Fishing Report From Capt

Fishing Report
From Capt. Jim Nelson
Paddle & Cast Kayak Charters
(941-228-0530)

Week of January 1st

The full moon or new moon low tides are a "sure-fire" time to catch big redfish. Clients have been catching and releasing redfish from 24"-33" in the morning on the low tides using gold Exude Mr Twister and 3/32 oz. Capt. Mike weedless jig heads, fishing in 2-2 1/2 ft. of water on the flats. Two days in a row during the low tide before Christmas clients had double and triple hook ups with big reds. With the clear water, sight fishing is a bonus, including tailing redfish. Gotta love the winter in Southwest Florida.

12-07-06

An Earl morning paddle out with the full moon setting and the sun rising, a negative .8 tide and tailing red fish, a sight rarely seen in Manatee county waters. I was only able to get two tailing reds to eat, but hundreds of others in the 25-34 inch range were eating in just over a foot a a half of water, rolling on Exude jerk baits like tarpon. Left 'em biting 1t about 11:00 am, wow what fun. Goota love winter low tide redfishing. Wish I had somebody with me this morning.

12/2/2006

This time of year is just isn't that hard to catch good reds. We fished a lame afternoon tide, the reds were scattered all over the grass flats and not eating that hard after a big moon the night before an super low tide that morning, but we still caught three reds from 22"-25" along with a scattering of nice trout to 21". We saw hundreds more fishing, guess they are waiting for prime conditions.

The key to fishing these reds and catching them is gold and or root beer jigs, fish shallow, and get out of the boat or kayak and wade, cover lots of area, don't just fish the pot holes, especially on the higher tide. The reds are all over the grass. Go get 'em.

11/30/2006

Cooler weather is helping the redfish and trout turn on on the flats. A female client and I, Terri from Lakeland, fished the bottom of the tide Thursday for 15 trout over 20" including one 27" beast, and a five nice reds from 27" to 32" on Mr Twister jerk baits.

November 10-12 Fishing Report

Friday:Finally, no wind. The fished like the calm cool waters, Roger Hartzel of Ohio kayaked for a nice catch of small reds and snook as well as a 27 1/2 inch snook for dinner that evening, his first snook and first keeper at that. We caught all our fish on Baby Bass Exudes on the lower tide on the bulkhead.

Saturday: We caught dozens of nice trout in the same are on the bulkhead working the deeper patchy areas (3ft). That is deep in a kayak. Saw big reds and snook but didn't hook 'em up.

Sunday: I ventured alone to Weedon Island Preserve, a no motor zone on Tampa Bay in St. Pete. I had read a lot about it, but wasn't sold until I went. Not only is it an amazing paddle and scenery, but the fishing was hot. I started off with a 28" snook right of the bat, then three other snook right at 26" and a couple small reds. I stepped on a flounder that made me trip, then finally I move outside for four big reds from 24"-27".

The only reason I didn't catch more fish is because I had to get back inside before the water dropped too low and I had to walk it, too late, I had to drag the kayak through two inches of muddy mangrove canals, but it was worth it. I'll be back

Capt. Jim

October 26 & 27

The fall fishing is busting wide open with a bit of cooler weather and little rain. We kayaked on Southern Tampa Bay Thursdays for a catch of over 20 redfish and a dozen nice snook using Exude Mr. Twister on a 3/32 oz weighted Capt Mike jig head. Baby bass was the color of choice. The fish were ravenous on the morning dropping tide. As the tide turned we spotted some monster redfish on the flat and followed them to no avail, they wouldn't eat anything artificial, but they sure were nice to look at. We'll get 'em next time.

