Shad fishing on the St. John’s River south of Highway 46 on 02/02/2013. The shad run is starting to pick up. This video shows the typical technique I use. Cast upstream slightly, allow the current to pull the floating line until it is perpendicular to the shore, mend the line upstream, and then begin stripping once the line is perpendicular again. This technique ensures the fly has enough time to sink to the bottom.
This year I have found that 5 feet of fast sinking Airflo leader attached to the fly line along with 5 feet of 2x level tippet attached to #6 size flies weighted with 5/32 dumbells gets the fly down quickly and allows better presentation on the swing.
We started the day in 40 degree weather which warmed quickly to the mid 70s. Flies like orange/ white, or pink/ white kip tail clousers or shad darts have worked best up until today. Today, the solid orange shad dart was the only thing they would hit. It is amazing that something that has been successful on one day can be completely useless the next. Contrasting colors were all they would hit over the last month, but after a couple of cold dreary days, followed by a couple of clear days and they keyed in on solid orange. Just when you think you have figured it all out, they change!
Category: Kayaking
First Shad of 2013
I woke up early this morning and hit the St. John’s river. I caught 6 shad, several bass, crappie, sunfish, bluegill and even a catfish. 20+ fish today. I plan on savoring every moment of the Shad run this year. With a new son or daughter on the way, I am sure free time will be at a premium next year, although I will still try to get on the water and hone my skills so that I may one day share the experience with my kids. That is neat to think about!
I spent most of my free time in December tying flies for this year’s fly box seen here…
And here is a picture of the 1st Shad of 2013…
I caught one shad on an orange and white shad dart tied on a #6 hook with a 5/32 dumbell eye. All of the rest were caught with a pink and white kip tail clouser minnow tied on a #6 with a 5/32 dumbell. The water is still high on the St. John’s River and the current relatively swift for this waterway so I fished with a 5ft fast sinking leader connected to about 5ft of 10lb level tippet. This combination seemed to work well.
Birthdays in Sanibel 2012
Marci and I decided on Sanibel Island for our birthdays this year. We rented a private condo (L-6) at the Sanibel Arms which was a great condo only a couple of hundred feet from the beach and easy access to beach launch the kayaks. On Thursday the 20th (Marci’s Birthday) we made the 3.5 hour trip down to Sanibel through the middle of the state. We would opt to stay on 75 on the way home as even though it is about 40 miles longer that way, it is quicker because you can cruise at mph. After getting checked in, we decided to grab a late lunch at the Lazy Flamingo where I enjoyed the Oysters on the half shell and Marci enjoyed a fish sandwich. 
We then proceeded to make a shopping spree to stock our fridge at the condo with plenty of food and booze for the weekend. We made it back to the condo just before the rain, which was brief and cooled the temperature about 10 degrees. We made a round of cocktails and hit the beach for a walk and some shell collecting. I think we made it about half way to the lighthouse before turning around. For dinner, Marci chose Prosciutto and Tortellini ala vodka, which we enjoyed at around 9:00pm.
Friday (my birthday) we started the day at 8:00am and after a tasty breakfast of bagels, peanut butter and bananas, along with some delicious Kona coffee, we hit the beach with the kayaks and were on the water by 9:00. We were quickly greeted by a pod of dolphins includin a baby. The weather was a bit overcast so the fishing was off but, we made the paddle to the lighthouse and stopped for pictures. Check out some video…
After playing on the beach around the lighthouse for a bit, we made our way back to the condo by yak, stopping about half way for a “drift-nic” comprised of ham and cheese po-boys and a couple of beers. Since we were in no hurry we really just let the current do most of the work and slowly drifted the majority of the way back, just relaxing and taking in the rays. After beaching the yaks in front of the condo, I soon saw a huge flock of birds attacking the water, I made my way out to the mayham and landed 5 ladyfish in about as many casts. After a nap during the afternoon rain storm, it was soon time for cocktails, a walk on the beach, and a steak and potato dinner. We’re just easy like that. 🙂
On Saturday we were up even earlier (7:00am) and after a breakfast, we made our way to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. This is a great place to do some kayaking and fishing back in the secluded mangroves. I got a grandslam today (4 species of fish landed!) Three trout, one catfish, a ladyfish, and two Jack Crevalle… no a bad day if I do say so myself. Marci fished some but, gave up after getting stabbed in the hand with a Mirodine and opted to finish reading her book Life of Pi. She was also entertained by a friendly manatee, dolphins, and she even saw a shark.
