10/21/2019
Had a 3/4 day charter with 3 guys down on vacation looking to get out and put some meat in the box. Pushed out of pineland and out of captiva pass towards the 90-100 ft zone. We dropped down squid and squirrel fish which brought up a slew of lane snappers, mangrove, and red grouper. We worked the area and put together a solid box with a 3 man limit of grouper, tossing back some other keepers. Action was steady and flurries of double, triple and quad hookups were common.
Was another great day out on the water in swfl!
10/17/2019
Had a great day on the water with our full day split trip. Pushed off pineland a few minutes past 7 and hit the grass flats to load up on whitebait and pinfish. Ran on out to a wreck out in 130 ft of water looking for some action. We had a ton of big hook ups, a bunch of break offs, and a handful of very nice fish caught! Big Fish of the day was a giant amberjack caught on a micro sized piece of whitebait.
Once bite slowed down and we needed some of nature's ac, we made a quick move looking for some snappers and grouper. The bite wasnt on fire, bit we put quite a few nice lanes in the box along with a a pair of nice groupers. Missed a few big hits that got back to the hole and broke off.
Ride back in was smooth and beautiful.
10/12/19
Headed out with a group of 4 for a day of grouper and snapper fishing. Was a bit windy out but the world cat made quick work of the 3 ft seas.
We pushed out roughly 40 miles to our first stop. Worked the 100 ft area with some big hits and rods doubling over. Landed a few and lost a few big ones. Boxed a bunch of very nice sized lane snappers to go with the grouper for a few meals. Not a crazy lights out on-fire bite, but was steady throughout the day with some big hits mixed in. Everyone got their fair share of fish and were ready for a nap on the ride back.
Was a great day to be on the water!
Appreciate you guys coming our and look forward to next time!
Early october 2019
Lots of wind so far this october, so been spending some time playing inshore when i cant get offshore.
Offshore, had a 3/4 day trip offshore on saturday. Headed out with a group of 4 for a day of grouper and snapper fishing. Was a bit windy out but the world cat made quick work of the 3 ft seas.
We pushed out roughly 35-40 miles to our first stop. Worked the 100 ft area with some big hits and rods doubling over. Landed a few and lost a few big ones. The quality of the lane snappers was impressive. average 15-18 inches Boxed a bunch to go with the grouper for a few meals. Not a crazy lights out on-fire bite, but was steady throughout the day with some big hits mixed in. Everyone got their fair share of fish and were ready for a nap on the ride back.
Was a great day to be on the water!
Spent a couple days inshore as well. One day was just a quick test run of the little pathfinder 17 up in N Matlacha. Came across giant schools of Snook laid up around the mangrove points. I only had artificals and landed 3 snook, with a couple bigger ones blowing up on the bait but not coming to fruition. Was a fun 2.5 hr trip alone.
Went out with buddy Dave on his 22 Young. What an awesome rig. It is laid out beautifully for fishing our waters. Nice and spacious, especially only with two of us aboard. Blacked out 2 livewells in mere minutes ans spent the rest of the day moving around and catching fish. Ended the day with a nice inshore slam. I think we got 8 or 9 redfish for the day, several snook, and a few trout. Another great day on the water!
Couple days later and went out with Tom and Dave J. Picked up some live bait as well as worked artificials. Same story, good amount of reds and snook up in the bushes. Weather was beautiful with very light winds and water like a bathtub. Had a blast.
Looking forward to getting offshore tomorrow as well as this weekend if the weather allows it! Catch em up!
September 21st, 2019
Spent the morning volunteering at the CCA event for kids this morning at the Cape coral yacht club. All Kids received a rod, tackle box and shrimp. Helped tie lines, unhook fish, free up snags and baited hooks. Great event and look forward to doing it again in the future.
August 6th, 2019
Got blown out all weekend with all the rain and storms, so tuesday was a welcome day on the water!
Picked up at 7am from punta rassa for a 3/4 day on the water. Dad and his 3 kids were looking to bend some rods and bring some meat back to Iowa. And boy did the grouper cooperate!
Had all the kids doubling over with some nice quality fish. We had some Big fish make it to the boat, and some big ones get the best of us. We caught our limit of fish plus threw back a bunch of big keepers. Great day on the water!
7/23/19
Headed out on a 3/4 day charter today with 2 anglers. Bite for red grouper was awesome. First red grouper landed was over 33"... 3 more solid fish were landed, but with only 2 anglers on the boat, they decided to release the 22" to see if they could land a bigger one.. and that they did with a solid 30.5" fish! Ducked around some storms and ended up on a wreck to try and cross Goliath grouper off their bucket list. And that we did! First one went 250 or so lbs, the second a touch larger in the 300 lb range.
What a day!
07/16/19
Group of 3 vacationing on north captiva got a limit of red grouper and scored some bonus permit action in the afternoon! Great day on the water in swfl!
Late June-Early July 2019
I spent the later part of june and july sitting on the "disabled list"... woke up after a day stretch of charters and my right arm was numb and excruciatingly painful. Trip to urgent care, followed by a second trip to urgent care after no relief, followed by MRI to my shoulder and Back resulted in confirmation of a bulging disc in my c6-c7. Been doing lots of at home physical therapy and slowly on the mend...
Finally got back out on the water after a hiatus on July 16th. Was out for nearly a full month...
But I will say we came back with a bang. We've gotten a ton of nice red groupers, some great and hard fighting permit, some big old mangroves, lanes and vermilions and a few giant goliath grouper to wipe them off our clients bucket list. The amount of quality fish weve caught (and often released) has been amazing. Rather than write reports for each of the trips, Im just going to put up some pictures from some of the trips. (see gallery)
If you can get out and avoid the summertime storms, the fishing is downright incredible.
June 1st opening weekend of red snapper season was a success. Limits of American red snapper both days, some stud red grouper, gag, mangrove and scamp mixed in. Still have some open days, let's get out and slay em!
may 5th, 2019
Saturday we took off out of captiva pass heading for deep water. First spot in 115 ft was pretty barren, with a few big marks but nothing coming to fruition. On to the second spot and the fish were much more cooperative. Had some monster hits that got the best of us, and landed a couple really nice red grouper in the upper 20 inch to low 30 inch range. A pair of very nice american red snappers were caught and released as well. Ended the day with some nice grouper in the box for some great meals!
may 4th 2019
Friday was pretty much slick calm with 1 ft seas and very little wind. We ran out of boca grande pass and set up shop in 105 ft of water. Got a couple nice yellowtail snapper, a couple nice porgies, a nice triggerfish and a couple legal red grouper. Had some surface activity with big splashed so I deployed a flatline with a frozen sardine.... Didnt take long and the rod bent over but quickly unglued with just the lips of the sardine left. Pitched out another and within 2 minutes the drag was screaming and the fish was off to the races. After a solid fight, the beautiful blackfin was gaffed and high fives all around.
Deployed another flat line but no more action. We pushed on out a bit deeper and dropped in 120 ft. We had a couple whopper hits that got the best of us and got back to their hole. Another good red grouper was added to the box. Deployed flat line here as well and landed a good size bonita. Flat line went off again and was absolutely dumping line. ended up pulling the hook after 6 or 7 minutes... another nice blackfin... We worked the area and got several more big hook ups that ultimately beat our anglers back to their hole.
All in all another great day on the water in SWFL.
1/17/19- 1/18/19
Met up with a group of 5 at pineland marina for a 630 AM departure. Weather forecast was 2 ft or less. It was 2-4s, but did lay down wonderfully as the day progressed to less than 2 feet.
Shot out looking for a solid snapper bite. Got to the first spot and dropped down lines. The bite was never absolutely on fire, but we would have flurries where we would catch 5-10 fish at a time and then like a light, the bite would turn off. The tide and wind or lack there of made it a challange to get right over the spot, but we worked and repositioned as necessary to make it count.
The first few fish in the boat were some big triggerfish which unfortunately were released being out of season. A few nice mangroves started to show themselves... a nice porgy and some yellowtail joined the party. Had a few small red grouper, an out of season gag and a small scamp... Then the bite switched over to big mangroves. All in all I believe we boxed just over 40 respectable mangroves.
Decided to call it a day and made the run back in. Saw a nice show on the sounder in 95 ft and decided to make a quick drop/drift. It resulted in 2 nice red groupers and a handful of lanes to round out our box for the day.
Got the fish all cleaned up, loaded the boat on the trailer which was tough at pineland due to the crazy high tides... Stopped at Hurricanes for a quick burger and to talk with the guys from the SWFL Fishing CLub. Said my good byes and drove home... while unloading gear, noticed the prop on the starboard motor looked a little funny. turns out all 3 fins had turned in from what i presume is hitting the bottom while powerloading onto the trailer....
The trip the following morning was scheduled for a 7AM departure... I made a quick scramble, made a few phone calls to see if anyone had a spare prop I could borrow, or if there were any on craigslist. Unfortunately luck was not with me that evening. Made the call to the group and apologized, but wouldnt be able to get out with the damaged prop.
Woke up and received a message from another world cat owner that he had a spare of the exact same prop in his office and I was welcome to borrow it. I removed the damaged prop, made the drive to Burris to drop it off so it can get reconditioned, and met up with Jason. Talked for a couple minutes, offered my thanks and off I went. Called up the group and was able to get the trip back together for a late push off the dock, and would just stay out late for an overnighter.
The group showed up around 145 at pineland and we set our sites out towards a wreck... stopped and picked up a well full of tomtates (spot tail grunts) and zoomed on out thru the glass like conditions. As we neared the wreck, there was a boat already on it, totally throwing off our game plan. We worked around the area for a while within 3 or 4 miles, picking up some lanes, a legal red grouper, and found the largest school of pinfish i've ever seen. We would drop the sabiki unbaited and pull up full stringers every time. loaded a good 3 dozen or so of them with the tomtates.
Waited for the sun to go down , and it was apparant the other boat was planning to stay the night, so we switched up our game plan. We started making our way out deeper, making stop on some decent shows. There was absolutely ZERO current. We would try to drift and literally be with10 feet of where we started after 10 minutes... We kept on pushing, waiting for the tide to turn. It wasnt till about midnight when we pulled up on our end destination, and the tide just started to move.
I gave everyone the warning that this spot was no joke, to be in the ready position as there were some BIG girls here. First drop/drift, the baits hit bottom and all 5 rods double over... 3 are immediate break offs, My fish pulls off my bait, and Lee stays hooked up... After a solid battle with some serious drag pulling, up comes a toad of a GAG grouper, measuring in at 40".
We repeated the drift, with some big ARS coming up along with some solid red grouper. I dropped down a pinfish and it is immediately inhaled... Worked the fish up and it was a solid gag at 36".
Continued the drops and drifts with quality fish coming on every drop. Lots of throwback american reds, a cooler full of nice red grouper, and a few thumps that came unglued.... It was an absolute blast!
The bite stayed pretty consistent as long as the tide was moving. We decided to make the run back in around 3AM. The winds had shifted and the air temps were dropping... It was a long run back to the barn, but oh so worth it!
Look forward to some calmer weather to do more trips like these!
1/12/2019
Weather forecast was a bit off as it called for 2-3s today. Reality was more like 3-5s... We pushed on out just over 40 miles looking for some more grouper and snapper for a fish fry. Bob, Rob and Brayden had never been saltwater fishing but were looking forward to seeing what it had to offer.
The fishing was pretty good. With the winds blowing 20ish mph, the drift was quick, making it hard to hold bottom. Upped the sinker weight on most of the rigs and made the fishing a little easier. The Vermilion snapper were thick and were coming up almost as fast as you could drop down the line. Mixed in were some very nice lanes, porgies, mangroves and RED Grouper.
Cut squid on a knocker rig worked best for the snapper while the carolina rig with squirrel fish seemed to be the hot ticket for the bigger red grouper. The firetrucks are out there, just gotta get em up!
Winds started to subside later in the day and once we got back within 20 miles or so it layed down to 1-2 ft, smoothing out the closer to shore we got. Guys had a great time and should be eating very well!
1/8/19
Picked up a group of 5 from Punta Rassa looking to bend the rods, and for some meat for a meal or 2. Took off at 7AM heading west around the lighthouse.
First stop was in about 110 ft where we dropped down cut squid. We picked up a few vermilion snappers before one rod doubles over, and just that quick he is rocked up and broken off. Second rod goes off and history repeats itself. Redo the drift and it was dejavu. Rods doubled over and couldn't turn the handle. Definitely some big bruisers down there!
Made another pass and right towards the end, another rod doubles over... this time we would have revenge! Our first red grouper for the box.
We picked up a few more vermilion, but grouper bite shut down so we pushed on out.
Set up shop and the bite was a little faster paced with some decent vermilion coming up. Landed a few short red grouper to 19.99 inches...
worked north a bit and dropped down... It was game on! Guys got the hang of the lift up reel down technique and put a hurting on the grouper... also Picked up a nice fat mangrove...
Got ready to drop the hook on the spot as it looked like christmas when the group said they were good on fish and decided to head in so they could enjoy some fresh fish for dinner as they were headed home the following day.
Guys were a lot of fun to fish with, with lots of joking and kidding all day. Weather could not have been any more perfect. Smooth seas all day. Had a blast and look forward to seeing these guys again in the near future.
1/4/19
Headed out from Punta Rassa at 7AM in search of some rod benders. Set the hook out in 90 feet over a nice piece of structure and it was game on. A couple big hits, bent over rods, and breakoffs let us know they were there and ready to play. vermilion and lanes came up along with a couple mangroves. A couple more huge hits and breakoffs. Steve and Kent both got their shot at a good red grouper and boated them. Next was Jill who caught our biggest red grouper of the day at 31".
We moved off to another big piece of structure looking for some variety. The windy and sandy bottom around the area made it a tough anchor. We caught on the backside and man did we have some big thumps and hookups. It was tough as we probably had 15-20 hookups of big fish off the bottom, and only got 1 of them, which turned out to be a really big ray (surprising in 100 ft of water). the others had some giant shoulders...
Moved around a bit more and picked away at some lanes and vermilion. Made the run back in and were met by the rain from the front right as we came around the lighthouse. Fun day to be on the water in SWFL.
12/29-12/30
Decided to head out deep on 12/29 in search of some biggins offshore. Ran out to 140 and had some amazing shows at just about every spot, but the bite just was'nt on fire. Had a few big wacks that got off, a few stud american red snapper that were released. Bite picked up later in the day... must have caught and released 100 short red grouper. Moved around a boxed some vermilion and lanes.
12/30, decided to stay a bit shallower and fished the 90-115 zone. It paid off. bite was slow to start as well, with a couple keeper grouper making the box before we anchored up on a spot. It was absolutely game on. Big Mangroves, Lanes, Vermilion and Yellowtail came over the gunnels just about as fast as you could get your baits down. Caught and released a gag to 23.5 inches (just shy) and a few stud american red snappers as well. Our big mango went just over 8lbs... what a stud!
Took a couple days off to bring in 2019... looking forward to getting back out and at it Friday!
11/25/18
Spent my black friday out on the gulf with a group of six who preferred to go look for dinner vs spend their time online or in stores shopping. Met up around 630 at pineland and off the dock around 7 after loading up. Forecast said 2 ft or less... not so much. It was more like 2-4, but again had a swell to it which made the ride pretty easy. The upgrade to the 33 World Cat has made the trips so much more enjoyable.
Set up shop out in 115 ft and the grouper were there ready to play. Dropped down big hunks of squid, sardines and squirrel fish.
The bite was fairly steady with quite a few shorts coming up. Made a quick move. Dropped down lines again and it was a quad hook up with 4 legal Grouper for the box.
Picked away thru the day at a few more. Lanes and Vermillion were around, but not much size to them. A couple stud size triggerfish joined in on the party.
Moved around a bit more and picked away at legal fish for the box. We had some truly MONSTER hits that got the best of us. The great part was most of our fish were in the "dont need" to measure class, with the smallest we took at just over 22". Our largest was just a hair under 30".
Got to see an amazing moonrise as the sun set. The moon was glowing orange, and was HUGE. Probably the nicest moon rise I've ever witnessed.
Was a great day out on the water and seas subsided down to 1-2 footers for the ride back. Look forward to fishing with you guys again soon!
11/21/18
Met up with the group of 3 at Pineland Marina for a 7AM departure. Seas were predicted to be bumpy and out of the north. While the wind stayed around 15 mph or so all day, there was more of a swell than heavy chop, and the 3-4 footers were handled with ease. Guys were looking to catch some grouper for their Thanksgiving dinner. SO with Grouper on our mind, Pushed out to 100 ft or so and first lines down. Boxed a couple Red Grouper and lanes. Moved out a bit deeper and deployed the anchor.
Was a solid and constant bite. Put out a couple flatlines, one of which was taken within minutes... Fish went airborne, but couldnt tell what it was. Worked fish to the boat and it turned out to be a juvenile Sailfish. Pretty rare and cool for the gulf coast.
We worked on some more grouper for a bit and then switched up to lighter gear and spanish sardines. This brought the mangroves out and we boxed a good dozen or so with some fat ones mixed in.
