Breaking in the Jackson Cudas

Now that the holidays are almost over I will finally  be able get back into the mix. Had a great trip with Jim Drews of Michigan on Thursday. We spent all day chasing around Redfish in the gin clear waters of Bradenton FL. With the water so clear it was tough getting the Reds to eat, but there were plenty of them. The bait of the day was the Rip Tide 3" Mullet in Golden Glow. Great sight fishing experience. Along with the Reds we found a non stop Trout bite that we just had to leave to continue our search for the big Reds.

PHOTOS
http://s560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/shallowpocketsfishing/Kayak%20Fishing%20with%20Jim%20Drews/

Also had a great eco tour on 12/21/11

PHOTOS
http://s560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/shallowpocketsfishing/McLaughlin/

 

Steve Gibson
941-256-5833
www.shallowpocketsfishing.com

EGo Nets

Over the past few years fishing tournaments from both boats and kayaks, I have found that there is one tool that no tournament angler should go without, a good landing net. I have used many different brands and found that the EGO line up by Adventure Products is by far the best quality. Adventure Products has a large selection of landing, wade, reach, & cast nets for any situation. My personal favorite landing net is the EGO wade series. The EGO wade series nets are available in small, medium & large sizes and you also have the option of a rubber mesh or nylon mesh. The rubber mesh makes it much easier to retrieve your lures from the net. If you use plugs with multiple treble hooks like I do, you know how important this is. There is nothing worse than spending ten minutes trying to get your plug untangled from a nylon mesh net. The rubber mesh is much easier on the fish as well. For the kayak and wade fishermen I would suggest the EGO wade medium. The wade medium is the perfect size for landing most species of fish. The Ego Wade series nets FLOAT as well. It can easily be attached to your kayak or waist with the adjustable quick clip elastic lanyard.

Listed below are the specs on the Ego Wade Medium.

·         Floats

·         Hoop 17" x 19"

·         Bag Depth 15" ( Rubber mesh stretches up to 1.5x with load)

·         Non-tangle hook free light weight mesh

·         Handle 11" Aluminum

·         Weight 1.3 lbs

·         Adjustable quick clip elastic lanyard

 

Steve Gibson
941-256-5833
www.shallowpocketsfishing.com

PFTS # 2 Sponsored by Rip Tide Lures.

   62 anglers showed up to compete in the  Paddle-Fishing.com Mystery Lure event on Nov 19, 2011. This was the second event of their series which was sponsored by Rip Tide Lures. 

Anglers showed early in the AM to sign in and pick up the lures. Rip Tide donated a great selection of baits. The two baits that seemed to produce the best for most anglers were the Root Beer 3'Mullet and the Firefly Flats Chub.

My day started off a little slow. After a few changes I started to find some decent fish. My first fish of the day was a small Snook caught on the glow color Realistic Shrimp. The Snook I found happened to be tucked up tight under the Mangroves which made things a bit tricky. After only catching 1 Snook and an hour of aggravation I decided to move to another nearby flat where I found the Trout bite to be insane. Every cast I made with the 3" mullet I was getting hammered. After catching over 40 Trout it was time to finish out with a Redfish to complete my slam. I was able to find a good showing of happy mullet on a flat on my way back to the launch. In that school of Mullet were a few Redfish. I managed to catch my Redfish near the end of the day and then headed to the launch. Only seven slams were caught this day. My slam wasn't large enough to place but I had a great day fishing on Tampa Bay.
Congrats to all the winners:

Slam Division

First Place – Walt "EZYLYF" Ruda took first place with a total slam of 75"

Second Place – Justin "13″ took second place with a total slam of 65 ".

Third Place – Chuck (Teamshaft1) Statham took third place with a total slam of 64 inches.

 

 

New YakAttack Gear

The guy's at Yakattack have come out with some great new products for the kayak angler this year. My personal favorite product is their new Park-N-Pole.  The Park-N-Pole is a floating stake-out / push pole for kayaks. Yes that's right, I said floating stakeout pole. I'm sure that some of you guys out there have lost a stake out pole or two. I know I have. With a floating stake out pole you will have the chance to retrieve it before it sinks to the bottom. The PNP is made of a super strong super stiff fiberglass and at 6'-2" overall length and weighing less than 1.5 lbs this pole is easily stowed away on most kayaks. The PNP is equipped with an ergonomic handle which is also a foot for poling. The wide design of the foot allows for better poling traction in mud and when using as a Stake out pole it gives you a much more positive grip driving it into the ground. If you're in the market for a stakeout /push pole I would suggest this product. The best thing about it is that it's affordable.

