New East Division

East Coast Girls

East West

2 & 2

Magellan GPS

The Way Back Home

www.KayakFishingClassicS.com

Spring 2013

2

When Fishing Matters

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What’s Inside

FEATURES 7 Ladies of the East

12 Finding Your Way

14 Snook

18 Stand Up

The Rise of the stand up Kayak

30 Fishing the Sashimi

34 Hardy Lads

38 2 & 2

49 Trigger Strike

DEPARTMENTS 6 Editors Letter

What Really Counts

24 Anglers Health

41 Ashley Amich

Photos She Loves

51 Seeing Red

4

53 Throwing Feathers

Cheeky Mojo 425 Reel

55 Bob’s Corner

Pine Island & Matlacha

55 7

On The Cover:

Jean McElroy

East Coast Red

18 53

Get it on...in style

Get Cheeky

www.cheekyflyfishing.com

5

Editors Letter

People always ask me if I am crazy? The short an-

swer is, well yes but I enjoy it. I am asked all the

time why I do what I do and why I keep on building

on the Kayak Fishing ClassicS? Didn’t you retire

some time ago? Again yes, I did but I retired so I

can go crazy. I am not one to just sit around and

count the clouds blowing by. I enjoy life way too much and there is

way too many cool things that I want to do.

Building the ClassicS tournament series is far from finished and I

don’t know if I live to be 200 years old that I would ever have it

completed. The challenge is great but I really do it because it is

such a fun sport and the people that I get to meet are so fantastic.

I am in a unique position to travel around the country, go fishing,

put on tournaments, meet new people and make new friends. I don’t

know of any other thing that I could do that allows me to do this.

The most important thing to me is the later; making new and won-

derful friends is the best of all. How a person is and how they are

with other people, how they help others and show kindness openly

to a strangler is what counts with me. I see this time and time

again at our kayak fishing tournaments and other kayaking

events.

It is impressive to me that in these times there is such a warm

hearted group of people, so anxious to share with and invite

others into their kayak fishing world. It just knocks me out.

Friendship is a rare item and to find so much of it in one place

is overwhelming at times and I thank you for sharing of your-

self. This is how life should be….

Captain Pat Horrigan

What Really Counts

6

7 www.DenaliPerformance.com

The 2013 Series Year has in-

troduce us to some fantastic

anglers in our East Coast At-

lantic Division and we would

like to share some new faces

with you. In particular, the

Ladies of the East.

We first met Vickie Sallee at

our east division open at the

Ladies of the East

8

could tell that living the kayak

fishing life is important to her

and that fishing just well may

be life itself to her. It’s easy to

find her, just look for her on

the water. That’s where you

will find her spending every

bit of spare time that she can.

And she doesn’t waste a pre-

cious moment of it.

world famous Mosquito La-

goon in Titusville. If you

have never been to the area

you have to put it on your

short list. It’s fantastic and

another pearl in the series.

Vickie Sallee is so excited

about fishing it is difficult to

describe. After talking with

her for a few minutes, you

Fish Like a Girl

9

www.SteveWhitlock.com

10

continued form page 7

Vickie can often be found with her

good friend, Jean McElroy who

came in 3rd place in the opener.

Jean McElroy is also one very seri-

ous competitor. Catching fish makes

her smile and she is always smiling.

Like Sallee, she is always thinking

about fishing, going fishing, fishing

or just went fishing. That’s tough to

beat but don’t take our word for it.

Just enter a ClassicS tournament and

you will find out for your self just

how serious this is to her.

The third Lady Angler of the East is

Dee Kaminski. Like the other ladies,

she is smiling all of the time and

catches fish like nobody’s business.

In fact Dee is so serious about fish-

ing that she is a kayak fishing guide

and a darn good one. What’s going

on here guys? Well I’ll tell you.

What we have here is three ladies, all

sweeter than your Grandmas punch,

that can out fish, out paddle and out

smile most of us and we think that’s

fantastic.

We don’t get to see many lady an-

glers in any tournament and we are

very, very pleased to have three de-

lightful ladies that are just so darn

good in our series. We look forward

to seeing them again as our series

progresses and am sure we will see

all of them on the winners podium.

Thanks for making it so much fun.

11

Just Add Water...

www.LiveTargetLures.com

12

By Capt. Pat Horrigan Finding your way Home Have you ever found that great fishing

hole and then several months later won-

dered; Where was that place? Now you

can ask the eXplorist 510 Marine Edition

by Magellan GPS. In short, this is one

amazing device that is much more than a

GPS.

Of course the eXplorist 510 Marine Edi-

tion will show you where you are and

where you have been. After all it is a

GPS and the Navionics navigation charts

on coastal waters and lakes are included

on a Micro SD card. The eXplorist 510

Marine also is a 3.2 mega-pixel camera

which delivers great photos right on the

units 3” screen. While that may not

sound important to you at first, let’s take

a look at that application.

While you are paddling along in your

fishing kayak the eXplorist 510 is gener-

ating your track or a bread crumb trail of

sorts. Say you locate a nice fishy place

and stake out to throw some lures and

catch some great fish. Sounds good

doesn’t’ it? So how do you find this hot

spot again? Simple, just tap the touch

screen, yes I said touch screen, select

Waypoint, name the hot spot and now

you can find it again. Let’s take it a step

further however. What fish

did you catch? What lure

did you use? What was the

tide and weather like and

what did that prize fish

look like? All of this infor-

mation and more is at your

fingertips. Just snap a

photo of your prize catch

with the 510, select the

waypoint, tap record audio

to record the information

that you want associated

with the photo and way-

point and then select save.

It’s that simple and only

takes a minute to do.

So now you are ready to paddle on to explore and find new fishing spots. Just put the

slick little unit into the suspend mode with a touch of a button to save the batteries

which last days and days. All but the GPS tracking function shuts down. When you

are ready to check where you are or mark another waypoint, just touch the button and

the eXplorist 510 comes to life. The screen turns bright and you will see where you

have been and where you are. Catch another fish; snap a photo, mark & name the

waypoint, record the audio data you want kept with the waypoint & photo then catch

some more fish.

After a few more trips and you want to return to this magic place just tap the way-

point name in the waypoint menu and it will show you where your secret fishing

holes are. The Magellan will even show you how to get to them form where you are

making the unit a literal fishing hero and your best fishing buddy ever.

Another great feature of the eXplorist 510 marine edi-

tion unit is the online sharing experience it affords.

You can capture and send screen shots to your friends

or show off your Big O’l Fish on your favorite social

media and more. The eXplorist will help you plan and

plot your next fishing trip be it in saltwater or fresh.