Was a fun day to be out on the water! And they had plenty of fish for their thanksgiving feast!
11/9/2018
Had a group of 5 for a full day trip out of Pineland. Game plan was to do a mix of fun fishing as well as finding some fish for the box. We pushed off around 7 AM with great conditions and everyone eager to get offshore. The weather was uber flat, with seas out of the east/southeast at 2 ft or less.
We made a stop out in 50ish foot of water over a good show to look for some live bait.. Boy did the spot produce. Sabiki rigs came up with 3 and 4 hand sized pinfish at a time with the occassional Threadfin, blue runner, tomtate and sand perch. We loaded the well up prety good and decided wreck fishing would make for a great start.
Set the autpilot and off we went... in the neighborhood of 100 ft of water, some boiling water got my attention and we veered off to go take a look. There was a large school of blue runners in the 3-5 lb class harassing glass minnows. There were several large sharks harassing the blue runners and getting their fair share. We cast jig heads and spoons and were rewarded with some fun fights on the light 4000 spinners. a few were added to the livewell for bait,. A few bonita also made an appearance and were welcomed on ice for bait as well.
We continued out and continued to see some schools of fish crashing the surface, but I decided it best to push on out. Once we arrived on the wreck, I had Tom drop the anchor. Once we settled, We dropped live pins to the bottom. They were engulfed almost immediately. This would remain consistent the entire time we were at anchor. I want to say we boated a dozen plus amberjacks with at least double or triplethat amount of breakoffs from fish that got back to the wreck, as well as a handful of cudas.
We deployed a butterflyed blue runner on the Big Rod which subsequently was hit, only to come unglued. We dropped down again and after a short wait it doubled over... The guys worked the fish up... an estimated 300 lb Goliath Grouper.
Everyone seemed pretty worn out by the Ajs and all agreed to go look for some fish for dinner. We worked a few miles away from the wreck and set up our first drift. Lots of very respectable and quality sized lane snappers joined the party. Second drift in Barry and Tomas both have their rods double over with something far larger, Resulting in our biggest red grouper of the day. We continued worked the area with lots of lanes and a handful of red grouper keepers making the ice box.
Got ready to move to another spot when I saw some top water action and birds in the near distance. Didnt look like the normal bonita or mack schools crashing...
Worked our way over there and I got a glimpse of a blackfin going airborne. We casted out a livebait and had a bucktail worked hard resulting in a near immediate hookup. Some blistering runs convinced me it was the target species.
A few minutes later we get the visual on a nice west coast blackifn tuna. Sank the gaff and high fives all around.
Continued to watch the birds, and move their direction. The swimbait gets hooked up next. Another great fight and the 2nd blackfin is boated. We continued chasing the school picking off another 2 respectable blackfin tuna for the box. I think we could have continue putting more in the box had the sun not set on us...
Made the long run back in the dark with lots of smiles after an absolutely action packed incredible day.
10/30/18
headed offshore with Jc, Rick and Sarah looking to bend some rods. pushed out of pineland marina at 7AM to pretty calm seas (2ft or so) and made the run out around 30 mph. Picked up some bait around 70 ft of water and continued out. Went to stop at a wreck and there was already a boat anchored on it with divers in the water. Tried a drift parallel to him but no activity, so outwards we pushed. Worked some spots in 130-150 ft of water with a few shows, but nothing wanting to chew. Finally got our first eat out in 150 ft which yielded a solid Red Grouper. caught a few more shorts and bite went cold.
Pushed back in to the wreck and the spearfisherman were still there, so worked bottom in the area. I yielded a pretty fat and large Lane, 2 more keeper Red Grouper, and a bunch of 19.5 inch throwbacks. The boat finally left the wreck and we motored over to see if we could find. It had a ton of activity busting on the surface. The sharks were everywhere. We hooked up on 3 different ajs, two of which we only received 1/2 a fish back on...
The third was landed and it went 33.5 inches, just shy of legal.
Jc worked a jig and was rewarded with a nice 20" mutton snapper.
We caught a couple barracudas on topwater poppers as well as freelined live baits.
On our last drift, i cast out a manns stretch 30 and was hammered instantly. Passed the rod off to Rick. Around the same time Jc's rod goes off and drag is screaming pretty good. Rick got his fish to the boat first, an estimated 200 lb bull shark. The plug was on the outside of its face so i figured to try and retrieve it. Used my t handle gaff to lift up the shark from the jaw and turned out to be a big mistake. It went into a death roll thrashing around and rolled my hand a direction it should not go... Resulted in me letting go of the gaff, but not fast enough... Pulsating pain radiated up my arm, and hand felt like a stick of dynamite went off... shark screamed back off... At this point JC's fish has color... i look over and see its a stud african pompano. worked it boatside and in the boat she goes.
Looking at my hand/finger, it was obvious something was broken and we packed it up for the ride on in. Went for xrays on Weds and low and behold, split the bone nearly in half. pretty challenging being on my dominant hand...
All in all a beautiful day with some very high quality fish in the boat.
10/5 and 10/6
Had a group of 6 that joined me both friday and saturday for 3/4 days of offshore fun. Friday was the bottom fishing (snapper grouper day) and saturday would be the "bigger fish" wreck day.
We met up at pineland both days for a 7AM start.
Friday, we pushed out of Captiva Pass with a pretty strong east wind, giving us a dominant following sea on the way out. Winds were sustained 20+. We pushed out around 30 miles for our first stop. It yielded a few lane snapper as well as our largest (landed) red grouper of the day at around 27". We pushed out deeper in search of more grouper. With the large seas, the group had a hard time feeling the snapper bite most of the day. We had some BIG hook ups with rods doubled over, but got the best of our team for the day. We managed a couple more grouper for the box and a decent pile of lanes, vermillion, and a lone mangrove snapper. Lost a grouper or 2 to sharks which have been pretty abundant even in areas that usually dont have any... The winds laid down to about 15 for our ride home which made the ride in pretty comfortable.
Saturday, we had lighter winds to start the day, but they progressively increased as the day went on. We pushed out to find some bait. The brown water extended out to around 80 ft with the strong east wind pushing it out. We stopped for bait around the color change and it was a slow pick of Squirel fish, tomtates, a lone blue runner, a few spanish sardines. Couldnt hardly keep the lane snapper and mangroves off the sabiki rigs. With about 3 dozen baits in the well, we pushed on out.
We dropped baits down and the fish were hungry and chewing. First few hookups busted us off in the wreck. Every bait down would get hit within minutes. Probably one of the best bites Ive seen on the wrecks in term of cooperation.
We had a bunch of reef sharks caught thru the day. Our first aj to the boat was the smallest at 39.5" to the fork.
All others were well over the 40" mark. The ladies joined in on the fun and each boated a respectable aj for the box.
We had a couple big runoffs on the flat line, one for sure was a big king that chewed thru the stinger rig. Everyone had an absolute blast and I am sure are nursing sore arms today.
Decided to finish off all the live baits and called it a day. Tons of meat for the smoker and grill for this group!
9/29
Had a split charter group Saturday for a full day offshore. Met up at pineland marina and off the docks around 645. Ride out was nice with a quarter following sea. We picked up some bait around 80-90ft before heading deeper to the wreck.
The bite on the wreck was excellent. What wasn't so excellent was the amount of cutoffs and lost weights and hooks. Every drift would produce multiple hook ups, some just downright monsters that ran right towards the wreck, other drag screamers, some going airborne. Dennis was first one to get a hookup that made it to the boat. It was a solid amberjack that measured 39" to the fork.
On to ice he went for the smoker. The continued pattern of hook ups with cutoffs continued. Dave sr hooked into something big on the bottom and it took a ton of heat to bring up the estimated 7+ foot nurse shark off the bottom. pics dont do it justice...
We had a few pull hooks on some long runs as well. Dave jr was next up on the screaming rod and boated a slob amberjack. Somewhere in the mayhem Philip caught a small barracuda , then had another shoot a good 30 ft on the air and across the side of the boat. It came unglued but so cool to see. Philip stayed working his Japanese jigging rod with flutter jigs and was rewarded with a hook up that made him work for his catch. He boated the biggest AJ of the day after a solid 20-30 minute fight.
Everyone mutual agreed to go target some snapper and grouper as everyone was worn out! We pushed out a bit and found a pretty decent grouper bight. Dave Jr bested a solid 28+ inch red grouper,
followed by Philip besting a nice 23" for the over box. Dennis worked on some porgy and snapper, and Dave sr boated 2 keeper red grouper to fill his limit.
With a pretty steep head sea, we pushed on back towards Captiva pass at a 23-27 mph cruise. Not many other boats that could have ran that speed in those conditions.
Was a great day with a fantastic crew. Look forward to seeing y'all out there again!
9-25
Had a 1/2 day charter out of pineland today. Pushed out to our first drop in 70 ft and it was a steady pick of lane snapper and juvenile red grouper. We had a couple big things right off the bat that got back to the hole. Pushed on out a little deeper to the 78-80 ft range and the vermilion, lanes and grouper we're ready to play. We boated 2 keeper red grouper with the snapper and got 2 nice porgies as well. Should make for a fantastic dinner!
9-22
sept 22nd had full day 10-12 hr charter. Pushed out of pineland around 645 with thoughts of big fish and singing drags. The day did not disappoint.
We pushed on out past the brown water (out to roughly 60 ft now) and stopped to get some bait. Bait has not been easy to come by lately. We managed some spot tails, squirrel fish, a lone pinfish, a couple spanish sardines.
We marked good bottom on the way out that produced some very nice quality lane snapper. A few short Rg came up, and then both Jill and JT's rods double over.. they both are making headway, and up pops a nice red grouper with both thier hooks...lol the fish had effectively eaten both of their baits and fought the same fish, and maybe each other a little bit.
We pushed out to the wreck and deployed different baits. The fish were very willing to cooperate! The first few fish either came unglued or beat us to the wreck. Frank got hooked up and after a back and forth battle, a nice aj hits the deck.
We had a bunch of cudas around and deployed a spottail on a stinger rig and pretty much hand fed him. Jill was up on that rod and had a great number of long runs before working it boatside.
Next drift produced 2 small undersize ajs, followed by another tank of a fish which mark fought and worked to the boat. we swung back around and went at it again with JT getting hooked up. Another back and forth battle and another stud aj hits the deck.
With everyone getting their shot and plenty of fish for the grill/smoker, we pushed on out to around 130 ft. The bite out there was awesome. Did 2 drifts thru the area which produced 7 keeper groupers, a pile of lane and vermillion snapper along with a couple porgies. We missed a couple big thumpers here as well.
Overall, a fantastic day of fishing. Weather was overcast with a breeze, comfortable 2-3 ft seas all day. Not much more you can ask for!
9-18-18
Salty Fishing Charters Had a split charter group of 6 yesterday. Met up at Pineland Marina and off the docks by 630AM. Headed out thru Captiva Pass. Didnt see a whole lot of dead fish at all (in fact only saw 1 dead fish all day, a 12" boxfish floating in 70ish feet of water). The brown watered lingered out to around 70 ft. We made a quick bait stop in 73 feet and it was covered in nice lane snapper and red grouper. Missed a couple big girls, and only managed a few pieces of bait (2 blue runners, couple grunts, couple squirrels). We Hit another spot inside 120 feet and Garon put the first keeper red grouper on ice.
A couple more BIG RGs got the best of us and several good sized lanes made their way on ice.
We made at stop at a wreck to see if we could find some drag screamers... we dropped down three rods all with frozen cut bait... First rod down gets inhaled and is off to the races. It fought hard and had some great runs, so thought we had an amberjack on... As it got closer to the surface, we find out its a nice AFRICAN POMPANO. Big cheers all around the boat. Olaf did a great job working him to the boat.
The other dead baits get whacked, but no hook up... I think they were big mangroves taking chunks... Deployed the smaller of the 2 Blue runners on a single hook treble rig, and it wasnt more than 10 seconds in the water before it is inhaled and a respectable cuda goes airborne. Richard handled him like a pro and made it to the boat.
Tried putting out the squirrel fish but nothing seemed interested in them. Flat lined the second of the blue runners (large bait) with a 2 hook stinger rig. About 30 seconds later it gets crushed. and the fish is off to the races. it ran down and towards the wreck...Josh fought him like a seasoned vet and after a back and forth tug a war, a massive cuda comes boatside. Quick Picture and we let him go.
We decided to push on out and find some more grouper and snapper. We stopped over a small show in 130 -135 ft and were rewared with a pretty steady grouper bite. We boxed another 6 keeper grouper over a couple hours, as well as some stud lanes. Erik got redemption from missing a bruiser earlier with a solid 29" Red GRouper (biggest of the day) We missed a couple other big bruisers who got the best of us. We had an estimated 10 ft Greater Hammerhead chase a couple of our grouper to the surface. Tried deploying both a section of cuda as well as Bonita on the big rod, which he swam up to several times but decided against eating it.
Weather was fantastic and had a sweet cruise back in with less than 2 ft seas. Cant wait to do it again!
8/23/18
Got a late booking to get out and do some rod bending for sunday, so got the boat ready and off the docks of pineland marina by 645. Talked over our gameplan and decided to go for some bigger fish over the wrecks. Made a bait pit stop around 70-80 feet of water which produced a handful of spanish sardines, 1 nice speedo, 1 blue runner, a handful of squirrel fish, a couple spot tailed grunts... With the full moon, i wanted to get out as early as possible so didnt spend a ton of time catching live bait...
pulled up to the wreck and set out some bottom rigs... lots of fish marked throughout the water column, but no takers on first 2 drifts... set up a flatline with the runner on a stinger rig and it was almost immediately game on... fish ripped off drag and didnt want to stop....Chris took the rod and fought it like a champ.. excellent use of the rod... every time he would gain 20 or 30 yds the fish would rip out that much or more... After a good back and forth battle, a nice AJ was put in the boat.
Next up would be Melissa whos flatline also took off like a bat out of hell, but the run was much shorter and less vigorous... a few minutes later a small barracuda was added to the box.
Next up was Richie, our youngest angler on the boat... We were running low on baits at this point and had a grunt and squirrel fish out on the flatlines... the rod with the 6500 size penn spinfisher v with the squirrel fish with a 6/0 circle hook on 80 lb leader doubles overs and absolutely SCREAMS off the reel. I slowly kept tightening the drag, but this fish just kept going! First run dumped nearly the whole spool to where i could see the backing! As soon as the fish stopped its initial run, Richie cranked like crazy to gain back line as the fish was running back at us... he did an amazing job of keeping a nice bend in the rod so as not to take off the pressure. The fish came towards the boat but had a bunch of energy left in him, and made multiple runs away from the boat. little by little, you could see the fish starting to loose its stamina and energy. Finally, we broke its spirit and a true SMOKER kingfish hit the deck on the end of the gaff. High fives and WOOOO's! all the way around. Quick picture and in the box it went.
Set up for another drift and flatline gets hit yet again... this one rips off some serious drag and had some shoulders! Melissa fought the fish till her arms gave out and then Chris took over from there... some of this fishes runs were just amazing..... 50-100 yds gone in no time! After a short while, we got it boatside for a quick photo and then released to fight another day.
The next flatline went off and Richie is up fighting another fish... it pulled off some drag, but not like its bigger brothers. He put the whoopin on a fun sized almaco jack.
We had a handful of other takes and drops, slashed baits with no hookup... Altogether an absolutely fantastic day with everyone smiling.
We caught a pretty good rain storm just as we entered Captiva Pass, so raincoats on and a slow cruise till we got thru the thick of it.
A little rain is always welcome to rinse the boat and gear down a the end of a trip. LOL
Here is to hoping the weather Gods send me some decent weather this weekend for Saturday...
Tight Lines all!
8/21/18
Had a 1/2 day charter out of Pineland Marina with Dave and Dave Jr. (father/son). We pushed off the dock at 7AM to a beautiful sunrise. We worked our way on out thru captiva pass out to our first stop in 70ish feet of water. Not much at spots 1 and two (both with 200 feet of each other) but a quick look at spot three showed some good marks and fish ready to chew! We drifted thru them picking up some nice lane snapper and a slew of short red grouper. Another drift and Dave Sr has his rod double over with something much larger! He worked the fish well and had him within 10 ft or so of the surface when the big red grouper came unglued and swam back down... Not to get our hopes down, we continued working the area. The big rod with the squirrel fish goes off, and Dave Sr. is able to work a nice 23" Red Grouper up and into the ice box. We continued fishing catching more undersize red grouper, lanes, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, key west grunts and more. We headed back to the dock with around 20 Lane snappers and the new nice red grouper on ice. They are sure to make a fantastic dinner!
