Sweet, sweet July. Hot like the Sahara, lightning cracking willy-nilly through the sky and softball sized mosquitoes swarming the shoreline. It's the finest time of the year in SW Florida.
I've been getting out to fish a little bit but not as much as I used to. The fishing has been great and I've caught some nice fish. I also finally sprang for a nice camera so the hippies are in for a whole new level of tambourine slappin' excitement. Report follows.
This is a shot with the OLD camera. The Pentax W20 is a hard workin' little camera. Period.
Night fishing is sight fishing. I love it in the summer. I saw snook stacked under this dock light 4 deep.
The web beats up this photo but @ 100% w/o jpeg you can see his beady little eyes.
Trout fishing has been strong as always. Right at sunset the bite turns on.
Freshwater worm and a 1/16 lead head. Action ensues.
Great snook fishing under this dock.
Note all the rods and unattended lines hanging off this dock. Turns out you have to attend to lines whenever they're out. I've started to pull them and cut the gear. It's not safe for our friends the jet skiers!
Hippies! It's a molten world of golden aqua-magma out there! Awesome!
Sea chicken, be free.
The good ol' PENTAX 20 coming thru with a crazy image @ Myakka state park.
This is NOLES fly fishing and showing me up... His chartreuse FLY was out performing my NOSE HOOKED FINGER MULLET. Now, lets remember I'm taking NOLES to my spot and guiding him in while he fishes but still... Fly fishing? Better than bait? Amazing.
Hippy, you're going to love this moody, tripped out shot. But it's a little lonely. Don't cry unless youre SUPER baked.
ANOTHER sweet PENTAX moment.
Redfish at dawn. A Sarasota classic.
That's it. Fishing remains strong. Stay cool. -hb
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http://www.hornetbear.com
07_July
July 3 - Trout Fishing - Hippy Shots - Night Snook
Once again, my fishing reports are moving away from fishing pictures. The fact is, once you take a shot of a fish you no longer want to take the same shot. This phenomena makes fishing reports get longer and longer between each other but the pictures get nicer. So, lets dig into this report!
Sea Chicken, Be Free!
Kayak and freshwater worm @ sunrise. Recipe for ACTION!
I took Noles to snook creek. I must admit that they only liked the fly he was casting. i was soaking a finger mullet off the stern which got no attention. Amazing. 
Hippy and your unwashed ilk: check this mine bender out. You love it!
Snook Creek. Awesome.
Action! 13 inches of FURY!
Trout fishing has been quite good on the flats...
This dock has massive snook under it. I've caught a few but not today.
Night fishing is sight fishing. I love it.
July 17 - Night Snook - Trout Aplenty - Atmospheric Hippy Shots
People say that Florida is flat. This is because it is quite flat. However, when you take into account the massive thunderheads that form in the summer, you can get quite a range of visual topography. It rivals any mountain range in the world. I've been fishing and watching these massive storms boil on the horizon. It's amazing and constantly in flux.
The fishing has been status quo. Lots of snook at night. Lots of trout all day. Catfish, redifish, and ladyfish spread around the flats. It's hot by 10:00 am and you don't want to go back out there til' at least 6:00 pm unless it gets overcast. Nothing really amazing in terms of fishing, just nice steady action.
You hippies will be just pleased as punch about this report. It's more colorful than a tie-dye and has more nature and landscape shots than a Greenpeace brochure. So, tie back your dreadlocks, grab a handful of sprouts, throw on that Enya album and enjoy, dirtbag!
See? Every day it gets like this.
I've been watching these mangroves grow for like 10 years. It's not the fastest process, mangrove growth.
As you can see, I caught this redfish on a black and white clouser I tied myself. The pinnacle of angling achievement. I am awesome.
The anvil tops of thunderheads are from scraping against high winds as they expand upwards.
Hippy photography discussion: "Whoa." "Dude." "Whoa." "Dude." (repeat 10x)
I tried and tried to revive this fish. Finally, I just added it to my creel.
If you look closely you'll see the paragliders.
I like to fish lures until they're completely torn apart. A lure without a tail is just a shorter lure with less action. It's all about presentation!
This is a 280 lb. tarpon. I caught it with a purple and white deceiver I tied from my own hair. I used a fly rod I built out of bamboo. I grew the bamboo myself and watered it with tears. I spun the line out of lawn clippings and spider silk. This photo is actually a drawing so the fish would not be harmed in any way. I am such a tool.
