas. We packed a lunch, some Wine, the chairs and headed out of South Dade marina around 9am.

It was blowing alot more than the projected 10knots but we took the sheltered route through the little mangrove tunnels and lagoons so it wasn't too bad...till we hit the cut out to Card Sound, it was breaking around 2'-4' just on shore. I was amazed that Gina took it so well (guess I've "chopped" her out finally), we landed and ate lunch on Short Key.

After a short nap we packed up and decided to take a more direct route through Lewis Cut, circumnavigating 3 of the 5 little lagoons on the way back. The wind was at our backs and we made the paddle back in half the time. I managed to run into quite a few decent-sized trout in Manatee Bay and some little snook in the channels leading into the backcountry. They were hitting the clear/holographic DOA shrimp and DOA Cal white/holographic, a bunch of little jacks too, including one I thought was a huge snook till I saw his flash after a five minute tussle in a tight mangrove creek.

We made it back around 4pm and set off for home...I got my present when I got home: Pentax w60, I've been messing with it all day and I can't wait to get it out somewhere there are pictures worth taking...wish I had it yesterday morning after reading the instruction booklet, it has some pretty cool features.

Gearing Up

2008-12-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

Camping Gear for Long Backcountry Trips

The list of gear needed to spend a somewhat comfortable week or two in the glades can seem pretty daunting…if fact most people just over-pack, and worse they pack items that require special care and let me tell you that in the backcountry the last thing I want to worry about are the “special needs” for my gear: It either stands up or it doesn’t.

With that in mind the simplification of gear is what I strive for, every item in my kit MUST serve at least two purposes or it is merely taking up space as an amenity. Example: Heavy-Duty Emergency Blanket – serves its initial purpose and also works as my tents floor-saver, a clean surface to lay down my gear, and in an emergency can be fashioned to catch and/or hold water. There is no room on a kayak for nonsense on a long trip! It’s supposed to be rough out there and that is really the beauty of it all…it’s simple, primal, basic.

So what do you need? Here are the basic items in the 4 basic categories:

Camp

- Tent (preferably a one-person back-packing tent with a No-seeum mesh -IMPERATIVE!
- Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping Matt (Therma-rest is the way to go)
- Camp Chair
- Flashlight or Headlamp
- Waterproof Matches
- First Aid Kit
- Knife
- Cold Weather Clothes
- Rain Gear
- Spare Rope
- Bug Spray (100% deet, anything else is just a marinade)
- Wash Kit and Soap
- Duct Tape
- Sven Saw (makes gathering firewood a breeze)
- Fire starter (A simple flint and striker set-up will do)

Paddling and Navigation

- Compass (Bring at least 2, I bring 3)
- Charts
- Tide Chart
- Running lights (Incase you have to paddle at night)
- Paddle
- Skirt (Don’t ever attempt a trip without one)
- VHF Radio (for weather updates)
- Spare Paddle
- PFD and Whistle
- Bilge Pump and Sponge
- Paddle Float
- Painter (for tying off your Kayak)
- Dry Bag(s)
- Storm Cag
- Spare Rope

Cooking & Cookware

- Stove (MSR’s Pocket Rocket is about as small as it gets)
- Cookware (I prefer Titanium as it does not rust and conducts heat much quicker than steel thus less cooking time and less fuel used)
- Filet Knife and cutting board (fresh fish dinner)
- Utensils
- Snacks (when you can’t get out of the boat to cook i.e. Cereal bars)
- Collapsible Bucket (For washing cookware, Seattle Sports Kitchen Sink is a great choice)
- Food – This can be done simply or with a bit of extravagance, it all depends on your level of commitment to properly storing your food. I find that anything requiring refrigeration is a huge hassle as you have to bring a cooler and once you’ve consumed the food the cooler is still there and now serves no other purpose but to take up space in your kayak. Canned foods are good choice but can be rather bulky as well, dried food is better but avoid uncooked rice as it takes so long to cook that much cooking fuel will be consumed in the process.

- Water - The heaviest thing in your kayak! Collapsible nagaline or Mylar-lined bags are the way to go. Additonally to those I pack as many plastic water bottles as possible into the little spaces left in my kayak after its been loaded down. You should have at least 1 gallon of water per day, water weighs 8.3lbs per gallon so a loadout for an 8-day trip will have almost 70lbs of water! I prefer Mylar to Nagaline as it doesn't leave an odd taste in your mouth and more importantly it can store wine or liquor! Bring extra water with you if you don't plan on washing yourself in the blackwaters of the ENP.

Fishing

Most kayaks I see on the waterway are touring boats, I have yet to see a fishing kayak deep in the backcountry (mothership trips are an exception) but that doesn’t mean there isn’t good kayak fishing back there…its probably the best fishing gets out of a kayak.

- 3 rods, I feel, is a minimal approach to seriously fishing the backcountry: You don’t want to retie all the time and different areas will call for different presentations…I prefer being prepared.
1. 8-12lb Light rod with 20lb Leader and an 1/8th jighead tipped with a soft plastic (all around rig for casting all day)
2. 12-16lb Medium rod with 40lb Leader and an 3/8th Bucktail Jig (snook killer)
3. 8-12lb Light rod with 30lb Leader and an DOA Shrimp (when a soft presentation is required)
4. Shark Rig – I know I said 3 rods…but this one can go packed away. I usually pack a big spinning reel (7500 or larger) with at least 300-400yards of 50lb braided line. The rod can be stored along the side of the kayak under the rigging, this set-up will come in handy on beach sites along the waterway…there are so many sharks out there the bait rarely sits for more than 10 minutes.

- Spare Line
- Tackle
- Pliers
- Leader
- Fish gripper (makes life much easier)
- Bait Knife
- Small cast net (comes in handy but not at all a requirement)
- Wire Leader and Big Hooks (Sharks)

You will notice I have not mentioned a GPS and there is a good reason for this: Never trust your life to something that runs on batteries! A GPS can come in very handy but I would never trust my navigation to a GPS alone. A compass and chart should always be close at hand and you should be able to navigate with this alone.

These are all items I would never venture into the backcountry without, each serves multiple purposes and all will help to make life out in the sticks just a little bit easier and most importantly, safe.

The Big Trip

2008-12-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Ok...this seems to be a very good back-up to the Swuanee River Maddness trip (the ferry is too costly at this point from Swuanee, FL to Fargo, GA). There are 3 very remote campsites in Everglades National Park: Willy Willy, Camp Lonesome, and Canepatch. They are ground sites located so far up in the Everglades that the water is fresh, I always thought that would be so cool to paddle in from the gulf and spend the night 20 miles inland with sweetwater around me.

The remoteness of the sites causes a problem as they each require a 15-20 mile detour from the Wilderness Waterway. We were supposed to go to Canepatch on the last trip but bad weather shortened the trip and we could not make the extra 20 miles with a 25knot headwind. So in order to truly visit these sites the trip must be long, 7-9 days, and not only that: There is no connection from the river systems leading from Willy Willy to Canepatch...so you have to paddle all the way out to the gulf and then down the coast to come up inland once again (nearly 40 miles in one shot...better to break it up).