This premium, rugged, handheld GPS with camera,

microphone and speaker to record all of your actions

outdoors is pre-loaded with World Edition. This is a

road network of more than 200 countries along with

city points, land areas, water features and realistic

shaded relief backgrounds. You can go just about

anywhere and know where you are and record it all on

the eXplorist 510 with the marine edition.

I think the greatest single feature of this powerful little

13

unit is how simple it is to use. You

don’t need a degree in computer

science to use all of the many fea-

tures. It’s simple, fast and amaz-

ingly accurate. When we were test-

ing our first unit before inviting

Magellan to become a sponsor of

the Kayak Fishing ClassicS, we put

the eXplorist 510 marine edition

through some tough testing. We

knew it would be good, hey it’s a

Magellan but we did not expect such

a high level of accuracy that we

experienced.

We launched our kayaks into the

open Gulf of Mexico and paddled a

few miles of open water into the

backcountry of the Nature Coast of

Florida. We proceeded into the bay-

ous and crossed in and out of sev-

eral systems all with the eXplorist in

the Suspend Mode. We placed a

marker float at the mouth of a secret

creek, tapped the button to activate

the live mode and created a way-

point at the float. We recorded the

GPS location data and crossed refer-

enced it on another GPS unit on the

kayak for a comparison and future

use. We paddled back to the launch point and called it a day.

Several days later we launched the kayaks and followed the track plot on the Magellan to

the secret waypoint. We zoomed in the screen as we entered the last bayou area and fol-

lowed the track to within a few inches not yards, of the float. The backup GPS got us only

within 30’ of the float. The difference of a few inches and thirty feet could be the differ-

ence of catching or not catching fish. Or finding a launch point in a heavy sea fog but I

think not finding fish would be far worse.

As a licensed sea captain of many years, I

would highly recommend the Magellan

eXplorist 510 with the marine edition. It is

by far greatly superior to any other GPS

unit that I have ever used and is why we

invited Magellan GPS to sponsor the

Kayak Fishing ClassicS as our GPS pro-

vider. Do yourself and your loved ones a

favor. Take a look at the eXplorist 510

Marine Edition today at

www.MagellanGPS.com and order yours

today.

Photo by Al Klose

Nov. National Championship

Mosquito Lagoon, Florida TBA

14

Meet the Family

www.RiverBum.com

15

Snook... What is it about snook that just makes

us well...so crazy? Is it their elusive na-

ture or the amazing fight that always

follows a hookup? Is it perhaps sighting

a 40” beast hiding in the mangrove roots

just waiting for a poor unsuspecting bait-

fish to meander by? And what about the

take? Lets not overlook that art

form...yes art form indeed.

Well for me it’s all of the above and then

some. I love to spot a big old fat momma

hiding in the mangrove roots and entic-

ing her to come out and pound my fly. I

love to watch her blistering speed as she

turns away and returns to her quarry as if

to await a curtain call. It’s also the mel-

ody of my heart pounding in my ears and

the sweat on my hands as I prepare to

throw some feathers to her.

The sun just saying hello over the man-

grove tops and the birds coming to life

with song and the gentile flow of the tide

is interrupted by the rise of a trout and

the slurp of another big snook taking on

some breakfast. The quiet anticipation of

the impending battle that is sure to

awake all late sleepers as she thrashes

the water and crashes through the air and

grove branches trying to get away from

me is also anxiously awaited.

Over the years of fishing the flats I have

developed some degree of patience only

to be matched by anxiety. Watching her

mull about the roots, stalking and

waiting for just that right moment to

strike is amazing. Being their at the

right time to satisfy her hunger is an

experience that none shall forget.

Many anglers have captured a nice

snook or two but only a few get to

witness the backcountry drama and all

that goes along with stalking a huge

snook. I was fortunate to have a great

deal of knowledge passed on to me by

my good Capt. Cliff Martin who grew

up hunting big snook. I love to listen

to someone share their adventures in

hunting snook and it truly is a hunt.

I supposed if you fish enough in the

right places, you will eventually get

into a pretty nice snook but that is only

half of the fun. Learning the species,

its habits, the habitat that she likes,

what she likes to eat; when & why are

just a few things to know. I am fortu-

nate in the respect that several friends

of mine love to hunt snook and share

with me all that goes with it. I never

grow tired of listening to the adven-

tures.

Now all of this is not to diminish the

level of catching a smaller snook, for

indeed it is an accomplishment for

sure. Any snook is exciting to catch

and a 30” snook is electrifying to bat-

tle. Last year I had the opportunity to

take one of our photographers into the

backcountry to show him a few basics

of stalking snook.

Al had not yet caught one and was

looking to correct that shortcoming.

We came up on an area and just sat in

our kayaks to watch the water and

By Capt. Pat Horrigan

16

what was going on. I explained about

the water movement and food flow.

He began spotting feeding snook

tucked up under the protection of the

mangroves. With a bit more instruc-

tions, I paddled away so he could en-

joy the solitude and beauty of what

was about to unfold for him. Within in

a short bit of time I could hear him

hooting and carrying on. He had done

So what is it for you? Is it the joy of a

friends first snook? The retelling of the

days battles including the ones that

fooled you? They will fool you for sure.

How many times have you thought you

hook a snookasoarous only to watch her

let go of your lure as you put on the

heat? Happens more than you may think.

Perhaps for you it is the overwhelming

beauty of the species. A fierce warrior

with soft golden eyes to match her

golden tail, joined by a pronounced rac-

ing strip that some call a lateral line.

Snook are surely one of the most beauti-

ful looking fish in shallow waters.

Protecting need and benefits of protect-

ing her environment should be taught by

you to those who do not know. Just as

you pass along knowledge about catch-

ing snook, so should the knowledge of

habitat protection and cultivation be. For

all that she gives to us so should we give

to her.

it. His first snook was a nice 30” snook

that was full of anger and grace in being

fooled. After a few photos she was of

course properly released. I of course got

to listen to the story of his first snook

and how the fight went...again and again.

I could not have been happier...again and

again. Hey that’s how snook fishing

goes and as you may gather, I love it.

17

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The Rise of the Standup Kayak

19

boat but it was very heavy however it

has since been lightened.

In 2011 we got with Diablo Paddlesports

and their Adios Kayak. It was and is

standup flats fishing machine and we

have been with them since. It is an awe-

some kayak that is a blend between a

SUP and a sit on top kayak. This is not

to say that anglers did not stand up in

their standard variety of sit on top kay-

aks because many did and yes many

went for a swim from time to time.

