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Kayak fishing Report/BLOG |
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1/30/09 Check out this Bass eye view of my Designer Bass FROGs underwater, and you'll begin to understand why they catch so many Big Bass
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/28/09 Check out this pair of Tropical Tree FROGs
Splendid Leaf Frogs (Cruziohyla calcarifer) These Tropical Tree FROGs are from central America. I had originally planned to post them for sale when I had a chance to take this picture. Unfortunately, they are already sold. We'll make some more after we catch up on our Southern Leopards. Pickerel, and Baby Bull FROGs which are our most popular species. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/25/ 09 Update
Check out this cool Poison Arrow FROG. This is an actual species. Click on the picture for details. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/15/ 09 Update
Check out some recent video action I shot to demonstrate some nice strikes on the FROGs. I hate shooting video, and I especially hate to stop fishing to take still photos. But, I do love to show off the fun and excitement of FROG fishing, especially from a kayak ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out my new Bass FROG video. It shows a big bass that attacks my FROG three times before getting hooked. But, he doesn't dive down, creating slack line, and instead he explodes at the surface, straightening the hook and gets away. Nice quiet evening encounter with a big one. Very typical of the kinds of experiences you get with these FROGs.
Make sure you push up the YOUTUBE volume dial to hear the Bass "suck in" the FROG on the 3rd strike. You can view a higher quality video setting if you"select" it on YouTube. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/5 09 Update CaptKen Daubert's Bass FROG..... Clones are COMING SOON !!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12/26/08 Update Even with all of the warm weather before and after Christmas and after throwing the FROG all afternoon, I finally got this Mama just ten minutes before dark. It was the only strike. Sometimes it's just plain persistance and confidence in your lure that pays off big. I doubt that I would have caught many---if any other bass even if I threw some soft plastic worms.
Check out my new style of Southern Leopard FROGs below.
These FROGs will be available as Originals only--- not yet available as CLONES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12/15/08 Update I escaped for a few hours to swim the FROG in a small pond. Got this nice beauty right out in the bright sunshine and nice bunch of other good size bass. The strikes were very aggressive and loud on this day. Also got the whole thing on video, including the strikes. When I get a chance, I'll post the video.
This bass was caught on my new CaptKen Daubert's Bass FROG..... Clones ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12/6/08 Update Finally had a chance to get out fishing myself. Its been very cold for so early in the season. We have been getting back to back cold fronts. But I escaped for a few hours on Saturday when a southwest wind brought in some warmth and a little bit of cloud cover.
I got these two bass and lost a bigger one that broke off a hook just behind the barb. I was testing a smaller size #1 Matzuo Shiner hook (they are very sharp) on one of my new CaptKen Daubert's Bass FROG..... Clones But in that size at least, the extra penetration was not worth the result. I have used larger sizes with good results. That was the first broken hook in that brand. After that I went back to the tried and true 1/0 Mustad #37140 with the rubber band weed guard and got these two nice bass and caught about a half dozen assorted lesser sized bass.
The bass this day appeared to be sunning themselves near the surface on this dramaticly warming day of mixed warm sunshine and cloud cover. They were very spooky and cautious. Sometimes hitting the FROG lightly, then returning to gobble it as it appeared to be escaping in the pads. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11/14/08 Update Well, enough about the fish I catch on the FROGs. It is time to start highlighting the fish caught by some folks who bought my FROGs. Even though winter is moving in up north, Chris Burke managed to catch this bass last Sunday on 11/09/08. The daytime high temperature was only 56 degrees !!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I haven't had a chance to update since the storms dropped all the rain that we really needed for the lakes to make a comeback from drought like conditions. You may remember from my post below back in June and July that the low water conditions were beginning to hurt the fishing conditions. The storms dropped enough rain to completely restore the inland lakes and ponds and they will probably begin a new cycle of fish population increases. The fish will be spread out for awhile on the high water, but they will grow quickly and reproduce greatly. The future looks good and the lakes themselves now look great!
Both fish caught on 9/21/08 The St Johns River and Lake George are still out of their banks, but the fishing is great where you can find weed beds in the shallowest water --- which is now pretty deep for Lake George. Hopefully, the high water will not stay up too long or it could threaten to kill off all the beautiful grass beds again as it did a few years back after all of the hurricanes.
