Peacock bass, monster Mayans and hefty bluegill topped August

Author Steve Gibson battles a fine South Florida peacock bass on fly rod.

August is a slow month for Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing for several reasons.

First of all, it's hot out there. Secondly, there are few people visiting Sarasota during this time of year.

That's OK with me. It gives me time to do what I like. And what I like to do is fly fish in fresh water.

A typical South Florida peacock bass.

Thanks to my friend  Joe Mahler, I was introduced to a spot in south Florida which offers very good fly fishing for a variety of species. It has the usual Florida freshwater fare (bass, bluegill, etc.), but it also has a few exotic species. The spot offers good action on peacock bass and giant Mayan cichlid.

Mahler is a fly-fishing pro who resides in Fort Myers. He's a fly-casting instructor and talented artist.

Check him out at www. joemahler.com.

Realize that peacock bass were introduced into south Florida waters by the state in 1984. Mayan cichlid weren't introduced by the state. They were unceremoniously and illegally dumped into southern state waters. No matter, they're both great species for fly fishers.

A monster South Florida bluegill.

In fact, the spot holds some of the largest Mayan cichlid I've ever caught. On a recent outing, I landed at least 20 Mayans, with most in excess of 12 inches. Several pushed 15 inches. If you've never caught a Mayan cichlid, realize that even the small ones will make you think you've got a monster. A 14-15-incher will actually pull the kayak and make you wonder if you will land it.

For Mayan cichlid, I use a number of flies. I usually begin the day with No. 8 or 6 popping bugs. I'll stick with it until the surface action subsides. When it does, I'll switch to No. 8 Clousers (pink and chartreuse, orange and chartreuse) or Myakka Minnows. Often, the subsurface bite is significantly better than the topwater.

This peacock bass fell for a pink Clouser.

When I'm using poppers, I catch Mayans, monster bluegill and a few peacock bass. The bluegill at this particular location are the biggest I've ever encountered. In fact, I caught my personal best bluegill (11 inches) at this locale, and I've caught a number of them more than 10 inches. These fish are large and thick.

When I'm casting to the shoreline and working a Clouser quickly, I usually catch good numbers of peacock bass. However, most are small. I usually get peacocks to about 12 inches.

If I want larger peacock bass, I'll look for bedding fish. That's where you'll find the larger specimens.

You can also find larger fish in open water, but I like that to trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Another nice peacock bass.

The location also has snook and tarpon. I recently saw tarpon rolling in open water and fired a cast their way. I allowed the small Clouser to sink, then began slowly stripping in it. The line want tight after the third strip and I was into a "heavy" fish.  I could feel the fish shake its head. It started to take off, but that's when my 8-pound tippet broke. I'm fairly sure it was a tarpon. It could have been a large peacock bass.

For this fishing, I use 3-, 4- and 6-weight fly rods. I prefer 9-foot tapered leaders with 8-pound tippet.

I usually use full floating lines, but have done fair with a full sinking line.

Monster Mayan cichlid

Mahler created a fly called a Straw Boss which is also very good for peacock bass, largemouth bass and large Mayan cichlid. I highly recommend this fly, too

.

One of the neat things about this spot is that it's good during the summer. Usually, south Florida waters are not real good because of the heart, high water and bugs. But I've encountered no bugs, the heat isn't too bad when you're catching fish and the water level seems to be stable.

It took me several visits to figure things out. I'm not saying I have it down pat, but I feel much more confident than I did the first time I visited.

If peacock bass are on your bucket list, you might want to give this spot a try. Just give me a call (941-284-3406) or shoot me an email (steve@kayakfishingsarasota.com) and we can arrange a trip. 

And if you've never encountered Mayan cichlid, this is the spot. Of course, those who enjoy monster bluegill on a fly rod won't want to miss out, either!

Locally, fishing has been fair, with the best action taking place at night around lighted docks. We've been getting snook, tarpon and spotted seatrout on my Gibby's Snook Shrimp.  Once the sun comes up, we move onto the adjacent flats where we've been picking up seatrout, jack crevalle, ladyfish, snook and a few redfish.

