It's time for flounder around Southwest Florida

This beefy flounder was taken on fly in the surf off Manasota Key.

               I love when I’m out fishing and floundering.

                Now, that doesn’t mean for a second that I’m not succeeding or just aimlessly casting a lure. Not at all.

                What it means is that I’m targeting flounder,  a strange looking fish that’s both a strong fighter and delicious. There aren’t many fish around that can top flounder on the table.

                Most people don’t think you can purposely fish for flounder in this part of the world. But, obviously, you can.

                I learned about targeting flounder when I first arrived in Florida in 1971. I would fish the waters in and around East Pass near Destin. I figured out that if you drag anything tasty slowly along the bottom, sooner of later and flounder would latch onto it.

                And that’s particularly true in November when the flat fish gather in numbers along sand bottoms on the edge of grass flats, channel and potholes.

                For this type of fishing, I prefer to use a combination of light jig heads and soft plastics. I most often will use a D.O.A. CAL 1/16-ounce jig head with a D.O.A. paddle tail or MirrOlure Little John.

                Key to success is allowing the lure to drop to the bottom and s-l-o-w-l-y retrieving it; the slower the better.

                When a flounder takes your lure, it will feel as if you’re hung up. Your instinct is jerk your lure loose from the snag.

                Don’t!

                Simply pull back slowly. Most often, the flounder will respond by pulling back, too. That’s when you set the hook.

                The battle won’t start until the flounder sees the kayak. When it does, it will dig for the bottom and pull line from the reel.

                You can identify a flounder long before you see it by its fight. The fish will stay deep and hug the bottom. At first, it will come in easily.

                Flounder are ambush attackers. They lie along the bottom and attack unsuspecting prey as it swims by. Flounder are naturally camouflaged and blend into the sand, grass or gravel nicely.

                I prefer to use medium-light to medium spinning rods. I like braided line because of its sensitivity. I like 8- or 10-pound PowerPro or Fins.

                In southwest Florida, we have two species of flounder: summer and gulf. Summer flounder are the most common. They’re also the largest species, averaging 2-4 pounds. Florida and world record is 20 pounds, 9 ounces.

                Gulf flounder can easily be identified by three distinctive eye-like spots on its back. Southern flounder do not have these “eye” spots. Gulf flounder average a pound and reach 5 pounds or slightly larger.

                No matter what species you catch, flounder are arguably the tastiest fish in our bays. Of course, they’re great fried, but I try to stay away from fried food.

                I prefer to sauté fillets in olive oil with lemon juice, garlic and chopped onion.

                It’s flounder time in southwest Florida.

Gator trout, big flounder expected in November

Vinny Caruso of Sarasota with one of several big flounder taken on jigs in an hour near Buttonwood Harbor.
 

                Big spotted seatrout showed up in good numbers in Sarasota Bay just as expected.

                And that’s good news. We anticipate good action on big trout through April.

                From Jan. 1 until now, Southern Drawl clients and myself have caught a total of 35 trout weighing 5 pounds of more from Sarasota Bay. The largest trout of the year was a 9-pounder.

                “Gator” trout are among the most fun fish to catch. They’re unlike our typical “school” trout. These big fish are wary and fight impressively when hooked on suitable tackle.

                For bigger trout, we like to use a variety of artificial, including D.O.A. Shrimp, MirrOlure MirrOdines and topwater plugs.

                The best spot are along the west side of Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor.

                Fly angler Chuck Dodd joined me for a day on Sarasota Bay and did fair. Dodd managed a number of seatrout and a snook and jack crevalle on Clouser Deep Minnows.

                An old buddy of mine, Frank Ross of Ocala, formerly a photographer at the Sarasota Journal, joined me for a day on the bay . He brought along one of his old Navy buddies, Dave Love of Pennsylvania. We caught nearly a dozen species of fish, including spotted seatrout, snook, flounder, mangrove snapper, jack crevalle and bluefish. Most of the fish were caught on light jig heads and 4-inch MirrOlure Little Johns.

                Vinny Caruso of Sarasota fished with me on two occasions. The first outing was his first fly-fishing outing. We fished Lake Manatee and totaled 80 bluegill. Most of the fish were taken on No. 12 and No. 14 nymphs under a strike indicator.

                Patrick O’Connor of Rotonda fished Lake Manatee with me and did very well. Using a variety of nymphs, we caught a mess of bluegill and a pair of hard-fishing channel catfish.

                Lake Manatee produced nicely for me during the month. I caught big bluegill, bass to 4 pounds, shellcracker to 1½ pounds, speckled perch, channel catfish and tilapia. Most of the fish were caught on nymphs, but we also used No. 10 popping bugs and my Myakka Minnow.