8/16/18
Had a 3/4 day trip with Sam and family. We headed offshore in search of some hard pulling fish. We headed off to a deeper wreck looking for some ajs, sharks, cudas and anything else that might want to play. First flatlined baits got hit almost immediately with several cutoffs (cudas). Deployed a flatline with a stinger rig and hooked up to a speedy cuda that put on a nice aerial show as well as some drag ripping runs. Around the same time a couple of our bottom rods go off and get us back to the wreck. Landed the cuda...
put out a few more bottom rigs and Owens rod doubles over... lots of hard pulling and digging, drag screaming runs... Owen played him fantastic. After a few minutes of back and forth, up comes a big AJ... Id estimate him in the 55-60 lb class.
We dropped down the bottom rods again and continued to hook up time and time again... Many of the fish were giants and got the best of us as they got back down to the bottom, or wore thru the 60 and 80 lb leader...
Sam got a hook up on another decent fish and played him perfectly, putting another 36" AJ in the boat.
I deployed the bent butt rod with a 3 lb piece of bonita... it resulted in a nice fight on an estimated 7 ft bull shark... got him within 20 ft of the boat and wore thru the leader (perfect!)
Another flat line goes off and runs and runs and runs... after circling the boat a ton of times, turned out to be a really big black tip... safely released boatside.
We hooked and fought a bunch of fish that ultimately got the best of them. Was a fun time, and I always love the sound of a singing drag!
Rods stayed bent all day and everyone went home with sore arms and stories to tell. Weather was perfect. Fish bite was on. Couldnt ask for a better day offshore!
8/4/18
Had a group of 6, some local, some from Denver Colorado looking to get out and bend some rods. We departed from Pineland Marina at 645 AM and made our way out thru Captiva Pass. I will say the water around the marina looked decent. No Crazy nasty smells, no dead fish apparent. Didnt see anything until we got outside Captiva Pass in the 30-40 ft zone. We had a strong east wind and an outgoing tide at the time.
We pushed on out to the 65-70 ft zone and found nice clean water with lots of fliers and birds working the area. We dropped down knocker rigs and were greeted by some decent lane snapper and short RGs immediately. Only a few minutes in we hook into something bigger, turned out to be a nice 23" Red Grouper. The wind and tide were both pushing pretty hard, and we were fishing solid 3-4s with 15-20 mph steady winds. The boat drifts pretty darn god in these conditions, and you really dont notice the seas till its time to run back head into them. With the cat, you push it harder into the waves and the ride gets even better.
With enough fish on ice for dinner, we decided to run in a bit and see if we couldnt get something much larger. We made our stop just a few miles in, and dropped down some 1-2 lb chunks of bonita. Less than 2 minutes later and the rod tip starts to move and we come tight on a big girl. We had her 1/2 way up when the hook pulled. We repeated the process a couple more times, each of which resulted in the fish coming off... Try number 4 was our charm. Fish inhaled the big bait and we came tight . She ripped some drag off the 50W and the rod was doubled over. A few back and forth's and a solid 150-200 lb Goliath Grouper was brought alongside the boat, then safely released to fight another day.
Was a fun and productive day on the water.
On the way back in, saw more dead fish and sea life (namely turtles) floating dead in the 30-40 ft zone being pushed out by the wind and tides. The dead fish continued all the way back in thru captiva pass where you could see 2 definitive lines of dead fish, mostly cat fish, pinfish and pilchards. I wouldnt want to risk fishing inshore right now, but offshore 8-10 miles out and further seem to be good right now.
week of 7/26-7/27
Had a bit of cruddy weather for offshore this week.... strong winds out of the west/ southwest made things pretty bumpy... Cancelled trips tuesday and weds as we had young kids going (ages 3-9) and with confirmed seas of 3-5 ft and really windy, they just wouldnt have a good time...
Forecast was supposed to lay down for thursday, and no storms on the radar, so we continued plans for our 5 hr trip to get out and fish... Weather man lied... It was still blowing pretty stiff out of the west/SW. None the less we pushed on out in the solid 3-4s and the cat made the ride pretty comfy (albeit a little slower at 23 mph). The great part was the boat drifts amazing and the same from 2 footers to about 6 footers, and the fishing was on fire. We set up in about 65-70 ft of water and the snapper were chewing hard. Every bait down got hit about immediately and the quality of the snapper was pretty impressive for the depth range. We had one lane over 18", and several in the 17 inch range. A few good sized porgies joined in on the fun. After filleting the fish, we had a gallon size ziplock bulging at the seams plus another bag with porgy.. Great 1/2 day!
Friday launched from Punta Rassa boat ramp on another 1/2 day trip. The weather man got it right today, with almost no wind and only some residual stuff left over from the past few days. It was extremely smooth... We set up in the 60-70 ft range. The bite was pretty consistent, with lots of lanes in the 10-13 inch range. a couple porgies were caught, along with a few small grouper up to 19" or so. It was blazing hot! not a trace of wind and moving from spot to spot felt like air conditioning. The group wanted to try for something big after putting together a respectable showing of snapper and porgies in the fish box, so we moved on in to an artificial wreck to see what we could stir up. We set our anchor and dropped down a big chunk of bonita. Water quality was kinda cruddy with some pollen like algae on the surface. Amazes me how close other boats will get to you when your anchored... Had another boat drift so close to me and on top of my anchor line, I had to ask if he brought sandwiches for us too? Makes me remember why I try to avoid the published public wrecks and reefs. We got one good wack that unfortunately got back into the structure. The group opted to call it a day early as the heat was becoming unbearable for them.
As we got within a mile or so of the Sanibel lighthouse, you could see a string of dead pilchards, pinfish, catfish, etc floating in the dark brown color change. Hoping they get this crap figured out sooner than later.
6/24/18 Sunday
Had another group of 6 heading offshore looking for some fun. We had to wait for the growing thunderstorm to pass us to the north before heading out. We picked up our bait and then made the run out into the blue. First spot we pulled up to looked fantastic on the sounder, but couldnt get anything to eat/one big break off. Tried the drift twice more with no results. moved to another area and found some ARS willing to chew. Fish started coming up and over the rail quickly. Fished ranged from 18-23 inches. A couple really big hits off the bottom that couldnt be turned. Had a monster hit, ran of drag, and then was able to subdue... thought it was a giant grouper, turned out to be a 7-8 ft bull shark.... Sweet catch on a 6500 spinner with 60 lb mono leader... circle hook got him just right... Saw some really nice Mahi swimming under the boat but they didnt want to eat, not even live threadies.... Had a Tripletail that was floating with the boat and also didnt want to eat anything... very finicky.
Younis has his rod double over and he picks up a stud red grouper. Once we had our limit of ARS, we switched gears and moved to a grouper/lane snapper area. Our lanes were pretty big, averaging 16" ot so. A few porgies were added. Caught a ton of red grouper, but they were nursery size at 16-19 3/4 inches. Had a few large breakoffs here as well. John finally managed a keeper red grouper before heading to the barn.
We did get caught in that big thunderstorm in the afternoon. We set up the eisenglass and still punched thru the 4-5 ft seas at a comfy 25 mph. The boat instills more confidence with every trip.
The bite is hot and heavy so get out and fish!!!
6/23 Saturday
Had a group of 6 join me for the run offshore. The depth ranged from 160 to 170 today, and the bite was pretty decent. We had our American Red Limit relatively quickly. We caught a monster triggerfish which had to be let go due to being out of season. We had a few monster hook ups that got back to their holes (big grouper). Bite kind of slowed down so made a quick move. We picked up a stud Mangrove, and a handful of Lanes and Verms before heading back to the barn.
6/22 Friday
Had a group of 4 guys who met me at pineland at 6AM. We procured a bunch of pinfish and misc other baits before heading off into the blue. Two hours later pulled back the throttles on the Salty Beast as we arrived at our destintion. The sounder lit up like an xmas tree and we set up for our drifts. The water was flat calm, and very little tidal flow. Baits went down and the bite was decent... nothing on crazy fire this trip, and in fact not as busy as you would expect with the screen looking the way it did. We picked up a legal red snapper on just about every drift not keeping anything under 20" We had some VERY LArge hits that unfortunately got the best us. We were kind of stuck at 7 nice red snapper towards the end of the trip, and with an hour or so left before needing to make the run back, made a quick move.
IT was 100% the right decision. Over the next 45 minutes, we boxed some trophy size fish. First was a solid 37" Black Grouper who inhaled a pinfish. Next was a Gag just short of the 30" Mark. Next was a solid and our largest red snapper of the. And in the closing minutes, a 24" Red Grouper was added to the box. It was a great flury of action.
6-20
Had a group of 3 ladies on board looking to catch something other than the normal lane and Red Grouper fishing. So We pushed on out and went looking for ARS. Again today,we were not disappointed. First drop down over a new mark and a nice porgy and then a small tile fish are brought up. Reset the drift and it was like de ja vu with another nice porgy and a second larger tilefish! Moved onto some other numbers and the Red Snapper were happy to play. Jan got the first, Karina the second, and Lisa hooks into a solid fish... not knowing what it was but definitely not acting like a Red Snapper. Up comes a beautiful Black Grouper! We continued working the area and finished off our ARS limit, and then went to work on some tasty fat vermilion snapper and looked for some red grouper. We were rewarded with some fat verms and 2 more red Groupers that we were able to get up ( a few just flat out kicked our butts! and made it back to their hole). Was another fantastic day of fishing in SWFL!
6-19
Headed out with a group of 6 from Pineland Marina. We pushed off at 6 AM and made the run out looking for some tasty eats. Marked a good show on the way out in about 145 and Lo Roy was rewarded with a nice Scamp grouper. A nice mango nd a decent REd Porgy also joined the party. We continued our run out and the hot bite today was in 160 ft. We quickly procured a 6 man limit of quality American Red snappers. We moved around a little bit and dropped on a small, but good show. Up came a beautiful porgy, and 2 red grouper. Had a couple break offs here as well. We moved a around a bit and I saw some small splashed on the surface a little bit away. Ran over to it and made a cast with a live spanish sardine. Pauls got inhaled and the drag was off and ripping. Water was super clear and I could see bright silver flash so was thinking king until it turned sideways and I could see the tiger stripes... WAHOO! played her soft and got her boatside for the gaffshot. Not a huge fish, but anytime you get a Wahoo in the gulf, its a bonus fish...and on mono leader, just that much better! Some high fives all around and then time to turn on the air conditioning... Made the run on in. We were stopped just outside of Captiva Pass by FWC who boarded and checked our fish. All was good and we were quickly on our way. I openly welcome the check as Ive seen a couple other people back at the docks with some very questionable fish lately...
6-16-18
Saturday had a 1/2 day trip. launched from punta rassa a bit after 7AM. Jason, his wife Susan, their son Dillon and susans parents JoAnne and Dale were looking for some fun time out on the boat. We made our way out to some live bottom in 60-65 ft where we worked on Lane Snapper, Porgies and a slew of small red grouper. We landed a small gag grouper along with a bunch of key west grunts, and a small blacktip shark. A nice yellowtail was added for some fresh sushi for dinner to go along with the gallon size ziplocks busting at the seams. They enjoyed the beautiful blue water and took the opportunity to go for a nice swim before heading back to the docks.
6/15/18
Friday had Fed, his 3 sons, and buddy Yani in town to do some ARS fishing. We hammered them. On the way out, we saw some surface activity and decided to check it out. Im glad we did as we started seeing blackfin tuna going airborne chasing small flyers. Hooked up a couple live spanish sardines on flat lines and casted out ... immediately get hooked up on both rods.... Both fish pulled lots of drag, but rod #2 has a monster on... after a few minutes, blackfin one is gaffed and in the boat. Meanwhile, fish 2 is being worked in... Got the fish within 30 ft of the boat sraight up and down and the fish rolled sideways and the circle hook came unglued... Id estimate the fish to be in the high 20 to 30 lb class....
Stuck around looking for more action but none to be found so we continued out to the grounds... Arrived at the area to find quite a few boats within a few miles. Watched the sounder and found some nice quality marks. Yani drops down a vertical jig while everyone else deployed either live baits or squid. Yani is the first to hook up but comes unglued 3/4 of the way up... drops back down and hooks up again... brings in a solid 20+ inch red snapper. The bite stayed hot till we left. Didnt matter what bait you dropped, you would get a solid snapper on. put a 5 man limit in the boat throwing back a bunch of solid keepers as well. Had one big long run on the flatline that came unglued after a 45 second run... likely another tuna. A couple break offs on the bottom were probably some big grouper.
We pushed back in a bit shallower to see if we could find some keeper rgs, but they werent much in the mood, so we worked on the lanes and vermilion snapper. The kids really enjoyed the constant fast action, and reeling from 120 feet was much better than 170...
6/14/18
Thursday the 14th headed out on an ARS trip. Jack and 4 of his buddies from Wisconsin did a 3/4 day trip. We pushed out with a well of pinfish, runners and a few spanish sardines. We got into a nice show of red snapper in the 135-140 range. We landed quite a few and were throwing the legal 16 inchers back in the beggining. Shouldnt have as the bite turned off like a light switch. Tide stopped moving almost entirely. No wind, and we would drift 30-40 feet over a 30 minute period. Got set up right on top of the beautiful shows and the red grouper finally turned on. Landed some quality fish, and then one real STUD well over 30 inches. Picked up a few big lanes to go with them. Very nice box of fish at the end of the day.
6/11/18
Monday the 11th headed out on a 3/4 day trip in search of some grouper. after securing a well full of bait, we pushed out to the 115-130 range looking for some fish. We landed a couple nice red grouper to bring home for dinner. Snapper bite was ok as well. All the snapper were decent size... Tide was a bit on the slow side. Ended up with a decent box but had to work for it. Saw amazing shows of fish all day, but just seemed like they just werent chewing well...
6/3/18
Had a group of 6 that met us at the pine island co op for a 3/4 day of fishing. We loaded up the coolers and ponied up the motors in search of some fish for a meal or two. We headed out of Redfish Pass out to about 30 ft of water where we sabiki'd up a mess of live pinfish. Set the autpilot for our coarse some 40 miles out and turned up the tunes on the radio. We dropped down some baits along the way on some shows which gave us a few lane snapper and small grouper, so continued on out. At our destination, big bait gets hooked up and rod doubled over, but lost the grouper on the way up. Bite was slow with very little tidal movement. Picked away at short grouper. Made another move and we absolutely destroyed the vermillion snapper. They ranged from 12" up to 18" and kept the rods bent for a couple good hours. We added a decent mangrove snapper as well as a triggerfish to the fish box.
The weather couldnt have been better. and the water was pristine. The adult beverages stayed cold and flowing all day which made for some great laughs. The crew was constantly in and out of the water swimming to help stay cool.
Probably one of the most fun crews I have had a pleasure of taking out. Looking forward to having you guys down again in the future.
6/1/18
With some great looking weather forecasted, and the opening of red snapper and grouper season on the horizon, it was time to get a crew together for an overnighter.
Assembled the charter crew of all SWFL fishing club members. Lee, Tom, Eric, Mike, Rick and Nick met up at Pineland Marina where we loaded up all our gear for the overnighter. We pushed off the dock right around 7PM. We stopped just outside Captiva pass and loaded up on live pinfish and assorted other baits for our run out deep.
In the darkness we pushed out to the first 30 miles or so and set up over some decent marks on the bottom. We picked away at a few decent lane snapper and added a couple really Fat mangrove snapper to the box. With midnight approaching, we pushed out to the Red snapper grounds. We stopped in 167 ft of water and the machine lit up like a Christmas tree.
We dropped down a mix of different baits and we were rewarded with quailty red snapper coming up one after another. A few big hits and breakoffs, and had everyone switching to bigger gear. Almost instantly, Tom hooks up on drag screamer... Up comes a solid 30+ inch gag. A minute or two later Mike doubles over and he too puts a 30+" gag in the boat. We continued catching red snapper one after another and made the decision to not keep anything smaller than 20". Over the course of the night we caught,vented and released well over 100 snapper. A few nice red grouper we're also added to the box thru the night.
With a solid box of fish and a limit of red snapper already in the box, with the sun rising, we moved in a little shallower to pick up a few more grouper. We worked a few spots and managed a few more red grouper. Mike worked his jig over the bottom and picked up our largest gag of the day.
Looking around the boat, everyone looked pretty tired and rightly so. With the night bitehot as it was, no one left the rail all night.
Ponied up the Salty Beast and set the autopilot for the ride back home.
Was a great night with everyone and hoping we can do it again soon.
I left my phone in the truck so I am still receiving pics from everyone from the trip, but enjoy the pics!
Had a group of 6 that joined me both friday and saturday for 3/4 days of offshore fun. Friday was the bottom fishing (snapper grouper day) and saturday would be the "bigger fish" wreck day.
We met up at pineland both days for a 7AM start.
Friday, we pushed out of Captiva Pass with a pretty strong east wind, giving us a dominant following sea on the way out. Winds were sustained 20+. We pushed out around 30 miles for our first stop. It yielded a few lane snapper as well as our largest (landed) red grouper of the day at around 27". We pushed out deeper in search of more grouper. With the large seas, the group had a hard time feeling the snapper bite most of the day. We had some BIG hook ups with rods doubled over, but got the best of our team for the day. We managed a couple more grouper for the box and a decent pile of lanes, vermillion, and a lone mangrove snapper. Lost a grouper or 2 to sharks which have been pretty abundant even in areas that usually dont have any... The winds laid down to about 15 for our ride home which made the ride in pretty comfortable.
