Post by Slartybardfast on Oct 30, 2009 14:48:35 GMT -5
Hello TFFers,
What an adventure Dustin and I had! My wife and I went down to run the Disney Tower of Terror 5k and 13k races in the Hollywood Studios at night. After the race we went on rides until the park closed at 2am. Monday the 26th I picked up Dustin in Orlando after my a family vacation ended. We departed Orlando around 5pm and drove four and a half hours to Marco Island where we would maximize our fishing time.
Tuesday the 27th we were picked up by our guide Andrew Bostick 239-438-6107 at 6:30am. He lives on the island and offered to drive to Chokoloskee where we would launch.
We had a great experience with Andrew throughout the day. He answered all our questions and explained the strategy. The winds were out of the south at 25 mph so heading to the gulf would not be possible because the seas would be three to four feet. That eliminated the chance of redfish so we stayed in the back country. I got a rough idea of where we were from the gps in my phone but I could not pinpoint it because there is no data coverage in the middle on nowhere. I could tell that Andrew has guided for a long time. We went after big tarpon right away and when that didn't work we told him we wanted to fish as much water as possible. We were on smaller fish for most of the day. I would not hesitate to hire him again. He was patient and gave very clear instructions.
maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=25.699082,-81.217804&spn=0.428157,0.891953&t=h&z=11&msid=112235733223301040167.0004772969cf8533255ba
Dustin waiting to hear the word tarpon.
Dustin strip striking a ladyfish clean out of the water!
Dustin's first snook!
My first tarpon! Not a behemoth but one must start somewhere!
Getting a little better.
We were laughing so hard when Dustin caught his first tarpon. Andrew said to hold it closer to the camera to make it look bigger.
We got back to hotel around 4:30 and grabbed a blackened grouper sandwich by the pool with fly gear in hand. We got some quizzical looks from sunbathers as we walked across the pool area with all our fly gear. We headed south along the beach and looked for nervous water. I was very windy and hard to read the water so we blind casted and did pretty well. Dustin foul hooked this spanish mackerel in the tail but he still put up a great fight.
Check out the teeth on this thing! Dustin has one slice a 30lb leader cleanly off. Sorry Gary and Don I had to make this picture big for the full effect.
A nice Jack Crevale. These things put up a great fight. I was standing in this spot the next day and a tarpon rolled right in front of me less that 10ft away. There were porpoise all over the place.
This Spanish Mackerel hit my fly and flew five feet out of the water! after he landed my fly line was ripping across the water very fast. I would have to say that these things are my favorite salt water fish on a fly so far.
Sunset on Marco Island with a dubceiver. Jordan that fly catches more fish than any other I have used.
Wednesday the 28th we drove to Chokoloskee to meet our guide Kevin Mihailoff at 7am. We had a beautiful sunrise on our ride to the back country. The winds were lighter that day but still out of the south so we were not able to fish by the gulf. We motored down to the gulf and encountered swells a couple feet high so we turned around. Kevin is great at spotting fish and works hard to put you on a trophy. I would not hesitate to recommend him and would describe his guiding style as aggressive. www.snookin.com/
We had a blast Wednesday and had many laughs. We started down this river and came upon many large tarpon rolling in the glass smooth water. It was incredible. I was first up on the platform and I was shaking at the thought of a 100 pound fish on my line! They were rolling all around us and Kevin estimated there were 40 to 100 lb fish all around us. But alas there were no takers.
Dustin on the platform with a 12 weight rod while tarpon were rolling all over the place.
Dustin with a 21" snook.
This fish was the highlight of the trip. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of our approach to this area but I would describe it as desolation. Hurricane Andrew wiped out these mangroves and there were rotting stumps all over the place. Kevin poled us across this desert and took us to this creek that led to two ponds. Dustin was on the platform and we spotted some bait fish right by some mangroves. Dustin casted in there and bam, this snook hit the fly immediately. At first I didn't think it was that big but all of the sudden all the fly line on the deck ripped through the guides and Dustins rod doubled over and line started coming off the reel. When we got it out of the water it measure 30". Nice job Dustin and what a fish. Kevin contemplated taking it home for dinner but decided to put him back.
Another nice snook for Dustin.
The weirdest thing that happened while we were down there besides me breaking two fly rods was me catching a mullet. Mullet on a fly you ask. Yes they are vegetarians and no I didn't catch one on the fly I caught one in midair on the left forearm while doing 25mph when the thing jumped out of the water! I'm just thankful that it didn't break my nose! The first rod I broke was Dustin's nine weight sage while casting. The middle section of the rod came apart at the ferrule and the tip of the male portion cracked off. We were still able to use the rod but we're sending back to sage to get a new one. You have to love lifetime warranty. The second rod I broke was my Bass Pro shop eight weight while fighting a Jack Crevale on the beach Thursday morning. I was putting a lot of pressure on the fish and Dustin said I had a horseshoe for a rod. Next I heard a loud snap and it broke in two. Fortunately we drove right by a Bass Pro shop on our way to Ft Myers to fly home and they gave me a new one. Go Bass Pro.
Broken rod.
After our trip with Kevin we geared up again and headed to the pool side bar for a grouper sandwich with gear in hand. After the nourishment we hit the beach and fished until sunset again.
A view from the hotel on Marco.
Nice Jack Crevale off the beach.
Huge Lady fish.
Sunset on Marco Island.
Dustin and I had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. We talked about going with a group of four and sharing some expenses. Andrew was $600 a day plus tip and Kevin was $550 plus tip. Not cheap but but well worth it.
