Florida Fishing Reports

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02-16-2008

West Coast

Anna Maria Fishing Pier

This fish was caught Saturday Feb. 10th 2008 at approximately 12:40 am. This is the first documented Sawfish in Tampa Bay in history. It was a mature male, estimated to be approximately 12 years old. It was caught by Wayne Slusser and Keith "Bulldog" Thomas on spinning equipment using cut Spanish Mackeral as bait from the Anna Maria City Pier. It measured 10 feet in length, 40 Inches in girth, estimated to weigh 228 Lbs. Some one had cut off the saw recently, the wound was still evident on the snout.

If you guys could please post this catch on your message boards, websites, or other media outlets I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for all that you do with and for anglers in Florida.

Mote Marine Research Lab has been notified of this catch and has documented it in their records as of 2/11/2008. They were extremely excited to have this species in our Bay.

Central Florida

Week ending Feb. 10th The past week has seen a lot of trips out on Johns Lake. Stan and Carol came for some artificial action and caught some good bass working Steel Shads and Gitem Warlocks. Bite was slow and bass were very scattered on this day. The following day saw us back out on Johns Lake with Grant from Canada, working some live bait and artificial baits, Granted boated 5 bass on live bait, and 27 more bass were caught working Steel Shads, these bass were just hammering the Steel Shads with TWO bass slamming the bait at the same time. Schooling action remained steady pretty much the entire day to keep the action going. Grant fishing day 2 of three days, we headed to Butler Chain, we find the bite to be very slow out here, picking up a bass here and there, with a nice 3 pounder as the big bass for the day. We experienced a complete change in weather, going from 80 degrees to a rather chilly morning and higher winds. Grant on day 3, we headed to Alligator Chain, again with some serious fog, and higher winds, we worked for our catch, hitting a small cove, where in order to get in there, I had to trim the motor up, and push the boat in by hand, was the ticket, as several bass were caught in here, and a monster slamming the bait, ripping drag and snapping the line in a matter of seconds. Overall a very good week of bass fishing, tons of bass beds were spotted on Johns Lake, Butler Chain and Alligator Chain, but all were vacant. Several bass were spotted cruising near beds on Butler Chain, but with only one bass making a play for our baits, but not committing to them. All bass were caught in 5 foot or less of water, with several being caught in less than 2 foot of water. The next 2 weeks will see us on the water with clients every day, so please be patient as I try to keep up with the reports.
Tight lines and be safe
Capt Tim Fey

East Coast

Things have cooled off a bit weather-wise. Water temps are down to the mid-60’s to around 70 degrees depending on where you are in the Lagoon. The water has cooled, but the fishing has stayed pretty much the same. We had a good number of trout and a few snook during the last couple of trips. None of the fish have been huge, but numbers have been good for the most part. Most of the small to medium sized trout are still hanging around the edges of flats and drop-offs associated with islands. Jacks and ladyfish have been cruising these same areas as well. We did find some large trout and snook today and these fish were lurking in very shallow backwater areas in and around the mangroves. They were very difficult to approach, but we did get two nice fish to hit our offerings. Unfortunately, the fights did not last long, but they were exciting while they lasted. We have been getting most of our strikes on jig and soft plastic combinations. The Rip-Tide Brand Weedless shrimp and Curtailer in the night glow pattern have been the best. We have had a few fish on the Yo-Zuri 3D Fingerling late in the day when the water was warmer and the fish more active. Live shrimp on hook-up jigs also have been producing fish around some deep-water docks.

It is supposed to warm up again and then cool off with the passing of another front. If this kind of pattern keeps up the fishing will continue to be up and down depending on what the weather allows us to do. So far this winter, however, we cannot complain too much. At least we have not had such a cold winter that the fishing has just completely shut down. Nope, we have had some wind and a few cold spells, but they have been brief. As a result, the fish have been fairly active. Hopefully this will continue and we will get an early start to spring. That just means more top water action and I am all for that.

Until next time,
Tight-Lines to all.