Were off the water by around noon and stopped at Island Cow for lunch and to watch some of the Gators game. I had the reuban, she had the bang bang tacos. The sandwich was good, but Marci made the winning choice. After lunch we decided to stop in to Norm Zeigler’s Fly Shop where we met Norm himself. Norm literally wrote the book on fly fishing for snook and invented a fly which I have been tying for a while called the Schminnow. He was a friendly guy with an interesting story and we were happy to support him by grabbing a couple of t-shirts and a fly that he tied. Unfortunately I was not able to put any of his tips for fishing for snook from the beach to use as the overcast weather continued to make spotting Mr Snookie difficult. We decided on Doc’s for dinner, which was AWESOME, and we highly recommend it to anyonw visiting Sanibel.
Marci and I always have a good time for a birthdays, it has become a tradition. While we generally try some place new every year, we are always on the hunt for something so good, we just can’t resist going back every year. I think Sanibel may have my vote!
Check out more pics HERE.
Here is a video of me landing a HUGE jack crevalle at Ding Darling…
Labor Day 2012 in Vero Beach
Chad and I were lovingly invited by Aunt Donna and Uncle Mark to stay with them in Vero Beach for Labor Day. We packed up the kayaks, fishing gear, various beverages, and headed south for the long weekend. We got an early start on Friday, as my office closed early and Chad took a half day. After a quick stop for lunch and an important stop at ABC, we arrived at the beautiful condo on Vero Beach. Donna, Mark and Reagan arrived as well, and we headed up to the 13th floor of the building, we had the top story facing the ocean (amazing). We quickly dropped our stuff and headed out to 
check out the city and get directions to the home of Mark’s parents. They live on the river in Hell’s Pocket, a perfect launch for our kayaks from their dock.
We got back to the condo later that afternoon and cocktail hour was upon us. We spent hours on the wrap-around balcony talking about our lives,
our family, and how amazing it was to be together in this special place. Reagan interacted with us so wonderfully, she is a really good girl and I am really impressed by her manners and ability to talk with adults. Eventually, we ordered pizza and then proceeded to talk into the night. What great family time together. At one point, the moon was perfectly positioned in the night sky and we took a million pictures of it. Reagan took the best one with her learning pad device, despite the fact I had a really nice Canon camera! What a great start to a great weekend.
EARLY Saturday morning, we headed out with kayaks in tow to the river. Sometimes, we are so impressed with our stealthy ability to get the kayaks off the car, loaded, and into the water. This morning, stealthy we were not! It probably took us an hour to get the yaks assembled and off the dock, a funny thing happened that the sprinklers were on full blast in Mark’s parents backyard, so we were soaked by the time we launched! Also, my spinning rod snapped in half as we rounded a corner, leaving us with only 2 rods. What a morning and it was barely 8:30!!!! We finally got it together and set out on the beautiful river – we decided that I would use Chad’s spinning rod and he would cast on his fly rod. You make due! 
We spent hours within a mile of the river house, the fishing was so good, we didn’t want to leave! I caught a fiesty Jack Crevalle and Chad caught 4 trout. We took a break off the kayaks on a beautiful spoil island preserve called Indian River 36 for a few hours. Chad shore fished and I read. I am part of a book club at work and we are reading _Life of Pi_. Chad and I are a great pair, we are so comfortable together, we both like to be outside, we just go with the flow of the day and relax.
The heat of day set in and it was time to cool off and rejoin the Baileys. We headed back to the condo and settled in for an afternoon of Gator football. Donna’s two sons, Parker and Peyton also joined us that afternoon. The evening was really nice, we decided to stay in and cook spaghetti. We all stood in the kitchen and talked shop, it was really enjoyable to just spend time with the Baileys.
Sunday morning, we launched super early again to an epic day of fishing. The bite was on! Chad caught 9 trout, 2 Jack Crevalle, 1 mangrove snapper, and (drum roll, please), his first snook on the fly! This earned him a grand slam for the day! He was really happy! I didn’t have a shabby day myself, 6 trout, 1 of which was the biggest fish I have ever caught! I made a great stride in my fishing career this morning, I am now un hooking the fish ALL BY MYSELF! Yes, you would think, really Marci, this is a big deal??!?! It is, I am now comfortable enough to grab the line, unhook the fish, and do it alone.As we rounded the corner back to the dock, the whole Bailey family was fishing away. Donna and Parker caught fiesty Jacks, Peyton caught a small Bonnethead shark, and Reagan caught a honker-sized sheep’s head. The morning couldn’t have been more fun, we are a world-class fishing family!
