Kingfishing.... you're doing it wrong

Kingfishing…. You’re doing it wrong. I know that sounds cocky or even a bit on the dickhead side of the spectrum, but hear me out. Everybody wants to catch the biggest fish possible, the catch of a lifetime, a real trophy. Well, big smoker kingfish are a ton of fun to catch, and very easy as well. And everyone has an opinion on the best way to go about it. You are about to read mine. First I am going to tell you a little story to help illustrate my technique.

I was around 12 or 13 and my family was fishing off palm beach. We were aboard the BIG D, a corporate sportfish owned by the Max Davis company. I think the captain was named Turbo or something like that. On the way out the inlet we get a dozen goggle eyes. We are cruising in style. I remember there was a photo album aboard that had all these pics of women in thongs fighting fish all over the transom of the BIG D. I mean, it is the 80s and Captain Turbo is at the helm. What else would you expect?

So we post up in like 100 feet. I can see the beach, which is really cool. There are commercial kingfish boats trolling everywhere. There are sporties rolling by in every conceivable direction. And freaking go fast speedboats sporting thongs galore, which is really cool. We are drifting and the mate grabs a rod and hands it to me.

I have a 3/0 Daiwa star drag in my hand on a Star rod. Like 30 or 40 pound mono, a swivel, 18 inches of 60# wire, and a 8/0 Mustad O’shaunnessay hook that has been bent offset. Really simple, low-tech, ready to go. The mate ass hooks a goggle eye and plops it overboard, tells me to free spool it.

So there I am freespooling a $12 baitfish, watching commercial guys sling slob mackerels over the transom, and speedboats full of woman roaring about aimlessly….. When the goggle eye starts to really freak out.

This little Scad is seriously trying to escape something and I am very ready. I am feeding some line out and waiting, when I see a little fish charging across the surface about fifty feet behind the transom. It was my goggle eye, did not realize that at the moment. Well this guy is making a serious little head wake, when 20 feet behind it a massive tooth missile shoots from the depths. Its arcing trajectory is aimed directly at the little head wake. The little head wake disappeared in the missiles maw, and soon my line came slicing through the water in hot pursuit. I locked up and it pretty much emptied that little 3/0 Daiwa. A few minutes later, a 70 pound kingfish had its tail hanging out the side of the cooler.

So what am I getting at? This… Was the boat slow-trolling? Was I rigged up with a stinger rig? Was my 20 pound line rigged with a bimini and a topshot? Did I have a duster in front of my bait on a downrigger with glittery attractant smeared on my baitfish?

Nope, none of that. I had a wire leader, a hook, a baitfish (an expensive one!) Less is more. Especially with the big fish. They are smart and want something that looks natural. Slow trolling makes the live bait act weird, like it is being pulled around on a string. Which is what is happening. Stinger rigs are made to catch Snakes. Schoolies. You want to catch the big slimers? Why would you use a rig that is designed to catch the babies because they short strike the bait on the ass end? Big Kingfish will completely inhale a four pound bait. And hook themselves really well in the process.

What I am getting at, is, when I am targeting trophy kings there is a certain protocol. The boat is anchored or drifting. I have a fairly heavy outfit with a smooth drag and a lot of line rigged with a short wire leader and one single Treble/ J hook/ Circle. I nose or ass hook the biggest friskiest bait I have available and chuck it in the water. If a smoker is around it does not take long. Oh, and sometimes I live chum or chunk… but only if necessary. I like to keep things simple.

Pummeling multiple species in 2011

The weather this year has been phenomenal and so has the fishing. But, honestly, the inshore fishing has been way better on the windier and nastier days. Overcast, choppy, cold? Yessir the fish are chewing on every cast. Sunny, still, warm? Holy cow we are having to work for a bite or two.

At any rate, Redfish have been chewing live bait, lures and flies. Big Speckled Seatrout have been striking the same. The Pompano and Spanish mackeral have showed up early. There are some decent sharks in the shallows that are looking for a fight. Suprise catches like inshore Gag Grouper and Cobia are making guest appearances like Kim Kardashian at a college frat party.

Oh, and the Tarpon are already here!

Who cares that Gags are closed in federal waters when you can catch SNAPPER!?