Capt. Ron Bielefeld
Tight-Lines Inshore Guide Service
772-388-9880

Key Largo to Key West
Includes Islamorada and Marathon

Dead center! That’s where we are in relation to the tourist season. Now we have about the most visitors and winter residents that we will have all year. Some come here to just get out of the cold up north while most come to fish and enjoy the aquatic activities that the Keys offer. (After all, these are islands!) For the most part, the fish are cooperating with the angler’s desires.

Sailfish have been around and have had their days when they would show in good numbers along the reef edge. When the northerly winds are working rather hard after a front, the bite has been the best. Live baits have been tops for most anglers while a trolled rigged dead bait has been successful as well. On days when the winds have been from the south or southeast, a good number of them have been found along the inside edge of the Gulfstream where there is a noticeable current line. This has been a good spot when they are not very evident along the reef edge. Not saying that this is where they go every day, but it has been fairly productive. Wahoo and some dolphin have also been found along this edge. It has been varying from 400 feet to 550 feet of water. If it is calm enough for you and you are not having luck along the reef edge, you may want to give it a try.

We will be covering working the reef from the patches to the edge of the reef at this week’s free fishing seminar at our Marine Educational Center this Thursday evening starting @ 6pm. We will be covering what to expect in the next few months as we look forward to a good spring run of all types of species in this venue.

The reef and oceanside of the islands remain very good for such a variety of fish that you almost need an identification book to know them all. Snappers of all kinds are consistent as well as quite a few good grouper. Look for mackerel and kings in the Hawk as well as along the reef. Working the patches have been very productive with the trolled bait or diving plug near the bottom. Be ready for some rather large critters that are 'whacking’ these presentations lately.

Flats fishing has been very good as well with numerous bonefish caught and seen on a daily basis. The winds have not affected the guides as much as the visitors, mostly because the professional guides know where and when they can fish behind this island or that one and find fish in much calmer conditions. Fly fishermen have been doing very well with the bones and on certain days, quite a few tarpon as well. The Upper Keys have had a good run of redfish as well as trout while along the lower backcountry waters, permit have been showing up in droves as well as tons of cobia. Other species that are not as popular but just about as much fun have been in abundance. Jacks, Barracuda, small sharks and quite a few snapper have all been in these areas throughout the Keys.

What has remained hot has been the bay and the area bridge channels. These venues have held steady with mangrove snapper, grouper and many other species. The bay has been full of mackerel, mostly Spanish. As the old saying goes, “You can walk on them!” Two things to remember use good chum and wire leaders. Without wire leaders, you will be an expert at fishing knots by the end of the day and without chum you will be asleep by noon. The best action has been from Sprigger Bank along the park boundary westward and southwestward to just beyond Bullard Bank and over to well west of Bluefish Bank.

To the west of this area, kingfish as well as mackerel have been numerous along with cobia. This ridge has been the hottest area and is also some of the best fishing for snapper on the bottom as well as occasional grouper. If you take live shrimp, don’t be shy! It will take you longer to put the shrimp on the hook that it will take the fish to bite it! If you want to go for the camaraderie and to relax, don’t use bait or you will be interrupted continuously.

By Dave Navarro - wca@terranova.net

Deerfield Beach to Key Largo Includes Pompano Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Homestead.

Deerfield Beach to Key Largo & Flamingo to Cape Sable

Lots of rain this past week has left inshore waters a bit on the muddy and brown side but this should clear up by the weekend. East winds from 10 to 15 miles per hour are projected through Sunday morning and then winds should increase by five miles per hour or so.

Pompano Beach, Port Everglades, Haulover, Government Cut to Ocean Reef

Best bet this past week before the high winds and rain was sailfishing that went off the charts. Some boats reported releasing more then 20 sailfish in a full day. Live threadfin herring and pilchards were the top baits and fishing the color change between 100 and 180 feet of water was the most productive depths. A few large kingfish were caught and dolphins and sharks were also in the same depth. There was a reported catch by Steve Thomas last Saturday of dolphins in the 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 pound range and these fish were holding under a large floating tree 26 miles offshore of Key Biscayne. Three wahoo were also caught off the tree. Along the beaches Spanish mackerel, bluefish and scattered pompano schools have been available for pier fishermen. Tarpon, snook, jacks and a few permits have been caught just outside the Haulover Inlet and Government Cut. Slow drifted live shrimp has been the best baits for this fishing. Low tide at Government Cut Friday night is at 9:29.

