Cool water trout fishing...

 Although it is still a little chilly in the morning, once the morning sun hits the water the fish begin to wake up. Depending on the year little by little February water temps will start to rise up as each day passes. With water temps rising the fish will start to shift into their next phase of season.  Some species will be starting to spawn but, first and foremost the fish will be on the hunt, looking to fill their stomachs after being a bit sluggish form the cold winter.

    One of my favorite fish to target this time of year is the Speckled Trout also known as the Spotted Sea Trout. The adult spotted sea trout are anywhere from 19-32 inches and from 3-15lbs. They can be caught in large numbers once you have located them. The average size this time of year is about 16-20 inches, but don’t surprised to catch some well over 20 inches. We locals call them “Gator Trout” once they make it over the 20-inch mark. In our area you are allowed to keep four over 15” with one of them being over 20inches. Although, I do release most trout over 20” because they are either already full of eggs or they are getting ready to start spawning any day. Plus, they are much better tasting when they are under the “Gator Trout” size…

   There are many different tactics to catch Spotted Sea Trout. My absolute favorite way to catch them is on top water “walk the dog” baits like the Yo-Zuri  3D Inshore Pencil. They do have paper thin mouths so, make sure not to rip the lure out of their mouth when they strike it. Feel the weight of the fish and just reel. If it’s a cold morning and they are being lethargic, I like use a soft-plastic shrimp like the Monster 3X X-MOVE. Work it extremely slowly to entice the bite.  Between those two baits, one of them should be your golden ticket to success!  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! 

Crazy day of pre-fishing for a tournament...

This particular day I had been pre-fishing for an inshore slam (snook, redfish, trout) tournament. The tide was pretty high and still coming in so, I started out working the mangroves for snook. It didn’t take long before I had both snook and redfish blowing up on my top-water lure. As the tide rolled in, it became harder and harder to reach the fish because they had pushed so far deep into the mangroves. 

Since I had already caught 2 out of the three species I was looking for, I decided to make my way out to a deeper flat to try and catch some trout. As I paddled up to the flat, I a saw an enormous school of white bait that went on for nearly a hundred yards! While I was jigging for trout, out of the corner of my eye I saw a large tarpon roll. I reeled up as fast as I could and bombed a cast in that direction. Soon as the soft-plastic was getting ready to hit the water another tarpon rolled. Mid roll the tarpon saw my bait hit the water and bent like a pretzel to inhale my bait. All of the sudden I went from jigging for trout on light weight tackle to having a 70-90 lb. tarpon jumping like crazy on the end of my line!  It was probably a good thing it came unbuttoned soon after because my set-up was no match for that large of fish…

After finding all three species and miscellaneous tarpon, I decide to make my way to the shore line to head back towards the launch.  On my way back, I saw a group of dolphins cruising down the shore line tearing through bait and mullet. They were actually playing with their food by blasting full grown 5-7 lb. mullet back and forth to each other. I ended up stopping on the shore line to take a couple of casts and to let the dolphins go around me. After they passed me, I see fin a pop up and charge the shore line coming directly at me. I was on a corner where the land elbowed so, there was nowhere for this large fishy to go. The water was pretty tannic from all the rain the previous day.  So, I watched this large grey fin swim right up to me and stop.  I thought to myself I better give this dolphin a little poke to let it know I was here… Well that’s when all heck broke loose! First off it wasn’t a dolphin, it was a 10 ft. BULL SHARK! Soon as I poked it, JAWS came out the water snapping at me and then it was like an explosion in the water as flipped out to get away. I’m thinking the dolphins had scared it up against the shore line and it had nowhere else to go… 

Moral of the story is to be careful while on the water. Always be aware of your surroundings. You never know what you are going to run into (literally)! Hahaha! Tight lines and Tight knots to all!  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 941-504-1349

Landing the big one...

