Shallowfish Blog

Welcome to the Shallowfish blog!

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:30:28 +0000

Enjoy our complementary articles, news, cartoons, fishing tips and other great content of interest to anglers. While the focus here is primarily Florida’s shallow saltwater, there’s valuable information for fishing fans of every stripe. Use the options below each post to tell a friend about us, and add our blog to your Favorites menu if you like what you see. Best of luck on the water!

Tip: make your topwater plugs slicker and safer

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:53:06 +0000

Love to fish topwater lures? Obsessed with using plugs that have a lively action? Then try this simple trick: remove all treble hooks save those on the back of the lure. By doing so, you immediately make things much safer on your quarry, since multiple treble hooks can wreak havoc on a struggling fish. In most cases, you’ll also make the lure much more effective. Hanging hooks create drag, and drag limits lure action. A topwater plug without lots of extra hooks is slick and very buoyant, resulting in a much more lively presentation. This trick works especially well with cylinder-shaped plugs. Note that you may need to leave the hardware that connects the missing hooks on the plug to 1) close any holes that would lead to a waterlogged lure and 2) add some weight so the lure will right itself once it settles. Will you lose more fish this way? Well, yes. But not as many as you’d think, and the trade-off is a good one, both in terms of fish welfare and more strikes.

Buy a custom rod for cancer

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:36:29 +0000

My good buddy Joe is putting the finishing touches on one of his fine custom rods – this one a pink, gold and black beauty. The proceeds will go to support a cure for breast cancer, so if you know of a special lady angler (or any angler who likes hot pink) who would relish a hand-crafted, unique gift, now’s your chance. This is a 6′ 6″, fast-action rod well-suited to a wide variety of light-tackle, shallow-water applications, from narrow creeks to shorelines to open water. Proven on a wide variety of coastal saltwater gamefish, it is intended for line in the 6-12 lb. range. Has enough flex to cast 1/4–5/8 oz. lures with distance and accuracy, yet plenty of backbone to turn large fish with authority. Crafted with an attention to detail unmatched in mass-produced rods. Features only the finest components, including: black, 1-piece St Croix SC2 graphite blank; Fuji Hardloy single-foot guides with matching Fuji Hardloy tip-top guide; custom painted reel seat; select-grade cork rear and fore-grips; and clear Flex-coat finish along entire length of rod for optimal durability and a deep, true luster. Makes a fantastic gift for a friend, family member, business associate, etc. Bidding starts at $175.

Interested in landing a great rod and supporting a wonderful cause? Contact us today.

Fly Fishing is a Pain in the Ass

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:41:14 +0000

OK, before the elitist, Orvis-bedecked types get their feathers ruffled (or hackles up, to milk the pun), know this: I love fly fishing. I love the whistle of the line through the guides, the graceful loops, and the sight of a well-constructed streamer flicking under the surface with a more realistic action than any conventional lure can muster. Fly fishing is artful, old school, and, at times, unbridled fun. But it’s still a raging pain in the keester. If you haven’t fished in a while, your line comes off the reel like a Slinky. Backcasts collapse like a government-run program, and leaders mysteriously tie wind knots that would make a seamstress gasp. Fly line has an unnatural knack for snagging any obstruction it can, transforming even the most soulful of anglers into quivering, profane sub-humans. And when fishing from a skiff on a windy day, controlling your line is a tedious, character-building exercise. To compound matters, the flies themselves seem to crave human flesh. In fact, every longtime fly fisher I know has engaged in unintentional body piercing. I myself have a few such tales, including the time a buddy planted a heavy zonker deeply into my right ear. Fun.

Sure, you can point to less-than-epic fly fishing skills as the reason for my angst, and I wouldn’t disagree. I’ve spent far more time with spin rods and plugcasters, and I don’t pretend to be the next Lefty, or even the next Righty. But I’m, well, righty when I say fly fishing is a pain in the ass. A glorious, addictive, enchanting pain in the ass. If I can compare it to anything, it’s a stunningly beautiful, high-maintenance woman. You live for the next time you’ll see her, but in the morning light you find yourself thinking about that little country girl who laughed when you’d fart. If you know what I mean.

