native Ultimate
Redfish caught on fly from kayak – video
Phosphate pit fishing in Florida
Have you ever fished a freshwater Pit in Florida for bass and copperheads?
It’s Spring time here in Florida and that means fish both fresh and salt are active; very active. This trip we agreed to fish the fresh water. We just had two days of rain, so we knew there would be flowing water from culverts and over-flows between lakes that would concentrate fish. The place we chose to launch the kayaks is a management area called Tenoroc.
Tenoroc is reclaimed land with a series of lakes or pits as some call them. These were formed from phosphate mining back in the 1960’s. This habitat flows into the Peace River and is managed by biologists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
There are many lakes all with their own personality. The majority have regular well maintained boat ramp, but allow only trolling motors and only a few of the largest ones allow internal combustion motors to be run at idle only. Some are hand launch solely for kayaks and canoes. They are all managed meaning there are strict limits on any bass you are allowed to keep. This is a place you expect to not just fish but catch, and the chances of bass over 5 lbs. are great, and over 10 lbs. not uncommon.
Today our weapons of choice were both fly rods and spinning rods. My buddies had their 6 and 8 wts for larger bass.
My choice was a 3 wt rod 7’ 6 “ 5 piece rod and super lightweight Orvis Battenkill II reel. This set up was recommended to me many years ago by Allen Wyatt at the Andy Thornal Company and has provided more enjoyment than I could imagine. There is something about the shorter 7’ 6” rod and ultra-light weight set up that make small bass and larger pan fish feel like you’re bringing in sea monsters from the deep and will definitely make you smile.
Due to all the new fresh cooling water from the past two days of rain happy fish were jumping all over just like there was a hatch on a trout stream. We found a large culvert pipe draining water from the lake we were on into the next pit. The fish were like salmon swimming against the current through the 50 yards or so of pipe and then jumping out of the pipe into our lake right in front of us. It was a crazy site and non-stop the whole time we were there.
We caught a variety of fish and many with the fly rods. The fish were all dark in color. The bass almost all black with some dark olive green. They hit hard both by the rushing water and in the back hidden pockets of the maze of surrounding islands. Small #4 size dark colored Clouser Minnows imitating baitfish were the fly of choice. We let them sink then moved them erratically like a minnow darting to avoiding its aggressor.
Next were bluegill and then the older larger Copperheads.The name Copperhead is the result of the deep purple coloration of mature bluegill males with a copper band across the top of its head. Typically a Florida bluegill male will develop the coloration pattern when it is 4 years old or older, and it becomes much more vivid during the spawn between April and September.
The last catch of the day was a beast of a Tilapia on my ultralight spinning rod using a roadrunner. This fish too taking on the dark coloration almost like a record breaking copperhead with the same purple hue. This was one heck of a fight as it was wrongly hooked in the top back fin and the way the drag was pulling made me wonder if I had monster bass since I know there are many monsters to be had here.
Tenoroc is true old Florida. The land is beautiful with a diverse habitat of marsh, woods, and water. There are hiking and horseback riding trails, bird watching but most importantly quality fishing for big largemouth bass and pan fish of all kinds. This is remote territory with almost 7000 acres of woods and water. With that comes respect and planning as you are the visitor and many of the creatures much larger than you. Watch your step, leave only footprints, and enjoy the sights of the rattle snakes, moccasins, and massive alligators that will be joining you on every visit.
More importantly catch some fish but most importantly enjoy the sights and sounds of the great outdoors in a Tenoroc near you.
Live life by the minute and get outdoors and have some fun!
Adventure Fishing World Championship “AFWC 2014”: The road to second place!
The second-annual Adventure Fishing World Championship (AFWC) was an adventure check point fishing tournament in Everglades National Park, Flamingo with 100 kayak fisher people. At the start of the tournament, each team received an envelope with a topo map marked with checkpoints. When the gun went off, it was up to you and your partner to determine what check points to go to, and in what order. You could only count one fish per check point, and had to catch fish at minimum of three check points.