When it comes to fishing, learning to properly land your catch is critical.  We all have a great story about the huge fish that we almost landed… but there’s no photographic evidence (or dinner on the table) because we lost it while trying to get it into our boat.  Learning to land your fish can be the difference between a good and a great day. There’s nothing like catching the fish of a lifetime and as soon as it gets next to the yak, it comes unglued… This usually happens when you try to lift the fish into the boat with your rod or you try to grab it with your hands next to the boat. There are many different types of tools that you can use to land certain types of fish in different types of situations. The two main tools that I use to land fish are a good landing net and lip grippers. These two tools can improve your game and help you successfully land more fish.

Landing Net-  This is the number one thing that I depend on in tournaments when it is most critical to land the fish. When picking out a net decide on what size fish is the average that you will be targeting. The last thing you want on your kayak is a huge clumsy net that is always in the way of your paddling or fishing. For inshore species I like to use the EGO Slider 2 17” or 19”. Reasons why: First, it has rubber mesh that is easier on the fish and is extremely easy to remove the hooks from (no tangled mess). Second, it has an extension handle that makes it easy to use for reaching out on kayaks or when using a fly rod with a long leader.  Third and most of all it floats! : ) People ask me all the time what if I catch a huge fish? Trust me I’ve landed 40+ inch fish in this net. Most of the time if you get a large fish’s head in a net it will break it will and give up, giving you complete control of the fish.

Lip Grippers- I use lip grippers on an everyday basis! Either to land a fish or after just to remain in control of the fish. A lot of times I have a bungee tied to the grippers so I can let the fish rest in the water (to lessen the stress put on the fish) while I decide to get out a measuring board, camera, etc… They have many different varieties out there from floating ones like Fish Grips to ones that you can actually take weight measurements from like a Bocca Grip. None-the-less, they all work great for keeping control of your fish.

Until next time, keep control of your catch and land the fish of a lifetime! Tight Lines and Tight Knots to all! 

Kayak Bass Series Sanford, FL

   This weekend was the first tournament for the Kayak Bass Series. I had charters all week up to Thursday so I didn't get much time to pre-fish. Also, I have not freshwater fished since the last KBS tournament! I was just going over there because it is a fun tournament with great people and I wanted to get back to my roots- my first fishing experiences as a child were fishing for bass. I headed over to the other coast Friday morning around 4 am to do some bass recon. Needless to say I was on a mission to find some bass for the tournament the next day.  I pushed out on to  the beautiful St. Johns River around 8:30. The only thing I could get these bass to eat this day was the Yo-Zuri popper. I ended up sticking 3 nice bass and lost a really nice one. I didn't fish too hard this day because I didn't want to sore lip the bass for the next day. Once I had found fish, I knew where to go and what my game plan was going to be for the next day.

On game day (Tournament Day) I pushed out around 6:30  on the prowl for my 5 bass bag limit. Since I had so much success the day before on top-water, I started throwing a top-water popper and a frog. I lost two fish right off the bat, both in the mid 20's!!! Then I did the thing they say you should never do... leave fish to find fish. When I reached the other side of the lake, I saw Andrew Mixon sitting in the spot where I wanted to fish. I had to be respectful to my fellow angler/friend and not carry on to that spot. After watching him catch 3-4 fish right in front of me I headed off to re-group for another game plan. I went back to where I lost those other fish and just slowed everything down. I put on a speed worm and rubber worm with a bullet weight, both rigged weedless. I finally figured out that if I didn't have my bait in the weeds, I was not getting bites! After I tuned into the bite, I had my 5 bass bag limit in no time! I lost a couple of more lunkers on the top-water frog that made me wanna throw up! lol! My bass game was just a little rusty and couldn't get a good hook-set with the frog. Needless to say, I had one of the most fun days watching some of the most EPIC eats I've ever seen from bass on top-water. And I was just happy that I was able to compete with people who had been pre-fishing for two weeks and who bass fish on a regular basis. Who knows where I would have been in the ranking with the couple of the fish that I lost. Shoulda, Woulda , Coulda! :)