Well, actually it is a travesty of common human rights that Gag fishing is going to be closed for six months this year. The fall/winter 2010 season of grouper fishing has been one of the best in terms of quantity of fish and quality of fish being landed. Full limits of Red and Gag grouper with majority of fish well over the minimum size limit would sort of indicate that the stocks are in good shape??? Well, the fisheries scientists do not think so. So be it, there are other fish in the sea! I know one thing, the Snapper and Amberjack are going to suffer under the hands of my crew. We have already been filling the coolers with many different species of Snapper. The bag limits of Greater Amberjack are easy to attain. Along the way we are forced to catch and release Gag grouper that are absolutely beautiful, healthy, and delicious. But really? When you are catching 7 pound Mangrove Snapper and 12 pound Mutton Snapper on light spinning gear and having a blast doing it, you forget all about the pain of releasing Grouper. And believe me, a bag limit of Snapper is more fun, and tastes better than a bag limit of Grouper!

Call Captain Travis Ormond for a wicked hott Snapper trip! 941.374.1669.

weather is cold... fishing is HOT

I dont want to come off as bragging or gloating... but five days into the new year and I have already logged three very epic fishing trips.The weather had been nasty, windy, cold. Luckily the last 5 days have been warm, sunny, and agreeable. And the fish have been cooperating as well. Inshore fishing has some rod bending action, and offshore is producing coolers full of delicious seafood. Here's what I have been up to.

Sunday 1/2 I fished inshore with Chad Nelson and his father Eric. Chad has fished with me many times and we always have a good time. We had a negative tide in the backcountry and the first pothole we set up in produced the best trout of the day, a nice 22inch fish that ate a shrimp under a cork.

The same pothole was productive for some time, and we caught about 2 dozen small Redfish and several nice Trout. When the bite waned there we proceeded to the adjacent sandy depressions and picked up a few more bites from Redfish and Trout. The real sweet action came a few hours later when the tide turned and started the outgoing phase. Chad makes a perfect cast to the back side of a pothole. He immediately hooks up with a stud of a Redfish that blisters drag and send boils of turbulent water swirling to the surface. Chad fought the fish with expertise and kept the rod tip high with constant pressure on the fish as it took him in a 360 around the boat. Soon the battle royale was over and I landed the fish for him, congratulating by saying "great fish! biggest Red on my boat this year!"

We settled into that pothole and a steady bite of 17-20 inch trout and 15-25 inch Redfish ensued. We finished off the last of the shrimp for the day and also caught a few fish on plastic jigs and jerkbaits. We ended up keeping a 25 inch Red and five nice Trout for Chad and his family to fry up for dinner. I felt very priviledged to guide a father and son and put them on some good fish and make memories for them!

Some of the last weeks action!

So the water is getting a few degrees colder and whitebait is still around, but very sparse. But there are plenty of mullet. So I make one throw with the mullet net and I have enough for cutbait to last the whole day, even some to bring home for smoking and grilling. The mullet right now are nice and fat and delicious! Not only for me, but for the Redfish, Trout, and Snook as well. My game plan the last few weeks has been to deploy three rods baited with chunks of mullet, and cast topwaters or soft plastic baits while waiting for the chunks to get eaten. The topwaters have been producing some quality Trout, and some puppy drum. The big over-slot Redfish have been eating the mullet chunks. I have been catching some small snook on the lures and the chunk, and it is only a matter of time before a big girl eats one of the chunks. I have been seeing the big female Snook everywhere. They are in Lemon bay and Cayo Costa and everywhere in between.

My three favorite topwater plugs

Yo-Zuri Wack-O

Chrome (sort of) Super Spook jr.

Yo-Zuri Banana boat

Big ol Seatrout that sucked the Spook

I have a thing for chucking topwater plugs. It is an active way to fish, constantly manipulating the lure in an effort to elicit a strike. I can cover alot of water in search of areas that are holding fish. The surface strikes are always a visual treat and make for exciting fishing. If I was relegated to only one method of fishing I would choose topwaters over bait, jigs, spoons, or flies. The magic of getting the topwater into the strike zone, the technique of making the lure dance, and the reward of a vicious surface strike all come together to culminate in the highest form of inshore light tackle angling. Here are some of my practices that work for me.

First off... whatever topwater plug you choose to fish with... change out the hooks. Every plug on the market comes with hooks that are too weak, gap too small, point and barbs too big, and some plugs even have terrible split rings. SPRO makes awesome split rings, they are beefy and have a good finish that stands up to corrosion. As for hooks I use Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp 3x trebles. Size #2 (L934BTP3-2). These hooks have a wide gap, sticky sharp points, a low profile barb, and the finish is fairly resistant to corrosion. I have found that these hooks are slightly heavier than most standard topwater plug hooks. This adds a little more weight to the plug and causes it to float lower in the water. I believe this does two things. One is the plug will 'burp' or 'gurgle' more. The second thing is the plug is more likely to be slurped under the surface during the strike, as opposed to being blasted airborne by the rushing head wake created by the gamefish as it charges. This really comes into play when targeting Redfish with topwater plugs.

