- by Barry "Big Bear" Grady

Last year on a slow day at Gulf to Bay Bait and Tackle, where I work and do kayak guiding from, I was at my bench tying some flies to restock my supply when I met Mark and Kelly who were here visiting from Hudson Bay, Canada. Mark watched me tie a few flies whil

e we talked about the fishing. Mark was so intrigued by watching me tie flies that he went right out and bought a fly tying vice and everything needed to tie his own. I later found out that Mark spent the winter back in Canada in his igloo (I mean house) tying his own flies out of polar bear hair and whatever else he could find lying around. That summer he picked up a fly rod and reel and went out to fly-fish every chance he got. During the course of that summer he caught a lot of arctic char, grayling, and trout.

Mark & Kelly returned to St Pete Beach last week and told me of their new found love; catching fish on a fly. They booked a trip with me to go out one afternoon in the kayaks and see if we could get him his first sea trout on one of his newly tied creations. We launched right here in one of the local bays and hit one of the many grass flats for some late afternoon kayak fishing. I was giving them some pointers and rigging them up. Kelly preferred light spin tackle and so I tied on a DOA Cal Jig 3” paddle tail white on a . oz jig head. I instructed her to make a few practice casts over the grass flats to get used to the gear. It was clear right away that she needed no practice or pointers. She pulled in the first 21” trout and proudly displayed it for the camera before releasing it back into the water.

Mark & I were still rigging up our fly rods. He tied on a nice white buck tail clouser that he had tied himself that day. He started making casts and right away landed a nice 20” trout. He was so excited to land his first sea trout on his own fly, that was a smile I will never forget. We no sooner took a picture and had a safe release when I had to paddle back to Kelly who was battling her second trout. I helped her land the fish and get another great picture and release. Well, it became obvious that the two of them would keep me busy going back and forth. Several more trout were landed on both Cal jigs and clousers. The trout bite was on and they were hitting everything we threw at them. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and the full moon rising over the calm water of the bay. It was one of those picture perfect evenings. We sure are lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

As the sun dropped and the lights came on, we paddled over to a lit dock. Dock lights can attract fish at night so we presented our tackle to some unsuspecting fish. Several docks and lights later Mark managed to get quite a few trout and even some small croakers that acted like little Mexican jumping beans. I think he landed about 20 fish while Kelly and I watched. Even though the dock fish were smaller than the flats fish, both Mark and Kelly seemed to have an excellent time. They both came to FL to catch their first spotted sea trout from a kayak, mission accomplished!

They are back in Canada now, no doubt sitting by a fire tying some new flies, talking about their great trip to St Pete Beach, and already planning their next trip down in the spring. I look forward to their next visit. It was a pleasure fishing with them and showing off this awesome place that I call home.

Whether you enjoy fly fishing or other light tackle inshore kayak fishing, St Pete offers plenty of opportunities. Come see Big Bear at Gulf to Bay Bait & Tackle for some great tackle and expert advice or if you’d like to book a kayak fishing trip and of course read your local fishing magazines. They always have current fishing info every month.

For more information on Barry "Big Bear" Grady, please visit his web site at: www.bigbearkayakfishing.com.