Kayak Fishing (and Biking) Florida's Nature Coast

A GIANT Leap for Kevinkind

2010-12-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Years ago, in 1982, I bought a Raleigh Competition GS. It was an aluminum-framed racing bicycle. At the time, I rode my bicycle everywhere. My previous stock Peugeot was a beautiful bike, but a clunker on tour and for racing. I bought the Raleigh from a bike dealer in Wheaton, IL for around $400.

My parents thought that I should have my head examined, but I earned the cash and wanted to throw down.

I ride the thing occasionally on distance rides and recently honked out a 102 mile ride, keeping in stride with a local bike group most of the way. Afterwards, I finally admitted that it is time to up the ante and take advantage of the new technology.

Me and My New Bicycle- Giant Defy Advanced 3

Something Attractive About Defiance.

After shopping out bicycles I made my choice. I bought a Giant Advanced Defy 3, a full-carbon fiber frame that is ultra light and super responsive. This high-performance machine cost me more than the total I spent on all of my cars from 1989 to 1998.

The thing is like a rocket. Fast, responsive, quick. I can zip up a hill like it is not even there and roll for miles with a few good pumps on the pedals. Effortless.

With this, I can keep up with every group I ride with, riding 25 and 53 mile rides in the last week.

New technology pays great dividends and makes the chore of being a 40-something bike dork not nearly as painful.

Dallus Creek- revisited

2010-10-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Since my last post in May I've been two Dallus Creek three times. The fishing has been okay, the weather nasty each time, and I've been without a camera even though every single electronic device I own has one.

Yesterday I was out there with my friend Brian in his Gheenoe. Nice to not have to paddle. I caught a mid-20's trout and a big bluefish in a few feet of water over the weeds. Tides were not on our side and once the tide slacked all we saw were lizardfish.

The advantage of the Gheenoe was that we had an opportunity to explore. The last time out I discovered an abundance of sandy potholes on the west side of the bay. It seemed that while the center and east were just monotonous grassy flats, the west side had more contour and potentially better fishing.

With the benefit of power we explored these expanses before heading in for the day. As we fished some of those holes, I noticed motion in the water in the seagrass near the shore. I drove the Gheenoe closer with an electric trolling motor and Brian casted with perfect precision. Redfish.

These areas were holding reds in minimal water, all under two feet. They were easily spooked, but easily located in other places. The weeds and adjacent flat was ripe with evidence of reds, mullet and jillions of baitfish.

I didn't get one in the boat, mostly because we had to leave and didn't work an area too hard. I also was using a gold spoon/spinner that has horrendous hook-up potential. Fish hit it, and don't get hooked. It is like drinking decaf or non-alcoholic beer-- a real bummer.

However, I learned something new. A new spot and the need to develop new tools. Weedless, gold, and loaded with hooks. I'm going back soon.

Dallus Creek, 5/23/2010

2010-05-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

The last few days out have been pretty rough. Minimal fishing and wind that won't stop. When I saw that calm waters were predicted for last Sunday morning I knew I wanted to get out with the exclusive mission of fishing.

I went to Dallus Creek, an excellent spot in Taylor County, FL. It's about 10 miles northwest of Steinhatchee, so it is not a trivial trip. I put in and the waters were still, the sun was rising, and everything was beautiful.

They say "Take a picture, it'll last longer". If the oil comes this way we'll loose this amazing resource. It has managed to remain pristine to this point...

I paddled about 40 minutes to deeper water. Most of the delta is a 2 foot weedy flat, but you don't have to go that far to find deeper water. I worked the 4-9 foot holes and the wind was working with me. I could paddle for 10 minutes and get a 30 minute drift over prime water.

Fishing with shrimp and poppin corks was the trick. I tried topwaters and spoons, but there is so much debris on the water it makes for more salad harvest and less fishing. The pinfish were out in droves. Still, I caught 5 trout, 3 legal, 2 short. I also hooked into three small catfish, a ladyfish, a grunt, and the shark in the video below.

Overall, a good day on the water. I was not out there long and at least watched a bobber disappear every few minutes.