   The St. Johns River is a Beautiful fishery and would love to go there again some day. My hats off to all of the competitors and Andrew Cameron/Crew for an fun tournament. Also great job to my friends:  2nd place Andrew Mixon, 3rd place Jason Broach, 5th place Bart A Swab. I'm sure this series will continue to be a blast!  Check out Kayak Bass Series if you are a bass fisherman.:) I would like to thank everyone who makes this possible for me God, wife, family, friends, Johnson Outdoors, Old Town Kayaks, Ocean Kayaks, Bending Branches, Yak-Gear, 3-TAND, Humminbird, EGO, RailBlaza, Monster 3X , Yo-Zuri Lures, Mister Twister, EXUDE, Mirro Lure, Paul Brown, St. Croix Rods, Owner Hook, Seaguar, Mojo, Intova, River Bum, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses. 

Fall is right around the corner...

   Fall is near and the fall fishing patterns are not far behind. One fish that doesn't come to everyone's mind for inshore fishing is the Cobia. When people usually think about Cobia, they think offshore. Although that is normally the case for these fish most of the year, during fall and spring these fish will make there way inshore hanging around pass bridges, inshore wrecks, and scouring the flats searching for their next meal. Most of the time when you find these fish, they are not alone. Either they are cruising around in small groups or tagging along with stingrays and/or manatees.   

       They are mainly brown and white with a dark lateral stripe that runs from head to tail. Many people refer to them as the man in the brown suit. Their long sleek body, broad head, and long pectoral fins almost makes them look shark like. Although you don't have to worry about teeth, one thing to look out for are the first dorsal fins/ spikes right behind the top of the head.

       Cobia are pound for pound one of the hardest fighting fish on the West Coast of Florida. Their body design makes for incredible long runs and being able to change directions in a blink of an eye!  Even smaller Cobia put up insane fights, launching themselves into the air numerous times and never giving up until the very end. Never under-estimate the power of a Cobia. Larger ones have been known to bang up boats and people pretty badly. Although it can be hard to net these powerful fish, never gaff one unless you know for sure it is over 33 inches. If you do decide to keep one that meets the legal size limit, you are in for a treat. They are extremely good table fare.

    Many times when catching these fish, I wasn't even targeting them. They will literally pop up out of know where.This time of year always be on the look out for these cruising fish on top of the water because that is usually going to be your best chance to present a bait to them. You always need to have something ready to throw at them like a free lined live shrimp, pinfish, crab, for when they are really on the prowl. Artificial baits like buck-tail jigs, Monster 3X soft plastics, and flies work great as well! None the less when you hook into a Cobia, you better have your best gear because they are definitely going to put it to the test! 

    The two different Cobia that I hooked earlier in the year were both on the flats while I was fishing for Snook, Redfish, and Trout. The first one I hooked was on a 8 wt. fly rod. My client and I were paddling back to the launch at the end of a trip when all of a sudden two Cobia popped up right in front of us. We chased them for what seemed like forever until we decided to split up to try to cut them off. It worked so I was able to site cast and landed my first fly-caught Cobia! The second Cobia I caught was while I was fishing in a Slam Tournament. I pitched a soft plastic towards the mangroves hoping for a big snook when a 44 inch Cobia inhaled my bait! I was only using a 3000 Shimano CI4  on a 6 1/2 ft St. Croix spinning rod with 15 lb braided line. Both setups were a little small for the task but, they got the job done leaving me whooped! I promise if you ever hook a Cobia on a kayak, it will be an epic adventure that you will never forget.

           Till next time, be safe! Tight knots & Tight Lines!

Ever thought about broadening your fishing horizons...

  Well, it's tournament season in the southeast!  Do you like fishing?  Do you like to compete?  Do you want to meet others who love to fish?  Do you need a good excuse to get out on the water all day?  Think about checking out some of your regional fishing tournaments this summer.

