Well, the Nature Coast Lady Anglers club is officially one year old this month. Formed after a gathering of 20-plus women (and men) met at the Coastal Region Library one Saturday afternoon, discussed the pros & cons of organizing and decided it was worth a try....and so here we are......still! YAY for us!
And we just couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the start of the 2014 lady angling year than to invite a well-known, local and very remarkable charter boat captain named Dan Clymer. He came very highly recommended by one of our very own NCLA members, Virginia, who has come to know him as a friend after contracting with his charter service several times last year. We were thrilled that he agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with us and share some of his experiences and a few tips & tricks that will certainly help improve our skills.
And we just couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the start of the 2014 lady angling year than to invite a well-known, local and very remarkable charter boat captain named Dan Clymer. He came very highly recommended by one of our very own NCLA members, Virginia, who has come to know him as a friend after contracting with his charter service several times last year. We were thrilled that he agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with us and share some of his experiences and a few tips & tricks that will certainly help improve our skills.
The meeting started off with Capt. Dan (way back there by the door) introducing himself to us and giving us a little bio of himself, where he's lived and what got him hooked on saltwater fishing to begin with. He told us how much the fresh and saltwater fishery has changed (not for the better) since several big hurricanes bombarded the west Florida coastline years ago, requiring anglers to adjust accordingly. We also learned that he got his captain's license at the age of 18 and he runs charters almost every single day of the year in addition to writing articles in prominent fishing publications. He's got quite a lot on his plate so we were happy that he took the time to speak to us this particular evening.
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Topic of discussion: Moon Phases / Tide / Wind / Current
So the topic of discussion for the evening was how different atmosphere and weather conditions affect fishing...starting with tides. Capt. Dan isn't so much of a moon phase watcher as he is an incoming/outgoing tide-ologist, The only thing he's really not keen on is grouper fishing after a full moon, but with regard to most typical inshore species (trout & redfish) he's most concerned about the time of incoming, slack, and then outgoing tides, specifically telling us that the saltwatertides.com website is his main resource for all things tide-related. That was a great piece of information. A tidal website that's the "go-to" tide info site for a charter boat captain is certainly good enough for us. We've got to check that site out and save it as a favorite - and study it - and learn it! Lesson #1. saltwatertides.com
Which is better -- fishing the incoming or outgoing tide? In the Captain's opinion, the incoming is usually better if given the option. Incoming tide allows anglers to be on the water for longer periods of time and allows fish to roam freely, which increases the odds of hooking up more frequently. That's not to say outgoing tides can't be productive; they can be. Water moving out to sea moves faster than water coming into shore because the incoming tide, at some point, reaches a barrier (shore or mangrove line) that hinders or slows its speed, whereas the outgoing tide has no such restriction. When the outgoing tide is strong and swift it can pull water around points and between oyster bar cuts, carrying small baitfish in its current. Larger predatory fish (trout & reds) hide or "stage" around those points and downstream of oyster bar cuts, just waiting to ambush a small baitfish riding the current at those areas -- free meal. no work!
Slack Tide -- what is it? It's time to eat, that's what it is! It is the "freeze-frame" time between incoming and outgoing tide change, when the water level is at its very lowest of the day or very highest of the day. Grab your sandwich and a beer and take a break. There's no water moving in and no water moving out, and no baitfish riding currents around points. Predatory fish actually have to get off their duff and hunt for a meal. Ain't nobody got time for that! Eat lunch, throw a shrimp on a circle hook with a bobber and maybe you'll get lucky!
So now we start discussing the time it takes for backwater creeks to reach high tide. There is a delay between the time a well known tide station registers a high tide and when that same high tide measurement eventually works its way into the back creeks. Typically, the rule of thumb is an approximate one-hour time delay. What Dan told us this evening that surprised some of us was that in certain cases -- for instance, from the Shell Island tide station to King's Bay -- it'll take as long as two hours for King's Bay to reach high tide. So for instance, if the high tide at Shell Island is 1:00 p.m., the high tide at King's Bay won't be until 3:00 p.m. He uses the Mangrove Point tide station as his benchmark for most of the areas he fishes so he gave us another example: when the high tide at Mangrove Point is at 1:00 p.m., Fish Creek won't reach high tide until 2:00 p.m., with that typical one-hour delay applying here.