Diablo’s concept has really sparked the

rise or revolution in the industry that is

now going after the popular technique.

In recent months Native Kayaks has

come out with their version of a stand up

fishing kayak called the Slayer which

comes in 12’ & 14’ lengths. It is not as

wide as the Diablo nor as stable but very

easy and comfortable to stand up in. The

advantage here is it is faster in the water

due to its narrower beam. The Slayer has

caused quite a stir in the industry as has

the Hobie Pro Angler.

The Pro Angler has a pedal blade drive

system to propel it through the water and

is a stand up and fish kayak. The 14’

model weighs around 140 pounds with

the pedal drive in it and has some pretty

nice features for the angler. It has grown

in popularity and commands a hefty

The idea of the modern inshore fishing

kayak is stealth. In short, you can sneak

up on em in a kayak where you cannot in

any other boat. What if the fish aren’t

moving around much? How about if they

are in holes or hiding in the mangrove

roots or grasses on the flats? Most in-

shore kayak anglers fish with artificial

baits and lures just to spice up the chal-

lenge and save a few bucks along the

way too.. So what’s the answer to this

segment of our sport? Well if you could

stand up you can certainly see more fish

more easily and increase your odds of

catching a few of them. Thus; the rise of

the standup kayak.

Back in 2009 when we were putting the

Kayak Fishing ClassicS together we

looked into all kinds of kayaks and liked

the idea of a standup yak. Being an old

flats fly fishing guide and used to a pol-

ing platform on my skiff, it just made

since to go in this direction. Well there

was not a fleet of stand up’s to choose

from and in fact we only found one that

would work. We worked a deal with

Freedom Hawk for 2010 and liked the

20

price.

Anglers can stand up and

fish in Both the Wilderness

Commander and Native

Ultimate kayaks which

resemble a canoe to the

novice eye but are really

Kayaks. Both are fine boats

and comfortable all around.

In our tournament series

we see all kinds of fishing

kayaks and the trend is

toward being able to safely

stand and fish in a highly

stable boat. Of course your

own personal balance

comes into play in any

kayak. Your height is also

a consideration where the

shorter anglers have a bal-

ance advantage in rough

water or windy conditions. All of the

boats listed above are very good and

certainly not all that there is available on

the market so look around, ask fishing

friends and test some of them. We of

course recommend the Diablo Adios but

you have to decide for yourself.

Another big trend in the fishing kayak

industry is seating. It is not surprising

when you consider that many kayak an-

glers spend 3 & 4 days a week on the

water. Many fish for several hours at a

time so support and comfort becomes an

issue. The designers at top kayak manu-

facturers have been hard at work in this

segment of our sport as evidenced by the

seating options available to anglers. The

standard strap in kayak seat has under-

gone some fantastic changes evidenced

by the Big Game model by Skwoosh.

We tested that seat and loved it so you

don’t have to run out and by a new

kayak in order to get a good seat. If you

are in the market for a new boat, take a

look at the seating options that Native

Kayak offers. They have long since been

on the cutting edge of seating comfort in

fishing kayaks and are not sitting idle.

They have designed a nifty aluminum

framed seat that is fully adjustable, has

lumbar support of course and is covered

in their 100% recyclable HiFlow® 3-D

Mesh and Textilene® Solar Screen fab-

ric which vents well to dry quickly and

keep you cool. Native Watercraft has

several chair models that are so comfort-

able that you find yourself reaching for

the foot rest lever.

Hobie also has some very comfortable

seats and their latest design can be found

in their Pro Angler models. The fully

adjustable seat will allow any angler to

find their comfort zone for hours of fish-

ing.

Diablo has some very useful seating op-

tions including a fold up Larry Chair that

tucks neatly away into a dry bag allow-

fishing day after day in all condi-

tions. They act upon this gath-

ered information and our kayaks

just keep getting better. We

thank all of them for their hard

work and investment in our fa-

vorite sport.

Now let’s go fishing!

21

ing you to clip in a conventional seat to

lower the angler out of the wind. This

greatly reduces wind resistance if you

get caught in a blow. In addition Diablo

has partnered with Yeti Coolers and

have come up with a cooler seat that

attaches to their ‘Diablo Deck’ which is

an option new for 2013. You can also

attach a hard mounted seat or other op-

tions available. Combine that setup with

Diablo’s Leaning Post and you are ready

for some very serious stand up fishing.

One of the reasons that we like Diablo so

much are the versatile combinations

available so anglers can easily set up

their Adios to suit their needs.

The great thing about having so many

top quality kayaks manufactures work-

ing hard to earn your interest and respect

is that they all push each other. The

smart ones ask and listen to the anglers

who are actually on the water kayak

22

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23

www.DiabloPaddleSports.com

24

www.Skwoosh.com

Experience the comfort of Skwoosh.

Fish All Day

The problem with the sun is that we are

in it a lot. If you love to kayak fish, and

all of us do, we are going to spend much

of our fishing time during the daylight

hours. All of us are aware of the negative

effects over exposure to the sun can

cause but what do we really do about it?

All of us know to use some kind of pro-

tection but there are no guarantees. Natu-

rally fair-hair anglers are more suscepti-

ble to coming off of the water looking

like a bad piece of toast but anyone can

experience the related problems to over

exposure. So let’s take a look at what we

can really do to protect ourselves. We

think some of the solutions may surprise

even the most experienced anglers.

To begin with let’s look at what really

happens to our skin over time as we

spend year after year in pursuit of our

favorite sport. As we know, the sun

emits ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultravio-

let B (UVB) rays. What you may not

know is the sun also emits UVC rays but

they are not a concern as the earth’s at-

mospheric ozone absorbs it. The big

concern is the A & B ultraviolet rays as

they can quickly penetrate your skin to a

harmful level. The affect on your skin

can happen during any temperature and

any season of the year. That’s important

information because many anglers have

The Problem with the Sun

our skin cells. This is not good to say the

least and damaged DNA may lead to

overgrowth of new skin cells while cells

killed off by UVB rays lead to sunburn

which is a risk factor in skin cancer. All

of this increases our chances of getting

carcinoma along with melanoma skin

cancers which are the most common and

can kill you. Think about that.

Naturally as we age we change in ap-

pearance, but some people just don’t

look their age. UV radiation effect and

damage the collagen and elastin that give

our skin strength, elasticity and firmness.

Damaged proteins in the skin lead to

early aging of the skin. UVB rays stimu-

late the production of the skin cells

told us that they don’t worry

about it in the winter months as

much as they do in the summer

time.