One way to get involved is to join a local kayak fishing club.  Some clubs do monthly competitions with entry fees and prizes while others just connect you with new friends who like to kayak fish, but all of them allow you to meet fellow anglers and will keep you up to date on local tournaments. You can always check with other anglers and local fishing stores to see which tournaments they recommend.

When looking for a tournament to fish, you want to see a nice, well-organized website.  You also want clear, detailed rules.  It's nice when they do things like raffles at the weigh-ins so that everyone has a chance to win sponsor prizes from great companies like Johnson Outdoors, Old Town/ Ocean Kayaks Bending Branches, Yo-Zuri Lures, Mirro Lure, Monster 3X, Yak-Gear, RailBlaza, Intova, Engel Coolers, etc,, even if you are not into the money that day. As long as the attendance is good, most of your larger tournaments pay out through the top ten. Also some tournaments have ways to win extra money by signing up for the Angler Advantage or the Calcutta.

Once you find a tournament you would like to fish, get on their website and sign yourself up.  Read the rules many, many times!  Every tournament is different and you want to be sure that you know what to do to give yourself the best chance of winning without being disqualified.  You will be expected to attend a "Captain's Meeting" the night before the tournament- these are mandatory.  There, you can get all of your remaining questions answered- anything that wasn't covered clearly on the website or in the rules.  You will have a start time when you are allowed to push off into the water on tournament day and specific rules about how to take pictures and measure your fish.  You want to be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get back to the weigh-in location, because in most tournaments if there is a tie the angler who checked in first wins.

Some of my favorite kayak clubs are KAWF and Hard Core Kayak Angler Cub. Favorite online tournaments are onlinefishingtournament.com, 321Fish.com, and kayakwars.com. 

Some of my favorite Florida tournaments include the Kayak Fishing Classics, IFA Kayak Tour, Kayak Bass Series, and Extreme Kayak Tournament. There are so many more fun tournaments out there that you can fish for just about every species of fish you can think of...

Hope this helps you get motivated to try something new.  You've got nothing to lose and lots to gain!  Please feel free to come say "hey" if you see me at any of these events.  Tight lines and Tight Knots!

Kayak Wars have Begun!

Adam Calderon

Patrick Nespeca

  Kayak Wars is a year long tournament that is held world wide. Team Get Bent Fishing is in the US Southeast Division. We blasted off the tournament with a great start! The fist week we managed to land 6 red drum over 20 up to 29 inches, 13 trout over 20 inches, and 24 snook over 20 and up to 37 inches. The first day we caught 5 trophy snook which is any snook over 32 inches. We are aloud to use live bait but, all the fish so far have been caught on artificial lures like soft plastics (Exude's Darts, Mirro Lure's Lil Johns, and intimation shrimp), suspension lures (Yo-zuri's Shashimi Jerk-bait, Mirro Lure's Mirrodine), and Top-waters  (Yo-zuri's Pecil , Heddon's Spooks). For inshore, I usually stick to 15-20 lb braided line with 20-30 Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader depending on the targeted species and clarity of the water. We only get to fish together once or twice a week so strategically picking spots is crucial! Also choosing our gear has has to be top notch, so we have the best chance possible. My kayaks of choice are the Old Town Predator 13 for inshore and Ocean Kayak's Prowler Big Game 2 for the offshore. Both Outstanding kayaks for the Southeast Region's waters. Paddles of choice are between Bending Branches Angler Pro, Angler Ace, and Aqua-Bounds Manta Ray Carbon. All these paddles are exceptionally light weight and cut through the water with ease. For my kayak accessories I depend on Yak-Gear. They have everything thing you can imagine to make kayaking more manageable. (Anchor Systems, Rod Holders, Lighting, Camera Booms, etc...) For eye wear I can't even imagine being without my Costa Sunglasses! The 580 Green Mirror or Amber are my lenses of choice, helping me see incredibly more on the water. Last but definitely not least is Buff USA. Their buffs and gloves are comfortable and provide great UV protection to keep me on the water longer.  Being equipped and organized is one of the biggest keys to success on the water! All though we are still looking for one more teammate, we are all very passionate about fishing and hope to continue on this epic adventure! Up above are teammates Adam Calderon, Patrick Nespeca and I with trophy snook.:)