Friday due to windy conditions, we used the skiff as our transportation. the fish didn't mind the wind, we caught a couple dozen snook and a handful of nice reds. We even took some meat home in the form of a 20" trout and a couple 28" snook. I love fall fishing. See ya on the water... capt. Jim

September 23, 2006

I hate to admit it, but we got skunked. I fish with Lakewood Ranch resident Adam Buskirk for a pre sunrise paddle to seven pines (mouth of Manatee River) on a low incoming tide. we saw some nice schools of redfish and couldn't get them to eat. We tried Exudes, top water, and Berkley Gulp crabs to no avail. I have no excuses, it is a humbling feeling.

September 25, 2006

I took a scouting trip with my wife to Fort Desoto camping), planned on paddling the skyway side but ended up fishing out from our camping area. The water was a little dirty, but I am glad to report that the redfish didn't care, they wouldn't take jerk baits and top waters were out of the question due to weeds, but the Berkley Gulp crab was hot. we caught six nice reds to 32" in an hour and a half. It was great waking up and sliding the kayak in the water 15 feet from the 13 foot 1964 Shasta Camper we stayed in. I'll be doing that trip again soon.

8-10-06

Still catching a few redfish and snook from the kayak using Gulp crabs and jerk baits around Anna Maria Sound, but the heat keeps the bite slow. The snook are especially shallow, backs almost out of the water, over grass. They strike out of anger more than hunger.

Better catching has been early morning or late evening with white bait. Wednesday, August 9th the evening full-moon tide produced a good number of snook to 30" and reds to 30" on white bait. It was a picture perfect night in the mouth of the Manatee River. Good to hear the sound of drag again...Capt. Jim

July 29, 2006

If you can dodge the thunder storms, there is some good fishing out there. Out of the Kayak, I have been putting clients on 27"-30" red the last few days, using Berkley Gulp 2" Natural crabs on a Cotee Jig head. There hard part of fishing these is keeping it still and in the hole long enough for the redfish to find it and suck it up. I love to fish with jerk baits, but with the weeds and spooky fish, the Berkley Gulp crabs have been the key. Let them sit in the sand hole for 5-10 minutes before you give up and move onto the next hole.

The catch of the week was a 30" red with 14 spots, a beautiful fish, happy catching...Capt. Jim

5-25-06

The fishing has been hot and cold. I paddle fished May 22nd and 23rd with clients with little to show for it, we only hooked up with a few snook each day. The conditions were perfect, a strong outgoing tide moving toward the new moon, and the fish were present, but they were not eating any artificials we were throwing at them. I may have to crank up the boat and go get white bait. I hate to do it, but I love to catch fish.

Capt. Jim

5/11/06

The fish couldn't have been more fast and furious than during the dropping tide Thursday evening. My client cancelled due to the wind, so I braved it alone, and it paid off. 28 snook and two redfish later I paddled home just after sunset. The snook were ravaging huge schools of sardines along the edge of the flat as the tide dropped. The feeding frenzy lasted for over two hours and featured multiple fish crashing baits and getting airborne. Almost every cast into the frenzy was a fish. Most were in the 23"-26 " range. I was using Exude Baby Bass Slugs w/ a weightless worm hook, standing in mi-calf deep water. I tried several top water plugs and DOA shrimp to no avail. Oh how I love May fishing! Capt. Jim

5-9-06

The end of the week high tides made fishing challenging, fishing out of a boat is even more challenging when most of my fishing is via kayak with artificials. But hard work and perseverance paid of for father-daughter team Harold Miham (Bradenton) and Sue Garcia (Lakeland). After a slow start catching a few scattered snook and trout on white bait, a 33" snook blasted both anglers' baits a few seconds apart and the circle hooks imbedded in either side of the big bruiser's mouth. We photographed and released him all the wiser. Redfish were a no show, though I have been hearing reports of big fish cruising the flats and edges.

April 28, 2006

It has been a good week of fishing in spite of the wind. Tuesday we fished on are for four hours and caught upward of 40 snook, including a 31", a 22" trout and a 24" red. All these fish were caught on the top of the tide scattered over mixed bottom ft. deep.

