For the last couple of years my brother, Ben, and I have spent our winter break in SW florida visiting our grandmother and fishing. Every year we try to fish an area near charlotte harbor as much as the weather and our family obligations allow. The kayak launch is a 45 minute drive from where we stay, but well worth the drive. Yesterday, we left the house at 4:45 am and were on the water by 6:00.
We launched and paddled across the sound which is covered with shallow flats and turtle grass. The tide was low in the morning which pushed the fish into the deeper holes, making them easier to target. We immediately started catching speckled trout from the 'potholes' up to 24" on sebile plugs, super spook jr's, and weedless rigged bass assassins. The trout season is closed until the first of January, so all these fish went back. The redfish were tailing all around us, but as always were not as willing to hit a well presented lure as the trout. We managed to entice four tailers up to 25" during the morning low tide, seeing close to 50.
As the tide came up we ate lunch and paddled around a different islands to get out of the wind. We found a few deep potholes with some shallow water nearby where we could wade. We fished these spots for close to an hour probably catching 40 ladyfish each, which got annoying quickly. After a quick nap on a remote beach we moved on to some trout holes that were a few miles away that were loaded with trout and small redfish. The sun began to get low and we went onto the flats to look for tailers. The tide was high, but we managed to find a few flats that were still less than a foot deep. We came up to a couple pods of tailers, and found a few that were willing ready to feed. We caught three before the sun went down, including a 31" caught by Ben which ended the day. We made the long paddle back to the launch and drove back home.
I tried to split my time between taking pictures and fishing, here are a few of the better pictures from yesterday:
We launched and paddled across the sound which is covered with shallow flats and turtle grass. The tide was low in the morning which pushed the fish into the deeper holes, making them easier to target. We immediately started catching speckled trout from the 'potholes' up to 24" on sebile plugs, super spook jr's, and weedless rigged bass assassins. The trout season is closed until the first of January, so all these fish went back. The redfish were tailing all around us, but as always were not as willing to hit a well presented lure as the trout. We managed to entice four tailers up to 25" during the morning low tide, seeing close to 50.
As the tide came up we ate lunch and paddled around a different islands to get out of the wind. We found a few deep potholes with some shallow water nearby where we could wade. We fished these spots for close to an hour probably catching 40 ladyfish each, which got annoying quickly. After a quick nap on a remote beach we moved on to some trout holes that were a few miles away that were loaded with trout and small redfish. The sun began to get low and we went onto the flats to look for tailers. The tide was high, but we managed to find a few flats that were still less than a foot deep. We came up to a couple pods of tailers, and found a few that were willing ready to feed. We caught three before the sun went down, including a 31" caught by Ben which ended the day. We made the long paddle back to the launch and drove back home.
I tried to split my time between taking pictures and fishing, here are a few of the better pictures from yesterday:
Sunrise
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Saltwater Raccoon
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Tailing Redfish in the Morning
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Horseshoe Crab on the Flats
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Anhinga Drying itself
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Tailing Redfish at sunset
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31" Tailer
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Sunset
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Saltwater Raccoon
Tailing Redfish in the Morning
Horseshoe Crab on the Flats
Anhinga Drying itself
Tailing Redfish at sunset
31" Tailer
Sunset
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