As summer approaches in Southwest Florida, it’s time to prepare for snook fishing on the beach. As the Gulf waters warm up, the snook begin entering the passes and eventually start cruising up and down the beaches, presumably fattening up for the spawn. This is one of my favorite times of year for sight fishing, as the water becomes calm and crystal clear. Over the years, I have developed some guidelines I follow to maximize the fun and allow for the safe release of the fish.

Now that the not-so-wintery winter is behind us here in central Florida, it's time to pack away the waders and the sweatshirts and look ahead to lighter clothing and warmer water. The spring fishing season is here rather early on the Space Coast. This time of year kicks off with the spring bait run that includes shrimp, finger mullet, pigfish, pilchards and pogies.

Due to a commitment at work, I missed out on the incredible Chokoloskee Boondoggle trip to the 10,000 Islands area of South Florida. Well, this past week work paid me back. I got a chance to go to Florida to work for a few days, and had the bonus of taking Thursday and Friday off to do some fishing. I quickly hatched a plan - not only was I going to get out on the warm Florida waters, but I was going to get to finally get to give the new Jackson “Cuda” a sea trial.

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).

The 2012 Kayak Fishing ClassicS Tournament Series (presented by Diablo Paddlesports) is a 10-event “open to the public” run. Contestants earn points throughout the series based on their catch. The “Southern Redfish Classic” is the series championship, and the series point’s leader at the conclusion of this tournament wins a Diablo Paddlesports kayak. High point scorers qualify for the National Championship invitational tournament in November.

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.

As in most of my kayak fishing trips I had a hard time sleeping the night before, so I spent some time going over my gear to make sure everything was in good working order and packing my tackle bag with the items I would need for the next day’s trip. The person joining me on this trip was someone who I enjoy spending time with on the water more than anyone else and who introduced me to fishing some thirty years ago my Dad!