After some lunch back at the condo, we headed out to the surf. Chad and the kids eagerly swam out to the waves and started body surfing. Mark, Donna, and I hung back on the shore to watch. After a while though, we decided they were having WAY to much fun, so we all decided to get in the surf. SO MUCH FUN! I haven’t laughed so hard, or drank so much salt water, in a long time! We finally tired and headed to the pool for a dip, then headed back to the dock for some evening fishing. Finally, after an awesome day, we retired back at the condo for a quiet night of take out pizza and conversation.
Monday morning, Labor Day, we decided to get an early start out of town in order to beat the crowds on the roads. We got out by noon, leaving the Baileys with the rest of the day to play. Unfortunately, Mark later that afternoon was bodysurfing and tore his Achille’s tendon – poor Mark, his MS 150 was in a few weeks and he was trained and ready to ride. As of this posting, his surgeon successfully repaired his tendon and he is recovering well.
Labor Day weekend 2012 will go down in the books as a great weekend with family. It is wonderful to know that we are surrounded by loving people – we are blessed!
For more pics check CLICK HERE!
Anna Maria Island
This weekend we joined Mike and Mindy in Anna Maria Island for some fun in the sun. Mike’s brother Tommy has a great beach house right on the grand canal. We got in some fishing from the boat on Saturday morning and got in to some ladyfish and small trout. Before we left, and before the sun was even up actually, I got a nice 19″ trout right off the dock. He is now resting peacefully in my freezer. Later that same evening, I took the kayak out and had one of those epic fishing experiences. 30+ fish on the fly ranging from decent size trout, huge ladyfish, and a school of jack crevalle. Of course, this is the one time I left the GoPro at home!
We had a blast with Mike, Mindy and the kids. It is so nice to spend some time together, eating, drinking, and having fun. Great weekend!
Paddle and a swim at Blue Spring State Park
Marci and I decided that we both needed to spend a nice day outdoors so we packed up the kayaks and went to Blue Spring State Park. We arrived right as they opened at 8:00am and we were the first kayaks on the spring run. At Blue Spring State Park, you are allowed to paddle up the run to the springhead before 11:00am, after that, no boats are allowed. This footage was shot soon after entering the run. Gar fish find sanctuary in the cool, clear water. I believe that most of these gar fish are either spotted gar or longnose gar. Some of these fish were three to four feet in length. They are quite beautiful!
I took this opportunity to test out my new 55m lens assembly for the GoPro from Snake River Prototyping. This third party lens attaches to the outside of the stock GoPro housing, so the factory lens stays intact. The flat glass lens corrects the blurry underwater images that you get with the rounded factory lens. It also accepts any standard 55mm threaded filter. Today I tested a Polarized filter that we plan on using on an upcoming trip to the Turks and Caicos. I am glad that I tested today because I found that my filter leaked under pressure. I have determined that this is because I was using a 3rd party filter and had used the smaller rubber gasket that is meant to be used with the Snake River custom filters. They ship a slightly larger gasket for use with third party filters, which is much more snug on my filter and should prevent future leaks.
Check out the video…
Just Saturday
Marci and I decided to head out on the kayaks today to do a little exploring. After spending the better portion of the Christmas break lying on the couch together nursing illness, and then returning to work, it was a welcome outdoor experience. I am really amped about fishing the Shad and Crappie Derby this year so really, I was scouting prime locations for when the shad migration makes its way to central Florida. The derby is a yearly photograph and release fishing competition in Florida and while I am not really a competitive fisherman, it gives me some direction in the winter months. We decided to launch from Mullet Lake Park and ended up paddling about 4 miles round trip to Lemon Bluff.
I really had not made any distinct plans, but, it just happened that we paddled up to the spot that C. Boyd Pfeiffer said is the “heaviest spawning” area on the St. Johns River in his book “Shad Fishing” that Marci gave me for Christmas. I was a little bummed to see that alot of the flat shoreline with minimal trees were marked “No Trespassing.” I could see that this would have been a great spot to fish the shad run back in 1975 when Pfeiffer published his book. However, we found a nice spot nearby to stop and have a picnic… the usual treat lately, chicken salad, wheat crackers, and a beer.
Marci and I did find a few spots that might be good for wading, but all in all, it was just a nice quiet day on the water. While I did wet a line, we both agreed that as far as St. Johns fishing destinations go, it’s going to be hard to beat the Jolly Gator further south.
Marci gave me a GoPro video camera for Christmas and it is the perfect addition to our kayak trips. Check out some video from our relaxing day on the St. Johns river today.
