September-Bass & Mullet

With some settled weather I was back pursuing mullet. The fish I took in July was 88% of the Scottish record and I knew there were bigger to be had. In fact when playing that fish there were two of its pals swimming with it which were easily the same size if not bigger. I made a few changes and some fine tuning to me end tackle, ground bait and approach. This resulted in a superb session, can’t remember if it was five or six fish but I had another fish over 6 pounds. I did have some competition from a seal and was lucky not to lose two fish. I again involved a random, pics taken by a granny out buying a newspaper. The old dear stood and chatted off and on for about an hour and a half, bless her. Thanks for taking the pics!

I also had a couple of sessions on the Bass these were however proving a little trickier. I did have some more fish off the top including the one pictured here. It does not do it justice but I was perched on a boulder in 3 feet of water trying to be quite and not splash around. The minute the popper hit the water I paused, on the first few twitches walking it back it was totally nailed. In fact the fish almost cart wheeled over itself on the take, superb fish, great fight and it took ages to revive. I also took this fish at maximum distance which was interesting over the ground I was fishing. The Caldia I picked up for the Sun fish of the week worked well. I got the 3000 size , nice reel and a sweet little drag.

August-Bass

August was a difficult month, wind, rain, dirty water with suspended weed. As a result the wind direction throughout the month I was sort of pushed to fish one area more often than I would have liked. The weather seemed to conspire to be at it bests (along with the tides) mid week. But regardless of this I still caught, just had to try harder and put up with more weather.

Started taking more fish off the top on surface lures such as the Mag Popper and Luck Craft Sammy. For me it’s a really satisfying and also exciting way to take fish. What I did learn this month is that sometimes the less you do and only using subtle movements with this style of fishing the more you catch. I think I had about 8 fish on the surface.

The rain put the dampeners on the mullet but they would be back on the agenda soon enough…

July- Bass & Mullet

More of the same for me in July, good sessions on the Bass. Lots of miles, some warranted grief from Lynne as a result of being completely done in come Sundays. I drive around 50k miles per year in my day job and on top of that on a Friday night I was off on my travels, come Sunday…puffed out.

As a result of this I tried closer to home targeting mullet for a couple if quick sessions to get my fix. Now not having fished them for some time I was not that optimistic. This proved to be unfounded as had some quick success with 3 fish in my first session the best being this fish picture above at 6 pounds 5 ounces. The scrap these fish provide on the right tackle is just superb. The fish unfortunately died, after a doing its best to escape I put it back in the drop net to release it. Its dorsal became entangled in the net so by the time I brought it back up and then back down it had gone. I have to say it did eat pretty well cooked by mate Rodney on his barbi. Having released all but two Bass this year it provided a decent feed for us and a nice change.

The picture was taken by of all people a bus driver who's rig had broken down. I later cropped the finger out the pic but cant find that copy, did a decent job apart from that. This random pic request to a passing stranger was to become a theme when fishing for mullet as I did this mainly alone.

June-Bass

When I came back from Norway summer had arrived and the fantastic spell of weather continued into June.

Not having done much Bass fishing for a couple of years I decided to re- focus my attention on these fish. Having had a static in the Luce Bay area for a few years I knew the area pretty well so sort of picked up where I left off. The main problem here was that before the early morning and evening session were easy in there was no need to travel further than 30 minutes. Not so now, indeed a round trip of 4 hours was required. The answer was simple, pick the right tides where I could which suited the venues I could fish both at dusk and dawn. With darkness falling around 11.30pm and dawn at 3.30am there was not much point in putting a tent up or investing in a B&B so got my head down in the Merc. With a portable stove for a dawn brew or an evening pot noodle what more do you need when there are Bass to be caught?

My partner Lynne thought I was nuts… think she thought I was at it. I explained that her name was Betty Bass a somewhat prickly character, fickle at times and only available at the most unsociable time of the day.

I enjoyed some very good results throughout June with up to seven fish a session and average catch of around 5 fish using lures such as the Maria Chase BW and Maria Angel Kiss, decent lures for the money. Effective colours seemed to be holo silver, green eel, pearl silver.

