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| Marti Meyers of Maine shows off a smile as large as the snook she caught. |
March was much improved for the most part. We had decent
weather and workable wind.
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| Rob Halupka of Toronto is tight to an Everglades oscar. |
Robert Vandonick and his wife, Debra, joined me for an
outing in Sarasota Bay off Stephens Point. Their goal was to test out the
NuCanoe Frontier prior to purchasing one. They not only loved the NuCanoe, but
also caught fish!
Using D.O.A. CAL Jigs with paddle tails and MirrOlure
MirrOdines, they caught 30 spotted seatrout, ladyfish, jack crevalle and
Spanish mackerel to 5 pounds.
Robert texted me an hour after the outing and informed me
that had placed an order for a NuCanoe.
Another prospective, Bob Campbell of Connecticut, was up
next. Bob was interested in testing out the Frontier as a fly-fishing platform.
He was impressed. Of course, I believe the Frontier is the premier fly-fishing
kayak on the market (http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/nucanoe-frontier-is-fly-fishers-dream.html).
Bob had a decent day, catching a releasing spotted seatrout,
ladyfish and Spanish mackerel to 4
pounds on Gibby's Trout Duster Fly.
Everette Howell, a retired neuro
surgeon from Nashville,
Tenn., joined me for an outing on the west side of Sarasota Bay. Everette and
his lovely wife, Sherry, own a home on Longboat Key.
I'm not going to tell you this outing was great, but we had
our opportunities. We landed spotted seatrout, jack crevalle and ladyfish. We
lost several healthy snook.
However, the following day, Everette paddled to the first
spot we fished and had what he called "one of the best days I've ever
had." He landed a number of snook .
He went out again the next day.
"I had another good morning today," he wrote via
email. "Again, I appreciate more than you can know your showing me some of
your techniques.
"I have enjoyed the past two mornings as much as any
fishing I have done."
We found snook in
turtle grass just off a sand bar. We waded the area and cast MirrOlure Lil
Johns on 1/16-ounce Norton Jig heads.
The trick is to be able to recognize the difference between a hit and hanging
up in the grass.
Topwater plugs and spoons also work well in the same area.
I fished Buttonwood Harbor on a solo trip and did pretty
darn good. I caught 20 snook -- and most were in the slow or larger. My largest
trout went 24 inches. Lure of choice was the MirrOlure MirrOdine. I also landed
a nice snook and caught six flounder. The flatties fell for a MirrOlure Lil
John on a light jig.
Dick Duerre of Minnesota had a fair day in the bay. The
86-year-old caught spotted seatrout to 20 inches, jack crevalle, ladyfish and a
22-inch snook.
"My best day ever saltwater fishing here," he
said.
Rob Halupka, a fly angler from Toronto, Ontario, was up
next. Rob, an accomplished angler, hooked a snook shortly after launching at
Buttonwood Harbor, but lost the fish after a short battle. He then hooked a
feisty jack crevalle on a Gibby's Trout Duster Fly.
From there, the action got worse. We worked extremely hard,
but only came up with six spotted seatrout and a ladyfish.
It was one of the slowest days I've ever had on Sarasota
Bay.
Action picked up tremendously the following day when Rob and
I drove to The Everglades. We fished canals along Alligator Alley and caught
fish all day long. Using Gibby's Myakka Minnow, we totaled more than 50
hard-fishing oscar, plus a bunch of Mayan cichlid, largemouth bass, bluegill
and stumpknocker. We saw some peacock bass, but didn't hook up.
I was fortunate to be able to fish with NuCanoe owner Blake
Young, who was in town to unveil the company's new Pursuit. The Pursuit is a 13
1/2-foot sit-on-top kayak that is more narrow than the NuCanoe Frontier and
features a lower profile.
We fished Sarasota Bay on one day and on Tampa Bay the next.
We caught spotted seatrout in Sarasota Bay. In Tampa Bay, we managed spotted
seatrout, jack crevalle and bonnethead shark. We had shots at larger shark,
cobia, big spotted seatrout and redfish.
The Pursuit is a perfect platform from which to sight-fish!
The final trip of the month include Tom and Marti Meyers of
Maine. They caught spotted seatrout to 17 inches and a 29-inch snook that fell
for a MirrOlure Lil John on a light jig.
APRIL FORECAST: I
look for improved action on redfish and snook in the shallows as the weather
warms. Spotted seatrout action should continue strong in the shallows and over
deep grass. Night snook action should be good -- particularly around stronger
tides. We can expect snook to start showing up in the surf, although this
action won't reach its peak until mid-summer. Fly fishing in The Everglades
should continue to be hot for those targeting oscar, Mayan cichlid, largemouth
bass and bluegill.
April is booking up nicely, but I do have a few openings
remaining. Please email (steve@kayakfishingsarasota.com) or call 941-284-3406
to book an outing.
P.S., I know where the tarpon are. If you want to catch one on fly rod, please let me know!
Steve Gibson
Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing
www.kayakfishingsarasota.com
941-284-3406
