Florida Fishing Reports

February 15 - Snook - Hippy Shots - Redfish

Hey fishing dudes n' dudettes! It's time for a Hornetbear anglin' update. I've been fishing a good bit but damn, damn, damn meddling work has been impinging upon my reporting. As you may know, it takes a lot of time to upload this crap AND it doesn't pay very well. Actually, it just plain doesn't pay. Period. Who really cares about money? you can't eat money! (unless it buys food.) That's how the man keeps us down. Someday, we all know cars will run on pictures of redfish. Toyota is surely working on this as I type.

But, enough about that obvious source of alternative energy... A sweet report is afoot. Anglers, lurkers, and mildly curious spouses just sit back. Get really FOCUSED. Here comes a grip of sweet photos. Report follows.

Let's just kick this thing off with a hippy shot. Hippy shots are for our unwashed brethren who love pictures of birds, trees, lichen, other boring crap and Jack Johnson bootlegs.


Jacks are everywhere in beautiful Sarasota! They don't take traditional lures and you have to scoop them out of the water with a pitching wedge. A sand wedge puts too much backspin on them.


I gotta tell you, Ospreys are all over the area I fish.


A Flock Of Seagulls. That'd be a good name for a band...


This is my buddy Kris from SoCal... We were catching tons of trout until the canoe was struck by a drunken rental from CB's outfitters. I'll always remember his idiotic smile.


Eco-Avenger ALERT! Notice the plug stuck up in the mangroves next to that beautiful specimen of avian life. you will be happy to know I recovered this long, lost lure before it entangled that bird. Then I replaced the hooks and perforated many types of sea life with it. Sweet, sweet irony.


These chickens taste like crap.


This is a big redfish. I saw it streaking across a grass flat and I was like, "I'm gonna get you." This is why we go fishing here in Sarasota. It's exciting!


Paddlefishing Paradise.


Ok. Ok. TIME OUT. MIRROLURE MOMENT ... I mostly fish jigs. I love them. However, I sometimes fish Mirrolures because they work. Let's play a game... What can you catch on a mirrolure in a day... here we go...

Mirrolure Snook - no Brainer


Mirrolure MULLET?!


It's like nobody can escape! Mirrolure Needlefish!


You know how to unhook a stingray from your mirrolure? Shake vigoroulsy.


thats an amazing lure! Get into it!

OK so what's next? here's a hippy shot for the sailboat set...


Hippys rejoice...


Hornetbear and Redfish


And one final hippy shot for the unwashed masses!

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http://www.hornetbear.com

Last edited by Hornetbear on Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:38 am; edited 1 time in total

February 14 - Snook - Reds - Tons of Trout

Hola amigos. The fishing is great. I was in Washington DC, our capitol, where the fishing totally sucked.  I'm back and it's real nice again.

I've been getting out and enjoying some darn steady action. Trout, snook and even the elusive Sarasota redfish have made an appearance. The snook are in the canals and trout are in the deep potholes and redfish are kinda in-between those two places...

Anyhoooo... all I use is jerkbaits on a 1/8 leadhead. Spoon? Nope. Topwater? Nah. Texas rig, doa shrimp, live kitten? No, no, no. I've been just going with what works and its been killing it.

Just put a dab of peanut butter on your thumb to catch snook.


Ahh. The beautiful sea trout. These little guys are thick right now.


You catchy the reeedfeeesh then you don't. They are a wily breed.


This, friends, is a massive trophy lizardfish.



Small redfish are all over the bay these days.


This is the first pinfish I've caught in the last 2 years. Amazing. When I was growing up this is what I exclusively fished for.


Funky winter weather makes the clouds do this... Totally different than the thunderstorms of summer...


Catching fish from the dock rules. It's the minimalist in me. I call this photo "hobie, cat".


I think it's a little crazy to not touch the fish at all. Grab em' carefully but with authority. Get the hook out. release.
I love the XTOOLS unhooker. It's like a endoscopic surgery instrument for deep hooked fish.


The best hippy shots occur at sunset. Even a mostly cloudy one will fire up those crazy mothers...


When the fishing is really good you can catch em' on a bare jig.


Ahh. Canal fishin'. The fall leaves. The avian life. The grocery bags and plastic chairs caught in the trees.


Hornetbear's Anglin' Gear Corner: This little anchor is the best. It holds in all but a freakin' gale and you can knock it over the side with your elbow when you catch a fish drifting. I love it.


Hornetbear's Rigging Info: You cannot have a soft bait that spins around in the water. Make sure you drag it through the water at a good speed and watch the action of the lure. You want it to stand or wobble slightly when retrieved. If it's hooked badly it spins and just doesn't look like a fish swimming in the water column. Don't let your bait spin through the water. Fish like a natural presentation.