North Biscayne Bay Inshore

Some large sea trout have been caught in North Biscayne Bay this past week by fishermen working the grass flats in three to six feet of water. A few daytime snook have been active around the spoil islands and at night lots of tarpon in the 20 to 40 pound class have been feeding along the shadow lines of many of the bay bridges on the outgoing tides. Live shrimp or Deceiver flies have been getting the tarpon. Snook have been hit or miss on the lighted docks in the bay at night.

South Biscayne Bay

Bonefish have been very active during the daytime hours with best action taking place on the first of the incoming tides. Oceanside & island flats and the flats around the Arsenickers have been the most productive areas but these fish are liable to show up on any shallow grass flat from Dinner Key south to Ocean Reef with the mild conditions we have been having. Cloudy days have been the toughest for spotting the elusive bonefish. Live shrimp and skimmer jigs have been working best. A few Spanish mackerel, mutton snappers and groupers have been available for those working the finger channels. Low tide at Soldier Key on Saturday morning is at 11:23.

Flamingo in Everglades National Park

Florida Bay will slowly get back to what it was a few days before this past weeks storm and once it does expect to see redfish on the flats and snook, redfish, tarpon and sea trout in the fingers and channels along with plenty of jacks and ladyfish. Fishing East Cape Canal to Lostman’s and into Whitewater bay has been good for redfish, snook, sea trout, sheepshead, black drum, and goliath and gag groupers. Low tide is at 7:19 in the morning on Saturday ion Flamingo in Florida Bay and in Whitewater Bay low tide on Saturday is at 7:05 in the morning.

By Captain Alan Sherman |shermana@bellsouth.net | Web Site

Ten Thousand Islands
Naples to Flamingo
Includes Naples, Marco Island, Everglades City and Chokoloskee

Fishing Depends on Weather

The fishing has been as good as the weather. When it is warm and calm, backwater fishermen have been enjoying snook, redfish and even tarpon. When it is cold or windy, pompano and trout are the best targets. The difficulty is choosing the right target on the right day, and my advice is to be prepared to move and switch. It is always wise to have a few dozen shrimp on board, because live baits can be hard to find, and if the snook are lethargic, live shiners might not be that effective.

The surest fishing has been trout fishing south of Marco Island. The tides have been low in the morning, and most fish can be found in the passes or holes in 10- to 15-feet of water where there is hard bottom or structure. Once the tide moves in, the trout can be found on the outside points where there is a grassy bottom. The outside grass flats that are the traditional trout havens have not been producing. There are plenty of bluefish and ladyfish there, but few large trout.

For snook, the fishing is better south of Everglades City, and live baits are a must. On Saturday, Capt. Shane Miller had a bonanza day landing more than 30 snook plus a half dozen redfish in the morning, before moving offshore and catching gag grouper, goliath grouper, bonito and an 80-pound tarpon. The fishing slowed a bit early this week because of the weather, but it should be good again by the weekend.

The biggest surprise last week was the number of tarpon caught. There were schools of big tarpon all the way from Everglades City to Sanibel Island. Some of the best fishing was right off of Wiggins Pass. The tarpon were in the area of the artificial reefs that were also holding cobia and bonito. The fishing remains more spring like than winter, and if the warm temperatures continue, the kingfish will come back this week, and join the tarpon, cobia, and snook.

By Capt. John Preeg | Captjohnpreeg@aol.com

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12-16-2007

CRAZY WEATHER

Can you say ?????. I used to think I had a sort of kind of handle on what to expect during the year in regards to the weather patterns but this year has sent me back to the drawing board. You ask yourself what is this? I thought I was reading a fishing forecast, not a weather report.

Well, weather has a lot to do with fishing, especially when you have been fish fishing for some time and you usually can predict what species will be where and when they will be there.

