- The only known adult Orca in the world
- IGFA event April 14th and 15th.. Jose Wejebe event
- Fishing TV show Spanish Fly host Jose Wejebe Killed in a plane cash in Everglades City, Florida April 6th 2012
- Only in Florida
- CCA Florida – Tampa Chapter Announces Twenty-Seventh Banquet, April 22, 2012
- Fly like a bird
- Biscayne Bay Estuary deep dredge threat
- A fish named “Ball Cutters”, yes it is exactly what you think!
- Rod Naming contest, Win 1 piece 12 wt Fly rods or Spinning rods, Deadline March 26th 2012
- Ladies Only fishing tournament in Sunny Florida, March 23rd 2012, Chix n Stix
Night time Stand Up Paddle board fishing
3.19.2012
This is the third time I have taken the paddle board out to fish in. I have to say like the concept of being able to stand up, paddle in supper skinny water and look for fish.
Tonight however was not the case. The day before I saw lots of fish but they were not feeding at all. I decided to back later that night on better tides and see if we can get them on top water. At 3am(the tide was good then), it was dark there was no use in sight fishing so we opted for the Top Dog by Mirrolure.
Adrian was brave enough to get out on the paddle board with me that night. We had some great action as the tide started to move out. A monster explosion on my Top Dog next to the Stand Up Paddle board scared the crap out of me. Adrian hooks a nice snook but it came off. I was really impressed how well the bite was. Usually when I plan on something like this the bite doesn’t usually work out.
After Adrian pulls in a nice redfish we drifted into the trout area. A few small trout got to the White with redhead Top dog then I had a really nice trout that even took some drag from me. He measured out at 23″. When the sun came up the bite died off quickly and decided to pack it in for the day.
Totaled we paddled almost 6 miles that morning. Compared to kayak fishing its definitely more work and not was efficient. It is a bit more fun though since you are standing up casting and fighting the fish. I am not going to say I like one vs the other they are just different. You definitely get more exercise in the SUP though.
I’m constantly learning how to be more efficient in the paddle board fishing concept. A few tweaks here and there I think I can get it down.
The K2 square cooler(30% cheaper than the popular brands) was used to store my gear and drinks. It worked great as a seat as well.
Small anchor or Wang Stake out pole would work great out there.
A wading vest definitely comes in handy for small items like, small pliers, cutters, lures, jig heads and leaders.
Photo notes: All shots taken with the waterproof Nikon AW100
This was shot with Adrian’s video camera.. he did a good job photoshopping Dragon Fly logo in there.
If you look at my left leg its all scrapped up. This happened in the Bahamas when I stepped in a rocky hole at night time. Ouch! I will elaborate when I finish the Bahama report.
Salvaging an evacuation…
Not too long ago, reports of epic bonefishing in the Keys brought my buddy Jeremy and I back down from my home in Miami for a day of fishing in some of my favorite bonefish haunts. Having been off the water for more days then I can care to want to remember, the only thing we were able to go on were some fishing reports, knowledge and experience of how these flats worked, and great expectations. There are times when that alone is enough, but this day was not one of them.
We slid my newly Mercury repowered Maverick 18 Mirage into the water and showed up in the AM, waiting out the light to fish a small flat on my favorite tide. The water was right, rays were present, sharks roamed aggressively, but after a detailed scan of the flat… nothing. We moved on looking for permit and found a change in terrain that may have caused a drastic difference in how some of these flats fished. We didn’t stick to permit fishing for long but waited around to see if there was a rouge tarpon that would swim down that ocean side shoreline in the Upper Keys. We waited for a couple hours… nothing. This prompted us to head in for an early lunch stop at a local restaurant by water. At lunch, we decided to stretch some fly lines out and bend a rod in the reliable backcountry sight fishing tailing sheepshead and redfish in gin clear shallow water. While doing so, we would wait for a different tide to resume our search for bonefish.
A quick run to the backcountry allowed us to sight fish several tailing sheepshead and a couple of decent redfish before we ran back out to the oceanside. Again we searched to find a great tide with empty bodies of water. This was an absolute total evacuation; one that I have witnessed before but none so discouraging. With the light starting to subside, we made a last ditch attempt to run back into the backcountry. I would have hesitated to do make the long haul had it not been for the new Mercury ProXs reassuring me that we would make it there, be able to pole around in skinny enough water to look for tails and wakes while still being able to make it back home with plenty of light to spare… we did just that. We crossed into the Everglades National Park boarder and spent the last hour of our day tossing flies at schools of redfish. With a 40mph cruise and 50+mph top speed, we made it back to the ramp burning very little fuel and avoiding the night time biting bugs.