Meanwhile the fishing is fabulous as you can see from the two fish in the photos from Sunday. There was non-stop action, and I'm sure I sacrificed something bigger to stop and take pictures during such a hot feeding binge as the bigger bass were blasting the mullet in the reeds behind me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8/22/08 Update
I will be meeting with the Tri-County Fly Fishers on Oct. 15th 2008 at the Oxford Community Center at 7:00 PM to discuss Kayak Fly Fishing oppurtunities in the Central Florida area, including techniques & tips for fly fishing by kayak. Topics will include wading, fly casting from kayaks, standing in kayaks, and kayak fly fishing accessories you can make yourself. Also, we will discuss capitalizing on special oppurtunities presented by water and aquatic vegetation cycles in fresh and saltwater environments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8/2/08 Update I will be speaking at the Calusa Blueways Paddling Festival on Thursday evening,October 30th at 7:30 PM at the Support Services Facility-Eco Living Center at Rutenberg Park in Fort Myers. Details and directions can be found at their website----- http://www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com/ev_speakers.html The subject will be
Joining the Kayak Fishing Revolution, defining, developing and refining your kayak
fishing style. For someone who has never kayaked or
fished before, for kayakers who want to begin catching a few fish from their kayak, for
fishermen who want to start using a kayak for the advantages to their fishing, or even for
veteran kayak fisherman with much experience. This seminar will help you to define and
develop your kayak fishing style for the paddling environments and the species you plan to
target. (Check out more recent big 'uns in Recent Kayak Fishing Catches) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7/2/08 Update I haven't had chance to fish for a couple weeks. We had a wedding for my youngest daughter, and then I had a nasty flu virus to get over. But finally back on thw water I found the fishing very slow even with ultra light tackle and finesse baits. So, I gave up just trying to catch fish and decided to go down swinging for a big one. I put the FROG on, hoping to get one more fish ------ and to make it a big one. An approaching thunderstorm with clouds and rain helped the cause and in ten minutes this fish below charged out of the reeds & lily pads to plunger the FROG.
Caught on 7/2/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6/17/08 Update This bruiser bass surprised me by hitting in the middle of the day with very little cloud cover and no approaching thunderstorms that day --- which just goes to show that there is always hope and that the best time to fish is------ whenever you can! But as you can see behind me, the water is getting very low, and it's getting tougher to find good lily pads and other weedcover in deeper water.
Caught on 6/17/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6/16/08 Update We finally have started to get some afternoon thunderstorms with rain and lots of beautiful clouds. The cloud cover and fast dropping barometer is creating some some great feeding activity in the middle of the day. On the left below, this nice looking bass took a Banjo Minnow on a light rod with 6 lb test monofilament on the outer grass edge just in front of an approaching thunderstorm. And the bass on the right took that FROG in the lily pads just before dark. It was a really big hit and a teriffic battle on the FROG bass. Plenty of other nice size bass were hitting throughout the cloudy day.
Caught on 6/16/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5/13/08 Update The constant high pressures, bright sunshine, and dry air finally gave way to some humiudity and cloud cover, but still no rain. But the improvement in weatherfronts was enough to catch this beauty. The fishing was fantastic on the St John's River & Lake George for a few days while the winds switched to the southwest as a front came through........... but "dry" again. The dry weather has caused quite a few brush fires in Florida. The sunshine has been so persistent that even smoke from nearby brushfires can block the sun and cause the fish to "turn on". Last year, on May 2nd, I caught a bigger bass over ten pounds on the FROG when a distant wildfire blocked the sun for a couple hours in the afternoon & dropped ashes on the water which excited the fish for awhile as they were interpreting the ashes as an insect hatch. I spent most of April fishing with a 5 weight flyrod because the "bite" was so lite with all of the high pressure. Two years ago in May I caught a 12 pound bass with the 5 weight fly rod and a small slider popper when we were also suffering with long term high pressure systems. If you can't get out on the few good weather fronts (cloudy, humid weather), fishing with finesse baits on fly rods or spinniunmg tackle will be fun, catch you a lot of fish and sometimes even a big one. This fish below came from that open pocket of water just behind me.