I would like to push the most mileage early on in the trip and thus the first few days are all 15 miles or more, the longest paddle will be from Broad River to Canepatch at 20 miles. After this the days will get considerabley less in mileage. Here is the rough outline thus far:

Day 1 - Coot Bay Pond to Oyster Bay Chickee - 15 miles

Day 2 - Oyster Bay Chickee to Highland Beach - 15 miles (Mostly Open Water)

Day 3 - Highland Beach to Willy Willy (via lostmans key/River) - 17 1/2 miles (Some Open Water)

Day 4 - Willy Willy to Broad River Chickee - 15 miles

Day 5 - Broad River Chickee to Canepatch - 20 miles (1/3 Open Water)

Day 6 - Canepatch to Wastson River Chickee - 15 miles

Day 7 - Watsons River Chickee to Hell's Bay Chickee - 12 miles

Day 8 - Hell's Bay to Coot Bay Pond - 9 miles

The other big problem I have is getting someone to tag along with me for 8 days in the back-ass of the backcountry...Flex is the obvious choice as we have done these trips before but now that I work with Flex, and we are the only full-time employee's at the shop it poses a problem in getting the days we will be off covered. Hopefully we can manage this during Feb. The dates that look good thus far are the 16th through the 23rd, now we just have to work on getting 6 days covered at the shop...we shall see.

Keewadin 12/17-18/08

2008-12-18T17:03:00.000-08:00

Launched from Shell Island Road near Marco around 7am, the backcountry was poppin' with ladyfish and Jacks so I didn't stick around long. On the way out I ran into a school of trout in Hurricane Pass, they ripped my last black DOA cal to shreds.

I got to Keewadin around noon and tried to catch some bait...no luck, no mullet, no ladyfish, managed to lose a little snook but thats it. I decided to ride the last half of the tide in to where I was catching ladyfish earlier, managed to work it out pretty well and caught slack tide on the way back out to the beach.

I deployed the shark rig around 5pm, it sat for 5 hours without a nibble, I caught a bluefish and set him out...nothing. I caught a couple of little snook before passing out on the beach under the stars...got woken up at around 3am by the chill wind.

I left the beach around 10am and fished some points with a few tiny snook to show for it. Parked on a flat near Rookery Bay and caught some larger snook around 20'' and thats it, besides the usual throng of ladyfish and jacks. Hopefully I can get to Choko this week and find that damn redfish.

Canoe...

2008-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

Never thought I'd ever like a canoe...and now I am in love with one.

The Fusion 13 from Wenonah - 29lbs of sweet sweet kevlar and the best damn seat I've ever sat in...period.

Jeff has one of the damn things for $858, thats my price of course but I have yet to manage to save $1 for this thing...i'm sure it will be gone soon anyway. He has two new ones on the way, one in Royalex (cheaper and heavier) and another in Kevlar.

I'm just going to milk the thing till its sold or I can figure out away to make $900...wish their were more kayak fishing tournaments down here...

East Cape Sable 12/10-11/08

2008-12-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

somewhat normal
Normal

We set out from Flamingo on wed morning around 08:30: Myself, Matt (Lefty), Kevin and his girlfriend Darlene…Flex was already somewhere out in the bay and would meet us on East Cape at some point.

The weather report called for 15 knot winds out of the SE turning into 20 knots out of the NW the next day…pretty sweet, a push there and back and for once it worked out the way it was supposed to. We had a nice paddle out to East Cape, the water was a cross between chocolate milk and soy sauce…not great for fishing but we tried anyway with nothing but little dinky trout to show for it so we pressed on. Stopped for lunch on Clubhouse beach and then met Flex on East Cape around noon.

I immediately went fishing and considering the water color I stuck a glass rattle in a gulp shrimp and went off walking down the cape. I caught two little tiny trout for my efforts and on my walk back I tossed my jig into a swirl of water that then exploded as line screamed from my little stradic 3000. I tired to apply pressed but didn’t want to snap the 10lb braid and as I’m wondering what the hell kind of fish could do this a 4’-5’ blacktip shot out of the water down the beach. I couldn’t believe the shark hit a gulp, well anyway I tightened the drag down and got my line back.

I came back with the story and we set about catching bait…all we got was one friggin sailcat, can you believe it? No ladyfish, no catfish, nothing…We cut it into three pieces and lost three sharks in a short amount of time…that was it for fishing so we settled into drinking and thought little more of it (except when fins would break the surface near the beach).

I don’t know what time I went to bed but I slept like a dead baby and awoke at 7:30 and watched the sun tack across the sky. The wind picked up around 9am but did not switch to NW, it just came straight out of the South so we figured it was going to a wet ride back. With this in my I went to look for my spray skirt and then realized it was sitting in my truck on the drivers seat…I have a problem with this, I left my skirt behind on the 6-day Flamingo/Sable loop I did last year…luckily it wasn’t freezing cold this time.

We launched off the Cape into 2’-4’ seas that became 3’-5’ near East Cape Canal but then they petered off into the 2’-4’ for the whole ride back, amazingly I managed to stay completely dry. The wind switched after we passed Curry Key and we all felt the temperature drop 10 degrees as we watched the front move in next to us…pretty cool to watch the fronts converging. It was a quick ride back, 2 ½ hours, we loaded up smiling and left smiling so I know everyone had a good time regardless how crappy the fishing was…there will always be next time, always.

Hell's/Pearl Bay 11/19-20/08

2008-11-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

The original plan called for camping up in the Indian River Lagoon spoil islands but with 20-25mph North winds that was out of the question. I've been itching for some backcountry fishing for some time now and I read a report saying the fish were slowly getting into the deep backcountry...so to Hell's Bay we went.

I took a demo boat from the store and crammed all my kit into it the day before just to see if it would all fit, it did, and now I could carry a cooler for beer! not that I would need the cooler to keep the brew cold anyway.

We decided that with the low temps there was no point in getting a pre-dawn start, we filed our backcountry permit at 9am and were on the trail about 45 minutes later. The trail is super-tight in some spots and ungodly beautiful, even with the wind ripping through the mangroves around us the water was dead calm.

It was chilly through-out the day, we saw no signs of life save for one or two herons and a few buzzards...just quiet stillness and clear tannin-stained water with no movement. We made it to Pearl Bay around noon and made lunch, with hot chocolate to warm us up. With scupper plugs I managed to stay pretty dry but my hands were getting wet and went numb pretty quickly, I had to warm them by my stove to regain feeling...I've been in Florida too long.

We explored Pearls Bay, ventured into the East side of Hell's Bay and fished everywhere with only one trout to show for it, a pretty trout though as he had been up in the backcountry so long he turned bronze, pretty cool. We saw what we thought was a school of reds pushing on a flat just before sunset but they were gone just as fast as they came.
The night on the chickee was cold...damn cold, we watched the stars and contemplated ways to catch the tiny snapper we saw roaming underneath the chickee just to say we caught more fish but we got distracted by shooting stars.