The next product from Yakattack is the VISICarbon Pro. The VISICarbon Pro is another new product for 2011. The VISICarbon Pro is a must have safety item for any kayak angler. Yakattack has created a quality light weight, low drag and stylish safety light/flag, which is easily stowed away when not in use. VISICarbon Pro models are available to fit RAM, Tallon, and Scotty mounting systems. Every VISICarbon Pro model is designed to also fit a 1-3/4" "rocket launcher" rod holder.  

Features:

·         Meets or Exceeds USCG requirements

·         Main mast section designed with carbon fiber tubing for high strength and ultra light weight.

·         Weighs in at just 14 ounces, complete with 3 AA batteries.

·         The ultra thin mast and redesigned flag combine to offer excellent performance with low wind drag.

·         48" long VISICarbon Pro™ breaks down to 14" long in seconds.

·         Silent Snap™ flag attachment system provides a secure attachment that allows the flag to be removed in seconds.

·         The folded unit can be stored inside the nylon flag which doubles as a carry bag.

·         Compatible with Mighty Mount™

The Mighty Mount is Yakattack's new mounting system. It's small, tough and versatile. This mount works great with the new Panfish and Panfish Portrait camera mounts. Very easy to install and with its low profile design it's not an eye sore. It makes for a very clean install. The Mighty Mount can be used on most track systems and can be used with the Screwball. There are a few other options. The Mighty Mount is available with or without hardware, a Scotty mount kit as well as the slide tracks kit.

Specs:

2" Wide X 2-3/8" Long X 1/2" High
UV Resistant

The Panfish Camera Mount by Yakattack is again another quality product by the guys at Yakattack. Designed for over the shoulder video, this is by far the best camera mount available for the kayak angler that wants to capture that day on the water. The PanFish is equipped with a split mast design with adjustable friction discs that allow easy panning of the camera. Nothing to loosen, just grab and turn. It can also be used with The Mighty Mount, which allows the PanFish to be installed and removed with ease. The PanFish holds most small point & shoot cameras. I use the Kodak Play sport and it holds it very secure.  I highly recommend this mount! No other mount can compare!

Features:

·         Compatible with MightyMount™

·         Compatible with the Wilderness Systems SlideTrax™ Accessory System as well as other track systems

·         Pivoting mast with adjustable friction disk for horizontal panning

·         28" Tall (With RAM Camera Mounting Option)

·         Weighs 14oz with RAM Camera Mounting Option

·         1lb Max Recommended Payload *

·         Floats!

·         UV Resistant

F

Steve Gibson

www.shallowpocketsfishing.com

 

TFO BVK 7/8

Over the past few years I have had many different fly reels. When I heard that TFO was coming out with a BVK Reel to match the BVK rod, I knew I would have to get my hands on one. I picked one up from my local TFO dealer (Florida Paddlesports) out of Cape Coral, Florida. At first glance I could tell this was going to be a quality reel. Made of machined bar stock aluminum and ported to eliminate excess weight the BVK reel is light weight and durable. The super large arbor design allows for faster line pick up and I found that there is less memory in the fly line as well. No need to stretch your fly line before casting. The maintenance free drag system is very smooth and has plenty of force to stop that big Snook or Redfish. The drag adjustment knob is very easy to find and adjust while fighting a fish. The BVK is also easily converted from left hand to right hand retrieve.  

Specs:

TFR BVK SLA III TFO BVK Super Large Arbor Reel III   Diameter 4.10" Width 1.30" Weight 5.2 oz. Line Cap. 205 yards/20lb./WF8F

Price - $249.95

 

For the quality and price I would recommend the TFO BVK reel series for both beginners and professional fly anglers.

 

Steve Gibson

www.shallowpocketsfishing.com

 

October Fishing Report

The fishing in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay area has been pretty consistent. Plenty of  Redfish on the flats with Trout and Snook mixed in. For the Redfish, anglers have been catching them on the Spook Jr and  Gulp baits under popping corks. I have been finding that the Redfish have been getting into there fall pattern schooling up quite nicely. Look for the Mullet schools and you will find the slam Snook,Redfish & Trout.

    Trout have been easy to find fishing the Mullet schools, edges of the grass flats and pot holes in 2 - 6' of water. Using Gulp Shrimp under a popping cork as well as other soft plastics like the Riptide 3"mullet.         

    The Snook have been showing up on the flats mixed in with the Mullet. Fishing around oyster bars with good water movement is your best option. Preferred baits have been the Heddon Spook Jr and Rapala Skitter Walk early in the morning. Over the next couple months I feel that the Snook bite will be consistent. They will start to move into the creeks and rivers once we start getting some good cold fronts later in the fall season.

     Flounder have been showing up everywhere. Fast moving water around docks,bridges,oyster bars and near the edges of channels. Use soft plastics such as the Riptide Mud Minnow and 3" Mullet on a 1/4 0z jig head. The more contact you have with the bottom the better your chances. 

Steve Gibson

Is awesom...