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| 28 September 2009
Grunt catching king Dave Decker, reports from a recent visit to Curry Hammock State Park
A Casual Angler tries out Kayak Fishing in the Keys
I'll admit it. Those Florida Keys call to my soul. This old Florida boy's spirit lives in Margaritaville. I revel in the beauty of those lovely pearls of the sea.
I always look forward to a fishing trip aboard one of the many day boats when I visit. But unfortunately, on this trip it was midweek and my fellow "born to fish, forced to work" fishermen were all busy being forced in great numbers. Since there weren't enough anglers to cover the expense, the party boat, much to my disappointment, didn't go out.
Plan B
I've just traveled back and here's my report about an unplanned but interesting first, a marine kayak fishing trip, from Curry Hammock State Park
I had stumbled upon this small park a few years ago and at that time it was just a collection of picnic tables on a sandy island. Imagine my surprise when I pulled in and paid the entry fee, and found they had made loads of improvements, including kayak rentals. The ranger assured me there were lots of varieties of fish to target and said that folks had caught snook, redfish, snapper and grunts in the past few days. Hey, I figured I'll give it a try, after all I am the 'grunt catching king.' so I quickly found myself paddling a rented kayak.
Curry Hammock State Park rents kayaks and has plenty of fish that are not too wary. This park is made up of a group of islands in the Middle Keys, with public access to swimming, a playground, picnic tables, grills, and showers on the ocean side of Little Crawl Key.
Now kayak fishing is not my first choice. I have a bay boat with a trolling motor ( I don't use it much...see "doesn't do multi-tasking well"). I work hard teaching school so when I have time to go fishing I would rather just take it easy and besides on a party boat they'll even take the fish off the hook and clean them for you.
My very few kayak fishing experiences were on fresh water rivers and are full of memories of crashing into trees being scraped by low hanging branches and being swept by the current into heavily weeded, gator infested, snake loving areas all while trying to unsnag the birdsnest I made in my line...but hey it's all good... I did catch a few bass.
So I rented the kayak and put it in the water. Right away I noticed it had holes in the bottom. What the heck? Upon closer inspection I relaxed when it became apparent they were there on purpose as the boat didn't seem to be sinking.
I paddled out and after some false starts got into perfect position over a good grunt hole which I was raiding when suddenly the current insisted I move and started carrying me and the kayak away. After carefully deciding where to put my rod and reel down, I started paddling fast to avoid the canal wall coming at me at 5 knots. When I had paddled to safety I noticed that my reel was in a puddle of water coming up through those holes at the bottom of the kayak that was also soaking my shorts.
The current and I fought like this the whole time I fished-obviously, I wasn't going to outlast it.
Back at the grunt hole, I hooked and landed a nice fat grunt that pulled my kayak around like I was the Old Man and the Sea. I unhooked my dinner and the only place I could see to put him was at the bottom of the kayak-under my legs. He flipped then flopped and stopped just under my thigh.
A little more fishing without much luck and then I paddled around to see some hawks, egrets and an old styrofoam cooler in the mangroves along with a couple empty cans of beer. It was peaceful-I'll give you that. However, it's going to take some time to get me on board with this extreme kayak fishing sport. It's the Party Boat Life for me matey, the Party boat life for me!....
Tips for your first salt water kayak fishing experience.
When fishing from a kayak in salt water, an ounce of planning goes a long way:
- Wear swim shorts! Even if your kayak doesn’t have scupper holes, you still run the risk of a wet bum. Spending the afternoon at the Tiki Bar is more fun with a dry bottom.
- Your tackle will get wet – Cleaning the salt from your gear is probably the most important post-fishing task, even if you have rod holders. It still beats washing a bay boat.
- Be aware of currents, wind, and oncoming weather. If you are unable to stay put, don’t fight it - change tactics. Try drift fishing and you can cover a lot of bottom, which just might lead you to the juiciest fishing spots. It might seem obvious, but it is worth saying out loud: in fast moving water, don't drift too far.
- Bring a small anchor. If there is even a remote chance that you might rent a kayak, throw a tiny mushroom anchor and line (30 ft clothesline will do), in the back of your car and keep it there just in case; this can make a trip much more relaxing. BUT, don't anchor in the fast currents. If your anchor gets hung in rocks or corals, surface ocean currents in the keys can pull an anchored kayak under, not a good thing.
- Be prepared to stow all personal trash-carrying a couple of plastic bags works well, one for your wallet and keys one for trash. Never fight the urge to pick up some debris along the way and dispose of it back at the put-in site, especially the fishing line you may find wrapped around trees.
- Bring a stringer or better yet a soft cooler. Bungee cords can secure the cooler, which can hold a few refreshments as well.
Happy paddling and good fishing, SF editorial staff