I also tried a few more local areas only an hour or so from my home with some success. I remember one evening taking a fish off the surface on a mag popper enjoyed that one big time, two casts later a Gannet took the lure thankfully it was not hooked. I couldn’t believe that this bird came so close in on such shallow and rocky ground, anyway it was good enough to fool a Bass and a Gannet so I must have been doing something right. So all in a good month with a few barbies and some cold ones thrown in. It was a busy month. I was also in hospital for surgery and had to take some time off work this curtailed me a little. It did however give me some time to spend money online buying...eh lures, rods and more lures

My favorite fly-rod species

My favorite fish on fly rod?

That's a tough choice. I love fly fishing for bonefish. I love fly fishing for oscar. And I love fly fishing for false albacore (the species I'm holding in the photo).

Bonefish are the ultimate in saltwater fly fishing. They're tough, speedy and very elusive. Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys are the only reliable spots for bonefish in the United States. I can leave my home in Sarasota, Fla., and be on the bonefish flats in five hours.

I caught my first bonefish on fly about 20 years ago. I was fishing in a tournament. The two days prior to the tournament were calm and clear. On tournament day, the sky was overcast and the wind howled at 25 miles per hour.

But I had a great guide. He not only put me on a ton of bonefish, but also kept the wind at my back and off my casting shoulder. In early afternoon, I hooked a monster bone near Shell Key. The fish departed that flat like it was shot from a cannon.

"If that fish goes deep, you'll lose it on the coral," said my guide.

Luckily, the fish didn't dive and I was able to get it out of the channel and back onto the flat.

If I had known how big that fish was, I'm certain I would have choked. But I didn't. My guide netted the fish and said, "You might as well quit now because you'll never catch a bigger bonefish."

The bone was slightly more than 33 inches long and weighed an estimated 14 pounds.

I won the tournament.

Bonefish would be my favorite species if I got to fish them all the time.

False albacore (also known as little tunny and bonito) are great, too. They eagerly take a fly and make long, speedy runs. These fish usually range from 4 to 15 pounds.

I got to fly fish for them the other day. Pete Greenan and I found albies busting flying fish in the inshore Gulf of Mexico just out from Gasparilla Pass. We landed four of the five we hooked.

I caught the largest fish -- an 8-pounder -- on a 6-weight fly rod. I looked down at my reel about 2 minutes into the battle and saw that I was running out of backing.

I looked at Greenan and asked him to start the engine.

He just smiled.

Fortunately, the fish stopped its run and I was able to regain line.

It's not a great idea to hook albies up on a 6-weight. It's better on an 8-weight.

Albies might be my favorite fish, but they're hit or miss for most of the year. Sometimes I go a year between catching them.

Oscar no doubt are the hardest fighting freshwater fish in Florida. Like orange trees and coconut palms, they're not native. They were first discovered in state waters in the early 1950s. Most think an aquarium owner dumped his or her fish in the backyard canal down in Miami-Dade County.

The rest is history.

Now, south Florida's fresh waters have large populations of exotics: oscar, Mayan cichlid, walking catfish, blue tilapia, spotted tilapia, brown hoplo. Bull's-eye snakeheads, jaguar guapote, clown knifefish, suckermouth catfish, grass carp, butterfly peacock bass and others.

Grass carp and peacock bass were intentionally introduced into Florida waters by the state. The others were not.

State fisheries biologists probably would like to get rid of the exotics. But that's not likely to happen. With that in mind, we might as well catch them and have fun.

Oscar and Mayan cichlids are good to eat and I don't think there are size or bag limits on either.

Oscar would be my favorite fly-rod species, but I have to drive about three hours to get to them and I get the opportunity five or six times a year.

Around home, I guess it's snook. I probably catch and release 200-300 snook annually. And I land some big ones. I caught and reelased a 39-incher last summer.

Could be snook. Could be redfish. I like dolphin, too. Tarpon are a blast. Bass are pretty special. And I've always had an affinity for bluegill.

Last summer, I caught some mammoth carp on fly in Michigan. And I even managed some hefty smallmouth bass.