The next moring we awoke and watched the sunrise, broke camp, and slowly fished our way back across the larger bays with not one sign of anything moving in the water, anywhere. We took our time paddling back and taking in the scenery, the little kayak I borrowed really made the trip a breeze...had I brought the 15' kayak I would have had a bit rougher of a time, like Matt did...he took it in stride and on the return journey he had it down to a art form.

I was home by 3pm and after a hot shower I made another batch of hot chocolate and fell asleep...can't wait till the next one in December.

Rabbit Key 11/12-13/08

2008-11-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ahhh Rabbit Key...

I love that place, just a short paddle from Chokoloskee and you are in the middle of nowhere. Going during the week ensures that you will here little evidence of civilization save for the occasional motorboat making its way out to their fishing spots. Rabbit Key and Pavilion have quite an interesting history: Rabbit Key is the location where Mr. Watson was buried after he was killed (made famous by the book "Killing Mr. Watson"), on the sandbar protruding from the NE shore, they eventually dug him up and moved him for fear of the body being discovered...oddly enough there are always crows hanging around Rabbit Key and Watsons Place on the Chatham River...no where else in the 10K have I seen crows but in that general area...and I'm not the only one who finds it odd. Pavilion Key was named by a ruthless pirate who kidnapped a beautiful young woman and brought her to an unnamed key to ravish her and eventually poison her. The story claims that after this the pirate felt guiltly about leaving her to die slowly on that deserted island so he built her a shelter and then left her there to die...thus the spanish word for shelter "Pavilion" became the name for the key.

We set out around 7:30am, paddled with a purpose to get out of Rabbit Key pass as the tide was switching at 8:30 and no one wanted to paddle against the incoming. We had originally planned to camp on Pavilion Key but the forecasted 10knot winds were more like 20 with gusts up to 25...no fun over the open bay for the two newbie's I had with me so we stayed on Rabbit Key.

On the way out we hit a few of my spots for snook but found trout, nice sized trout for the 10k, we caught a mess of them over the flats and then landed on Rabbit and made camp. I waded around a bit and produced a pair of reds but nothing else. Later that night we shark fished for hours getting broken off, spooled, and frustrated to no end, I finally managed to subdue a small Bull Shark into taking a few pictures with me...I fell asleep shortly afterword.

The next morning was brisk and windy but the winds had shifted to the south, couple with that and the incoming tide we had a very easy paddle back into Chokoloskee Bay, not much biting as it was the full moon the previous night and the fish had eaten their fill that night. I was at home nappin' on the couch with my weiner dog by 3pm.

A few days of fishing...11/05-07/08

2008-11-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Wed-Thurs-Friday...I went fishing twice up in the Indian River Lagoon by Round Island and this morning I checked out North Biscayne Bay for an hour and a half before work with a nice fat trout to show for it...not much to say, going out again tomorrow with my first actual charter client...lets see how it goes.

Highlights were as follows:

Wed - I caught an inshore slam: Sea Trout, Redfish, and Snook. Tim got a nice red at 26''

Thursday - Freezing...thats all.

Friday - big trout, for North Bay anyway.

Indian River Lagoon 10/23/08

2008-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have this disease, its a terrible affliction that doesn't allow me to go one week without fishing...so even with the report calling for 30-70% rain all over the Southern half of this state and winds from 15-25 knots predicted still only means one thing: its time to go fishing.
There is some rational behind my thinking, sometimes, but in todays case i figured the cooler temperatures and slackened rainfall last week may have:

a) allowed some salinity to return to inshore waters

b) start the trickle of trout back down South

c) clouds keep the flats cool and the bite would last longer

So with this in mind we paddled out into the chop and fished potholes and ledges with only jacks to show for it, decent sized jacks, at least bigger than usual anyway. The early morning bite was just jack after jack, finally around 9am the trout started biting, I lost the biggest one at the boat, caught a couple in the 16''-18'' range, a short mutton, a snooklet, and a new personal record: Smallest Snook I've ever caught.
All in all it was a nice day on the water despite the wind, it didn't rain all day although it threatened to do so all day...all I can say is that god for stakeout poles.

Cape Romano 10/15-16/08

2008-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love the 10,000 Islands! Cape Romano was one of the first places i went to in my kayak, glad to return to it with better gear and the right tackle for those bull redfish found off its beaches. Me and my buddy Matt set out from Goodland at 6:30am and the water in the backcountry was quite milky...no good for fishing so we started heading out on our 10 mile journey to the Cape. The wind was blowing pretty good at our backs and we made great time till the tide switched on us. When we hit Blind Pass we had to paddle through that channel with the tide pushing us out...f-ing brutal, paddling as hard as you can to move only a few feet, we eventually made it out to the gulf and its calm swells protected from those Eastern winds.

We paddled down to the cape and settled in for a relaxing evening of fishing, made lunch, took a nap, woke up and explored the tidal creeks and lagoons found on the cape. Cape Romano and Kice Island were slated for development back in the 20's before the depression. A man by the name of Kice owned the islands and one day a younger fella name Dickman convinced Kice he would watch over the islands for him till they were developed...after the stock market crash and the first of many property crashes in FL the islands were forgotten and so was Dickman. Dickman lived on Kice/Cape Romano for oer 30 years! His family had been searching for him and eventually tracked him to Kice Island. When Kice and Cape Romano they found no one save a lonely fisherman on the beach: they asked him if he had seen a hermit living on this island to which the fisherman replied "i've been here 30 years and i've never seen him"...a joke only a hermit could make.

After awaking and exploring and have some beer we pitched lines into the water and BLAM it began. Big Bull Redfish one after another, they hit on DOA cal, Gulp shrimp and jerk shads, live mullet, dying mullet, dead mullet, and cut ladyfish chunks...they were hungry. After the sun went down it became a bluefish/huge jack blitz...these friggin jacks were so big you'd think you hooked a shark...we had to take breaks from fishing because of the pain in our wrists, awesome.

Eventually the tide went completely out and nothing but ladyfish and jacks were biting so we went to sleep with the temperature getting around 69 degrees, wonderful for sleeping on a beach at night and not a cloud in the sky! Woke up around 7am and fished with just more jacks and ladies to show for it.

We packed it up slow and headed out around 11am, we paddled against the wind but with the tide this time and it was easier but there were a few open crossing that nearly did us in...it sucks when tide and wind meet and when they are going in opposite directions: Standing waves, usually something i love but not when i have a 10 mile paddle through it...we made it though no worse for the wear, I was showered and fed at home by 5:30pm...going to Pavilion Key next full moon!