                We had some negative low tides earlier in the month and found tailing redfish in Palma Sola Bay. First time out, I caught one red on a topwater plug. The next day, I flyfished and landed three reds on a Gurgler. In addition, I caught seatrout, flounder and jack crevalle.

                I made a solo trip to the Long Bar area of Sarasota Bay and had a fair day. It’s a 45-minute paddle, but often is well worth the effort.  This day was only so-so. I caught a pair of reds, a snook, 10 trout and a couple of jack crevalle.

                On his second trip of the month, Vinny Caruso and I did well. We landed 25 trout to 5 pounds, redfish to 27 inches, a 25-inch snook and 11 doormat flounder.

                It’s getting the time of year when you can go out and target flounder. They’re plentiful on sand edges and will hit most any soft plastic on a light jig head. 

                I fished the 8^th annual Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/Sarasota Coastal Conservation Association Fall Fly Fishing Challenge and again won a division. Despite 25 mph wind and rough conditions, I caught 67.75 inches of trout for the victory. I would have had well more than 100 inches of trout had I not released the first five I caught, thinking they were too small to fool with!

                If we get some negative low tides, Pine Island Sound (all-day trips only) will give anglers at shot  at tailing redfish, snook, spotted seatrout and tarpon. It’s the best chance of a Grand Slam that we have.

                We’ve had some windy conditions caused by Hurricane Irene. The big storm didn’t do any damage here, but did produce some win. We expect conditions to settle.

BEST BETS FOR NOVEMBER:

1.       Large spotted seatrout;

2.       Flounder;

3.       Redfish;

4.       Snook at night;

5.       Bluegill;

6.       Speckled perch.

 

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

(941) 284-3406

Redfish and trout the highlights of September

Sarasota's Dave Robinson shows off one of seven redfish he caught just north of Long Bar.

Jim Shuford of Sarasota had never caught a redfish on an artificial lure.

That ended shortly into his half-day outing to Buttonwood Harbor off Sarasota Bay. Shuford caught and released a hefty redfish while casting a MirrOlure Little John on a 1/16-ounce jig head.

Shuford was one of many clients and friends of Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing to catch redfish during the month.

In addition to redfish, Shuford had a fair day, catching and releasing spotted seatrout and jack crevalle.

Repeat clients John Mallia and J.D. Mallia of Lancaster, N.Y. had a decent day in the Buttonwood Harbor area. They caught and released 50 spotted seatrout to 2 ½ pounds, redfish to 20 inches and several mangrove snapper. The fish were caught on MirrOlure Little Johns on light jig heads and MirrOlure MR14 MirrOlures.

Zack Dunivin, a student at New College in Sarasota, caught a variety of fish while casting jigs around grass patches near Stephens Point in Sarasota Bay. Dunivin caught spotted seatrout to 17 inches, flounder, mangrove snapper and a 26-inch snook. Most effective lure was a MirrOlure Little John on a light jig head.

Mike Milby of Washington, D.C., and Josh Milby of Lakewood Ranch had a tough day along the east side of Sarasota Bay and just north of Long Bar. They totaled three redfish, a snook, 15 spotted seatrout to 18 inches, ladyfish, jack crevalle and a few ladyfish. Most of the fish were caught on gold spoons or MirrOlure MR14 MirrOdines.

Dave Robinson of Sarasota joined me on a couple of outings. We fished Charlotte Harbor, the mouth of the Peace River and the Punta Gorda Isles canals. Our target was tarpon and we found plenty. But we couldn’t get them to hit.

I had fished the canals the previous week and jumped a couple of juvenile tarpon on D.O.A. TerrorEyz.

Tarpon fish ranges from frustrating to great during this time on year in Charlotte County. I’ve jumped as many as eight tarpon in a morning. I’ve also had some not-so-good days.

Robinson and I made the 45-minute paddle to Long Bar and fared better. We combined for 11 redfish, four snook, plenty of trout to 4 pounds, mangrove snapper, jack crevalle, flounder and ladyfish. The redfish ranged from 24 to 28 inches. Top snook was 25 inches. The fished were caught on gold spoons, MirrOlure MirrOdines and artificial shrimp.

Highlight of the day came in early afternoon when Robinson hooked and landed a tailing redfish.

October’s forecast calls for cooling temperatures and improved fishing. We look for continued redfish success on the shallow flats.

Spotted seatrout are expected to remain plentiful.

Night snook action should be good around light docks. Plus, we should encounter a few larger snook on the flats.

