Kayak Fishing the Bahia Honda Bridge
Sore Arms and Smiles
I like to sight fish the flats in my kayak, and do so as often as possible. Sometimes this is with a paying customer, other times with a friend, and sometimes I’m by myself. Regardless, stalking the flats for permit, tarpon, bonefish, redfish, and the oft maligned winter-time barracuda and plentiful shark species is usually how I spend my fishing time. Rarely is it “easy” fishing. Long spans of time can pass without seeing a target species. This is part of the game and experienced flats fishermen usually take it in stride. Newbies, however, rarely have developed the patience (nor skills) for this flats business.
So recently I had a request from my fishing buddy Brooks to take he (very experienced) and his new girlfriend, Morgan (novice), for some kayak fishing. Even though she was green, she was excited to go, so I started planning and we set a day on the calendar to see if we could get Morgan, Brooks and myself into some fish. This would not be a sight fishing trip, but rather “fun fishing” - a trip to get the rods bent over and pull some fish up close to the kayaks. I considered the patch reefs and the bridges our best options, but I spend so much time on the flats that I don’t always feel “dialed-in” with these other types of fishing. So I asked the advice of Andrew Tipler, a local charter captain, and he felt the bridges were better than the patches based on his recent charters, so it was settled. (THANKS Andrew!)
The weather forecast held for our trip, and we found ourselves launching three kayaks next to the Bahia Honda Bridge on a sunny 75 degree day with very light winds. We made some decisions on how to best rig our rods. I decided against using chum, but I did bring along live shrimp, pinfish, frozen ballyhoo and some of my favorite lures so we could have several options to hopefully get the fish interested. After a short paddle, we dropped anchor just downstream of the bridge in 12’ of water with some current.
As I’ve seen SO many times before, the new, inexperienced person (more so if female?) catches the first fish, and Morgan did exactly that. Within seconds she was hooked up and in a few minutes she had a nice yellow jack next to the kayak. Her reeling technique needed a bit of work, but it’s hard to argue with a fish in hand. Way to go Morgan! I did give her a few tips on handling the spinning rod and she took instruction well and got back to work.
Another commonality I’ve noticed with new fisherpersons like Morgan is their tendency to catch the biggest fish of the day, and she did not disappoint in this department either. The nice yellow jack you see in the picture with her was by far the biggest fish of the day.
Things proceeded nicely with everyone catching fish. Hogfish (yes, on hook and line), small groupers, yellow jacks, and jack crevalles up to 7 pounds which is a TON of fun on 10lb tackle in a kayak. Everyone had sore arms and big smiles as we headed back to our launch site. If you want to get your own case of sore arms, give me a ring and we’ll plan a kayak fishing trip to remember!
1 Response
MARCUS McCLEERY
We are interested in fishing a day or two during the week of April 11-18th. Can you take three adults each in a kayak? Are you available then? What kinds of fish can we hope for that time of year? Can we keep any to take home to eat?
Thanks! Marcus
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