According to the Mayo Clinic,

skin cancer is the abnormal

growth of skin cells that often

times develop on sun-exposed

areas of our skin. The epidermis,

our top layer of skin, is made up

of three types of cells called the

squamous, basal and the melanoctes. The

process of our epidermis constantly

shedding and re-

placing new cells

is controlled by

the DNA of our

skin cells. UVB

radiation from the

sun is capable of

causing skin can-

cer because it kills

skin cells and

damages the DNA

of our skin cells.

UVA radiation

weakens the im-

mune system of

25

By Capt. Pat Horrigan

Anglers Health

26

which results in a thick leathery skin.

Age spots are caused by excessive pro-

duction of melanin and look like flat,

brown, black or gray spots on the skin.

Well we think you get the picture here; if

you spend time in the sun, unprotected

you are going to damage your skin. You

may look much older than you are and

you may also get skin cancers. Now let’s

look at what we can do to protect our-

selves.

It is much easier to do everything you

can to prevent these types of skin prob-

lems than to deal with them at a later

date. Products today are getting much

better as scientists learn more and de-

velop new protection for us. Not too

many years ago there just wasn’t much

protection from the sun beyond light

colored clothing and that wasn’t much

considering UV protection clothing is a

relatively new

item. Today

the sun block

creams and

sprays have a

much higher

protection

level and as

you may have

seen there is a

large variety of

SPF levels to

choose form.

This is a good

place to start.

It is suggested

to that you use

the highest

SPF rating sun

block that you

can find such as SPF 70 that

protects you from both UVA

& UVB, is broad spectrum,

waterproof and contains vita-

mins A,C & E. Some of these

products can be a bit greasy

and can sweat into your eyes

but there is a solution by

Neutrogena. Their Ultra Sheer

sunscreen has a SPF of 100+

and is a broad spectrum. It is

oil free yet waterproof and

won’t clog pores and is PABA free. An-

other nice thing is that it doesn’t have

that weird smell some brands have. It

won’t sweat into your eyes and we use it

on our face and other exposed areas of

skin while fishing. That leads us into the

next part of this article which is the pro-

tective clothing.

The Shirt: Much of the clothing we pur-

chase is based on appearance and fash-

ion. This naturally comes into play be-

cause who doesn’t want to look good?

The manufactures of outdoor apparel

know this and work hard at it for all of

us to enjoy. Many offer SPF protection

built right into the fabric which we think

is fantastic. Denali Performance Apparel

and ExOffico have this protection in

their products and are both sponsors of

the Kayak Fishing ClassicS because they

are really very, very good companies

that are looking out for you. Both Denali

& ExOfficio make great looking apparel

so you can enjoy the best of both worlds

with great looks and protection. ExOffi-

cio also makes a line of fishing pants/zip

offs that are second to none and an up/

downer hat that also offers additional

protection for us.

Feet & Hands: Kokatat makes great high

quality kayak booties that protect your

feet from the elements and Mangrove

Sungloves make the very best ultra light

sun protection gloves in the world. The

Mangrove’s were made for the fly angler

in mind but we wear ours for all fishing

styles and paddle in them with no ill

effects. Because they are so light weight,

cool and protective with never take off

the Kokatat’s or the Mangrove’s while

on the water.

The Hat: Another protective item is the

hat. A ball cap just isn’t going to cut it

on the water in a kayak. Many anglers

wear an up/downer which is like a ball

cap with a larger bill and has a drop

down piece to cover your ears and the

back of your neck as well as your bit of

your face. A jungle style hat is also an-

other popular style with a short brim

around the entire hat that offers some

protection but probably isn’t the best

choice. If you combine a buff with any

hat, your are upping your face, ears and

neck protection greatly. A buff is a cloth

tube, open on both ends and pulls on

27

over your head. Most offer good SPF

protection as well. If you use a good

sunscreen/block, a buff and a good hat

you are tipping the scales of protection

heavily in your favor. So let’s see here,

we have your face, ears, neck and head

protected. Your legs, body, feet and

hands covered so what left? Oh yes your

eyes!

Eyes: It is important to keep in mind that

the damage from the sun is coming from

the sky and from the water as well. The

sunlight bounces or reflects off of the

water and gets you again. Your eyes

really take a beating. A mirror layer

made into your sunglasses cuts down the

glare from the sun and from the water.

Ever notice the gritty feeling you get in

your eyes after a day in the sun? Are

your eyes red and bloodshot when you

come off of the water? Well like sun-

screen, there are different grades and

qualities of protection found in sun-

sunglasses. We did a great deal of re-

search in this area and surprised to find

that although many manufactures claim

they offer 100% of UVA & UVB protec-

tion it is really a distortion of fact. Due

to advertising laws in this area, a manu-

facture can make this clam if they meet

certain government

requirements that are

based on normal use.

Being out on the wa-

ter during a hot,

sunny Florida day for

8 to 10 hours 3 or 4

days a week is not

considered normal or

common. There are

also different inten-

sity levels of A & B UV rays and as long

as the federal minimums are met, manu-

factures can make these clams.

We found that Ocean Waves Sunglasses

is the only sunglasses manufacturer in

the world that actually really blocks

100% of all harmful UV

rays and then some.

Ocean Waves also en-

hances certain light waves

and suppresses others to

not only protect your

eyes, they make sighting a

fish in the water much

easier. Our good friend

Bob Bramblet placed sev-

eral objects in the water

for a sunglasses test. He

used several manufactures

lenses for this and filmed

the test. Well long story short, Ocean

Waves made the objects ‘pop’ while

other lenses would not allow you to see

some of the objects at all. The objects

were not hidden and were simply fanned

out so that you had to look for them at

different degrees of the compass such as

looking for fish.

In addition to the superior protection and

fish sighting capabilities that OW’s af-

ford, they are very stylish which is im-

portant. Now you know why we invited

Ocean Waves to become our official

eyewear sponsor. And yes you can these

same glasses in your prescription. So

what happens to your eyes in the sun?

Without proper protection from the harsh

effects of the sun, your eyes may suffer

strain, cornea and retina deterioration

and worse such as ulcers and tumors.

Spooky when you think about it.

At the Kayak Fishing ClassicS we con-

sider many factors before inviting a

company to become a sponsor. It is a lot

of work and expense to us and we do it

for you. Our sponsors go to great lengths

to offer products that not only work well

but are also the very best in their given

field. Take advantage of these efforts

and please support these companies that

truly have your best interest at heart.

28

www.PrincetonTec.com

Find Your Way in the Darkness...

