Five days in the books and the end of this trip is close. I took today off from daybreak fishing (due to a late night dinner party an hour from our stay). I woke up even before the 5am alarm, but basically opted to sleep in until 8am and take the morning easy. Day four was good, and a direct result of the day three intell. I went straight to the place where I'd had some luck with the reds before daylight and started working it hard and heavy. It took some adjusting on the fly, but the bites started coming right at the official sunrise mark. After a few misses a solid hookup on a small fish was solid enough to get him in the boat. A little 15" snook was not happy to see me, but I sure was happy to see him. He was the first of 6 snook, one mystery fish and a small redfish for the day. Add a comment Read more...

Well three days into our vacation a few things are rock solid. The place we chose was perfect for us and it's hot as hell outside. I rented a fishing kayak for the entire week as soon as we rolled into town and that has proven to be an excellent idea as we're staying in a place flanked on the front by the Gulf of Mexico and to the rear by the inter-coastal and it's endless canals and bays (including a marine preserve). On day one I didn't try to get up early without advanced scouting, I paddled out at about 9am to cast around and see what was up. Caught a few small toothy critters and hung it up about lunch and switched back into normal vacation mode.

Over six months in the making: finally a return to the saltwater flats of Steinhatchee, Florida. This trip marked a special occasion: 10 years in a row. Yep for 10 years, I have I visited the sleepy Gulf Coast town in pursuit of two things: redfish and a great story for retelling at some other inopportune time. And, for 10 years, I have rarely been disappointed.

An unplanned trip to the beach is never a bad deal. Trying to fit the usual fun stuff in is a little tougher though. Andrew and I plotted to squeeze in some wading while on the gulf. Good access to the ICW flats would be our target while tricking the women into looking the other way for a few hours one of the few mornings we had there. Once we figured out the girls wanted to veg out on the beach all day, we started a higher level of plotting. I gathered some just-in-case references of local guides before we left for the beach. While Andrew and I got our 3-days at the tackle shop, we tested the waters for guided trips. Captain Wes Rozier came recommended more than once, and that was enough for me.