Dra. Pombo and Monkey Island 4/30/2010

2010-04-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of hosting Dra. Marina Pombo in my laboratory. She was visiting from Argentina and I always wanted to pry her away from her work so she could see Florida's Nature Coast from a kayak. Unfortunately I had to rent one, so we were stuck with the cities and business hours.

We went to Cedar Key. Even though winds were marginal in Gainesville, they were whipping in Cedar Key to the point where we could not realistically push out and have a good time. I called Kayak Rivers Sports in Homosassa and things were not so bad there, so we went down for a day of paddling.

We rented a kayak and went out on the river. While I was fired up about getting to the Gulf, the people at the rental place suggested going the other direction.

Marina and Roxy take five near Monkey Island.

Overall it was fine for the reason. Lots of boat traffic, crowded shores, people running too close with people on innertubes... it was like being in Minocqua, WI on July 4. Fishing was silly, but I did see some Florida gar, so I took a few casts before giving up.

We did spend a few minutes getting photos by Monkey Island, cleverly named because of the monkey population.

The monkey population of Monkey Island is bored, angry and poised to kill. This large male was trying to figure out how to kill me and take my kayak so that he could escape captivity.

Mission accomplished. Marina had a good time and experienced some of Florida by boat.

Roxy's New Kayak 4/11/2010

2010-04-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

Roxanne enjoyed the few times out that we rented so I took the plunge and bought her a kayak. It was a short study to identify that the Wilderness Kayak Tarpon 120 was the one to get. At 12 feet long it is not nearly as unwieldy as my X-Factor. The other clear difference is the innovation. The hatches can be opened with one hand. The latches are easy and secure. The seat is adjustable and super comfortable. Most of all, it doesn't weigh a ton like my X-Factor, so it was fast and maneuverable.

Our first trip was to Cedar Key. Every time we go out there it is windy and awful. Today was no exception, but we went for it.

The wind was out of the southwest, and it was high tide, so we simply circled the keys. It was a six mile journey and some parts pretty rough. The wind made it all a battle.

I fished minimally and was too busy screwing with a boat in unproductive fishing waters to do anything realistically.

Still, it was fun to see Roxy out in a kayak and sort of having a good time.

Cow Creek and Pepperfish Keys

2010-02-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

If you are looking to read a great story about by battle royale with fish of fable and song, then you are going to be richly disappointed. Instead, this is a story about access, a blog entry that details what nobody really details on the web- the mythical lore of Cow Creek. On a cold and blustery day in February Brian and I loaded up the kayaks and headed out in search of the pepperfish, a creature not unlike the Skunk Ape known to inhabit this remote area of the Sunshine State.

Not a lot of pepperfish or cows, but loads of pelicans

Cow Creek is the place almost at the end of "The Road to Nowhere", the road that constitutes the left fork from Casey's at the blinking yellow light in Jena, Florida. Take that left fork, don't go fast into the turns, and drive until you can't go any further. Go back about .5 miles and that's Cow Creek. Paddle out a bunch and you are within the Pepperfish Keys.

There are no cows by Cow Creek, just a lot of spent shotgun shells, beer cans and used condoms. My guess is that the tide takes these out to sea in a nightly cleansing of the littered boat launch area, so this redneck holiday was probably left over from last night. If you draw a good snootful you can almost smell the crystal meth and B.O.. Good times.

To call it a primitive boat ramp is an insult to the primitive peoples, as this is basically a gravel path to the water on the south side of the bridge. The water is super shallow (maybe six inches to a foot at low tide) right in the launch area, so you are getting a kayak in there and that's about it. A canoe or jonboat is strictly high tide passage. Even in sit-on-top kayaks there was a lot of walking.

Brian and I were out there after low tide and we wormed our way to Pepperfish Keys. This is an allegedly great spot because it is far from Steinhatchee and far from Horseshoe Beach, so nobody goes there. Undisturbed water.

We put the kayaks in a did a lot of wading. The air temperature was in the forties with 55 degree water, so it was damn cold to get parts wet. Luckily we didn't get sack deep or I'd still be singin like Isobel Baillie.

