1/2/2012
It's finally getting cold but the fishing is still hot. Trout season is now open and the bite has been awesome. It should be a great spring for trout as we have been killing them over the past few months. Fishing for redfish has also been good and we've been picking up a few flounder here and there. Large numbers of sheepshead are starting to show up and fishing for them should get better and better over the next couple months. There are still good numbers of tripletail in the gulf. Bottom fishing has also been very good when you can get away from the "overfished and endangered" gag groupers. The weather can make things tough this time of year but the fishing can be awesome on the warmer days between cold fronts.
11/21/11
The fishing has been awesome both inshore and offshore. In the gulf, there is action everywhere. There are tripletail all over the crab trap bouys. There are also mackeral and bonita everywhere you look. Bottom fishing has also been great for grouper, snapper, sheepshead, and flounder. In the bay, redfish have been great. We've been in double digits almost everyday. Though we have to throw them back, the trout and snook fishing has also been very good. The weather has been great and now is the time to go before it gets too cold.
10/2/11
With the first cold front of the year, fall is here and the temperature is dropping. The fishing has been great over the past couple of weeks and the cooler weather should do nothing but help. Inshore, the snook and redfish fishing has been awesome. Last week, we had several thirty-plus redfish and twenty-plus snook days. We have also been adding some nice trout and flounder to the mix. There is bait everywhere and the cooler water temps should really turn things on in the gulf. There are already tons of spanish mackerel and bonito in the gulf.There have been a few reports of king mackerel and the cooler temps should push them down our way. The grouper fishing has been good and as more fish move closer to shore with the cooler water, it should become great. Gag grouper season is open until November 15 and we do not know when it will be open again. We caught two small cobia over the past couple of weeks but there should be many more showing up over the next month. Tripletail should also start showing themselves soon. Over the next month, we will enjoy quite possibly the best fishing of the year. Now is the time to go!
9/14/11
The water is starting to cool and the fishing has been excellent over the past week. Inshore, the redfish have started schooling up. Late last week we found a school in Lemon Bay and caught close to thirty in less than an hour. Catching double digit numbers of redfish should be the norm over the next month or two. Catch and release snook fishing has also been great. We haven't been catching great numbers of trout but we have caught some big ones recently. It is a great time to get out early and throw top water plugs for all of the above. In the gulf, there is bait everywhere. Tarpon are along the beach chasing the swarms of bait. There are also acres of spanish mackerel and a few king mackerel just a little further offshore. Gag grouper season opens this Friday (September 16) and the bite has been awesome. Getting limits of grouper shouldn't be a problem over the next two months. There have also been some reports of cobia here and there. The fall is the best time for fishing along our coast and I look forward to getting you out there.
8/14/11
Nasty weather made the fishing tough early last week. The high tides made fish hard to find in the bay but they seemed to be biting. There are still tarpon around Boca Grande pass as well as in the harbor around the mouths of the rivers. There are also plenty of juveniles in the creeks. The redfish have been cooperating better and they should start schooling up. We've been catching snook consistently as well as some trout here and there. The snapper fishing has been good both in the bay and on the nearshore rock piles in the gulf. While targeting snapper in the gulf, we've been catching loads of grunts and grouper. We've also picked off some porgies, flounder, and hog snappers here and there. If you're looking for something big, there are plenty of goliath grouper in the 100-300 lb range on all of the reefs and big ledges.