Millions of these under the lights and out on the flats at night. I need to start bringing out a big rod with a circle hook. Ladyfish are incredible bait.
These were swarming through the lights and jumping in the boat from all over the place. I found one in my shirt pocket!
Artsy!
This snook was actually not under the lights but hanging out on a oyster bed in the dark.
Snappah!
Hippy shot 27411.
Hippy shot 27412.
Trout on strike king jerkbait with cloud reflection.
Oysters are sharp but quite tasty.
Abstract trippyness.
Nice cool blue sky. Ironically it's about 95 degrees out.
Ye ole' seatrout shot.
I love the fishing and weather in July. Amazing time to be anglin' in Sarasota.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“When I found the skull in the woods, I called the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.”
- Jack Handy
JULY 25 - TROUT - SNOOK - SNAPPER - STORMS
One really nice thing about bad weather is the spectacular show that surrounds it. Sunrises are red. Thunderheads turn the sky purple and black. Sunsets are gold. It’s unfortunate that you get electrocuted in lightning storms because up until that they’re kind of nice. The fish seem to really like weather too. You always seem to catch fish and play better golf around storms. That’s how it is. The fishing has been OK and the report follows.
Hey Moonflower! Put down your tambourine and get ready for some hippy shots!
That’s an osprey on the mast of the sailboat.
Your Indian name shall be “Setting Moon, the Trout.”
HeeeeeY! No poopin’ on the boat, pal.
Another SWEET looking catfish.
Later that day I planted some basil in this fish.
I think catching lots of different species of fish is really cool. You never know what you’re going to get. Well. You know you won’t catch a salmon....
Its been awhile since I’ve caught a snook in the mangroves.
Hmmmm. Maybe I should’ve set the hook a little sooner…
I braved the rain for this photo. Hope you like it.
Cormorants have an awesome lifestyle.
Anybody know how to eat sea grapes? I know you don’t eat them right off the tree…
Your Indian name shall be “Thunderhead Pinkyflip, the Snook”
Dude. That’s pretty tripped out.
Woah. Artsy. That’s a good one for the calendar.
I’m not sure these birds have any idea where to fish. This one was clearly grasping at straws and following me around.
Hippy, avert your eyes. I brought home some trout for dinner.
Final abstract hippy shot for you.
That’s that. A nice colorful report.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“When I found the skull in the woods, I called the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.”
- Jack Handy
JULY 4 REPORT - TROUT - BAIT - OPTICS - FISHING LITERATURE
Is it hot enough for you? Maybe throw on a sweater or a ski cap. That’ll definitely do it. However, fish really, really seem to like the sweltering saharan heat of the Florida summer. I’ve been catching fish at all sorts of weird times of day in the hot, hot, hot sun. Tide, wind and time non-withstanding, when you find the fish they’re there in spades. I haven’t really seen them under the mangroves or on the shallow flats; at least during the day. I think the really shallow water just heats up too much and it can’t hold any oxygen. Get into about 5 feet of water though and theres fish everywhere. It’s a free for all. Bait. Pinfish. Grunts. Clownfish. Penguins. Say goodbye to the tails of your lures because, well, theyre not gonna be there long. I’ve been reeling so fast I didn’t think anything could catch up except maybe a cheetah or a perigrine falcon. Trout, snapper and ladyfish have been rediculously, stupidly abundant. I straightened a hook on what was probably the biggest redfish in the world. Thing was probably 13 feet long and I think it had some kind of bionic laser jaw. Too bad I didn’t catch it cause’ that’d have been one sweet picture what with the world record redfish and the bionic parts and all... Life can be cruel that way. Report follows.
So… We’ll start off this report with a example of just how much bait is in the water.
It’s amazing you can even catch anything on a lure. I think sometimes they eat lures just because it’s different. Like ordering chicken at a steakhouse…
“Hey! Lets all go left for awhile! Then, we can go right. Then we’ll get eaten. Sound like a plan?”
Rainbow! You know you love it, Mr. Hippy. Take it in. Take it all in. Now go wash your feet.
