Kayak Fishing, By Eric Hansen

As you probably know, Florida is one of the best fishing destinations on earth.  It is unique with beautiful lagoons, lush grass-flats, long rivers/creeks, deep blue-green coastal waters, and lakes/ponds in just about every direction you look. There are many ways to fish on them:  by boat, by foot/wading, or by canoe, but my personal favorite is by kayak. I love the freedom of being able to put my kayak in just about anywhere and leave as little imprint on the environment as possible. Plus, they are super stealthy and I can get to places that many people can’t get to. Here are my three top places to fish in Florida and why…

1st– Tampa/ Sarasota, I choose to live here because of our beautiful Gulf waters and the amazing fishing. Besides Sarasota winning best beach in the world just about every year, it is home to some of the best tarpon fishing in the world. We also have some of the most beautiful, lushest grass-flats that I’ve seen anywhere.  And our water clarity is pretty good all year. This makes for an outstanding inshore fishery for snook, redfish, trout, and tarpon. Because we are on the central gulf coast, it does take a little bit to get into some deeper waters for offshore fishing. But there are plenty of nearshore reefs on the way out with lots of great fish to be caught like grouper, snapper, cobia, & kingfish.

2nd– Mosquito Lagoon/ Indian River, this place is a very unique fishery. It is home to some of the largest trout and redfish I’ve ever seen! It isn’t really tidal driven like most saltwater areas, so the wind and rain play a huge part in the water level and clarity. If you are any type of fisherman whether fly or conventional and like to catch redfish and trout, this place is literally a dream come true. If you put your bait anywhere near a fish over there it is going to get crushed!

3rd Florida Keys, this is an incredibly beautiful chain of islands that has the best of both worlds inshore and offshore. Literally pick an island, head out in any direction and you can find just about every fish Florida has to offer. They are well known for their tarpon and bonefish fishing. I also love that it still has that old Florida feel.

Be adventurous and go check out what all Florida has to offer. Also, please respect and take care of our water so that everyone can enjoy. Tight Lines & Tight Knots! Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!  Eric Henson is the owner of Casting Kayaks LLC. a guided kayak fishing company out of Sarasota Florida.  He specializes in inshore light tackle or fly fishing from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor. To book a guided fishing trip with Eric check out his website www.CastingKayaks.com or give him a call at 941-504-1349