"En Fuego"

March has been "en fuego!"  Lots of days spent on the water.  I've been chasing bass, grass carp, took a trip to the FL Keys, and ended the month on the Little Red River.

I'll pick up with the Keys.  The fishing was good but the company was great.  It's rare to spend a week on the road and not have complaints about something.  I have none.  I had never met the other roommates but consider them all friends now.  The winds however, were terrible most days.  We basically had 2 good days on the flats.  But thanks to JK team member and guide Randy Morrow we were on fish everyday.  I can't say enough about how professional and detail oriented Randy was.  He knew all of our names after the first meeting, identified our techniques, and developed strategies for the trips based on what our strengths/weaknesses were.

sharks are fun on the fly

PC Jonathan Meyer

I may have the details off a little (I can't remember my own name most days) but he's been in the Keys ~15 yrs guiding and hosting Eco tours.  Here's his FB page (doesn't post often).  Lower Keys Kayak Fishing  

Like any good guide he spends his time on the water and lets word of mouth do its thing.  Highly recommended for both conventional and fly.

The nights were spent prepping for the next days trip and riding/falling off the Onewheel.  Proud to say I only ate it once (I'm 39).  Mostly because I was smart enough (I'm 39) to not get on it again.  But it was cool...just didn't want to break something on this trip.

Onewheel in action...I almost broke myself on an EMPTY street!

I won't share more than that because Jameson and Brooks killed themselves trying to film the entire week.  The group would be spread out and they'd paddle like crazy, into 30 mph winds, trying to get to the action.  I'll share the video when it's out.  If you saw their last video, "Salty" St Marks, FL,you know it'll be insanely good!

all over the Keys...and our lunch guests.

PC Brooks Beatty

After I got home I spent a few days recovering.  Really the winds were 30-40 mph here in SEAR and I had enough fun dealing with that stuff in FL.

When the winds subsided I went and spent a few afternoons stalking grass carp on the flats.  It's still fairly early and they aren't aggressive but they'll eat.

Celebrated Easter weekend in Mayflower, AR with family.  Its become a tradition to "unofficially" open pool season on this weekend.  Yes, it's still way too cold for the adults.  But kids don't care, even in their Easter outfits.

Before I left for the weekend I checked the COE generation schedule and was shocked to see a half day of low water on the Little Red.  I stayed up way too late Saturday night and got up way too early on Sunday, 3:30 am.  But I was way too excited to pass up on the first low water in months.  

The first hour was silly.  My dead drift and mending looked like I was working a frog for bass.  Eventually I got it worked out and found a few fish.

I'm always amazed that trout will chase down and crush a bugger that swims like a drowning caterpillar.  But won't rise 3 inches to eat a nymph because it's the wrong shade of olive.

Once I got the depth figured out I had a great day.  I didn't move much because I knew high water was on its way and didn't want to be far from my kayak when it arrived.  Around lunch it showed up and carried me back to my truck.  Good way to end the month.  April looks to be just as fun...