GIBBY’S TIP: If you’re looking for redfish, make sure the flat you’re fishing has plenty of marine life: mullet, crabs, shrimp, worms and baitfish. I look for large schools of mullet and concentrate my effort around them. For this, I like to fish topwater plugs, MirrOlure Little Johns on light jig heads, MirrOlure MirrOdines or gold spoons.

We’re booking up for October, but still have some prime dates left. Please give us a call or drop us an email if you’d like to get out on the water and have some fun.



Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/

(941) 284-3406

Redfish and snook come on strong in August

Pete Walocko of Michigan caught the 28-inch snook on his first cast.

Just as predicted, redfish were the fish of the month  for Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing.

We totaled 62 reds during August, a majority of which ranged from 25 to 30 inches. We had two days during which we landed 10 redfish.

Top bait was the MirrOlure Little John on a 1/16-ounce jig head.

Most of the action took place on the shallow flats of Buttonwood Harbor off Sarasota Bay. The light jig head allows us to fish the shallow grass without constantly hanging up.

In addition, we caught redfish on MirrOlure She Dogs and MirrOlure MirrOdines.

Vinny Caruso of Sarasota fished three times and totaled several redfish and spotted seatrout. His best red, which came on a Sebile Stick Shad, went 26 inches. He also caught reds on a chrome Zara Spook.

Vinny and I tested Bishop Harbor and southern Tampa Bay on one outing, but had to dodge thunderstorms. We only managed a few seatrout.

Pete Walocko of Michigan fished one of those rare days when the redfish weren’t cooperating. But he was fortunate enough to catch a 28-inch snook (released) on a Little John and jig head. He also caught a number of seatrout on the same lure.

We’re finding most of the redfish in and around mullet schools. The more mullet, the better.

We’re also starting to get into some nice flounder on jigs fished along grass edges. Flounder action is expected to heat up and peak in November. We anticipate a good number of flounder to 24 inches.

Although the peak season for large spotted seatrout has passed, we’re still getting some quality fish. In fact, we landed a pair of 4-pound trout on one trip. The top lure for big trout is the MirrOdine, a suspending plug that the fish just can’t seem to resist.

We’re getting more snook than usual on the Buttonwood flats. The action isn’t great, but it’s better than it has been since the red tide of 2006.

We fished Little Sarasota Bay one day on a whim and did very well. We landed seven redfish to 25 inches, four snook to 23 and 15 trout to 18. The reds were all caught on Little Johns.

There are some large schools of oversized redfish on the flats – if you can find them. Best areas include Buttonwood Harbor and southern Tampa Bay.

Snook continue to please around lighted docks at night. A good plan is to start fishing a couple of hours before daylight. We get in a little snook fishing, then hit the bay for reds, trout and other species. On occasion, it’s possible to take a Slam (a red, trout and snook) around the dock lights.

Beach snook fishing has been disappointing with high winds, red algae and stirred up surf. That seems to have dissipated and we could experience a late-season flurry of snook action in the surf.

I have ordered my new fleet of kayaks. I’m getting three Native Watercraft Ultimates and a Native Watercraft Slayer 14.5. The Slayer is a new design that is expected to hit the market in October.

I have three Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5s for sale. I’m asking $750 for my personal boat. It has a bow spray skirt, paddle holder and anchor trolley. The other two are $700 and only have anchor trolleys.

If you’re interested, please let me know as soon as possible. I am offering them to clients and friends first. Then, I will list them publically.

We anticipate good redfish action this month. In addition, we expect snook, spotted seatrout, bluefish and maybe pompano to cooperate.

The fishing has been very good. Contact me if you’d like to fish.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

941-284-3406

Now is the time for exciting redfish action on the shallow flats



Finding mullet on the flat is one of the keys to finding redfish.



Vinny Caruso shows of a Sarasota Bay red.



Redfish are highly sought along Florida’s west coast. They’re hard-fighting, savvy and very strong.

Late summer and early fall are great times to hunt for reds on the flats along coastal Florida. That’s when redfish start gathering in schools to make their annual spawning run into the Gulf of Mexico.

We like to get on the water before daylight so that we’re where we need to be when the action gets started. Don’t want to be paddling when we should be fishing!

But there’s a nice solitude on the water before the sun rises. The air is warm and the breeze usually gentle. You can hear the sounds of mullet jumping. You can hear pelicans and other birds beginning their days.

When targeting reds, I like to have a variety of lures ready to go. On one rod, I’ll have a topwater plug. I’ll use a jerk worm on a light jig head on another. On the third rod, I’ll go with a MirrOlure MirrOdine. All three are proven redfish catchers. You won’t go wrong with a spoon, either.

When I get to a flat, I look for signs of life: mullet, baitfish, crabs, stingrays. If the flat is alive with those things, then you’ll usually find redfish.

