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Print versionFlorida Live Blog: Hurricane Ida
Firstly sorry for not managing to complete a blog last week. No trip half way around the world comes without teething problems, and this trip was again no exception! My American angling pals have a funny name for multiple problems... the first word is “Cluster .....” – I’ll let you fill in the gaps!
It all started by drinking too much red wine on the flight over! Next after arriving in Miami, after picking up the car, I took a wrong turn and was half way to Fort Lauderdale before I realised! After a good night’s sleep, day two should have gone better but it didn’t. Firstly I left all the fishing tackle at a friend’s in Miami and had to go back. Secondly on arriving in the Keys, we couldn’t find the transducer for my new Garmin 5208 touch-screen GPS, so I went and bought another.Moments later I found the Transducer in one of my bags!! With the spanking new GPS fitted, my boat “Too Many Girls” was ready to be launched, but the problems were still not over. On her test run, we blew the main bait-well pump – not a big issue but a niggely half day problem to sort, by the time we were up and running, a Tropical storm, Hurricane Ida started to push up through the Gulf of Mexico, which isn’t a real big issue, but it fed winds into the High pressure system that was currently over the Keys causing locally squally winds with gusts to 40knts. Not dissimilar to our own easterlies at home – bright sun, gusty winds! Just my luck!
In the Keys strong winds aren’t a problem – with the Atlantic one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, you can usually find somewhere to tuck in out of the wind, and as most of the best fishing in the Keys is inshore (within 2 miles) anyway, this is far from second best. The only bad thing about strong winds in the Keys is that because the water is so shallow – the continuous 2ft chop clouds the water up and what’s more rips Turtle Grass from the grass flats and this water colouration and floating debris make live-bait fishing nigh on impossible!
On my first trip I have with me John and Kathleen Slater and I have to say that the fishing over the last week has been hard work. The water colouration has pushed the Tarpon into deeper water and as for any stalking on the flats; sight fishing is off the cards too. But with so many species available, there’s always something to do!
November is a good month for shark fishing, and being a scent aroused hunter, sharks are a species that are not usually affected by coloured water. Over this last week we have hooked and lost a few monsters – the shark pictured is a small Lemon that was small enough to lift in gently for a quick photo. The two other species of shark we target regularly are Bull Sharks and Black Tips. In 3-8ft of water all three species of shark go like stink!!!
November is also a good month for Spotted Sea Trout and although this species may not grow to the monstrous proportions of the sharks and Tarpon here, it’s the way you fish for them that’s exciting. Using ultra light class spin set ups, we drift the grass flats and jig for them using Berkley Gulp shrimps and jig heads, which requires as much skill as any other form of angling. On light tackle they fight pretty well too and. The Florida Keys grass flats are home to many other species and whilst jigging for Sea Trout you pick up all manner of different species, including some pretty good grouper that certainly put six pound class tackle through its paces!
Even though it’s been a hard week, with chocolate coloured water we’ve had some manic shark fishing, some blinding Trout fishing and managed over 25 other species – the usual suspects Jacks, Snappers, Spanish Mackerel, Blue Fish etc etc, so I can’t really moan. With up to 45knts of wind at home, I’d have probably been watching daytime telly!
To end what was a tough week; last night on our way home we found 50 or so small Tarpon feeding around a private dock, so quietly we switched to the trolling motor and snuck in on them. In 30 minutes we hooked and lost six around 20lbs. John and Kathleen may not have experienced the Florida Keys fishing in all its blaze and glory, but I think they had a great week, with some great fishing at times, and its guaranteed they went home with a better suntan than they would have had otherwise!
Just as I write this the weather is starting to settle and it looks like this coming week is going to be as you’d expect of the Florida Keys... light winds, blue skies, beaming sun crystal clear waters... then it will be time to go find a few Tarpon! Wish me luck...
P.S. If you check out this month’s issue of Total Sea Fishing, you can read about some of our Florida experiences this past spring.
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