Saturday, we had lighter winds to start the day, but they progressively increased as the day went on. We pushed out to find some bait. The brown water extended out to around 80 ft with the strong east wind pushing it out. We stopped for bait around the color change and it was a slow pick of Squirel fish, tomtates, a lone blue runner, a few spanish sardines. Couldnt hardly keep the lane snapper and mangroves off the sabiki rigs. With about 3 dozen baits in the well, we pushed on out.
We dropped baits down and the fish were hungry and chewing. First few hookups busted us off in the wreck. Every bait down would get hit within minutes. Probably one of the best bites Ive seen on the wrecks in term of cooperation.
We had a bunch of reef sharks caught thru the day. Our first aj to the boat was the smallest at 39.5" to the fork.
All others were well over the 40" mark. The ladies joined in on the fun and each boated a respectable aj for the box.
We had a couple big runoffs on the flat line, one for sure was a big king that chewed thru the stinger rig. Everyone had an absolute blast and I am sure are nursing sore arms today.
Decided to finish off all the live baits and called it a day. Tons of meat for the smoker and grill for this group!
9/29
Had a split charter group Saturday for a full day offshore. Met up at pineland marina and off the docks around 645. Ride out was nice with a quarter following sea. We picked up some bait around 80-90ft before heading deeper to the wreck.
The bite on the wreck was excellent. What wasn't so excellent was the amount of cutoffs and lost weights and hooks. Every drift would produce multiple hook ups, some just downright monsters that ran right towards the wreck, other drag screamers, some going airborne. Dennis was first one to get a hookup that made it to the boat. It was a solid amberjack that measured 39" to the fork.
On to ice he went for the smoker. The continued pattern of hook ups with cutoffs continued. Dave sr hooked into something big on the bottom and it took a ton of heat to bring up the estimated 7+ foot nurse shark off the bottom. pics dont do it justice...
We had a few pull hooks on some long runs as well. Dave jr was next up on the screaming rod and boated a slob amberjack. Somewhere in the mayhem Philip caught a small barracuda , then had another shoot a good 30 ft on the air and across the side of the boat. It came unglued but so cool to see. Philip stayed working his Japanese jigging rod with flutter jigs and was rewarded with a hook up that made him work for his catch. He boated the biggest AJ of the day after a solid 20-30 minute fight.
Everyone mutual agreed to go target some snapper and grouper as everyone was worn out! We pushed out a bit and found a pretty decent grouper bight. Dave Jr bested a solid 28+ inch red grouper,
followed by Philip besting a nice 23" for the over box. Dennis worked on some porgy and snapper, and Dave sr boated 2 keeper red grouper to fill his limit.
With a pretty steep head sea, we pushed on back towards Captiva pass at a 23-27 mph cruise. Not many other boats that could have ran that speed in those conditions.
Was a great day with a fantastic crew. Look forward to seeing y'all out there again!
9-25
Had a 1/2 day charter out of pineland today. Pushed out to our first drop in 70 ft and it was a steady pick of lane snapper and juvenile red grouper. We had a couple big things right off the bat that got back to the hole. Pushed on out a little deeper to the 78-80 ft range and the vermilion, lanes and grouper we're ready to play. We boated 2 keeper red grouper with the snapper and got 2 nice porgies as well. Should make for a fantastic dinner!
9-22
sept 22nd had full day 10-12 hr charter. Pushed out of pineland around 645 with thoughts of big fish and singing drags. The day did not disappoint.
We pushed on out past the brown water (out to roughly 60 ft now) and stopped to get some bait. Bait has not been easy to come by lately. We managed some spot tails, squirrel fish, a lone pinfish, a couple spanish sardines.
We marked good bottom on the way out that produced some very nice quality lane snapper. A few short Rg came up, and then both Jill and JT's rods double over.. they both are making headway, and up pops a nice red grouper with both thier hooks...lol the fish had effectively eaten both of their baits and fought the same fish, and maybe each other a little bit.
We pushed out to the wreck and deployed different baits. The fish were very willing to cooperate! The first few fish either came unglued or beat us to the wreck. Frank got hooked up and after a back and forth battle, a nice aj hits the deck.
We had a bunch of cudas around and deployed a spottail on a stinger rig and pretty much hand fed him. Jill was up on that rod and had a great number of long runs before working it boatside.
Next drift produced 2 small undersize ajs, followed by another tank of a fish which mark fought and worked to the boat. we swung back around and went at it again with JT getting hooked up. Another back and forth battle and another stud aj hits the deck.
With everyone getting their shot and plenty of fish for the grill/smoker, we pushed on out to around 130 ft. The bite out there was awesome. Did 2 drifts thru the area which produced 7 keeper groupers, a pile of lane and vermillion snapper along with a couple porgies. We missed a couple big thumpers here as well.
Overall, a fantastic day of fishing. Weather was overcast with a breeze, comfortable 2-3 ft seas all day. Not much more you can ask for!
9-18-18
Salty Fishing Charters Had a split charter group of 6 yesterday. Met up at Pineland Marina and off the docks by 630AM. Headed out thru Captiva Pass. Didnt see a whole lot of dead fish at all (in fact only saw 1 dead fish all day, a 12" boxfish floating in 70ish feet of water). The brown watered lingered out to around 70 ft. We made a quick bait stop in 73 feet and it was covered in nice lane snapper and red grouper. Missed a couple big girls, and only managed a few pieces of bait (2 blue runners, couple grunts, couple squirrels). We Hit another spot inside 120 feet and Garon put the first keeper red grouper on ice.
A couple more BIG RGs got the best of us and several good sized lanes made their way on ice.
We made at stop at a wreck to see if we could find some drag screamers... we dropped down three rods all with frozen cut bait... First rod down gets inhaled and is off to the races. It fought hard and had some great runs, so thought we had an amberjack on... As it got closer to the surface, we find out its a nice AFRICAN POMPANO. Big cheers all around the boat. Olaf did a great job working him to the boat.
The other dead baits get whacked, but no hook up... I think they were big mangroves taking chunks... Deployed the smaller of the 2 Blue runners on a single hook treble rig, and it wasnt more than 10 seconds in the water before it is inhaled and a respectable cuda goes airborne. Richard handled him like a pro and made it to the boat.
Tried putting out the squirrel fish but nothing seemed interested in them. Flat lined the second of the blue runners (large bait) with a 2 hook stinger rig. About 30 seconds later it gets crushed. and the fish is off to the races. it ran down and towards the wreck...Josh fought him like a seasoned vet and after a back and forth tug a war, a massive cuda comes boatside. Quick Picture and we let him go.
We decided to push on out and find some more grouper and snapper. We stopped over a small show in 130 -135 ft and were rewared with a pretty steady grouper bite. We boxed another 6 keeper grouper over a couple hours, as well as some stud lanes. Erik got redemption from missing a bruiser earlier with a solid 29" Red GRouper (biggest of the day) We missed a couple other big bruisers who got the best of us. We had an estimated 10 ft Greater Hammerhead chase a couple of our grouper to the surface. Tried deploying both a section of cuda as well as Bonita on the big rod, which he swam up to several times but decided against eating it.
Weather was fantastic and had a sweet cruise back in with less than 2 ft seas. Cant wait to do it again!
8/23/18
Got a late booking to get out and do some rod bending for sunday, so got the boat ready and off the docks of pineland marina by 645. Talked over our gameplan and decided to go for some bigger fish over the wrecks. Made a bait pit stop around 70-80 feet of water which produced a handful of spanish sardines, 1 nice speedo, 1 blue runner, a handful of squirrel fish, a couple spot tailed grunts... With the full moon, i wanted to get out as early as possible so didnt spend a ton of time catching live bait...
pulled up to the wreck and set out some bottom rigs... lots of fish marked throughout the water column, but no takers on first 2 drifts... set up a flatline with the runner on a stinger rig and it was almost immediately game on... fish ripped off drag and didnt want to stop....Chris took the rod and fought it like a champ.. excellent use of the rod... every time he would gain 20 or 30 yds the fish would rip out that much or more... After a good back and forth battle, a nice AJ was put in the boat.
Next up would be Melissa whos flatline also took off like a bat out of hell, but the run was much shorter and less vigorous... a few minutes later a small barracuda was added to the box.
Next up was Richie, our youngest angler on the boat... We were running low on baits at this point and had a grunt and squirrel fish out on the flatlines... the rod with the 6500 size penn spinfisher v with the squirrel fish with a 6/0 circle hook on 80 lb leader doubles overs and absolutely SCREAMS off the reel. I slowly kept tightening the drag, but this fish just kept going! First run dumped nearly the whole spool to where i could see the backing! As soon as the fish stopped its initial run, Richie cranked like crazy to gain back line as the fish was running back at us... he did an amazing job of keeping a nice bend in the rod so as not to take off the pressure. The fish came towards the boat but had a bunch of energy left in him, and made multiple runs away from the boat. little by little, you could see the fish starting to loose its stamina and energy. Finally, we broke its spirit and a true SMOKER kingfish hit the deck on the end of the gaff. High fives and WOOOO's! all the way around. Quick picture and in the box it went.
Set up for another drift and flatline gets hit yet again... this one rips off some serious drag and had some shoulders! Melissa fought the fish till her arms gave out and then Chris took over from there... some of this fishes runs were just amazing..... 50-100 yds gone in no time! After a short while, we got it boatside for a quick photo and then released to fight another day.
The next flatline went off and Richie is up fighting another fish... it pulled off some drag, but not like its bigger brothers. He put the whoopin on a fun sized almaco jack.
We had a handful of other takes and drops, slashed baits with no hookup... Altogether an absolutely fantastic day with everyone smiling.
We caught a pretty good rain storm just as we entered Captiva Pass, so raincoats on and a slow cruise till we got thru the thick of it.
A little rain is always welcome to rinse the boat and gear down a the end of a trip. LOL
Here is to hoping the weather Gods send me some decent weather this weekend for Saturday...
Tight Lines all!
8/21/18
Had a 1/2 day charter out of Pineland Marina with Dave and Dave Jr. (father/son). We pushed off the dock at 7AM to a beautiful sunrise. We worked our way on out thru captiva pass out to our first stop in 70ish feet of water. Not much at spots 1 and two (both with 200 feet of each other) but a quick look at spot three showed some good marks and fish ready to chew! We drifted thru them picking up some nice lane snapper and a slew of short red grouper. Another drift and Dave Sr has his rod double over with something much larger! He worked the fish well and had him within 10 ft or so of the surface when the big red grouper came unglued and swam back down... Not to get our hopes down, we continued working the area. The big rod with the squirrel fish goes off, and Dave Sr. is able to work a nice 23" Red Grouper up and into the ice box. We continued fishing catching more undersize red grouper, lanes, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, key west grunts and more. We headed back to the dock with around 20 Lane snappers and the new nice red grouper on ice. They are sure to make a fantastic dinner!
8/16/18
Had a 3/4 day trip with Sam and family. We headed offshore in search of some hard pulling fish. We headed off to a deeper wreck looking for some ajs, sharks, cudas and anything else that might want to play. First flatlined baits got hit almost immediately with several cutoffs (cudas). Deployed a flatline with a stinger rig and hooked up to a speedy cuda that put on a nice aerial show as well as some drag ripping runs. Around the same time a couple of our bottom rods go off and get us back to the wreck. Landed the cuda...
put out a few more bottom rigs and Owens rod doubles over... lots of hard pulling and digging, drag screaming runs... Owen played him fantastic. After a few minutes of back and forth, up comes a big AJ... Id estimate him in the 55-60 lb class.
We dropped down the bottom rods again and continued to hook up time and time again... Many of the fish were giants and got the best of us as they got back down to the bottom, or wore thru the 60 and 80 lb leader...
Sam got a hook up on another decent fish and played him perfectly, putting another 36" AJ in the boat.
I deployed the bent butt rod with a 3 lb piece of bonita... it resulted in a nice fight on an estimated 7 ft bull shark... got him within 20 ft of the boat and wore thru the leader (perfect!)
Another flat line goes off and runs and runs and runs... after circling the boat a ton of times, turned out to be a really big black tip... safely released boatside.
We hooked and fought a bunch of fish that ultimately got the best of them. Was a fun time, and I always love the sound of a singing drag!
Rods stayed bent all day and everyone went home with sore arms and stories to tell. Weather was perfect. Fish bite was on. Couldnt ask for a better day offshore!
8/4/18
Had a group of 6, some local, some from Denver Colorado looking to get out and bend some rods. We departed from Pineland Marina at 645 AM and made our way out thru Captiva Pass. I will say the water around the marina looked decent. No Crazy nasty smells, no dead fish apparent. Didnt see anything until we got outside Captiva Pass in the 30-40 ft zone. We had a strong east wind and an outgoing tide at the time.
We pushed on out to the 65-70 ft zone and found nice clean water with lots of fliers and birds working the area. We dropped down knocker rigs and were greeted by some decent lane snapper and short RGs immediately. Only a few minutes in we hook into something bigger, turned out to be a nice 23" Red Grouper. The wind and tide were both pushing pretty hard, and we were fishing solid 3-4s with 15-20 mph steady winds. The boat drifts pretty darn god in these conditions, and you really dont notice the seas till its time to run back head into them. With the cat, you push it harder into the waves and the ride gets even better.
With enough fish on ice for dinner, we decided to run in a bit and see if we couldnt get something much larger. We made our stop just a few miles in, and dropped down some 1-2 lb chunks of bonita. Less than 2 minutes later and the rod tip starts to move and we come tight on a big girl. We had her 1/2 way up when the hook pulled. We repeated the process a couple more times, each of which resulted in the fish coming off... Try number 4 was our charm. Fish inhaled the big bait and we came tight . She ripped some drag off the 50W and the rod was doubled over. A few back and forth's and a solid 150-200 lb Goliath Grouper was brought alongside the boat, then safely released to fight another day.
Was a fun and productive day on the water.
On the way back in, saw more dead fish and sea life (namely turtles) floating dead in the 30-40 ft zone being pushed out by the wind and tides. The dead fish continued all the way back in thru captiva pass where you could see 2 definitive lines of dead fish, mostly cat fish, pinfish and pilchards. I wouldnt want to risk fishing inshore right now, but offshore 8-10 miles out and further seem to be good right now.
week of 7/26-7/27
Had a bit of cruddy weather for offshore this week.... strong winds out of the west/ southwest made things pretty bumpy... Cancelled trips tuesday and weds as we had young kids going (ages 3-9) and with confirmed seas of 3-5 ft and really windy, they just wouldnt have a good time...
Forecast was supposed to lay down for thursday, and no storms on the radar, so we continued plans for our 5 hr trip to get out and fish... Weather man lied... It was still blowing pretty stiff out of the west/SW. None the less we pushed on out in the solid 3-4s and the cat made the ride pretty comfy (albeit a little slower at 23 mph). The great part was the boat drifts amazing and the same from 2 footers to about 6 footers, and the fishing was on fire. We set up in about 65-70 ft of water and the snapper were chewing hard. Every bait down got hit about immediately and the quality of the snapper was pretty impressive for the depth range. We had one lane over 18", and several in the 17 inch range. A few good sized porgies joined in on the fun. After filleting the fish, we had a gallon size ziplock bulging at the seams plus another bag with porgy.. Great 1/2 day!
Friday launched from Punta Rassa boat ramp on another 1/2 day trip. The weather man got it right today, with almost no wind and only some residual stuff left over from the past few days. It was extremely smooth... We set up in the 60-70 ft range. The bite was pretty consistent, with lots of lanes in the 10-13 inch range. a couple porgies were caught, along with a few small grouper up to 19" or so. It was blazing hot! not a trace of wind and moving from spot to spot felt like air conditioning. The group wanted to try for something big after putting together a respectable showing of snapper and porgies in the fish box, so we moved on in to an artificial wreck to see what we could stir up. We set our anchor and dropped down a big chunk of bonita. Water quality was kinda cruddy with some pollen like algae on the surface. Amazes me how close other boats will get to you when your anchored... Had another boat drift so close to me and on top of my anchor line, I had to ask if he brought sandwiches for us too? Makes me remember why I try to avoid the published public wrecks and reefs. We got one good wack that unfortunately got back into the structure. The group opted to call it a day early as the heat was becoming unbearable for them.
As we got within a mile or so of the Sanibel lighthouse, you could see a string of dead pilchards, pinfish, catfish, etc floating in the dark brown color change. Hoping they get this crap figured out sooner than later.
