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John Veil, Terry Hill (Raptor – formerly of Annapolis, now of North Carolina) and I returned today from four days of fishing in Tampa with kayak guide Neil Taylor.
I’d like to tell you the fishing was fantastic and that our arms ached from excessive pullage. The reality was short of that. We worked hard for every speckled trout we caught. They were not aggressive nor were they plentiful. We never got into a school that provided continuous catching as we’ve done on prior trips. It took a slow presentation with a jig and soft plastic trailer and much patience to hook them. I found it helpful to tip my rod tip when I felt them tap to give them slack, wait a split second and then set the hook. When that worked, most that we caught were this size:
P1040430.jpg
We also caught some larger ones that we enjoyed for dinner one night.
Many of our soft plastic baits were victimized by toothy pufferfish and pinfish that left our lures in shreds. This was a common occurence:
P1040409.jpg
However, John did manage to bring this culprit to the boat:
P1040415.jpg
The only aggressive fish we encountered were ladyfish on day two. We got into a school of them splashing the surface in a feeding frenzy. It was like casting into a school of breaking stripers. But it was short-lived fun. The action was over in 15 minutes. Most were this size:
P1040427.jpg
They pulled hard and often went airborne for us. The only thing that stopped us from catching more in that short window was that each one took a while to reel it in. They’d completely circle us and then do an aerial act too. They’re incredibly fast and strong.
Birdlife in Tampa is varied. It’s nice to hear the ospreys which are year-round residents there. I miss their calls when they leave the Chesapeake. Brown and white pelicans are plentiful also:
P1040470.jpg
But this cormorant really got up close and personal with us. This is not a cropped photo:
P1040450.jpg
It was that close to my kayak. Here’s the same cormorant stealthily approaching Terry and John from behind:
P1040442.jpg
Shortly after I took this shot, John caught a speck. The cormorant made a dash for it as John was reeling it in. It actually grabbed the fish once but John managed to pull it free. John unhooked the fish and tossed it in the water. Darned if that cormorant didn’t track it down with amazing speed, pop up to the surface with the fish in its beak, flip it and eat it headfirst in a single gulp.
Later I hooked a speck. The cormorant was closing in on my kayak to my left. I tossed the fish to the right. The bird scooted right under my boat and come up with the fish in its beak. But this time the fish wriggled free. I bet it’s presently sporting two beak scars on its sides.
It’s clear that cormorant has followed other anglers looking for an easy meal. It’s an experienced thief.
The other story of our trip was the wind. Every day we paddled into a stiff breeze. This windsurfer was taking advantage of the wind on day two:
P1040399.jpg
He and others were very close to the area we fished but they never interfered with us. They were fun to watch.
Yesterday’s wind was beyond a stiff breeze. It was more like a gale. Also, I’m convinced it shifted direction causing us to paddle into it as we left the launch and when we returned. At least it seemed that way to me or perhaps I was just tired of fighting it for the three prior days.
Here’s Terry paddling back to the launch in an area that was actually somewhat protected from the wind but still you can see the chop on the water.
P1040477.jpg
Also, you can see the spires of the Skyway Bridge in the distance. We fished in areas within sight of the bridge both to the north and south of it during this trip.
So, the fishing was disappointing. I personally reached double digit catch numbers on only two of the four days. I finished with 23 trout, 4 ladyfish and a lizardfish. That’s often an average day’s catch in Tampa for a kayak outing. But neither of us got skunked on any day and most of all we had a good time in each other’s company. I’ve long ago ceased fishing to merely catch fish. Good friends and scenes like this are why:
P1040460.jpg
I’d like to tell you the fishing was fantastic and that our arms ached from excessive pullage. The reality was short of that. We worked hard for every speckled trout we caught. They were not aggressive nor were they plentiful. We never got into a school that provided continuous catching as we’ve done on prior trips. It took a slow presentation with a jig and soft plastic trailer and much patience to hook them. I found it helpful to tip my rod tip when I felt them tap to give them slack, wait a split second and then set the hook. When that worked, most that we caught were this size:
P1040430.jpg
We also caught some larger ones that we enjoyed for dinner one night.
Many of our soft plastic baits were victimized by toothy pufferfish and pinfish that left our lures in shreds. This was a common occurence:
P1040409.jpg
However, John did manage to bring this culprit to the boat:
P1040415.jpg
The only aggressive fish we encountered were ladyfish on day two. We got into a school of them splashing the surface in a feeding frenzy. It was like casting into a school of breaking stripers. But it was short-lived fun. The action was over in 15 minutes. Most were this size:
P1040427.jpg
They pulled hard and often went airborne for us. The only thing that stopped us from catching more in that short window was that each one took a while to reel it in. They’d completely circle us and then do an aerial act too. They’re incredibly fast and strong.
Birdlife in Tampa is varied. It’s nice to hear the ospreys which are year-round residents there. I miss their calls when they leave the Chesapeake. Brown and white pelicans are plentiful also:
P1040470.jpg
But this cormorant really got up close and personal with us. This is not a cropped photo:
P1040450.jpg
It was that close to my kayak. Here’s the same cormorant stealthily approaching Terry and John from behind:
P1040442.jpg
Shortly after I took this shot, John caught a speck. The cormorant made a dash for it as John was reeling it in. It actually grabbed the fish once but John managed to pull it free. John unhooked the fish and tossed it in the water. Darned if that cormorant didn’t track it down with amazing speed, pop up to the surface with the fish in its beak, flip it and eat it headfirst in a single gulp.
Later I hooked a speck. The cormorant was closing in on my kayak to my left. I tossed the fish to the right. The bird scooted right under my boat and come up with the fish in its beak. But this time the fish wriggled free. I bet it’s presently sporting two beak scars on its sides.
It’s clear that cormorant has followed other anglers looking for an easy meal. It’s an experienced thief.
The other story of our trip was the wind. Every day we paddled into a stiff breeze. This windsurfer was taking advantage of the wind on day two:
P1040399.jpg
He and others were very close to the area we fished but they never interfered with us. They were fun to watch.
Yesterday’s wind was beyond a stiff breeze. It was more like a gale. Also, I’m convinced it shifted direction causing us to paddle into it as we left the launch and when we returned. At least it seemed that way to me or perhaps I was just tired of fighting it for the three prior days.
Here’s Terry paddling back to the launch in an area that was actually somewhat protected from the wind but still you can see the chop on the water.
P1040477.jpg
Also, you can see the spires of the Skyway Bridge in the distance. We fished in areas within sight of the bridge both to the north and south of it during this trip.
So, the fishing was disappointing. I personally reached double digit catch numbers on only two of the four days. I finished with 23 trout, 4 ladyfish and a lizardfish. That’s often an average day’s catch in Tampa for a kayak outing. But neither of us got skunked on any day and most of all we had a good time in each other’s company. I’ve long ago ceased fishing to merely catch fish. Good friends and scenes like this are why:
P1040460.jpg
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