Fishing Cartoon

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:08:38 +0000

Angling is always in season

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:14:05 +0000

Angling is always in season for me. In all seasons, I fish or think fish; each season makes its unique contribution, and there is no season of the year when I am not angling.

Nick Lyons, Winter Dreams

Ditch Fishin’

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:39:17 +0000

We gave the snook a deserved break this past week, opting to fish some remote canals for bass instead. Joe and I did just fine on bass and snook, and Abby and I fished a residential canal minutes from our home over the weekend and scared up a few fish. No records were set, but we took the first step toward a personal 2010 goal: to catch a peacock bass locally. We also brought PITA the Wonder Dog along for her first boat trip, and she showed angling promise. Sadly, we learned that some of the remote canals we fished will soon be filled in as part of the controversial Everglades Restoration Project. I’m sure these people’s hearts are in the right place, but the canals in question and the surrounding land are brimming with fish and other wildlife, including water birds of every stripe, otters, deer, alligators, and a host of assorted, furry critters. I’m doing my best to educate myself about the specifics of the plan, and I’d appreciate any insight our readers can provide.

Pythonasaurus Eatimus YerAssicus

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:55:29 +0000

Oh my toothyness.

A week or so ago I saw a report that wildlife officers had found a 14-foot long African Rock python in the Everglades National Park. Now, I know more and more large, exotic pythons are being found in the Park as the result of ~~brain-dead imbeciles~~ people releasing them into the wild, but this version is apparently capable of growing to 20 feet, and it’s a notoriously vicious breed that eats everything from goats to crocodiles to wild hogs. Oh, and the occasional human. One scientist quipped “It’s mean right out of the egg…” I see. Intrigued, I did a quick image search and found the above image of a ~~diamond-patterned demon~~ rock python biting a wire fence, displaying a world-class set of chompers in the process. Four layers of them, to be precise – in case the first two rows of paring knives don’t close the deal, I presume. Now, I realize the media loves to overhype this stuff and I doubt they’re the savage threat to humans that a host of hyperbolic articles imply, but when I venture into the Glades later this week to scare up some bass I’ll likely be a bit more timid when retrieving a snagged lure. In fact, I may be downright prissy.

Cold weather calamity

John — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:37:15 +0000

The photo above, sent to me by an anonymous source, was recently taken at the boat ramp in Flamingo, Florida. In a single frame it confirms what many Florida-based anglers have feared: many snook did not survive the unseasonably bitter series of fronts. There are now scores of reports from around the state confirming what may be the worst fish kill of this generation and possibly the one that came before, with snook the hardest-hit species of them all. I’m planning a trip deep into the Glades next week, and my heart is heavy.

Cold fronts kill thousands of snook in Florida

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:27:30 +0000

Reports from around Florida confirm that snook are dying by the thousands due to a series of record-breaking cold fronts. Snook are notoriously intolerant of chilly weather, and prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 60 degrees usually proves lethal. Though snook are the most vulnerable species, water has claimed many other types of fish, including mullet, catfish, tarpon, mojarra, snapper and gag grouper, as well as countless smaller species that are an important forage food for Florida’s game fish, including ladyfish and pinfish. To those of us who catch and release snook and carefully monitor their status, this is a big blow. Alas. There’s a wistful irony in Mother Nature ultimately being the biggest threat to snook populations since commercial fishing for them was banned in the late 1980s. For more info, visit this site.

To report a fish kill, visit FWC here or the Snook Foundation here. Please record pertinent fact such as date, time, GPS coordinates (if possible), number and size of dead or near-dead fish, and conditions observed. If you see someone illegally harvesting dead or dying snook, dial #DEP on a cell phone, or call (877) 2-SAVE-FL (1.877.272.8335).