KBS Tournament Astor, FL

    This is my first kayak bass tournament ever. Although I normally fish 20 - 30 tournaments a year but, they almost always are  inshore saltwater fishing...I thought it would be fun to try something different. My roots of fishing as a kid was always freshwater but, now I probably only fish freshwater 2-3 times a year...

I headed up to Astor, FL a couple of days early to do a little prefishing and to scout the area out. It was so beautiful and completely different looking from Sarasota, FL. Its rich green lily pads, miles of cat-tails, and cypress trees filled with Spanish moss were truly breath taking.  I got a little bit of a late start the first day around 9 am. As I took this long dirt road into what seemed the middle of no where, I ended up just above Dexter Lake on the St. Johns River. I knew the major feed of the day had to been going on because I was seeing tons of wildlife(Deer, birds, hogs) moving through the forest. Finally getting my yak in the water, I pushed off into the beautiful St Johns River. I paddled around for a bit, soaking it all in before I got to my destination to start fishing. I started out throwing many different kinds of artificial baits like plastic worms, spinner baits, crank baits, etc... But NO LOVE! I could not bye a bite! I had paddled pretty far so I decided to start heading back. I did manage to get a couple of bites but no solid hook ups on my journey back. I also ran into a couple of more kayak fishermen who were in the tournament. They to were also having a tough day. One of the guys hooked a little bass on a white spinner bait while I was talking to him but, they literally had only two bites before that all day! 

Day two I decided to put in close to Deleon Springs and head down the river to Lake Woodrift where I thought I might find spawning bass. As I was putting in the old timer at the boat ramp told me that I didn't need to go that far. Just to fish Spring Garden Lake. Watching five other kayak fishermen before me shooting toward the river, I decided to take his advice.  Me and one other little john boat were the only people to share the lake all day! Starting out I threw tons of different artificial baits that people suggested. Not catching anything for the first couple of hours I decide to go back to what I know. Keeping it simple with purple /black and red/ black plastic worms on a 1/16 oz bullet weight with a size 2 /3 worm hook. Immediately started getting bites landing 3-4 pound bass that made my day! Unfortunately a front started rolling in and the wind started kicking up.  I decided to paddle back in a little early to eat some lunch before heading to the captains meeting.

Tournament morning was very cold! I woke up with a soar throat not feeling great but, It was time to compete. I am a pretty competitive person so the feeling that I get during a tournament can push me through just about anything! lol! Deciding to head where I found nice fish the day before, I launched just as the sun was breaking the horizon. Beautiful pinks, oranges, and blues were breaking through the forest as the reflections burst off of the glassy lake. I pretty much had the lake to myself much of the morning but, couldn't get anything to eat. It was sooooo cold the night before in the 30's so most of the fish I saw were glued to to the bottom and had lock jaw! I did see a few really nice fish that I wish I could have got to eat. By the time I had gotten to the spot where I caught my nice fish the day before, the wind had completely changed directions and it was blowing so hard making it unfishable. It was now 12pm and I had not measured one fish. Had to make a game plan fast! Thinking of how cold the water might be from the temps dropping so low the night before, I paddled almost two miles in directly into the heavy winds to where the spring poured 72 degrees water into the lake. Time for a hail mary! All or nothing! lol! I finally get there and nothing. At 1pm I started thinking my throat was killing me and my nose running uncontrollably. I told myself its just not my day and its time to head in. Literally less than five minutes of heading in I took a cast at in between a group of pads that just looked like there should be a fish there. BOOM! Fish ON! Quick measurement and released it. Less than two minutes after that, BOOM Fish ON! Now I had two fish. a few kayak fishermen in the tournament saw this and here they came starting to surround me. lol! I slowed down, anchored up and held my ground. After landing and measuring my third fish, I new I still had to log my fish on to the I Angler App. Took my time as I entered each fish. Luckily I had cell phone service so it made it easy to log my catches. I now went from NO FISH to having my bag limit. Having less than an hour before I had to check in at the weigh in, I had to make a decision. Head back now or try to quickly upgrade. I started working my way back but, still casting a every spot that looked fishy. Right as i was ready to call it quits again BOOM I get smashed by a solid game changer fish. It came up and gave one good head shake and spit the worm directly at my face. Luckily it hit my rod before smacking me in the face!lol! My heart sunk into my stomach but, that's fishing. Can't land them all. I felt blessed enough to go from having no fish less than an hour ago, to having my limit. So I put all my rods away and headed in.