The Maverick 18 HPX-V with the Mercury 115 Optimax ProXS is proving to be the perfect setup for my style of fishing. This setup is the perfect compromise of speed, stealth, fuel economy, and polability.
My favorite time of year is right around the corner so stay tuned for the chronicles…
Stand UP Paddle board fishing, SUP Flats fishing
3.1.2012
One thing about fishing is that you can choose your method. What ever interest you the most that is what you do. If you like to bait fish so be it. Many like use artificial lures and many like to fly fish. Then of course comes the choice of vessel you choose to fish out of. There is wading, skiffs, baby boats, kayaks, canoes, sports fishing boat, jon boats, and center consoles.
Though I love all types of fishing, kayak fishing to get super skinny and stealthy(winter time) is one of my favorites. The thing I do not like so much about kayak fishing, is the fact you have to be sitting down most of the time. Not that you can not catch fish sitting down, sometimes you just want to see fish or stretch a bit.
When I saw all the stand up paddle board(SUP) at Surf Expo in Orlando recently, I was interested in using it to fish out of. There were a few there set up already for fishing.A quick youtube search and I found people catching tarpon, sail fish, red fish already out of SUP(Stand up Paddleboard).
This got me into research mode. I find that the Drangonfly Paddle board was made right here in Florida. They had some great ideas in the SUP fishing arena. With a V entry for quietness and toe rails to channel water away and out from your feet an gear it was worth a look.
A stop over at the factory and a demo ride had me buying one last month. I got to choose my colors from bottom, top, Sea Dek, and all kinds of options. I wanted mine pretty basic since I would to use it to exercise as well.
I got lucky and they had my colors in stock(white bottom, light blue top and light grey Sea Dek), it took less than two weeks to finish. The problem is with the Salty Fly to run I had no time to use it.
I finally got a chance to take it out today and I gotta say it was really fun. SUP Fishing is definitely not the most efficient way to fish but it’s a blast, not to mention it is great core exercise. You just get to see and it is just more comfortable when I’m casting, especially fly casting.
Only fishing for about 2 hours and I wound up catching a couple redfish on the Top Dog in about 1′ of water. Super quiet, stealthy and it feels like you’re walking on water.
For my first trip it wasn’t too bad. Now I need to figure out all the stuff I need and don’t need to bring on board for a day of fishing.
The ultimate goal this year is to get a nice Tarpon on the SUP and go for a sleigh ride. Then it’s to get a tarpon on fly on the SUP. Hey, one can dream can’t I? 
Shots done on the iphone or Nikon AW100 point and shoot.
If you guys are going to the Tampa Outdoor Expo this weekend, I’ll have it at the Wang Anchor Booth so you can check it out.
Bait-Chunking in the Wind
Wish I could have made it to Tampa this weekend for the Salty Fly – looks like a good time was had by all. Congrats to all of the winners and to Sam for coordinating such an impressive tournament. Here in SC, we had another round of 30+ mph winds that made fly/sight fishing near impossible for the weekend. Instead of sitting on the couch, we piled in the boat with a bucket full of minnows and went fishing the old-fashioned way.
Winter is one of the best times for wildlife viewing here in the Low Country. I snapped a pic of this great egret and realized once I got home that it was sporting a radio transmitter. After talking to one of my buds at the wildlife refuge, it sounds like this bird may be one the gulf oil spill birds. Nice to know it is doing well. One of them has already been tracked as far north as Detroit.
Jay Nelson www.winyahguide.com
Chronicles of a Tarpon Junkie 2012… a New Year!!!
The clock struck midnight and fireworks lit up the dark skies in Key Largo. The usual Florida Keys crowd welcomed a new year in toasts, noise makers, and well wishes.
I started my first fishing trip of 2012 the following morning. Another year passed and we are now settled into 2012 looking forward to the next string of tarpon to flush down our coast line in the Florida Keys. The small windows that allowed for some pooning gave us a small tease of what is to come when the full swing comes around. As I sit in front of this iMac tying away, I stare up at my wall of fly rods and my 12wt immediately catches my eyes. I continue to become anxious as I get flashbacks of January 1st 2012. The miraculous even that took place that day still has me in awe as Tim and I experienced a taste of 2012′s laid up tarpon fishery. We hooked a bunch of fish that day and brought 3 to the glove. The cold fronts have since pushed the fish away as they await their turn to slide into spring time migration mode.