This year has been one of those years where the weather is so out of whack that predicting the fishing bite is almost out of whack as the weather. No rain for months, then more than the ground can soak up for days. Nor'easters in the summer for days on end. And now 30 plus inches of rain in just a few days. Even with all of this weird weather, I am able to catch a few fish and sometimes catch some pretty nice ones. So lets talk about what has been happening and what should be happening in the next month or two.

The ocean has been producing some nice catches of king mackerel in close up to the last big Nor'easter but this has all changed and these fish have moved out to about the 18 mile mark. Best bet for Kings is to head out to a reef from 18 miles to about 30 miles out and troll live bait, big spoons, cigar minnows, ballyhoo or squid behind a Sea Striker Tuka Troll, Ballyhoo rig or a Cedar Plug.

I like to run my Cannon downriggers with one bait down 15 to 25 feet and on the other side down to about 40 to 60 feet. If I have trolled for a while with no strikes, I will adjust my depths until I find out where the fish are.

The wahoo should start moving back through by November and you can troll a horse ballyhoo or squid behind the same skirts as you do for king fish. The wahoo will be out on the edge of the stream from 40 to 60 miles out. Now this is a long run for most of us, so it is not a bad idea to go with another boat, for safety reasons.

Offshore bottom fishing for grouper, snapper and seabass should be firing up just about now and should get better throughout the cooler months. Off course, live bait is best but cigar minnows, boston mackerel, squid and an assortment of cut bait work if you are in right spot. If on your way to your favorite bottom spot, you see some live bait, you might want to get your Sabiki rig out and catch a few. When bottom fishing, I almost always send out one or two flat lines (a live or dead bait way out behind the boat on a wire leader live bait rig) for the bonus fish. When bottom fish, all sorts of other fish come up or by to see what you are doing and these can be, cobia, king fish, wahoo, sharks and more. If you have a nice bait out there, you just might catch a bonus fish. If you send it out and put the rod in your T-Top rod holders or outriggers, it will be out of the way of your bottom fishing.

The river and jetties should be producing some nice oversized redfish. Try a cut up croaker, poggy, mullet or chunks of blue crab fish on the bottom. As always, these are the breeders and you should take the time to revive them when you release them.

Monster croakers are in the river pretty thick and these feisty tasty fish can be caught on an assortment of baits, like shrimp, crab, clams, some cut baits and even small scented soft plastics. They can usually be found in the deeper water but there are so many of them around here now that I have even been catching them in the 2 to 3 foot depths on the edges while casting shrimp for reds and flounder.

As of this writing the inshore water levels are about 3 feet above normal from all of the rain but in a couple of weeks when they get back to normal, the inshore low tide red fishing should get back to normal. You will be able to catch these fish using jig heads and shrimp, mud minnows, Sea Striker soft plastics and cut bait. I like a 1/4 ounce lead head jig cast up near the edges of the mound and worked slowly back toward the boat. I find that the strike zone is from the oyster mound edge to about 10 feet out. If you use your Minn Kota trolling motor to keep you as far away from the mound as to still be able to cast to it, you will find you spook less fish, thus MORE bites. Find a nice stretch of oysters, drop your Minn Kota in the water and start working the edges.

On the higher tides, try a popping cork over the tops of the covered mounds, baited with a lively shrimp.

Top water lures also work well this time of the year on the higher tides. Put you trolling motor in the water, stay as far off the edge as you can and start casting. Both trout and redfish will eat your topwater. I like the Super Spook, Top Dog, Tiny Torpedo and Crazy Shad. All of these have produced nice fish for me and my clients. I usually fish these using a Pflueger Trion low profile bait caster on a Pflueger 7 foot rod and the outfit spooled with 20 pound test Power Pro braided line. If I am throwing a light lure, I use a Pflueger Infusion spinning reel with 10 pound test Power Pro, attached to a very light 7 foot All Star rod.

There are still good numbers of flounder in the river and creeks and they can be gigged or caught on hook and line. For the hook and line approach, I like a light spinning outfit spooled with 20 pound test Power Pro, a Carolina rig with just enough lead to hold bottom, a 12 inch long 20 pound test Cajun Red leader and a Daiichi D-18 hook in #4 or #2 size. My bait usually consist of mud minnows, shrimp, mullet, cut mullet or a Sea Striker trout grub. Sometimes I will soak the grubs in poggy oil for a few days prior to using them.