Dania Beach - 10/09/08

2008-10-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Decided to make a few casts off the beach inbetween rain showers today...didn't look too good when i got there and with all the rain i didn't expect anything but some little jacks, which, didn't let me down. As i was going through my "ok, last cast" routine in m head i felt the familar thump of a snook got my attention. I lost him on his second jump, nothing huge but that made me keeping plugging on through the light rain and i was rewarded with a nice Dania schoolie, i packed it in after...i've learned to leave while i'm ahead and the lightning just offshore reminded me of that.

Big Pine Key/Newfound Harbor 10/08/08

2008-10-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

I had been glancing at this litte area through google earth for quite some time: Newfound Harbor - a sheltered shallow bay on the atlantic side of Big Pine Key. Besides being sheltered from the prevailing East winds it is home to the shallowest patch reef in the US with one head of coral a 1/4 mile around in 15-20' of water...pretty cool looking place...its just 3 hours away so i just never got the motivation to head down there.

My sister is visiting from back home in Geneve and so the perfect opportunity had presented itself...off we went at 4am from Miramar down to Big Pine. We got there a bit early and passed out for a short time in the truck, we ended up launching a little after 8am from Long Beach Drive. The launch is just a little hole carved out of the mangrove rimmed shoreline, we passed it twice.

It was a beautiful day with winds less than 10 knots and no rain in site, the water was crystal clear and filled with bait and fish. We poked around the inside of the bay all the way down to Big Munson Island (owned by the boy scouts) and went creekin' around the interior, had lunch on a sandy bank and paddled back along the Atlantic side of the islands. I believe we travelled about 12 miles through the day although it really didn't feel like it.

The inside of the bay is a shark nursery and all throughout the day we would see small fins breaking the surface on the shallow flats. We caught the usual variety of fish: Mangrove Snapper, Grunts, Barracudas, and jacks...no bonefish, they ellude me still.

On the way back out of the keys we stopped at Ohio Channel and the bridge near Tom's Harbor Keys, i forget what its called...anyway we limited out on snapper and i caught a Cero Mackerel. We stuffed our faces at the cracker barrel and it was glorious...i passed at out around 11pm and slept like a wee baby...definately will be returning there with snorkel gear and motivation won't be a problem next time.

North Biscayne Bay...a bit early still 10/05/08

2008-10-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Decided to check out the spec bite in north bay today, rain stopped just as i woke up and stayed out of my way all morning, bay was a little choppy but i barreled through it trying to find the schools but could only come up with about a dozen trout and the mixed bag of junkfish (lizardfish, jacks, grunts, under-sized mangroves). A couple of trout were just under 15'' but i think i may wait until November before poking around there again...water is still too hot.

Almost skunked at matheson...again 10/03/08

2008-10-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Only got to fish one day...it was a terible day, we were going to hit up the IRL with less than 5mph winds and no rain all day, perfect conditions...of course my truck didn't start, Lefty rolled with the punches and drove all the way down here from Wellington to hit up matheson. We hit the water at day break and fished all over with no bones, tarpon, or even cudas in sight. I managed two jacks and a fiesty mutton that made me think i had something good on for a minute...next week, i'm due, $400 worth of repairs to the truck you bet i'm due.

Dania Beach - 09/25/08

2008-10-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hit the beach this morning and caught and released half a dozen under-slot snook, great fun on 10lb braid and my little fin-nor 1000.

First Slot of the Season - 09/17/08

2008-10-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Finally...getting harder to nail them in that slot every season, of course the day before the season opens i caught two around 30'' but of course the next day those fish disappear...too damn smart for my own good.

Indian River Lagoon - 09/16/08

2008-10-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Damn bluefish! retied countless times, got a few to the boat but they are mean suckers...didn't want anything to do with those snappy bastards, got a snook, baby gags, jumped a poon, a couple of almost legal specs, and caught some jacks. Not a great day but better than nothing at all...summer needs to end soon, real soon...i'm itching for fall and winter fishing.

Ocean Kayak Trident 11 Review - 08/28/08

2008-10-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Ocean Kayak Trident 11

Ocean Kayak’s Prowler line seems to be one of the more popular kayak designs around, everywhere I fish I run into a fellow yakker and their Prowler 13, 15, Prowler Big Game and the Prowler Trident 15. Well now Ocean Kayak has released two new additions to the Trident line of boats: the totally new Trident 11 and the Trident 13, with the Rod-Pod option (this allows for storage of fully rigged rods inside of the kayak itself).

The Trident 11 seemed like a neat little boat when I first saw it, relatively light-weight at 54lbs (fully loaded with rod-pod), and it is the widest of the Trident line at 30.5’’. This extra width makes for a small stable craft with amazing storage capacity . With the rod-pod spearfishermen can store their guns and catch, the rear tank-well is large enough to handle tank and BC so it’s not just for hook and line fishermen!

Before even paddling the boat we discussed how it could replace a solo canoe in the backcountry as it has a lot of storage and maneuverability, we will put this to the test in Hell’s Bay when the weather cools.

We first took the boats out in the ICW in Hollywood , FL for a test paddle Sunday morning and those present were quite impressed with the Trident 11. I usually find that 11’ kayaks will be sluggish, especially a wide kayak but surprisingly the Trident 11 responded quite well, even against the tide and wind. As a testament to its stability we jumped from the 11 to 13 several times on the water, you can actually stand two people on the 11 without sinking it, although I wouldn’t recommend it. I found it an incredibly dry ride at 6’1’’ 175lbs and some of the heavier paddlers who tested it that day mentioned the same thing, it’s great to have a kayak that accommodates a wide spectrum of paddlers.

As with all new Ocean Kayak boats the Trident 11 Sport Line model comes with a seat, perimeter lines, tank-well bungee, and carry handles, the Angler model comes with the rod-pod and flush-mount rod-holders but you may opt to save money and install the rod-pod yourself with the rod-holders of your choosing. Adjustable foot braces are a new standard for the Tridents 11 and 13 and definitely a welcome change as not everyone’s feet sat comfortably in the former fixed-position plastic foot braces.

The kayak paddled well, so it was time to head down to Flamingo and fish. I purposely planned a slightly ambitious trip for the Trident 11 test: Paddle halfway up into Snake Bight and then fish around Joe Kemp Key on our return, 7 miles round trip. I also paddled with a good friend who fishes out of the Trident 15; I assumed he would be waiting up for me most of the day but that would not be the case.

We arrived in Flamingo around 6:30am and launched through a hail of mosquitos, once we were out of the marina they slowly dissipated and I made a cast towards the shore and pulled a nice snook out of the mangroves…a good sign from the fish gods. I paddled the Trident 11 along the shore with great ease and marveled at how quiet the craft was while slowly poking along the mangroves. With Tarpon rolling around us and the sun just peeking over the horizon of
Florida Bay , you can’t help but pause and absorb it all for a moment…till the next tarpon rolls next to your boat and the hunting instincts kick in.

