My Valentines Gift! - Chokoloskee Florida

Finally we will be visiting Chokoloskee Florida to do some kayak fishing.  This area is smack dab in the middle of the 10,000 Islands area for Southwestern Florida.  Based upon the forums which I cruise to get a better understanding of the kayak fishing techniques, this place is awesome!



Chokoloskee Florida - Island amongst 1,000's of others

 I have been talking about this place so much, Vivian thought it was time to make it a reality so being the cool chick she is, she booked us a place at Chokoloskee Island Park.  This is a very low key place with simple accommodations which is nestled within what is supposed to be one of the most beautiful waterfront places in the world, we will see....

Chkoloskee Island Park has rental units and is supposed to have a very kayak friendly launch site

So, it is off to Chokoloskee Florida next week!  We understand there are a lot of Sea Trout, Redfish and Snook.  This sounds like fun, I hope we can deliver some good catches.  We will let you know....

An Afternoon Visit to Chicken Key

So today we woke up to a really nice day.  After talking it over, we thought why not go for an afternoon kayak trip to Snowdens launch which is a very nice launch which was recently re-done by Miami Dade County for use by non-motor vessels.


Snowdens Launch on Old Cutler Drive and 170th Street

When we arrived at 12:30pm, we knew we would have to wait a bit for the tide to turn as low tide was at 1:30pm.  When we got the kayak to the waters edge, there were many unknowing kayakers struggling to pole, push, walk their kayaks back to the shore after their morning trips.  As you can see below, there was not much water to work with.

Low tide a Snowdens Launch, Chicken Key is in the background

After waiting out the tide by having a nice relaxing picnic lunch, we decided to give it a go and push out through the still very skinny water.  Off we went, clear sailing until approximately 100 yards offshore when we encounter some seriously skinny water.  Paddle, pole and then get out of the kayak and push.  Only had to go a few yards and then back into the kayak to venture out into the crystal clear and extremely calm waters.


Vivian, enjoying the great day on the kayak

Overall, we probably paddled 5 miles this day.  The most excitement came when we were fishing a channel, trying to look for some snapper and the Florida Wildlife Commission paid us a visit!  I guess we were pretty easy targets as they had enough water to get to us.  We kindly pulled up next to them, they greeted us, we greeted them.  They asked to see our licenses and open the cooler.  No issues with any of that, we always have our licenses and we had not caught any fish.  They seemed to be looking for people catching and keeping Snook which remains closed in South Florida.

After the visit, we proceeded to the east of Chicken Key where we saw several tailing fish.  At first we thought they may be Bonefish but after getting close, we saw most of them were Rays.  Not sure what was causing the fishing to be slow because the conditions seemed perfect.  The water was like a sheet of glass and the sun was shining.

 

Vivian enjoying the perfect conditions, excluding the fish!

We have not had great luck with this area of Biscayne Bay.  In general we catch Barracuda and small Snapper here.  We had not been back for some time and actually got caught in a nasty thunderstorm during one of our past summer trips, having to seek safe harbor in Deering Bay Estate!  That is yet another story I will cover sometime.

Here you can see the area we paddled, great mangrove lined shoreline

So after enjoying the paddle and chasing a few tailing fish, the sun was getting low in the sky and we needed to head in.  All in all a very nice day and the lack of fish was not a big deal as we learn something every time we go out regardless of what we catch or if we catch fish at all.

Biscayne Bay is a very interesting body of water which varies widely depending on where you are boating.  I found this sign posted by Miami Dade County, kind of interesting.  If you cannot read it, simply click on it to increase the size.

Biscayne Bay is a very interesting body of water

Well, that's it for this adventure.  It was a nice paddle in ideal kayaking conditions.

Wonderful Day of Fishing on our Hatteras 36

So today we decided to do some fishing on our Hatteras 36 in Biscayne Bay with my parents Jane and Maynard.  We have had some luck fishing off of Key Biscayne Yacht Club for Spanish Mackeral and Bluefish and today, even though not off the chain action, was good once again.  The day was really nice, moderate North wind with clear skies and a temperature of 73 degrees. 

Weather graphs for Biscaye Bay 1/29/11

As far as the fishing went, my Mom Jane took the day.  She caught a really nice 20" Spanish Mackeral and another nice 13" Bluefish.  Good thing for her on this day because the only other keeper was caught by me which was a 14" Bluefish.  As usual, one of the girls brings home dinner!  It is typically Vivian but today my Mom had the hot hand.


My Mom Jane with her prize catch a 20" Spanish Mackeral

From a rig perspective, what was working was the Cajun Thunder Popping Cork with a dead pilchard or chunk Ballyhoo fished down 4 feet or so.  The bait was extremely thick with pinfish and pilchards everywhere.   We tried catching some pilchards which was rather easy given the numbers but nothing was caught on the free lined live bait today.  Below is a Google Earth image of the approximate location where we anchored.

The bayside of Key Biscayne has a lot of fishing opportunities

We started fishing about 1 hour after low tide.  The bite seemed to be the best around 2:30pm which would have been 2.5hrs after low tide.


Tide chart from the area we were fishing today

After the fishing was done, we pulled up the anchor and had a great ride back to Dinner Key Marina.  It was a great day of fishing and the dinner once back at the dock was excellent, nothing like extremely fresh fish!


Back at Dinner Key Marina cleaning the boat, not so bad today!

So, thats all for today.  Another great day with lots of fresh air and fun......

Our Kayak Fishing Equipment.....

So I thought a good place to start would be an overview of what we use to get out on the water.  About 2 years ago we purchased what we believe one of the best ways to get out on the water and learn to fish these wonderful waters.  We purchased a Hobie Outfitter Tandem Mirage Kayak. 


Hobie Outfitter Fishing Kayak with Mirage Drive

The key to these kayaks is their Mirage Drive system. This system provides pedals which mimic the motion of penguin fins, allowing for the ideal fishing propulsion system.  Depending on the situation, we have the option to pedal, paddle or both.

As far as fishing rods, we have learned to really appreciate the quality and strength of St. Croix rods.  One of the things we like abou them is their ability to break down into a two piece rod for simple storage and travel.  Other than one time when Vivian snapped her rod on a heavy 27" Redfish, we have had great luck with these rods.



St. Croix Inshore Saltwater Fishing Rods

One of the most important items to consider when you are kayak fishing is a good reel.  You will quickly find out that your reels take a beating due to the close proximity to the water.  We went through a few reels and finally decided to invest in the best sealed reels which are designed to be easily torn down and lubricated.  We now use Penn Conquer reels and have had extremely good luck.

Penn Conquer Reels - Sealed and easily maintained

We use both the 4000 and 5000 size reels.  Coupled with the St. Croix rods, these reels have really improved the durability of our fishing gear.

So those are all the critical elements you need to get out on the water and have fun kayak fishing.  No fuel required other than a nice lunch in your cooler!  More to come on the details of what we have learned is working.  Obviously, we learn something new each time we go out and are far from experts on fishing these waters but we are making progress.

Welcome to our Blog.......

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog.  Our goal is to chronicle our fishing adventures in such a way that our family and friends can experience the adventure, excitement and beauty we are lucky enough to enjoy each and every time we venture out onto the wonderful waters of South Florida.



Conch Key FL -  Just one of the many gorgeous areas we have been lucky enough to Kayak! 

 Please visit often and we will attempt to post and update you on each and every one of our adventures. Typically Kayak Fishing but also fishing from the Hatteras 36 as frequently as we can.