Capt Jim's Fun Fishing Inc.
17184 Dorado Cir
Jacksonville, Fl 32226
904 757 7550


October 5, 2007

For the past several weeks, Florida has failed to live up to its nickname of, “The Sunshine State”. We have been experiencing one tropical system after another. Fortunately, none of them have been hurricanes but we have had more than our fair share of high winds and rain. The Lagoons are higher than they have been all year and many of the flats are cloudy. The dirty water, combined with the high winds and lack of sun have made sight fishing next to impossible.

While the redfish action has been less than stellar, some snook and tarpon have been cooperative. While many of the fish are on the small side, they offer some great variety. On one day, I scored a triple grand slam of three tarpon, three snook, three redfish and three trout. All but two of the reds and one of the tarpon were caught on the fly. The next day, I fished with Dave Haddock who got a tarpon, snook, redfish, trout slam. The tarpon have been showing up most anywhere from canals and culverts to the flats. The DOA Holographic shrimp has been effective for both the snook and the tarpon. When tarpon fishing, try removing the standard hook from the shrimp and pinning it on a circle hook for more hookups, The circle hook also keeps the leader away from the abrasive mouth of the tarpon and snook.

With the high water, the fish have been able to spread out into areas not normally accessible. Look for reds and snook crashing small mullet tight to the shore line. The four inch DOA CAL in Stark Naked has been working well as it resembles the mullet in both size and color. An EP fiber baitfish pattern or a small streamer with lots of flash has been effective on all the fish, as of late. When conditions have not allowed for sight fishing, add a Woodies Rattle to your large jerkbaits. The sound will help the fish find your bait in dirty water and low light conditions.

For a change of pace, look for flowing water at the many drainage culverts along the shore. Hit the right one and you can catch a wide variety of fish including redfish, trout, snook, tarpon, ladyfish, and jacks. Also, watch for diving pelicans to signal the presence of feeding schools of jacks and ladyfish along the deeper edges of flats.

When conditions allow, fishing the mullet run along the beach can be excellent. On a trip out of Port Canaveral last week, we caught snook, bluefish, spanish mackerel, jacks, pompano, whiting, ladyfish, two large sharks, and jumped a tarpon over 100 pounds. All the fish were caught from a boat but we were never more than 100 yards from shore. Wire leaders are essential to prevent losing your rig to toothy fish. For the past week, the seas have been much too rough and that will continue through the weekend.

Thanks to all the ladies who helped make the womens fishing seminar at Mosquito Creek Outdoors a huge success. Mark your calendars now for the Coastal Angler Magazine Fishing and Boating Expo to be held November 16-18 at the Volusia County Fairgrounds. Capt. Tom Van Horn and I will be conducting hands-on angler improvement clinics each day.

Capt Chris Myers

Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters

321-229-2848

October 1, 2007

It’s September 1st and the weather is great here in Ft. Lauderdale, the sun is shinning and the ocean is calm. The Hooked Up team started out at 7am this morning with David and Ruth, their 2 sons, Brandon and Derek and Brian and his daughter Brianna all from Westin, Florida. We started the trip out by trolling some bonito strips down the reef and everyone got to use the rods bringing in quite a few bonito’s and then Derek caught a barracuda. Next the group decided they wanted to try for something a little bigger so we suspended live bait on top of the water with the kites and then we dropped a couple of dead baits on the bottom and it wasn’t to long before we had the bite and David was in the chair fighting a big shark. The shark put up a good fight but David was better and won the battle. Way to go David!

