Springtime fishing!!!:)

Sorry for the pause in-between blog post everyone…. This time of year I am guiding just about every single day weather pending of course… Anyways, here it is!!:) it's springtime again I think! haha!  Even though it's been an interesting winter  this year, most of the fish will hopefully still be following their normal patterns. The fish that did push back into warmer waters will be heading back out to the grass-flats looking for a good meal.

Redfish-   Although you will still see a lot of singles and doubles hanging out, be sure to look for them to be grouping up into small schools… Most of the schools will be mid to upper slot fish with some over-slot fish mixed in. Early in the mornings I will throw top-water and sub surface baits like the Yo-Zuri 3DB Top-Knock and 3D Inshore Series .  And even though it is towards the end of the shrimp run, I will still be targeting them with the Monster 3X 4 ¾ X-MOVE pretty much throughout the whole day. The water is still very clean and clear and it makes for an outstanding sight fishing bait.

Trout-    These fish will be fired up and eating in just about any part of the water column from super skinny to 5-7 ft. of water. Most of the slot fish will be schooled up on the grass-flats in the 4-7 ft. range and your bigger over-slot fish will be in the 1-3 ft. range. I like to use top-waters and hard baits like a Mirro-Dine early in the morning to cover lots of water until I find them. Once I’ve found one I will slow down to work them pretty hard because there are usually more close by.

Snook-    The snook that pushed into the backwaters will be pouring out of the creeks and rivers onto the grass-flats. I like to stage up near the mouth entrances and plug away at them. Again I like to use the Monster 3X X-MOVE but with a little bit heavier jig head. With the stronger currents and the little deeper water, you want to make sure that your bait is getting down into the strike zone.  

   This is generally the best time of the year for weather and fishing so get out there and enjoy it. Be sure to stay safe and be courteous of your fellow anglers while on the water. There is plenty of water and fun for everyone! : )  Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!  Eric Henson is the owner of Casting Kayaks LLC. a guided kayak fishing company out of Sarasota Florida.

Jack Attack!!!

 Most people who fish, do it for many different reasons. Some do it to escape from the everyday grind, some do it just for the pure beauty of being on the water, and others for the shear thrill of hunting different species of fish. But, if you are out there to find the best fishing challenge, when it comes to saltwater fishing the fish that comes to mind for pound for pound hardest fighter would be the Jack.

    There are many different species of Jacks all over the world and are they are all known for their long hard fights. The Jack Crevalle is one of the most popular species that lives here in our local waters. Generally, they travel in large groups and don’t discriminate on what they eat. Look for schools of bait getting blasted in every direction and most likely it’s them. They will eat anything from bait fish to crustaceans. My favorite thing that I like to pitch at them are top water lures like the Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil. Their top water assaults are ferocious and if the first one misses it, keep on working it because there is going to be another one right behind waiting to explode again! Then the second thing I like throw are Monster 3X Paddle-X soft-plastics with a 1/8 oz. jig head. Swim it very fast with slight twitches and hold on when it hits! These fish pull like a freight train as you start to look at your reel wondering if you have enough line. When they start to swim in a circle in either direction, this means they are starting to slow down but, even when they start to slow down you still have a good fight ahead of you. The last but definitely not last way I like to target them is with a fly rod. Once you’ve hooked one these fish on a fly rod, you will be hooked for life. They will have you into your backing in seconds! Most of the time it doesn’t really matter which fly or what lure you are throwing as long as you work it fast.

    You can find these fish from deep in the backwaters all the way out to the gulf. Just make sure your tackle is up to par when playing with these guys because they will surely test it. I hope that on your next trip you run into these tackle testing machines and have some fun. As always please be safe! Take care of your local waters and respect all the anglers on the water. There is plenty enough water out there for everyone to enjoy. Tight Knots and Tight Lines to all! 

Spring is HERE...

  Get ready because spring is on its way and the fish are fired up! Even though we didn’t have much of a winter this year, most of the fish will still be following their normal patterns. The fish that did push back into warmer waters will be heading back out to the grass-flats looking for a good meal.

Redfish-   Although you will still see a lot of single and doubles hanging out, be sure to look for them to be grouping up into small schools… Most of the schools will be mid to upper slot fish with some over-slot fish mixed in. Early in the mornings I will throw top-water and sub surface baits like the Mirro -Lure Top Dog or the new Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore Series .  And even though it is towards the end of the shrimp run, I will still be targeting them with the Monster 3X 4 ¾ X-MOVE pretty much throughout the whole day. The water is still very clean and clear and it makes for an outstanding sight fishing bait.

Trout-    These fish will be fired up and eating in just about any part of the water column from super skinny to 5-7 ft. of water. Most of the slot fish will be schooled up on the grass-flats in the 4-7 ft. range and your bigger over-slot fish will be in the 1-3 ft. range. I like to use top-waters and hard baits like a Mirro-Dine early in the morning to cover lots of water until I find them. Once I’ve found one I will slow down to work them pretty hard because there are usually more close by.

Snook-    The snook that pushed into the backwaters will be pouring out of the creeks and rivers onto the grass-flats. I like to stage up near the mouth entrances and plug away at them. Again I like to use the Monster 3X X-MOVE but with a little bit heavier jig head. With the stronger currents and the little deeper water, you want to make sure that your bait is getting down into the strike zone.  

   This is the best time of the year for weather and fishing so get out there and enjoy it. Be sure to stay safe and be courteous of your fellow anglers while on the water. There is plenty enough water and fun for everyone! : )  Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!  Eric Henson is the owner of Casting Kayaks LLC. a guided kayak fishing company out of Sarasota Florida.  He specializes in inshore light tackle or fly fishing from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor. To book a guided fishing trip with Eric check out his website www.CastingKayaks.com or give him a call at 941-504-134

Eric Henson

The Red Fish RUUUUUNNNN!!!!