This is really pretty right up until you get electrocuted. Sometimes, sitting in the middle of a giant bay with a 7 foot rod in your hand seems pretty darn stupid…
Trout are all over the place just itching to get caught. Theyre one of the best fish to eat. Waaaaaay better than a gamey ol’ redfish.
Everybody was enjoying the glass minnows.
Now this is a good fish to eat. I’ve been keping lots of fish lately for the smoker. Everything tastes good when its smoked. Sorry hippies. Fish have died.
This is my ultralight carbon fibre paddle I won in a tournament. I’m not that big a fan of ultralight paddles. Apologies to Bending Branches. I like the hat! Everybody who paddles boats says “oh I love that light paddle!” my experience has been that in a wind they blow all over the place. Theyre too light and are always trying to take wing. I kind of miss my unbreakable plastic Hobie paddle that stayed put. I don’t even think it’s that big a difference in terms of exertion. I mean that pulling the blade through water is the hard part… so what if it weighs 22 ounces or 48 ounces… I kind of like the heavy ones.
Everybody loves glass minnows. It must really suck at the bottom of the food chain…
So, I finally got really, really nice polarized glasses. Polarized glasses make a huge difference, epsecially when the sun is high in the sky. I got HABER sunglasses which are amazing. Theyre glass optics and coated on both sides. I like them better than Costas. They really change the way the flats look. I can see the contours of the flats now and sight fishing is totally different. It turns out there are LOTS of fish in the shallow water, Who knew?! I’ve owned lots of polarized glasses and these are the best. Conversely, I just had a pair of Bill Dance polarized glasses and those mothers reeeeealllly suck. It’s like Bill Dance isn’t trying to put me on the fish like he said, and might be just trying to make a buck. Bill! Why you gotta play me like that? Polycarbonate polarized lenses just basically and completely suck. You might as well just look through shot glasses. Shoot. Go ahead and drink the shots first. But you gotta love that Bill Dance Fishing Bloopers video he does. That’s pretty funny so it’s ok to sell cheap sunglasses with your name on it. Why, I’d sell Hornetbear glasses and say they had x-ray polarization and shot lasers and made you smarter. So, I can hardly blame Bill. He’s pretty funny. But his glasses suck. Hard.
Wow! These really do work! Look at that definition of the flats and the oyster beds! I’m just a catfish but these are far and away the best polarized glasses I’ve ever worn. Now could you please return me to the water you sadistic monster?
Oh yeah... Pancho the catfish was right about these things. They really are the finest optics money can buy. Well I’m off to the smoker! See you on a Ritz cracker!
I love ladyfish. They’re beautiful and so fun to catch. Also fun to chop into bait! There are beautiful colors in this photo…
Textbook hippy shot.
RoboRedfish did this to my jig. Before you start with the “cheap jigs” line of discussion know this jig had caught literally hundreds of fish and had been bent back into shape a few times. My fault. Good gear is a good idea although really good gear never catches anything. It’s a fine line…
This is another aside and it’s a literary one. There is a rich and diverse history of writing devoted to fishing. Hemmingway. Steinbeck. Twain. There are many, many great writers that found parallels betwixt fishing and life. It’s all just a metaphor, really. With this in mind, have you guys ever seen the fly fishing blogs out there? I really, really wish I was into fly fishing because from a literary standpoint it’s heads and tails over spinning tackle. However it is critical to note that most of the heavily focused fly fishing prose is completely consumed with FRESHWATER fly fishing, where it really does present an advantage. Matching the hatch. Presenting a 1 milligram lure 50 feet away. Why, if I lived next to a river in Montana I’d fly fish my brains out! These guys also argue like school girls over the ethics of catching a 6 inch brook trout! I said a 6 inch brook trout! It’s amazing but kind of compelling. The people who write the blogs are facinating and the writing is good and the fishing is pretty cool too. You need to check this out. It’s another world.
http://www.tatteredfly.com
http://www.troutunderground.com
http://moldychum.typepad.com/moldy_chum/
http://fishingjones.blogspot.com/
If I was flyfishing in Montana this would be a really big deal because it’s a spotted saltwater sea trout.
An intercostal runs through it. By H. Bear.
Sublime. Sublime. Sublime. Its an amazing ride, Hippies!
That’s it! Fin.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“When I found the skull in the woods, I called the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.”
- Jack Handy
Last edited by Hornetbear on Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:47 am; edited 1 time in total