With tarpon fishing tactics constantly evolving, both my arsenal, ammunition, and vehicle had to keep up with these changes as well. So I advance forward this tarpon season with new Nautilus Monster Fly reels, improved versions of last year’s flies, and more power at my stern.
Stay tuned…
24 Hours in Bimini
I got a call from a friend asking if I wanted to fly over to Bimini and fish a couple of days, then help take the boat back to Fort Lauderdale. The plan seemed simple, a little trolling for wahoo, some deep dropping for queen snappers, and maybe a little chumming for yellowtails. The only thing we couldn’t control was the weather. We knew a front was coming, and the trip may have to be cut short by a day or two, but I didn’t really care. Any reason to spend a little time on the other side of the gulf stream sounded good to me.
We arrived in Bimini about noonish on Friday and decided to drag some high-speed lures for an hour or so. No bites, the only thing that was being put in the boat was a little rain here and there. Without a reason to fight the elements we opted to head for the house and take a little lunch break and get ready for some afternoon yellowtailing. A few hours later we headed out of the channel and quickly noticed the wind had picked up and the seas were a little bigger. The guys on the boat were arguing about the size’ “They look 2-4″, “No, those are 3-5′s”, I just say they were, “hold on to the tower or rail or risk getting thrown out of the boat size”. Needless to say, when your yellowtail jig heads are skipping on the surface, the current is way too strong to fish for snappers. That would be the end of fishing for day 1.
Saturday morning didn’t look much better. The seas were still big and the forecast was calling for 9-11 foot seas in the stream. The wind was going to pick up and blow harder on Sunday and Monday. There would be no taking the boat back so we charted a plane to fly us out in the afternoon. As we sat on the couch looking out over the water we could see the front way off in the distance and the water was nothing but whitecaps. I suggested we go give it one last chance, heck we all had foul weather gear and the fish were already wet, what would they care. Besides, we had three hours before we were going to get on the plane. We grabbed four trolling rods and off we went. It didn’t take long before we had a double hook up. After a short fight we had wahoo in the boat and we headed for the house.
As I sit here and type this it almost feels like I never left my home, like it was all a dream. Maybe it’s due to the lack of sleep or the removal from the daily grind. Whatever it is, it puts a smile on my face. I was able to spend time with old friends and meet some new ones. Had some great food, good laughs, and shot a few photos along the way. That’s what makes life good!
“Lowlands & Sanibel Flats”
I will start off by saying this has been wonderful winter for redfishing! We have had a very mild winter with warm and windless mornings!
As every fly-fisherman does, I try and incorporate my everyday lifestyle around my addiction to fly fishing…We try and do anything and everything to surround ourselves with something that puts us on our favorite stream, river, ocean or flat. Even if it is as simple as listening to music that circumvents this lifestyle.
Everyone can admit that there is a song, album or artist that gets us going as the sun is rising and we are heading for water. This is also relevent after a great day on the water as you are returning to the reality of life’s strenuous feats.
I was fortunate enough to meet an upcomming rising artist, Jeremy Rizer, vocals and guitar of the band “Lowlands”, based out of Grand Junction, Colorado. This guy is a class-act in every way. Their sound, progressive country/blue grass with that comforting hint of Rock-n-Roll will put you instantly back on your roots. The hit song “Snow Road”, is worth the listen and you will quickly understand the potential this band has. http://lowlandscolorado.com/
http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=Lowlands
I believe there is a free download on their Facebook page if you “like” the page or view “soundcloud”. http://www.facebook.com/lowlandsband?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/lowlandsband?sk=info
As the past week went – wind was low as was the tide. We had a heavy push of fish concentrated in Charlotte Harbor that were will really willing to play. Steve Tubbs (Who happens to be best friends with lead vocalist Jeremy Rizer of “Lowlands”) and I used the means of Kayaks to pursue the shallow flats and stalk tailing schools of fish that really never stopped traveling through, even at high noon and high tide. There is something to be said about the strength of solitude when fishing out of a Kayak. You become your own team and are able to do as you please and just “fish”…..We had one of those epic days and placed ourselves in the right place at the right time. Its amazing how looking a your log from years ago, will actually hold true for patterning these fish for future years to come. We were able to capitalize with flies and DOA’s.
iPhone Fun!