Capt. Dan tackled the subject of kayak fishing on a windy day. Not much fun in that, so here's what he suggested we watch out for: If you don't want to be fighting the wind all day, look for days with winds blowing around 5-8 mph. You should be fine in a kayak. NW winds are a little harder to navigate and don't seem to be as productive for fishing, in his opinion, as days with SW winds. He's found that fish tend to feed better on days when the wind is blowing from the SW. Winds over 10 mph need to be respected in a kayak. He suggested paddling into the wind during the first half of the day and then letting the wind usher you back during the second half. Winds 15-20 mph are strong enough to keep an expected high-tide from developing. Enough about that.
And finally, before we moved into entirely different subject matter altogether, inshore tackle, he tipped us off to a type of feeding frenzy that fish involve themselves in right before a storm rolls up on the inshore areas. Somehow, someway, those fish know that a-storm's-a-comin' without the luxury of The Weather Channel. Could it be the barometric pressure change that gets 'em all worked up and stressed out? You betcha. They go on a feeding frenzy before a storm like we go to the grocery store to stock up on canned goods before a hurricane. In any case, fishing a few hours before an approaching storm is a sure-fire way to hook into some keeper fish -- if you can ignore the miserable weather that you have to endure, drizzling rain most likely, during those precious few hours .
Which is better -- fishing the incoming or outgoing tide? In the Captain's opinion, the incoming is usually better if given the option. Incoming tide allows anglers to be on the water for longer periods of time and allows fish to roam freely, which increases the odds of hooking up more frequently. That's not to say outgoing tides can't be productive; they can be. Water moving out to sea moves faster than water coming into shore because the incoming tide, at some point, reaches a barrier (shore or mangrove line) that hinders or slows its speed, whereas the outgoing tide has no such restriction. When the outgoing tide is strong and swift it can pull water around points and between oyster bar cuts, carrying small baitfish in its current. Larger predatory fish (trout & reds) hide or "stage" around those points and downstream of oyster bar cuts, just waiting to ambush a small baitfish riding the current at those areas -- free meal. no work!
Slack Tide -- what is it? It's time to eat, that's what it is! It is the "freeze-frame" time between incoming and outgoing tide change, when the water level is at its very lowest of the day or very highest of the day. Grab your sandwich and a beer and take a break. There's no water moving in and no water moving out, and no baitfish riding currents around points. Predatory fish actually have to get off their duff and hunt for a meal. Ain't nobody got time for that! Eat lunch, throw a shrimp on a circle hook with a bobber and maybe you'll get lucky!
So now we start discussing the time it takes for backwater creeks to reach high tide. There is a delay between the time a well known tide station registers a high tide and when that same high tide measurement eventually works its way into the back creeks. Typically, the rule of thumb is an approximate one-hour time delay. What Dan told us this evening that surprised some of us was that in certain cases -- for instance, from the Shell Island tide station to King's Bay -- it'll take as long as two hours for King's Bay to reach high tide. So for instance, if the high tide at Shell Island is 1:00 p.m., the high tide at King's Bay won't be until 3:00 p.m. He uses the Mangrove Point tide station as his benchmark for most of the areas he fishes so he gave us another example: when the high tide at Mangrove Point is at 1:00 p.m., Fish Creek won't reach high tide until 2:00 p.m., with that typical one-hour delay applying here.
Capt. Dan tackled the subject of kayak fishing on a windy day. Not much fun in that, so here's what he suggested we watch out for: If you don't want to be fighting the wind all day, look for days with winds blowing around 5-8 mph. You should be fine in a kayak. NW winds are a little harder to navigate and don't seem to be as productive for fishing, in his opinion, as days with SW winds. He's found that fish tend to feed better on days when the wind is blowing from the SW. Winds over 10 mph need to be respected in a kayak. He suggested paddling into the wind during the first half of the day and then letting the wind usher you back during the second half. Winds 15-20 mph are strong enough to keep an expected high-tide from developing. Enough about that.
