Location:  Venice Inlet

Time: 2100-2330

Tides: Outgoing

Weather: Light southerly wind

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 15 snook to 21" between 2 anglers

Notes: All fish caught on the fly. Schminnows as well as my experimental dock light shrimp fly were productive. Fish were very active through the night and were still feeding when we left. Fish were feeding heavily on small shrimp.

Venice Inlet Fishing 6-16-16

Location:  Venice Inlet

Time: 1900-2130

Tides: Incoming

Weather: Moderate westerly wind and isolated thunderstorms

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 60+ snook to 22 inches between 2 anglers

Notes: Found small snook schooled up and caught them practically every cast for about 45 minutes as the sun was setting. They took flies (Schminnow, Wooly Toad) as well as DOA shrimp. Caught one snook out of the docklights after sunset before the rain chased us off.

CoCoPlum Canal Fishing 6-16-16

Location:  CoCoPlum waterway

Time: 0600-0900

Tides: N/A

Weather: Light southerly wind isolated showers

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 4 bluegill to 11 inches, 3 stumpknocker

Notes: Very slow fishing day but set a personal best for largest bluegill on the fly. Got rained on today as well! 

Lemon Bay Fishing 6-13-16

Location:  Lemon Bay

Time: 0630-1000

Tides: Outgoing

Weather: Light wind out of the east, isolated showers.

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 2 small trout and a small snook

Notes: Significantly less active than last time. Morning rain may have had an effect

Lemon Bay 5-20-16

Location:  Lemon Bay

Time: 0630-1100

Tides: Low at 0700

Weather: Light southerly wind

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 11 Snook to 21", one redfish at 16", one sheepshead 14", 8 Mangrove snapper to 13"

Notes: Most snook on DOA shrimp skipped under docks on wind protected shorelines. Redfish on clouser minnow fly under a dock. Most mangrove snapper on clouser minnow under docks. Sight fished the sheepshead with a DOA shrimp while it was eating barnacles on a piling. 

Lunker Lagoon 5-16-16

Location:  "Lunker Lagoon"

Time: 1800-2100

Tides: N/A

Weather: Light west wind

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 1/3 on tarpon, 1 lady fish

Notes: MirrOLure Lil Jon's for the tarpon. Lady fish on the fly. Dock light action was non existent.

Gasparilla Sound 2-1-16

Location:  Gasparilla Sound

Time: 0900-1145

Tides: Short Outgoing

Weather: Light fog early, Light winds

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 19.5" trout, 18" snook, and 6 jack crevalle 

Notes: Trout took LiveTarget jointed mullet. Snook was a surprise in this area during winter. Saw numerous redfish, but couldn't get them to eat. Fished mainly around docks.

Creek Fishing 1-24-16

Location: Tidal creeks of Charlotte Harbor

Time: 0745-1100

Tides: Low

Weather: Clear and cold, Hi/Lo 55/41, winds E@10mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 2 snook to 12" 

Notes: Both snook took flies, my first fish on the fly of 2016. Slow action as a front had moved through the previous evening.

Creek Fishing 1-14-16

Location: Tidal creeks of Charlotte Harbor

Time: 0945-1300

Tides: Last of outgoing first of incoming

Weather: Clear and cold, Hi/Lo 69/51, winds E@10mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 19 snook to 29" Jack Crevalle, Tilapia, and two juvenile tarpon jumped.

Notes: Spinning tackle, Soft plastics on jig heads, suspending plugs. Saw a good amount of juvenile tarpon rolling. Tilapia was an interesting bycatch but we were far enough out up creek to be in semi fresh water. Spotted a manatee seeking warm water along with the snook.

Myakka 1/12/16

Location: Myakka

Time: 0930-1300

Tides: Outgoing

Weather: Clear and cold, Hi/Lo 68/47, winds NE@5-10mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 2 snook to 26" 1 redfish 25"

Notes: Spinning tackle, DOA Terroreyz. Missed a second redfish, a lot of snags and hang ups on the bottom of the river today for whatever reason. Very low water. Most of the fish were caught in a half hour period from 1015-1045.

Alligator Creek 1-9-16

Location: Alligator Creek

Time: 0630-1030

Tides: Incoming

Weather: Heavy fog, Hi/Lo 80/60, winds E@5mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 8 snook to 16"

Notes: Spinning tackle, Lil Jon on Jighead. Did not see the typical larger snook that inhabit this creek. Also did not hook or see any juvenile tarpon. Very slow morning in comparison to past trips.

Myakka 1-8-16

              

Location: Myakka River

Time: 0945-1200

Tides: Incoming High @1234

Weather: Light rain early but rapidly clearing skies, Hi/Lo 76/64, winds SW@5-10mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 3 snook to 28"

Notes: Spinning tackle, suspending plugs and DOA Terroreyz. Lost a 30+" fish when the leader got caught in his gill plate.

Tidal Creeks 1-6-16

Location: Tidal creeks of Charlotte Harbor

Time: 0945-1230

Tides: Incoming High @1234

Weather: Pre-Frontal, Hi/Lo 73/55, winds E@10mph

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: 13 snook to 31"

Tactics: Spinning tackle, suspending plugs and soft plastics on jigheads.

