Cross Country Kayaking

Hey guys,

I never really post up much here, and probably nobody actually knows who I am, but I figured I would let you guys know about my upcoming vacation plans.

I found out that I have a bunch of vacation time in the bank, and needed to figure out how to get rid of it. Though about flying somewhere tropical (carribean, thailand, hawaii), but I have taken about a half a dozen trips like that the past few years, and decided to do something different this time. This is also going to be a solo trip, can't find anyone that can go with me!

How about 8,000 miles in 18 days?!?
May 2nd thru May 19th
I am planning on loading up the Tacoma with my Revo and all my fishing gear, driving it to the Florida Keys, and fishing all that I can in between here and there.  I have relatives in Texas and on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, so will definitely be stopping in those areas.  Here is my rough list of places I plan at stopping at:

Lake Powell in Utah
Lake Waco in Texas
Caddo Lake in Texas/Lousianna
Somewhere in the Mississippi Delta for Redfish
Lake Okeechobee in Florida
2-3 days of the Florida Keys

Still trying to iron out the details on when and where I will be, I figured I would post up here and try and get some input from you guys. If anyone has any suggestions for me (where to fish, what to fish, how to fish) I would love to hear it!

Thanks!
Brendan

Wow...that would be a trip of a lifetime!  I would add lake Texoma (border of Texas and Oklahoma) to the trip if I were you 

Venice, LA.....

Texoma does look pretty sweet. . . nice stripers and 100+ pound catfish.    I will look a little closer at that one.
Venice, LA is one of the spots I am eyeballing for the delta, debating on a kayak fishing guide there, or just trying to wing it

I don't have any suggestions, but man that sounds like a great vacation.

We did a trip to Powell last May.  Accessed via Bullfrog.  We are talking about a late summer/ early fall trip this year via Antelope or Wahweap.  I look forward to your report if you launch from the south.  Be prepared for afternoon winds. 

+1 on venice hit me up ill tell ya where to go... Also hit toledo bend and +1 on lake okeechobee....

The Keys are BADASS!!!  You'll have fun

Add far as Lake Powell, I think I am going to try and camp near the bullfrog launch area, my co-worker grew up fishing the lake and had some suggestions for me in that area. I do know they can get some rippin' wind on that lake, and the water level is super low.
Venice, LA. . . the more I look into it. . . for sure on the intenerary. I would be stoked to hook into a sweet bull redfish. Maybe even some offshore oil rig fishing if the weather permits . . . 
To be honest, the Florida Keys is the main reason I am doing this whole shindig, I've been wanting to go there for a while now. As far as I am concerned, I could care less what I am catching, as long as it is a fun fight, so I think I should be able to keep myself entertained in the Keys with all the options they have there.  Maybe a nice hammerhead will take me for a ride   

Here is a link to Wayne's Words. Wayne has been a biologist and fisherman at Lake Powell for over 30 years. This is the end all resource for fishing Powell. Do some reading in the forums and you'll know what, when, where and how. Stripers are easy, just soak frozen anchovies. Almost too easy for stripers to 10 pounds. Good luck.

  http://www.wayneswords.com/

Alright, lets try this again.  I had a huge response typed out for this the other night on my Iphone and when I went to add a link the page reset while I was trying to copy and paste!!! 

So here it goes.......

If you're headed into Texas I would say skip Lake Waco.  You'd basically be at Lake Fork and it's an amazing fishery with tons of good water accessible by kayak.   They kick out giants regularly.  I spent a week there and my average bass was around 4.5lbs.  We caught several 8 pounders there.  The crappie in that lake are also huge.  We caught plenty of them up to about 2.25lbs on 1/2oz spinnerbaits while looking for bass.

For a lake on the border of Texas and Louisiana you can't go wrong with Toledo Bend.  It's been on fire lately with lots of teen sized largemouth being caught.  It's a fairly similar lake to Fork when it comes to structure.  Lots of flooded timber and huge grass mats!!

In Louisiana you can hit up the guys on Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club (http://www.bckfc.org/forum.php).  They can hook you up with the when, where, how, and what not to do down there.  Venice can be sketchy because of all the commercial boat traffic and big water.  Those guys will have the info on how to stay out of trouble and you could likely find a few guys to take you out and put you on a bull.  If you want something safer for a DIY trip in more protected waters you can hit up Fourchon, Grand Isle, Golden Meadows, or my personal favorite Delacroix.  Delacroix is all marsh fishing with TONS of redfish, speckled trout, flounder, sheepshead, and largemouth bass all in the same waters.  I used to fish bass tournaments in there and we caught plenty of redfish up to about 37 inches on bass lures in "freshwater".  You can leave the marina in Delacroix and start catching fish on your first cast.