29

www.DOA.com

Have a D.O.A. D.A.Y.

30

www.MaxPaddle.com

31

Fishing the Sashimi

Joe was given a red Sashimi with circle

hooks on it. He said it really wasn’t the

right color for this time of year and our

reply was simple and impactful; ‘it’ll

change Joe’ and a big grin flashed across

his face. We were speaking his langue.

Joe did not care for the circle hooks for

inshore kayak fishing as he found them

to be a problem and fish were getting

away. He changed them out and went to

a standard saltwater treble hook like

those on other Yo-Zuri lures.

Well the nasty weather and cold fronts

finally gave us a break and Joe was back

We asked top angler Joe Komyati to take

some time and learn how to fish the Sa-

shimi Lure made by Yo-Zuri and he

agreed. The lure is very unique in that it

actually changes color while in motion,

much like a bait fish does when it senses

danger or is frightened. The action is

incredible but there is even more to this

lure than meets the eye. The body of the

Sashimi has raised ridges that generate

different vibration sounds at different

speeds as you move it through the water.

When a fish is distressed due to fright or

injury for example, it will emit vibra-

tions into the water. This unfortunately

for the bait fish rings

the dinner bell for

predators come run-

ning.

We knew it was an

awesome bait with

all of the amazing

features but it is new

to the inshore fish-

ing set. Joe got

pretty excited about

the Yo-Zuri product and could not wait

to try them or should we say, learn them.

That’s right you need to learn a bit about

this one. Fishing the

lures at different speeds

and patterns, such as a

jerk retrieve versus a

walk the dog for exam-

ple, will cause the Sa-

shimi to change colors

differently and emit dif-

ferent distress signals.

That was a real jaw drop-

per for us and for Joe as

well.

Knowledge Base

32

Fishing the Sashimi

at it. He got the hang of work-

ing the lure in different fashions

and couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘That darn thing changes color

like a bait fish’ commented Joe

in a conversation with us. If you

watch bait move through the

water on a sunny day you will

see several different colors

twinkle in the water as the sun

reflects on their scales like

thousands of mini prisms. We

asked Joe to send us photos as

he started catching fish and we

figured the size of the fish

would reflect in his learning

curve. It did not take long….

Joe is consistently catching fish

with the Sashimi and can’t wait

to go snook hunting with it and

has requested the green color

scheme model. It’s on the way

Joe and we can’t wait to see

what he cooks up with this one. The point here is that an angler was will-

ing to not only try something new, but to

increase his knowledge base and it

opened him to an entirely

new class of fishing and a

completely new way to

catch a fish. Yo-Zuri engi-

neers really do think like a

fish and now so does Joe….

In case you were wondering about the

shirt Joe is wearing in the big trout

photo, he won in one or our recent tour-

naments. The Protective UV shirt is

made by Denali...one of our great spon-

sors. www.DenaliPerformance.com

www.Yo-Zuri.com

Knowledge Base

33

www.CummingsNets.com

Get the Best…

Slickest...

Best Casting...

Strongest Braid Ever

34 www.SpiderWire.com

Fight the Big Fish...

Nothing Gets Away!

35

Anglers Corner

When the weather is of high winds it

seems to call the hardy lads of yore to

action. There is something about the

howl and scream of the wind in your

ears, the spray of the ocean in your face

and the knowing that the biggest of fish

will ignore it all and go find something

to eat. This weather is just perfect and it

beckons the hardiest of soles.

Just knowing the giant of a lifetime is

out there on the flats searching for an

easy meal to satisfy his hunger and fuel

his wonder lust to prowl his familiar

waters. Such is the life of a huge fish. He

can’t afford to hunker down too long as

his behemoth body demands food and

lots of it. This is the weather and the fish

that make legends…

The weather was to be calm early morn-

ing long enough to paddle his kayak into

with and believe me, if you hook a 40

pound redfish in 12” of water it quickly

becomes a battle. Picture this; you are in

a little plastic kayak, no motor only a

paddle, lightweight rod and reel, the

wind is, well you get the picture. Every-

thing is in favor of the fish in this

fight…everything.

The fish knows where to run and what to

run through. He knows where he can

break you off and how to twist the line

around your head. He can jump over you

and swim under you. He can take you for

a ride that you will never forget, rip up

all of your gear and them swim away

leaving you to sob and contemplate why

you do this crazy stuff in the first place.

Well the answer is simple; it’s the clos-

position several miles away. The winds

were to shift to Northeast driving water

and baitfish right to where he planned to

ambush a monster redfish which the Ba-

nana River is known for. A forty pound

redfish doesn’t get to be that size out of

luck. He is smart, cunning and a savage,

brutal hunter. He shows his pray no

quarter and the hardy angler, Jose Vidal

knew how to play right into his

strengths. Seeing a monster redfish and

catching one is two separate things. If

you can figure out how to put the two

things together, well then you really

have something.

After he reached his zone of opportunity

Jose set up and watched for the tell tail

signs of the giant quarry in shallow wa-

ter. He saw such a sign but it was not the

mark of the beast he wanted to do battle

Of High Winds and Hardy Lads

By Capt. Pat Horrigan

Huge Banana River Redfish caught by

Jose ‘Pepi’ Vidal…..Nice!

Photo By Redfish Chuck Levi

36

est thing we have to grabbing a rhino by

the tail.

As Jose or Pepi as his friends call him,

watched for the guest of honor to make

his appearance the wind continued to

build from the north. This was good as it

made the tall waves topped with white

froth of the middle of the river. The set

of the waves were close and deep which

was perfect to drive the big fish into the

shallow flats in search of food. It had

been a cold winter and it wasn’t over

quite yet and the big reds needed to

warm and nourish themselves on the

sunny flats.

As the day wore on the wind buzzed at a

steady 20 mph it only served to harden

the resolve of this highly skilled angler

as others got off of the water. Then it

happened. He spotted a huge push of

water on the shallow flats. This was a

big fish pushing water around not unlike

that of the bow wake of a submarine

making way for deeper waters. It was a

call to action, an alarm of anticipation so

powerful that it makes your head swim

for a moment. A cold sweat breaks out

Anglers Corner Continued

and you can feel the butterflies zipping

around in your gut. Man this is living.

Pepi slowly and silently paddled into

position to make his attack. He knew he

would only have one shot at this big boy

as the wind would push him past the

target in no time at all.