Fishing remains steady.

Note to Anglers Everywhere:
It's a fine line between knowledgeable fisherman and know it all jerk. Do the right thing. Be cool. Teach by example. Make friends.
_________________
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

FEB 25 - TROUT - TROUT - TROUT - LADYFISH - TROUT - TROUT

Oh, there's plenty of trout out there. Mucho trouto (that's Spanish for lots of trout). They're about 14 inches long and angry at the world. Filled with trout fury and ready to unleash it upon any unsuspecting lure that wiggles by. Terp and I got out on Saturday and caught some fish. We also enjoyed some gale force winds. Report follows.

Launched at 8:00 AM and headed out into the maelstrom. I got sick of waiting for Terp to do his extensive rigging ritual that seems to involve bungee cords, milk crates, waders, coffee and lots of other gear so I quietly paddled my minimalist rig out to the open waters.

Turns out I completely missed the photo op of the century because as Terp launched the H.M.S. Sanford And Son he managed to dump his milk crate, tackle box, rods and lures into the water next to the dock. He said it was a complete yard sale. You can imagine the photograph which this would've been... alas...

We met up at the mouth of the canal and saw RIK off angling in the distance. We decided it would be best to run through where he was fishing to make sure it was a total dead zone.

"THANKS FOR PADDLING THROUGH THIS AREA. THAT'S A REALLY BIG HELP, GUYS. I BET THAT WILL REALLY IMPROVE THE FISHING."


RIK hucked his lure at me but I knew I was safe. That lure never hits what its aiming for... We talked fishing and RIK described the monster trout he had angled up from the depths prior to our arrival. We invited RIK to join us in paddling to where the fish were but he declined the Herculean paddle back to the launch this would require. The wind was briskly whipping itself up to about 30 knots and we set off across the bay. In retrospect, RIK made a pretty good call.

MASTER ANGLERS CONTEMPLATING THEIR NEXT MOVE OR MAYBE THEIR NEXT BEER...


Terp and I paddled across the wind for about 15 minutes until we got to the hot spot. Terns were diving and feeding so we figured there must be some sea life thereabouts. We cast out our lines and immediately began to catch ladyfish, trout and other assorted species.

"SEE! I TOLD YOU THERE WERE FISH OUT HERE!"


THE WILY 8" SEA TROUT. MORE DIFFICULT TO CATCH THAN A 70lb TARPON WITH A FLY, SOME SAY...


AND, JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU REACHED THE APEX OF ANGLING MASTERY WITH AN 8" TROUT, THE ELUSIVE 5" LIZARDFISH REARS ITS MIGHTY HEAD


THIS PICTURE SHOWS ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED FOR FISHING. EXCEPT THE EVER POPULAR SIX PACK LURE.


YEP. THIS PRETTY MUCH COMPLETES THE SLAM. THIS GUY HIT RIGHT ON THE SURFACE. THAT'S THE POWER THE PUPPETMASTER HAS OVER SEA LIFE. THEY CANNOT RESIST THE MAGICAL GRUB. ON THIS CAST, I CHOSE TO MAKE THE GRUB LOOK INJURED, BUT RECOVERING, WITH A MILD LIMP AND SLIGHTLY HUNGOVER.


TERP GAVE ME A HARD TIME FOR THIS PICTURE BUT I KNEW HE WAS HAPPY TO BE CATCHING FISH... AND WHO DOESN'T LIKE A PICTURE OF A LADYFISH? ITS A TIMELESS CLASSIC.


We were drifting briskly along and soon reached the far shore. Terp had reached into his massive utility belt and deployed a drift chute but I didn't notice a big difference in his drift speed. We discussed options and chose to get in the lee of the point to avoid the howling winds and salt spray. I knew there were no fish there but getting out of the wind sounded pretty good. We paddled through the middle of the bay and tucked into a known fishless area to practice casting and retrieving...

Then, to my amazement, Terp catches a jack in this dead zone. I accused him of bringing it from home in his milk crate but I suppose it may have been caught there... I immediately paddled over and sat right on Terps spot, and suggested he fish the seawall for awhile. I was unable to catch a jack so I'm completely convinced that the jack was imported from somewhere else. How else can you explain this complete outfishing of the puppetmaster? That's right. Trickery.

HERE'S THE JACK TERP PULLED OUT OF HIS WADERS FOR THE PHOTO OP.


OHMYGOD! TERPS FACE IS ON FIRE! SOMEBODY! GET A HOSE!