This year’s event was held in Flamingo, FL. The tournament was scheduled to run from 7:00am until 5:00pm making this a nine-hour day with an estimated twenty-plus miles of paddling or pedaling. The longest combined entry of snook, reds, and/or trout would win. Our team finished in second place, and this is our story through my eyes.
I met up meet up with Rusty Driver in Port Charlotte, FL, about ninety minutes from my house. I loaded my equipment into his jeep, put the kayak on his trailer, and left my car at an old friend’s house; we were packed to the gills!
It took us a little longer to get there than the anticipated five-hour drive. When we finally arrived and paid the entrance fee to the EvergladesNational Park, we were told there was another thirty eight-mile drive through the untouched Everglades – not a building in sight – to get to the Flamingo campground.
We got there and immediately set off to go pre-fishing, figuring we could set up the tents later. I looked for my partner – Elliot Stevens from Louisiana, part of the Fin Crazy team who sponsored me and whom I had not yet met – but he was already out fishing. Rusty and I decided to go into the back country ourselves.
We paddled through some beautiful and rugged mangrove tunnels, and made it to CootBay. The wind was howling once we opened up to the bay, so we monitored our distance from where we launched and managed to land some snook on the 42 Tackle gold-flake-over-bone “Flats Hammer” jig.
That night, we set up camp and met many of the Fin Crazy group from Louisiana that we were camping with; however, my elusive team mate Elliot was nowhere to be found. They had some crazy good grills, called Orion cookers, and were putting a rub on the meat and hanging racks of ribs around a chicken set in the middle.
As darkness fell, we wondered about the missing people. They finally arrived around 8:30pm from an extra-long day of pre-fishing. We socialized and ate way too much food; the chicken and ribs were cooked to perfection by master griller TK Shmeekay with help from Jason Austin and team. Mike McDonald and Billy Alstrom, winners of last year’s AFWC, joined us, along with more and more people following the trail of good food smells that were floating in the air and pointing our way.
The next morning, I met with Fin Crazy crew members Casey Brunning, Elliot, and Russ Pylant, and we made our way to the marina to get coffee and discuss our last day pre-fishing plans. I was still getting over the flu, and had basically been on the couch the week prior. After reviewing their plan for a very aggressive paddling and fishing day, covering many more miles than I thought would be smart for me to do, I decided to fish with another group who had the same idea as me and a more casual approach to the day.
Rodney Nelsen came over with his truck. We piled my Native “Ultimate 14.5” on top of Sean Rice’s Hobie “Pro Angler” and went to fish the famous Snake Bight area of Flamingo. Chuck Statham and Josh Maitland met us at the launch, and off we went.
We paddled for a while, but when we turned the corner out in the bay to go to Snake Bight the howling wind caught us off guard. We decided to fish where we were. I found a nice flat, and while standing up poling came across a beautiful 4’ sawfish and watched it swim next to the kayak. We fished all afternoon, and went back to the camp.
As night approached, the Fin Crazy guys (with TK in the lead) were cooking up more food than we could eat. We wondered and waited as the group of three – Casey, Elliot, and Russ – still had not returned. Around 8:00pm we went to the ranger station to get a phone number, wondering if we needed to call search and rescue. The three missing guys arrived around 8:30pm, , muddy, tired, and beaten.
They were intact, but their kayaks were lost six miles back, deep into the dark everglades. They ate some food, borrowed kayak wheels, and Michael Ethridge joined to help with the rescue. Off into the total darkness of the wild Everglades they went with a million bright shining stars waiting to guide them; ready to walk the many miles to retrieve their kayaks at all costs, and not get eaten by the many crocodiles, snakes, spiders (oh so many spiders), sharks, and other creatures of the night that waited quietly, ready to pounce and feed on unsuspecting prey.
At 4:00am, I was awakened by the endless zipper sounds of the tent next to mine being quickly opened and closed, to ensure the millions of mosquitoes would not get in the safety zone. “Rusty Driver is on a mission: how many times can he unzip and zip back up the tent?” I thought. I finally gave up, dressed, and went out in the darkness of the campground to prepare for the second ever, most grueling kayak fishing tournament ever.