Pepi focused, made a perfect cast and let

the bait come to rest…twitch, twitch…

Bam! He set the hook and it was game

on. The beast rose from the shallow

depths of the flats to show its mighty

bronze back, swirled and made a line

screaming run halfway to Texas. Pepi

gave chase as the wily red uncorked all

of his cunning to get free only to be

matched move to move by the equally

crafty angler. The powerful fish seemed

to be yielding to the pressure applied,

tried to slack the line and made another

spool clearing run. It was off to the races

again with kayak, Pepi and all that goes

with him.

Beginning to tire now the mighty red

slowed the pace of the fight and Pepi

took full advantage of it. He put his gear

to work as the wind was unrelenting

while blasting the salty spray into his

eyes. Suddenly all of the crashing and

thrashing in the water stopped. The fish

finally gave up and was brought boat

side but now what? What do you do with

a 40 pound redfish once you get a hold

on it? It’s not like lipping a bass. Every

time Pepi tried to lift the beast, his kayak

tried to scoot out from under him. He

finally got the denizen of the depths out

of the water and into the kayak for a few

nice photos.

Fortunately Pepi’s friend Redfish Chuck

saw that he needed a hand with the crea-

ture and came to assist with the photos,

revival and release of the fish, unharmed

to fight another day. As the two of them

headed back to base camp, Pepi relived

the battle with Redfish Chuck and there

was no need for exaggeration; the

mighty rhino red measured a whopping

39” in length. Pepi did not measure the

girth of the warrior as he wanted to get

him back into the water as quickly as

possible.

Although Pepi called it a nice bull red I

think I’ll call it the raging red rhino of

Banana River.

Photo By Redfish Chuck Levi

37

If you tie flies, get in touch

with your doctor…

Dr. Slick, maker of the finest,

innovative fly tying tools in the

world and then some.

Available at your local Dealer or contact Dr. Slick

www.DrSlick.com

38

Your Hands Do A Lot For You.

Do a Little Something For Them….

Mangrove Sun Gloves

Found wherever TFO fishing equip-

ment is sold

39

As you know the Kayak Fishing

ClassicS now has two divisions, a

Gulf Coast and an East Coast. So

how’s that going, you may ask?

Well great in fact. So what has

gone down thus far in the tourna-

ments at the end of 2 tournaments

each?

If you have been following on our

website and in kayak fishing

magazines around the planet you

know the score. We opened the

2013 series year in January as we

do each year. We opened in

Tampa Bay with the Old Tampa

Bay Classic which was a 3 redfish

understand that Statham has been

kayak fishing for big reds for a

long time and is a very good an-

gler. But still some competitive

hackles went up and Statham was

a marked man for the next East

Division tournament. (All in fun

of course).

March 9 brought us back to the

Gulf Division for the Fort De

Soto Classic and again Statham

won the 2 redfish & 1 trout tour-

nament. He now held the series

lead in both the Gulf & East divi-

sions and had everyone vowing to

out fish him. That’s sports

tournament and was won by

Chuck Statham.

Next we went over to the east se-

ries division for the opener on the

right side of the state. We opened

with the Mosquito Lagoon Red-

fish Classic on February 9 and it

was awesome. This too was a

three redfish tournament and was

also won by Chuck Statham who

had never fished the lagoon be-

fore. This left some of the anglers

wondering how that happened. A

Gulf Coast angler fishes a place

that he had never fished and wins

the tournament? Will you need to

At the End of 2 & 2

40

2 & 2 cont.

though. Everyone is always after

number 1 and this is no exception.

Could anyone do it? Several had

said they were going to take him

in the next tournament and leads

us to the Banana River.

On April 5 & 6 we back over to

the east side and for the Banana

River Classic, a 2 red, 1 trout

tournament.

April 5 was

pre-fish day

and it was a

fairly nice day

with afternoon

winds. Not

bad. On tour-

nament day,

April 6 the

contestants

launched at

6:30 am after

receiving their

fishing tokens.

The wind built throughout

the day and concluded

with several anglers only

catching fish but this time things

were a bit different.

Andrew Mixon took top podium

with the days only three fish catch

of 2 reds and 1 trout. Jose Vidal

took second podium with two

nice redfish of which one was of

epic size. Where was Chuck

Statham? He came in third po-

dium with a trout. Vidal had been

in second place in the east series

standings but this changed every-

thing.

Jose Vidal had taken command of

the series lead pushing Statham

back to second place. Andrew

Mixon now is in third place in the

standings and the race is on. The

outcome of this tournament

changed the East Division stand-

ings and may have put the brakes

on Statham’s domination. We’ll

see because now Vidal is the

marked man….

41

www.BlackDogRods.com

Handle the Big Ones with BlackDog Rods

42

Photos of Ashley Amich

43

We know that you will enjoy the photographic works of Ashley Amich. She recently joined the

Kayak Fishing ClassicS as one of our special photographers and you will see her on the water and

at awards in both the East and Gulf series divisions.

When you see Ashley please say hello. You are in for a treat as she is a very good angler as well.

Look for photos by AshleyA on our website and in all of our publications. Ashley is a photographic

arts major at major college and is serving an internship with us. We are glad to have her join us and

as you may tell, she likes horses too.

44

45

46

47

www.MirrOlure.com

Turn On The Bite!

48

MADE TO FISH

www.ExOfficio.com

49

Recently we gave our friend Vickie

Sallee a pack of the Big Hammer swim

baits to try out. Vickie is a very accom-

plished angler and competes in our East

Coast division. We have learned that it is

sometimes difficult to get anglers to try

something new but wanted a good angler

to use the Big Hammer swim baits that

had never used them before. Vickie vol-

unteered so we gave her a pack

of the 4” Bay Smelt which is

not commonly found where she

fishes. The purpose of this was

for her to use a lure that was

different from what she has

ever used and the fish had not

seen a lot of. We wanted her to

take a look at the fish reaction

to the action that the lure im-

parts.

Big Hammer swim baits are a

unique soft plastic, multi col-

ored, high action lure that is

new to the ClassicS and the

anglers in Florida for the most

part. We know by our testing

that this should be a killer lure

by the action that it creates.

Our job is to get it in the hands

of anglers and start catching

fish.

Vickie used a small red jig

head with the big bait to make it look

wounded. She cast it into a school of

mullets that were grazing the flats. The

small jig head kept the weight to a mini-

mum as she was fishing in only 2’ of

water. Vickie jerked the lure on the fall,

raised her rod to left the Hammer and

repeated the action. Bam! A nice redfish

hit the lure “HARD” said Vickie.

I know exactly what she means. We ex-

perienced the same violent strikes in our

testing of the lures. Judging by the pho-

tos that Vickie sent to us, the red ham-

mered the lure as was not about to let it

get away. In our testing we bent down

the barbs on the jigs so we could get our

jigs back. The lures just excite the fish so

much that it trips a very powerful strike.

