Bonefish Barrage

My inbox was barraged by bonefish emails yesterday...strange...perhaps with all the blizzard talk in the Northeast, the senders want to get their recipient's mind in a warmer climate...

Anyway, figured I'd consolidate & regurgitate. It makes for an easy blog post; enjoy...

First was Rod from DIY Bonefishing (an excellent site by the way) dropping a trip report of a friend chasing bones in (gasp) Cuba!

Then, almost on cue, Rio Products followed up with an email with "10 Interesting Bonefish Facts," and a slew of links to shop their specialized bonefish lines.

Oh, and a video...



All this bonefishing stuff makes me wonder why I'm sitting at my computer at work right now...right? I need to get back to the Cayman Islands, no bones to hand, but it was a blast!

Fly Fishing In The Surf: Baby Steps

I wanted to take the kayak down to Mosquito Lagoon on Sunday.  However there was a threat of rain, and you don't mess with boats and rain in Florida.  I don't even live in South Florida, but the rain can be off the hook crazy here.  Especially when lightning is involved.  So screw that.  Instead I figured I'd go somewhere that I could wade and fish, and escape somewhat quickly, should the skies begin to unleash their fury.

Moving south from the outing a few weeks ago at Crescent Beach, I decided to take a trip down to New Smyrna Beach, just below Daytona.  It's been really enjoyable checking out the different beaches in Florida, not just as fishing spots, but recreational destinations, as each have their own unique characteristics.  

Base camp was Smyrna Dunes Park, at the bottom end of the Ponce de Leon Inlet.  It's a very dog friendly beach that offers (extremely popular & crowded) jetties to fish off of as well as a large sand bar to wade out onto.  It's not grass flats like those in South Florida, but it does get you quite a bit out into the waterway...the only peril being the omnipresent waverunners...

I have to say, I really enjoyed this beach spot.  It was a pretty hot day, low 90s, so there were a lot of people doing the beach thing at the various entrance points; however with ample beach and the beauty of the dunes in the background, I had no problem finding calmer places to drop in and do some casting.

Heck, I actually hooked a fish this time - yeah no kidding!  My first one fly fishing off the beach (I still don't count THIS ONE since it didn't fight) - and while this was "only" a ladyfish, it jumped three times and was pretty fun to fight.  It kicked the hook on the third leap so I never got it to hand, but RWK says they poop on you anyway, so I feel a little better today about that long distance release.

I actually think I'll go back down to New Smyrna Beach some point and give it another try.  Next time (hopefully) with KC & Lilly in tow.  Most of the places I've fished to date haven't been terribly family friendly, so I haven't really thought to see if they wanted to come along...but this beach is.  Lilly would absolutely go nuts with all of the dogs.

Here are a few more pictures of the day:

Did that tortoise follow me from Crescent Beach?

Dead

Lots of dolphins

Scenes From The Weekend

While I didn't have the most successful weekend from a fish catching standpoint, I did manage get out for a little bit on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.

Saturday morning consisted of putting the kayak in at Trout Creek in Orangdale.  I didn't realize how crowded that feeder creek to the St. John's River got during the weekends.  Everybody seemed to be out in their party barges and bass boats.  Besides all of the fishing traffic, (a Ranger or Skeeter picking the weeds every 20 feet), I kind of got pushed around a bit by all of the motorboats' wakes; not too bad, but just enough to be annoying.  Probably won't go back there on a weekend with the intent of fishing.  Lesson learned.

Sunday was a trip down to Crescent Beach...actually the Matanzas inlet for about 2 hours.  This was purely a reconnaissance mission.  I did toss a fly or two, just to preserve my saltwater skunk going back to last October. That aside, I'm glad I went.

I hung out on the strip of land that divides the Inlet from the intercoastal/Matanzas River, but there was action going on both sides.  Looks like a place where both fishing and family fun can take place, as even though the pictures below don't look all that crowded, there were a TON of folks kayaking, paddleboarding, jetskiing (which was a little annoying), and just playing in the water.  Due to all of the action, might be better for actual fishing in the morning, but regardless, it was worth the 40 minute drive south to check out.

Maybe next time there'll even be a picture or two of a fish.
You never know...

Pics From A St. Augustine Paddle

Found these pics while cleaning out a SD card.  Forgot I took them as they're almost a month old at this point, but figured why not post them...

I had put in the kayak down in St. Augustine a few weeks ago, just to paddle around some new water and see what was up.  I really need to be more diligent with the tide charts in the future, as I ended up out there pretty much right at low as low tide gets...and the water got so down in places I ran aground more than a few times (as did a party barge full of college kids).  Not much fishing on this outing, more so exploring and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

That's what you do when you don't catch anything...but it's all good.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend (sorry all you up North) so I took the kayak out yesterday.  No fish this time - I may need to resort to trolling bait (yikes!) - but I do like the way the new Echo 3S throws line.  I'm not saying it's the be all, end all, but didn't realize how much I was laboring with the old rod until I gave this one a go.

Not much else to say, so I'll let the pictures below do the talking...

Scenes From The Beach

We'll work on including fish pictures the next time...