Tough Day in the Surf

You can't catch them every day. Might as well face it.

Got up this morning and headed for a place I call Big Butt Beach, one of the best places to sightfish for snook in the surf. The real name of the beach shall remain anonymous -- to protect the innocent.

Conditions were decent when I arrived at about 7:30 a.m. But they progessively got worse as the morning went on. When the wind began coming out of the southwest, things got pretty bad.

Still, I did OK. I ended up with six snook to about inches and a pair of feisty mangrove snapper. All came on a 6-weight TFO TiCRX, sinktip line and D.T. Special (variation). There still are plenty of snook in the surf, but they're not as aggressive as they were earlier in the week.

The fish should remain in the surf until at least October.

Here's hoping we have some great days ahead.

Standing in Your Kayak

Standing in a kayak is fairly simple. Just stand up and trust your boat. You won't tip over. Trust me.

I have a Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5, one of the most stable hybrid kayaks on the market. It's has a tunnel hull, tracks extremely straight and is pretty fast. The tunnel adds to its stability.

At first, I didn't stand very often. The boat felt too tippy. But a friend of mine, Jimbo Meador, stands in his all the time. He's a little bit older than me. I figured if he could stand and pole, then I could stand a pole.

While out fishing one day, I leaned as far as I could to my right. The boat tipped, but I could tell it wasn't going to capsize. I leaned to the left. Same thing.

Next time out, I stood up, realizing it wasn't going over and neither was I.

Why stand in a kayak? To see fish is great motivation. If you can see the fish, you can catch them.

You can't see them when you're sitting down. It's a whole different world when you're standing.

Try it.

That's my friend, Ken Taylor of North Port, standing and poling on his first trip out in a Ultimate.

Check out Native Watercraft Ultimates and other models at http://www.nativewatercraft.com/.

Favorite places to fish around the country

I've been fortunate to have fished in a lot of places with some really great people. I've fished throughout Florida, in Costa Rica, Michigan, Ohio, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky and Canada.

I've enjoyed every stop.

My favorite?

Hard to say. Each place has its own charm.

Let it be known that I'm just as happy catching bluegill on a light fly rod as I am casting for bonefish on a shallow flat.

One of my favorite outings took place this summer when I got to pursue two species that I'd never caught on fly rod: carp and smallmouth bass.

When people think of carp, I'm sure they envision the bottom-feeders found in pay lakes and midwestern rivers. Well, a funny thing happened on the way ... people discovered fly fishing for carp. They're wary targets that can be tough. They fight hard and make long runs.

I'd read about the flats of Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan. And since my wife and I were renting a house on a lake near there, I decided to give it a try.

I got some information from a guy on http://www.flyanglersonline.com/. He gave me directions to the flat and a few pointers. He also told me to stop in and see Kirk Novak, owner of The Northern Angler fly shop in Traverse City.

I wasn't prepared for what I was about to encounter. When I got to the flat, I saw hundreds of carp milling around. Some were schooled up and going through some sort of spawning rituals. Others were swimming around. I'd been told to ignore the schools and cast to single fish.

I hooked my first carp in less than 5 minutes.

The fight was strong and impressive. The fish made a lengthy run. You have to play these fish; you just can't reel them in.

First day out, I caught and released nine carp to 20 pounds. Next day was even better. I caught 15, with the largest going an estimated 35 pounds. Luckily, there was another fellow fly fishing for carp who was able to get a photo of me and the big fish.

I used a 6-weight TFO Finesse rod, Cortland reel, floating line, 10-foot 10-pound leaderl and a Befus Carp Fly.

I found the best technique for me was to cast the fly in front the fish. If the carp turned and followed the fly, I'd let it fall to the bottom and let it lie. Most often, the fish would swim up on the fly and suck it in.

A cold front moved through and the carp disappeared. But that gave me time to try for smallmouth. I did well. I got 14 to 5 pounds.

Michigan is a great place to fish.

Little Tarpon of the Everglades

June is hot and sticky in the Florida Everglades. The heat saps you quickly. The only way to deal with it is to not think about it.

That's easy when the fish are biting and when those fish are tarpon.

Baby tarpon are plentiful in The Everglades, but finding them is another story. Most are off the beaten path, so you have to look around.

