I am going to get 4 days off next weekend and looking to take a trip somewhere. Maybe Florida? I am relatively new to the east coast and would love some advice for a good destination within an 8 hour drive or so. I live in Columbia. I will be fishing out of my kayak so am interested in inshore species. I am not so familar with winter conditions and what to look for and have never fished the north/central coasts of Florida. If the weather looks bad I will probably opt for a trout trip but would much rather head south or to the SC coast. Any suggestions are much appreciated!
I would check out the no motor areas of Mosquito Lagoon if you want East coast. On the west coast, the Cedar Key/Suwannee River Mouth area has some excellent paddling and fishing.
Mosquito lagoon definately. You will see hundreds of red fish. Go to Microskiff.com and look at the fishing spots on the home page, it will give you gps cooridates of many of the flats. You can launch at Beacon 42or3, can not remember the exact number and fish the clinkers. They are a set of protected islands inside the icw. From the clinkers, you can be on fish within 100’. You can also paddle about 500 yards across the icw and be on a large flat. The water is 18" for miles. If you can get a hold of a hot spots map, that is even better. There are several places to launch up north into the backcountry, but you better have a good gps because you can get lost quick.
It is 300 miles on the nose from Bluffton, SC. You can stay north at New Smyna Beach, Daytona, or south in Titusville. If you have family, it is only 45 miles to Orlando. I went almost a year ago and camped at a camp ground in titusville. There are several restaurants there also.
I you are using a fly rods, through very, very,very small crab flies. Hit all the sand holes that you see if it is windy. The trout and reds will stay in these sand holes and ambush bait. There are not any tides there at all, so the fish move in random patterns.
If you have any questions, let me know and I will help you all I can. I was just there about 2 weeks ago. I have made a daily trip about 4 times in the last year.
Googe the kennedy space center on their maps page and look due north. That is the lagoon. The clinkers are on the very west coast north of haulover canal.
If you wanted to go to Miami, there is a guide name corell baum, I think is his name, that guides out of a canoe for montster bonefish. I think he is pretty cheap. You can see his stuff at saltwaterexperience.com. His sign on is bonefish whisperer. He has pictures of the bigget bone fish i have ever seen.
I did not make it. I called a FF shop in Titusville and was told that the cold weather was coming and it probably would not be worth my time. Probably going fish around Charleston this weekend.
The fly fisherman is a great shop. I was there last year on a trip and they remembered me from a prior trip. . Hell I have been going into low country outfitters for 10 years and they could not pick me out of a line up.