And finally, before we moved into entirely different subject matter altogether, inshore tackle, he tipped us off to a type of feeding frenzy that fish involve themselves in right before a storm rolls up on the inshore areas. Somehow, someway, those fish know that a-storm's-a-comin' without the luxury of The Weather Channel. Could it be the barometric pressure change that gets 'em all worked up and stressed out? You betcha. They go on a feeding frenzy before a storm like we go to the grocery store to stock up on canned goods before a hurricane. In any case, fishing a few hours before an approaching storm is a sure-fire way to hook into some keeper fish -- if you can ignore the miserable weather that you have to endure, drizzling rain most likely, during those precious few hours .
Dark and Dirty
One of the very first pieces of advice Capt. Dan gave us was that if you're fishing in the colder winter months, be on the lookout for shallow water (very easy to reach with kayaks) with a dark, muddy or hard bottom. Since dark colors absorb heat from the sun, which is why everyone wears dark clothing in the wintertime, the dark bottom of shallow water does the same; and since the water is shallow, the bottom is heated faster. This is where the fish will congregate to get and stay warm. This article in The Coastal Angler goes into more detail.
Mullet = Redfish
You know ... we've all heard the old saying, "where there's mullet, there's redfish," and Capt. Dan emphasized that concept tonight. He suggested one of the best ways to catch trout and redfish is to simply put a live shrimp on a circle hook with no sinker or weight attached to the leader and just let the weight of the shrimp itself slowly take it into the deep. This is called "live-lining" and he told us that this technique is very effective.
He talked about approaching dolphins and what their presence does to potential hook-ups, pointing out that those dolphins are hunting, of course, and to take note of the areas where they begin to corral and feed, marking them on a GPS if you have one. Those areas would be great spots to return to at a later date because obviously there were fish to be caught. But ... in the mean-time, one way to scare a dolphin away from the scene would be to cast a popping cork in their direction and begin to pop it vigorously for a minute. While that noise will sometimes attract trout, it will annoy dolphins to the point where they leave the area.
He talked about approaching dolphins and what their presence does to potential hook-ups, pointing out that those dolphins are hunting, of course, and to take note of the areas where they begin to corral and feed, marking them on a GPS if you have one. Those areas would be great spots to return to at a later date because obviously there were fish to be caught. But ... in the mean-time, one way to scare a dolphin away from the scene would be to cast a popping cork in their direction and begin to pop it vigorously for a minute. While that noise will sometimes attract trout, it will annoy dolphins to the point where they leave the area.
Let's Talk About Snook ... Shall We?
We learned tonight that snook prefer warm water. They don't tolerate cold temperatures very well and will do what they can to avoid water temperatures below 60 degrees. Lucky for us in the Big Bend area, the past few mild winters have tempted some adventurous snook to migrate a bit farther north of their comfort zone and we've had the opportunity to increase our odds of catching them up here. However, if they find themselves unexpectedly surrounded by waters approximately 56 degrees or colder, they will begin to float themselves, belly up, at the top of the water in order to absorb as much heat from the sun as possible. If you see them floating in this matter, it doesn't mean they're sick, injured or dying. It just means that they are conserving energy and instinctively trying to save themselves by letting the sun shine directly on their bodies for warmth. Once their body temperature regulates, they can resume their normal activities -- like trying to get the heck outta there!!
As an extra tip, he told us that in the months of March and April, snook can be caught in the Salt River between the Ft. Island Trail Park launch site and the Ft. Island Bridge. We'll have to plan a kayak fishing trip to test that report.
As an extra tip, he told us that in the months of March and April, snook can be caught in the Salt River between the Ft. Island Trail Park launch site and the Ft. Island Bridge. We'll have to plan a kayak fishing trip to test that report.