You would have thought these two fish were the same…..Nope! This is how fast the fish were pushing in on us! If you look closely, you will see that these are different fish…This is how our fishery has strived this year. We are very fortunate to have such a play ground in our back yard.
It is now only a matter of weeks before we can start to see the large silhouettes of a silver fish laid up in their pre-season haunts! Let the season begin. Stay tuned for pre-season tarpon fishing is about to begin!
Bottom fishing with D.O.A. Swimmin’ Mullet
Me, my brother and friends ventured out of Port Canaveral in the 22′ Pathfinder TE this past weekend. Conditions were sloppy but that didn’t stop the fish 80ft below from biting. We used nothing but D.O.A. Swimmin’ Mullet to jig the bottom and caught multiple species including Flounder, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Sea Bass, Trigger fish, Grouper, Cobia, and Toad fish this day.
-Capt. Willy Le
www.NativeFlyCharters.com
East Coast Pigs with Cameron by Kapers
Generally I dont fish during the winter months because the cold gets to be a bit much for this Florida Boy. But recently we have had a fairly mild winter so I thought what the hey let me get out and do some winter fishing.
I gave Cameron a call and asked how the fishing was on his coast ( Florida East coast ) this time of the year? He told me if I was going to fish the East Coast that now was the time. So I packed my gear and hit the road the following morning.
I met up with Cameron at 6am and we began our journey which ended up being a 9 hour day out on the water doing what we love. We started the morning off using MirrOlure She dog top water lure. We landed multiple trout the smallest at 26 inches and me landing my personal best a 30 inch trout.
But trout wasn’t the purpose of the trip. We were in search of Bulls….. Bull Reds that is. So we left the trout and headed to where the fish were known to cruise. We anchored up the Kayaks and waded the area. I feel wading allows for a stealthier approach. These fish are big and they didnt make it to that size because they are stupid. So we wanted every advantage in our favor. And it worked out just the way we wanted.
We both landed multiple fish in the 42-45 inch range but the fish that made it all worth it was My 50 inch Bull and Cameron’s 51 inch Beast. All and all a great day on the water. I have now reconsidered winter fishing in the beautiful state of Florida…
A special day for Kent Johson
Kent Johnson from Montana spends his winters in warmer climates to get away from the frozen lakes and icy streams back at home. This year he is in Florida with his 5th wheel in tow and his wife by his side and they plan to travel the whole state staying in each region for 2 weeks then on to the next. This week he is staying on the outskirts of East Orlando and called me up to target Redfish with a fly rod. Kent has traveled the world with his fly rod and has caught Bonefish, Salmon, Tarpon, Permit, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, etc. but always had trouble with the Red Drum in Florida. After several attempts in the past years, he has failed to catch one until today, January 10, 2012, which was a very special day for him.
On a sandy flat of 8-12″, we would encounter Laid up Sea Trout, laid up Redfish and also large schools of Redfish. The water was crystal clear and not a lick of wind making the whole river sheet glass, which also made the fish very spooky. Kent had over 50 shots of both Trout and Reds but most of them blew off by seeing the fly line soaring through the air. The ones that didn’t spook off are the ones that either trailed the fly for a few yards before turning away, or ate the fly that imitated a small baitfish.
After landing a few nice Sea Trout (which Kent can also check off his list now) I see a pod of upper to over slot Redfish approaching us. I quickly position the skiff for Kent to fire off a long cast next to the school which he did perfectly without spooking the fish. Once the pod of fish headed towards the fly, Kent makes 3 or 4 quick strips which gets a fishes attention which then turned on the fly and ate. Now Kents first ever Redfish is hooked up on the end of his line and the battle begins.
After about 20 minutes of tug o war with the fish, I give Kent a hand to land his first ever Redfish on fly that he’s been after for a long time.
Kent cherishing the release of his first Redfish which measured 28.5″.
It wasn’t too long after the release of his first Redfish when he made a perfect cast to his 2nd Redfish ever caught.
After a bunch more shots and spooky fish, the wind picked up which made it tough to get the fly in the right spot so we called it a great day and headed back to ramp.
Congrats Kent on your Redfish and I hope you enjoy the memories that these photographs will bring back to you!
-Capt. Willy Le
www.nativeflycharters.com