hooker-of-men
Well-known member
I'm on my way back from five days of visiting old friends in Central Florida. Currently sitting in the airport waiting, so I thought I'd write something up.
I flew down and met up with a friend who lives here and a mix of folks who were coincidentally driving through from NY/VT. We had two campers and spent the week out on the barrier islands camping right on the water in back, which was absolutely sick but a little tricky because I was the only angler.
I had researched a good deal and heard about the biodiversity of IRL, but I was still absolutely floored. In the first morning alone I saw at least 20 dolphins, so many bird species, an endless stream of baitfish and needlefish, lizards all over the trees, and dozens of rays cruising. I don't have a huge amount of experience in saltwater - just occasional striper fishing in Jersey - so this was very badass to me.
I mostly fished early morning and sunset to work around social crap and drinking way too much with the crew, but they were also out doing gravel biking and other rando hobbies, which left me with a good amount of time.
From the start, I was planning a cheapo DIY trip, but I did think I might have access to a paddleboard or kayak, which ended up not being the case. This definitely made things difficult as a lot of the shoreline is unbroken mangrove, and in some places the lagoon bottom is mud that's pretty unwadeable. I definitely paid a price for not hiring a skiff and a guide, but it just wasn't in the budget.
Luckily, our camp was connected to a couple acre wilderness island that provided good access to wading in a bunch of spots. It was enough to keep me busy. Sight fishing was pretty much out, so I focused on blind casting along overhanging mangroves and into currents coming off the points of the island. I didn't find any snook or reds, which was my hope, but I did get a bluefish that I was pretty pumped on, as it's a first for me:
I had some other excitement fishing to a school of jumping yellow jacks, but couldn't get them to eat. I also hooked something small - I think a mullet or a pompano - as I was picking up a roll cast, and I gave it the brook trout treatment and chucked it 20 feet behind me. Never saw what it was. Oops
So, one fish for five days. Not great, but it was enough on top of hanging with people I hadn't seen in years and getting to explore a part of Florida I'd never seen before.
I flew down and met up with a friend who lives here and a mix of folks who were coincidentally driving through from NY/VT. We had two campers and spent the week out on the barrier islands camping right on the water in back, which was absolutely sick but a little tricky because I was the only angler.
I had researched a good deal and heard about the biodiversity of IRL, but I was still absolutely floored. In the first morning alone I saw at least 20 dolphins, so many bird species, an endless stream of baitfish and needlefish, lizards all over the trees, and dozens of rays cruising. I don't have a huge amount of experience in saltwater - just occasional striper fishing in Jersey - so this was very badass to me.
I mostly fished early morning and sunset to work around social crap and drinking way too much with the crew, but they were also out doing gravel biking and other rando hobbies, which left me with a good amount of time.
From the start, I was planning a cheapo DIY trip, but I did think I might have access to a paddleboard or kayak, which ended up not being the case. This definitely made things difficult as a lot of the shoreline is unbroken mangrove, and in some places the lagoon bottom is mud that's pretty unwadeable. I definitely paid a price for not hiring a skiff and a guide, but it just wasn't in the budget.
Luckily, our camp was connected to a couple acre wilderness island that provided good access to wading in a bunch of spots. It was enough to keep me busy. Sight fishing was pretty much out, so I focused on blind casting along overhanging mangroves and into currents coming off the points of the island. I didn't find any snook or reds, which was my hope, but I did get a bluefish that I was pretty pumped on, as it's a first for me:
I had some other excitement fishing to a school of jumping yellow jacks, but couldn't get them to eat. I also hooked something small - I think a mullet or a pompano - as I was picking up a roll cast, and I gave it the brook trout treatment and chucked it 20 feet behind me. Never saw what it was. Oops
So, one fish for five days. Not great, but it was enough on top of hanging with people I hadn't seen in years and getting to explore a part of Florida I'd never seen before.
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