As I collected my thoughts and the endless zipping sounds subsided, I realized the four that set out last night still had not returned. Elliot was my partner, so if he didn’t show up I was not going to be fishing: this was a team event, and this was strictly enforced because of the many dangers of the Everglades.
Shortly after, the missing crew finally arrived, muddy kayaks, broken rods, and paddles in tow. At this point, they had been up and on the go for almost twenty four hours. That took a toll, and both my partner Elliot and Michael’s partner Russ dropped out of the tournament to get some much-needed rest. With both of us losing a partner, we headed to tournament leader Woody Callaway, explained what happened, completed our safety checks, and became the newly-formed “Fin Crazy 3” team. Michael had been up all night, was ready to fish. It would be our first time fishing together – we had barely met the night before – and in one of the largest and toughest tournaments for kayakers ever devised. We couldn’t think of a place we would rather be!
The envelopes with our topo maps were given out, as a quadcopter flew overhead with cameras attached, videoing the event. We were given the green light, so we quickly opened the envelope and analyzed the check points, agreed on the route, and off everyone went in different directions. Almost one hundred kayaks (and one canoe with a team from Nova Scotia) were all racing to complete the nine-hour event.
After a VERY long paddle, we arrived at our first check point. We pushed and paddled to get into the muddy canal to get our token, and finally after weeks of preparation, two days of pre-fishing, and a partner change the morning of the tournament, we were ready to catch our first tournament fish. I kept a steady stream of food in Michael, doing my best to keep his energy up. We were a team, we could not be separated, and we both worked with the strengths and weaknesses of the other with one goal in mind.
It took us longer then we wanted. We scoured the flats, poling very shallow looking for fish, with birds wading next to us near the famous Snake Bight. Then I heard a yell, and my teammate broke the ice with a nice redfish. We took the pictures while ensuring the token was in place. We released the fish, and furiously paddled to turn in our token, record our first fish, and take the even longer paddle to our next check point.
As we closed in on our next check point, I stood and poled to see what fish I could find. I was spooking reds, but also saw huge muds too big to be from reds, with large wakes right next to my kayak. We soon realized there were sharks mixed in with the reds – lots of sharks – and our kayaks were spooking these huge creatures. We got our second token after a slippery hike to the shore, and immediately paddled back to where the reds were. I stood up, poling quietly, and saw a very large shark swimming gracefully to my side. As I watched, admiring the large creature, to my surprise he turned and shot towards my kayak. He made a quick turn, and gave my kayak a side body slam that knocked me down – but thankfully not into the water.
As Michael and I pointed out one shark after another, we had our sights set on catching fish and soon I hooked up with a nice redfish. After a struggle, I managed to get the red to the kayak and now it circled and pulled underneath. My thoughts were only of the sharks, and whether I could manage to get the red out in one piece. I don’t use a net; I prefer an arm scoop (like a cradle underwater) and never once had this ever seemed like a careless move. Today however, sticking my arm in the shark-infested waters as the redfish circled and gave off distress signals under my kayak in the very shallow water was not something I wanted to do. When I thought the fish was ready, I did the quickest arm scoop ever – that red didn’t know what happened! But safe in my kayak it was, token out, picture taken, and we were off to check point three.
We checked our watches; we were good on time. The tide was lower, and I paddled fifty yards ahead of Michael, who was in a Native “Slayer Propel 13”. The idea was to help point him to deeper water, so he could utilize the faster and easier pedal drive and save what was left of his energy. We finally saw our last check point, and I paddled up as far as I could and got out to get the token. As soon as I hit the slippery slope, it felt like I was on ice and it was quite the spectacle. I was slipping and sliding, trying to get to the checkpoint and get the token while a cameraman was recording all my fancy moves.
