I would be happy to see both of those. I spent my last two days in Louisiana was throwing nothing but small slow pitch jigs and I had a blast. I hope you didn't spend too much on live shrimp, as you go outside to shore with a headlamp at night and there are hundreds of shiny eyes right there looking back at you in the keys. I was skeptical of live shrimp at first until someone gave me some. My best move involved moving to deeper water with them were the grunts fear to fin. First hogfish and my P.B. mutton but nowhere near as big as Meg's. That record is really hard to beat especially from a kayak AND using an artificial lure.
I can't tell you how much I love your uncut videos. So exciting watching a florida fishing trip in a kayak. I don't know I have the balls to do that. So thank you for sharing these with us.
While I have not fished nearly as much as you, I was taught to fish the oldest structures first as they hold the most barnacles, which is the bottom of the food chain.
Elias, your slow trip beats the hell out of me sitting inside while Winter Storm Blair is kicking outside...and anyone who has ever kayak fished much at all has had far worse...any day on the water beats the heck out of most anything else... 1:54:23
nice fishing. i remembered you driving from NY to NJ to attempt to catch some snakeheads with me. Failed trip, but it was great meeting ya! Maybe i'll come down to florida to fish with you next time!
I have a challenge for you if your so inclined. Last time I was in the Keys was Aug of 23 for my bday. We stayed at KOA in Sugerloaf Key. I went w gf so it wasn't a fishing vacation, it was spend time w the new lady and paddle a lil bit. Going straight out to the bridges, if you let the current take you out towards the ocean there tons of rocks and structure and pretty deep not even 100 yrds from the bridge. I so wish I had a fish finder to see. If you went all the way across the channel there some lil coves, boat slips and channels and alot of drop offs w structure also. Def a lot of possibilities and you don't have to go far. Like any body of water there is soo much to learn . August is NOT when you want to fish the keys and honestly winter is brutal as well. Good luck brother, love your videos. If your over that way, there was a restaurant called Broil (?) one of the finest places I have ever eaten there, a lil high end but worth it.
Elias, you think a paddle tail would’ve faired better since it moves more water and creates more vibrations? Just spitballing. I’m definitely going to be carrying a ton of Gulp and LipGlü when I come down.
I've done a few trips experimenting like this and my answers came up as "always use scent" lol! You mentioned in another uncut how you've always fileted your fish the day of catching them. I used to do the same thing, but now i just bleed and brain them before the ice, then gut them all at the end of the day. I clean them off then I keep them in the coldest drawer in my fridge to filet the following day. They keep just as well and taste the same, saves a lot of energy and effort as well!🫡 Tight lines elias!
I fouled two of those big rays in one night this year. Fought the first one for 20 minutes thinking I could get the hook out only to get soaked and broken off at the kayak. Would be pretty dangerous to have one thrashing against the kayak down there for sure.
I would love to see you do a video using thumper shrimp. I caught all species on it when I used it on my trip. Look downs, juvenile Goliath, yellow jack, mangs, yellowtail, and nice size mutton’s. I used the 3 & 4 inch with the 3/8 jig head.
First of all, love the content. Thanks for putting up so much fantastic content. Second, could you share with me your anchor system? I’ve searched and searched but just not seeing it anywhere. Would like to have something like that to tidy up my kayak.
Wow! It's a tough day when you have to resort to a crappie magnet and still don't get results. Because I'm older than soil, I conducted a lot of experiments in the early 80's when new scents really hit the market. I used them on freshwater fish from trout to northern pike and the only firm conclusion was that the colder the water the more important scent became. Freshwater fish are generalist while ocean fish tend to be specialist, so I don't know if any of my conclusion applies. Great video full of stories. Fishin is easy but sometimes catchin is hard.