We started the morning of the 2nd off with Leo, Gregory, Tony, Boris, Andre and Brandon from Canada and they had a productive morning while we trolled the reef, catching bonito’s, kingfish and barracuda’s. Next we decided to try for something a little larger and set up live bait on the top of the water with the kites and then dropped dead bait on the bottom and it wasn’t to long before the guys had hooded into and did a catch and release of a nice shark. The afternoon trip was not as productive but the guys did bring in a few bonito’s and kingfish. Then our last trip of the day was an all night swordfish trip with Steven from Boston and Peter from New York. We left the dock around 5pm and headed out about 20 miles off shore. For this trip I brought along my secret weapon, the swordfish expert “Josh” and man did he ever payoff. The weather was beautiful, the ocean was flat calm and there were boats everywhere, it looked like a floating city with all the lights but the swordfish forgot to come to the party. We fished from 5pm till 4am and our secret weapon “Josh” paid off big, we landed 2 swordfish. There was only one other boat that caught one that night. The first one caught was by Peter and it was a nice one so he got to keep it the next one was brought in by Steven but he was little short so we did a catch and release with him. It was a great night of fishing and Thanks Josh, fantastic job!

On the 3rd the Hooked Up team was joined by Ismel, Carrie, Patricia, Sabian, Erain and Gamia all from right here in Florida. The fish were biting on the reef so we started trolling south to Miami and everyone got to get into the action bringing in a couple of barracudas, 5 kingfish and 5 bonito’s.

On the 5th, the Hooked Up team had a 6 hour charter with Hugo, Astrit, Philippe, Camille, and Solange from Paris, France. Let me tell you it was a beautiful day to be out on the ocean, the sun was shinning and the ocean was nice and calm and the fish were biting! We thought we would start the trip out by doing some slow trolling down the reef so everyone could get a good feel for the rods and get some practice in catching a few bonito’s and let me tell you everyone got PRACTICE!!!! The bonito’s were snapping and everyone got into the action until their arms were hurting so bad we had to take a break! After the bonito bonanza we headed off shore to look for some dolphin, well the dolphins were hard to find but we did manage to catch a couple. The off shore trip gave everyone a little rest and since the dolphins were not around we headed back in and hit the reef and once again the bonito bite was on so everyone jumped right back into the fight until we caught our limit and it was time to head back to the dock. What a fun day of fishing and a fun group of people, we really enjoyed our time with you guys!

On the 6th the Hooked Up team was joined by Marcus, Kevin, Danny and Jose all from right here in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Fishing is still good on the reef so we started the trip out by trolling south towards Miami and it wasn’t to long before all of these guys were in on the action and had the fish box full of bonito’s and kingfish. Since these guys are locals they wanted to catch a few dolphin for dinner so we headed off shore and we are happy to say we were able to help them with their dinner plans; they brought in 2 nice size dolphin (10 and 15 pounds). Nice catch guys, enjoy your dinner!

On the 12th the Hooked Up team was joined by our friends Ryan, from Connecticut and Michelle from Light House Point, Florida for a 6 hour charter. Now these 2 have been fishing with us for awhile so we knew we were in for a fun morning of fishing and we were right. The morning started off with Ryan deciding he was going to be nice today; he allowed Michelle to touch the rods, he even let her reel in a blue runner!!!! (LOL) Well this started the battle!!!! We trolled the reef south towards Miami and the 2 of them got into the action catching bonito’s and kingfish. Next, we thought we would try for something larger so we set up a couple of live bait on the surface with the kites and a couple of dead bait on the bottom and sure enough we hooked into a sailfish and the fight was on but we did not win this fight…the sailfish won this one, so we will be fighting him another day. After the sailfish battle we thought we would go after something for them to take home for dinner, and we are happy to say we were successful at this, Michelle brought in an 8 pound dolphin; but I have to say the most unique fish was caught by Ryan he caught an African Pompano. Hey guys it was great fishing with you again and we look forward to your next adventure on the Hooked Up.

On the 13th, we were joined by Kelly, Lindy, Kalin and Dan all from Michigan. We started out trolling down the reef looking to just bend the rods and bend them we did; we ended up catching a box of bonitos. Next we did a little bottom fishing, well there was no current to speak of so conditions were not that great for bottom fishing but all the same we did manage to catch some nice tile fish.