We rounded the point and things got back to normal. The wind kicked back up to a category 1 and I resumed catching trout. We also got to enjoy a long, difficult paddle into the wind. Fun! We stopped at a few canals and I snapped this action shot of me catching and Terp fishing.

SEE! THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT. IGNORE THE PRIOR OUTFISHING. THAT WAS JUST A STRANGE ANOMALY IN THE DATA.


TROUTS APLENTY!


REDFISH FILLETING FACT: YOU SHOULD STICK YOUR FILLET KNIFE THROUGH THE EYES. THIS MAKES THE CARCASS SINK TO THE BOTTOM SO IT DOESN'T FLOAT ALL OVER (LIKE THIS ONE) AND STINK UP THE JOINT. THE CRABS, SNAILS AND WORMS IN YOUR COMMUNITY WILL SURELY THANK YOU.


ALERT! HIPPYS! I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU! TAKE A GANDER OF THIS SPECTACULAR NATURE SHOT! NOW GO ARRANGE SOME SEASHELLS OR LISTEN TO A GRATEFUL DEAD BOOTLEG OR DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU DO.


MINIMALIST KAYAK FISHING SHOT. NOTE THE SIMPLE, ALMOST SPARTAN LAYOUT OF GEAR. LESS IS MORE.


We returned to the canal from yet another successful fishing adventure. Fin.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“I brought you a tuna sandwich. They say it's brain food. I guess because there's so much dolphin in it, and you know how smart they are.”
- Marge Simpson

FEB 22 - POMPANO - CATFISH - SLAM - WIDE OPEN SOTE ANGLING

How you doing, fellow anglin' aficionados? I've returned to the greater Sarasota metropolis and have resumed angling. The fishing has been really, really good. Fish everywhere. I caught a really big snook but fumbled the monster during the photo shoot. You'll have to just imagine a really great picture of a really big snook because all I have is a nice clear picture of my hand. Report follows...

Weather has been beautiful. Really nice clear windless days this week. I managed to get out early in the morning and found the fishing to be extremely good, as I mentioned. I have developed a theory about fish location as it pertains to where the sun is.

HORNETBEARS GUIDE TO FINDING WINTER FISH IN THE MORNING:

The sun rises in the east and sits in the southern sky. Therefore, the northwest corner of bays, canals, lakes, and kiddie pools get the first immediate light. Thus, this area will heat up first and in the cold mornings of the Florida winter the fish will congregate there. I have been having amazingly good luck seeking out this exposure ASAP when I get on the water in the morning. I have been paddling over a mile to get to these hot spots (no pun intended) and have been rewarded with radically improved fishing over the eastern shores. Cloudy and overcast days to not have as dramatic a difference but fish, like people, are creatures of habit. Fish the northwest corners in the morning. Just roll up like you own the place. You might want to scream some crazed expletives at the fishing guides that are there already. They love the local color this adds for their clientele. You will also want to twitch uncontrollably and talk to your paddle, hand and/or beer.

HORNETBEARS GUIDE TO FINDING WINTER FISH IN THE EVENINGS:

Do the same thing but the northeast corners become the hot spots.

HORNETBEARS GUIDE TO FINDING SUMMER FISH:

It's so hot in the summer do the exact opposite of what you do in the winter. in the spring and fall you're on your own...

Ok! Fishing is easy! Cast, retrieve, unhook, repeat...

WHITE PELICANS. SO BEAUTIFUL BUT QUITE STINKY WITH ALL THE PELICAN POOP AND WHATNOT...


WOULDN'T BE A SARASOTA REPORT WITHOUT THIS SHOT. I REFRAINED FROM TAKING MORE OF THESE SHOTS. YOURE WELCOME.


HERE'S THE WORLD'S CRAPPIEST STAKEOUT POLE. IT WAS A REAL PIECE OF CRAP UNTIL IT BROKE THEN IT AMAZINGLY BECAME EVEN CRAPPIER. I OWN A SUPER NICE CAPT. DICKS STAKEOUT POLE BUT I KEEP IT AT CUBS HOUSE IN PINE ISLAND... CUBS? YOU READING THIS?


CAUGHT A BUNCH OF THESE. I GOT A NICE GATOR TROUT AS WELL BUT, LIKE THE SNOOK, I CHRIS SIMMS'D HIM BEFORE I COULD TAKE A PICTURE. NOTE THE WHITE GRUB LURE. ITS A GULP. THEY'VE BEEN KILLING IT ON ALL SPECIES.


