By: Dan Carns
If you travel anywhere near the coast here in Southwest Florida, you’ll soon realize that businesses and homes are still under repair and in many cases, complete rebuilding. We lost our business to hurricane Ian and have rebuilt our company offering offsite rentals and tours while continuing to search for an appropriate site for a permanent launch. So, at long last we are proud to announce that we have a new location for all your kayak adventures!
We are located on G Dock, directly behind the Weston Hotel at the Marina Village. This is a beautiful area in So. Cape Coral on the Caloosahatchee and is home to the Tarpon Point Marina. Our new location is only steps away from the Nauti Mermaid outdoor bar so once you’re finished with your excursions you can relax and take in the sounds and sight of this active seaport! There are also several dining and shopping options featuring nautical themes.
We will start off by offering Kayak and SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) rentals six days a week. We’ll also be hosting guided Kayak Tours including Mangrove Maze and Sunset Kayak tours. We will continue to run remote Kayak tours out of the Matlacha and Pine Island area several days a week including the popular Kayak Fishing tours into the Matlacha Aquatic Preserve, Charlotte Harbour and Pine Island Sound areas.
If you are new to the area, you’ll soon learn that Gulf Coast Kayak is the premier coastal outfitter in this area. The owners Bryan and Diana are certified ACA (American Canoe Association) members so you can be assured that all safety precautions and prelaunch guidelines will be met. They are also Florida Master Naturalists, so the guided tours are centered around environmental and natural history themes.
One of the obvious benefits of going on a guided fishing trip is the local knowledge our guides use to help you understand the nuances of fishing in Southwest Florida. While you may be an experienced angler, you may be unfamiliar with kayak fishing, so these trips are centered around giving you as much experience as possible. Our guides not only know where to find fish, they are also tuned into the seasonal routines and can teach you what to use, when and where.
As we escape from our “winter” weather, the fish are beginning to roam out of their sheltered coves, canals and deep-water haunts. Snook can be found roaming all around the mangrove covered islands and redfish will have their heads down, tails up, rooting in the shallow grass flats looking for crabs and shrimp. Trout are a reliable quarry that will be found in 3ft to 5ft of water on broken grass and sand flats. All these fish will readily take a 3” ZMann paddle tail on a 1/8th to 1/4oz red jighead in Mullitron, Bad Shad or Pinfish color. Come visit our new location and see why were so excited!
It’s A Wild World-Get Out There!
@paddlinandfishin
Dan Carns
