Guided Kayak Fishing Tours With Local Fishing Guide Captain Ken Roy. He'll put you on fish soon after your kayak fishing trip begins. $150 for two, $50 each person after that up to six. Rental fishing kayaks available. Call us to set it up.

Fishing charters with renowned local fishing guide Captain Kyle Messier, Owner of Red Hot Fishing Charters.

Need a new rod and reel or need to repair the old reliable one? How about some new lures, get the latest info on what's biting and where. Precision Tackle is your place for all that and more. Talk to Dave the owner. A great guy with lots on his mind!

Tides and their effects on Fishing
By Capt. Ken Roy

The stage of the tide, and how hard the current runs has a definite impact on fishing, both inshore and offshore. Knowing how to read tide charts correctly and apply that data to your fishing will determine how successful your fishing day on the water might be.
All tide charts show the date and time of the high and low waters but not all show the height of the tide. The height above mean low water can make the difference between catching fish or going home skunked. The height makes a difference because the flow of the current becomes stronger as the height increases, which causes the water to becomes turbid. Turbidity is suspended silt which has been stirred up from bottom sediment. Turbid water reduces the chances of the fish seeing your bait. This is especially important when fishing artificial lures. Scent and sound become more important as turbidity of the water increases. Simple fact, the larger the difference between the high tide and the low tide, the faster the tidal current.

To understand what takes place during periods of strong tides, you must put tides in perspective with moon phases. Get a tide chart and find the moon phases. You will find four different phases of the moon: (1) new, (2) first quarter, (3) full, and (4) last quarter.

New Moon:
This is the period when nights are dark with no or very little moon showing. Look at the height of the tide two to four days prior to the actual new moon. You will notice that the tides gradually increase in height. This increase is caused by the increased gravitational pull of the moon during this phase. This increase in tidal height causes turbid water. Try to limit your fishing during this time to areas of hard clean bottom. When I book an inshore trip around new moon, I often fish off Homosassa where the bottom has less silt during fast tides.

First Quarter:
Slower tides result in clearer water. Notice on your tide chart that the difference between high tide heights and low tide heights are fairly small. During the waxing phase (moon gets larger) the current will not be as strong and the waters will be much clearer. Easier fishing at this time.

Full Moon:
Just as with the new moon phase, you will see an upswing in tide heights starting about three days prior to the full moon and extending about the same number after the full moon. One of the low tides each day will be in the minus range also, creating even more difference between high and low water. These high tides make it difficult to catch fish because of the turbid water conditions. An additional problem occurs during this phase. Additional light from the moon gives fish the opportunity to feed more successfully at night. The first 2 days after full moon can be extremely hard for me both inshore and offshore with the moon‘s light increasing after midnight. I find best fishing during this moon phase in the afternoon.

Last Quarter:
This is referred to as the "waning" phase (moon gets smaller). As with the first quarter, you will find that the tides will be down within the "good fishing" range

Here is an excerpt from a tide table for the month of December, 2000. I selected only the dates for each of the moon phases. Note the difference between high and low tide on each moon phase.
1st Quarter 12/04/2000 Low 2:07 AM +1.3’ Hi 6:57 AM +2.3’ 48% moon light
Low 2:34 PM +0.6’ Hi 8:29 PM +2.6’
Full Moon 12/11/2000 Hi 12:25 AM +3.6’ Low 8:25 AM -1.1’ 99% moon light
Hi 2:17 PM +3.3’ Low 8:13 PM +1.1’
4th Quarter 12/18/2000 Low 1:57 AM +0.9’ Hi 7:05 AM +2.3’ 50% moon light
Low 2:20 PM +0.7’ Hi 8:08 PM +2.6’
New Moon 12/25/2000 Hi 12:35 AM +3.2’ Low 8:28 AM -0.7’ 0% moon light
Hi 2:03 PM +2.8’ Low 8:02 PM +1.1’

On 12/04 on the day of the first quarter there is only 1.0’ difference between high and low tide. This equates to a mighty slow moving tide. On the Full moon tide of 12/11 the difference between high and low tide is 4.7’ resulting in the fastest tide of the month. Don’t get caught too far "up the creek" on the 25th as the water falls or you will be in for several hours of swearing and swatting at sand gnats and skeeters while waiting on enough water to get back out.