I think mullet are the key, though. If the flat is filled with mullet, you can get the reds are nearby.

I usually begin with a topwater plug. I like the Zara Super Spook Jr. in chrome. I use a Hurricane Redbone 7-foot medium-action rod, Shimano Reel and 10-pound Fins Wind Tamer line. Key to redfish success on the Spook is being able to “walk the dog.” That’s a zig-zag pattern when the lure is being retrieved.

To do this, I hold the rod parallel to the water to my left and begin “twitching” the rod as I reel. It’s kind of like rubbing your head and patting your belly. It’s tough at first, but easy once you get the hang of it. You can speed up or slow down the speed of your retrieve or the speed of your lure.

A big key in successful topwater fishing is the NOT set the hook when you see a strike. Only set the hook when you feel the weight of the fish. I just keep working the lure until I feel the fish. It’s tough to refrain from setting the hook when you see a big redfish explode on your plug.

When a fish strikes the plug and misses, I just keep it coming. Often, a big redfish will hit the plug several times before it’s hooked.

There are times that I’ll stop the plug when a fish misses it. I think the fish slap at it to stun it. I let the plug sit for a couple of seconds and then start working it. This often elicits explosive strikes.

If the fish are “short-striking,” I’ll change tactics. Sometimes I’ll pick up a jerk worm and toss it to the spot of the short strike. That often produces a quick hookup.

Just the other day, Vinny Caruso and I were fishing a Sarasota Bay flat at a spot where we’ve been catching quite a few reds. But there was little going on. The mullet weren’t moving and it was relatively dead. The tide was really high and there was a lot of water on the flat.

About mid-morning, we noticed mullet beginning to move about 100 yards away. Vinny paddled toward them and cast a plug. He immediately hooked a nice red. When he lost the fish, he called me over.

I hooked a small red on my first cast. I was using a MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16-ounce jig head. Vinny caught a red on his plug.

On my next cast, I hooked and landed a 25-inch beauty on a MirrOlure MirrOdine, a plug that really works well for shallow-water reds.

Key to our success was finding the mullet. We landed three out of five fish we hooked. Our window of opportunity closed after about 20 minutes, but we succeeded. Some might say we were lucky, but we feel luck is when preparation meets opportunity!

And we were prepared.

The larger redfish should start schooling soon. They’re the sexually mature fish that will eventually move out into the Gulf of Mexico and never return. The schoolers usually run 30 inches or more.

Two years ago, I found several schools of big redfish in Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay. I remember a day in Tampa Bay when I found a school of about 100 reds just off a sand bar. I caught eight big fish out of the school before a pair of hefty bull sharks moved in and brought the action to a halt.

When you find a school, it’s usually and automatic hookup. All you have to do is toss a lure to the edge of the school and hang on! I try to avoid casting into the middle of the fish.

When the fish are schooled, most any lure will work. Topwater plugs, however, draw the most-exciting strikes.

Fighting a big redfish in a kayak is a fun experience. These fish are big enough to take you for a ride! They can tow the kayak for quite a distance.

When we’re concentrating on redfish, we’re not thinking “numbers.” Three reds in a day is good. These fish rarely just “jump in the kayak!” We often do better.

If we could select the tide, we’d prefer to have it still trickling out at the start of the day. We like to fish the last hour of the outgoing and first couple of hours of the incoming. But the tide changes daily and that’s not always possible.

But if we can find the mullet schools, it usually doesn’t make any difference!

Redfish, trout and snook headline July action

Redfish action heated up in July and is expected to peak in August. This red was caught on a topwater plug in Sarasota Bay.

Spotted seatrout, snook and redfish were the mainstays of July, a month that saw unseasonable westerly winds.

Top spots for Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing included Buttonwood Harbor and Stephens Point.

We also fished a couple of days on Tampa Bay out of Bishop Harbor and scored on some large seatrout.

Fly angler Jack Feldstein fished a half day and managed mostly spotted seatrout. Fishing the east side of Sarasota Bay just north of the Ringling Mansion, Feldstein caught mostly undersized (less than 15 inches), but did manage a 3-pounder on his first cast of the morning. All fish were taken on chartreuse-and-white Clouser Deep Minnows.

Randy Ruskey and sons Eric and Jon joined me for an outing at Stephens Point. We were met by strong westerly wind that prevented us from venturing into Sarasota Bay. However, Randy Ruskey landed a 23-inch snook on a Gibby’s Snook Duster while fishing around a lighted dock.