We didn’t tell Vickie about any of that. I

just asked her to try them out for us.

When a fish hits a lure with everything

it’s got you know that the lure either

really rang the dinner bell or made the

fish very angry. You’ll see what we are

talking about in the

photos that Vickie sent

to us. The Big Ham-

mer is deep into the

mouth of the fish.

Vickie really liked the swim bait and

requested a smaller size and in different

colors. I think she liked the lures and the

strikes they produce. It was very nice of

her to do that for us and we appreciate it

very much and yes, there are some 3”

Big Hammer swim baits on the way to

her.

Let’s stop and think about this for a mo-

ment. An experienced angler using a lure

that she has never fished before in chilly

winter water and experienced a violent

strike. Fish in cold water slow down…

way down. Their strikes are generally

slow and soft to the point of being al-

most undetectable. So what gives? Why

Trigger the Strike and

50

such a heavy hit by a common size red-

fish? We think that the company came

up with the perfect name for their

lures.

The main body of the swim bait is

shaped like a bait fish and many of

the lures have layers of colors to

emulate the look of a certain bait

which is why they are all hand

poured. Big Hammer designers

came up with a tail design that

really calls fish and triggers the strike.

The entire body action of the lure just

screams come and get it. Visit our web-

site Big Hammer page to learn more

about them and to place an order with

them at http://www.swimbait.com

Trigger the Strike

51

www.kokatat.com

Protect Your Feet...They Deserve It...

52

strike. A longer 8’ rod will be

just right to make super long

casts while staying well out of

their “bubble”.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll

be the right track and landing big Red-

fish in no time. Be sure to work both

ends of the tides to “track” or pattern

fish movement and behavior and ALL-

WAYS log your catches!!

www.phatfishkayakcharters.com

will be hunting but very wary. I

blew out a school by simply

coughing from over 50 yards

away! Poling or drifting your

yak or even getting out and

wading while in search mode is

mandatory for the sketchy ones.

If you spot a school be patient,

sit up-tide from them, be quiet

and let them come to you. Try

using lighter gear in the 8-10lb

class using a 14-20lb fluorocar-

bon leader to maximize the

Winds, rain and

every other act of

nature had me on

the water during

early bird hours.

The beginning of

the week started

off pretty slow but

the last couple of

days had me see-

ing nothing but

red, Redfish that

is.

Over slot Red-

fish seem to have

moved in all over

the flats. Cut pin-

fish, ladyfish and

mullet,( frozen

seem to have

worked best) have

caught some nice

fish for the live

baiters but lure

junkies (like me)

have been releas-

ing the pigs on

lures such as

Slayer Inc. Lure

Co.’s new SSB in

Molten and Camo.

These “Bruisers”

can be

found

spread

out in pot holes and cruising

mangrove shorelines. The last

hour of the falling tide pro-

duced the best fish. Keep an eye

for hyperactive Mullet or sur-

face activity. My bigger catches

have all been semi-lone fish in

super shallow water less than

2’.

Areas such as the Kitchen, mouth of

the Alafia and Cockroach bay

are all great places to start

searching for them. Schools

Seeing Red By Derick Burgos

53 www.Facebook.com/FishTailsApparel

Throwing Feathers

54

Kind of a 1930’s saying; Getting Cheeky

but it is appropriate when you look at the

meaning. If a reel can be insolent, impu-

dent or saucy then the Mojo425 is in-

deed Cheeky. The new reel was two

years in the making and it treats hard

fighting fish with insolent disdain and

contempt.

Here on the Gulf the inshore bruisers

such as tarpon, huge redfish and snook

are well known for cooking the guts out

of a good fly reel in a matter of minutes.

The Cheeky Mojo 425 laughs off all

such attempts as its sealed Evo synthetic

disc drag will never let you down. Al-

though weighing in at only 7.0 oz and

sporting a 4.25” frame and Max Arbor,

this tough reel is made to dish out a

smack down to all comers who dare

cross its path. Lightweight, machined

aluminum, easy L/R conversion, quick

change spool and a reel case to stash it

in. What more could you want? How

about stylish good looks? The Cheeky

line has you covered there as well.

Absolutely flawless workmanship by

world class craftsmen go into each and

every Cheeky fly reel. Take it out of the

box and be prepared to feast your eyes

upon an impressive display of sheer

beauty and power….it’s that nice.

Break Down: The all important drag is

completely sealed for life. The discs are

made of PTFE composite that out per-

forms Rulon, carbon fiber and cork in

testing. Stacked alternating stainless

steel & composite discs yield impressive

strength, stopping power, smooth startup

and great heat dissipation. The drag sys-

tem package is completely sealed by

aerospace grade o-rings that keeps eve-

rything out. Blistering, screaming runs

are no problem for this baby.

Max Arbor is a Cheeky innovation.

Large arbors have been around for a

while but MAX

Arbor keeps line

memory a thing of

the past and takes

up line as fast as a

big fish can run

with it. The Mojo

425 holds about

20% more line than

other reels thanks

to the B2 Channel

design. This re-

serve backing bank

increases line ca-

pacity without

weakening or com-

promising the ar-

bor….a nifty feature that is sure to come

in handy.

Weight: Being lightweight does not

equate to being a lightweight when it

comes to this reel. The design engineer-

ing is impressive and due to the design

there is no worry of ever experiencing

metal fatigue or failure.

Spool Change: Leave the tool box at

home where it belongs. Simple, secure,

one hand.

Retrieve Direction Change: Again very

simple. Just flip the bearing over to go

from right hand to left hand retrieve.

Nice…

Finish: Outstanding!

Everyone here has been trying to get

their hands on my Cheeky and it’s not

going to happen. It’s been a lesson in

frustration trying to get out on the water.

We went from winter to storm after

storm to what now looks like summer.

We lined up our photographers for this

Friday to hopefully get some great action

shots. Reds are always great fun to catch

on fly and tarpon season is just around

the corner. More to come as we hunt up

some big snook….

Getting Cheeky...

55

Pine Island and Matlacha invoke

images of history and intrigue.

The area has long been an adven-

ture destination for anglers from

around the world. The Calusa

inhabited Pine Island since

around the year 300 at the mound

-site now known as Pineland.

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de

León landed near the area in

1513, and careened his ship for

repairs in Pine Island Sound. Af-

ter the Calusa empire collapsed in

the 18th century due to war and

diseases, the island was only

sparsely inhabited until the 1870s.

