I received the Ranger 15 just last week, and it was with great anticipation. I was intrigued with the first glimpses of the kayak and wondered how it would handle. Coming in a single seat (15.1) and tandem models (15.2), the Ranger 15 is Malibu’s entry into the hybrid kayak market.

It’s the year 1898. The United States has become involved in a conflict with Cuba, which will eventually lead to the Spanish American War. The citizens of Tampa, Florida demand military defenses be constructed to protect the bay. Due to its close proximity to Cuba, Tampa has become the embarkation point for U.S. troops and supplies to the Caribbean war zones. Back in 1849, a young Brevet Colonel named Robert E. Lee had completed a study of the islands at the mouth of Tampa Bay (Egmont Key and Mullet Key).

A while back, there was a thread in the Saltwater Kayak Fishing Section of the YakAngler Forum entitled Clearwater/Fort Desoto. Biding my time before I replied, I received an email from Mark saying “This is all you”. So I reached out to Chris Funk, aka Feral One, and made plans to meet near Fort Desoto this weekend. Greg Becker and I were running a little late to meet Chris, who was already on the water ready to go.

Mini-Doggle: Definition - Not quite a Boondoggle - almost, but not quite.

Kayak fishing for me is all about the adventure. Not knowing what’s around the next corner, the anticipation of an unknown area and what it could hold, the challenge of unlocking those hidden secrets - that’s what draws me to the sport. So it was a no-brainer when Chip Gibson called me and asked if I wanted to fish Mosquito Lagoon. Did I want to join him and Brad? ”Of course!"

For my last kayak fishing trip of 2011,I made the decision to go to a location that I hadn’t visited in quite some time. This New Year’s Eve trip would serve two purposes: finishing off a great year, and hopefully giving me some content for my next magazine article. I made the some calls and rounded up the usual suspects. Chris and Tom would be there, and I would pick Greg up along the way. As we drove over the Skyway Bridge enroute to Fort DeSoto, we could tell it was going to be a good morning. Flat calm conditions greeted us at the launch. We were soon on the water, casting Heddon “Super Spook, Jr.” topwaters into schools of mullet, looking for redfish.

The Tampa Bay Chapter of Heroes on the Water held its first event this past Saturday at beautiful Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg Florida. Our honored guest for the day was Don Floyd and his wife Donna. Don retired from the US Army in 1999. He saw one of our flyers at the VA and decided to give us a call. I’m sure glad he did. While this fishing was not all that great, I do believe our guests had a great time out on the water.

The topic of flats wear had come up on another kayaking fishing forum, and as I was in desperate need of a new pair of wading boots, I did some searching on line and came across the SIMMS Flats Boot. These looked like they would fit the bill just perfect. After too many heart stopping encounters with stingrays here in Tampa Bay, I called up Mark, aka “Yaksushi” to see if he had any contacts at SIMMS.

Sixty two anglers woke up bright and early on November 19th, in eager anticipation of kayak fishing tournament number two in the Paddle-Fishing.com Tournament Series. “The Mystery Lure” has all anglers using the same exact lure or in this case “lures”. This year the Mystery Lure was sponsored by Culpirt Riptide. As each angler signed in, they were handed their lure bag, loaded with an amazing assortment of lures.

After my last two dismal trips, I wasn’t sure if I should answer the phone when my buddies Walt and Greg called me. After all, they were the administrators of the beat downs I got fishing with them last. I figured “What the heck, at least I could get some good pictures if this trend continues”. So as we all met at the launch, we were met by another friend of mine, Chris, who has also recently put me to task while fishing.

Ok, so I took some liberties with the title, but like the movie, I’m haunted by waters. I want to know what’s around the next bend in the mangroves, that hidden pond in the back country, or up the river I used to fish when I was a younger man. So when my buddy Walt called me and said “Let’s go see if they are biting up the river”, I jumped at the chance. This time of year the snook head up the rivers in search of warmer water, so this would be a perfect opportunity to see how well they are making a comeback after our terrible winter of a few years ago.