We made our way into Snake Bight and the Trident 11 had no trouble keeping up with its much larger cousin, I still found it hard to believe but this little boat has glide to it .Combine the good glide with a good paddle and this boat really moves. Snake Bight was deserted and we drifted and fished our way down to, and around, Joe Kemp Key with a few more small snook to show for it. I loved having the ability to stand and search for fish, I was spotting schools of mullet in the distance…just a shame there were no reds to be found. We called it a day around 11am, the paddle back was a breeze with the wind at our backs.

The long drive back from Flamingo gives one time to reflect on the day and the more I thought about the Trident 11 the more I liked the boat. It has everything I want out of a fishing kayak minus the heft and weight of the larger boats. It is a comfortable boat, it’s a stable boat, it has a ton of storage space, and it tracks very well. The only thing I noticed about the kayak was the larger scupper hole (made larger to accommodate the transducer) in the front made quite a racket when I attempted to paddle at speed. This is a minor complaint that is easily fixed with the addition of scupper plugs.

Ocean Kayak really hit a home run with the Trident 11; it’s a great platform for fishing or diving and even those just seeking a quiet cruise through our great states many waterways. The Tridents MSRP starts at $799 and the rod-pod retails for $84.95, I’d imagine this will be a great alternative for those who want the storage and convenience of the rod-pod but don’t want to spend more than $1,000 on the Trident 15. All in all I would highly recommend this kayak to anyone looking to get into the sport and for those old salts who want a kayak fishing machine in a more compact package, Tight lines.

Trident 11
Length:
Width: 30.5”
Weight: 54lbs

MSRP
Sport Line: $799
Sport Line Angler: $909.00
Sport Line Angler with rudder: $1139.00

Options:
Rod Pod Hatch Kit for the Sport Line: $84.95

Dania Beach - 08/26/08

2008-10-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hit Dania this morning and was had a great time messing with the schoolies...they were chewing up until 7am when the little jacks showed up, couldn't get a thing past them after that. Ended up with 9 snook to 25'', lost a few more, several jacks as well. Great no-seeum bite this morning too but the snook made it tolerable. Things can only heat up from here, i await the bait run and the maddness that will follow.

Fairchild Tropical Gardens - 08/25/08

2008-10-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

We had maybe an hour to walk around before it rained...still pretty cool though and it was their last free weekend...then they shoot back up to amusement park prices: if their ain't no roller-coasters it ain't no amusement park!

South Biscayne Sunrise - 08/16/08

2008-10-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

enjoy

Ft Pierce/Round Island - 08/13/08

2008-10-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

The morning was a sad affair on the flats, small fish, trash fish, sometimes no fish...but this time i brought shrimp in order to full-fill my quest to get some Tripletail from the kayak. I managed one keeper TT and invited some of his snapper friends home for dinner, all in all had a great late morning bite and i slept away the afternoon like a bum, tomorrow matheson and poons!

Dry Tortugas - 04/05-07/08

2008-10-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the late post, i know its out of order...only by two months though...

Ahhh the Tortugas... Me and my fiance left Hollywood around 7pm on thursday, took our time down to Key West with a stop for dinner along the way, got there around 12:30am...drank till the bars closed and then passed out in the truck till boarding time @ 7am. The ride out was a bit rough, seas were 6-8ft and there were plenty of people losing their lunches around me which was not at all enjoyable but after two and a half hours we arrived at garden key and set-up shop for the next three nights.

Day 1 After setting up camp we made lunch and then Gina took a nap and i, hopped up like a 5 year old, went to scout for fish with the lightest tackle i brought (calcutta 150 - 7ft plugstick - 12lb mono) and some DOA shrimp, glow of course. I found plenty of fiesty mangrove snapper ready to smack the arties and a 15'' mangrove will rip drag and rock you up in a second. The wind was a bit much for kayak fishing so we opted for exploring the fort and when the boats left settled in for some early afternoon dock fishing.

I spotted tarpon cruising in the channel between bush and garden key so i broke out the big stick (Fin-nor 16 - 7ft beating stick - 30lb mono) and started chucking stuff at them...no luck, tried topwaters, jigs, plugs, everything...then i broke out a single ballyhoo and butterflied it, tossed it with no weight and sure enough BAM right after hitting the water. I got the thing up to shore and saw that i hooked him right in the corner of the mouth and so i picked him up and he smacked me right in the face with his tail and i dropped him in the sand, i popped out the hook and after a quick revive he swam off to look for more ballyhoo.

We ate dinner, skirt steak, and of course...went night fishing after watching the sunset on the spot where i proposed last year. Between the nice-sized mangroves there were massive goliaths! we went 2-3, losing the monster around around a piling. The smallest one we got near the beach for pics, he was around 100-150lbs, the 250-300lb fella we brought up to the dock for a shot, and the monster...well they always get away. We never took the goliaths out of the water, and from speaking with rangers there, who watched me me toy with them all weekend long, there was no problem with that...they stopped biting on ballyhoo after that night anyway!

Day 2 I woke up early to take pictures of the sunrise. We had a nice breakfast of potatoes and bacon while watching the seaplanes fly in and out again. Spent the day relaxing, fishing, taking pictures...it was still blowing 20-25 and the fishing was fine from shore, where did i have to be anyway? no rush, had a few nice ales and took long nap while the boats and the day-trippers were there, and when they left we went fishing. The muttons started biting, I was catching all shorts (squid) and then Gina has to come show me up by getting one at 16'' 1/4, he was dinner that night.

Day 3 Awoke to early morning fishing...there were some massive mangroves i'd been seeing under the dock but i couldn't get them to touch anything...so i hatched a plan: i went to the dock with a few chunks of ballyhoo and a 6ft 20lb leader, i crawled near the edge making sure not to make any heavy movements and i pitched the bait over the side...wham! After that the wind died finally and i grabbed the long-haired bovine and went exploring. I didn't do to well though, a few cudas, and then my yo-zuri got rocked by a big dark shadow that ran for deep water and when i clamped down on the drag SNAP there goes my St. Croix. I paddled out to the reefs and then made my way back, defeated by the ocean and its deziens...Gina got some cool shots though. And of course and the last night it rained...alot, i had limited fishing time but i did manged to make a nice catch: 6 1/2 - 7ft nurse shark.

Day 4 Hate leaving...but you got to do it, we explored and ate, i fished and lost another big goliath. We set sail @ 3pm and saw the last of the Tortugas with Hospital Key on the way out. We got home around 10pm, the fish were set-out (9 snapper - minus one for that mutton we ate) and we passed out, dead-tired, but content, we'll be back again soon.

Return to our island, Florida Bay 07/16-17/08

2008-10-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

We set out at around noon and took our time getting there, checked out johnson key(site of a future chickee in Florida Bay!), fished some markers on the way out with some snappers and trout but no tripletail.

We started drinking on the way out and by the time we got to our island we were nicely sauced and did not really notice how bad the bugs were, it was still light out around 7:30pm.

