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, all three of these professionals incorporated the Cajun Thunder or similar popping cork into their repertoire, among other techniques. Even though they agreed this apparatus can seem a little goofy and is prone to having fishermen make fun of each other for using one, they also agree that it is a consistent fish producer. Thinking back to some of my first kayak fishing trips, I used a rattle float and caught plenty of fish with it. For whatever reason, I haven't use one in well over a year.  Maybe it's time to dust off my Cajun Thunder float and give it another go, even if the guys do start referring to me as "Sally." Below is a summary of the seminars I attended and my thoughts on the tips and information shared by these inshore fishing pros.







Fishing the Backwaters with Plastics - featuring Capt Mark Nichols, inventor and manufacturer of D.O.A. lures.
Perched on the deck of a flats boat "anchored" on one end of an artificial lagoon erected within the confines of the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Mark's presentation was both entertaining and informative. As one might expect, the bulk of his discussion centered on how to use various D.O.A. soft plastic baits in a variety of situations. One of his most significant tips was directed at how to properly fish the popular D.O.A. shrimp.  As Mark puts it, "fish this lure slower than death."  A pop or twitch now and then, and let the shrimp settle down to the bottom.  Shrimp don't spend all their time popping their tails and flitting about in the water. That takes up lots of energy, and shrimp, like many of us, just want to get through their day with as little effort as possible (and without getting eaten). Let the current and the lure's natural action do the work for you with this one.

One of Mark's more unusual presentations was to bite the tail off a D.O.A. shrimp and remove the hook from the body of the shrimp.  He replaced the original hook with a small rattle tube, and re-rigged the shrimp with an offset worm hook inserted through the tail, bringing the business end of the hook up through the top of the shrimp with the barb resting parallel to the shrimp's back, making it weedless.  The end result is a plastic shrimp that can be bounced backwards along the bottom, imitating a fleeing shrimp. When your D.O.A. shrimp starts getting a little chewed up and begins to slide around on the hook in the usual configuration, try this modification to extend the life of the lure and catch more fish with it.

He also demonstrated the use of D.O.A.'s "tough guy" pinfish imitation. These notorious bait stealers are one of the reasons I all but gave up on using live bait. (Catfish and stingrays are the other reasons). Then again, a live pinfish on a hook makes fantastic bait for huge trout, but when they are stealing bait, they rarely hook themselves on the larger hooks intended for sizeable gamefish. Having a plastic pinfish imitation is a great idea that I will have to try in the near future.

D.O.A. manufactures their own version of the Cajun Thunder rattle float, called the D.O.A. "Deadly Combo." It consists of an orange float on a wire, with 1/4 ounce lead sinker below it and a plastic shrimp at the end of a leader. Jerking the rod tip causes beads on the foat's wire to rattle and bring curious fish over to investigate the racket. It  also jerks the shrimp up sharply in the water column. Look for the fish to strike as the plastic shrimp drifts slowly back down. Mark wasn't much of a fan of this setup until an 8-year-old kid using a rattling float outfished him one day.  Now he's a big fan of the "silly popping cork."

Prior to this seminar, I had already visited the D.O.A. booth and plunked down a little cash for a discounted custom inshore plastics kit, which included the new chug-heads and several new colors for paddle tails and jerkbaits. To sweeten the deal, the rep also threw in a copy of D.O.A.'s "Unfair DVD." The DVD contains many of the same tips Mark shared in the seminar, along with several more.