Longtime client Dr. Everette Howell of Longboat Key joined me for an outing on Buttonwood Harbor off Sarasota Bay. We fished long and hard for out fish. Everette picked up a decent snook on a Zara Super Spook Jr. We caught a few trout on MirrOlure MirrOdines.

The day prior, I fished the area and caught 15 trout to 20 inches on MirrOdines and MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigs.

I also fished southern Tampa Bay around Joe Island and did fair. I caught snook and seatrout on Zara Super Spook Jrs. I also caught trout to 18 inches on MirrOdines. I saw some redfish on the sand bars in front of Joe Island, but didn't hook up.

I've been using my new NuCanoe Pursuit, a great fly-fishing kayak that just debuted this summer. I was fortunate enough to test the Pursuit out back in March when NuCanoe owner Blake Young brought a couple to town. We fished Sarasota Bay and southern Tampa Bay.

I picked my Pursuit up at ICAST 2015 in Orlando after working the NuCanoe booth for three days. After I got it home, I rigged it and added an anchor trolley and a taco-style paddle holder on the starboard side.

I have been fishing out of it now for a little more than a month. What a great fly-fishing kayak. I've owned many kayaks over the years. This one is the best. It's the best because of it's simplicity and unencumbered layout.

In addition, there is out-of-way storage for four fully rigged fly rods! While you're casting on rod, the others are securely stowed.

The boat paddles easily and tracks very straight.

It's a pleasure to fly fish from such a well-designed kayak.

SEPTEMBER FORECAST:  Night snook and tarpon action should remain steady throughout the Sarasota area. Look for redfish, spotted seatrout and snook on the flats during daylight hours. Spotted seatrout, jack crevalle, mangrove snapper and ladyfish should please over the deeper grass. Peacock bass, monster bluegill, Mayan cichlid and largemouth bass should be good in south Florida lakes and canals. Closer to home,  anticipate decent bass, bluegill, shellcracker and channel catfish in Lake Manatee and the Manatee River.

Even though it's just September, it's not too early to think about those special to you for Christmas. Or you might drop a couple of hints to someone significant. You can get gift certificates from Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing for Christmas, birthdays or other occasions.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

941-284-3406

Night fishing produced snook, tarpon, seatrout and beat the July heat

If July wasn't the hottest month I've experienced in Florida, it certainly had to be among the warmest.

Snook hang out around dock lights and often are easy fly-rod targets.

With that in mind, we switched gears a little and got out on many occasions a couple of hours before sunrise in order to avoid the heat and get in on some fine fly fishing.

We've got launches on both sides of Sarasota Bay near lighted docks. That's where snook, tarpon, spotted seatrout, lookdown and occasionally redfish like to hang out.

Dock lights attract small baitfish and shrimp. Those critters attract predator fish.

For this type of fishing, I've found the best action usually takes place on the stronger outgoing tides. If that's not possible, then I'm satisfied as long as the tide is moving decently.

I take a couple of 7- or 8-weight fly rods, loaded with full floating lines and 9- to 10-foot fluorocarbon leaders (20-pound test). My fly of choice is my Gibby's Snook Shrimp, a pattern that has proven to be very effective for night action.

One of the neat things about fishing from a kayak is that you can get pretty close to the fish. That, in effect, eliminates the need for long casts.

When I get to a dock that I want to fish, I'll figure out which way I'm going to drift and position the kayak. I prefer my kayak to drift with the bow pointing toward the target.

I recently obtained my first NuCanoe Pursuit, a kayak that perfectly suited for night fly fishing. The cockpit is open and uncluttered. In addition, the Pursuit drifts true and isn't affected by wind as much as other brands of kayaks.

As I'm getting ready to fish, I'll pull 10-12 strips of line off the reel, placing them in the cockpit in front of my feet. That's plenty of line if you position your kayak no more than 20-25 feet from your target.

When I'm drifting, I place the paddle across my lap. That makes it easy to make a bow adjustment if needed. I can simply dip the left or right blade in the water to fine tune my bow.

With only 20 feet or line out and being so close to my target, false casting is virtually eliminated. All I have to do is pick my line up on the back cast and lay it down on the forward. I see too many anglers false casting four, five and six times.