Jim Dussias, a friend of mine and fellow kayak fishing guide from Doral, showed me one of his favortie spots. I'd passed it at least 100 times and didn't know it was there. It's a spot that thousands pass by daily.

We slipped the kayaks in and our expectations were high. We could see rolling tarpon while standing on the shore.

Since I was working on a story and needed photos, I suggested that Jim do the bulk of the fishing -- at least until I got enough photos.

Jim performed admirably. He quickly hooked up with a diminutive little tarpon, a silver flash of 12 inches. After releasing that monster, he hooked up with a 15-pounder. He caught a few more tarpon -- all on fly.

Then, it was my turn.

I hooked one down a mangrove shoot that leaped to the top of one of the trees. Luckily, the fish didn't get hung up. I hooked, landed and released a few more fish. Then, it was time to search for greener pastures.

We left that lake, paddled through a mangrove tunnel and into another lake. We paddled to the head of that body of water and into another tunnel. We eventually entered a third lake. We could see tarpon frolicking in the shadows.

But it was a rolling tarpon that I hooked. I got a beautiful 20-pounder while blind-casting. When my fly hit the water, it let it sink, then began stripping it in. I saw a silver flash and felt the weight of the tarpon, then set the hook. The little tarpon immediately took to the air.

The battle last 3-4 minutes. Jim helped land the little tarp. We took a couple of photos and released the fish.

I think we caught and released six tarpon and five snook.

Not a bad outing.

The heat was never a thought.

Photography

I like to take pictures. Sometimes I'll spend more time taking pictures than I do fishing. But that's OK.

A wise old professional photographer gave me some sage advice years ago: Film is cheap. So burn a lot of film and you might screw up and get a good picture.

In this digital age, we can take a lot of photos. And that advice is still true.

The real secret to taking a good picture is being able to visualize the composition. I've got a decent eye and I think I know what make a good picture.

I really don't like posed photos, but sometimes you have to take them. One thing I've noticed is that when I take photos of men holding fish, they won't smile. Guess it's a macho thing.

When I'm out in the kayak, I use a Sony Cybershot, a versatile camera that retails for about $350. I like it a lot.

Best Snook Fly

My best snook fly is perhaps one of the simplest flies ever -- the D.T. Special (variation). When I first started sight-fishing snook in the surf, I used a Lefty's Deceiver. And it was effective.

However, Matt Hoover, a guide in Naples, Fla., sent me a D.T. Special and told me it was the only fly I'd ever need for beach snook. He was right.

Over the years, I've tweaked it a bit to suit my needs. I place four neck hackles at the rear of the hook and they face each other. On the original D.T., the feathers are splayed. Reason I face them is so that the fly sinks just a little quicker. I also add eyes and epoxy the head.

Fly Tying

I've been tying flies for 20 years. It's something I swore I'd never do. I didn't want to become one of those "fly-fishing snobs."

But whenever I'd walk out of a fly shop, I'd usually have at least $50 worth of assorted flies. I'd look at them and figure there couldn't be more than 15 cents worth of material in each fly.

So, the proverbial lightbulb shined brightly in my head: I could tie them myself and save a whole lot of money.

I went out and bought a vise, several bobbins, head cement, bodkin, whip finisher, bucktails, thread, Krystal Flash, body materials, mylar and whatever else I thought would be of use. And I've added to my collection over the years.

I now have it figured out. The way to tie a 15-cent fly is to go out and buy $2,000 worth of equipment and materials.

I'm an OK fly tyer. I have come up with a couple of patterns that work well for me and others. The Myakka Minnow is my spotlight creation. And I've adapted a adjust other patterns.

My go-to fly for beach snook is the D.T. Special (variation). The original D.T. Special was sent to me by Naples guide Matt Hoover, who told me it's the only fly I'd ever need for beach snook. He was right. I've tweaked it to suit my purposes over the years and that's why I add (variation) label to it. Many people think I created the D.T., but I didn't. I've just tinkered with it a bit.

The fly in the top left is the Myakka Minnow, a creation that has caught thousands of fish over the years. It was orginally designed for panfish, but has caught everything from bluegill to tarpon. It can be tied on any size hook to suit your needs.