Catching Redfish -- Capt Terry Lacoss from Amelia Island.
Terry likes to locate fish by throwing a gold spoon to find out where they are hiding. A steady retrieve and the wobble of the spoon are usually enough to find out if any hungry fish are nearby.  Once he finds the fish, it's time to hang out in that spot for a while and have some fun catching fish.  Capt Terry is also a fan of the Cajun Thunder rattle float, using it with both live and artificial bait. He says that many fishermen spend too much time in one spot, waiting for the tide to "get right" instead of moving around to where the fish are. The tidal range here in Northeast Florida is 5 to 6 feet. Gamefish generally follow the tidal flow in search of an easy meal as shrimp, crabs and other tidbits get washed in and out with the tide.  At low tide, the fish will hang out in deeper holes, moving up onto the flats as the tide comes in, and eventually up into the spartina grass at high tide. For deeper water, Captain Terry also is a fan of one of my favorite rigs, the dropshot rig. I also use this rig in shallower water of 3 or 4 feet, and I've caught every major inshore species on it using live bait, dead bait, or Berkley Gulp! products.  The dropshot rig can be a great passive fishing technique. Use it to soak a bait on one rod secured in a rod holder while you actively throw a spoon or soft plastic with a second rod.

Another lure Terry recommends for targeting redfish is a spinnerbait. When water clarity is not so great, the spinner adds some flash and vibration that can help fish locate the lure and initiate a strike. The technique for using one is amazingly simple. Just cast and retrieve.  That's it.  You can vary the speed of the retrieve until you find how much action the fish like that day. As with any artificial lure, when the water is colder, slow down the retrieve to give chilly, lethargic fish a chance to bite it.


Live Bait Fishing -- Capt Pat McGriff from Keaton Beach.
Lively, colorful and entertaining. Capt Pat led things off discussing the scourge of live bait anglers - bait stealing pinfish. Rather than curse these pests, Capt Pat has turned the tables on them, making pinfish his bait of choice. To catch them, he uses a hair-thin #16 hook baited with a tiny penant size piece of chicken gizzard for bait. Squid or shrimp will work, too.  He claims he can catch 4 pinfish per minute with theis method.  To use the pinfish as bait, he recommends hooking it through the eye sockets to ensure the fish remains healthy and mobile when he returns it to the water to seek out a suitable gamefish. Depending on your setup and the fish you are targeting, you can also hook pinfish under the dorsal fin or above the anal fin.

How do you know when your live pinfish is getting worn out and not so lively?  They change their coloration to indicate their stress level. As Captain Pat puts it, "If he's striped and white, he's alright. If he's barred and gold, he's too old." As a pinfish gets tired and stressed, he changes from white with horizontal stripes to a more gold color with several dark vertical bands along his sides. Pat prefers to fish these pinfish under a Cajun Thunder popping cork, using short, sharp "pops" to make some noise, but to also keep the float in the same general area. This gives the gamefish time to home in on the noise and locate the pinfish suspended beneath it.

Really Cool Artwork -- from Tony Ryals
I had my 8 year old daughter, Rachel, in tow as we wandered about the show, and we visited artist Tony Ryals for some face painting and to take a look at his art.  Tony is a very special artist, creating all of his work by holding a paintbrush with his mouth. A rare birth defect left him without the use of his arms or legs, but he doesn't let that hold him back.  Tony is a remarkable artist with an inspiring story of perseverance and the power of positive attitude. Rachel held perfectly still as Tony painted a sea turtle on her cheek, joking with her the whole time. We also purchased a few of his prints to take home with us and decorate our walls. Check out his artwork and his personal story at his website:  www.artofhope.com.

Summary
Overall, the Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Show was fun, entertaining, and educational. In addition to the seminars, there were booths from every imaginable product vendor related to fishing and boating. The kayak fishing community was well served with representatives from Hobie, Gander Mountain and others. I even ran into our friend Frank Gregg, "the Mayor of Chicopit Bay," from the Jax Kayak Fishing web site (www.jaxkayakfishing.com). Frank was enlightening show attendees on the finer points of kayak fishing from one of Hobie's pedal-powered craft. There was also a seminar on inshore rigging techniques using the new Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release lures. These artificial baits are similar to Berkley's Gulp! baits, but without the smelly juice. Fishbites are also a local product made nearby in St. Augustine Florida by Carr Specialty Baits, Inc.  Check them out at www.fishbites.com.