Bucket List Trip

[J. Rentch]

Just finished a 3 day trip to Big Pine Key, Fl for some kayak fishing in the mangroves with John Veil. Our guide-Randy Morrow of “Lower Keys Kayak Fishing” was great. His kayaks, equipment were in excellent shape. The use of his Torquedo made covering ground very easy. The winds were high most of the time, so I only fished 2 of the 3 days. I still added 5 new species to my list. We threw cut bait (Lemon Sharks), pink jigs with shrimp (Bonnethead Sharks, Grunts, Snapper), and #3 hook with 4" white fluke (Barracuda) to the shoreline hunting for fish. The scenery was fabulous, especially the time we spent of a Keys Flat!

96DBE0BE-C531-4BCF-830F-9FC226EB669A.jpg
We stayed at the Old Wooden Bridge Fishing Lodge in Big Pine Key. Very comfortable, clean and it was on the water. Has all you necessary ammenities: bedroom-double bed, bathroom with shower, living room with pull out sofa (pretty comfortable), small kitchen with stove, fridge, microwave, front deck with table and chairs. Also Dish TV with lots of channels
8998EC81-082C-4D94-8F9B-22A19559C52C.jpg
I was able to land Lemon and Bonnethead Shark, Barracuda, Striped Grunt, and Mangrove Snapper. We tried for Tarpon our last evening, but could not locate any. Here is a Bonnethead Shark on the jig with shrimp. This size is not too hard to handle.
02C7A24E-EC5C-445C-902D-C9D8608117C8.jpg
This is a Striped Grunt on the pink jig with shrimp. Just like catching our White Perch.
CA9DEA90-B806-41EC-B6EF-AAB13A1CB92E.jpg
This is my 27" Barracuda on the white plastic with a #3 hook. Handling one this size again is like our Pickerel. They are also very slippery.
B9A81F8E-F21B-4BFE-B8A7-020FB5F2644D.jpg

[Big Mike]

Looks like a good time despite the wind.

[Mark]

John,

That's fantastic.

Congrats on a great trip.

I'm sure there's room in the bucket for even more exceptional fishing experiences.

[J.A. Veil]

I had a few extra days in the Keys before and after John was there. The wind impeded the usual sight fishing that our guide likes to do, but nevertheless, I caught plenty of quality fish (lemon sharks to 42", bonnethead sharks to 36", a personal best mangrove snapper of 18", a bonefish, many other grunts and snappers, and a lot of barracuda). This morning I caught two huge cudas. The first one (35") hit a surgical tubing "cuda tube" in only 10" of water. I could see the fish streak over to intercept the tube, then give me a bunch of drag burning runs. The second one (33") was lurking under some mangrove roots. I cast a silvery Buzztail paddletail there and had another strong strike with multiple runs.

I hate to say goodbye to the Keys tomorrow morning, but must continue on to try out some other spots.

8769430827941702411.jpg

9207828776888059137.jpg

2022-03-24-007.jpg

2022-03-24-017.jpg

IMG_20220321_203143.jpg

[Mark]

Very nice John!

Continued success to you on your FL trip.

[dsaavedra]

Looks like an awesome time!!

Ever since I got a taste of tropical flats fishing in Belize earlier this year I have been drooling over the idea of a Florida fishing vacation.

[Shoobs]

Congrats Gents - thanks for sharing the pics and adventures.

[Ted H]

Congratulations. I made a similar trip at the beginning of March and the wind kept me off the water about half the time. Nonetheless I learned a lot and landed a few fish as well. I’m glad you guys found an affordable place to stay, I ended up camping in the Everglades to get affordable. Even camping near Big Pine Key was $85 a night, too much for a piece of dirt next to a hundred RVs and their generators. Looks like you had a great time. I’m going to repeat the trip in September and hope for better winds and grouper being in season.

[J. Rentch]

Thanks Ted, it was a great learning experience. I would like to go back a little later in the spring when, hopefully the winds are less. I really wanted to fly fish, but winds too strong for me. Those mangroves were great.

[Realdeal1138]

Looks like this was an amazing trip!