Topwater Action

by: Capt. Ken Roy

August, September, October, and the first couple of weeks of November brings incredible top water action to the Nature Coast. Tons of small bait fish attract predators like Ladyfish, Bonita (Little Tuny or False Albacore), Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and Jack Crevalle creating a FEEDING FRENZY. Every day you can see huge schools, sometimes more than an acre in size. These small minnows are eaten when they are microscopic and, as they grow up, they attract bigger and more predators. They are near the bottom of the fo! od chain and most are eaten long before they reach adult size.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
Some folks really don’t care what kind of fish they catch, as long as their rod gets bent tight and often. These are the folks charter captains love. Then there are others who say "If I can’t eat the @#$, I don’t want to catch it." What do you look for to keep from catching "inedible" fish. Listen up guys, here is a "TRADE SECRET." Ladyfish throw a lot of spray and they often leave the water in low, flat jumps. They school more losely than Jack Crevalle. Bluefish feed under the schools of Ladyfish. If you see tightly bunched birds feeding over Ladyfish, you can bet that Bluefish are down below. Jack Crevalle most often feed in a ! tightly packed mass that turns the water yellow. They make medium sized splashes and often absolutely churn the water. Jacks seldom jump clear of the water while feeding.
Spanish Mackerel feed around the outside of schools of Jacks and sometimes around Ladyfish but they are seldom bound with Bluefish because Bluefish will bite the Macks. Spanish Mackerel are easy to identify by their high, arching jumps. Bonita tear great big holes in the water, often throwing water 6’ or more high. When you see that much water flying, it is obvious that they are big fish. They often clear the water much like Spanish Mackerel.

HOW TO CATCH THEM:
I see folks throwing every kind of lure imaginable into these schools, usually with little or no success where I have strikes on every cast. Here is another "TRADE SECRET." If you are not getting strikes, your lure is too large or too slow. It is as simple as that. I use a lure called a "Gulf Coaster." It is a small pearl colored jigging spoon that is an absolute killer. It weighs about an ounce and you can cast it a mile. We reel it so fast it bounces along the surface. I sometimes get 5 or more strikes per cast. If a fish gets off, another one climbs on. If you can’t cast, troll these lures with one set at 125’ and! another at 150’.
Don’t cut through schools of breaking fish but circle the schools and bring the lure right through the feeding frenzy. Use a little courtesy, if a boat is working a school, don’t horn in on him. Find your own school. Some days, my parties catch a hundred or more fish on light tackle this way.

WHERE TO CATCH THEM:
Run along looking for breaking fish and feeding birds. Most of the action I find is in 12’-25’ of water. From Marker 22 in the Cross Florida Barge Canal on out to marker 18 or so you will find fish schooling most every day. In coming or out going tide, it doesn’t seem to matter. Along the Suncoast, these fish are within 2 miles of shore. From Cedar Key to Suwannee, look for them inside Seahorse Reef and well inshore of the artificial reefs.This is the fastest fishing of the year.
You can bet I take advantage of this TOP WATER ACTION any time I have a party that just wants to catch lots of fish.

Check out these kayak fishing links:

PRECISION TACKLE in Spring Hill, FL

Red Ed's Homosassa RedFishing and Charters

KayakFishing.com

GulfCoastKayakFishing.com

LureMan.com

Paddle-Fishing.com

FloridaKayakFishing.com

BigBendSportsman.com

Looking for a new boat, but not sure which one to get? With so many choices and so many opinions out there, Kayaks and Beyond carries the brands we have tested personally and found to have the best features, best accessories, best paddling, best quality, and best value.   Our fishing kayaks are designed by fishing kayakers.