Getting to the weigh in, I began talking to a lot of people who also seemed to have a tough day on the water...There was one really nice bass caught by Jason McRae measuring over 25  inches. Jason was one of the most knowledgeable bass anglers I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with and truly a great person as well. Some how I was able to squeak my way into the top ten which I was very happy with not being an avid bass angler

 KBS and all the staff did an outstanding job hosting there first tournament! I wasn't sure how the I Angler App was going to work but, it was a success. Great job to everyone involved. Looking forward to entering more KBS events. Thank you to all my Sponsors! Johnson Outdoors, Yak-Gear, RailBlaza, Bending Branches, Aqua-Bound, Mister Twister, Exude, Yo-Zuri Lures, Mirro Lure, Paul Brown's Lures, St,Croix Rods, Ross Reels, Costa Sunglasses, Buff Usa, Mojo Apparel. This could't happen without you! 

Matlacha Tournament Fishing

   Matlacha is one of the coolest places in the world to fish this time of year. Snook Red fish, and Tarpon are on fire! As we launched out the first day we immediately started seeing tarpon rolling everywhere. I new it was going to be a great day. We wanted to start fishing right away, but the spot we were heading to was pretty far away so we kept paddling. Finally we arrived to the place where we we were heading. Mullet and other fish pushes as far as you could see moving around the first spoil island. Slowly pushing towards them as quietly as possible, we made our first cast at one of the huge pushes. Jimmy's top-water spook gets crushes! Line peeling out , we thought huge red! Nope huge jack! After he got the fish to the boat it took a few minutes for things to calm down again. Next my line with the Exude soft plastic starts peeling out, then goes air borne! Snook! Right after that line start ripping out again which it happen to be the man in the red suit. Nice Red Fish! We push slowly along the edge working the mullet when all of a sudden, Jimmy's line with the Exude sot plastic starts screaming! The fish started to whoop him, getting behind him and pulling him into the mangroves. Once I realized how big the fish was, I paddled over with the Go Pro for some video. Finally Jimmy got turned around and was able to turn the fish around. Now it was a fare fight as he got the fish into some open water. As Jimmy gets the snook boat side, he starts to pull the fish out of the water. I cant believe how big the fishes head was! The pic we took, gives the fish size no justice. That hog was a beautiful fish! That a boy Jimbo!  Not minutes later minutes later I had another nice red fish peeling off drag. The rest of the was back and forth snook ,red,red, snook. What an amazing day! Almost forgot that I did catch a small jack ,and a huge red fish nailed him twice right next to the boat!  Any way to see video footage on this, check out my Eric Henson Youtube page. The next day (tournament day) we went to the same spot. Unfortunately not the same fish!lol! We did catch some decent fish landing us in 5th-6th Place but nothing like the pre fish! Till next time Fish On Fish On!!!