The speed of retrieve varies. I've found the best technique is to simply let the fish tell you. Begin with  medium speed and adjust accordingly.

Another key is to watch your fly. Sometimes, snook, tarpon and other species will follow it almost to the kayak. I've had fish take the fly within five feet of the boat. I've seen anglers lift their fly from the water to make another cast while a fish was frantically trying to eat it!

Most lights -- whether above or below the water -- light up the area in a circle. While you'll see many fish in the light, it's not wise to cast right in the middle. I begin by working the edges and into the shadow line. You can work your way toward the middle as you go. If you chance a cast to the middle early on, you risk spooking a majority of the fish.

It's good if you have multiple docks. When you hook a fish or the action slows, you can move to another. You can always return to a hot dock. Things usually will return to normal in about 10 minutes.

The biggest problem I've found is keeping a determined snook from taking you under a dock or around pilings. When I hook a fish, the first thing I do is try to prevent it from running under the dock or around a piling. And, if I'm able, I will hold the rod with one hand and paddle backwards away from the structure. I'm way ahead of the game if I can get the fish out into open water.

I've perfected a method of one-handed paddling. It takes some getting used to, but is very helpful in these situations. I'll usually hold the rod in my right hand and paddle with my left. The method consists of putting the paddle shaft through a triangle created by placing my right elbow on my right knee.  It takes practice, but it works beautifully.

We've done pretty well on tarpon this summer. These are smaller fish, averaging about 10-12 pounds. They put on quite an aerial show. Luckily, tarpon prefer to do their battle away from the docks.

Snook are another matter. Their first move usually is to get back under the dock or around pilings.

You've got to prevent them from doing so if you don't want to lose your fly or leader. Put the pressure on them! What do you have to lose?

I've been successful in landing snook to slightly more than 30 inches. I've seen snook which I'd estimate at 35 inches or longer.

A fly-fishing Super Slam (snook, tarpon, seatrout, redfish) is possible. It's pretty rare, but can be done. It's fairly common to get the snook, tarpon and seatrout around the docks. On occasion we'll get reds in the dock lights, too. I've had a couple of clients fall one species short this year.

Most often, however, you'll have to get one or more species after the sun comes up. I'll usually paddle to nearby flats.

I got a Super Slam on a recent trip, but my redfish and trout came on spinning tackle.

I spent a few days in July fishing local fresh water. I fished Lake Manatee one day and did fair. I caught and released several bluegill and one hefty channel catfish on my Myakka Minnow.

I also fished Webb Lake south of Punta Gorda and caught a number of bedding bluegill on Myakka Minnows.

Pro fly-fisher Joe Mahler of Fort Myers joined my for a day on the Manatee River. Our goal was to target channel catfish on fly. It was slow, but we each landed channel cats.

Matt Sheffer of Muskegon, Mich., and his son, Noel, joined me for a morning off Stephens Point in Sarasota Bay. They were in town for the annual AAU National Baseball Tournament. The action was fair and we caught spotted seatrout, ladyfish, mangrove snapper, flounder and a snook on D.O.A. CAL Jigs with paddle tails, MirrOlure MirrOdines and D.O.A. Deadly Combinations.

I spent three days in Orlando at ICAST, the sportfishing industry's annual trade show. I worked the NuCanoe booth. NuCanoe was showing its newest kayak -- the Pursuit. It's a great fishing kayak and especially a great platform for fly fishing. Check it out at http://www.nucanoe.com/pursuit-fishing-kayak/.

I expect August to be a carbon copy of July. One difference, however, is we'll find schools of redfish on the flats. They school up in late summer in preparation for their  spawning run into the Gulf of Mexico. If you can find a school, you're almost guaranteed a hookup! Trout action will be fair over the deeper grass, along with ladyfish, jack crevalle and mangrove snapper. The best action be snook and tarpon around lighted docks at night. Of course, beach snook fishing is expected to be good was the weather settles and we get easterly wind.

If you want to book a trip or have any questions, please call me at 941-284-3406 or email me at steve@kayakfishingsarasota.com.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

941-284-3406