December 23, 2009

We made our first trip to The Everglades on Monday and it was nothing short of spectacular. The stars were aligned; the weather perfect and the fish were plentiful and hungry.

Capt. Pete Greenan of The Gypsy Guide Service in Sarasota was my guest. It was the second time Greenan fished The ‘Glades with me. On his last outing in January, we did very well, but not as good as this time around.

Using a 3-weight fly rod and a No. 10 popping bug, Greenan hooked up on his first cast. After a great battle, he landed a feisty oscar, an exotic that is one of the hardest fighting fish in all of Florida’s fresh waters. It was the first of more than 150 Oscar we caught on the day.

We switched to my Myakka Minnow after the topwater bite ended and did extremely well. In addition to Oscar, we caught largemouth bass, bluegill, stump knocker, Mayan cichlid and warmouth perch.  We also caught two species that we had never caught in this particular stretch of water: speckled perch and peacock bass. We landed eight speckled perch (black crappie) and five peacocks. By our conservative estimate, we landed 300 fish.

We fish the Everglades from December through April. The water level is down during this period and it concentrates the fish. During the rainy season, the water level is up and the fish spread out over millions of acres. In addition, the air temperature is quite comfortable and there are no bugs during winter.

Obviously, this is an all-day trip. We depart around 4:30 a.m. and get back about 6:30 p.m. Often we’ll stop for dinner at the Islamorada Fish House at Bass Pro Shop in Fort Myers.

Saltwater fishing has been fair. I fished Tuesday and landed a pair of

Pompano and a Spanish mackerel on my Big Eye Baitfish Fly. I used a 6-weight fly rod and sink tip line.

I fished off Stephens Point in Sarasota Bay. There were plenty of fish on

The deep grass, but they weren’t aggressive. We probably need four or five days of decent weather to spark the bite.

If we get some good negative tides, I’ll head for Charlotte Harbor, Matlacha or Pine Island Sound to target tailing redfish. This is a thrilling way to fish – although it can be frustrating.

This is probably my last fishing report of the year. Kathy and I will fly to Grand Cayman on Christmas Eve. I’m planning on fly fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon for five days.

If you have a kayak in mind for this holiday season, make sure you

Check out Native Watercraft at www.nativewatercraft.com. I fish out of the Native Ultimate 14.5 and I consider it a great fishing vessel.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.

December 13, 2009

We made our first trip to The Everglades on Monday and it was nothing short of spectacular. The stars were aligned; the weather perfect and the fish were plentiful and hungry.

Capt. Pete Greenan of The Gypsy Guide Service in Sarasota was my guest. It was the second time Greenan fished The ‘Glades with me. On his last outing in January, we did very well, but not as good as this time around.

Using a 3-weight fly rod and a No. 10 popping bug, Greenan hooked up on his first cast. After a great battle, he landed a feisty oscar, an exotic that is one of the hardest fighting fish in all of Florida’s fresh waters. It was the first of more than 150 Oscar we caught on the day.

We switched to my Myakka Minnow after the topwater bite ended and did extremely well. In addition to Oscar, we caught largemouth bass, bluegill, stump knocker, Mayan cichlid and warmouth perch.  We also caught two species that we had never caught in this particular stretch of water: speckled perch and peacock bass. We landed eight speckled perch (black crappie) and five peacocks. By our conservative estimate, we landed 300 fish.

We fish the Everglades from December through April. The water level is down during this period and it concentrates the fish. During the rainy season, the water level is up and the fish spread out over millions of acres. In addition, the air temperature is quite comfortable and there are no bugs during winter.

Obviously, this is an all-day trip. We depart around 4:30 a.m. and get back about 6:30 p.m. Often we’ll stop for dinner at the Islamorada Fish House at Bass Pro Shop in Fort Myers.

Saltwater fishing has been fair. I fished Tuesday and landed a pair of Pompano and a Spanish mackerel on my Big Eye Baitfish Fly. I used a 6-weight fly rod and sink tip line.  I fished off Stephens Point in Sarasota Bay. There were plenty of fish on the deep grass, but they weren’t aggressive. We probably need four or five days of decent weather to spark the bite.  If we get some good negative tides, I’ll head for Charlotte Harbor, Matlacha or Pine Island Sound to target tailing redfish. This is a thrilling way to fish – although it can be frustrating.  This is probably my last fishing report of the year. Kathy and I will fly to Grand Cayman on Christmas Eve. I’m planning on fly fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon for five days.

If you have a kayak in mind for this holiday season, make sure you

Check out Native Watercraft at www.nativewatercraft.com. I fish out of the Native Ultimate 14.5 and I consider it a great fishing vessel.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.

Dec. 2, 2009

Fall fishing has been fabulous. That’s the only way I can describe it.  We’ve been getting tailing redfish on the negative low tides in Pine Island Sound and off Charlotte Harbor. In addition, we’ve been getting snook and trout in the backcountry.  The tailing redfish have been going for my new First Cast Crab, an impressionistic crab imitation that has performed extremely well. We’ve also been scoring on Clouser Deep Minnows.

For redfish and snook, we’ve been using 8-weight fly rods with full floating lines and 10-foot fluorocarbon leaders. We lighten up to 6 weights for other smaller species.  Hottest action has been in Sarasota Bay where we’ve been getting loads of pompano, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, spotted seatrout, ladyfish, gag grouper and mutton snapper.

I had Sarasota’s Bob Parker out last week on a fly-fishing expedition. Parker, president of Sarasota’s Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers, did well on a number of species. We combined for pompano, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and jack crevalle. Ken Taylor, a spinning enthusiast from North Port, Fla., joined me for an outing over the deep grass flats and we had a great day. We totaled 40 pompano to 4½ pounds, a dozen bluefish to 3, two Spanish mackerel, a couple of spotted seatrout, several ladyfish and a 17 ½-inch gag grouper.  Ken used jigs while I fished with a big-eyed fly designed with pompano in mind.  The fly produced as well as the jig.

Earlier in the week, I fish on my own and caught and released 25 pompano to 4 pounds, two Spanish mackerel to 5, bluefish to 6 and several spotted seatrout and ladyfish.

The day after the latest cold front, Chip Petty of Virginia and I fished the deep grass of Sarasota Bay and caught spotted seatrout to 17 inches, ladyfish, jack crevalle and snook. We hooked a couple of pompano and bluefish, but didn’t land any. The fishing was surprisingly decent, considering the weather.

We’ve got another cold front on the way. So, I don’t expect to get back on the water until early next week. When I do, I expect the same type of action in Sarasota Bay.

For those stuck in the cold, check out my blog to keep up on Florida fishing action at http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/

KAYAK FISHING TIP: I fish out of a Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5. The advantage this kayak gives me is three-fold: It’s fairly fast, tracks extremely well and stable enough to stand in. I’ve been doing a majority of my fly fishing while standing. That enables me to make longer casts with the fly rod than when I’m sitting.