We set-up camp and kept drinking, all the while smacking at what we thought were gnats, we caught some reds and sharks, small snook, and tons of ladyfish (shark bait)...the wind died around midnight and then the bugs went crazy. We tried to take it, we hid in our tents but the stifling heat was too much to take so we had a conference from inside our tents on what to do...four drunk idiots yelling at each other from inside their tents, this is what we decided: Drink to you can't feel anything...and we did.

I got up in the early morning with a nice breeze and tailing redfish around the key, i made a few casts, landed a few reds and then we set off to flamingo.

Lighthouse Point 06/30/08

2008-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Headed out of the inlet to see if we could surf standing waves...didn't work out but got some nice pics.

Indian River Lagoon 06/25/08

2008-10-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Big snook today! Crushed a 17mr mirrodine twitched slow across a pothole, i thought i had hooked a huge redfish the way the fish stayed down, thank god she didn't jump. She was 42'' and estimated at just around 20lbs, thus far my biggest snook from the kayak, by 6lbs and 8'.

After fishing in the morning me, Rick, and Kenny decided to check out the Loxahatchee...its such a beautiful river i never get tried of going. We paddled up to the second damn and turned around after chiefin' for a bit along the banks of the river and under the shade of strangler-fig enveloped live oaks...i love Florida.

Keewadin Island 06/11-12/08

2008-10-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

We launched from shell island road at around 7am, later than originally planned of course...
There was no wind in rookery bay and so the mosquitos followed us everywhere, we headed out for hurricane pass instead of poking around the bay to avoid the bugs.

Hurricane pass was filled, literally stacked, with bait and snook. There were little conglomerations of snook everywhere, in groups of 3 or as many as 30, cruising the shores of the pass and Keewadin itself.

They were all little and wouldn't touch a thing we threw at them, the water was ultra-clear and not helping the situation. With no luck from the boats we settled in, ate, enjoyed a adult beverage or two and had a nap (a finer way of saying we got drunk n' passed out).

I got up at some point and took ricks boat out for a spin, the sun was blazing so i didn't stay out long, got a trout at 19'' though, only fish from the kayak the whole trip...then i made dinner and passed out again, sun takes it out of you. We started fishing around 6 or 7, i don't really remember but it was non-stop catchin' for a while. At first we were catching trout left and right, 18-21'' mostly, with a few little snook thrown in. In the half hour before the sun set the snook went nuts, we estimated we got 40-50 snooklets that night between the both of us, most in that 30-45 minute window before dark.

We fished until about 9pm, the bite completely died around then and we ran out of beer, with the fuel source cut-off we slowly grinded to a halt and fell asleep, stinking of fish and contentment.

The next morning i fished for a bit and got a few more snook the sun came up, nothing big again... at eight we booked it to shell island and made the 5 mile paddle in a little over an hour, home by 11:30am and now i'm going to help my mother in law move her condo...sleep is for the weak.

Everglades City/Lane Cove 05/28/08

2008-10-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hit the water at 6am from the ranger station and paddled straight across the bay to the oyster reefs west of everglades city. We started catching snook immediately, nothing big, but what they lacked in size they made up for numbers. The bite was strong for an hour or so, the bulk of the snook were 20-22inches,a few tiny ones here and there, no reds :banghead: but i brought home two 16-17'' trout for dinner. We were off the water by ten and i was back nappin' at 12:30, next time i'm going to paddle straight for lane cove and check that out...need to find redfish

Ding Darling/North Biscayne 05/21-22/08

2008-10-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Finally! two days off in a row, i've been wedding planning, getting married, honeymooning, and bascially going nuts for a month now...it was time to fish. I hit Ding Darling on Wed. @ 07:30, paddled out to McIntrye Creek and pulled a few little snook and between me a my buddy Ken we got around 3 dozen specs...little guys though. No reds in sight, we tossed gulp in new penny & nuclear chicken along with DOA Cal and 17MR's...no reds, i was off the water by 1pm.

I woke up on Thursday feeling bored and i didn't feel like doing anything i was supposed to get done that morning so i headed down to North Biscayne to see how the fish were biting. I tossed the big skitter walk for an hour with nothing but 3 Cuda's to show for it, i put on a little curly tail jig and caught a few little trout until 10am when it was just too hot to be out, went home, went to sleep and let the rain clean my kayak for me.

Not the best days of fishing but for someone who hasn't been able to really fish in a month it was bordering on orgasmic...i don't care how weird that sounds...tight lines.

Our Private Island (Florida Bay) 04/19-20/08

2008-10-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry to do this but I have only one honey hole, from the pics maybe someone will figure it out since I’m not going to “black out” any landmarks…but I’m not going to say where this is as it is my one and only secret spot, I hope that’s ok. The remoteness of this spot protects it, the shallow water around this spot also helps keep even the skinniest of flats boats from getting anywhere near this remote key…its also a very long paddle from Flamingo, but the redfish make it worth the trip. We set out around 11:30 from Flamingo and set straight out for our objective, it took well into the afternoon to reach and we traveled at about an average speed of 5 knots (Pat kept tabs on his GPS), the conditions were beautiful with a very minimal chop.

We landed and made dinner, explored for a little while and then me and rick headed out for some fishing on the surrounding flats. We were catching little Jacks and Ladyfish like crazy and both rick and I lost pair of snook on the jump. I managed a Red and some nice shots of the sunset and we headed back in…had to drag the boats across mud for about 200yds…tide snuck out on us.

The full moon makes for crazy tides, we could walk out for hundreds of yards on the exposed flats, I messed around with the exposures while we waited for the tide roll back in and flood these flats again and bring in the big reds that hang around out there...they came after midnight.

We stopped taking pictures as they all looked about the same: 24-34’’ fat and feisty. We fished till they stopped biting at around 3 or 4am, I have no idea how many we caught, it was a great night of fishing, they were hitting anything we threw out there (DOA Cal was the favorite though – white), lost a few to sharks and the memorable lost fish was a 40’’ plus snook that jumped off less than a few feet from shore.

I slept till about 08:30 and then we had breakfast, broke camp, and paddled out of the flats with the tide, fished for a bit with a ton of little jacks biting but nothing else, we made it home in record time as it was glass on the bay.

North Biscayne Bay Trout Maddness - 03/12/08

2008-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

It was one of those days at morningside today, i managed to seek out of work early and make it down to morningside by 4:30 and the tide was moving nicely with the wind just at 10 knots, beautiful.

Couple of casts with the rootbeer terroreyez and i started landing trout after trout, mostly 14-16 inchers but as the tide starting moving out more i drifted over a little patch of flat that was bubbling with specs, nice sized ones too and i limited out with 4 nice trout by 6:30 and i paddled back to the launch.

I loaded the fish in my cooler in my truck and then thought "what a crime to leave the biting like that" especially when its just a 5 minute paddle back into the fray. So i made my way back and caught and released at least a dozen more trout around 15-18 topped off by the biggest of the day right next to the launch, a nice 21' but fat, most likely a female ready spawn so i quickly landed and took a pic and she went back to lay her eggs.

got off the water @ 7:15 and I just finished polishing off some a few heady ales and beer-battered trout, i'm going to sleep deeply and contently tonight. The bite is hot and i'm sure with the nice temp it will be again tomorrow and the winds are supposed to be nice, tight lines.