It was a short paddle out of the creek and it was surprisingly wide and reasonably deep (2 feet). Once we got out there I was excited to see the structure of the creek delta- large weedy shallow flats with deep cuts, some down to seven feet at low-ish tide. The islands carried sun-warmed shallows and loads of oyster bars, so zipping through there on a boat is the kiss of death.

We worked against a stout 15 mph wind all day and it was a battle. You'd get to drift on prime spots for a few minutes and were back in shallows. I had a few pinfish bites in the deep holes on a jig and did hook one small flounder, so it was not a total wipeout. No pepperfish, so there goes my high hopes of the condiment slam.

My guess is that we were in the right place at the wrong time. I absolutely will go back on a calm day, or even more likely once the days heat up. I think high tide out there will be fantastic, especially once spring starts to warm that chilly water.

Dumb and Frozen

2010-02-01T04:58:00.000-08:00

If you are searching for a great kayak fishing story with incredible fishing outcomes, don't read further. If you are interested in reading about the dysfunction that occurs in the human brain when deprived of connection with something outside of the home and office, read on.

I had not been out on the kayak since November, but every week I planned to go. Something always got in the way, a grant proposal for work, an obligation in town, personal or professional travel. Something always. The other hindrance is that I didn't have a carrier for my new truck.

Last week both problems were solved as I shipped off a huge grant proposal and got my new carrier in via ebay. Ready to roll...

Of course the weather doesn't cooperate. Saturday was endless rain, ofentimes severe. Sunday promised to be brutal with cold and wind. In my great wisdom I chose to brave the latter. After all, it was the last day of trout season and I thought I knew exactly where they were.

I drove to Steintachee and put in at the Jenna boat ramp. The air temp was 39°F, but most notable was a stiff breeze with occasional gusts coming from the east. I mounted the kayak, getting both feet soaked in sockless rubber diving shoes. I had two sweatshirts and snowpants on, so I got good and toasty on the paddle out. I ventured west, carried by strong wind, current and an outgoing tide, achieving over 5 mph.

At that rate I was to primo fishing waters in 10 minutes. Of course, I blew right over the best spots and didn't mark a thing on the locator. The water temps rose from 43 at launch to the mid 50's so it was a good trend for fishing. However, when I tried to anchor the wind would blow me off of each spot. The wind grew in intensity and it was impossible to control a bait.

One freezing gloomy gray day in Florida and I had to fish in it.

After about an hour my wet feet and hands started to get cold, really cold, like they would get when I'd spend 12 hours ice fishing. They were past sore and numb. After 4 hours I paddled back against a firm wind (the waves now forming whitecaps) and the river's current. It was impossible to stop paddling and rest because I'd blow backwards, negating any gains.

When I got back to the boat ramp I got out of the kayak and could barely walk. It felt like my feet had been amputated and I was walking on stumps. It was really difficult to balance. I got to my truck, lost the wet aqua socks and cranked up the heater, full blast.

After 10 minutes my feet went from numb to tingling to pins-and-needles pain, and back to normal.

I loaded up and left.

This adventure easily fit into the Top 50 Dumbest Things I Ever Did, which is no small feat. I'm guessing it was somewhere between lighting myself on fire for a videotape and doing something I can't remember and then waking up in dirt behind a church in Manitowoc WI.

On the other hand it shows how badly I wanted to go.

11-14-09 The Ocean is Full of Toothy Critters

2009-11-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Something liked the bait... just the ass half.

I was suffering from projectile vomiting and liquid-phase bowel evacuation. There is no way that I should have been going fishing. I loaded the boat, got my stuff ready and sat inside sweating with no true intention of going. My phone rang. It was my neighbor Brian and he saw the kayak loaded and wanted to know if I was going. Seems he was itchy to head out, so if he was going, I was going. I guess this is what they call "hard-core".

I was sick- bad. My stomach contorted in a Dumb and Dumber moment as I left, but I thought I'd give it a chance. We took two cars so I could go home if (when) necessary. I stopped at a convenience store in Cross City and downed a bottle of Pepto, so that saved the day.