6/24/18 Sunday
Had another group of 6 heading offshore looking for some fun. We had to wait for the growing thunderstorm to pass us to the north before heading out. We picked up our bait and then made the run out into the blue. First spot we pulled up to looked fantastic on the sounder, but couldnt get anything to eat/one big break off. Tried the drift twice more with no results. moved to another area and found some ARS willing to chew. Fish started coming up and over the rail quickly. Fished ranged from 18-23 inches. A couple really big hits off the bottom that couldnt be turned. Had a monster hit, ran of drag, and then was able to subdue... thought it was a giant grouper, turned out to be a 7-8 ft bull shark.... Sweet catch on a 6500 spinner with 60 lb mono leader... circle hook got him just right... Saw some really nice Mahi swimming under the boat but they didnt want to eat, not even live threadies.... Had a Tripletail that was floating with the boat and also didnt want to eat anything... very finicky.
Younis has his rod double over and he picks up a stud red grouper. Once we had our limit of ARS, we switched gears and moved to a grouper/lane snapper area. Our lanes were pretty big, averaging 16" ot so. A few porgies were added. Caught a ton of red grouper, but they were nursery size at 16-19 3/4 inches. Had a few large breakoffs here as well. John finally managed a keeper red grouper before heading to the barn.
We did get caught in that big thunderstorm in the afternoon. We set up the eisenglass and still punched thru the 4-5 ft seas at a comfy 25 mph. The boat instills more confidence with every trip.
The bite is hot and heavy so get out and fish!!!
6/23 Saturday
Had a group of 6 join me for the run offshore. The depth ranged from 160 to 170 today, and the bite was pretty decent. We had our American Red Limit relatively quickly. We caught a monster triggerfish which had to be let go due to being out of season. We had a few monster hook ups that got back to their holes (big grouper). Bite kind of slowed down so made a quick move. We picked up a stud Mangrove, and a handful of Lanes and Verms before heading back to the barn.
6/22 Friday
Had a group of 4 guys who met me at pineland at 6AM. We procured a bunch of pinfish and misc other baits before heading off into the blue. Two hours later pulled back the throttles on the Salty Beast as we arrived at our destintion. The sounder lit up like an xmas tree and we set up for our drifts. The water was flat calm, and very little tidal flow. Baits went down and the bite was decent... nothing on crazy fire this trip, and in fact not as busy as you would expect with the screen looking the way it did. We picked up a legal red snapper on just about every drift not keeping anything under 20" We had some VERY LArge hits that unfortunately got the best us. We were kind of stuck at 7 nice red snapper towards the end of the trip, and with an hour or so left before needing to make the run back, made a quick move.
IT was 100% the right decision. Over the next 45 minutes, we boxed some trophy size fish. First was a solid 37" Black Grouper who inhaled a pinfish. Next was a Gag just short of the 30" Mark. Next was a solid and our largest red snapper of the. And in the closing minutes, a 24" Red Grouper was added to the box. It was a great flury of action.
6-20
Had a group of 3 ladies on board looking to catch something other than the normal lane and Red Grouper fishing. So We pushed on out and went looking for ARS. Again today,we were not disappointed. First drop down over a new mark and a nice porgy and then a small tile fish are brought up. Reset the drift and it was like de ja vu with another nice porgy and a second larger tilefish! Moved onto some other numbers and the Red Snapper were happy to play. Jan got the first, Karina the second, and Lisa hooks into a solid fish... not knowing what it was but definitely not acting like a Red Snapper. Up comes a beautiful Black Grouper! We continued working the area and finished off our ARS limit, and then went to work on some tasty fat vermilion snapper and looked for some red grouper. We were rewarded with some fat verms and 2 more red Groupers that we were able to get up ( a few just flat out kicked our butts! and made it back to their hole). Was another fantastic day of fishing in SWFL!
6-19
Headed out with a group of 6 from Pineland Marina. We pushed off at 6 AM and made the run out looking for some tasty eats. Marked a good show on the way out in about 145 and Lo Roy was rewarded with a nice Scamp grouper. A nice mango nd a decent REd Porgy also joined the party. We continued our run out and the hot bite today was in 160 ft. We quickly procured a 6 man limit of quality American Red snappers. We moved around a little bit and dropped on a small, but good show. Up came a beautiful porgy, and 2 red grouper. Had a couple break offs here as well. We moved a around a bit and I saw some small splashed on the surface a little bit away. Ran over to it and made a cast with a live spanish sardine. Pauls got inhaled and the drag was off and ripping. Water was super clear and I could see bright silver flash so was thinking king until it turned sideways and I could see the tiger stripes... WAHOO! played her soft and got her boatside for the gaffshot. Not a huge fish, but anytime you get a Wahoo in the gulf, its a bonus fish...and on mono leader, just that much better! Some high fives all around and then time to turn on the air conditioning... Made the run on in. We were stopped just outside of Captiva Pass by FWC who boarded and checked our fish. All was good and we were quickly on our way. I openly welcome the check as Ive seen a couple other people back at the docks with some very questionable fish lately...
6-16-18
Saturday had a 1/2 day trip. launched from punta rassa a bit after 7AM. Jason, his wife Susan, their son Dillon and susans parents JoAnne and Dale were looking for some fun time out on the boat. We made our way out to some live bottom in 60-65 ft where we worked on Lane Snapper, Porgies and a slew of small red grouper. We landed a small gag grouper along with a bunch of key west grunts, and a small blacktip shark. A nice yellowtail was added for some fresh sushi for dinner to go along with the gallon size ziplocks busting at the seams. They enjoyed the beautiful blue water and took the opportunity to go for a nice swim before heading back to the docks.
6/15/18
Friday had Fed, his 3 sons, and buddy Yani in town to do some ARS fishing. We hammered them. On the way out, we saw some surface activity and decided to check it out. Im glad we did as we started seeing blackfin tuna going airborne chasing small flyers. Hooked up a couple live spanish sardines on flat lines and casted out ... immediately get hooked up on both rods.... Both fish pulled lots of drag, but rod #2 has a monster on... after a few minutes, blackfin one is gaffed and in the boat. Meanwhile, fish 2 is being worked in... Got the fish within 30 ft of the boat sraight up and down and the fish rolled sideways and the circle hook came unglued... Id estimate the fish to be in the high 20 to 30 lb class....
Stuck around looking for more action but none to be found so we continued out to the grounds... Arrived at the area to find quite a few boats within a few miles. Watched the sounder and found some nice quality marks. Yani drops down a vertical jig while everyone else deployed either live baits or squid. Yani is the first to hook up but comes unglued 3/4 of the way up... drops back down and hooks up again... brings in a solid 20+ inch red snapper. The bite stayed hot till we left. Didnt matter what bait you dropped, you would get a solid snapper on. put a 5 man limit in the boat throwing back a bunch of solid keepers as well. Had one big long run on the flatline that came unglued after a 45 second run... likely another tuna. A couple break offs on the bottom were probably some big grouper.
We pushed back in a bit shallower to see if we could find some keeper rgs, but they werent much in the mood, so we worked on the lanes and vermilion snapper. The kids really enjoyed the constant fast action, and reeling from 120 feet was much better than 170...
6/14/18
Thursday the 14th headed out on an ARS trip. Jack and 4 of his buddies from Wisconsin did a 3/4 day trip. We pushed out with a well of pinfish, runners and a few spanish sardines. We got into a nice show of red snapper in the 135-140 range. We landed quite a few and were throwing the legal 16 inchers back in the beggining. Shouldnt have as the bite turned off like a light switch. Tide stopped moving almost entirely. No wind, and we would drift 30-40 feet over a 30 minute period. Got set up right on top of the beautiful shows and the red grouper finally turned on. Landed some quality fish, and then one real STUD well over 30 inches. Picked up a few big lanes to go with them. Very nice box of fish at the end of the day.
6/11/18
Monday the 11th headed out on a 3/4 day trip in search of some grouper. after securing a well full of bait, we pushed out to the 115-130 range looking for some fish. We landed a couple nice red grouper to bring home for dinner. Snapper bite was ok as well. All the snapper were decent size... Tide was a bit on the slow side. Ended up with a decent box but had to work for it. Saw amazing shows of fish all day, but just seemed like they just werent chewing well...
6/3/18
Had a group of 6 that met us at the pine island co op for a 3/4 day of fishing. We loaded up the coolers and ponied up the motors in search of some fish for a meal or two. We headed out of Redfish Pass out to about 30 ft of water where we sabiki'd up a mess of live pinfish. Set the autpilot for our coarse some 40 miles out and turned up the tunes on the radio. We dropped down some baits along the way on some shows which gave us a few lane snapper and small grouper, so continued on out. At our destination, big bait gets hooked up and rod doubled over, but lost the grouper on the way up. Bite was slow with very little tidal movement. Picked away at short grouper. Made another move and we absolutely destroyed the vermillion snapper. They ranged from 12" up to 18" and kept the rods bent for a couple good hours. We added a decent mangrove snapper as well as a triggerfish to the fish box.
The weather couldnt have been better. and the water was pristine. The adult beverages stayed cold and flowing all day which made for some great laughs. The crew was constantly in and out of the water swimming to help stay cool.
Probably one of the most fun crews I have had a pleasure of taking out. Looking forward to having you guys down again in the future.
6/1/18
With some great looking weather forecasted, and the opening of red snapper and grouper season on the horizon, it was time to get a crew together for an overnighter.
Assembled the charter crew of all SWFL fishing club members. Lee, Tom, Eric, Mike, Rick and Nick met up at Pineland Marina where we loaded up all our gear for the overnighter. We pushed off the dock right around 7PM. We stopped just outside Captiva pass and loaded up on live pinfish and assorted other baits for our run out deep.
In the darkness we pushed out to the first 30 miles or so and set up over some decent marks on the bottom. We picked away at a few decent lane snapper and added a couple really Fat mangrove snapper to the box. With midnight approaching, we pushed out to the Red snapper grounds. We stopped in 167 ft of water and the machine lit up like a Christmas tree.
We dropped down a mix of different baits and we were rewarded with quailty red snapper coming up one after another. A few big hits and breakoffs, and had everyone switching to bigger gear. Almost instantly, Tom hooks up on drag screamer... Up comes a solid 30+ inch gag. A minute or two later Mike doubles over and he too puts a 30+" gag in the boat. We continued catching red snapper one after another and made the decision to not keep anything smaller than 20". Over the course of the night we caught,vented and released well over 100 snapper. A few nice red grouper we're also added to the box thru the night.
With a solid box of fish and a limit of red snapper already in the box, with the sun rising, we moved in a little shallower to pick up a few more grouper. We worked a few spots and managed a few more red grouper. Mike worked his jig over the bottom and picked up our largest gag of the day.
Looking around the boat, everyone looked pretty tired and rightly so. With the night bitehot as it was, no one left the rail all night.
Ponied up the Salty Beast and set the autopilot for the ride back home.
Was a great night with everyone and hoping we can do it again soon.
I left my phone in the truck so I am still receiving pics from everyone from the trip, but enjoy the pics!
5/12/18
Picked up a father and son duo looking to get some grouper and snapper for the freezer. They were staying at South Seas resort on Sanibel Island. Picked them up at a few minutes before 7 AM and headed out thru redfish pass. It was a little smokey/foggy, so I fired up the radar and set the autopilot on our coarse... we ran into a nice ball of bait out in the 60 ft range. Picked up about 100 live spanish and scaled sardines along with a couple runners for good measure. a handful of pins and squirrels rounded out the livewell. We pushed out and made our first drops in 100 ft of water. Despite an amazing show on the fishfinder, only a few small red grouper were brought up. Our lines kept coming up with thick, green moss.... essentially it actually suffocated our baits it was so thick.... We switched it up and made a run a few miles away. we dropped down different baits and again, only some short red grouper coming up. Moved another 1/4 mile and we were promptly rewarded with some nice fat mangrove snapper. The big one of the day went 22". The bite slowed down and i made another 1/2 mile run to some more grouper grounds. The tide appeared to finally be moving and we caught 2 nice grouper our first drift. The second drift resulted in another 2 keeper red grouper almost immediately fulfilling our limit of red grouper for the day. We headed back in with smiles.
Picked up a father and son duo looking to get some grouper and snapper for the freezer. They were staying at South Seas resort on Sanibel Island. Picked them up at a few minutes before 7 AM and headed out thru redfish pass. It was a little smokey/foggy, so I fired up the radar and set the autopilot on our coarse... we ran into a nice ball of bait out in the 60 ft range. Picked up about 100 live spanish and scaled sardines along with a couple runners for good measure. a handful of pins and squirrels rounded out the livewell. We pushed out and made our first drops in 100 ft of water. Despite an amazing show on the fishfinder, only a few small red grouper were brought up. Our lines kept coming up with thick, green moss.... essentially it actually suffocated our baits it was so thick.... We switched it up and made a run a few miles away. we dropped down different baits and again, only some short red grouper coming up. Moved another 1/4 mile and we were promptly rewarded with some nice fat mangrove snapper. The big one of the day went 22". The bite slowed down and i made another 1/2 mile run to some more grouper grounds. The tide appeared to finally be moving and we caught 2 nice grouper our first drift. The second drift resulted in another 2 keeper red grouper almost immediately fulfilling our limit of red grouper for the day. We headed back in with smiles.
5/8/18
Had a 3/4 day trip today. The fishing trip had a pickup out of South seas resort on Sanibel at 7AM. Was a bit windy but it didn't slow the Salty Beast down. We roared out at a solid and comfy 28 mph. Picked up lots of squirrels and ran out towards the grouper grounds. Throttled down with a nice show in 100 ft of water. First rod down was a Penn 4500 spinfisher with matching light tackle rod. I call this my "prospector rod", to see if its just a pile of bait, snapper, or target species grouper. Takes a while to get down with 2 ounces of weight. Bait gets inhaled by a stud grouper. Tom fights him up and off bottom but unfortunately loses it to the 3/0 circle hook being straightened out. Out comes the large tackle. Fish on, Tom fights and lands a 32 inch firetruck. Next three or 4 baits down hook up to big fish but come unglued. As if someone flipped the switch, the bite died. Make a small move, Kathy hooks up to a solid fish, 28.5" hits the deck. Repeat drift with only an 18" rg coming up. Moved around a bit more and was able to hook up and land another 25.5" RG. Lots of quality today. They will be eating well.
5/6
Saturday weather gods didnt want us to play predicting a strong afternoon blow, so my saturday group will be out sometime with me in the future.
Sunday the 6th looked much better and we had good conditions. We pushed off of the Pine Island Co op around 7AM and headed out for some bait. We were fluid on our game plan and I let the conditions dictate the day. While looking for bait, it was squirrel fish city. After many drops and lots of searching, it became clear we wouldnt have the blue runners Id have liked to hit the wrecks for some bigger ajs, but with a load of squirrel fish, the decision was made to go look for some grouper.
We headed out a good 40 miles or so and fished depths from 110 to 125 ft of water.
The bite was insane. We would drop down live squirrel fish and they would get inhaled. I think we broke off and lost 3x as many fish as we landed. The fish that were breaking us off were BIG fish, likely 30" and better. We didnt hook a single fish that had a hook in its mouth, so I know there are a ton still down there. The guys did a great job of killing the beer as well as the grouper. They didnt get frustrated by the lost fish, instead getting more motivated and fishing hard.
They worked for their box, but were rewarded with a solid limit of Red Groupers. We blasted the music all day and had lots of laughs. I look forward to having your crew out again.
5/4
Friday headed out with a group of six looking for some rod bending fun.They came from Cincinnati where they fished for largemouth and other freshwater fish.We left Pineland marina and found the mother load of bait out in about 55 ft of water. Picked up about 3 dozen blue runners and a handful of pins before running out to find some ajs, cudas and anything else looking to eat.
We were rewarded with drag screaming runs and epic battles all day. Many an aj were boated along with a ton of fish that had their way and got back to the wreck. A few were lost 1/2 way up to Giant Goliath Groupers that took hold and would run 150 yds of line straight back to their lair.
We had several barracuda that would chase down and engulf a lively blue runner and then scream off drag and go airborn before throwing the hook. Nothing like watching a cuda shoot 30+ feet ithru the air in an attempt to rid himself of the hook. These were big fish, 30-50 lbers.... The saying for the day was: "guys, were not in cincitttati anymore..." I had a great time with your crew and loved seeing the smiles and hearing the "wows" as we hooked, fought and landed some of these beasts...
I am awaiting the pics from my group, but will get them up soon.
4/25
Headed out weds with a group of 6. Met up at Pineland marina and headed on out. It was a bit sporty to start coming out of Captiva Pass, but the new 33 World Cat ate it up. We picked up some baits and headed out looking for some fish. It seems the shallower stuff was absolutely inundated with squirrel fish. We picked up a handful of snapper in between wih some really quality size fish mixed in (lanes to 18.5"). We got out to about 105 ft of water and the grouper bite turned on for a short period. Scott picked up a nice respectable grouper and a second 21 incher, and just about everyones rod on the rod doubled over at least 1 time with a fish that just got the best of them. Jo picked up a really nice Triggerfish as well as a really nice looking 22 inch yellowtail. Another 20 inch mangrove was added to the box. Heidi picked up a strawberry grouper that was the prettiest colors I had ever seen.