Thursday evening, the outgoing tide which bottomed out just after dark had the fish going crazy for our Exude jerk baits. Fish were scattered all along a grass edge since there wasn't enough water on the flat to hold them. We caught snook to 24" and Reds to 24". We were busy the whole time. Boy was it Windy, 20 knots plus out of the NW.

4-18-06

The fishing was challenging over the weekend in the backwaters, but it quickly picked up Sunday night with clients catching reds to 30" and some decent size trout in skinny water. The bite was crazy after sunset with redfish crashing weightless jerk baits and top waters with a fury.

Monday evening Kirk Klingensmith from Corning New York caught his first snook on a fly while casting right up to the mangroves in less that two feet of water. We also caught a nice mess of reds from 23" to 30" during the dropping tide.

4-12-06

It isn't supposed to be this windy in April, but it hasn't hurt the fishing, just my arms from paddling. Most of the time we can find a leeward shoreline and hide from it, unless it is a north wind. The fishing has been hot, Saturday April 8th Tom Dorton from Grand Rapids Michigan caught and released a 39" snook using a Baby Bass Exude RT Slug. It was the first cast of the day a half hour before sunrise into a deep swash against a mangrove line. we also caught several Reds to 32" using unweighted jerk baits in shallow water.

The fishing is only going to get hotter in the coming weeks, lets go paddle and cast...Capt. Jim

3-29-06

The fish have rebounded quickly after last weeks cold front. We kayaked and fished the afternoon outgoing tide March 29th with good fishing all afternoon. We caught snook to 28" and reds to 24" and saw lots of fish. The fishing was challenging because of the weeds in the tide with artificial baits. We went as weedless as we could in the shallow water, but had to clean the jerk bait off a lot or we would have caught a lot more fish. Water temp was 74 degrees on the flat.

March 18-20 proved to be three great days of fishing in the shallows, snook are showing up in large numbers on the flats, but are being picky with artificial baits after last weeks cold front. But the redfish are hot and heavy, my client David Yager from Baltimore and I caught and released 9-10 reds from 20"-30" in two feet of water on the incoming tide Saturday morning on Exudes RT Slug Baby Bass and Rainbow Shad. The beauty of kayaking is that we were all alone, we saw plenty of boats in the distance, but they couldn't get to the shallow flat where we were fishing. Paddle and Cast is the way to go!

March 17th, 2006

We got an early start paddling, before the sun came up, and got a good nice bite as the tide turned in. The Redfish heard the dinner bell and we caught 8 nice Reds from 18" t0 30", on Exude Baby Bass. The snook never turned on , but we did see them cruising the flats. I think the little cold front dropped the water temp a 'bit and they are confused. Snook fishing should pick up just in time for the busy weekend...Capt Jim

3-7-06

It is absolutely amazing how fast things can change in the fishing world. Thursday of last week (3/2) my client and I caught and released 10 slot sized reds from 24"-27" on the early morning incoming tide, two days later on Saturday, we couldn't buy a fish, catching only one 25" Red on a 5 hour trip (using Mr. Twister RT Slug). But the good news is that we saw hundreds of snook in the deeper holes and swashes out near the flats...they're baaack! We couldn't get them to eat and I didn't see any one having any luck with small white bait either.

Spring is in the air, so lets go fishing and catching.

2-25-06

Redfish, Redfish, Redfish, every where all I see is Redfish, and it makes me oh so happy. Kayak trips on both Feb 24th, and 25th produce redfish from 19" to 30", including on that went 9lbs. They were moving up the flat and pushing a lot of water as the tide rose from the negative into the positive range throughout the morning. We were able to sight cast the bigger schools as they moved around. They never seemed to hold in one spot for very long. We essentially fished in circles. We used Exude RT Slugs on Unweighted hooks and my client caught a nice Red on a fly rod. We had tried the fly rod the day before to no avail.

Fishing will only get better in the coming weeks so call me and lets go Paddle and Cast, 941-228-0530.