Redfish are seriously underrated! In Texas, tons of folks prefer Speckled trout…which I rarely care to eat. The water is almost always warmer in the temps you mentioned here…and a lot warmer than that 😂 Redfish up to 28” are fantastic to eat! That’s the top of our slot, I haven’t tried above, but hear they can get worms and parasites🤷🏼♂️ Ribbon fish huh? Would never have thought to eat one lol
Love your vids. Where are your shrimp lures on this trip? Vudu shrimp has worked well for you on other trips. Just thinking out loud. Also, shouldn't you use darker lures in murky water?
What sort of wind conditions keep you from going out to the bridges? Do they provide enough protection on windier days? Also would love to fish with you down there sometime.
Elias, what is the best tide to fish? High tide or Low? When you are fishing do you want to change colors based on the water clarity? Fishing in the Keys has to be at the top of the list for fishermen and families if you are vacationing and want to let everyone do a little fishing for fun. We always just went down to the Keys and fished off the bridges, it was a blast. Usually came back with some fish for dinner. Seeing you catch all those great Snappers and Groupers is a blast.
It seems to change honestly. There’s so many things that will determine a good tide of fishing. Clarity, debris, shark presence, etc. I think the best thing to do is learn the strategy for both tides. They are both excellent but throw different challenges at you. Especially the grass.
Elias, What amazes Me is no big Tarpon hooked at that Bridge.Ive seen Darcizzle&Pudding crush Tarpon there.They must only hit bait. Stay Topside God Bless
Now I have to go to the keys soon! I believe permit are running there now too. What kind of line to line knot did you quickly tie there? That was very fast
I have a truck camper, and I flat tow a Suzuki Samurai with a kayak on top. Would love to fish the bridges and flats along the highway to the keys. Are there places that you can pull off the highway and set up a fishing camp for the night or two. Are there places around Key Largo and Key west to stay and fish. I would rather not stay at a RV parks all the time. I hate paying the inflated pricing of RV parks. Especially when they pack you in right next to another camper rig. Being able to find a place all alone with decent fishing would be a wonderful thing. Any ideas for what I described along the roads to the keys.
Hi Elias, love your videos. Me and my son are heading to keys now. Will be fishing from bridges, any tips on better bridge to fish from ? Thank you 🙏 blessings
I just watched 3:56:20 of God Father part 3 but haven't watched parts 1 or 2. Now I gotta go watch part 2 next I guess. Of all the thousands of lures I've got... I've never brought a crappie lure to the Keys. Ever.
@@EliasVFishing The only other place I know of is small it is called Off The Hook Bait and Tackle Marathon, FL they carry a small variety of soft plastics that work in the Keys.
Mutton snappers are just a ray of sunshine and always bring me full happiness. Lol. Are those the 23 fuegos? I had maybe one of the first models and the flex was so bad on it I had to sell it. Would flex when spooling. I have heard you mention a few times now how great they are and it was semi fixed.
Actually, Elias was right. It was and still is Mylanta. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years and produced thousands of those blue bottles.
Pretty sure that seaweed around 31:47 is sargassum, which is common all over Florida. It's a bit hard to see though, so I could be wrong. I concur with some of the other comments suggesting that you could talk a little bit more about the how and why, if you're open to it. I'm curious how you think about tides, water conditions, weather, and how that leads to lure choice, presentation, and especially how you work your plastics. You call yourself a keys googan a lot, but I think you perform just about as well as anyone for doing what you're doing where you're doing it. Guides and locals don't do a lot pitching soft plastics around bridges and near-shore like you do, at least in my experience. Also, would love to see more backcountry, even if it's not long-form.
By the way, I don't think grunts have particularly high incidence of ciguatera as you were told (although I believe it's possible in nearly any tropical fish that eats other fish); however, yellow jack are known to be on the higher end of the spectrum. For what it's worth, I still eat them since the likelihood isn't as high as barracuda, but there's some level of risk involved. Grunts should be fine. Ciguatera scares the heck out of me!