Token in hand, we back tracked to a fishy area we found on our way in. Michael fished one side of the channel to the outer sandbar, and I fished across from him toward the inside of a pocket, hoping for more reds. Time was ticking away, it was 4:15pm, we still had no fish, and check in was 5:00pm sharp. One minute late and we would be disqualified. Cast after cast, not a bite, so I paddled around while standing and moved closer to a set of islands.
I found a nice eddy where different currents met, and knew the fish would be there. I changed rods and grabbed my Bull Bay Rods 6lb-15lb mini-Senzi kayak-specific rod which was already rigged with a 42 Tackle gold over bone “Flats Hammer” tail on a Mission Fishin 1/8oz jig head. I cast and got nothing. Again and again, and after my fourth cast – BAM! I hooked a nice trout, and in the boat he goes a huge. I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat back in my seat, knowing we just qualified!
I checked my watch; we still had time but, it was getting really close. I placed the fish on the measuring board with the token and took a picture. I always take a couple in the event one is blurry, so I started to take one more. As I started to snap the picture, the fish jumped and the token was gone. Michael paddled over, and I was frantic. If we didn’t turn the token in we would be disqualified. I started to tear my kayak apart right in the middle of the channel. I took the seat out and placed it on the front on top of my Native fish cooler bag. I turned around, quickly going through every inch, and then out of the corner of my eye I saw something floating. It was my seat, with the camera and all our pictures, slowly sinking and being swept away with the tide. The camera was in a case strapped to the top of my back rest, 2” from going under water. I quickly grabbed my paddle for the hardest strokes I have ever made. I lunged for the seat and grabbed it just in time – but still no token.
Michael and I agreed that I should paddle to shore get out and take everything out of my already wrecked kayak, but with fifteen minutes left we didn’t know if there would be enough time. I paddled as hard as I could while Michael circled the water, still hoping if the token had gone overboard it had floated and he could find it. I looked down, and the unmistakable red token lay right in the middle of my egg yolk-colored kayak, as if calling me, wanting to win. I yelled to Michael, and we bee-lined to the check point using every last bit of energy. We beached our kayaks to the side, turned in the elusive token, and ran through the field rather then paddle to the launch area.. We passed the finish line at official time 4:56pm – we had made it!
We turned in our pictures, and completed the paperwork. We verified with the line judge that everything was good. We slowly walked back and sat on our kayaks, totally exhausted. The nine hours of tournament thoughts swirled in our head. We looked at each other, too tired to speak, with smiles on our faces! The twenty-plus miles of paddling, fishing, and adventure behind us, we couldn’t move!
After our break, I pulled my kayak from the water to the road and waited for Rusty Driver to pick me up with the kayak trailer. It was now 6:15pm, and as we loaded, Rusty said we were driving back home tonight instead of our scheduled Sunday. Well, we had been up since 4:00am, completed the most grueling fishing tournament ever created, and still had the awards ceremony at 7:00pm. An additional five-plus hour drive home would make this a close to a twenty four-hour day. This did not sound like fun to me, but I agreed.
We hurried back to the campsite to break down my tent and supplies. We moved as fast as we could, and got to the awards ceremony just a little late. The food was out, and John Grace had the microphone in hand going over the days events. He then announced there were only three teams that completed the requirements – so now we knew we were in the top three.
Casey Brunning and Steve Gibson took the well-deserved win, and my partner and I took second-place honors.
Speeches were made, tales were told, and off we went for the all-night drive home. At 2:00am we arrived in Port Charlotte, unloaded all my equipment from Rusty’s Jeep and trailer, and loaded my vehicle. I finally arrived home at 3:30am after a really foggy, sleepy drive. The twenty-three-and-a-half-hour day was finally complete, and with memories that will last a life time.
Thanks to all involved, from the sponsors to all the great people who showed up to compete. A special thanks to Woody Callaway, John Grace, and the entire Native Watercraft team for putting on such a monumental event!
Live life by the minute and get outdoors and have some fun!
Walt Palen
(Shallow Fly Walt)
Fly fishing winter time negative low tides – “Flounder SLAM”!