2-21-06

The cold days last week made fishing more challenging, but the Reds were cooperative in spite of the 62 degree water. The Snook wouldn't eat at all in the deep holes in the creeks, even as the water warmed up to 66 later in the day. The Redfish were on shallow sand flats and as the day warmed up they began to eat our Exude RT Slugs. David Yager from Baltimore Maryland caught a couple nice 7 lbs. Reds. Kayaking was the ticket to catching these fish since we could quietly sight fish in the shallow flats where they were holding. Warm weather this week should mean fishing heats up

Capt. Jim

Paddle and Cast Kayak Charters.

February 2, 2006

Once again the weather is cooperating, well sort of. It was warm, but very windy. The water temp is up to about 65. We kayaked the eastern side of Tampa Bay, near Cockroach bay and caught eight catch and release snook, and a couple respectable redfish. We saw a lot more redfish than we caught, we just couldn't get them to eat. We use Exude RT Slugs with a 3/32 oz Capt. Mikes Jig Head, and the snook ate 'em up.

1-23-06

Once again I say there is nothing like January in Florida. The past weekends weather my not have increased our catch, but it sure was nice being out. Friday, Saturday and Sundays kayak trips all produce some nice redfish in the 20" to 28" range on RT Slugs and Gold spoons. We also caught some ravenous undersized snook and some keeper Trout to 21" in Cockroach Bay. We were sight fishing the redfish, they were in small schools in about 2 1/2 feet of water over mostly mixed bottom. The water clarity continues to make them spooky. After catching a couple fish from the schools they shut down.

January 11, 2006

Sometimes you just can't beat January in Southwest Florida. Fall like fishing has visited the backwaters of Manatee County. We caught 10 nice reds, two were 17" and the other eight were 27"-28". They gobbled up a gold spoon moving quickly through 2 1/2 feet of water on the incoming tide. The fish were spread out on patchy grass bottom. If it hadn't gotten dark we could have kept catching 'em. I am sure that top water plugs would have been effective, but I left 'em at home.

1-9-05

The fish are fickle as the weather, but with some hard work we are having some luck. On Wednesday January 4th, a balmy winter day, I had two anglers with me in Matlacha (near Pine Island). We put together a nice catch including snook, redfish, trout, Jack, and a solo flounder fishing the shallow edges on Buzzard Bay, and the deeper holes in some of the creeks using RT Slugs.

Sunday January 9th I went scouting fish in the back side of Terra Ceia bay after one of the coldest nights of the year. To my surprise I saw smalls schools of nice size reds moving across the shallow sand flats, and they ate root beer colored jerk baits. After a half of dozen nice fish 22"-24" they shut down and I found a few juvenile snook up around the mangroves near the creek mouth. Gotta love winter fishing

12-30-05

A few warmer days following Christmas has help the fishing. The week between Christmas and New Years has produced some decent fish. The day after Christmas we kayaked into Cockroach bay and caught and released several redfish, the largest was a fat 30 incher. He took a RT Slug in a sandy flat with two feet of water. A few days later in Bishops Harbor we did about the same thing. Cruising along standing in the Kayak, I saw a school of reds warming up on shallow sand flat, but they were on the move. We left them alone and found some smaller reds up in Hell's Half Acre. We came back to that school of reds later in the afternoon,after searching for them for a while, we spotted them moving across the flat and we got a couple nice fish to eat our gold Exudes, 22" and 24", but then they shut down and moved off. If these warm sunny days continue, look for the redfish to turn on for a happy New Year.

12-22-05

Winter is here and the fish are acting accordingly here. With the gin clear backwaters at 62 degrees and the air temp in the mid sixties, the fishing on the flats is challenging, but there are still fish to be caught. We paddle out on a negative tied on December 20th and found some trout and red fish hunkered down in a large deep trough. We used gold Exude RT slugs and fished on the bottom of the tide. Usually these fish would hit right at the edge of the grass, but they were sitting at the deepest part of a four foot hole on sand bottom.