Inshore Fishing Report
Sunday, September 13, 2009

My youngest daughter, Julia, had been asking me for some time to take her kayak fishing. Now that she is all of seven years old, she decided she wants to join Dad on one of his fishing trips. Once our schedules finally allowed us time to indulge in some saltwater fishing, the weather wasn't all that cooperative. It rained all night and continued into the morning of our fishing trip. However, the weather gal on TV assured us it would be clearing up as the morning went on, so we loaded up the kayak and our fishing gear and off we went.

After a quick (and rainy) trip to the bait shop, we secured one dozen live shrimp and headed to Little Talbot Island State Park. The campground there has a nice hard sand primitive boat launch onto Myrtle Creek. This is one of the few places in North Florida where the creek bottom is mostly sand and not the gooey marsh mud that is found in practically every other inshore creek here. The weather was beginning to cooperate, too. About the time we stepped out of the truck to launch the kayak, it had stopped raining.

With our gear loaded, Julia safely seated, and the kayak in the water, I cranked up the "kayak motor" and off we went to a favorite fishing spot. As kayak motors go, Julia gets about 50 yards per granola bar:



Our first fishing hole didn't produce any bites, but Julia was all set and ready to catch some fish:



The clouds stayed with us most of the day, but we brought along our umbrella as rain insurance. Had we left it in the truck, I"m sure it would have poured buckets on us. Our next fishing spot was more productive. Julia got a big bend in the rod and a firm tug on her fishing line on the very first cast:



Here she is with her very first fish, ever!  For her efforts and patience, she was rewarded with a nice little spotted seatrout:



He was too small to keep, so we released him to grow bigger. Maybe we'll come back another day and catch him again. After the little trout, the only bites we got were some small pinfish that kept stealing our shrimp. Julia was starting to get tired (and bored, I think), so we negotiated one more stop at another fishing hole on the way back to the launch.

This time, we were rewarded with a couple of rat sized redfish:



Julia likes how they can raise and lower their dorsal fins. She also thinks its pretty funny when the fish splashes Daddy as he puts them back in the water to swim off. After releasing the third of our undersized fish for the day, Julia asked me, "Daddy, are there any fish in this creek we can keep?"  I like how she thinks, but it was not to be today. We only found (and released) underslot fish, with no keepers in the bunch.

The sun was now getting hot, and Julia's fun meter was at its limit. We headed back in to drive home so she could tell Mommy and her sisters all about her fishing adventures and catching her very first fish. She did great on her first fishing trip, and I'm sure we'll go out again soon. Only next time, we'll catch a few keepers for dinner.

        

My brother-in-law (BIL), John, was in town, and we decided to ride along with my father-in-law (FIL), Tony, in his 16 foot stinkpot (powerboat) to go catch a few reds and trout. Those two had gone out yesterday while I was out on the kayak, and they had a pretty good day as well. Today we would try our luck as a trio and see if the fish would cooperate. << MORE >>

After more than a week of below freezing temperatures here in northease Florida, some warmer weather finally moved in. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I loaded up the 'yak, pulled on my Seal Skinz waterproof socks, and headed down to the bait shop to get a couple dozen live shrimp. While I prefer to use artificial lures, cold weather slows down the fish, so I wanted to make my presentation as appetizing as possible and maximize my opportunity to bring home some tasty groceries. << MORE >>

With nothing critical on my work schedule for the day before Thanksgiving, I decided to take the day off and enjoy a 5-day weekend. The weather report called for near freezing temps in the morning with highs in the mid 60's and very little wind. Time to layer up and go do some fishin'! << MORE >>

On November 8, 2008, I took the opportunity to visit the Florida Sportsman Fishing & Boat Show during its swing through Jacksonville, Florida. Although there were plenty of product vendors there, my primary purpose was to sit in on a few of the inshore fishing seminars to hear what the pros from around the state had to say and to glean some additional knowledge that might be helpful to kayak anglers. I visited three different seminars, and surprisingly...<< MORE >>

Between work, travel and a nagging knee injury, I haven't been on the water much lately. Fortunately, things (includind the knee) settled down enough to wet a line this morning. With arthroscopic knee surgery scheduled for Wednesday, I wanted to catch a few fish before the post-op recovery keeps me on the sidelines for a while. As usual, I had every intention of...<< MORE >>

My friend and fishing buddy, John Stewart, asked me recently if I would be a guest speaker at an informal event to help educate and inform a group of neophyte kayak anglers. In particular, John wanted me to address the subject of bottom fishing. It's nice to know that when he thinks of bottom feeders, my name comes to mind. Thanks, John! As promised at the workshop, I said I would make my notes available for anyone who wanted to know more about some of my favorite bottom fishing rigs for the local inshore creeks and rivers...<< MORE >>

Thanks to the nice folks at Fishbites (Carr Specialty Baits, Inc.) in St. Augustine, Florida, I recently had the opportunity to try out the latest in synthetic natural baits. Fishbites is perhaps best known for their line of natural, biodegradable strips of cut bait. Their newest product, "xtreme scent release lures," are shaped like natural baits. Saltwater formulas are available in the form of shrimp, paddle tail minnows, and jerk baits. They also have a freshwater formula in two worm shapes and sizes. Armed with all three saltwater versions, I loaded up my kayak and ventured out to a local saltmarsh creek to do a little fishing and see how these new baits performed. << MORE >>

These blog posts are a variety of ways for preparing fish of no particular species. Browse and enjoy!<< MORE >>

Sheepshead, black drum, or redfish are excellent when baked whole and served with this black bean sauce. Note: DO NOT use canned black beans from the grocery store! What you want are "salted black beans" from your local oriental food store. Look for the ones that are sold in a...<< MORE >>