The Kayak Report

By Neil Taylor

The arrival of June and “hurricane season.”   What will this summer be like?   I’m in that mode of killing summer again.   Get through the heat of the next four months to enjoy the cooler months again.   

The gradual shift has taken place to the early morning and sundown trips being not just the “best” time to go, with warmer water temperatures it is the “only” time to go.   The fishing in the middle part of the day has slowed significantly.    Staying out into the midday hours will basically only yield results if the angler makes a few adjustments.   One is to get to deeper water.   Another would be to “cast to shadows.”   Shaded water will be a little cooler than the areas with sunlight beating down on it.   Shade from overhanging trees or underneath docks and bridges may be locations to get in on midday action.    The other adjustment is what’s being offered up.    With the sun “high in the sky”, fish are less likely to chase down lures.   Slowing the pace of a lure to a crawl is an option or even sinking a live or fresh natural cut bait down to these fish.  

The pompano game comes to mind:   The other action just isn’t there, if you’ve got the spots, give pompano a try.    This year:  They’re late.   A full month late right now.    Will they arrive?  They should.  The Silly Willy jig, in yellow with a pink teaser, kept in contact with the bottom will get scooped up by these prized dinner table fish.   On medium light tackle they are fun to catch and are the very best eating the Gulf has to offer.   Basically everything else closed, pompano and flounder are about the only thing inshore to catch and take home.

June:  Snapper come to mind to add to the dinner species.    A “bait” species, you can connect big with fresh dead or live bait on the rockpiles.    They are hard-hitting, great tasting fish and they aren’t in trouble like other species.  

For the other action:  Utilizing the proper game plan.   The very best results have been around the peak tides early morning.   We have been starting at 6AM.   The second best option has been the lowest tides around the full and new moon around sunset.   Anglers throwing the 3-inch 12 Fathom Fat Sam Mullet with a 1/8-ounce jighead on the higher tides or the 5-inch SlamR or the Buzz Tail Shad rigged weedless on the lower tides have gotten into some redfish action.  Overall, redfish are just not very good.  On the highest tides the redfish have been close to the shorelines.    On the very lowest tides the redfish will either be patrolling the troughs on the outside of the flats or tailing in the thick turtle grass in just inches of water.  Many of these areas are only accessible by kayak and are pockets of water surrounded by areas of seagrass that are “high and dry”. 

The largest speckled trout are not as likely to be found in the shallows and they are much more active around sunrise and dusk. Better yet, if you are serious about big trout:  Think about going out at 2 to 4AM.  The feeding of the mature trout in the middle hours of the day is something that isn’t as likely to be seen again until the waters cool again in the Fall.  In addition to the soft plastic lures that these fish will eat, a topwater lure will also get eaten.

The absence of baitfish eliminated the fast action of fishing the deeper areas with higher currents for mackerel, jacks and ladyfish. Everything has been a little screwy.   Mackerel, normally easy around the Skyway:  They just aren’t there.     Lots of things just aren’t working right.   Hopefully temporary:   We could face some problems.

With the arrival of summertime, the influx of sharks has occurred.  Sharks of all sizes are swimming the deep and the shallow waters across the region.    Blacktip sharks have been attacking lures.    At sundown, on just about every flat, a live pinfish won’t last a long time before it is eaten by a shark.   Going up to a much heavier leader is necessary to prevent immediate cutoffs.   They must be handled carefully.   This is a fish that is able to bend and twist in ways other fish can’t and a hooked shark is a dangerous one.   A long dehooking tool and a sharp knife should be readily accessible tools for the kayak angler.    Keep your hands away from their mouths and do not grab a shark midsection or near the tail.

Come visit us and get in on some great rod-bending-action!

Neil Taylor

Guide Services-Tampa Bay Region

 (Cell) 727-692-6345

LivelyBaits@aol.com