We fished again from Dallus Creek. The breeze was stiff and water was flowing in hard from the Gulf, so paddling into high tide as difficult. Still, we covered a lot of water and saw quite a few fish- at least different species.

I caught 3 trout, a lizard fish, two lady fish (one was massive- at least 30 inches and girthy), a tiny black sea bass and a flounder.

Brian cleaned up on black sea bass. He got a few legals and a few trout, ladyfish and lizardfish.

Everything was pretty much on gulp shrimps.

I rigged some tiny hooks to catch some pinfish to use as live bait. The first one out brought in a gigantic trout that bit off boatside. I lost the fish, the bait and a big hook. It was one of the biggest trout I'd seen in some time.

The next fish to hammer the pinfish bait (above) slammed the poppin' cork down and was gone. The fish cleanly bit the bait in half, unfortunately the half without the hook. It was a bit too cold for Spanish Mackerel, so it probably was a bigger bluefish.

It was a sunny and beautiful day, about 75°F and a little breezy that delivered us back to the creekmouth. There were no reds to be found.

The Dallus Creek area is my favorite. The paddle is pretty intense and far, so it keeps the losers out. The bottom has nice grass and sand breaks so there are many places to establish a good drift and have shots at loads of different cover.

Next week will be Gator Trout Safari- using only pinfish for bait. I'm going to prepare all appropriate riggings and give it a good try. Hopefully my colon will agree.

Cedar Key, Sunday Paddling with Roxy

2009-10-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today was an important day in history. After I endured two weekend days of driving to Orlando and going to IKEA the lovely Roxanne maybe felt like she owed me one. She agreed to take a paddle with me out by Cedar Key.

We left out of the beach downtown and rented a Heritage Redfish sit-on kayak for Rox. We rented from Tom at kayakcedarkeys.com, a guy that seems to be out there rain or shine to take care of renters. He also is really good about instruction, and gave Roxy the short course while I loaded my kayak with 1000 lbs of stuff.

We made stops at Atensa Ottie Island, first at the old mill area and then on the south shore for lunch. We got back pretty fast and paddled into the backwaters just to look around.

I brought a rod and reel and threw a gold spoon when I saw fish in the lagoons by Ottie Island. No fish. There were a lot of pinfish in the canal that took apart a Gulp shrimp pretty fast. The goal was paddling, not fishing, so I probably made two dozen casts all day.

Overall, it was a lot of fun to get someone out there for the first time. I think she's hooked. For an October morning it was hard to believe it was Fall.

Dallus Creek, Steinhatchee, FL

2009-10-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today Brian and I scouted out some new fishing areas and chose to visit Dallus Creek. This feature is a substantial creek about nine miles northwest of Steinhatchee, FL. The boat ramp is decent and it is no problem to get a kayak in the water. Plenty of parking.

We got in the water during high tide and began a quick paddle to the Gulf of Mexico, following the creek's ambitious flow. GPS is important, as the creek's frequent oxbows and dead ends could make for a long morning before even getting out to deeper water.

The paddle out to the Gulf is not too bad and at high tide there's no problem with sufficient water to get all the way out, even with a sled full of ice and 200 lbs of person. There are some nice deep holes (4-5 feet) that punctuate the bottom and probably will be great winter holds for fish.

From the bow of my kayak you can see that this creek isn't some little dribbler that pukes into the ocean. This is a good piece of water.

As the day wore on we were able to locate sporadic pockets of trout. Brian got into two keepers, I saw small stuff, but only hooked lizard fish. This area is almost all shallow grass flat for about 1km out, with lots of mullet and redfish. They were hitting on topwaters now and then, but I didn't hook up with one. I had a decent slot fish on for a few seconds, but that's it. I did catch the weirdest fish of the day- an 18" Spotted Grouper in about 8 feet of water on a jig tipped with a Gulp shrimp.

The area has weird spots like this. Deep (6-10 feet) surrounded by shallower flats. Some are murky and stained, others crystal clear. If you move around you find them, all different, all holding different fish.

The area is better than Cedar Key or other locales because it is thick with grass and full of deep sandy holes. Pinfish are everywhere. On another day this place is going to be perfect, and the shallow water keeps boat traffic to a minimum.