WHOA! DANGER! CAUGHT A BUNCH OF THESE UNDER SOME DOCKS. EVEN WITH PLIERS THESE FISH ARE HARD TO UNHOOK. INSERT SAILCAT HORROR STORY HERE.


WHOEVER SAID THESE HOOKS TEND TO BREAK WAS RIGHT. NOTE THE "KEEPER" PART OF THE HOOK WAS "KEPT" INSIDE THE LURE. I STILL LIKE THEM BUT THEY DO TEND TO SELF DESTRUCT AT SOME INOPPORTUNE TIMES...


YEAH! GAMEFISH. THIS IS IN THE AFTERNOON AND IN THE NE CORNER OR THE BAY. THIS SHOT CAME IS RIGHT AFTER I DROPPED THE BIG SNOOK WHICH KIND OF SOFTENED THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER I WAS ON.


"I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU MR. LURE!"


OHMYGOD! THE SURF IS GOING OFF! LOOKS LIKE HAWAII!


OH. WELL THEN. MAYBE THE SURF ISN'T ALL THAT BIG. PERHAPS THAT SANDPIPER BROUGHT HIS BOARD...


ALL GOD'S CREATURES ARE BEAUTIFUL, EXCEPT FOR THIS UGLY MOTHER.


THAT, FRIENDS, IS A SOLID LITTLE LURE. I CAUGHT MORE SPECIES ON THAT IN 2 HOURS THAN I'VE EVER CAUGHT BEFORE...


HEY! YOURE A FUNNY LOOKING JACK! HOW'D YOUR FACE GET SO SMALL?


FOR ME, THIS IS AN ETHICAL GREY AREA... DO YOU TURN THE FLOUNDER INSIDE OUT TO GET YOUR FAVORITE LURE BACK? OR DO YOU LET HIM GO WITH A NICE RED SOUVENIR TO SHOW HIS FRIENDS? I CUT IT AS SHORT AS I COULD AND LET HIM HAVE THE LEAD HEAD... WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? THERE IS NO BIGGER BUMMER THAN SEEING THE FISH UPSIDE DOWN AND FLOATING AS YOU PADDLE AWAY...


PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTE TO SELF: IN THE FUTURE, KEEP THE EXOTIC BIRD IN FOCUS NOT THE ROD TIP


POMPANO! IN MY OPINION THIS IS THE BEST FISH TO EAT. NOTHING COMPARES. SNOOK IS A DISTANT 3rd PLACE BEHIND THE TASTY, TASTY GROUPER.


I CALL THIS PHOTO "ABSTRACTION #3: ROD, CHANNEL MARKER, HERON"  I ALSO CALL IT "A BIRD BUTT"


SO MANY TROUT. SO LITTLE TIME. OR IS IT LITTLE TROUT SO MANY TIMES? HARD TO SAY.


FILTHY HIPPY, TAKE A MOMENT TO ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL REFLECTION. THEN ITS BACK TO WORK AT THE WHOLE FOODS LOADING DOCK.


SOON, TERPS NEW BOAT WILL SIT IN THE PLACE THAT THIS LITTLE SNOOK CURRENTLY OCCUPIES. THIS SNOOK ALSO REPRESENTS THE 3rd MEMBER OF THE COVETED INSHORE SLAM, ALBEIT A RATHER SMALL MEMBER.


"THIS SUCKS. I'M NEVER GOING TO EAT ANOTHER GRUB AGAIN SO HELP ME GOD. THAT LITTLE RED HEAD ON IT THOUGH... SO ENTICING...SO TASTY..."


The fishing has been awesome. Another week comes to pass. Can you believe it's February? Feels like May... Fin.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“I brought you a tuna sandwich. They say it's brain food. I guess because there's so much dolphin in it, and you know how smart they are.”
- Marge Simpson

FEB 6 FISHING REPORT - JACKS! - SHEEPSHEAD - BLUEFISH

Greetings, gang. I've been traveling a ton... Which has really cut into my fishing reports. These pictures were taken over the last week. I'm not going to bother to separate them into days. I'm just too busy here in Las Vegas. But, I thought, the world needs to see some pictures of jacks.

Sooooo.... I said in the past that jacks were trash fish. Well, it turns out, they're highly desirable GAMEFISH. And, I know how to catch'em! So when I said no more pics of jacks and whatnot, well that was crazytalk. Jacks are total gamefish and now you'll see a grip of photos of aforementioned fishes.

THIS IS A JACK. GET INTO IT. NO SNOOKS HERE, BUDDY...


HORNETBEARS HAUS OF JACK ANGLING. IN HAWAII I'M A HERO


HIPPY! SOBER UP! THE LIGHT IS HITTING THIS PALM TREE PERFECT. PLAY YOUR TAMBOURINE...NOW!