Some days everything just comes together. Weather is perfect, you pick the right fly, and you find the right spot. Today was one of those days. After an evening of tying flies I woke up and loaded my Bull Bay Rods 8 wt Excel series fly rod combined with my Waterworks Lamson fly reel I purchased from Allen Wyatt at the Andy Thornal Company, loaded it into my Native Ultimate kayak and off I went.
We launched in Tampa Bay and paddled out to the pristine but shallow flats watching mullet jump through the fog. Today was a perfect winter time negative low tide, one of my favorite times to fly fish. They say the journey is part of the adventure, and if you’re fishing the back country pockets and troughs on a tide that is below the low mean tide an adventure it will be.
To me free exercise is good, and that’s what I kept telling myself as we pulled the kayaks over the exposed flats of mud, sand and sea grass with the wading birds feeding nearby.
After what felt like an eternity pulling the kayaks and getting stuck in the mud we hit our spot, a perfect secluded area with great water flow and a nice deeper pocket. We set up winds to our backs just before the drop off and anchored. I tied a weighted shrimp imitation fly to a 12 pound fluorocarbon leader knowing the water was way too cold to catch snook, then stood up in the kayak and was ready to fish.
The key with the deeper water is to get the fly down so cast cross current, let it sink, then slow long pulls with a little twitch at the end.
Didn’t take long and we were catching fish after fish. Started with spotted sea trout, then super size lady fish, red fish, and mixed in were flounder which to me on a fly rod is just an awesome catch.
So at the end of the day I will take a flounder SLAM on a fly rod any day of the week; just an incredible catching time in Florida.
If you’re thinking about getting into fly fishing there is no better time than now. Technology has changed and fly fishing is no longer for the special few. Both the rods and reels price wise for good quality equipment can be found for a reasonable price. For this type of salt water fishing the rod and the line are the most important components, the reel does need a reasonable drag but nothing fancy.
If you’re looking at getting into fly fishing and have questions send me a message through Facebook at “Shallow Fly Walt” and I will be happy to help!
Live life by the minute and get outdoors and have some fun!
Article and photos by Walt Palen (shallowfly walt), all rights reserved.
“Stand-up and Fly” tournament style kayak fly fishing
One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. Add a kayak, a fly rod, and some friendly competition and I’m hooked! At the end of February I was lucky enough to participate in a fly fishing only tournament called the Salty Fly.
It was on the West Coast of Florida and said to be the largest salt water fly fishing tournament in the US. Salty Fly 2013 presented by Hell’s Bay boats and put on by Sam Root of Saltyshores.com had a full roster of around 80 two person teams and all slots were sold out in less than one hour months before the tournament.
As with anything the anticipation is as much fun as the actual event and many hours were spent meticulously tying, and enough flies were tied to fish ten more events. Flies were crab patterns in the standard colors brown, tan, and olive tied earlier in the week, some with weed guards some without in size #2 and #4. We had both light weight swimming crabs for the shallow pockets in the mangrove islands out of the wind and heavier crabs with larger dumbbell eyes and flowing marabou tails as shown below for the deeper pot holes and troughs.
The night before the tournament there was a pre-party with a showing of the fly fishing adventure video Geo Fish. We met anglers from as far away as Oregon so we knew the competition the next day would be tough. Now this is fly only; however, not kayak only so most fished out of high powered flats boats with all the latest toys. We stuck to our roots and I loaded my Native Ultimate and then struggled with my team mate Josh Slager to put his feature rich peddle powered Hobie Pro Angler on top of the SUV for our early morning drive to the launch.
The weather tournament day was not ideal for fly fishing. The winds were high at around 15 knots with gusts over 25 knots so location would be key to success. The wind caused a constant struggle trying to keep the kayak in position but we managed to catch some fish.
My primary rod today was my 9 wt, big guns to fight the big wind, 6 wt was in the Scotty mount paralleled to the water to keep from catching when casting. I did as you can see make good use of the stripping basket to keep the wind from tangling my line.