There are also local island stories

and varied accounts of pirates

such as Jose Gaspar, the self-

proclaimed King of Pirates, being

on and around Pine Island.

Pine Island Sound was designated

as an Aquatic Preserve in 1970.

At 54,000 acres, it’s the second

largest preserve in the area. The

sound stretches from Charlotte

Harbor and Boca Grande Pass to

the south approximately 20 miles

to the Sanibel Causeway. Vast

amounts of water move through

the many passes along Sanibel,

Captiva and Cayo Costa islands.

The area is made up of vast

grassy flats with deep sandy pot-

holes and lots of mangrove shore-

line. There are many small man-

grove islands, as well as small

oyster bars creating an excellent

habitat for redfish, trout, snook,

tarpon and sharks.

Kayak fishing has grown quite

popular in the area and many

kayak launch areas have been es-

tablished. In Matlacha, the Matla-

cha Community Park offers a free

launch into the pass that covers

the east side of Pine Island. Head-

ing south, kayakers can enjoy the

launch at Tropical Point at the

end of Tropical Acres Dr. This

launch allows access to Manatee

Bay and incredible fishing oppor-

Pine Island & Matlacha By Bob Bramblet

56

tunities. The Pine Island Com-

mercial Marina on the west side

of Pine Island is open Monday

thru Friday, but is limited to com-

mercial use only. Recreational

anglers can use the ramp on Sat-

urdays, Sundays and Lee County

recognized holidays. Pineland, an

area at the northwest side of Pine

Island, has a very limited public

launch. The Pineland Marina re-

cently opened a kayak ramp a

short distance away for a nominal

fee. These launches place anglers

upon beautiful grass flats and

long stretches of mangrove shore-

line.

Fishing in Pine Island Sound is all

about the tides. Summer brings

flood tides causing redfish and

snook to cruise the mangroves.

Top water lures such as a Zara

Spook or Topdog work well,

while paddle tail jigs and other

soft plastics produce later in the

day. A chunk of cut lady fish

tossed under the mangrove

branches is a sure way to find a

large redfish. Winter produces

negative tides and that brings the

fish to the flats. It’s not un-

common to see plenty of

tailing redfish on an incom-

ing tide feeding on crabs.

Live shrimp or shrimp

lures will get their attention

as well as top water lures.

Whatever the time of year,

Pine Island offers plenty of

hospitality. Great restau-

rants such as Bert’s or The Per-

fect Cup offer great food for refu-

eling after a long day paddling.

The Tarpon Lodge is an historic

inn right on the water in Pineland

and offers reasonable rates for

overnighters. Great fishing and

amenities abound in Pine Island

and make it easy to cross this fa-

mous area off your bucket list.

57

www.BendingBranches.com

When Quality is a Requirement

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I think the snook is my friend, Paul

Phipps’ favorite fish – or it’s got to be at

least tied for first. Recently, we went out

in his boat at night with his son, Mala-

chi, in search of the often picky linesider

in hopes of bringing a few home for din-

ner. There’s nothing quite like fresh bat-

tered snook nuggets dropping in some

hot oil and hearing that sweet sizzle,

ultimately falling onto the dinner plate

and seeing that crispy golden brown

crust – I’m drooling just thinking about

it.

I had heard a lot about these newer lures

that had been out for a while and how

everyone had been catching snook after

snook with them and wanted to give

them a try. So getting my gear ready I

to the next level and delivers and excel-

lent representation of a bait fish.

Anxiously we launched the boat and

started making our way to a local bridge.

Paul and I always have a great time fish-

ing together; telling jokes, making up

lyrics while singing songs and just relax-

ing as we enjoy nature to its fullest – and

it’s even better when his children go to

get in on the action. As we were getting

close to the bridge it seemed like every

fisherman with a boat got the memo that

the snook were biting because we could-

n’t find a spot near an available piling!

This was a perfect opportunity to try a

few new areas we had always wanted to

work so we made the decision to en-

deavor around some shallow water for a

took a brand new Live Target mullet

twitch bait out of its package and tied it

on my fifty pound fluorocarbon leader.

The hooks looked extremely beefy so

there was no need to exchange them out

for aftermarket hooks that I usually put

on new plugs. It was nice to get a prod-

uct that you could just tie on your line

and not worry about having the hooks

pull out on a quality fish, which gave me

immediate assurance that I could tighten

down my drag. The finish and paint on

the mullet was unbelievable, rather, to-

tally believable! Compared to the mullet

pushing through the river it was an easy

“match the hatch” lure and I was totally

pumped to start giving it some tosses.

The company definitely takes lure detail

The Picky Snook By Mark Naumovitz

59

while.

The tide was incoming and the current

was starting to pick up as we trolled our

way over to a bright light along some

docks which looked promising. As any

other twitch bait, the Live Target mullet

threw long and like a bullet, and I started

working it with my 2-1-2 retrieval - also

I noticed that it had very good swim-

ming action when reeled semi-fast and

consistently. No later than three casts

and I felt a hard bump that resembled the

bottom or getting stuck on a log, but

milliseconds later felt more like a hefty

fish as it started to take out drag. That

feeling of excitement and adrenaline

quickly kicked in as I called for Paul to

and we found an available bridge piling

to get near and throw some heavy jigs

around to get to the bottom. As Malachi

and I tended the boat this time, within a

few minutes Paul was able to retrieve a

slot snook as well and with a close com-

bat splashing battle that echoed fiercely

under the bridge. Another round of hoot-

ing and hollering went on for a few min-

utes and a second snook was added to

the live well. You know it’s a good night

when you have a certain size and species

of a fish to go after and that’s exactly

what you bring home. I tell you one

thing though; I can’t wait to go after a

slam with my new mullet twitch bait lure

in the kayak. Maybe that will be the next

story.

Visit Live Target Lures at

Author Mark Naumovitz, writes an

online paddlecraft column for Florida

Sportsman and also operates

get the net. The

snook made a few

nice runs which

moved me from

the bow of the

boat, to the stern,

and on to the port

side where we

were finally able

to scoop it up.

Not bad for the

first few casts of

the new Live

Target! Upon

some measure-

ments and some

photos we had

our first soap fish

for the live well

and some slimy

high fives went

all around. As

time elapsed and

a few other dock

lights were vis-

ited, we decided

it was time to

find a spot back

at the bridge to

pull one up from

the deep.

It was Paul’s turn

The Picky Snook

Mark holding a nice snook caught on Live Target Mullet.

www.marxsportinggood.com

www.LiveTargetLures.com

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