I would like to digress right now into the nomenclature for jacks... The Jack Crevalle and the Jack Trevally are, as close as I can distinguish, the same fish. I think it might be a Creole name for the same fish. Like "drunk Creole" and "Mark Twain" My brief research on the subject backs this up...

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/CrevalleJack/CrevalleJack.html

You'll note the ichthyologicial data on the subject. Good question for the forum because I think there is a understood difference that I may not know. Please elaborate. Discuss. Drink. Discuss more. Debate shoe preference. Discuss. Drink.

With that said, back to the Jack photography...

22 INCHES OF FURY. UNBRIDLED FURY. LOOK OUT.


YOU CANNOT DENY THEY'RE A BEAUTIFUL FISH...


AND WILDLY ACROBATIC. WHY, THAT'S A ACROJACK!


THAT'S A STRIKE KING IVORY. THEY'RE INDESTRUCTIBLE!


YOU'LL NOTE THE BAROMETRIC PRESSURE ON MY WATCH...HIGH...BUT FALLING...THUS THE RED HOT BITE...


BLUEFISH RUN WITH THE JACKS. AND I CATCH THEM TOO. I THINK THE BLUEFISH FIGHTS HARDER THAN ANY FISH, POUND FOR POUND.


WHEN I HAVE A REALLY, REALLY GOOD IDEA, THE CLOUDS DO THIS...


THAT'S A FUNNY LOOKING DUCK. STUPID DUCK. YOU'D BE GOOD WITH SOME WASABI!


HERE DUCKY DUCKY DUCKY. I'M GONNA GIT U! STOP DIVING UNDERWATER! I'LL SMACK YOU WITH MY PADDLE!


BEST DOCK LIGHT IN SARASOTA AWARD GOES TO... THIS GUY! I GET THE FEELING HE BOUGHT HIS HOUSE BEFORE THE REAL ESTATE BOOM...


A DOCK LIGHT THIS NICE DESERVES 2 PHOTOS...


IF ANOTHER PERSON SAYS THERE'S NO FISH IN SARASOTA, I'LL SMACK EM WITH THIS BLUEFISH! THERES TONS OF FISH, DaveR!


THAT IS A STUPID LOOKING DUCK. I'LL SMACK HIM WITH A BLUEFISH TOO. DUMB DUCK. WITH YOUR ORANGE EYE. PRETENDING TO BE A EXTREMELY RARE HERON. YOURE GOING DOWN.


THESE LURES GOT DETAILED! GET IT? DE-TAILED! I'LL BE HERE ALL WEEK!


IS THAT BUILT TO SPEC? WHAT DO YOU THINK MR. JACK?


OHHHHHH! GAMEFISH! I CAUGHT THIS ON AN 8WT WITH A CLOUSER FLY! OH WAIT. I THINK FLY FISHING IS RIDICULOUSLY STUPID. MY BAD.


"HORNETBEAR, I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOU PUTTING ME BACK IN THE WATER. I'LL PRETEND YOU CAUGHT ME ON A FLY. I PROMISE. RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, BRO! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT MOVIE!"


NOTE THIS BAIT IS A TRADITIONAL JERK. I HAVE PHASED OUT GULPS. THERE IS NO NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE...EXCEPT WHEN YOU CATCH A BLUE CRAB...


THE LUCKIEST FISH IN THE WORLD.


"IS THAT A CUBAN? I LOVE THOSE. YOU CAN'T GET THEM HERE IN SARASOTA. HEY! THAT'S A NICE SUNSET!"


ATTENTION TERP! THE FISHING IS AWESOME IN FRONT OF YOUR PAD! WELL...THE FISHING IS GOOD WHEN YOUR NOT AROUND...


YOU DON'T SEE THIS EVERYDAY ON A LURE, GANG...


ATTENTION HIPPIES! SOBER UP! NATURE SHOT INCOMING!


AND ANOTHER! HIPPY SHOTS APLENTY! THROW YOUR HACKYSACK IN THE AIR AND WAVE IT LIKE YOU JUST DON'T CARE!


NOTE TERP'S KAYAK SITTING DORMANT IN THE DISTANCE...


HORNETBEAR FINE ART SHOT


THE UNLUCKIEST FISH IN THE WORLD


And that does it readers! Another week has come to pass. Fin.
_________________
http://www.hornetbear.com
“I brought you a tuna sandwich. They say it's brain food. I guess because there's so much dolphin in it, and you know how smart they are.”
- Marge Simpson