Several american red snapper were also caught and released. Lots of smaller 18-19 inch Red grouper were landed along with an undersize gag grouper around 23 inches. Frank picked up a few nice lanes and a decent porgy for the box. The bite fizzled out and we moved around a bit to try and add a little action... tryed trolling around the school bus wreck with only 1 hit on the live blue runner that came unglued as fast as it was hooked. Was a fun day on the water.
4/23/18
Had a group of locals looking to get out and bend some rods. Few of the guys were from the local Reel Angler Fishing Club. Trip had gotten blown out 2 different times, but today looked much better. We met up at Pineland and made our way out looking for some grouper. We fished some 40 miles off of Sanibel Island. Had a few good shows in shallow but didnt produce anything worthwhile. With a well full of baits, we worked the 120 ft area and were happily rewarded. We boxed 8 nice keepers, 4 of which were right at the 30" mark. We missed a handful of others that got the best of us and beat them back to their hole. The grouper bite slowed so we worked on the snapper. The snapper progressively got bigger with some quality lanes and vermillions joining our fish box. A couple gags were caught as well. A bunch of American Red Snapper were caught and released. Bite was busy for a bit so didnt get a bunch of photos, but was a solid and fun day on the water. Look forward to seeing you guys again soon.
4/20
Had a group of 5 on board looking to catch some fish. We left Punta Rassa boat ramp and headed on out. Fished NW of Sanibel Island working our way out deep. Picked up some blue runners, spanish sardines, pinfish and a few other baits for the run out. We found an area being with the surface getting worked hard in about 45 feet. Saw a king skyrocket... Dropped in a couple runners and bump trolled. Both get vicious hits, one with a 200 yd run that came unglued running back to the boat. other spit the bait... Continued out. Added some lanes and vermllion to the box in about 85 ft before pushing out to deeper water. Our first grouper in the boat went just under 33 inches. Next 2 up were respectable 25 inch fish. Caught a few nice triggerfish to bring home as well. Bite slowed so pushed on out to a wreck. We played with some ajs and cudas for a while, with several making their way to the boat. Had a big cobia on that unfortunately came unglued after a few minutes.
Was a fun and action packed day. Everyone had a good time with bent rods.
Sunday, 4/8 did an afternoon 1/2 day trip out of pine island co op where we got out a little deeper to 85 ft of water and caught a number of lanes, porgies and vermillion snapper. Quite a few Red Grouper were caught but they were shy of being legal. Pete did hook and land a nice 23 inch red grouper that made its way home with us. A few other large grouper were hooked but got the better of the crew. Ended up with a nice haul and a couple ziplocks worth of fillets.
1st week of April
Last week was a busy one with a full schedule of 5 and 6 hr 1/2 day offshore trips. My permits are officially transferred to the new boat and ran her all week.
Theme for the trips was Lane Snapper and Porgies. The rods stayed bent from start to finish with each trip averaging 40-50 fish put on ice. A few trips scored some very healthy and large porgies (I like porgies more than grouper). Lots of short red grouper caught and released. We mainly fished the 60-65 ft zone coming out of Punta Rassa Boat ramp.
Had a 3/4 day trip today. The fishing trip had a pickup out of South seas resort on Sanibel at 7AM. Was a bit windy but it didn't slow the Salty Beast down. We roared out at a solid and comfy 28 mph. Picked up lots of squirrels and ran out towards the grouper grounds. Throttled down with a nice show in 100 ft of water. First rod down was a Penn 4500 spinfisher with matching light tackle rod. I call this my "prospector rod", to see if its just a pile of bait, snapper, or target species grouper. Takes a while to get down with 2 ounces of weight. Bait gets inhaled by a stud grouper. Tom fights him up and off bottom but unfortunately loses it to the 3/0 circle hook being straightened out. Out comes the large tackle. Fish on, Tom fights and lands a 32 inch firetruck. Next three or 4 baits down hook up to big fish but come unglued. As if someone flipped the switch, the bite died. Make a small move, Kathy hooks up to a solid fish, 28.5" hits the deck. Repeat drift with only an 18" rg coming up. Moved around a bit more and was able to hook up and land another 25.5" RG. Lots of quality today. They will be eating well.
5/6
Saturday weather gods didnt want us to play predicting a strong afternoon blow, so my saturday group will be out sometime with me in the future.
Sunday the 6th looked much better and we had good conditions. We pushed off of the Pine Island Co op around 7AM and headed out for some bait. We were fluid on our game plan and I let the conditions dictate the day. While looking for bait, it was squirrel fish city. After many drops and lots of searching, it became clear we wouldnt have the blue runners Id have liked to hit the wrecks for some bigger ajs, but with a load of squirrel fish, the decision was made to go look for some grouper.
We headed out a good 40 miles or so and fished depths from 110 to 125 ft of water.
The bite was insane. We would drop down live squirrel fish and they would get inhaled. I think we broke off and lost 3x as many fish as we landed. The fish that were breaking us off were BIG fish, likely 30" and better. We didnt hook a single fish that had a hook in its mouth, so I know there are a ton still down there. The guys did a great job of killing the beer as well as the grouper. They didnt get frustrated by the lost fish, instead getting more motivated and fishing hard.
They worked for their box, but were rewarded with a solid limit of Red Groupers. We blasted the music all day and had lots of laughs. I look forward to having your crew out again.
5/4
Friday headed out with a group of six looking for some rod bending fun.They came from Cincinnati where they fished for largemouth and other freshwater fish.We left Pineland marina and found the mother load of bait out in about 55 ft of water. Picked up about 3 dozen blue runners and a handful of pins before running out to find some ajs, cudas and anything else looking to eat.
We were rewarded with drag screaming runs and epic battles all day. Many an aj were boated along with a ton of fish that had their way and got back to the wreck. A few were lost 1/2 way up to Giant Goliath Groupers that took hold and would run 150 yds of line straight back to their lair.
We had several barracuda that would chase down and engulf a lively blue runner and then scream off drag and go airborn before throwing the hook. Nothing like watching a cuda shoot 30+ feet ithru the air in an attempt to rid himself of the hook. These were big fish, 30-50 lbers.... The saying for the day was: "guys, were not in cincitttati anymore..." I had a great time with your crew and loved seeing the smiles and hearing the "wows" as we hooked, fought and landed some of these beasts...
I am awaiting the pics from my group, but will get them up soon.
4/25
Headed out weds with a group of 6. Met up at Pineland marina and headed on out. It was a bit sporty to start coming out of Captiva Pass, but the new 33 World Cat ate it up. We picked up some baits and headed out looking for some fish. It seems the shallower stuff was absolutely inundated with squirrel fish. We picked up a handful of snapper in between wih some really quality size fish mixed in (lanes to 18.5"). We got out to about 105 ft of water and the grouper bite turned on for a short period. Scott picked up a nice respectable grouper and a second 21 incher, and just about everyones rod on the rod doubled over at least 1 time with a fish that just got the best of them. Jo picked up a really nice Triggerfish as well as a really nice looking 22 inch yellowtail. Another 20 inch mangrove was added to the box. Heidi picked up a strawberry grouper that was the prettiest colors I had ever seen.
Several american red snapper were also caught and released. Lots of smaller 18-19 inch Red grouper were landed along with an undersize gag grouper around 23 inches. Frank picked up a few nice lanes and a decent porgy for the box. The bite fizzled out and we moved around a bit to try and add a little action... tryed trolling around the school bus wreck with only 1 hit on the live blue runner that came unglued as fast as it was hooked. Was a fun day on the water.
4/23/18
Had a group of locals looking to get out and bend some rods. Few of the guys were from the local Reel Angler Fishing Club. Trip had gotten blown out 2 different times, but today looked much better. We met up at Pineland and made our way out looking for some grouper. We fished some 40 miles off of Sanibel Island. Had a few good shows in shallow but didnt produce anything worthwhile. With a well full of baits, we worked the 120 ft area and were happily rewarded. We boxed 8 nice keepers, 4 of which were right at the 30" mark. We missed a handful of others that got the best of us and beat them back to their hole. The grouper bite slowed so we worked on the snapper. The snapper progressively got bigger with some quality lanes and vermillions joining our fish box. A couple gags were caught as well. A bunch of American Red Snapper were caught and released. Bite was busy for a bit so didnt get a bunch of photos, but was a solid and fun day on the water. Look forward to seeing you guys again soon.
4/20
Had a group of 5 on board looking to catch some fish. We left Punta Rassa boat ramp and headed on out. Fished NW of Sanibel Island working our way out deep. Picked up some blue runners, spanish sardines, pinfish and a few other baits for the run out. We found an area being with the surface getting worked hard in about 45 feet. Saw a king skyrocket... Dropped in a couple runners and bump trolled. Both get vicious hits, one with a 200 yd run that came unglued running back to the boat. other spit the bait... Continued out. Added some lanes and vermllion to the box in about 85 ft before pushing out to deeper water. Our first grouper in the boat went just under 33 inches. Next 2 up were respectable 25 inch fish. Caught a few nice triggerfish to bring home as well. Bite slowed so pushed on out to a wreck. We played with some ajs and cudas for a while, with several making their way to the boat. Had a big cobia on that unfortunately came unglued after a few minutes.
Was a fun and action packed day. Everyone had a good time with bent rods.
Sunday, 4/8 did an afternoon 1/2 day trip out of pine island co op where we got out a little deeper to 85 ft of water and caught a number of lanes, porgies and vermillion snapper. Quite a few Red Grouper were caught but they were shy of being legal. Pete did hook and land a nice 23 inch red grouper that made its way home with us. A few other large grouper were hooked but got the better of the crew. Ended up with a nice haul and a couple ziplocks worth of fillets.
1st week of April
Last week was a busy one with a full schedule of 5 and 6 hr 1/2 day offshore trips. My permits are officially transferred to the new boat and ran her all week.
Theme for the trips was Lane Snapper and Porgies. The rods stayed bent from start to finish with each trip averaging 40-50 fish put on ice. A few trips scored some very healthy and large porgies (I like porgies more than grouper). Lots of short red grouper caught and released. We mainly fished the 60-65 ft zone coming out of Punta Rassa Boat ramp.
Monday 3/26
Had 3 generations of fisherman on board, with Father, Uncle, son and grandson on board. Davids son Jeremy, our youngest angler on board at 9 yrs old was ready for a great day of fishing. We met up at the docks at the bokeelia boat ramp at 630 but delayed our departure for a bit as we had a crazy amount of patchy fog. We pushed off the dock at the first sign of daylight and made our way out thru Boca Grande pass. We tryed the bouys for bait, but it was non existent. The hot zone for bait was the 50 ft zone with lots of spanish sardines, pinfish and a handful of blue runners coming aboard. We pushed on out to our first stop in about 80 feet with a bunch of lane and vermillion snapper coming up. Jeremy was first on the board with a solid 23" grouper caught on a whole squid.
After a few non productive drifts, we pushed on out a little further. We stopped in about 100 feet where we added another legal size grouper to the box. The fish were there but just not chewing real consistent the first part of the day. We bounced around to a few more areas where we continued to catch snapper and a few short red grouper, but nothing for the box. Made the call to run out to an area just shy of 110 ft and it was game on. We boxed another 6 keeper red grouper ranging from 21-26 inches. A handful of beautiful AMerican Red Snapper were caught, along with 4 Gag Grouper that also had to be released. A doormat size trigger fish was landed (also released). We switcghed up gears and managed a few more snapper, along with a beautiful mangrove snapper that went over 20". Weather layed down to 2 ft or less for our ride home. Lots of meat for these boys and a trip Im sure young Jeremy will remember for a long time.
Sunday 3/25
I had a group of 3 teenagers and dad looking to bend some rods on a 5 hr nearshore trip. We met and launched from the pine island co op. We fished in depths from 38-50 ft with rods bent from start to finish. We caught a mess of different species, and there were a few decent sized fish in the bunch as well. Though the group decided they didnt want to keep any fish as they were leaving that night, several 15-16" lane snapper, a bunch of short gag grouper, large grunts, short red grouper, and the highlight being a would be legal 20" red grouper. All in all a great day with super calm conditions.
Saturday 3/24/18
I had a group of 2 guys here on vacation from Germany. They said they'd fished all over the world and were looking forward to the trip. We left the pine island co op around 645 out thru redfish pass in search of some meat for a few meals, then on to some bigger fish. We picked up some great bait in about 50 ft of water, with some horse threadfins, large spanish sardines, blue runners, squirrels and pinfish rounding out the full livewell. We made our first stop in about 85 feet of water which produced some decent lane snapper and at least 3 or 4 BIG hits from fish that took my crew to town. Broke off as the fish got back to their haunts. We made another drift or two and the bite slowed so outward we poked. Next stop was in 90ish feet and we proceeded to put 3 keeper red grouper in the boat, the bigger one a bit over 27". Here, too, we missed a few Big Bites that were surely bruiser grouper. With plenty of fish for a few meals, we made a move out to some higher relief structure in 110 ft. We dropped down blue runners which were engorged by some AJs. We landed 2 juveniles as well as two that were pushing 40" to the fork. In between AJs, the flat line on the 4000 spinner went off and a 10 lb cuda was landed. As we started to run low on bait, I sent down a pinfish on the flatline... About 5 minutes later, it was inhaled and the 6500 spinner was singing. After a bunch of back and forth fight, a giant cuda surfaced, hooked just right with the circle hook in the corner of its mouth and not even a touch of fraying on the 60 lb mono leader.
Weather layed down for a great comfy ride back in. Both the guys thanked me and said it was their best day of fishing, ever.
Had 3 generations of fisherman on board, with Father, Uncle, son and grandson on board. Davids son Jeremy, our youngest angler on board at 9 yrs old was ready for a great day of fishing. We met up at the docks at the bokeelia boat ramp at 630 but delayed our departure for a bit as we had a crazy amount of patchy fog. We pushed off the dock at the first sign of daylight and made our way out thru Boca Grande pass. We tryed the bouys for bait, but it was non existent. The hot zone for bait was the 50 ft zone with lots of spanish sardines, pinfish and a handful of blue runners coming aboard. We pushed on out to our first stop in about 80 feet with a bunch of lane and vermillion snapper coming up. Jeremy was first on the board with a solid 23" grouper caught on a whole squid.
After a few non productive drifts, we pushed on out a little further. We stopped in about 100 feet where we added another legal size grouper to the box. The fish were there but just not chewing real consistent the first part of the day. We bounced around to a few more areas where we continued to catch snapper and a few short red grouper, but nothing for the box. Made the call to run out to an area just shy of 110 ft and it was game on. We boxed another 6 keeper red grouper ranging from 21-26 inches. A handful of beautiful AMerican Red Snapper were caught, along with 4 Gag Grouper that also had to be released. A doormat size trigger fish was landed (also released). We switcghed up gears and managed a few more snapper, along with a beautiful mangrove snapper that went over 20". Weather layed down to 2 ft or less for our ride home. Lots of meat for these boys and a trip Im sure young Jeremy will remember for a long time.
Sunday 3/25
I had a group of 3 teenagers and dad looking to bend some rods on a 5 hr nearshore trip. We met and launched from the pine island co op. We fished in depths from 38-50 ft with rods bent from start to finish. We caught a mess of different species, and there were a few decent sized fish in the bunch as well. Though the group decided they didnt want to keep any fish as they were leaving that night, several 15-16" lane snapper, a bunch of short gag grouper, large grunts, short red grouper, and the highlight being a would be legal 20" red grouper. All in all a great day with super calm conditions.
Saturday 3/24/18
I had a group of 2 guys here on vacation from Germany. They said they'd fished all over the world and were looking forward to the trip. We left the pine island co op around 645 out thru redfish pass in search of some meat for a few meals, then on to some bigger fish. We picked up some great bait in about 50 ft of water, with some horse threadfins, large spanish sardines, blue runners, squirrels and pinfish rounding out the full livewell. We made our first stop in about 85 feet of water which produced some decent lane snapper and at least 3 or 4 BIG hits from fish that took my crew to town. Broke off as the fish got back to their haunts. We made another drift or two and the bite slowed so outward we poked. Next stop was in 90ish feet and we proceeded to put 3 keeper red grouper in the boat, the bigger one a bit over 27". Here, too, we missed a few Big Bites that were surely bruiser grouper. With plenty of fish for a few meals, we made a move out to some higher relief structure in 110 ft. We dropped down blue runners which were engorged by some AJs. We landed 2 juveniles as well as two that were pushing 40" to the fork. In between AJs, the flat line on the 4000 spinner went off and a 10 lb cuda was landed. As we started to run low on bait, I sent down a pinfish on the flatline... About 5 minutes later, it was inhaled and the 6500 spinner was singing. After a bunch of back and forth fight, a giant cuda surfaced, hooked just right with the circle hook in the corner of its mouth and not even a touch of fraying on the 60 lb mono leader.
Weather layed down for a great comfy ride back in. Both the guys thanked me and said it was their best day of fishing, ever.
