SWFKAA Day!

The Southwest Florida Kayak Angler’s Association had an informal club tournament and cookout on Saturday and the event was a success. Several members braved the early morning chill to fish the Estero Bay area while targeting trout, redfish and snook. The cold weather didn’t stop most of the anglers from landing fish, and everyone met afterwards at Lover’s key for great food and fellowship.

Eric Harrison won the big redfish prize

PJ Stevko brought home the biggest trout award, while Brian Harrison scored both largest redfish and snook. But, the real winner was the recipient of the 1^st ever “Joe Corrigan” award. To qualify for this prestigious award, one must meet three criteria. First, the recipient has to have a good sense of humor, able to take a good ribbing as well as dish it out. Second, he has to be a genuinely nice guy, willing to help his friends and always there if you need him. Third, and most important, he must be named after the award itself, Joe Corrigan. Congrats Joe, enjoy the sponge!

The winners

Joe Corrigan with the prestigious Joe Corrigan Award

After the Club President Jeff Gabrick handed out the winnings, our very own sous chef, Gary, began grilling. There was plenty of food and drink as members talked about the days fishing and made plans for the next event. It was a great day and I hope there are many others like it!

Misty Morning Reds

 

 

I often fish in adverse conditions or just prior to a front. Sometimes it can be quite rewarding if all things come together. I was a bit hesitant to go on this particular day as an arctic cold front was due in just hours bringing high winds and plummeting temperatures. I had already made plans with fellow Bending Branches Pro Staffer Jerry Sparks, however, so off I went.

 

We met at Hickory Pass on Estero Bay and the conditions were foggy to say the least. I gulped down my 4th cup of coffee and we launched into the glassy water. The air was still but very thick as we made our way to the backwater on the outgoing tide.

 

 

 

Jerry is a Fishing Guide and Certified IGFA Captain from the Rhode Island area. He specializes in big stripers all year round. On this day, he was fishing with a bubble gum Hogie type bait and a topwater popper. Our prey was big pre-frontal redfish on the flats.

 

We peddled our way into a shallow calm bay. There were mullet occasionally breaking the surface, but took our time working our way into it. As I watched with anticipation, I finally began seeing the reds, just below the surface, move into the bait schools. They were feeding and didn't know we were there! Jerry saw it too and instinctively cast.

 

Suddenly the quiet air was pierced with the sound of reel drag and splashing. "Fish on!" Jerry called out as his rod bent way over into the water. He had to work the fish gingerly with his 10lb braided line, and I advised Jerry to "let him run around the bay" to tire him out. After a few minutes, the big redfish allowed me to net him and agreed to take a few pictures. It was Jerry's 1st redfish, and he was stoked!

 

After reviving and releasing the fish, we worked our way back onto the flat where Jerry had a couple more hard strikes. Eventually we moved the fish into deeper water and decided to peddle out. I had just lost one at the boat when ahead of me I noticed some reds at the edge on a deeper hole. I made a quick cast and scored another red that stuck around for a few shots.

After releasing him, I noticed it was about 9:30am. We paddled around for an hour or so, taking pictures and casting at ghosts. The fog never lifted and cast an eerie light on everything. It was truly an interesting morning and Jerry and I had a blast talking about everything fishing. If you are up in the Rhode Island or Connecticut area, look Jerry up at www.sparksfish.com and get your striper fishing on!

 

 

 

New Year Bassin'

I headed out in pre-frontal conditions for a little New Years Day fishing. GatorDave Harper, Joe Jones and my son Eric joined me as we went to our special area in the Everglades. The wind forecast kept us from hitting the flats on the kayaks so we were looking for some exotic action.

 

The wind was not so bad so we started out with topwater lures in the morning. The action was a bit slow, but there were a few takers to give us hope.

 

As the sun warmed the water, the fish began to get a little more active. We were using rattletraps, spinnerbaits and live shiners to get them going. The largemouth bass were smallish but fat and healthy.

The peacock bass were out and readily took shiners and paddletails. Eric found a deep hole that was full of largemouth, peacocks and oscars, and we worked on a trifecta for a while. The fish were aggressive by now and hooking them was fairly easy. Landing them was proving difficult as they would throw the hook with their aerial head shakes.

We were watching oscars swimming along the rocky lake edges but they seemed disinterested in us. Patience finally paid off and Eric and Joe completed the slam with nice fish.

Finally, on the walk back out of the area, Joe went for one last cast and scored a mayan cichlid on a small spinner, completing an exotic grand slam!

What a fun day and if its any indication of the year to come, its going to be a great 2014!