I have no idea if I know what I am talking about or not... but I am commenting about two hours into the video... It seems to me that the fish that you've caught that were NOT jacks were caught when your retrieve was in the direction of the current, rather than across or against the current. Perhaps with the poor visibility and the current they are facing into the current to look for opportunites as they pass, rather than using sight to find food.
OK Elias, please don't take this the wrong way. I have an issue with your "scientific method " Your stated objective at the beginning of this video was to compare unscented jigs to scented jigs. That requires you to change only 1 variable, the jig! You didn't do that. You also changed the leader dimension/weight. You went to 30# up from 20#. Now, I know that you are a fisherman and not a scientist. I get that. All I'm saying is that when you change 2 variables it is impossible to determine which is having the greater impact. This fact renders all your data "scientifically " irrelevant. You know as well as I do that leader size can have a huge impact on catch rate. Sorry, this brought my inner scientist to the fore. I still love the uncut videos and enjoy your enthusiasm and commentary.
@@EliasVFishingbtw, when you say the locals don’t use soft plastics like you do. Only makes every catch that much gnarlier. Jumbo Mutton on a soft plastic ? Unheard of in my opinion. You’re breaking ground as far as I know with your results.
Your pension is keep fishing getting a bigger skiff when your 2 old to do the kayak. I watch till one of us dies. Unions where great 20 years ago now the illegal workers have forced the unions to lower wages and work unsafe. Wish I never joined the union.
Yo Elias you can get plenty of Zoom flukes at Bass Pro in Islamorada. Thats where I usually stop before fishing in the Keys. They should have everything you need there.😎
Did another one of these with slow pitch…and a final with live shrimp. Any other fully committed uncut techniques that you might want to see?
Since you like the micro lures, using a bunch of different Ned rigs could be cool as well. Loving these long uploads💪🏼
I would be happy to see both of those. I spent my last two days in Louisiana was throwing nothing but small slow pitch jigs and I had a blast. I hope you didn't spend too much on live shrimp, as you go outside to shore with a headlamp at night and there are hundreds of shiny eyes right there looking back at you in the keys. I was skeptical of live shrimp at first until someone gave me some. My best move involved moving to deeper water with them were the grunts fear to fin. First hogfish and my P.B. mutton but nowhere near as big as Meg's. That record is really hard to beat especially from a kayak AND using an artificial lure.
Yes do one on slow pitch jigs
I love the consistency
Are live grunts a possibility?
I have fallen asleep to this video twice. Love them.
Really enjoy these longer videos! I watch the video for about 20 minutes each day until I'm through the whole thing
Incredible honesty and self-awareness. Thanks, Elias.
I can't tell you how much I love your uncut videos. So exciting watching a florida fishing trip in a kayak. I don't know I have the balls to do that. So thank you for sharing these with us.
While I have not fished nearly as much as you, I was taught to fish the oldest structures first as they hold the most barnacles, which is the bottom of the food chain.
You are 100% right on that.
Micro management should not be overrated, lol great video.
Elias, your slow trip beats the hell out of me sitting inside while Winter Storm Blair is kicking outside...and anyone who has ever kayak fished much at all has had far worse...any day on the water beats the heck out of most anything else...
1:54:23
Thanks for videos buddy, I love the long videos, I watched it and set up my gears in the living room for the next fishing trip .🐟on
Doing Great Man ! Your efforts are appreciated !
nice fishing. i remembered you driving from NY to NJ to attempt to catch some snakeheads with me. Failed trip, but it was great meeting ya! Maybe i'll come down to florida to fish with you next time!
Elias has one fishing day that looks like mine and he begins doubting his whole existence 🤣
I’m spending the month of February in Marathon. Towing the OT Big Water down. Would be a bucket list moment to fish with you.