Fred Howard Park to Anclote Key
Marci and I paddled from Fred Howard Park to Anclote Key as part of our birthday extravaganza this year. The morning started out very overcast and we were afraid we would get rain. The paddle consisted of a 3 mile open water crossing, which was calm this monday morning. We arrived after about 45 minutes of paddling with a short break to do some fishing from the kayaks and found that we had the island all to ourselves! We took a brief walk to the lighthouse and found that the mosquitos were very hungry. Since we had not applied bugspray, the time spent at the lighthouse consisted of a quick picture and a much faster walk back to the beach.
After setting up a makeshift sun shelter, Marci found a happy spot to read her Kindle and I found a fishy looking spot by the dock to do some fly fishing… it’s what we do. 🙂 The overcast conditions meant great fishing in the morning and I caught several grunts and a nice sized trout.It seemed that the white on white clouser minnow tied on a size 2 hook with 5/32 dumbell eyes was the fly of choice today.
I also saw tarpon attacking bait and even a manatee right off shore. Marci spent her time reading “The Yearling” and was quite content reading and taking pictures of the sandpiper who had a home in the roots of a downed tree nearby.
The wind picked up and knocked down the tarp shelter while I continued casting in to the bait pods. Marci took it upon herself to rig up a much better shelter which was soon needed as the sun burned off the low lying clouds. With the high sun and tidal shift, the bite soon died down and I found myself ready for a beer and a dip in the cool water. We brought snorkeling gear, but found the area off the beach in front of the lighthouse to be pretty merky. We enjoyed a nice swim while watching sea gulls dive in to the bait pods.
We retreated from the sun under the shelter and had a wonderful lunch that consisted of chicken salad, cheese, crackers, jerky, and of course another beer. We figured it was around noon as we listened to the coast guard radio looking for a vessel that had made a Pan Pan call, a call that we did not originally hear. We decided to check the time and found it was actually around 3:00! Time flies when you are relaxing.
The breeze had died down as we started our crossing back to Fred Howard. It was blazing hot and Marci and I both kept dipping our hats in the water to try to keep cool. The paddle back seemed to take a while longer, but, we made it and decided to take a dip at the park before packing it all up and heading back to Innisbrook.
Check out more pics HERE
Blue Spring to Hontoon Island
Marci and I decided to head to Blue Spring State Park for a paddle this morning. The weather was nice, mid 70’s and low humidity in the morning. You can paddle all the way up in to the spring until 11:00am so, we took advantage and did so before the crowds got to the park.
The spring run was not quite as clear as last time we vistited. Evidently there has been a lime collapse of some sort (according to another visitor.) There are still TONS of alligator gar, and it is clear enough to see them in great detail. One surfaced right at my bow and spooked as it knocked in to the kayak.
When we got to the springhead, there were only two other guys there. They quickly head down river and we had the spring to ourselves for the better part of a half an hour. We did some snorkling in the cool water and then made haste as a group of divers arrived. We decided to paddle down river to Hontoon Island and have some lunch, then turn around.
About a mile in to our paddle, we came across three guys in a jonboat. One had a heavy fishing rod, like the size of a deep sea rod, that was bent in half. All of the sudden, there was a mightly splash and whatever was on the end of that pole, started pulling the boat. Marci quickly decided it had to be a gator, I was not so sure. I have never seen anyone catch one on a pole before. We sat and watched for probably 15-20 minutes as these guys fought this monster. We quickly realized Marci was indeed correct! After a serious fight, the guys managed to subdue the alligator, and with a mighty BANG, the gator met his match at the end of a bang stick. Who would have ever thought you would run in to that in the middle of a Saturday morning!?
It was quite a show, but, I do admit to feeling a little bad for the creature… Especially on this opening day of Florida Gator Football. None the less, they peaked our curiosity and we had to ask them… “So how big is he?” The response, “At least 11 feet, maybe more! But big enough for sure!” It easily looked about the size of our Hobies… but WIDER! Times like this will definitely remind you that you are indeed part of the food chain when you enter the water in Florida. 🙂
We continued our journey to Hontoon and ate our lunch. The trip back was quite a bit warmer than the trip down. The last hour we baked! We totaled around 8 miles round trip, with the spring run included. A great way to spend a Saturday.
Silver River Kayak Trip
Absolutely awesome day on the Silver River! Marci and I experienced some classic, “old Florida” today. A 10 mile trip this beautiful day on a crystal clear river, alligators EVERYWHERE, wonderful birds around every corner, and FREAKING MONKEYS! I have lived in Florida all of my life and have never been to Silver Springs. Paddling the Silver River definitely ranks in my top 5 day trips to date. For more pics CLICK HERE.