Bucktail Fishing the Everglades! A New Adventure! 

Lefty was a dear friend. One great thing about Lefty was he was just as happy fishing for carp or sunnies in the muddy Potomac as much as he loved fly fishing for a Permit in Belize. He was the greatest. I miss him.

@@johnbrown5870 He was a fishing hero of mine as a kid.

So much fun. Just plan it so that you don't have to fight the current in and out if you're in a yak.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing probably gonna have to wait til I retire like you and make it big on RU-vid 🤣

That's very kind - thanks!

Agreed, but it just wasn't clear enough for video.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing You make the best underwater video Mr. Skinner. They're like watching National Geographic and the movie National Treasure in one video.

Thanks again for hooking me up at that show. You'll see that craft again. It still has its advantages. This other one is really something too.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing I won 2 fluke tournaments because of you. I should be thanking you. So thank you. 😊 for the amazing information you gave us.

I appreciate the kind words!

Got them on greens last Saturday

I appreciate the kind words!

I do, but no desire to pull it off the lift and trailer it down there and back and wait on the launch line I saw last week. At least not yet.

Yep, whatever it takes!

The problem with this past quarter moon is that I would have to fight the current coming and going.

I really can't wait to get back.

He highlighted that fishing seadoo a while back. Don't remember if it had a 'lock' capability too? Seems like someone could have a system like that to retrofit 'older' watercraft. Package deal with the sonar+gps+trolling motor(s) wonder if a slow mode auto pilot speed on seadoo is out there?

I get a grip on these fish pretty fast and then use my free hand to support the weight if the fish is removed from the water. I think the combination of the grip tool (used properly) and long nosed pliers makes for the cleanest landing and release.

I'll be back early May.

I was in little danger of getting really lost, but I don't know how long it takes to kill the 100 AH battery. I was on that water for 8.5 hours yesterday, and used my trolling motor a lot, but I only ran it at power level 8/10 to travel. At the end when I had the launch in sight I ran it full out for the last 15 minutes. This is a problem because the trip is made by going out with the outgoing current but then coming back in against the beginning of the next outgoing. Round trip was 6 miles, but that doesn't include actual fishing, which is a lot of use of the motor. FWIW, I've been in Florida since mid-November and have seen less than a dozen mosquitos, and have only been bit once. Way different than last winter. I have no idea why. Noseums are a different story.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing Thanks John, I really appreciate that. Thats a solid day of fishing!

Early May.

I was back in that area again yesterday and saw a few of those things make ridiculous leaps. The thought crossed my mind that it would be very bad if one landed on the kayak, or me.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing ya the darn ray chased my jig right out of the water over the motor and into the boat no joke. Thank goodness a local kid saw us struggling and came over to help us get this thing out of the boat. Your lucky to be in an area where there’s fish. I’m on Indian river, fish are far and few between. No tide movement fish are scattered. Even when we run to Sebastian inlet things are slow. I sure do miss my Great South Bay / Fire island flunking and stripper grounds.

Just a fun-size goliath. The big ones are about the size of a small car and some people fish them with rope. These are really fun though and it was great to bucktail some structure for such hard hits.

Yes. It's excellent.

I'll be back in early May. Will miss Florida though.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing thats until you catch your old friend Doormat, they miss you Mr. Skinner. Cant wait to buy your rod!

@@jamesps7515 great comment James!

@@JohnSkinnerFishing not for nothing, but as much as your viewers miss you, I know for a fact that no one misses the sound as much as you john 😂

That should about cover it, and maybe add a soft plastic jerk bait.

No gators, but I was closer to the Gulf than the deep backwaters.

No. The problem is we have flounder up North, and they're a different fish.

It certainly does!

They do! The power on these "little" ones is sick. I can't wait to do this again now that I've learned a little.

early May, which is around the time it gets decent on the North Fork.

Yes, the 7' medium.

I'll be back in early May in time for the big blues to hopefully show.

I'm on Pine Island, but this was a couple of hours south of there.

You're not kidding. I had a definite concern that I might deplete the kayak motor battery and have to paddle back against the current.

Most insane tide I’ve ever witnessed. Blows me away every time I’m down there. Sometimes a 4 to 5ft tide swing in a short amount of time.

6'8'' and ready to go. Perfect for 1- 6 ounce jigging. I went through at least 4 prototypes before I was totally happy.

No boas, only pythons

I usually fish on the other side of the island, unless I go off-island, like in this video. I'll get over there at some point, probably next winter. I especially feel like I should be spot-locking around the bridge.

It was so nice on this trip to do "striped bass over structure" fishing. Same strategy and gear, just a different fish. I notice people shy away from wind here, yet those are the days I have my biggest snook. Again, striper fishing is often good in the wind. I'll probably use spook plugs more than before when I go North.

Windy days, Roger that.

Except for an ancient Sitex, I've had only Humminbirds all the way back.

They're about the only rods I use here. Just awesome. Worth more than they charge.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing awesome John thanks.

I'm on the West Coast. There are some. I just posted one from yesterday on my Instagram account (John Skinner Fishing). I haven't targeted them because there are so many other options and I know I'll be fluking a month from now until October.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing got it. Just be interested to see your experience in southern waters targeting flounder and if it differs from what you do up north.

I caught the one yesterday while grouper fishing, and I had just said on video "this is exactly like fluke fishing", then I caught the fluke, which technically I'm told that it was a Gulf Flounder. Looked exactly like a fluke.

3/4 and 1, 5-inch

@@JohnSkinnerFishing is this the same size you use for flounder?

I use a wide range of weights from 1/2-ounce to 6 ounces depending on depth and current.

Definitely. I'll be eating fluke in a month.

Yes.

Besides that, it's very hard for a fish to shake free. This one comes with a very strong VMC hook that was chosen to fit larger trailers, like 5- and 6-inch Gulp Grubs. A nice thing about swing hook jigs is that it's easy to change the hook.

Too far to run with my boat, which is not on a trailer.

Got ya . As much as that kayak fishing looks like fun, I'm at that age where the comfort of the boat is sure preferable to me. Great videos BTW.

I know the grouper are over the rocky bottom, but I also think they're on the deeper mangrove drop-offs. I'm just learning these. I have a 100AH Lithium that cost me $666 with a charger.

3000

I just added the link to the video description. Thanks for the reminder.

I'm usually in the Pine Island area.

Spiral-wrapped guides, AKA "acid wrapped". These are very common these days and reduces torque on the rod.

I was closer to the Gulf, so no gators.

yes

@@JohnSkinnerFishing This is the pass out of Choko bay to the gulf. The nice 16 ft wall. I never stop because I am afraid I would spend too much time there. From where you were, find four feet if water and its all trout. Big snook will be on points in a month. Never mind the back country. Thats a whole other treasure

@@kylebryer1111 Any advice on what to do when the current is ripping? If I go, I'm wanting to fish through two slacks, but the middle of the tide was too much in the cuts.

@@JohnSkinnerFishing Get to the outside and out of the confluence.. look at google earth and look at the outside points with hard bottom. Look fir Duck Rock and places like that. You were kind of pigeon held where you were and relegated to the grouper. So, out of the channel and more to the points. Snook will be there soon. Wouldn’t be a bad place to bring your new skiff. I an from Npt Ri but live in the central east coast and have a place in everglades city. Be careful, you may get addicted. Deep back country in the colder months is simply heaven on earth

Every island is surrounded by an hard/oyster ledge too.

Elias mentioned to me that there are no interference fish chomping the Gulp, and he was right. They would probably be eaten!