3/18/2018
Had a group of 6 guys staying on Ft Myers Beach looking for an offshore fishing trip. The guys were down for a bachelor party fishing trip, and unfortunately they had been cancelled on. I had a cancellation for Sunday and the weather looked prime, so I said lets roll! We met up at the Punta Rassa boat ramp at 0630 and pushed out into the blue. We stopped to pick up a mix of live baits on the sabiki before continuing our run. I marked a few shows. The first 3 shows I would have one guy drop down a piece of cut bait to "prospect". Each first drop resulted in a keeper grouper coming aboard. We would circle back around and drift the areas again with 6 lines , all with different baits, and we wouldnt catch another keeper. grouper.. We pushed out deeper and deeper. It wasnt a crazy on fire bite, but between the snapper and shorts, the rods stayed bent and we continued to add away at a great fish box. We hit one area which didn't have much of a show, but gave it a shot as it had a slight roll that fell off a few feet in a short distance. This area resulted in 4 keeper grouper making the box and we missed a few more nice ones here too. We tried hitting a newfound wreck for some ajs, but they werent in the mood to cooperate. Instead, we had a few cudas hook up along with a few nice 17-18" lane snappers.
The weather was perfect, lots of laughs and smiles, and a great day. We ended up with 11 Red Grouper In the box, 1 short of our 6 man limit, ass well as a handful of nice lane snappers.
Had a group of 6 guys staying on Ft Myers Beach looking for an offshore fishing trip. The guys were down for a bachelor party fishing trip, and unfortunately they had been cancelled on. I had a cancellation for Sunday and the weather looked prime, so I said lets roll! We met up at the Punta Rassa boat ramp at 0630 and pushed out into the blue. We stopped to pick up a mix of live baits on the sabiki before continuing our run. I marked a few shows. The first 3 shows I would have one guy drop down a piece of cut bait to "prospect". Each first drop resulted in a keeper grouper coming aboard. We would circle back around and drift the areas again with 6 lines , all with different baits, and we wouldnt catch another keeper. grouper.. We pushed out deeper and deeper. It wasnt a crazy on fire bite, but between the snapper and shorts, the rods stayed bent and we continued to add away at a great fish box. We hit one area which didn't have much of a show, but gave it a shot as it had a slight roll that fell off a few feet in a short distance. This area resulted in 4 keeper grouper making the box and we missed a few more nice ones here too. We tried hitting a newfound wreck for some ajs, but they werent in the mood to cooperate. Instead, we had a few cudas hook up along with a few nice 17-18" lane snappers.
The weather was perfect, lots of laughs and smiles, and a great day. We ended up with 11 Red Grouper In the box, 1 short of our 6 man limit, ass well as a handful of nice lane snappers.
3/16/2018
Headed out for a father son offshore fishing trip. We launched out of bokeelia and ran out thru Boca grande pass. No bait at the buoys, but picked up lots in the 50ft range. Squirrel fish, blue runners, pinfish and Spanish sardines rounded out the livewell. First stop was at Charlie's reef which looked like a parking lot. For a Friday there were a ton of boats out. We didn't stay long, but managed a few hookups that came unglued along with one barracuda that was landed. Ran a bit south to try and find ajs and it just seemed that every spot was full of people and fished hard. We hit some good marks in between spots to put some meat in the box. Kevin hooked up first with a solid 29" red grouper followed by another at 26". David followed suit adding a 23 and 21 inch fish to round out their red grouper limit. Weather was fantastic all day and I'm glad it was as we put alot of miles under the keels today. Look forward to seeing you guys again next year!
3/15/2018
Had a postponed trip from Sunday wanting to get out offshore before heading back home. Today was the best of the available days and we decided to go ahead and run out. The group was used to fishing for bass and other freshwater fish out of ponds, and was looking for a fun time. Nothing screams more fun to me than some hard pulling reef donkeys (aka Amberjack).
We left punta rassa at 7AM for our charter offshore Sanibel island. First call of duty was to pick up some live bait. A dozen or so blue runners, some pinfish and squirrel fish rounded out the livewell. The seas were a washing machine with some large swell and chop going all different directions. We pushed on out to our destination. We we're greated almost immediately by a small school of ajs. Fired in a live runner and it was game on. We had a ton of hookups today, but our landed fish ratio wasn't great. We went 3 for 15 on landed fish and had one other leader touch that came off at the boat. Some of the fish we're bruisers that got us back to the structure after long runs. Another straightened out an 8/0 2x strong circle hook. It was a very fun day and the guys were left with ultra sore and tired arms. Going to be hard for them to look at a Bass the same after that!
The weather finally laid down for us for our run back in. We saw a handful of porpoises as well as a bunch of turtles, one of which was a giant leatherback. Always a cool site.
Headed out for a father son offshore fishing trip. We launched out of bokeelia and ran out thru Boca grande pass. No bait at the buoys, but picked up lots in the 50ft range. Squirrel fish, blue runners, pinfish and Spanish sardines rounded out the livewell. First stop was at Charlie's reef which looked like a parking lot. For a Friday there were a ton of boats out. We didn't stay long, but managed a few hookups that came unglued along with one barracuda that was landed. Ran a bit south to try and find ajs and it just seemed that every spot was full of people and fished hard. We hit some good marks in between spots to put some meat in the box. Kevin hooked up first with a solid 29" red grouper followed by another at 26". David followed suit adding a 23 and 21 inch fish to round out their red grouper limit. Weather was fantastic all day and I'm glad it was as we put alot of miles under the keels today. Look forward to seeing you guys again next year!
3/15/2018
Had a postponed trip from Sunday wanting to get out offshore before heading back home. Today was the best of the available days and we decided to go ahead and run out. The group was used to fishing for bass and other freshwater fish out of ponds, and was looking for a fun time. Nothing screams more fun to me than some hard pulling reef donkeys (aka Amberjack).
We left punta rassa at 7AM for our charter offshore Sanibel island. First call of duty was to pick up some live bait. A dozen or so blue runners, some pinfish and squirrel fish rounded out the livewell. The seas were a washing machine with some large swell and chop going all different directions. We pushed on out to our destination. We we're greated almost immediately by a small school of ajs. Fired in a live runner and it was game on. We had a ton of hookups today, but our landed fish ratio wasn't great. We went 3 for 15 on landed fish and had one other leader touch that came off at the boat. Some of the fish we're bruisers that got us back to the structure after long runs. Another straightened out an 8/0 2x strong circle hook. It was a very fun day and the guys were left with ultra sore and tired arms. Going to be hard for them to look at a Bass the same after that!
The weather finally laid down for us for our run back in. We saw a handful of porpoises as well as a bunch of turtles, one of which was a giant leatherback. Always a cool site.
3/6/2018
So March seems to be giving us a pretty good amount of wind, but in between we find a few days of calm and try to get out. Tuesday looked to be the best window and we took advantage of it.
Headed out for an offshore fishing trip with a group of four for a 3/4 day trip out of Bokeelia. We pushed off the dock at 630AM and made the run out to find some grouper and snapper. Our first stop was in 95 ft of water, which produced the first keeper grouper for the box at 24 inches. After a quick drift and only a dozen or so short red grouper, we moved on out a little deeper. Here, we spent the majority of the rest of our fishing time pulling up American Red Snapper and some nice Red grouper. The big girl went a little over 30 inches. The bite was nice and steady until we caught a juvenille Tiger Shark. After this, the bite turned off like a light switch. We moved back in a bit and got on to the some good size lanes and Vermillion snapper. A bunch more grouper we're caught but all shorts. We had a great day out with beautiful weather.
So March seems to be giving us a pretty good amount of wind, but in between we find a few days of calm and try to get out. Tuesday looked to be the best window and we took advantage of it.
Headed out for an offshore fishing trip with a group of four for a 3/4 day trip out of Bokeelia. We pushed off the dock at 630AM and made the run out to find some grouper and snapper. Our first stop was in 95 ft of water, which produced the first keeper grouper for the box at 24 inches. After a quick drift and only a dozen or so short red grouper, we moved on out a little deeper. Here, we spent the majority of the rest of our fishing time pulling up American Red Snapper and some nice Red grouper. The big girl went a little over 30 inches. The bite was nice and steady until we caught a juvenille Tiger Shark. After this, the bite turned off like a light switch. We moved back in a bit and got on to the some good size lanes and Vermillion snapper. A bunch more grouper we're caught but all shorts. We had a great day out with beautiful weather.
2/28/2018
Had Joe and Rick from Boston down on vacation looking to bend some rods. We left from the Punta Rassa boat ramp in fort myers for an offshore fishing trip off sanibel. Met up around 7AM and headed out around the lighthouse. The small fry bait is pretty thick right now just off the beaches, and there were lots of spanish macks free jumping and eating well. We put out a spoon and a yo zuri minnow and picked up a few. We had one decent king hit that ran off some line but came unglued. We moved on out to 50 ft of water and it was pretty barren. Moved on out to 65 ft and we got into the Lanes and Jolt Head Porgies pretty good. My group didn't want to keep any fish, but we would have had a good 50-60 keepers today in a short window. We had a few red grouper, most of which were small in the 12-14 inch range. We had one that came in about a 1/2 inch short of the 20" minimum. The action was pretty steady with your baits getting hit nearly immediately and the hot bait was cut squid on either a knocker rig or carolina rig. Sea conditions were great and it continued to lay down as we ran back in. Was a fun day out on the water...
2/26/2018
Monday the 26th I headed out with 3 gentleman for a deep sea fishing trip targetting grouper and snapper. We met up at the bokeelia boat ramp and we're underway by 630 AM. We made the run out thru Boca grande pass picking up some live hardtails, pinfish and squirrel fish for bait. We had great weather all day with the waves getting smaller as the day went on. We started off at a spot in roughly 85 ft of water. We managed a couple nice jolthead porgies, a red hind grouper (tried to release but it just wouldn't go down, so in the box it went), a small under size scamp, and Sal had a nice one on that came unglued part ways up. We made a move in out to 100 ft where we plugged away at the Vermilion and Lane snapper. Joe sent down a hard tail and was shortly greeted by a gorgeous 27inch red grouper. The tide swing a bit and we drifted off the area, so we picked up the anchor and did a few drifts. Sal picked up 2 nice fat mangrove snapper for the box. Jack sent down a live pinfish which was inhaled by a fat 29 inch red grouper. The bite was pretty consistent all day with lots of throwback snapper and grunts. Had a great time with you guys and look forward to getting out with you again.
Had Joe and Rick from Boston down on vacation looking to bend some rods. We left from the Punta Rassa boat ramp in fort myers for an offshore fishing trip off sanibel. Met up around 7AM and headed out around the lighthouse. The small fry bait is pretty thick right now just off the beaches, and there were lots of spanish macks free jumping and eating well. We put out a spoon and a yo zuri minnow and picked up a few. We had one decent king hit that ran off some line but came unglued. We moved on out to 50 ft of water and it was pretty barren. Moved on out to 65 ft and we got into the Lanes and Jolt Head Porgies pretty good. My group didn't want to keep any fish, but we would have had a good 50-60 keepers today in a short window. We had a few red grouper, most of which were small in the 12-14 inch range. We had one that came in about a 1/2 inch short of the 20" minimum. The action was pretty steady with your baits getting hit nearly immediately and the hot bait was cut squid on either a knocker rig or carolina rig. Sea conditions were great and it continued to lay down as we ran back in. Was a fun day out on the water...
2/26/2018
Monday the 26th I headed out with 3 gentleman for a deep sea fishing trip targetting grouper and snapper. We met up at the bokeelia boat ramp and we're underway by 630 AM. We made the run out thru Boca grande pass picking up some live hardtails, pinfish and squirrel fish for bait. We had great weather all day with the waves getting smaller as the day went on. We started off at a spot in roughly 85 ft of water. We managed a couple nice jolthead porgies, a red hind grouper (tried to release but it just wouldn't go down, so in the box it went), a small under size scamp, and Sal had a nice one on that came unglued part ways up. We made a move in out to 100 ft where we plugged away at the Vermilion and Lane snapper. Joe sent down a hard tail and was shortly greeted by a gorgeous 27inch red grouper. The tide swing a bit and we drifted off the area, so we picked up the anchor and did a few drifts. Sal picked up 2 nice fat mangrove snapper for the box. Jack sent down a live pinfish which was inhaled by a fat 29 inch red grouper. The bite was pretty consistent all day with lots of throwback snapper and grunts. Had a great time with you guys and look forward to getting out with you again.
2/2/2018
Finally got a decent weather day to shoot out and look for some fish offshore. My group of 4 met at the Bokeelia Boat ramp at 630 AM, headed out Boca Grande Pass with beautiful slick calm conditions. We picked up a handful of tomtates, pinfish, blue runners and squirrels on the way out.
We made a quick drop over a show i that resulted in a couple nice porgies in 80 ft of water before continuing out to roughly 100 ft. We fished some rock and live bottom areas which resulted in some nice Lanes, Vermillion and Red Grouper. Marked a bunch of fish that I am pretty sure were mangroves from previous trips, but could only get 1 to cooperate. Im pretty sure the full moon played a big part in the bite. We put together a decent box with 3 decent Red Grouper and lost 4 or 5 "Big Mommas" that outright beat them to the hole, or straightened out 7/0 circle hooks.
Finally got a decent weather day to shoot out and look for some fish offshore. My group of 4 met at the Bokeelia Boat ramp at 630 AM, headed out Boca Grande Pass with beautiful slick calm conditions. We picked up a handful of tomtates, pinfish, blue runners and squirrels on the way out.
We made a quick drop over a show i that resulted in a couple nice porgies in 80 ft of water before continuing out to roughly 100 ft. We fished some rock and live bottom areas which resulted in some nice Lanes, Vermillion and Red Grouper. Marked a bunch of fish that I am pretty sure were mangroves from previous trips, but could only get 1 to cooperate. Im pretty sure the full moon played a big part in the bite. We put together a decent box with 3 decent Red Grouper and lost 4 or 5 "Big Mommas" that outright beat them to the hole, or straightened out 7/0 circle hooks.
1/9/18
So with a nice weather window and not 1 but 2 cancellations this week, it was time to run out and bend some rods. Tom and Rick joined me for a late start. We left from Punta Rassa boat ramp to head off for some deep sea fishing off SWFL. around 9pm on tuesday, hoping to get out to the 180 ft depths and find some big girls ready to eat. We made a few stops on the way out to catch bait. A mix of Pinfish and Spot tails were added to the livewell for the long ride out. To my surprise, there wasnt a whole lot of bottom activity to be seen on the ride out. The few shows we did see ended up being big balls of squirrel fish.. that was even in deep 150+ ft of water... Once to the end destination, we circled around but didnt have much of a show. We dropped down the anchor and put out a chum bag... Tide was running back up the anchor line opposed to the wind.
We spent about an hour or two here with no luck. Tried pulling anchor and it was stuck hard... ended up loosing the anchor...
We made our way back in stopping at spots along the way. More shows of squirrel fish....
We ran back in and our luck swung in the 120 ft line. We set up on a wreck in search of some ajs for the box. We were not dissappointed. 3 baits down had 3 immediate hookups. All 3 fish landed...
Theis story continued thru much of the morning into the early afternoon. AJs and barracuda made up the majority of our hook ups. Tom got to use his new butterfly jigs with some pretty good success. He had a nice 20-25 lb jack crevalle at the surface that popped his leader when he tried to lift it by the leader...
A couple red grouper were added out in 115 ft of water, and another in the 70ish ft range.
Had a blast fishing with you guys and looking forward to doing it again!
Tight Lines!
So with a nice weather window and not 1 but 2 cancellations this week, it was time to run out and bend some rods. Tom and Rick joined me for a late start. We left from Punta Rassa boat ramp to head off for some deep sea fishing off SWFL. around 9pm on tuesday, hoping to get out to the 180 ft depths and find some big girls ready to eat. We made a few stops on the way out to catch bait. A mix of Pinfish and Spot tails were added to the livewell for the long ride out. To my surprise, there wasnt a whole lot of bottom activity to be seen on the ride out. The few shows we did see ended up being big balls of squirrel fish.. that was even in deep 150+ ft of water... Once to the end destination, we circled around but didnt have much of a show. We dropped down the anchor and put out a chum bag... Tide was running back up the anchor line opposed to the wind.
We spent about an hour or two here with no luck. Tried pulling anchor and it was stuck hard... ended up loosing the anchor...
We made our way back in stopping at spots along the way. More shows of squirrel fish....
We ran back in and our luck swung in the 120 ft line. We set up on a wreck in search of some ajs for the box. We were not dissappointed. 3 baits down had 3 immediate hookups. All 3 fish landed...
Theis story continued thru much of the morning into the early afternoon. AJs and barracuda made up the majority of our hook ups. Tom got to use his new butterfly jigs with some pretty good success. He had a nice 20-25 lb jack crevalle at the surface that popped his leader when he tried to lift it by the leader...
A couple red grouper were added out in 115 ft of water, and another in the 70ish ft range.
Had a blast fishing with you guys and looking forward to doing it again!
Tight Lines!