Flamingo/Cape Sable/Whitewater Bay Loop 02/24-29/08

2008-10-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - Flamingo - Clubhouse Beach - We arrived at Flamingo @ 10:00, i was packed and on the water with 160lbs of gear and water ready to fish flamingo for a bit while the other guys accompanying me on the trip were getting ready. I headed to Bradley Key and got nothing but Ladyfish and small jacks, didn't see my party anywhere, somehow we missed each other and i decided to move on to the next campsite early the next morning to find them. I spent the night @ Clubhouse beach, alone.

Day 2 - Clubhouse Beach - NW Cape - Hit the water @ 05:00 and paddled through some sharky water to the cape, i spooked quite a few in the shallows that made me question going on alone in the morning fog, then i came to East Cape Canal and witinessed schools of mullet being worked by something big, i came with rod in hand expecting tarpon but was greeted by more sharks. I dashed it to East Cape and the bull sharks prowling the shallows were replaced by snook
patroling the beaches, tons of snook, I landed and broke out the light tackle. I started off with 1 of the only two not slot sized snook of the whole trip, then started catching slot sized fish after slot sized fish, some little reds, trout up to 20'', look-downs, jacks, all morning long, what a blast, all fish caught on rootbeer terror-eyez (plugs and buzzbaits were not producing). Around 15:00, as i was deciding when i should head back to flamingo, i see both Flex and Pat rounding the
bend of East Cape, the trip was back on! for me anyway, apparently they headed out to Karl Ross and got stuck @ low tide, no harm no foul i thought and we paddled to NW Cape @ 16:00 with massive tarpon breaking the whole paddle long, i mean big 80-100lb fish everywhere about 1/2 mile off the beaches of middle and NW Cape...got there as the sun set.

Day 3 - NW Cape - Graveyard Creek - Woke up to beautiful sunrise and more snook, all on the terroreyez today, i fished from 06:15-08:00 and caught about 20 fish, with only one under slot, i couldn't believe it, and only snook! no more slams for me. We had a nice long paddle and we knew there was front coming through but we did not expect 6-8ft seas and 15-20 knot winds, it was a rough haul but we made it to Graveyard by 16:00, tried to dry off and settled in for the night of wind and rain.

Day 4 - Graveyard Creek - Oyster Bay chickee - rough night of thunderstorms to a overcast morning and a rough crossing of Ponce De Leon Bay, we had a short paddle to Oyster Bay through the little Shark River and we shivered away that night on the chickee - no fishing today but a amazing blue-ish sunset.

Day 5 - Predicted winds of 20knots did not materialize, beautiful day with 10knot winds, we pushed down to south Joe River chickee, didn't fish much and all i got were ladies anyway, froze through this night as well, the stars managed to keep us out of our tents for a little while though.

Day 6 - South Joe River Chickee - Flamingo - Caught one fish from the Chickee, a silver trout, thats about it, the rest of the day was paddling: 10 miles in the face of 20-25knot East winds - thats all i'll say, i don't even want to think about it, had some cold Beer and gatorade as soon as i landed @ 15:00 and then we hauled it home in record time, i think the final mileage was 75 or so, we didn't make it to cane patch because of the weather but it was still an amazing experience and i highly reccomend it to anyone and everyone...words can not really do justice, or my pics for that matter but enjoy anyway.

Chokoloskee/Rabbit Key 02/16/08

2008-10-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Work ran late and i didn't get on the road till 10am, me and Rick were on the water in Chokoloskee @ 12:30 after various delays, we paddled straight out to the area of turtle key and started fishing, i nailed 2 little snook on glow DOA shrimp then got rocked by something that shredded through my 25lb leader, switched to my new Snookin' Rod (St Croix Tidewater 8ft) and i lost a nice snook in the same spot on a bucktail. Switched back to the light tackle after a while and got another little snook on a rootbeer terror eyez. We paddled down near Rabbit Key and got into a mess of trout, nice ones too, the smallest was 15' with most being around 18' or so, we left them biting to have a few beers on the beach and paddled back with the sun setting behind us, great day on the water, but it always seems like a great day in the 10,000 islands.

North Biscayne Bay - hook removal and nice snook- 02/09/08

2008-10-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Me and my buddy rick met Matt down at morningside park this morning around 10:00am hoping for trout, we fished the rapidly slacking tide with a few cudas to
show for it. Made our way along the bay fishing islands and channels when my mirrodine gets rocked by a snook, a huge snook (for me anyway), he towed me around for 10 minutes before i could get him to the boat with 2 heartstopping jumps thrown in for good measure and when i finally reached for him he gave out one last shake that firmly sunk the trebles into my point finger...I was so amped about landing this fish i ripped out the hook so i could firmly grasp this fish...i gave a quick measure on the FS sticker on the side of my kayak and it
went just over the length of the sticker itself (36")...Lefty came a got a reading on the Boga at 13.5lbs or so, my best snook thus far, never had anything rip line out
of my calcutta like that...awesome. The fish swam away strong and we fished the rest of that bay with nothing to show for it but cudas, we were off the water by 2pm.

Ding Darling mini-slam 01/23/08

2008-10-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

I was on the water at the first launch at 8:10 and i headed straight out to
McIntrye Creek to check out this reputed "trout hole"...more like a trout orgy,
practically every single cast from 8:30-09:30 landed a fish, i took pictures of the
first five in a row and then i stopped counting or taking pictures, i went through
two DOA rootbeer shrimp before i switched to a terror eyez and with the added
depth i started nailing brigger trout, nothing over 20" though. I eventually got
bored after who knows how many trout and decided to chase down the slam, i
worked the points and holes and was rewarded with a small red and snook, both
on the terroreyez, i was off the water by 2pm, home by 5:30, and now i'm going
to go fry the two specs i brought home. Not the biggest fish but i sure did have a
nice time out on the water

Rabbit Key Pass 01/15/08

2008-10-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

It was cold...i had sweat pants on for a good part of the morning...
the marina was not open when we arrived @ 6am, we slept for an
hour in the truck questioning whether it was worth it to go fish when the fish may
very well be frozen. We launched at 7:15 and fished the mouth of the turner
river, Ken got a nice trout, the only keeper for the whole day, i long range
released a few ladies and we headed out to rabbit key pass at around 10am, we
took our time and fished points and channels along the way with terror eyez, doa
shrimp, and gulp shrimp and produced nothing but ladyfish and a few small jacks.
Rabbit Key was no better but by this time the sun had warmed the water and we
managed a nice back to back Snook near Turtle Key. Kens was on Gulp Shrimp,
mine on a rootbeer terror eyez, i said i was going fishing no matter what, glad i
did.