The #Gheenoe52, a New Year's resolution

New Years resolutions usually suck. "Lose some weight", "work out more", "drink less". There's no fun in the typical resolutions people make, and that's why they don't stick. This year I'm trying something different, and I'm calling it the #Gheenoe52. Essentially, I'm going to try and do at least 52 trips, which is one per week, in my Gheenoe. Doesn't matter if I catch fish, doesn't matter if I fly fish, spin fish, bait fish, just matters that I get out, have a good time, and get a little picture or video clip to show for it. I'll be hash tagging #Gheenoe52 on my Instagram posts, so feel free to follow along. Hopefully this one winds up epic, and doesn't go down the drain like most New Years resolutions do!

Myakka River 12-30-15

Location: Myakka River

Time: 0700-1130

Tides: slow outgoing

Weather: AM fog, high 74

Vessel: Gheenoe

Fish: one rat redfish, 8 snook to 24". Multiple bigger snook lost.

Follow us on Instagram!

I've been fishing lately, but have found it much easier to snap a quick pic, write a quick blurb, and upload it to Instagram. Not every fish or fishing trip needs a report, and Instagram is great for the instant gratification of sharing a picture with a large group of people at once. I've added a live feed widget from my @BentRodsBlog Instagram account in the top right corner of the page, feel free to check it out!

Afternoon Panfish Trip 1-20-15

Flyfishing for Bluegill from the Gheenoe! from Patrick O'Connor on Vimeo.

Location: CoCoPlum Canal

Time: 1700-1830

Tides: N/A

Weather: Clear skies, 72 degrees, light winds

Vessel: Gheenoe 15'4 Highsider

Fish: 11 Bluegill to 10 inches, 1 stumpknocker

Tactics: Shrymph fly before sunset and #10 popper at dusk

This is my first attempt at making a video short from an individual trip. I have a GoPro and a Kodak Playsport that I am shooting with. My increased mobility in the Gheenoe allows me to position the cameras via mounts and be able to move them throughout a trip. Previously, in the kayak I essentially had to place the camera in a stationary position and wasn't able to move it without getting out of the kayak to reach it. I stuck to a 15 second timeframe as thats what Instagram sharing is limited to. I assume I will continue to do so until I understand more of the filming and editing practices to make a decent 3-4 minute clip out of a trip. 

As far as fishing, it was markedly slow until the sun got low. I managed a few decent fish on my nymph fly but the real action started as dusk set in and the fish began feeding on the surface. In a matter of 5 minutes I boated two 10" bluegills on a popping fly and lost another large fish due to a missed hookset. I have typically avoided afternoon/evening trips in freshwater and after my success here I am questioning why I was limiting myself. I may have to explore this time window a bit more on subsequent trips!

Until next time, keep those rods bent!

Last trip of 2014, First trip in the Gheenoe

Location: Myakkahatchee Creek

Time: 0630-1030

Tides: Incoming

Weather: Overcast/Dense Fog, Hi75/Lo64, little to no wind

Vessel: Gheenoe 15'4 Highsider

Fish: 5 snook to 29 inches, 3 ladyfish, and one 19" jack

Tactics: Light jigheads and soft plastics on light spinning tackle

This was the first trip in my new-to-me Gheenoe. I was very pleased to catch a slot snook as the first fish in this boat. I have a few modifications I will be doing shortly to make the gheenoe work best for me but I am overall very excited to have this vessel in my fishing arsenal. The river fishing hasn't exactly been on par as the recent temperatures have been a bit higher than normal for this time of year. January and February should prove to be productive up the rivers and creeks though.

Catching Up

The last 5 months have been a bit hectic thanks to the arrival of my new fishing buddy, Cameron. He was born in July and has been nothing but awesome since! We have even caught our first fish together, a bluegill at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Needless to say, daddy daycare has consumed more of my time than fishing, but I have loved every minute of it. The bulk of my fishing has come in the form of quick afternoon roadside rod slinging and short morning trips on the kayak. However, I recently acquired a 15'4 Gheenoe Highsider with a 4 HP Mercury to help make the most of the time I do get on the water. I can now reach my fishing destinations much quicker and spend more time with a line in the water.

Some highlights of the last few months include a few baby tarpon on the fly, some nice bass, some snook out of places you would never expect, and obviously the first fish out of the new to me Gheenoe. Here's to a great 2015 full of fun, fish, and fresh diapers!

Shell Creek 6-24-14

Made a trip to a new area I have been meaning to get out to for nearly a year now. Shell Creek is a freshwater creek system off of the Peace River in Punta Gorda. I had heard good reports of panfish and bass in the past from this location and put it up on my list of places to try out. The main reason it took so long to get out to it is that it is nearly an hour drive from my house. I finally decided to make the drive, and I am glad I did as there were many panfish and a few bass to be had on the fly.

Location: Shell Creek

Time: 0600-1215

Tides: N/A

Weather: Sunny, Hi/Lo 93/74, light winds

Vessel: Native Ultimate 14.5

Fish: 45 bluegill to 10", 3 largemouth bass to 15" and 5 stumpknocker to 6"

Tactics: 2 weight fly rod with a shrymph fly, and 5 weight fly rod with a #10 popper