Rigging Rods
Capt. Dan said that if we wanted to learn how to fish with artificial lures, we should start with what he called a "slow suspending D.O.A. CAL jerk bait If you don't know what "CAL" stands for, it has two meanings according to a Google search: "Catch Anything Lure," or ... well, see if you can find the other definition yourself. In any case, we prefer the first one. Get a glow color if you can. He taught us the easiest way to rig this type of lure is to simply take a live bait hook (OWNER) makes a good one -- like the one in the picture in the upper left -- and thread that hook right through the snout of the lure, no jig-head, no weight, no nothing. Use an end loop knot to tie the hook to your leader line, just like he demonstrated to us in class. This will give the artificial lure the ability to look like it's alive under the water. Once you get it rigged, it should look something like this:
Twitch - Twitch - Pause
So, once you have your hook tied to your leader with an end loop knot and you've threaded the hook through the snout of the jerk bait, it's time to cast. He told us to let the lure sink to the bottom because most predatory fish will normally strike on the downward movement. There's less resistance, so if you live-line the artificial lure, letting it sink without any extra weight on the leader, it will fall slower, which allows more time for a fish to attack it. IF it hits the bottom before a fish hits it, then slowly retrieve the lure with a "twitch - twitch - pause" pattern, which should simulate the movement of an injured fish.
His basic inshore rig is spooled with 10-lb. braid line with 22-30-lb. test fluorocarbon leader on a medium action rod and a 2500 series Shimano reel. When he's fishing for cobia or tarpon he'll bump up to 30-lb. test braid and leader line over 30-lb. test. No wire leaders are used unless a client wants to target shark or something similar. He'll hunt for cobia and tarpon through the months of April to October, when the water temperature is around 60 degrees. But it's the trout that are in demand when folks contract him to charter a fishing trip. Trout pay the bills. For that, he uses a DOA Deadly Combo Popping Cork and uses either live or artificial shrimp, which is the trout's main food staple. Gut one once in a while and that's what you'll see in its belly 90% of the time. If trout don't see or smell the shrimp, the popping cork imitates the sound a shrimp makes when it whips its tail for propulsion, so this type of rig imitates the sight, sound and smell of a shrimp. How can you lose with that set up?
He rigs his popping corks in the following manner:
1. Fishing line (braid) tied to about a foot of leader line
2. Leader line tied, using an end loop knot, to the top hole of the popping cork unit. This eliminates the troublesome tangles and knots that can happen if the fishing line is tied directly to the popping cork.
3. Bottom of popping cork unit is tied, again with an end loop knot, to the fluorocarbon leader line
4. And then leader line is tied to hook with another end loop knot
Can you tell we like end loop knots???
He rigs his popping corks in the following manner:
1. Fishing line (braid) tied to about a foot of leader line
2. Leader line tied, using an end loop knot, to the top hole of the popping cork unit. This eliminates the troublesome tangles and knots that can happen if the fishing line is tied directly to the popping cork.
3. Bottom of popping cork unit is tied, again with an end loop knot, to the fluorocarbon leader line
4. And then leader line is tied to hook with another end loop knot
Can you tell we like end loop knots???
A Word About Setting Hooks
Who hasn't seen bass fishermen on TV jerk back their rod the second they feel a nibble on their line? This is an attempt to force the fishing hook into the fish's mouth, thereby securing the catch -- also called "setting the hook." But as the good Captain demonstrated this evening, there is no need to do this with a circle hook. In fact, making an attempt to set the hook could actually cause you to lose the fish instead. With a few props that he brought, he explained exactly how a this type of hook works. When a fish has taken your bait secured to a circle hook, it's not going to just sit there. Instinctively, it's going to take off in one direction or another. Once it's made its move, that circle hook will automatically begin to slide along the side of the fish's mouth and is designed to actually hook itself in the fish's mouth, securing the catch without you really even trying. What's even better is that a fish caught in this manner, with this type of hook, is much easier to dehook and release, with less trauma to the fish. It's a win-win situation all the way around.
Keeping With The Theme
So while we ladies were frantically writing notes and trying to keep up with all the great advice and instruction we were getting, Capt. Dan surprised us with a few little treats! First, he passed out a small booklet printed by the Berkley Power Pro company with a pocket-sized cheat-sheet of some of the most popular knots anglers use, from the Arbor Knot to the Palomar to the Uni Knot. Very nice! Then it was a free-for-all with a table spread, seen in the picture to the left, of Lil John Original MirrOlure Scented Soft Plastic Lures -- in all colors. Finally, he handed out the February/March 2014 publication of GAFF magazine, which he writes articles for periodically. That was a nice touch. We took a break as he ended his presentation and thanked him again for coming to visit us. It was an awesome start to our 2014 year! We're ready to go fishing now.
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