I’ll be there all February too 👍
@@EliasVFishingcool. It would be great to cross paths. I’ll be the googan with the Old Town “me-pdl” huffing and puffing like a chain smoker. 🤣
Have fun! We are going to Big Pine key throughout February
Livin the dream, great video man! Thanks for the entertainment, keep it up. God bless
Keep these coming!!
I have a challenge for you if your so inclined. Last time I was in the Keys was Aug of 23 for my bday. We stayed at KOA in Sugerloaf Key. I went w gf so it wasn't a fishing vacation, it was spend time w the new lady and paddle a lil bit. Going straight out to the bridges, if you let the current take you out towards the ocean there tons of rocks and structure and pretty deep not even 100 yrds from the bridge. I so wish I had a fish finder to see. If you went all the way across the channel there some lil coves, boat slips and channels and alot of drop offs w structure also. Def a lot of possibilities and you don't have to go far. Like any body of water there is soo much to learn . August is NOT when you want to fish the keys and honestly winter is brutal as well. Good luck brother, love your videos. If your over that way, there was a restaurant called Broil (?) one of the finest places I have ever eaten there, a lil high end but worth it.
Elias, you think a paddle tail would’ve faired better since it moves more water and creates more vibrations? Just spitballing. I’m definitely going to be carrying a ton of Gulp and LipGlü when I come down.
Who knows. But Gulp was king
@@EliasVFishingit certainly is! Only lure I use during flounder season in southern NJ
I've done a few trips experimenting like this and my answers came up as "always use scent" lol! You mentioned in another uncut how you've always fileted your fish the day of catching them. I used to do the same thing, but now i just bleed and brain them before the ice, then gut them all at the end of the day. I clean them off then I keep them in the coldest drawer in my fridge to filet the following day. They keep just as well and taste the same, saves a lot of energy and effort as well!🫡 Tight lines elias!
I have compass hobie and I love it super light very stable !
That was brutal. Better get more gulp minnows and shrimp!🦐
Love the long uncut videos! Do you have a preference jigging a lure with the tide or against it?
Try both in new areas!
I fouled two of those big rays in one night this year. Fought the first one for 20 minutes thinking I could get the hook out only to get soaked and broken off at the kayak. Would be pretty dangerous to have one thrashing against the kayak down there for sure.
I would love to see you do a video using thumper shrimp. I caught all species on it when I used it on my trip. Look downs, juvenile Goliath, yellow jack, mangs, yellowtail, and nice size mutton’s. I used the 3 & 4 inch with the 3/8 jig head.
lovin it my man!
First of all, love the content. Thanks for putting up so much fantastic content. Second, could you share with me your anchor system? I’ve searched and searched but just not seeing it anywhere. Would like to have something like that to tidy up my kayak.
Anchor Wizard - look it up on YT
@ appreciate it. Thank you!
Wow! It's a tough day when you have to resort to a crappie magnet and still don't get results. Because I'm older than soil, I conducted a lot of experiments in the early 80's when new scents really hit the market. I used them on freshwater fish from trout to northern pike and the only firm conclusion was that the colder the water the more important scent became. Freshwater fish are generalist while ocean fish tend to be specialist, so I don't know if any of my conclusion applies. Great video full of stories. Fishin is easy but sometimes catchin is hard.
Still a good general observation that holds merit anywhere you go.
Redfish are seriously underrated! In Texas, tons of folks prefer Speckled trout…which I rarely care to eat. The water is almost always warmer in the temps you mentioned here…and a lot warmer than that 😂
Redfish up to 28” are fantastic to eat! That’s the top of our slot, I haven’t tried above, but hear they can get worms and parasites🤷🏼♂️
Ribbon fish huh? Would never have thought to eat one lol
Nice job bud. I crush walleye and smallies on zoom flukes on erie.
Hey Elias, Bring it on, haha.. Your the best,
Love your vids. Where are your shrimp lures on this trip? Vudu shrimp has worked well for you on other trips. Just thinking out loud. Also, shouldn't you use darker lures in murky water?
