9/26/2007

You can tell that Fall is here! The Mackerel have returned, just as the love bugs and the snow birds.
Offshore, the Mackerel and Mangrove Snapper are providing good action. Also there is lots of Shark action offshore. The Cobia and King Mackerel should be showing up anytime. In the bay, the Snook and Redfish are still providing some action.

8/19/2007

Summer is almost over and we are waiting for the fall run. At present, Mangrove Snapper are the hot ticket in the bay and offshore barracuda are still giving us a lot of fun. There are still plenty of permit on the offshore artificial reefs.

8/14/2006

Summer is a special time for me to go fishing. During the months that school is out, I try to “take a kid fishing” and put them on my show. I have the kids write me a letter on why they would like to go fishing with me and try to choose the most deserving letter writers. It is a joy to see the excitement on their faces when they hook into the “big one”. This summer produced lots of Spanish mackerel, small Kingfish, Barracuda, and Sharks for these young anglers.

This has been an exceptional year for bait in the bay. There have been more sardines and different types of sardines than I have seen in my 30 years of guiding. Another unusual thing this summer was the shrimp. I have never seen shrimp this big, nor have I seen as many blue crabs as I did this year.

Summer is coming to a close and it is amazing the amount of Mackerel and small Kings we are still catching in the Gulf. I am looking forward to the fall, when the Cobia and Kingfish make their annual run. In the bay, I am seeing some Trout and Redfish. In the fall, when the water temperature starts to cool down in the bay, the Snook action should start to heat up.

3/15/2006

Spring is here and we’re starting to see some Cobia action along the beaches. On the days that the wind isn’t blowing too hard or the wrong way, we have had some really good catches. Also, along the beaches we’re finding Spanish Mackerel, some Bluefish and plenty of Lady Fish. Another good thing we’re starting to see along the beaches is the white bait. That means the King Mackerel could be right behind. As the water temperature heats up, so does the fishing.

This spring has also produced some nice Pompano in the bay. But what has really been nice is the record amount of Permit caught – Permit up to 9 lbs. This is exciting because it is rare to find Permit in the bays; they are normally an offshore species.

10/10/2005

Even with the recent outbreaks of red tide, we have been able to catch some Redfish and Snook. The Pompano are beginning to show up in the bay.
Hopefully, the fall run of mackerel and Kingfish will begin soon.

4/19/2005

KINGFISH! KINGFISH! KINGFISH!

Just offshore the Kingfish are making themselves know. Also, the Spanish Mackerel and Little Tuni's are here, which is a great sign that spring is here. It is not unusual to catch Kingfish weighting up to 20 pounds.

Not only is the fishing great offshore, but the bay is producing some nice Redfish and Snook. There is the occassional large Trout found.

3/20/2005

Right now, the bay is showing some good activity with action from the Redfish and Trout. Although, the bay can toss you some surprises too.

Just recently, I caught a 28” grouper, which is the largest grouper I’ve ever caught in the bay.

Offshore, the action has been Mangrove Snapper and Grouper. But as soon as the water temperature warms up to 70 degrees, we should be seeing the Kingfish and Cobia start to come in.

2/15/2005

Water temperature around 64 degrees

I can hardly wait, but I guess I will have to, for spring to come; for the water to get warmer; and the Kingfish and Cobia to get here! Spring time is probably the best time of the year to fish inSarasota. The schools of bait start migrating up the beaches and with them, come the predator fish that feed on them. Besides the Kingfish and Cobia that come up the Gulf, the Trout, Snook and Redfish start to turn on in the bay. What a great time to be a fisherman inSarasota!

8/24/2004

On Saturday, JoAnn and I fished the grass flats in the bay. We picked up some nice Trout including this 23” SeaTrout I’m holding, on top water plugs. The conditions were - hot and still.