We fished the bowl at Stephens Point and did fair. Eric Ruskey landed a pair of snook, including a 27-incher. Both fish fell for a 1/16-ounce CAL Jig with a gold paddle tail. We also landed three flounder to 18 inches on jigs.

Fred Hart joined me for a half-day outing off Stephens Point and had a fair day. He landed several trout and ladyfish on CAL Jigs.

Erick Ruskey and Jon Ruskey, both from Illinois, fished with me at Buttonwood Harbor and had a fun day. They both caught a number of spotted seatrout on CAL Jigs. Jon also landed a small redfish on a topwater plug. In addition, we caught ladyfish, mangrove snapper and flounder.

Later in the month, redfish began to cooperate at Buttonwood Harbor. We caught several upper slot (18 to 27 inches) reds on topwater plugs, MirrOlure MirrOdines and CAL Jigs with D.O.A. 4-inch jerk worms. Best day was five reds to 30 inches.

Vinny Caruso of Sarasota joined me for a fun day of topwater fishing. We combined 25 trout to 4 pounds and a pair of flounder on Zara silver Super Spook Jrs., and MirrOlure MirrOdines.

I did a solo venture recently and found some big reds around mullet schools. I caught four redfish on MirrOlure MirrOdines, Zara Super Spook Jrs., and MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigheads.

Dave Robinson of Sarasota joined me on the last day of the month for a backcountry outing. Testing out his new Native Watercraft Versa Board, he did well. We combined for six redfish to 27 inches and a number of trout to 4 pounds on MirrOlure MirrOdines, Zara Super Spook Jrs., and MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jig heads.

Beach snook fishing has been pretty much non-existent because of wind and rough surf conditions. That could change this month. August traditionally is a good month for beach snook for both fly and spin anglers.

Night snook action continues strong around lighted docks.

My schedule is filling up nicely. Be sure to book your trips early to assure an outing.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/

(941) 284-3406

A good fly is easy to tie and catches fish

Gibby's D.T. Variations are easy and quick to tie, plus they really appeal to snook in the surf.

A good fly is one that catches fish.

A good fly also is one that is easy and quick to tie.

I was surfing the Internet a year ago or so when I found a good-looking fly that I thought might work well on redfish. When I investigated further, I discovered there were 62 tying steps involved in tying that fly.

Too many for me!

My D.T. Variation, perhaps the best fly I’ve found for sight-fishing snook in the surf, is a classic example. It’s very easy to tie and it has accounted for several thousand snook over the years. There are only five tying steps and it takes only a few minutes to tie.

What more could you want?

Too many times, fly tyers get too complicated in their designs, trying to mimic baitfish, crabs, shrimp and other food to perfection. Exact imitation isn’t necessary or even desired in the salt.

Remember this adage: Hungry fish plus good presentation equals hookup.

Simple.

I remember one winter when I discovered a shrimp pattern that I thought would be the cat’s meow for snook in the surf. It looked exactly like a live shrimp.

I spent a couple of weeks tying up a bunch and was sure I had the “magic fly.”

First time out, I was disheartened when snook after snook ignored the realistic pattern.

What I’ve discovered is that you really don’t want to give the snook (or any fish) time to study your fly. Let them see it, then try to get it away from them.

When sight-fishing snook in the surf, I’ll strip the fly in front of the fish. When the snook turns to follow, I’ll speed up the retrieve to trigger the strike. This is where most anglers slow their retrieve.

Big mistake.

Try to get that fly away from the snook. If the fish wants it, you can’t strip too fast.

I’ve spent the last 30 years sight-fishing snook in the surf and I’ve learned a thing or two. Your success is directly correlated to your ability to see the fish. If you can see them, you’ve got a chance to catch them.

When I first started beach snook fishing, I used Lefty’s Deceivers, one of the most-famous saltwater flies ever. However, Matt Hoover, a guide in Naples, Fla., sent me a well-used D.T. Special and said that “it’s the only fly you’ll ever need for snook in the surf.”

He was right.

I’ve tweaked the fly over the years to fit my needs, adding eyes, a touch of red and epoxying the head. My version is called Gibby’s D.T. Variation. I did not design or invent the original D.T. Special. I take no credit for that.

My D.T. Variation is a little tougher and lasts a little longer than the original D.T.

Both are effective flies for sight-fishing snook in the surf.

Best of all, they take little time to tie.

GIBBY’S D.T. VARIATION

Hook: Mustad 34007 No. 1 to No. 4

Thead: White flat-waxed Monochord

Tail: Four white neck hackle (two on each side) facing (not splayed).

Flash: Pearl Krystal Flash

Collar: White neck hackle (palmered)

Eyes: 3D Prism Stick-On.

Epoxy: Devcon 2-Ton