We started the 21st off with Jocelyn, Lynn, Catherine, David, Jean-Francis and Fanny from Canada. We thought we would give everyone a chance to get use the rods so we started trolling the reef towards Miami and it worked, everyone got to use the rods bringing in 7 dolphins and a bonito. Next we went to a deep wreck and dropped a live bait on it to see what was hanging around and it didn’t take long to find out, the rod started bending and the first amberjack was on; after that one the gang wanted to do it again so we did and the second one came up, the gang was still loving this so we dropped one more time and up comes the third one; finally everyone was satisfied so we ended the trip by dropping a live bait on a ledge and bring in a nice barracuda. What a great way to start the day. Our second trip of the day was with Brian, Tom and Mike all from here in South Florida and these guys were looking to catch something big so we set up live bait on the top of the water with the kites and dropped dead baits to the bottom and everything worked out great; the guys ended up with a sailfish and a nice hammerhead shark. Way to go guys, see you again soon.

The morning of the 22nd we had a 6 hour charter with Brad, Debra, and George from Michigan and Earl from Texas. The fish we biting pretty good today and everyone got a chance to get use to the equipment while we were trolling bringing in kingfish and a couple of barracudas and then Debra hopped into the chair and brought in a really nice wahoo and Brad didn’t want her to catch the biggest fish so he hopped into the chair and landed a great barracuda.

The afternoon of the 27th, we were joined by Malik, Shamus, Dabai, and Altaf all from Boynton Beach, Florida. We started the trip out trolling the reef and everyone got into the action catching kingfish then we headed offshore to see if we could find these guys some dolphin fish for dinner. We gave it a good shot but there were no dolphin to be found so we headed back in to the reef and the guys jumped right back into the kingfish action until they had the fish box overflowing. Sorry we didn’t find the dolphins guys, but you were awesome with the kingfish.

The 29th was a busy day, I worked with Captain Mike on the Local Knowledge and we had an all day charter with David, Nigel, John and Chris from Great Britain and Florida. We started out trolling the reef and everyone got a chance with the rods bringing in bonito and kingfish then we headed offshore to see what we could find out there. Well, after quite a bit of looking we found something floating and hit the mother lode! Everyone got into the action catching 5 wahoo’s, 9 dolphin fish and then Mike brought in a triple tail! Way to go everyone!

On the Hooked Up, Captain Greg and Glenn had 2 trips. They started the morning with Austin, Dawn and Greg from Washington State and filled the box with kingfish while they were trolling the reef towards Miami; next they went after something a little larger by putting live bait on top with the kites and dropping dead bait down deep, it didn’t take to long before they had the bite and the group did a catch and release of a nice hammerhead shark. On the way in the guys decided to drop live bait on a ledge and they caught a barracuda and a yellowtail snapper. Good Morning of fishing guys! The Hooked Up’s afternoon charter was with Gene and one of his friends. These guys are from Haiti and were looking to catch something cool, so they started them out trolling the reef to let them get use to everything and this worked well with them catching kingfish and barracuda’s, then the guys dropped a live bait on a deep wreck and hooked into a nice golden amberjack and to finish out their adventure they caught a nice hammerhead shark! Good fishing everyone!

October 29, 2007

Offshore: The few boats that were offshore in pursuit of Dolphin reported good catches. The Fish Tales with Capt. Ron Allen racked two dozen Mahi from school size to the upper teens in pounds. The Kay K III with Capt. Don Chittik also found Dolphin not too far off of the reef and boated 18. Unconfirmed (but reliable) rumors tell of good action on the Blackfin Tuna on the 409 hump. The 409 is roughly 20 miles south of Bud and Mary’s marina in Islamorada.

Reefs: The reef is full of piscatorial activity right now, and the fish are biting well too! The Yellowtail Snapper are the highlight with most charterboats at least doing some Snapper fishing for their day’s duty. Capt. Rob Corradi on the Southern Comfort has been Yellowtailing and also released a Sailfish this week It had been a very rainy week with the recent weekend getting quite windy. These conditions had some charters coming home early later in the week. The King Mackerel have not been fished for much with the “tasty” Snapper getting all the attention. The Macks should crank up soon and the fish will be caught deep from 120 to 180 feet and will be taking live Cigar Minnows, Pilchards, Blue Runner and Ballyhoo.

