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I left BWI on Thurs morning with rain, wind, and 52 deg. Two hours later I arrived in Tampa to blue skies, calm winds, and mid-80s temps. I booked three days of fishing with kayak fishing guide Neil Taylor of Strike Three Kayak Fishing http://www.strikethreekayakfishing.c...s/default.aspx. This is the third time I booked with Neil. I learn new things each time and get to see lots of interesting fish, birds, and other wildlife. Here is a summary of the fishing. Thurs afternoon we fished for 4 hours. The bite was pretty slow, but I did hook two snook and one small spec.
Fri morning we met at the northern edge of the mouth of Tampa Bay and fished some really clear water for 8 hours. I caught 8 species that day and saw rolling dolphin and a swimming manatee up close. The water was so clear that we could see a great variety of fish near us as we drifted along.
On Sat we met at the southern edge of the mouth of Tampa Bay and fished another 6 hours. I caught two more snook along with a bunch of other fish. None of the fish were really large representatives of their species, but the variety of fish was outstanding. Here is a list of what I caught over three days:
~40 speckled trout 002.jpg
4 snook 026a.jpg
1 small redfish 004.jpg
1 spanish mackerel 005.jpg
4 flounder 028.jpg
1 jack 001.jpg
1 gag grouper 003.jpg
5 ladyfish
4 needlefish006.jpg
3 lizardfish 007.jpg
All fish were caught using medium spinning tackle and a 1/8-oz jigheads tipped with 12 Fathoms Fat Sam Mullets or Slam-Rs. The water depths ranged from less than 1 ft to 4 ft.
Neil is an authorized guide for Native Watercraft, the same company for which I am now Pro Staff. He let me fish out of three of their models (Ultimate 14.5, Slayer, and Manta Ray 14). He also let me take a test ride on their pedal driven Mariner 12.5. In addition I was able to test out several styles of lightweight carbon paddles. It has been a great three days, and will be tough to get back to cooler weather in Maryland.
Fri morning we met at the northern edge of the mouth of Tampa Bay and fished some really clear water for 8 hours. I caught 8 species that day and saw rolling dolphin and a swimming manatee up close. The water was so clear that we could see a great variety of fish near us as we drifted along.
On Sat we met at the southern edge of the mouth of Tampa Bay and fished another 6 hours. I caught two more snook along with a bunch of other fish. None of the fish were really large representatives of their species, but the variety of fish was outstanding. Here is a list of what I caught over three days:
~40 speckled trout 002.jpg
4 snook 026a.jpg
1 small redfish 004.jpg
1 spanish mackerel 005.jpg
4 flounder 028.jpg
1 jack 001.jpg
1 gag grouper 003.jpg
5 ladyfish
4 needlefish006.jpg
3 lizardfish 007.jpg
All fish were caught using medium spinning tackle and a 1/8-oz jigheads tipped with 12 Fathoms Fat Sam Mullets or Slam-Rs. The water depths ranged from less than 1 ft to 4 ft.
Neil is an authorized guide for Native Watercraft, the same company for which I am now Pro Staff. He let me fish out of three of their models (Ultimate 14.5, Slayer, and Manta Ray 14). He also let me take a test ride on their pedal driven Mariner 12.5. In addition I was able to test out several styles of lightweight carbon paddles. It has been a great three days, and will be tough to get back to cooler weather in Maryland.
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