Caught by Capt Ken on May 10, 2008 (Check out more recent big 'uns in Recent Kayak Fishing Catches) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4/23/08 Update Still can't seem to get back to the water. Too many high pressure & clear sunny days. Anyway check out my FROG video on YouTube
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4/11/08 Update Can't seem to get back to the water. Too busy making FROGs for YOU. Also, we're working on the Fly rod version of the FROG to update it also. Seems a lot of folks are interested in it since it was seen on Dollar Wise Fly on Versus network. We've lost our cloud cover for awhile anyway (big high pressuremoved in) and a surprise late season cold front will hit next week. I guess we'll have to get some work done. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caught by Capt Ken on April 5, 2008 (Check out more recent big 'uns in Recent Kayak Fishing Catches) I caught another big fish right after this one but I didn't want to stop fishing to take a photo. A thunderstorm was approaching and the big fish were all moving at the same time. I lost a third big fish. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caught by Capt Ken on April 5, 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caught by Capt Ken on Mar. 22,2008 This fish hit the FROG right next to the kayak, scaring the dickens out of me.It put up a wicked fight in heavy pads at close quarters. It wasn't raining for a change. I caught another big fish earlier bvt I didn't want to stop for a picture. Inset shows my new "best FROG friend". ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both fish caught by Capt Ken on Mar 6,2008 These two fish hit the FROG on a rainey evening. The second hit just before dark and was well over 10 lbs. See some more recent catches in Recent Kayak Fishing Catches ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jan 27, 2008 We just finished up shooting a TV show for the Versus Network with Stafford Films and host of the show Conway Bowman, formerly the star of "The Search for FlyWater " on ESPN. His new show on theVersus Network starting in February is titled " Dollar Wise Fly " The show I appear on will probably air in April. The subject will be Kayak Fly Fishing for bass in the Ocala National Forest. Conway also fished with Dr Aaron Adams for another show about Kayak Fly Fishing in the Matlacha, Florida area. Dr. Aaron Adams was one of the featured top experts in our video, Kayak Fishing the FLATS . Aaron has authored two books on fly fishing, including Fisherman's Coast and Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey. Jan 20, 2008 Check out our interview with Kayak Fisherman Magazine online in the January 2008 issue.
December 30 2007 The FROG strikes again. In the final minutes of light on a rainy, warm front, evening, this bass couldn't resist the FROG even though it was right on the quarter moon when they are usually less responsive. This photo light has been brightness enhanced . It was actually darker out than it appears. The next photo was taken with a flash.
September 30, 2007 I'd like to let everyone know that I have a new patent pending device that can drastically improve a kayak fisherman's fishing efficiency. It's called the One Arm POWER Paddler. It will allow you to paddle with one arm and fish with the other. You will never have to set your fishing rod down again while paddling. Click on the video below to see a demonstration. To learn more about the One Arm POWER Paddler CLICK HERE September 19, 2007 Getting lucky with the rainstorms. As a bonus there nhasn't been much lightening either. Had a chhance to get out and fish the FROGS on some prairie ponds. The big bass are always waiting for a shot at those FROGS, especially if its rainy, cloudy, or evening.
September 11, 2007 There was a lull in the bass fishing action through most of the month of August due to the lack of rain or cloudy weather. There were some fish in the evening for about a half hour before dark. But then on Aug 31st, we got some nice rain showers and cloud cover. I hit two fish about 10 lbs in the same day on the FROGS. Took some lousy pictures with the cell phone again. Then Tuesday night Sept 11th. I hit the fish pictured below just before dark on one of the FROGS. Oh yeah------ got a new camera !
July 8, 2007 There is a new FREE FROG contest starting up for a Labor Day drawing.
 
In this contest, all previous purchasers of the video Kayak Fishing for BASS are also eligible for the drawing. Click on the FREE FROG link below to get more details: Get a FREE Fantastic Frog Lure made by Capt Ken You can get a better look and learn more about the FROGS at the Back to HomePageJune 19,2007 Here's a better look at the FROG that caught that big bass on my Cell Phone photos last Thursday night.
This is the new look of my FROG designs. Of course, there are many styles and species. You can read more about FROG Fishing in my - - - FEATURES Link by Clicking Here
June 14,2007 Big bass in the lakes & ponds this year are keeping me from reaching the coast. I hit my biggest fish of the year so far this evening on one of my homemade frog lures. Incredible experience from a kayak. It's been a season full of big bass and this year the Frog has been responsible for most of them. I haven't been carrying a camera with me because I'm kind of burned out on photography after making all the videos. I just want to fish. Anyway, I did take a photo with my cell phone. I wish my arm was longer so I could show you a little more of the fish with me holding it. I don't know what this fish would have weighed
because it was released alive. But, based on experience, it was well over 12 pounds. These pictures turned out surprisingly well for a cell phone. I took a few cell phone pictures of some fish earlier in the season. I'll see if I can post those also.
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