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| Author Steve Gibson battles a Lake Manatee channel catfish on light fly rod. (Photo by Vinny Caruso) |
We spent most of the month fly fishing in fresh and salt
waters.
In fresh water, we fished Lake Manatee on several occasions.
The lake, located nine miles east of Interstate 75 off State Road 64, seems to
have rebounded nicely after a few slow years.
On a typical day, we use light fly rods (1, 2 and 3 weights)
to cast popping bugs, nymphs and scuds.
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| Lake Manatee channel cat on fly. |
This method has been producing
excellent catches of large bluegill, plus shellcracker, speckled perch,
largemouth bass and channel catfish. You just never know what's going to eat
the fly.
The bluegill have been among the largest we've ever taken on
the lake. I'd say at least 75 percent of the bluegill have been "hand
sized" or slightly larger.
We don't catch many bass, but every once in a while you'll
hang a decent fish. On one outing, I was fishing a No. 12 nymph under a strike
indicator on a 2-weight fly rod when I hooked, fought and landed a 4-pound
bass.
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| Hefty bass on fly. |
Channel cats are fun, too. I typically catch one and
sometimes more on every trip. I catch them on nymphs and Myakka Minnows. These
hard fighters will range from 2 pounds to more than you can handle. Trick is to
keep them out of the vegetation -- if you can.
We launch at a dirt ramp off State Road 64 at Lake Manatee
Fish Camp. It's safe and well maintained. From there, it's just a short paddle
to several productive areas.
If you're into fly fishing for panfish, this is the spot.
And it's likely you'll tangle with a feisty, rod-bending channel cat while
you're at it.
In addition, November is THE month for speckled perch
(northerners call them crappie). Specks at Lake Manatee average 1 1/2 pounds
and often push two or three pounds. They're great fun on fly.
In salt water, we spent several days preparing for the 11th
annual Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/CCA Fall Fly Fishing Challenge, an event
Capt. Rick Grassett and I founded. This is a catch, photo and release event
that attracts up 30 anglers or more annually.
I've done well in the event since its inception. I've won a
division nine of the 11 years. This year was no exception.
In preparing for the tournament, I spent several days on
Sarasota Bay, fishing both along the east and west sides of the bay.
I launched at Buttonwood Harbor, one of my favorite spots,
along the west side of the bay and fished a plethora of spots. I started out
just before dawn at a lighted dock and quickly landed a decent snook. Once the
sun came up, I headed out into the bay to scout. I was able to find decent
numbers of trout.
Then it was time to look for reds. I figured that would be a
chore since I hadn't seen a redfish in a couple of months. I wasn't wrong. I
poled my NuCanoe Pursuit for several hours over some of the best flats in the
area. Those flats have produced good catches of redfish over the years, but not
lately.
I also caught mangrove snapper, large Spanish mackerel,
bluefish and jack crevalle.
The next outing found me at Stephens Point on the east side
of the bay. I caught snook around dock lights and trout over the deep grass. I
poled the flats from Stephen Point north to Whitfield and didn't see a red. I
did see some decent trout and snook in potholes, but no reds.
As the tournament neared, I wasn't sure where I was going to
fish. I remembered a small tidal creek off the Intracoastal Waterway south of
Venice. I've always been able to catch plenty of small snook from the creek. I
hadn't fished there in a couple of years, but decided to give it a try.
I laughed the Pursuit and began fishing after paddling 200
yards. I wasn't disappointed. In just a couple of hours, I caught 15 small
snook, plus some mangrove snapper and ladyfish.
I headed home at the point, confident I'd found my spot.
I didn't fish that area again until tournament day. I
launched at 7 a.m. and began casting a popping bug along the mangroves. I
didn't get a hit the first hour.
I was somewhat worried, but my luck changed when I switched
to a small baitfish imitation that I tied on a No. 2 hook. I caught a limit
(10) of small snook in a couple of hours. I photographed each and released
them.
Even though we were allowed to fish until 3 p.m., I was
heading back to Sarasota by 12:30 p.m.
I won the Snook Division, the fifth time I've done that I
the tournament's 11-year history.
Interestingly, I was only one of two kayak
anglers in the tournament competing against fly fishers in power boats.
NOVEMBER FORECAST:
I'm predicting redfish action will finally pick up. I've been wrong for the
past several months, but Novembers (traditionally) is a very good month for
reds. I like fishing the last two hours of the outgoing tide and first two
hours of the incoming for reds. Spotted seatrout action should be good, along
with Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jack crevalle and ladyfish. November should
also see a strong influx of large flounder. They like to lie in sand holes and
will hit jigs slowly bounced along the bottom. They'll also hit weighted flies.
Snook and small tarpon should cooperate around dock lights. In fresh water, I
look for very good action on bluegill, speckled perch, bass and channel catfish
in local lakes and streams. To the south, peacock bass, Mayan cichlid, giant
bluegill and shellcracker should be cooperative.
I will depart the states on Thanksgiving morning and head
for Eleuthera in the Bahamas. My target there will be bonefish on the flats.
I've spent a few days at my vise, tying assorted bonefish flies for the outing.
I will give you details in my next report.
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The weather in November usually is pretty spectacular in
Florida. Come on down and go fishing!
Steve Gibson
Southern Drawl Kayak
Fishing
www.kayakfishingsarasota.com
941-284-3406