What an adventure Dustin and I had! My wife and I went down to run the Disney Tower of Terror 5k and 13k races in the Hollywood Studios at night. After the race we went on rides until the park closed at 2am. Monday the 26th I picked up Dustin in Orlando after my a family vacation ended. We departed Orlando around 5pm and drove four and a half hours to Marco Island where we would maximize our fishing time.
Tuesday the 27th we were picked up by our guide Andrew Bostick 239-438-6107 at 6:30am. He lives on the island and offered to drive to Chokoloskee where we would launch.
We had a great experience with Andrew throughout the day. He answered all our questions and explained the strategy. The winds were out of the south at 25 mph so heading to the gulf would not be possible because the seas would be three to four feet. That eliminated the chance of redfish so we stayed in the back country. I got a rough idea of where we were from the gps in my phone but I could not pinpoint it because there is no data coverage in the middle on nowhere. I could tell that Andrew has guided for a long time. We went after big tarpon right away and when that didn't work we told him we wanted to fish as much water as possible. We were on smaller fish for most of the day. I would not hesitate to hire him again. He was patient and gave very clear instructions.
maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=25.699082,-81.217804&spn=0.428157,0.891953&t=h&z=11&msid=112235733223301040167.0004772969cf8533255ba
Dustin waiting to hear the word tarpon.
Dustin strip striking a ladyfish clean out of the water!
Dustin's first snook!
My first tarpon! Not a behemoth but one must start somewhere!
Getting a little better.
We were laughing so hard when Dustin caught his first tarpon. Andrew said to hold it closer to the camera to make it look bigger.
We got back to hotel around 4:30 and grabbed a blackened grouper sandwich by the pool with fly gear in hand. We got some quizzical looks from sunbathers as we walked across the pool area with all our fly gear. We headed south along the beach and looked for nervous water. I was very windy and hard to read the water so we blind casted and did pretty well. Dustin foul hooked this spanish mackerel in the tail but he still put up a great fight.
Check out the teeth on this thing! Dustin has one slice a 30lb leader cleanly off. Sorry Gary and Don I had to make this picture big for the full effect.
A nice Jack Crevale. These things put up a great fight. I was standing in this spot the next day and a tarpon rolled right in front of me less that 10ft away. There were porpoise all over the place.
This Spanish Mackerel hit my fly and flew five feet out of the water! after he landed my fly line was ripping across the water very fast. I would have to say that these things are my favorite salt water fish on a fly so far.
Sunset on Marco Island with a dubceiver. Jordan that fly catches more fish than any other I have used.
Wednesday the 28th we drove to Chokoloskee to meet our guide Kevin Mihailoff at 7am. We had a beautiful sunrise on our ride to the back country. The winds were lighter that day but still out of the south so we were not able to fish by the gulf. We motored down to the gulf and encountered swells a couple feet high so we turned around. Kevin is great at spotting fish and works hard to put you on a trophy. I would not hesitate to recommend him and would describe his guiding style as aggressive. www.snookin.com/
We had a blast Wednesday and had many laughs. We started down this river and came upon many large tarpon rolling in the glass smooth water. It was incredible. I was first up on the platform and I was shaking at the thought of a 100 pound fish on my line! They were rolling all around us and Kevin estimated there were 40 to 100 lb fish all around us. But alas there were no takers.
Dustin on the platform with a 12 weight rod while tarpon were rolling all over the place.
Dustin with a 21" snook.
This fish was the highlight of the trip. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of our approach to this area but I would describe it as desolation. Hurricane Andrew wiped out these mangroves and there were rotting stumps all over the place. Kevin poled us across this desert and took us to this creek that led to two ponds. Dustin was on the platform and we spotted some bait fish right by some mangroves. Dustin casted in there and bam, this snook hit the fly immediately. At first I didn't think it was that big but all of the sudden all the fly line on the deck ripped through the guides and Dustins rod doubled over and line started coming off the reel. When we got it out of the water it measure 30". Nice job Dustin and what a fish. Kevin contemplated taking it home for dinner but decided to put him back.
Another nice snook for Dustin.
The weirdest thing that happened while we were down there besides me breaking two fly rods was me catching a mullet. Mullet on a fly you ask. Yes they are vegetarians and no I didn't catch one on the fly I caught one in midair on the left forearm while doing 25mph when the thing jumped out of the water! I'm just thankful that it didn't break my nose! The first rod I broke was Dustin's nine weight sage while casting. The middle section of the rod came apart at the ferrule and the tip of the male portion cracked off. We were still able to use the rod but we're sending back to sage to get a new one. You have to love lifetime warranty. The second rod I broke was my Bass Pro shop eight weight while fighting a Jack Crevale on the beach Thursday morning. I was putting a lot of pressure on the fish and Dustin said I had a horseshoe for a rod. Next I heard a loud snap and it broke in two. Fortunately we drove right by a Bass Pro shop on our way to Ft Myers to fly home and they gave me a new one. Go Bass Pro.
Broken rod.
After our trip with Kevin we geared up again and headed to the pool side bar for a grouper sandwich with gear in hand. After the nourishment we hit the beach and fished until sunset again.
A view from the hotel on Marco.
Nice Jack Crevale off the beach.
Huge Lady fish.
Sunset on Marco Island.
Dustin and I had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. We talked about going with a group of four and sharing some expenses. Andrew was $600 a day plus tip and Kevin was $550 plus tip. Not cheap but but well worth it.