We put in a really good day and headed back in during low tide, so I spent a lot of time rocking off of sand bars and poling along with the paddle. The creek at low tide can be a pain to navigate, and GPS is essential to keep you on the same popcorn trail you came out on. It all looks the same!

During low tide pelicans and cranes wade in the shallows for fish. There were hundreds out there.

Overall, it is a really good spot that I'll get back to. It has all of the trappings of a solid place to catch reds and trout, but the tides were not in our favor this time and fish were there but not interested in lures. Maybe next time we'll try live bait.

Still, Brian caught two good trout, so a decent day.

Trip to Shell Mound

2009-10-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

Shell Mound is an archeological site just north of Cedar Key. It is easy to find, there is a reasonable campground and good places to launch your boat, tide permitting. For the kayaker you need to go all the way down the road as far west as it goes until you can't go further. If you hit water you've gone too far.

I got there at low tide and the place was a tremendous mud pit. I had to carry the kayak and my 100 pounds of crap down through about 30 m of slick stinky mud to get to good water.

The whole place was a mud pit at low tide- plan carefully!

Once there I loaded up and paddled about 1.5 miles to Goose Creek, a place where an acquaintance told me to fish. It was a long paddle because the water was ultra thin. I bottomed out about 8 times (of course bringing 100 lbs of ice and a barbell set with doesn't help) and ended up walking more than paddling. It was a beautiful morning so no big deal. I did take the opportunity to photograph the kayak loaded with junk.

It is doing a wheelie and I'm not even in it.

So I fished the incoming tide and circled small islands in the Goose Creek / Sand Creek area. The action was slow. The only place that showed any action was a spot where water funneled through two islands and gave me lots of current. I caught some small trout and of course, lizard fish. Good times. There were some mullet and maybe some reds present, but the trout were the only thing biting and they weren't big'uns.

Low tide gives a glimpse of the bottom because you run into it.

I fished my brains out and noted the steady increase in wind that made it very difficult to control a boat, let along do any meaningful fishing. It was a lot of work and the fish were few and far between. Some of the back bays held lots of baitfish, but no predators that I could raise.

The view from the cockpit is awfully sweet

As the day wore on and the tide came it the water got pretty rough (not evident in the above photo taken early in the day) and I decided to head in. The ride back was slow; I moved only 1-2 mph into a stiff headwind. Luckily GPS gave me the shortest path and with high tide I could actually take it. The same route would be absolutely impassible at low tide.

On the way back I trolled a Rapala Husky Jerk and some other surface plug. The Husky Jerk spun out the whole time leaving me with a giant mess of line. I did hook a trout on the other line, but it was small, so it was dragged through the water for a mile before I even realized it was there. I reeled it in and released it, but it didn't seem really enthusiastic about trying to eat lunch and being magically transported to a new location.

Shell Mound is a refreshing change from the busy waters around Cedar Key. It is a short drive away, affords equal opportunities and probably is pretty good when the fish are there. It still is not nearly as clear as points just a few miles up the coast- the water has that Cedar Key suspended crud that make that location such a joy. Today was not the day. I'll come back, but I'll absolutely launch within a few hours of high tide.

Labor Day in Cedar Key

2009-09-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

It was sad to see my nephew head back to Chicago. On the first Saturday of September we both went kayaking out of Cedar Key, FL, putting in at the beach downtown. It was his first time paddling and we had a good time getting out to Ottie Island and then out toward Snake Key before heading back in.

The whole time I noticed a lot of sharks, so I thought I'd come back on Labor Day after he left.

To avoid the holiday boat traffic I put in off of Airport Road; just pulled up on the shoulder and dumped it in. I paddled out past a couple of nice oyster bars and around Piney Point. I fished mostly with a popping cork and shrimp, but also tried some lures. The wind was coming in hard from the northwest at probably 15 mph and the waves were 1-2 foot, so it was a challenge to get around. It was even harder to fish, so live bait on a bobber was the only real option. I found seclusion in a bay northeast of Piney Point and watched my bobber shoot underwater in a blink.

