I am back here from Florida - good and bad!
I went to upper Weeki Wachee River and the weather was about 76 degree with nice sunny, the river is mixed fresh water and salt water, I caught a lot of bass, bluegill. some same kind of fish with tooth (a lot of them in the water) I caught look like bass but I couldn't identify it. I also saw hundred of mullets - 18"-24" long average and sheepshead, I throw all flies and they won't take it. After I went back to hotel and check thru Internet, I just found out that mullets are veggie fish and won't touch any flies or lures. I saw three manatees (picture - manatee with hundred fishes) and they swim under my kayak - pretty cool!
Next day I went back to same river and paddled down to bay/sound from low river, I found some nice spots and I was able to stand/cast in shallow water. Then I noticed that some small fishes split on surface water, I could not identify it, I then throw all size of clousers, the fishes would not take it. I opened my flies box and tried to find smallest fly and I found the green crab - it is same size as dime. I throw it - Guess what ! They went for it. I lost them 20+ times however I managed to reel 5 of them to my hand or into my kayak. They were NEEDLEFISH!! It was totally surprised me! HAPPY & AWESOME day! I remember some members here and caught needlefish with special material that would grab & hold their teeth - Can someone mention it again? Oh by the way - I lost in the area (the area looks like kayak trail, paddle thru different trails) when I was getting ready back to parking lot because everywhere looks same but I managed to find a way with my smartphone (battery was almost dying..) with gps - Thanks God!
I went to Bahia Honda at night and woke up next day - Sunny! But the wind was killing me!! 20-25 mph all day! I throw my heavy flies & sink line and they did not go more than 10 feet! Agggrrrr. Wrong day and very disappointed! I decided to hiked thru trails and beach and get some idea for next visit! NICE PLACE!
I went to Tampa Bay - Nice! but it was 65-70 degree low. I did not see any fishes swim by. :-( Maybe too cold like Jeffery said.
Hopeful I would go back to Florida in March or April. I think I would hire guide when I want to fish in bay/sound area because it is big and I have no idea where to start or where to look!
Now time to fishing TROUT and SHAD!!
Richard
From: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com [mailto:tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Silvan
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:07 AM
To: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fly Fishing the Florida Keys
An 8 wt is good for redfish, trout, and bonefish, but will be on the lighter side for tarpon. Remember, the Florida record is over 240 lbs caught off Key West, although they aren't common to that size by any means.
Unfortunately, the end of January isn't the best time to target most of the species you mentioned. Bonefish will basically be non-existent this time of year unless there's several days of unseasonably warm weather, but they still won't be there in big numbers. Tarpon will be few and far between as well. Basically all just babies, and in pretty sparse numbers.
What you end up targeting and where will be highly dependent upon water temperature. No matter what, your best bet will be the specks, since they tend to still stay active in colder weather (again, by Florida standards). If it is warmer, you'll find them on the shallow flats with some snook and reds. If it is colder, the snook will probably shut down. The reds tend to be very spooky and picky all winter, especially when it is colder, but are definitely catch-able. If it is warmer, a floating line is probably fine since the fish will likely only be in a couple feet of water. Keep your eye out for tailing reds on a low tide on the warm days. If it is colder, the fish will likely be stacked up on the deep edge of the grass flats and on the channel edges. In this case, the sinking line will be useful because you'll need to get the fly down 6-8 feet at least. The good thing about colder weather this time of year is the fish tend to be more dense once you find them, but finding them is tougher. Bring crab flies, shrimp flies, and spoon flies. Your general baitfish flies should work too, particularly mullet imitations. You'll want both weighted and unweighted variations.
Black Drum and sheepshead will also be active (and a good option if it is colder, but not sure how they take to the fly). Barracuda will actually be a great option too. The big guys are extremely active on the flats during the winter, and are tons of fun on the fly. I'd prefer a 9 or 10 wt, but you should be able to get buy with an 8wt. For those, you'll want large flashy baitfish imitations with a fast, jerky retrieve. Needlefish imitations work great. If you tie your own flies, you'll want something long, preferably with a tandem hook - one in the middle of an imitation and another at the back. Cuda's tend to try to slash the fish in half first, so it is pretty critical to have a hook in the middle of the imitation. The small (but fun) sharks will definitely be around too - think 10-25 lbs. You might even find a cobia on the flats following the sharks and rays. Jacks will be active this time of year too.
You'd need more than a kayak and an 8wt to do this, but this time of year is pretty outstanding for sailfish. Not sure if you'd want to go through the expense of chartering a boat, but the sails are a blast.
This was probably far more info than you were looking for, but hopefully it helps.
On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Richard <rlinpager@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi - I just found and read this thread because I am going down to FL last week of this month and have some projects to be done in Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach. I thought I would take extra one day to Key West for bonefish and tarpon. It looks like that I would stop at Bahia Honda State park (Rob and Bobdrinks mentioned it) and Card Sound Bridge. Yeah I will bring fold kayak with me. I also will stop by Tampa for 1 or 2 days - hope find free time for redfish and sea trout in Old Tampa Bay. I have bass/pike line 8 wt - is it ok? Do I have to get sink or float line for salt water? The pattern would be crab, shrimp ( I have 2" long - good?), and half/half or clouser (5 to 6")
I don't see Tom's report - it has been a year.
If anyone can throw more information, it would be helpful - Thanks.
Richard
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