I tried using jerk shads in place of gulp and noticed a difference last summer. As much as I try to move away from it i always fall back on gulp
What sort of wind conditions keep you from going out to the bridges? Do they provide enough protection on windier days? Also would love to fish with you down there sometime.
Elias, what is the best tide to fish? High tide or Low? When you are fishing do you want to change colors based on the water clarity? Fishing in the Keys has to be at the top of the list for fishermen and families if you are vacationing and want to let everyone do a little fishing for fun. We always just went down to the Keys and fished off the bridges, it was a blast. Usually came back with some fish for dinner. Seeing you catch all those great Snappers and Groupers is a blast.
It seems to change honestly. There’s so many things that will determine a good tide of fishing. Clarity, debris, shark presence, etc. I think the best thing to do is learn the strategy for both tides. They are both excellent but throw different challenges at you. Especially the grass.
Elias, What amazes Me is no big Tarpon hooked at that Bridge.Ive seen Darcizzle&Pudding crush Tarpon there.They must only hit bait. Stay Topside God Bless
I think it's the wrong time of year to lay into those with consistency.
Sick E! 🤙
Now I have to go to the keys soon! I believe permit are running there now too. What kind of line to line knot did you quickly tie there? That was very fast
Uni knot
@ thanks I couldn’t tell watching it live.
I have a truck camper, and I flat tow a Suzuki Samurai with a kayak on top. Would love to fish the bridges and flats along the highway to the keys. Are there places that you can pull off the highway and set up a fishing camp for the night or two. Are there places around Key Largo and Key west to stay and fish. I would rather not stay at a RV parks all the time. I hate paying the inflated pricing of RV parks. Especially when they pack you in right next to another camper rig. Being able to find a place all alone with decent fishing would be a wonderful thing. Any ideas for what I described along the roads to the keys.
The campgrounds are really nice around there, but it’s tough to sneak in last second.
Talking about worms in fish did you forget that sea raven vid from a very long time ago😅
Hi Elias, love your videos. Me and my son are heading to keys now. Will be fishing from bridges, any tips on better bridge to fish from ? Thank you 🙏 blessings
Long key is the most popular land based one 👍
Would’ve love to see that ray but I get it.
Weather permitting, You really need to try to get back out to that deeper water and use squid chunks.
I just watched 3:56:20 of God Father part 3 but haven't watched parts 1 or 2. Now I gotta go watch part 2 next I guess. Of all the thousands of lures I've got... I've never brought a crappie lure to the Keys. Ever.
Good!
Hi Elias can you tell me when i can buy those jigheads? Nice video btw
Check the videos description for all the gear.
Worldwide sportsman in islamaroda has everything. I’m sure they have zoom flukes
They sure did!
@@EliasVFishing The only other place I know of is small it is called Off The Hook Bait and Tackle Marathon, FL they carry a small variety of soft plastics that work in the Keys.
Mutton snappers are just a ray of sunshine and always bring me full happiness. Lol. Are those the 23 fuegos? I had maybe one of the first models and the flex was so bad on it I had to sell it. Would flex when spooling. I have heard you mention a few times now how great they are and it was semi fixed.
They fixed the flex issue, but they did seem to breakdown a bit by the end of this trip. As did my Certate.
Tackle center of Islamorada will have zooms great bait and tackle.
It was Milk of Magnesia my guy!😎
Actually, Elias was right. It was and still is Mylanta. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years and produced thousands of those blue bottles.
Pretty sure that seaweed around 31:47 is sargassum, which is common all over Florida. It's a bit hard to see though, so I could be wrong.
I concur with some of the other comments suggesting that you could talk a little bit more about the how and why, if you're open to it. I'm curious how you think about tides, water conditions, weather, and how that leads to lure choice, presentation, and especially how you work your plastics. You call yourself a keys googan a lot, but I think you perform just about as well as anyone for doing what you're doing where you're doing it. Guides and locals don't do a lot pitching soft plastics around bridges and near-shore like you do, at least in my experience. Also, would love to see more backcountry, even if it's not long-form.
