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Over the past few days John Veil and I have been fishing with kayak guide Neil Taylor in Tampa FL. On day one I caught 8 species of fish on a fly rod. I’ve never done that before on one outing. We do not have the variety of catchable fish here that they have Tampa. I didn’t even know what some of them they were. Pinfish, Ladyfish, odd varieties of catfish, Sheepshead, Needlefish, Pigfish, Speckled Trout, etc. John had a fair day with speckled trout and got one large enough for dinner.
On day two we tried exclusively for redfish and failed. They're elusive and were not in large numbers in the areas we visited. We’d see them occasionally but they would not eat the flies and lures we were offering. I did catch some Ladyfish, known as the poor man’s tarpon because they go airborne when hooked. They’re really fun to catch. John got a snook and some flounder and ladyfish, but like me struck out for redfish.
Yesterday we left the water early due to high winds. We were pretty far from shore in Tampa Bay and winds kept building until they exceeded 20 mph and it was unsafe to be out. I was shipping water on the long paddle back and I was soaked. I only caught a few speckled trout yesterday. I could not entice them to the fly and only when I switched to spinning tackle did I get into fish. John did much better, boating 15 trout and a Spanish Mackerel before the winds forced us from the water.
Often we saw tarpon, porpoises, sharks and rays swimming nearby. Rarely were we in more than 3 feet of water. The weather was nice except for yesterday’s high winds.
It’s always fun to explore new areas and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Tampa. It was my second trip with Neil Taylor, who is quite a character and makes the day fun even if the red fish remained uncooperative. I have never caught one. I hope to break my unlucky streak with them this year.
I flew home last night but John remained in FL for business purposes. He is going to fish with Neil again later next week. They’ll have fun for sure.
C.jpg E.jpg B.jpg Mark in Tampa 2015 (3).jpg Mark in Tampa 2015.jpg
On day two we tried exclusively for redfish and failed. They're elusive and were not in large numbers in the areas we visited. We’d see them occasionally but they would not eat the flies and lures we were offering. I did catch some Ladyfish, known as the poor man’s tarpon because they go airborne when hooked. They’re really fun to catch. John got a snook and some flounder and ladyfish, but like me struck out for redfish.
Yesterday we left the water early due to high winds. We were pretty far from shore in Tampa Bay and winds kept building until they exceeded 20 mph and it was unsafe to be out. I was shipping water on the long paddle back and I was soaked. I only caught a few speckled trout yesterday. I could not entice them to the fly and only when I switched to spinning tackle did I get into fish. John did much better, boating 15 trout and a Spanish Mackerel before the winds forced us from the water.
Often we saw tarpon, porpoises, sharks and rays swimming nearby. Rarely were we in more than 3 feet of water. The weather was nice except for yesterday’s high winds.
It’s always fun to explore new areas and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Tampa. It was my second trip with Neil Taylor, who is quite a character and makes the day fun even if the red fish remained uncooperative. I have never caught one. I hope to break my unlucky streak with them this year.
I flew home last night but John remained in FL for business purposes. He is going to fish with Neil again later next week. They’ll have fun for sure.
C.jpg E.jpg B.jpg Mark in Tampa 2015 (3).jpg Mark in Tampa 2015.jpg
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