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First off, I got a new job in Florida and will be working in Clearwater starting July 23rd, Clearwater is West of Tampa in the gulf coast for those who may not know, which means I’ll be fishing Tampa bay and the inshore waterways and barrier islands of the coast, lots of flats and beach fishing. Or weekend trips to the Everglades or keys. Super stoked.
I got a couple afternoons out on the flats around Ft. Desoto again, Tuesday I was out on a slack tide, found lots of laid up snook but they would not eat and I got the skunk. Got out Wednesday on a better tide and was able to coax a couple to eat. Soon I will have a boat and will start gaining local knowledge, hopefully I’ll get my first Big tarpon and some Big snook!
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Sounds like your time here in Utah is coming to an end Mike, you will be missed but you are in for a new adventure there in Clearwater. Hopefully you will check in with us here from time to time, I wish you all the best, with many giant tarpon and Big snook in your future.
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Jeff used to travel there for work often. I was there one of those times and we took a chartered boat out and caught snapper (I caught none, Jeff actually caught all ours), that you brought in and they cleaned for you then the restaurants would cook it (handy when you're staying in a hotel). They kept what was more than you could eat for the non-fishing customers.
Appreciate all your work on the site. It's definitely a new adventure for you but hopefully you'll drop in on the site to let us know how things are going for you.
Take care, Mike, Safe travels.
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[#0000FF]Congrats on getting things worked out the way you want them. Just don't let work interfere with your fishing. Prime stuff in that area, but confusing. It is hard to know which way to point your rod sometimes.[/#0000FF]
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Living the Dream, Congrats, REMO
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Sounds like a plan. When we were south of there in Naples I really enjoyed being on the beach at the crack of dawn casting to the fish working the shoreline and twitching deceivers along the groins. Mangrove snapper on the 5 wt with the 8 standing by in case I came upon some snook.
What kind of boat are you thinking of? I had a Gheenoe with a 18 hp that would take me about anywhere I wanted to go at 25 mph and just sipped gas. Most stable small boat I have ever been in. Skinny water prowler, easy to manage alone at the ramp and tow it with a Prius if you wanted to.
You already know the best online resource for information and to meet people. Some really great people there, willing to show you around if you share gas money and buy lunch.
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My buddy is a sales rep for Ankona/Native skiffs and I have fished from his Shadowcast, they are very nice with a great price point, I’ll probably go with a Copperhead.
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Good Luck with the move Mike. 10,000 Islands in the Everglades from Chokoloskee down to Cape Sable is one of my favorite places on Earth. I don’t know if you fished there yet but when the dry season comes and the mosquitoes are more manageable you need to spends some time in there. I’ve been going for over 30 years now and just thinking about it reminds me it’s been a few years and I need to plan a trip there this winter. Got a trip to the Keys in August but the water is so hot that time of year the fishing isn’t always great. We plan on spending as much time getting spiny lobsters as fishing. You’ll have to give that a try but the Keys are a lot easier to get lobsters with the shallow water habitat than the rest of Florida without breaking out the scuba gear.
Keep us updated on your adventures in Florida
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Good luck and congratulations! Looking forward to seeing pictures of the tarpon.
Hope you also get back this way and continue finding big trout in the rivers from time to time.
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Just came across this thread Mike. Hate to see you move, but happy for you.
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