Caladesi Island

[ahancock08]

Anyone paddled out here?

[Todd]

Yep. Lots of boat traffic on weekends. Be careful crossing the channel.

[ahancock08]

Okay. That's good to know. If you had one day, would you take Caladesi of Ft. Desoto?

[Todd]

I would always choose Ft Desoto being that it is 15 minutes from my house.

Caladesi is fine, I just have not fished there as much as I fish Ft Desoto. I definitely like Ft Desoto better.

[americanrobster]

Both are nice places, but I'd go with Fort Desoto as it is closer to home for me as well.

[Mike Hodge]

Anyone paddled out here?

I went a couple times in the spring/summer. Water is pretty skinny and clear. The scenery's nice.
The downside: Lot's of jet skiers and non-fishing kayakers, tourist types. Get there early and you'll be fine. If not, be prepared to deal with a lot of activity.

[dunfly]

Caladesi is basically my home turf since I am only about 10 minutes away. It is great in the fall, spring and winter, but less so in the summer. This time of year, I would pick Ft. Desoto.

Boat traffic in the channel can get heavy, but there are a lot of kayaks out there and most boater are aware of them. Just be careful in the channel. Jet skiers are just a nuisance, sort of like mosquitos.

[sfurman]

Fish the other side of the causeway behind honeymoon instead.

[brunz36]

I live in Dunedin/Clearwater and I drive to Fort D on the regular...but sometimes I do go to Honeymoon/Caladesi. As it has been said its a very busy area, but either go the backside of Honeymoon or work your way to the southern side of Caladesi. They key is to get in and get out before every jackass with a jetski shows up. If you're up for it the shark fishing here is freaking awesome.

[dunfly]

Repeat after me...

There are no fish behind Honeymoon.
There are no fish behind Honeymoon.
There are no fish behind Honeymoon.
There are no fish behind Honeymoon.
There are no fish behind Honeymoon.
There are no fish behind Honeymoon.

Summer is a great time for sharks. Best time is early morning on a low tide and no wind. You can see them coming up on the flats a mile away. I chased them all over two week ends ago but couldn't hook up. A big bull shark blew up about 20 feet from me and there were plenty of sanbar and blacktips around. Plan to be back out there with my 12 wt saturday.