Each of the plugs I like essentially works the same way. The standard retrieve is what every one calls "walk the dog". It is a retrieve that is easy to master and can be done at a fast pace or much slower. A slight twitch of the rod-tip will cause the plug to dart off to one direction. The slack is reeled in, and the rodtip is twitched again, which will cause the plug to dart the opposite direction. When done correctly the plug will travel in an elongated Z pattern. Quick, short, twitches will result in a small z. Stronger twitches will cause the plug to travel more and make a much larger Z. I like to work the plug with a steady metronome like cadence. If a fish rushes the lure, making a boil, even smacks it and misses, I will speed it up and change the rhythym. A few quick snaps of the rodtip, a slight pause as if the lure needed a rest, and more twitches causing the lure to skip away. This makes the lure appear as a wounded minnow that is using all its energy to escape the predator. The gamefish will react by charging the plug and attempting to devour it.

Now comes the really hard part! DO NOT SET THE HOOK! Rearing back to strike home the steel will 9 times out of 10 cause the plug to come ripping out of the water and fly straight at you with the velocity of a speeding bullet. Remember the hooks I suggested? They will hook you real quick like if the plug comes flying straight at your face. Instead, allow the fish to strike the lure and get his lips around the plug. The velocity of the strike will give sufficient pressure to make the points of those sticky sharp Eagle Claws stick in his jaw. Once you feel the weight of the fish on the line, a sharp tug will get the business done. In actuality all that needs to be done is a few quick revolutions of the reel's crank to get the slack out of the line and come tight to the fish. The hooks and the fish do the work of setting the hook for you. Many anglers do not use topwater plugs because of the frustration from missing fish due to over zealous hooksets. Just let the fish do it for you!

Boca Grande Outfitters- something for everyone!

Welcome to Boca Grande Outfitters! A unique shop located at 375 Park ave, directly downtown in the shopping epicenter of Boca Grande, Florida. Guide services are available in the shop, as well as local fishing advice and insider infromation on the best places to dine and spend time on the island. Boca Grande outfitters is unique because of the myriad of specialty items and gear for outdoor adventures and island social life. Quality, innovative, and hard to find products set the outfitters apart from big box and chain stores.

The clothing aspect of the store has something for everyone. Great technical garments from the Patagonia line of clothing will keep outdoors enthusiasts dry, warm, and comfortable. Great garments such as The Vineyard Vines Murray shirts are perfect for snappy style during social events. Other items like boardshorts, high SPF fishing shirts, rain jackets, bathing suits, and hats are also available. A full compliment of children's clothing is also available. Some of the other clothing lines like ExOfficio, Polo, Life is good, and Needlepoint iems by Smathers and Branson offer something for everyone.

BGO has a great selection of footwear from Chaco, Keen, Teva, Vibram Five-fingers, Toms, and Leatherman ltd. And if you need sunglasses, you can choose from Costa Del Mar, Ray-ban, Smith, Maui Jim, and Kaenon.

Now for the fun stuff! The fishing gear! Scott and Sage fly rods share space with G-Loomis rods on the back wall. Several superb brands of Fly reels accompany the rods. Abel, Tibor, Nautilus, Hatch, and Hardy are all present in the reel case. A full range of weights of floating and sinking lines are available from Scientific Anglers and Rio. There is a line machine that makes loading backing and new lines a breeze. And the shop boasts the largest fly selection in Southwest Florida. There are many Puglisi Tarpon flies, Gurglers, Sliders, Kwans, Scuds. Decievers, Clousers, Merkins, Toads, Whistlers, Cockroaches, Crazy charlies, Seaducers, Gummies, and more. There are literally hundreds of patterns to choose from, with many of them tied by local guides. BGO also carries Shimano Stradics, Van Staal reels and pliers, G-loomis and St.croix spinning rods, Mirrolures, Hogy jerkbaits, and Boga grips.

If you find yourself in downtown boca grande this Tarpon season, make sure to Stop by 375 park Ave and check out Boca Grande outfitters. Or give the shop a call and get a report on the fishing action and the tides. 941-964-2445