I’ll get more into conditions in the future. Thanks for watching it.
@@EliasVFishing Thanks for making it! I live in England for now and this really brings me back home.
By the way, I don't think grunts have particularly high incidence of ciguatera as you were told (although I believe it's possible in nearly any tropical fish that eats other fish); however, yellow jack are known to be on the higher end of the spectrum. For what it's worth, I still eat them since the likelihood isn't as high as barracuda, but there's some level of risk involved. Grunts should be fine. Ciguatera scares the heck out of me!
Did you do some sheepshead fishing?
I’ll try to do some uncut sheepshead fishing videos this summer. The uncut stuff seems to have landed far better than I could have ever expected.
Darn I'd like to watch one of your videos but I don't have 4 hours to do it on any day. I am interested in how this works out for you.
I’ll still make edited videos but seems like unedited far out perform them. Can’t hide much if there is no edits.
@@EliasVFishing Good to hear that they are outperforming. I bet it is also easier to produce. I wonder who has the time to watch a 4 hour video?
West marine in Marathon for tackle
I have no idea if I know what I am talking about or not... but I am commenting about two hours into the video... It seems to me that the fish that you've caught that were NOT jacks were caught when your retrieve was in the direction of the current, rather than across or against the current. Perhaps with the poor visibility and the current they are facing into the current to look for opportunites as they pass, rather than using sight to find food.
Really interesting observation.
Elias! Bro I am over 50+ and always pulling my Old Town down into the water through the brush and rocks here in New York. Should I stop? Puhahaha.
OK Elias, please don't take this the wrong way. I have an issue with your "scientific method " Your stated objective at the beginning of this video was to compare unscented jigs to scented jigs. That requires you to change only 1 variable, the jig! You didn't do that. You also changed the leader dimension/weight. You went to 30# up from 20#. Now, I know that you are a fisherman and not a scientist. I get that. All I'm saying is that when you change 2 variables it is impossible to determine which is having the greater impact. This fact renders all your data "scientifically " irrelevant. You know as well as I do that leader size can have a huge impact on catch rate. Sorry, this brought my inner scientist to the fore. I still love the uncut videos and enjoy your enthusiasm and commentary.
Totally right. I did a lot of inconsistent stuff on this one
Im regards to soft plastics , I believe there’s a Bass Pro in Islamorada that should have some to replace those zoom flukes you burned through.
They sure did!
@@EliasVFishingbtw, when you say the locals don’t use soft plastics like you do. Only makes every catch that much gnarlier. Jumbo Mutton on a soft plastic ? Unheard of in my opinion. You’re breaking ground as far as I know with your results.
I think it was color not so much profile
Did you mean maylox
Me too LOL
Fishing sucked, banter "Fantastic" keep up the good work brother
If not, could you
If I wanted to watch a video for 3.5 hrs I'd go to the movie theater.
What movie is 3.5 hours long? Why not just watch this one in 7 30 minute segments?
I won’t be offended if you don’t watch.
Kendo... go back to watching Fox News and dream of making your Merika great again again 😂
@@maxwaters3681
America will be getting great again in 2 weeks! But I bet you watch the view and flick your liberal bean!
Your pension is keep fishing getting a bigger skiff when your 2 old to do the kayak. I watch till one of us dies. Unions where great 20 years ago now the illegal workers have forced the unions to lower wages and work unsafe. Wish I never joined the union.
Wow. I’ll keep cranking out these videos in that case!!
Yo Elias you can get plenty of Zoom flukes at Bass Pro in Islamorada. Thats where I usually stop before fishing in the Keys. They should have everything you need there.😎
If you are putting Pro Cure on soft plastics in the Keys then you are as close as you can get to fishing with live bait!😂😂🤷♂️😳