Gulf and Bay: Unsettled weather for most of the week kept skiff guides either close to the Keys or around Flamingo. The open water of the Gulf is no where to get caught in a squall or lightning storm! The Cobia and Spanish Mackerel are being caught right now, but there will be better catches as weeks pass. By November the action on the Spanish should be very good, and it will be well worthwhile to insect every marker on the Yacht Channel for the Cobia.

Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo: Around Islamorada Capt. Dave Atkinson has been chasing the Bonefish. Dave’s only action on a recent half day was to “break off a good Bonefish on the hard bottom on the oceanside”. Capt. Jeff Beeler reports the Bonefish mudding in about four feet of water off of Lower Matecumbe Key in the Bay. In the Flamingo area the Snook action has been good, although most of the fish are under the slot size limit by far. A few Drum and Redfish have been hooked on the bottom of the tide using live Shrimp. Sea Trout have been scattered throughout the mid bay and Flamingo area. Just a reminder the Snook Slot size has been changed recently. Snook must be 28 inches minimum and 33 inches maximum in Everglades national park.

October 30, 2007

Wonderful Fall Fishing!

The Inshore fishing this time of year has been exactly as predicted-Excellent so far!

We expect the fishing to be wonderful through November and into December…

Remember, just because it’s getting cooler doesn’t mean that the fishing has cooled off. It simply means that the waters are cooling, the nights are getting longer and the fish are trying to feed up for the winter… Yes, even in the winter you can still catch fish in the Apalachicola Bay , they just seem to be a little slower to react to your bait…

So, if you want to get in on some excellent fall fishing before winter sets in, give us a call. We do have boats open and ready to go!

Inshore and Offshore Report……

Inshore…. Grab your hats, call your buddies and come on down!

The fishing in general has been very good when the winds will slow down long enough to allow us to go "spot checking."

Speckled Trout and redfish action has been HOT! With the weather seeming to be 2-3 weeks behind schedule in temperature we are expecting the excellent fishing to continue into December with the right conditions... Of course cold fronts and wind patterns can create an occasional slow day, THAT'S FISHING! Water temps are just cooling off, which is what triggers inshore species to feed up(and redfish to spawn) for the upcoming winter season... We have also been catching some really nice flounder, blackdrum and sheepshead. Go to the Book Me A Charter photo album for a daily posting of the fish that we have been catching. You will notice that there are many photos that have “LIMIT CAUGHT” under the photo that would tell you one thing… The fishing has been fantastic inshore!

We will be offering Flounder gigging charters through out November-depending on the weather.

Offshore... We expect the offshore fishing to be fair to good in the fall for grouper, triggerfish and snapper (however note all red snapper have to be thrown back because of closed season.) We are able to keep other snapper such as lane, white and grey snapper. During the fall, the weather is a big factor for offshore fishing. The fall winds tend to blow for days then calm in a matter of hours, sometimes even though the winds have calmed, the waters may still be rough- it takes a while for the waters to calm after a few days of heavy winds and surf. On those days when the weather will allow us to venture offshore expect to catch a mixed bag of offshore dwellers.

If you’re looking for experienced, friendly, native guides give us a call 850-653-2622 or locate us on the web at

Sandra Allen
Book Me A Charter
850-653-2622
email: info@BookMeACharter.com

Captain Dana Price -- Central Florida
Dana's Fishing and Scenic Tours Tel: 407- 645-5462 e-mail: CaptDana1@aol.com


October 22, 2007
Bass are schooling in some of the area lakes. If you can get to them quick you can get 2 or 3 before they go down. Then find the next school. Most any small bait that looks like a small minnow will do just fine Try to use one that you can cast a long way, If you get too close to the school you will scatter them. If you do not have schoolers in you spot small bait fish looking baits, sink-o's, grubs, and I am still buzzin horny toads and buzz tails. The pan fish are really getting active I am getting some nice ones just throwing small crank baits in 6' to 10' . In the flats the trout are still hitting great and the reds are picking up go with top water early and late and gold spoons, jig heads with buzz tails or grubs, and live bait.

For more info call (407)645-5462 or e-mail

Good Fishing. Capt. Dana