The sponsors were many and the prizes were plenty. There were fly reels, fly rods, fishing trips, fishing bags, outdoor apparel, and paintings too much to list. Just a huge assortment of gifts and giveaways and it was easy to tell a lot of preparation went into the tournament.
We worked hard for fish that day but didn’t end up in the money, well money because of our fish I should say. However, in the raffle my partner Josh Slager won one of the top prizes a brand new Power Pole so he was in the money.
Kinda of funny, one of the few participants fishing out of a kayak instead of a flats boat and he wins the Power Pole. I in turn won some cool apparel from Bug Slinger fly gear and of course lots of giveaways including the prized Salty Fly long sleeve tournament shirt.
For those of you who have not fished in a tournament I urge you to do so. Most tournaments are reasonably priced and most everyone goes away with something in the raffles. You meet good people, you try new lures, and you get to fish new places out of your comfort zone. You learn from your new friends and from researching and fishing the different tournament locations. You will look with new eyes when back in your old comfort zone and in turn your fun and catch rate will both be enhanced! Your local kayak angling clubs are the place to start and should be easy to find with a quick general internet search or in the paddle section of your local fishing forums.
Live life by the minute and get outdoors and have some fun!
Kayak + Flyrod + St Johns River in February = American Shad Run
Article and photo’s by: Walt Palen (shallowfly)
Around the first part of every year I get a call from Eric Edwards a long time friend, Master Falconer, and fellow fly fishermen to fish the annual Shad Run in the St Johns River.
The first time I got the call I was a bit hesitant to take the 2 hour drive from my home town in Central Florida to fish for what sounded to me to be a bait fish. Well what I found out was these shad are no bait fish. Imagine baby Tarpon imposters smoking your drag and doing aerial displays for freedom on your 3 to 6 weight fly rod in a winding river with current flow.
Well 2013 was no different concerning the phone call, but unfortunately we couldn’t find a day when both of us could go. Thats when local friend and fellow kayak fishermen Josh Slager mentioned the Shad Run, and I said lets go!
American shad “Alosa sapidissma” are native to the east coast of North America ranging from the St. Lawrence River, Canada in the north to the St. Johns River, Florida in the south. Babies spend their first year in the river and then swim to the ocean to mature. They remain in the ocean up to six years before they return on an epic journey to spawn. They arrive October-November in the St Johns River East of Orlando and that’s when the fun begins.
I like to use a 3 to 6 weight fly rod depending on the wind, weighted fly’s # 4 or #6 tied with various bright colors and tied “short” as shad tend to nip. Fly’s like small Clouser’s will do the trick but tie various colors and weights.
You’re fishing the deep cuts with current flow so some type of sinking line is helpful and an 8 foot fluorocarbon leader with an 8 pound fluorocarbon tippet will help keep you down. If you don’t pull up a live mussel with a hook in its mouth every once in a while get a heavier fly as your not fishing deep enough.
There are a variety of fish like Large Mouth Bass, good size Bluegill, Redear Sunfish and even Stripers in the mix. On this trip we caught shad averaging 20 inches as well as bass. As Josh shows below it was hard not to just target bass the entire time as they continued to explode on small minnow’s right next to us all along the shoreline.
Kayaks were only used as a mode of transportation as we paddled about a half a mile from the launch to our destination. The St Johns is a beautiful winding river and this year the water was quite high which made it easy for us to find a nice bend and just pull the kayak on shore and fish from the bank.
Recommendations would include a rubber landing net as these fish are slippery and feisty when landed plus a stripping basket. The bank areas have low vegetation and are easy to stand and back cast, but you pick up random little twigs and branches with your stripped line on the ground if you don’t bring a basket.
As a final note, remember this is the outdoors and although this trip we didn’t see anything but fish, wading birds, and beautiful American White Pelican’s, there are alligators as well as snakes. So always be aware of your surroundings when off the beaten path; respect nature and it in turn will respect you.
Live life by the minute and get outdoors and have some fun!
YakOnFish™ 