A rather substantial critter pulled me around the bay for 10 minutes until I could get out and drag 'er in. It was a decent Bonnethead Shark, all of about 3.5 feet.

It was released unharmed to fight again another day.

I spend the rest of the day hooking ladyfish in the deep holes around Piney Point and then hammered a couple of small redfish off of the oyster bars on the way back to Airport Road. The oyster bars seem like great places to fish, but they can tear up the bottom of a kayak awfully good.

Overall a fun trip, about 4 miles of paddling.

Invest in GPS-- A Lesson from Rocky Creek

2009-08-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

The morning of August 30 brought me up early and back out to Rocky Creek. I was super fired up to get back out on the water. Of course, the new GPS I ordered didn't come in yet, so it made a lot of sense to skip the close inshore bite and head to International Waters where I'd have no problem getting back in before Christmas.

At the time of the launch I had ordered a GPS to guide my offshore kayak ambitions, but it was sadly backordered with no prediction on arrival. But hey, there's an ocean full of danger out there and I could be hours out in it, lost and stranded in no time, so why stay use common sense when there's so much potential disappointment and tragedy to be had?

Rocky Creek is a good spot to launch, but you can do a lot of paddling before you get to deeper water. I put in some good time gliding swiftly over 18" of water, paddling for about an hour. I saw boats out on the horizon and thought I could join them. I did find some nice deep holes and had a lot of fun catching fish on shrimp. I kept a few keeper trout (no photos, nothing amazing) and a nice Spanish mackerel. I saved the Spanish and one trout. I also caught a large ladyfish that was a lot of fun. It jumped out of the water four times, each time way higher than I was sitting. Pretty cool.

I was having such a good time that the day wore on and the subtle wind and minor current had significantly adjusted my position. The problem is that the whole shoreline looks exactly the same and I was not sure where I was or certainly how far I had drifted. I got out of the kayak in about 3 feet of water, cracked a Pabst Blue Ribbon tall boy and pondered my position. Luckily I had my iPhone and used the compass function to identify dead east. I started working that way.

About 1 hour in I saw other boats with scallopers. The popular area is SW of Rocky Creek, so I thought that might be it. However, intuition told me otherwise and I paddled the other direction for about 30 minutes before hitting land. Turns out I was wrong.

I was hoping to get to Bird Island and ended up at Tater Island. There were birds on Tater Island so it was not clear. I didn't check for Taters on Bird Island later that afternoon.

So I paddled all the way back up the shore and eventually made it back in. The lesson on this was an important one. When you are going out into the middle of nowhere you best have a means to trace your way back. EOM.

On Google Earth I logged over 9 miles of paddling that day- that's just a guess from time and distance. I don't know exactly where I was. I will not do that trip again without my main GPS and a handheld backup. You could get seriously lost out there and if you had a problem or emergency would wash up in Galveston before you'd figure it out.

If It's Stupid and it Works, It's not Stupid

2009-08-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

In my world, function always beats fashion. My homemade kayak rack installs on my truck in a snap and loads easily and securely. Sure, it looks like its going to do a wheelie, but I've never had a question about its stability or security. Plus, it cost me $10 in treated lumber and hardware, along with two wratchet straps.

Rocky Creek, Jenna FL

2009-08-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Elvis Death Day was the perfect time for the maiden voyage of my Malibu X-Factor kayak. I traveled out to Rocky Creek, a spot south of Steinhatchee, FL. Rocky Creek is about 6 miles down the left fork in the road at Cody's gas station and convenient store, the road that nobody ever takes but you always wonder what's down there. By the maps, Rocky Creek is a good place to put in because it is close to lots of great spots that are only skinny water accessible. There are good kayak opportunities.

However, it was more fun to go a bit offshore. I didn't have GPS, so I just started paddling toward Mexico and figured I'd fish when I found something interesting.

About 2 miles offshore I found bait schools busting on the surface. Watch the video below!

I didn't catch anything good, but who cares? I got a small shark (and I mean SMALL) and a few lizard fish. It was fun to chase the bait schools and I soon found myself miles offshore and actually heard someone on a boat scream, "That's a damn kayak!". I like paddling.