Michigan waters also have yielded steelhead, coho salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout.

Now, it's becoming pretty clear: Most any species taken on a fly rod is pretty darn good.

Freebies always come at a high price

Guy Tillotson of Bonita Springs, Fla., called me the other day. He's rep for several companies. He reps TFO fly rods and Freedom Hawk kayaks among other things.

During our discussion, he asked, "Why do people think reps and fishing guides get everything for free?"

We don't, but that's what people think.

Only unethical outdoor writers get things for free. When I was working full-time as an outdoor writer, freebies hit me in the face almost every day. I was offered free trips to many exotic destinations.

One time I was asked to attend a gathering of outdoor writers from around the country at Boca Grande. Jack Harper of Miller's Marine had this crazy idea that he could stage tarpon tournaments in Boca Grande Pass and attract a legion of fans just like NASCAR. The boats would be very colorful and wrapped with sponsor names all over the hull. Harper, a former football player at the University of Florida, also envisioned television coverage because the event was stage in the confined area of Boca Grande Pass.

That dream eventually turned into the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series, a very successful venture that is aired on the World Fishing Network.

Back to the beginning ...

I wasn't going to attend the outing. I filed the invitation in the circular drawer (trash can). But the marketing director called me and begged me to attend.

I relented, but only after telling him I'd pay my own way.

When I checked into the hotel, the desk clerk look at the comp list and said, "Your room is free."

I told her that I had to pay. And I did so by credit card.

I also paid for all meals.

A few months later, I recieved a call at home from the paper's managing editor. She was livid.

"Did you attend an outing for outdoor writers at Boca Grande?" she yelled.

I told her I had.

She wanted to know if I took the free room and meals.

I told her that I hadn't.

"I want to see the receipts in the morning."

I had the receipts, so it was no big deal. But it could have been a really big deal had I taken the free stuff.

Today's newspapers are very picky about freebies. They don't want writers obligated to any business or organization. Some outdoor writers don't get that.

Now, I'm a guide. I'm sponsored by a number of companies. My kayaks come from Native Watercraft. I get them at a good price, but not for free.

I use TFO fly rods and reels. They're not free, either.

I was talking with someone not long ago who said, "I know why you like TFO fly rods ... because they're free."

Wrong. Even if they were free, I wouldn't use them if I didn't like them. They're great fly rods and I'm fortunate to be on TFO's pro staff.

I learned long ago that nothings really free. There's always a catch on the freebies.

Fly-fishing duo keep it light and catch fish

Don't let Al White touch your line.

He's the kiss of death. Bad luck. A hex.

He's a banana on a flats skiff.

Everything Midas touched may have turned to gold. Every time White touches a fishing line, it breaks.

Twice the other day, White went to land fish for me. When he grabbed the leader to land a small snook I'd hooked, it broke. I not only lost the snook, but also a $5.95 popping bug. I lost a Super Hair Clouser that I had tied when White tried to land a nice trout I'd hooked.

But I didn't care. White, Pete Greenan and myself were just having fun. We caught a few fish while fly fishing in Gasparilla Sound, Bull Bay and Whidden Creek and we laughed all day.

When this trio gets together, it's the Three Stooges and Keystone Cops all at once. It's machine-gun jokes from start to finish.

White likes to sing, too. And he's not too bad, either. Greenan, meanwhile, can't carry a note.

Both can fish. Both can fling fly lines a country mile.

White and Greenan are professional saltwater fishing guides. When they get a day off, they go fishing.

Here's something you don't know about this gruesome twosome: They love to fly fish in The Everglades for panfish. Both have taken species of every size and shape in salt water, but they get a kick of of diminutive exotics like oscar and Mayan cichlid. On a trip last January, White anchored his kayak within casting distance of a fallen tree and caught 22 oscar in 22 casts.

How's that for efficiency.

"They fight like crazy," said White. "They're something else on a fly rod.

"I can't wait to go again."

We will. In December.

I've taken White to The 'Glades twice and we caught so many fish that we don't know how many landed. Greenan joined in last January. Both times, it was non-stop action.

I'll let you know how we do next time.