Yellow kayak in Florida

[BenCantrell]

Finally got the kayak out on the ocean here and got a new species out of it!

Guaguanche (new species, same genus as the Pacific barracuda)


Mangrove snapper (dinner)


Ladyfish (shark bait!)


Also came across several schools of jack crevalles swimming in tight circles. I think they must have been spawning. It was tough getting any interest from them, but I did get a few to leave the group and follow my lure (Rapala X-Rap 10). I had a big one bite, at least 20 lbs. It towed me sideways a bit, and I had to put my rod in the rod holder so I could paddle and straighten out. It kept taking out line. I had a 10 lb leader and 15 lb main line, so I didn't want to tighten the drag too much, but finally I had to. The leader broke just below the uni-uni knot. Next time I'll use 20 lb leader and 30 lb main line so I can win that fight.

[skrilla]

Jealous. What is that, like 9 paddle strokes from the beach?

[jrodda]

A bunch of cool targets. Lady fish are a blast. I hear the crevalles are looked down upon over there but it's certainly on my bucket list.

[Latimeria]

I caught my first Guaguanche  in NJ of all places during a super warm eddy that came inshore one summer.  I was catching starry grouper and other exotics all from the boat docks that year.

Super cool report Ben!  "Yum-Yum Yellow" brings in all the fish. 

[vdisney]

I'm more than a little jealous, but stoked for you all the same   

[BenCantrell]

Thanks guys.

skrilla - Yeah we stayed close to the beach. I'll have to get a screenshot of the route and post it up. Winds were 10+ mph the whole time, so we didn't want to wander far in case it picked up any more.

jrodda - That ladyfish did some acrobatics! And yeah no one here eats jack crevalle. Same with saltwater catfish and bonita / little tunny. It makes me want to try them to see what the deal is. I'm sure the tunas can be made palatable with a mix of soy sauce, honey, and sriracha.

Latimeria - Wow, guaguanche in NJ is wild.

vdisney - Come on over!

[spideyjg]

Nothing wrong with saltwater catfish. The hardheads actually have venomous fin spines so people don't want to handle them.

Never got finned by one but supposedly is real painful and hot water is the cure. Handle like you would a stingray