  The last couple of days, there have been insane numbers of red fish!!! This is the time of year where they group up in large numbers to get ready to spawn, eating just about anything that is in their path! I cant even explain how sick it is watching these red fish exploding your top water! The explosions are so big that it literally looks like killer whales chasing the lure across the water. I had to swap out my top water baits to the Yo-Zuri Shashimi 3DB with thick circle hooks because, we had two separate Heddon spooks have all six hooks completely broke off! Every single fish was over slot but, It still sure was fun!  Yo-Zuri coming through as usual!:) We both lost red fish in the 40+ inch class due to hook failure! I have some great video footage that I will be posting soon... Don't worry clients my new kayaks are almost here:) Should have you guys on the water by next week:)

Snook still on the beaches!

Headed out a little later than usual, due to the tides. We had a nice east wind so, I decided to paddle straight to the beach before the wind decided to switch. As soon as I came over the hump of the beach I saw my first line sider (snook) of the day. I threw a fly right in front of its face and it immediately turned on but, missed!  Spooking him, I headed down the beach where there were tons of snook... Mostly small ones but , a few pigs in the mix. After catching a few fish I new the tide was coming in fast and would hopefully have a good shot at Mr. Red Fish! I shot back over to the bay side to look for the schooling reds. Finally I get anchored up on this point where they normally come through. Just as I get all set up, here they come! Unfortunately they were just out of reach for the fly but, I manage to throw a jerk bait at them. Boom Fish On! There were red fish all around me when I realized I had a huge Jack instead of one of the many red fish around me! lol! By the time I was able to land this Jack the school of red fish had moved on. Oh well... It was't the fish I was looking for but, still an amazing fight!:) Wind was really starting to pick up so I decided to take off. Till next time FISH ON! FISH ON!

Early Bird gets the Worm!

       We headed out on the water about an hour before the sun came up. Paddling to our first spot was pretty interesting! lol! Due to the new moon it was pitch dark and the tide was extremely high. Basically paddled till we hit the spoil island. Then we sat quietly to listen to the water. Once we heard mullet moving and loud slurps of bait getting romped on, I new we were in a good spot!:) Not soon after I hear hooting and hollering... then I see Jimmy's head lamp come on. Huge red fish!!! My heart was pounding form all the excitement but, now I was ready for a bite!  The sun was just starting to reach the horizon, when all of the sudden my new Paul Brown lure gets crushed! Line was screaming off the reel as I watched the sunrise. Doesn't get much better than that! Finally as the fish got close to the yak, I saw that beautiful bronze body light up from the sun. Smiling from ear to ear I pick him up for a quick picture. As I go to release him, I realized that he hit the lure so hard it bent it in half! lol! Man! Well after that we posted up side by side, on the corner of this spoil island and caught so many red fish that we lost count! Boats were pulling up trying to get as close as they could to catch one but, we were the only ones catching fish!!!lol! Crazy! Some days are just like that!:) Another great day on the water!!!

BIG Trout in Sarasota Bay!!!

              Head out On the hunt for big trout! February is always my favorite month for BIGGGG TROUT! You will find big trout in all your normal trout spots this month. I have a few spots, where I always get them in February. Most of my big trout I catch are on jerk baits with a 1/16oz jig head. You can find them schooled up in big wholes or edges of channels. Most of my big trout, I've been sight casting them in potholes in 2ft depth. The majority of these fish are 20 inches and larger!:) The biggest one I've caught so far this month is about 28 inches but, I know there are some bigger mamas out there!:) Till next time, Fish On, Fish On!

Beautiful day in Buttonwood!

          We started out the day a little late due to the cold weather and the negative low tides. When I was scraping ice off my windows , I wasn't sure what the day had in store for us. Luckily, when Phil and Matt arrived it was warming up quiet nicely.  As we launched , the wind was very light out of the south. Decided to make a paddle south so that we could ride the wind all the way back. We headed up the beautiful creek, trolling Paddle tail jerk baits and mirro lures. the tide was very low making it hard to get out into the bay, so we continued paddling to the mouth of the creek. The water was very clear that day and we could see fish the entire way down.But no strikes! As we got to the mouth I looked down and saw three nice snook sitting right on top of each other. Phil casted out and hooked onto one almost immediately! As I paddle over to get some video of Phil's snook ,I hear Matt Yell out. I think I have a snook also! Perfect! A double header! After releasing Phil's I paddle over to check out Matt's snook and couldn't decide which fish was bigger.:) Both were nice fish! We paddled on to the next spot, on the hunt for redfish. Casting soft plastics into the pot holes,looking for reds. Matt has his line picked up and before he had time to set the hook the red came unglued. We decide to change things up a bit and throw some live shrimp into these pot holes. No love from the reds on the live shrimp, so we decided to start throwing soft plastics again. Boom! Phil's line starts screaming out line. I thought Immediately big redfish! As i get closer to get a better look, I see that is a huge blue fish! Phil fought it for a while and gave it the ol quick release.:) Nice fish to get the ol heart pumping!  Knowing that we were coming up to my trout spot, we decided to drift the flat. Drifting shrimp behind us and fan casting jerk baits seemed to be the ticket for the trout. Phil and Matt wanted to keep a few for dinner so we threw four on ice and headed in.We ended up with six hours of amazing weather.Another BEAUTIFUL day in Sarasota!