Heading into Florida I would work your way down the gulf coast side of the state until you hit the Fort Myers area.  Pine Island Sound is killer for redfish, big speckled trout, SNOOK, and tarpon.  Pineland has a kayak launch near the marina that will put you directly onto the eel grass flats.  From there its up to you to roam the flats and find the yellow sand holes that hold all the fish.  There are tons of mangrove islands that hold snook and reds under the branches and the tarpon will be in the deeper holes and channels.  Frank Seargeant has an awesome book of tips and tricks that include detailed maps of the areas that are labeled with the species of fish that are found in each spot.

Then head across the state via Alligator Alley towards Miami.  You could hit up Lake Okeechobee just to say you did but unless you're fishing with a guide it's just more bass fishing that you will have done plenty of on your trip already.  Personally I'd hit Dania Beach and look up Brian Nelli.  He's one of the best in the biz in that area for offshore fishing.  You can catch blackfin tuna, wahoo, mahi, amberjack, red snapper, grouper, and sailfish within two miles of the beach.  That area is probably the hottest in Florida for that kind of fishing. 

If the weather is too bad for offshore you can hit the lakes, ponds, and canals around Miami for peacock bass, largemouth, Mayan cichlids, bigmouth sleepers, tiger guapote, snook, jack crevelle, and tarpon.  My personal favorite is Blue Lakes just south of the Miami Airport.  It's deep, has lots of different shoreline structure, holds all the above species, and is mostly a no wake zone.  You'll see some bass boats in there including one guide that chases peacocks but they all just run the trolling motor.  I launched from Maceo Park and caught plenty of fish including some decent ones right in front of the launch ramp.  MikeyBallzFishing on Youtube has a couple sweet videos of peacock fishing in Blue Lakes.

On to the keys.......Fishing paradise!!  What you'll be able to chase and the kind of waters you'll be on will depend on where exactly you're headed.  In the upper keys there are more trout and redfish mixed in with the other flats species.  As you move down the keys you'll find less trout and reds (although they are still around) and more mangrove snapper (they're EVERYWHERE!!!!! and are delicious).  Tarpon will be going strong in May.  Anywhere you find a bridge with moving water you'll find tarpon.  Bonefish are on the flats especially around Islamorada.  You can actually get into a few bonefish and permit on the flats right behind Bass Pro Shops on Islamorada.  When you hit that island make sure your first stop is Robie's Marina.  It's well worth a walk out onto their dock and a few bucks for a bucket of menhaden to hand feed the giant tarpon!!  Don't be bashful and if you don't walk away bleeding a little around the elbow then you didn't do it right!!    Lobster season won't be in while you're there but that doesn't mean you can't snorkle around and see what it's all about.  If you can't find any on your own just stop by Bahia Honda State Park.  Walk the beach down to where the old railroad bridge is.  You'll have to swim out about 50yds or so to reach the first bridge column but if you swim down to the bottom of it and peek under there you'll find plenty of lobsters peeking back at you.  I've also seen some decent sized lion fish hanging out around the colums as well as some grouper.  If you snorkle back to the parking area instead of walking the beach you'll find plenty of snapper schools (smallish) possibly some stone crabs and I've even seen some monster barracuda there so don't wear anything shiny while you're swimming.  Wouldn't want you to lose a finger!! LOL

When you get to Key West head to the end of Duval Street on the West end and catch the sunset festival.  All the street performers come out of the woodworks and some are pretty impressive!  Also the pirate ships will sail by and fire the canons as the sun goes down.  You'll also need to get your picture taken at the southern most point with the buoy to prove you were there!

Sorry for the long resonse.  I grew up in the South East and love thinking back through all my memories from down there.   I've lived in South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and spend some time in Texas as well.  If you have any other questions let me know.  I've got plenty of friends in all those areas that are kayak guides as well if you need some hook ups.  I definitely envy your ability to take this trip.  It sounds like it's going to be more than awesome!!!  I love it out here in California but I can't wait to move back down to the South East where I can play in the warm waters!!!

How about a few pics to get you excited about your trip!!!

If you are running I-10 @ Florida, cut down to Apalachicola & fish the intercoastal waterway or "the cut" at St. George Island.  Best Oysters you will find on your journey will come from that bay ... PERIOD!  You can then cut along the roads to head to South Florida.  Fishing is GREAT between Port St. Joe & Apalachicola in the bay for Tarpon, Redfish, Spec. Trout, Mullet, Kingfish, Spanish Mac's, Pompano ... head a little offfshore for Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, Cobia, Durado & MUCH MORE!  I'd skip Destin area unless you want to catch an offshore charter or something.

Nice pics Ring King.  All these Florida are making me want to plan another trip out there. So awesome!!!

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=47167.msg524451#msg524451

8,000 miles in 18 days.  That is an average of 444.44 miles a day.  You really going to have time to do all that fishing?