8/12/2004

This past weekend, August 7th & 8th, was full, to say the least. On Saturday, I taught a couple of classes to some ladies from a group called "Ladies, Let's Go Fishing". On Sunday, I had four of the ladies fish with me. Although the morning started out pretty dismal, dogging the rain storms, the day turned out great. We were fishing for Trout. . .and the poles were rigged for Trout fishing. We had 10# test line, 2/0 circle hooks and a poppin cork. Patty had thrown her line out and before we could get another line in the water, there was a hugh silver flash under Patty's bait - a Tarpon! We got the Tarpon hooked and fought it for an hour and a half before the fish straightened the hook and threw it. I figure from the size of the fish it weighed about 100 pounds. A great catch. But, that wasn't the end of it. We finally got to catching some Trout and just before we were ready to go in, Patty's line started zinging. This time she had a Cobia. After a twenty minute fight, we got the fish, which weighed in at 20 pounds, boated. Quite a morning for Patty and the ladies!

2/27/2004

There are still good quantities of Snook and Redfish in the bay, and as the weather warms, they are getting more active. The trout have been biting well for the last month and should continue right on into the summer. In the last few weeks, as the water temperature warmed, large schools of Mackerel have been coming into the bay. This is a great sign because Cobia and King Mackerel should not be far behind. They could be showing up any time now.

These last few days have been fantastic for catching Mackerel. Even on the roughest day, they seem to want to bite.

11/20/2003

The King fishing has slowed down the last week because of the windy conditions. But in the bay area, we're catching plenty of Snook and Mackerel.

Actually, the fishing has been pretty good lately. And you can't beat the beautiful weather we've been enjoying. So get on out there and get fishin'!

9/29/2003

Things have slowed down a little out there with all the rain. But I'm still getting plenty of Spotted Seatrout, Spanish Mackerel and some good-sized Cobia. So give me a call and let's get out there!

7/26/2003

Even though we've been dodging the thunderstorms from time to time, the fishing action has been hot.

You can look forward to Mackerel, tons of Pompano, Redfish, Snook and Cobia. Is that enough variety for you?

6/25/2003

Well, it took awhile for the rain to end, but now that it has, we can finally get on out there and do some serious fishing.

The Spotted Seatrout are biting like crazy in Sarasota Bay. Throw out a live shrimp on your line and your bound to catch one. We're also seeing some Snook out on the beaches. And believe it or not, the Tarpon fishing is still pretty good.

Hopefully, the waters will clear up soon from all the rain and we'll be catching more fish. So give me a call and book your fishing day with me.

5/29/2003

We've been getting the usual Seatrout in the Bay. Offshore, the Mackerel and Barracuda have been keeping our adrenaline going. Boy, those Mackerel and Barracuda are exciting fish to catch! And speaking of excitement.... look for Tarpon along the beaches. Until next time... may the force be with you.

5/16/2003

While slow trolling live bait in 40 ft. water with Bill Bailey and his son Jeff for Kingfish, we got quite the surprise. Jeff hooked up with a 6 ft. Sailfish!

During the 45 min. fight, using 20 lb tackel, the fish jumped about a dozen times. What a sight!  Once we got the fish to the boat, we measured, tagged and released him.

It is not a common thing to hook a Sailfish in 40 ft of water about 7 miles offshore on this coast.

4/14/2003

HOLY MACKEREL! Now that the weather's warmed up the fish are really biting.

We've been getting Spotted Seatrout on the grass-flats as usual. And at the Walker reef balls in Sarasota Bay we brought in a variety of fish including Grouper, Bluefish, Jack's, Trout and pretty good-sized Spanish Mackerel. Boy those things sure can pull your line down when they decide to take off. It's a great thrill so get on out there and get fishin'!

3/26/2003

Hey the Kingfish are here!

We've been getting good-sized Kingfish along with Mackerel and Cobia out in the Gulf.

And if it's too windy to get out in the Gulf, you can look for Snook and Seatrout in the Bay waters.

good luck.

3/11/2003

The fishing's been excellent these days. You ought to give me a call and book a trip.

Out in the Gulf, we're catching lots of Mackerel and Mangrove Snapper. And in the bay, the Spotted Seatrout have been keeping me busy. I haven't seen Cobia lately, but I know they're around. And any day now, the Kingfish will start giving us a thrill.

The fishing is good...LIfe is good.