Chokoloskee Bay 12-22-07

2008-10-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

I usually work all morning and into the afternoon on weekends but i got lucky and got off at 10am saturday morning so on a whim i loaded the yak on the truck and was choko bound but on the way i ran into a good friend of mine going fishing as well while at the gas station, he was taking a little rinky-dink 9ft "uncle Buck" boat to a little lake for some bass fishing, i told him he needed to come out to choko and feel a redfish pull on the end of his line and after some discussion we decided it was better to try out the little boat than to rent another kayak as we would have to return to the dock at a certain time...i hate restrictions, so with less than 10 knot winds we figured it'd be okay.

I guess i never stopped to think what the incoming tide would do against a 30volt trolling motor on a plastic bathtub with 425-450lbs ontop of it. Well as you can imagine we had a top speed of about .05 knots, it was pitiful, from the marina it took us an hour and a half to reach the oyster bars just off the southern choko coastline. Along the way though we hit a school of jacks which distracted us from the agonizingly slow speed of our craft. We hit the bars with d.o.a. shrimp (rootbeer) and i got a ladyfish, a few trout, but no reds, bobby lost a few trout at the boat and landed one, he was using gulp shrimp. On the crawl back to the marina i casted a silver x-rap and caught the biggest jack of the day right before calling it a day. i will stick to the kayak from now on, no matter what.

Islamorada bridge fishing 12-01-07

2008-10-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm one of those people who rides around with at least 2 fishing rods at all times; a plug pole and a heavier spinning outfit...and my shrimp shak (my woman tells me its a problem) just incase i get time during the day to wet the line. I was working all this weekend and did not think i'd have the chance but on saturday i finished work much earlier than expected and so me and my fiance headed on down to Islamorada and fished the first bridge, my first time fishing from a bridge in years and years. Using live shrimp we had pretty much non-stop action through-out the whole afternoon. Mostly undersized yellowtails, muttons, and the ever-present jack crevalle but we did manage a just-barely keeper mutton, a little flag, and the biggest lanes i've ever caught, averaging about 10-12 inches each. In Ft lauderdale i can't even catch the 8 inchers', had some key lime pie on the way home, gotta love the keys

Rabbit Key with the Family 11/18/07

2008-10-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

My Sister is visiting from back home so i rented a tandem for her and my father in glade havens and we set out around 8am from Chokoloskee bound for Rabbit Key. I brought my gear along to be prepared to cast at anything i saw in my path, wasn't seriously fishing, more of a paddling day but in Choko its hard to refrain. When we got to Rabbit key my sister and father landed and i went to check out a grassflat near the island, first cast with my trusty rootbeer gulp shrimp - 25 inch trout, as i was unhooking him he squirmed and i lost him, he flipped around the kayak with me frantically trying to grab my dinner only to plop right back in the water with me nearly rolling in a vain attempt to grab him in the water. 2nd cast, 16 inch trout, let him go, wanted another nice sized trout but unfortunately all i managed was a dozen or more hookups with ladyfish. I waded around the shore of Rabbit Key and produced a few slot reds, interesting coloration and almost identical spots on all of them, silver except for the blue on the tail. We headed back around 3pm, followed some dolphins around Chokoloskee Bay for a while, then i introduced my sister to those wings @ the seafood depot in Everglades City...all in all a great day with the family and the fish.

First Dry Tortugas Trip 10/27-28/07

2008-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

What an experience this was, i had heard about that Dry Tortugas from my father as a child and it always stuck with me...somewhere i had to see. It happened on a whim as well; Ihad been trying to convince Gina, my girlfriend at the time (soon to be fiance...i asked her to marry me on the island), to camp with me but in Florida we have mosquitos everywhere and she would freak out within a few hours in the Everglades...so the Dry Tortugas lie 70 miles West of Key West and have no freshwater thus no bugs, we cleared a weekend and set off for the keys...on fantasy fest weekend.

We left Hollywood at 7pm on friday, got to Fantasy Fest at around 1am, walked around till I couldn't feel my legs or feelings anymore...saw too much for my own comfort...passed out in the truck for 2 hours or so, boarded the Sunny Days Catamarran @ 7am and after a calm two and a half hour boat ride we arrived on Garden Key and made our camp on the Western approach of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built by the US of over a period of more than 60 years, finally completed after the civil war it was soon absolete due to the advent of rifled artillery. If I had been involved in the american civil war I sorely would press to be station at the fort...the 60 or so artillery men staioned here for the duration of war had it pretty good apart from troubles with balky de-salinizers and sunburn..better than the poor fools dying by the thousands on the continent.

Garden Key was practically deserted when the ferry left at 2:30pm, with all the day trippers gone it was just us and another couple, a whole island to ourselves. Exploring the Fort and napping under the shade of trees on sugar sand was definately what my over-worked mind needed. At the time i had been working on-call and with a 24-hour phone line routed to my cellphone almost 96 hours a week...i needed this.

Fishing was incredible, it was a full moon and this aided the already pristine conditions found on the key. I had brought my kayak but the winds were around 20-25 knots so i opted for fishing from the pier. I had brought light tackle as i expected to be catching jacks and snappers, nothing that my standard 12-15lb tackles couldn't handle...i was wrong. I was also foolish in not bringing enougb bait, i thought the brick of squid, frozen shrimp, and 2 dozen fresh balao would be enough...i was wrong.

The second yellowtail Gina hooked into gets swallowed by a massive goliath grouper, she fought it on 20lb spin tackle for 20 minutes of so before it wrapped around a piling...this only fueled the urge to land one, and we got two, one we couldn't muscle into shore was probably 200-250lbs, the littler guy I landed by the beach felt like 70lbs or more, who knows, all i know is it was a blast on such light tackle, but i did end up getting spooled a good number of times by some very large fish.

I woke Gina after she feel asleep and made her walk out on the moat where i met her and proposed...i'm glad it was here and not anywhere else that i asked her...how many people can claim that?

The next morning, as we were getting into the kayaks to go check out Loggerhead (3 miles away from Garden Key) the ranger comes and tells us that the ferry almost didn't make it out today (12'-15' seas in the gulfstream!) and due to a storm they will not be coming for the next few days...so we had to pack up and leave paradise early.

The boat ride back was incredible! Gina would use other words to describe it but wow...the seas were around 10'-12' the whole way back, the 2 and half hour trip became four hours! The captain had to stop the ship completely numerous times in order to avoid hitting the huge waves too fast...it was an experience. Arriving in the lee of Key West was a relief, even the crew looked white at some points.

With new knowledge about the Tortugas we knew we would return, better prepared and i would bring heavier tackle next time...and no more trips out there during the ass end of hurricane season.

The blog

2008-10-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Never thought i'd do this...blogging that is, kind of funny that i fell into it but this is besides the point. The following will be some of the trips i've done in the last two years all around Florida...thats really what this will be all about: kayaking, fishing, and exploring the beautifully insane/insanely beautiful depths of the Everglades, enjoy.