Out-of-state kayak fishing guides

[J.A. Veil]

I have had the good fortune to spend the past two weeks fishing my way around south Florida with a stop on the way south to fish in coastal NC. I fished on my own three days and with five kayak fishing guides on 8 days. I did a whole lot better when fishing unfamiliar territory and new species when I used the guides. I put reports for the more spectacular catches on Facebook. What I want to do here is list the different guides, where they operate, how to reach them, and the species they target. All of them know their local waters well and were able to put me on fish. I fished with them using spinning tackle.

1) I stopped in Swansboro, NC on the way south and caught a bunch of redfish with guide Tim "Ncpierman Taramelli. http://pawdukes2.wixsite.com/ncpierman. It was very cold the night before we fished with him, and it took until mid-afternoon before the fish became active.

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2) I fished in Tampa with my regular kayak guide, Neil Taylor of Strike Three Kayak Fishing https://strikethreekayakfishing.com. I caught large speckled trout, a big redfish, and a sizable pompano. Neil primarily fishes in shallow grass flats.

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3) Last Sunday I fished with Miami-based kayak guide Alex Tejeda out of Flamingo in the southern portion of the Everglades. I do not know Alex's website address, but his email is fishbigcatch@yahoo.com. We fished in some remote backcountry waters where we saw no other fishermen all day. I caught 37 small and medium snook. I also hooked a 35” snook and a 35” tarpon. Both took off with powerful runs and eventually spit the hooks. Alex fishes the backcountry of the Everglades in the cooler months. During the warmer months he fishes for tarpon, permit, and bonefish in Biscayne Bay and the upper Keys. Alex loves to fly fish, but is happy to take clients for spinning tackle trips too.

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4) Last Monday, I fished with kayak guide Randy Morrow of Lower Keys Kayak Fishing https://www.lowerkeyskayakfishing.com. He is the only experienced guide fishing from kayaks in the lower Keys. We fished in some shallow flats a few miles east of Key West. Randy was standing in his kayak scouting for the fish. When he spotted one, he told me where to cast. I caught two 3-ft long bonnethead sharks, a 4-ft long lemon shark that was considerably stronger, and an energetic bonefish. Barracuda and tarpon are other species he targets. Like Alex, Randy does a lot of fly fishing charters from the kayak, but also does spinning trips.

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5) This morning I did a peacock bass trip with Eric McDonald of Deep Blue Kayak Fishing www.deepbluekayakfishing.com in canals in Boynton Beach, FL. I caught five peacocks and one largemouth. I think I hooked one or two clown knifefish, but the fish came off before coming to the surface. Deep Blue also does offshore trips for sailfish and other big game or does inshore trips for snook and tarpon.

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All of these trips provided me with different fishing experiences in dramatically different habitats in different geographic locations. I enjoyed each of them and hope to get back again to fish with these guides. If your travels take you to those areas and you want a kayak fishing guide, I give a strong endorsement to each of them.

[J. Rentch]

Thanks for the info, maybe someday.......

[Mark]

A trip to remember!

[Redfish12]

Looks like a great trip! Thanks for the information if we ever make it down there I definitely want to try to catch one of this clown knifefish

[mike o]

Definitely sounds like a great trip and I want to get one of those clown knife fish also. One year ago today I drove down to Florida for 2 1/2 weeks of fishing. Not happening this year. Hope maybe I can fly down next month for a week.

[moc]

Thanks John,

This is great information. I always wanted to fish Florida from a kayak. I was wondering where to find good guides. Thanks for the list. Did they provide the kayaks and rods, or did you bring your own gear when you were with the guides?

[J.A. Veil]

Thanks John,

This is great information. I always wanted to fish Florida from a kayak. I was wondering where to find good guides. Thanks for the list. Did they provide the kayaks and rods, or did you bring your own gear when you were with the guides?

Martin - It can be difficult to find kayak guides in other parts of the country, particularly ones that have some experience. Just searching the internet does not necessarily put you in touch with the most capable guides. I used my Native Pro Staff contacts to help me find guides that put me on fish.

All of the guides I used provided kayaks. The guides in the Everglades and the Keys will take 1 or 2 anglers on a trip. The others will take larger numbers of anglers as needed (beyond 3 clients, they may bring a second guide with them). FYI, the cost for one person ranged from about $180 to $300 for a 5-hour trip plus a tip. Most guides add an incremental cost less than that full amount for each additional angler. Some of the guides paid close attention to the stated trip duration -- others kept fishing beyond that.

Another interesting point is that I was able to use a variety of different types of kayaks. When fishing with the Native folks, I used a Slayer 12 XC paddle kayak, a Slayer Propel 13 pedal kayak, a Manta Ray 12 XT paddle kayak. With the Jackson guides I used a Big Rig and a Big Tuna (both paddle kayaks). When I rented on my own, I got a Pelican Catch 12. On the peacock bass trip I used a Hobie Outback. I found things I liked about each of them (except for the Pelican, which I did not like much), and other features I did not like as well. Having tried all of those brands, I am satisfied to remain loyal to Native.

[Big Mike]

Great report John. Nice variety of species and water covered.

[J.A. Veil]

I wrote a lengthy day-by-day travelogue of my experiences along the way during the trip. That document (Fishing Road Trip - 2019) is 74 pages long, but it reads quickly and has lots of color photos. If anyone is interested in getting a copy, please provide an email address either as a reply here or as a pmail.

[Bayvalley1]

John, If you ever going to make that circuit again let me know cause I'm retired. Fishing with Neil was a great experience. We fished the grass flats off the Skyway bridge. Did you hit that?

[J.A. Veil]

John, If you ever going to make that circuit again let me know cause I'm retired. Fishing with Neil was a great experience. We fished the grass flats off the Skyway bridge. Did you hit that?

That location south of the bridge is one of Neil's favorites. I have been there several dozen times with him, including the recent trip.

I do not envision any more long road trips this year. The cost of that trip was significant, plus I do not want to give my wife any reasons to object to my frequent travels. I do plan several other visits to fish with Neil during the year, including late March and mid-May so far.