12/4/17 1/2 Day
Headed out with Paul, Jim and Bill to go get some dinner. We headed offshore from Sanibel out to 65 ft of water. Lots of Lane Snapper and porgies made the box, along with a bunch of red grouper shorts. Only a few big hits on the big stick that never came to fruition. Came back with a pile of fish which should make for a phenomenal meal or three.
Headed out with Paul, Jim and Bill to go get some dinner. We headed offshore from Sanibel out to 65 ft of water. Lots of Lane Snapper and porgies made the box, along with a bunch of red grouper shorts. Only a few big hits on the big stick that never came to fruition. Came back with a pile of fish which should make for a phenomenal meal or three.
12/2/17 1/2 Day
Had a 6 hr trip with Jack and Darlene. Plan was to head offshore of Sanibel in search of some fish willing to eat. We worked on snapper and porgies for a while, with a bunch of short red grouper as well. We did get one nice keeper grouper which will make for a tasty dinner for sure! Hope to see you guys again soon!
Had a 6 hr trip with Jack and Darlene. Plan was to head offshore of Sanibel in search of some fish willing to eat. We worked on snapper and porgies for a while, with a bunch of short red grouper as well. We did get one nice keeper grouper which will make for a tasty dinner for sure! Hope to see you guys again soon!
11/22/17 1/2 day
Met up with a crew of 4 to head offshore off Sanibel to do some fishing. To sum it up, It was spectacular. From the near glass like water conditions, to the cool weather, down to the excellent bite we had all day.
The group fared well on Lane Snapper, Porgies, lots and lots of red grouper throwback size fish as well as 2 Red Grouper that joined them for dinner. The highlight fish of the day was a beautiful 31” Gag Grouper that hit like a freight train. It did everything it could to get back to its hole, but Neil was having no part of that! Congrats on a great fish!
I look forward to seeing you and the guys again next year.
Tight Lines!
Met up with a crew of 4 to head offshore off Sanibel to do some fishing. To sum it up, It was spectacular. From the near glass like water conditions, to the cool weather, down to the excellent bite we had all day.
The group fared well on Lane Snapper, Porgies, lots and lots of red grouper throwback size fish as well as 2 Red Grouper that joined them for dinner. The highlight fish of the day was a beautiful 31” Gag Grouper that hit like a freight train. It did everything it could to get back to its hole, but Neil was having no part of that! Congrats on a great fish!
I look forward to seeing you and the guys again next year.
Tight Lines!
11/19/17
Headed out from Redfish Pass looking for a good grouper bite. First drop was in 75 ft of water. TONS of short red grouper to 19.75 of an inch. Mixed in were some quality lane snapper and jolthead porgies. John hooks into a good one and first grouper a tad over 26” goes in the box. Kept catching 18-19” inch fish. Pushed out to 85 ft of water. Story of the day continued with good vermillion and lane snapper, and lots of short red grouper. After a couple missed connections, another 22” RG was added to the fish box.
Pushed out a little further to 90 ft, where the saga of lanes and vermillion, along with a metric ton of short red grouper. We did manage 2 more legal RGs before calling it a day as the winds and seas began churning with the approaching cold front.
I think all in all, we boated over 100 grouper, along with all the snapper, porgies and misc fish.
Was a beautiful day to be out on the water. Look forward to having you guys back out for some more action.
Headed out from Redfish Pass looking for a good grouper bite. First drop was in 75 ft of water. TONS of short red grouper to 19.75 of an inch. Mixed in were some quality lane snapper and jolthead porgies. John hooks into a good one and first grouper a tad over 26” goes in the box. Kept catching 18-19” inch fish. Pushed out to 85 ft of water. Story of the day continued with good vermillion and lane snapper, and lots of short red grouper. After a couple missed connections, another 22” RG was added to the fish box.
Pushed out a little further to 90 ft, where the saga of lanes and vermillion, along with a metric ton of short red grouper. We did manage 2 more legal RGs before calling it a day as the winds and seas began churning with the approaching cold front.
I think all in all, we boated over 100 grouper, along with all the snapper, porgies and misc fish.
Was a beautiful day to be out on the water. Look forward to having you guys back out for some more action.
10/27/17
Met up at the dock in Bokeelia at 7 AM to head out for some offshore fishing. The weather conditions were a little less than ideal, with a steady 20 knot wind out of the NE. We didnt let conditions deter us. We pushed out of Boca Grande Pass about 20 miles in search of a bottom bite. The lane snapper bite was great, with some good size ones coming over the side. We managed a few short red grouper as well. Got ready to change spots and our youngest angler wasnt feeling so great and wanted to head back in. We started heading in and with the boat moving, he begin to feel better. Made the call to try fishing one of the artificial reefs/wrecks on the way back in. We marked a good show, and dropped down some bottom baits as well as put out a flatline. About 15 minutes goes by and the flatline goes off. The fish turned out to be a cobia which unfortunately came unglued. We put the flat line out again, and had 2 hits on it, as well as a couple big hits on the bottom that just didnt come to fruition. The bite slowed and we decided to see if we couldn't troll up some action. This was the perfect call. We deployed two lines, one with a big spoon, the second with a large lipped diving plug. The diving plug got all the action. It was hit after hit of good size barracudas as well as kingfish. We landed several, lost a couple due to some high flying acrobatics, and lost another kingfish to a much larger predator. Winds and seas laid down for a most pleasurable ride back in. Was a great time and look forward to the next Salty Fishing Adventure.
Met up at the dock in Bokeelia at 7 AM to head out for some offshore fishing. The weather conditions were a little less than ideal, with a steady 20 knot wind out of the NE. We didnt let conditions deter us. We pushed out of Boca Grande Pass about 20 miles in search of a bottom bite. The lane snapper bite was great, with some good size ones coming over the side. We managed a few short red grouper as well. Got ready to change spots and our youngest angler wasnt feeling so great and wanted to head back in. We started heading in and with the boat moving, he begin to feel better. Made the call to try fishing one of the artificial reefs/wrecks on the way back in. We marked a good show, and dropped down some bottom baits as well as put out a flatline. About 15 minutes goes by and the flatline goes off. The fish turned out to be a cobia which unfortunately came unglued. We put the flat line out again, and had 2 hits on it, as well as a couple big hits on the bottom that just didnt come to fruition. The bite slowed and we decided to see if we couldn't troll up some action. This was the perfect call. We deployed two lines, one with a big spoon, the second with a large lipped diving plug. The diving plug got all the action. It was hit after hit of good size barracudas as well as kingfish. We landed several, lost a couple due to some high flying acrobatics, and lost another kingfish to a much larger predator. Winds and seas laid down for a most pleasurable ride back in. Was a great time and look forward to the next Salty Fishing Adventure.
8/10/17
Headed offshore today for a 1/2 day of fishing with a family of 5 visiting from CT. We met up at the cape yacht club at 6AM and made the run the run out thru redfish pass. We get to 65 ft of water, and dropped down lines. This was the two daughters first fishing trip. They both took no time in getting their first fish, a lane snapper!
We continued picking away at the Lanes with a few undersize grouper mixed in. On our second drift, Sam (Dad) picked up a nice 22" Red Grouper. Mom (Kate) and Owen (son) continued catching snapper and short grouper. On our third and final drift, Sam hooked into another good fish which turned out to be a 21.5" Red Grouper. Not to be outdone, Owens rod doubles over. After a vigourous fight, up comes a solid and fat 26" Grouper!
Seas layed down for a gorgeous and smooth ride back. The two youngins loved the bean bags and slept on the way out and the way in!
Congrats on the great fish guys. Sam and Kate, you guys have a beautiful family and it was my pleasure having you guys out.
Headed offshore today for a 1/2 day of fishing with a family of 5 visiting from CT. We met up at the cape yacht club at 6AM and made the run the run out thru redfish pass. We get to 65 ft of water, and dropped down lines. This was the two daughters first fishing trip. They both took no time in getting their first fish, a lane snapper!
We continued picking away at the Lanes with a few undersize grouper mixed in. On our second drift, Sam (Dad) picked up a nice 22" Red Grouper. Mom (Kate) and Owen (son) continued catching snapper and short grouper. On our third and final drift, Sam hooked into another good fish which turned out to be a 21.5" Red Grouper. Not to be outdone, Owens rod doubles over. After a vigourous fight, up comes a solid and fat 26" Grouper!
Seas layed down for a gorgeous and smooth ride back. The two youngins loved the bean bags and slept on the way out and the way in!
Congrats on the great fish guys. Sam and Kate, you guys have a beautiful family and it was my pleasure having you guys out.
7/3/17
Today, headed out with Michelle, Ted, Jacob , Katie and Darryl. They wanted to do an offshore fishing trip as they were staying on Sanibel Island. They were a bit pressed for time, having some afternoon plans, so we made the best of our day. making long runs on a 1/2 day is always risky as we dont get a whole lot of fishing time if we run far. But often times the quality fish make up for it. We made a long run to try and play with some hard pulling amberjack. This trip, the amberjack we did hook were freight trains and kept running back into the wreck and popping us off. Jacob got a hit off the bottom which quickly sounded and began swimming along the surface. Turned out to be a nice cobia which measured in at 39" to the fork. High fives and lines back out. A few bottom break offs and then the flat line goes off. Darryl is fighting what I though was a cuda, but came unglued about 15 ft from under the boat and I never got a great look at him. In hindsight, it was probably a kingfish. Quickly tossed out another live bait and it gets inhaled, and the reels spool screamed. It dumped a solid 200 plus yards in seconds, and got into the backing before we were able to turns its head. We chased it down and we're able to get it gaffed pretty quickly.
Beautiful Smoker king for Ted. Two beautiful Fish made the fish box and plenty of good eats for this wonderful family.
Today, headed out with Michelle, Ted, Jacob , Katie and Darryl. They wanted to do an offshore fishing trip as they were staying on Sanibel Island. They were a bit pressed for time, having some afternoon plans, so we made the best of our day. making long runs on a 1/2 day is always risky as we dont get a whole lot of fishing time if we run far. But often times the quality fish make up for it. We made a long run to try and play with some hard pulling amberjack. This trip, the amberjack we did hook were freight trains and kept running back into the wreck and popping us off. Jacob got a hit off the bottom which quickly sounded and began swimming along the surface. Turned out to be a nice cobia which measured in at 39" to the fork. High fives and lines back out. A few bottom break offs and then the flat line goes off. Darryl is fighting what I though was a cuda, but came unglued about 15 ft from under the boat and I never got a great look at him. In hindsight, it was probably a kingfish. Quickly tossed out another live bait and it gets inhaled, and the reels spool screamed. It dumped a solid 200 plus yards in seconds, and got into the backing before we were able to turns its head. We chased it down and we're able to get it gaffed pretty quickly.
Beautiful Smoker king for Ted. Two beautiful Fish made the fish box and plenty of good eats for this wonderful family.
6/14/17
With our ever changing weather here in SWFL, the weather predictions and forecasts are not always right. Being on the water as often as I am, I see this repeatedly first hand. Usually, its not for the better, and the seas can be much larger than predicted.
Today was the not the case, at least early on. Preliminary reports a couple day out had the day looking like it was supposed to rain like crazy, and average seas at 2.6 ft. This usually means 3-4 ft with a rogue 5 or more. Winds were predicted to be at 16-17 mph. I followed the report daily, multiple times a day. Late in the afternoon yesterday, the forecast changed and I began to smile as the seas looked to be cooperating for our trip.
Waking up at 330AM today, the forecast had shifted yet again, and it was now looking like 1.6 ft average seas. Isolated Thunderstorms. Perfect.
And that it was. My crew of Mike and Cliff met me at Punta Rassa boat ramp just before 6 AM. We pushed off and made the run slightly north and west out from the lighthouse. A beautiful sunrise chased us as we sped out towards the fishing grounds.
Seas were out of the east/SE and we ran thru a small chop with ease. As we eased away from land, the chop picked up a little, but the Cat made quick and easy work of the 40+ mile run.
As I neared our first destination, the screen lit up like a christmas tree and I knew the fish were there. We dropped down cut squid and squirrel fish on their heads and the fish didnt disappoint. At first, it was 14-15" lanes and vermilion coming up and over on the regular, with a handful of bigger, 16-18 inch fish joining in. Then whap! Grouper on. Dig Dig Dig... Grouper in hole. Grouper Lost.
It took a fish or three before my boys got the feel for reeling down and getting away from their northern walleye tactics of setting the hook, but they did great and got some nice fish. While using circle hooks, best to just reel down on the fish and beat him in the 10 ft tug of war.
Mike scored his 1st and second red grouper before Cliff, but Cliff continued bailing nice snapper one after another. Not to be outdone, Cliff hooks into a bucket mouth and another 25ish hits the deck.
Now the best part of the day was the approaching storms. or rather our ability to skirt them. They were making a bee line for us, with some nasty lightening and some rolling thunder. The crispness in the air could be felt, and we were one grouper short. We weeded thru a couple 19 inchers before Cliff put another 25 inch grouper in the box. With each man with their respective limits, we made comfortable and quick work back towards land in front of the approaching building seas.
Couldnt have asked for a better day fishing or a more cordial crew. Look forward to fishing with you guys again in the future. Now I am keeping my eyes on the forecast hoping Friday and Saturday hold as pretty as they are currently predicting.
With our ever changing weather here in SWFL, the weather predictions and forecasts are not always right. Being on the water as often as I am, I see this repeatedly first hand. Usually, its not for the better, and the seas can be much larger than predicted.
Today was the not the case, at least early on. Preliminary reports a couple day out had the day looking like it was supposed to rain like crazy, and average seas at 2.6 ft. This usually means 3-4 ft with a rogue 5 or more. Winds were predicted to be at 16-17 mph. I followed the report daily, multiple times a day. Late in the afternoon yesterday, the forecast changed and I began to smile as the seas looked to be cooperating for our trip.
Waking up at 330AM today, the forecast had shifted yet again, and it was now looking like 1.6 ft average seas. Isolated Thunderstorms. Perfect.
And that it was. My crew of Mike and Cliff met me at Punta Rassa boat ramp just before 6 AM. We pushed off and made the run slightly north and west out from the lighthouse. A beautiful sunrise chased us as we sped out towards the fishing grounds.
Seas were out of the east/SE and we ran thru a small chop with ease. As we eased away from land, the chop picked up a little, but the Cat made quick and easy work of the 40+ mile run.
As I neared our first destination, the screen lit up like a christmas tree and I knew the fish were there. We dropped down cut squid and squirrel fish on their heads and the fish didnt disappoint. At first, it was 14-15" lanes and vermilion coming up and over on the regular, with a handful of bigger, 16-18 inch fish joining in. Then whap! Grouper on. Dig Dig Dig... Grouper in hole. Grouper Lost.
It took a fish or three before my boys got the feel for reeling down and getting away from their northern walleye tactics of setting the hook, but they did great and got some nice fish. While using circle hooks, best to just reel down on the fish and beat him in the 10 ft tug of war.
Mike scored his 1st and second red grouper before Cliff, but Cliff continued bailing nice snapper one after another. Not to be outdone, Cliff hooks into a bucket mouth and another 25ish hits the deck.
Now the best part of the day was the approaching storms. or rather our ability to skirt them. They were making a bee line for us, with some nasty lightening and some rolling thunder. The crispness in the air could be felt, and we were one grouper short. We weeded thru a couple 19 inchers before Cliff put another 25 inch grouper in the box. With each man with their respective limits, we made comfortable and quick work back towards land in front of the approaching building seas.
Couldnt have asked for a better day fishing or a more cordial crew. Look forward to fishing with you guys again in the future. Now I am keeping my eyes on the forecast hoping Friday and Saturday hold as pretty as they are currently predicting.
6/9/17
With another week of cruddy weather, this time lots and lots of much needed but not wanted rain for the whole week, we had a break in the weather friday and took advantage of it. Picked up my crew of Jim, Bob, Jesse and Jeremy from Punta Rassa boat ramp and we were off and running by 530 am. Our first stop was approximately 50 miles or so from the lighthouse.
Seas were a rolling 3 ft with a light chop and the cat made quick and comfortable work of it. We pulled up on the spot and a variety of baits and sizes go down. Hot bite was on a diamond jig, with Jim putting a pair in the boat on the first drift. Jeremy had a monster hit on the snapper rod that beat him to the hole. A couple decent lane snapper made the box as well. On ensuing drifts, we added a few more grouper to the box. It didnt take long and we had our limit of Red Grouper.
We started focusing more on the snapper, and ended up with about 25-30 or so lane/vermillions. We headed on in with an even better ride with the waves now at our backs.
With another week of cruddy weather, this time lots and lots of much needed but not wanted rain for the whole week, we had a break in the weather friday and took advantage of it. Picked up my crew of Jim, Bob, Jesse and Jeremy from Punta Rassa boat ramp and we were off and running by 530 am. Our first stop was approximately 50 miles or so from the lighthouse.
Seas were a rolling 3 ft with a light chop and the cat made quick and comfortable work of it. We pulled up on the spot and a variety of baits and sizes go down. Hot bite was on a diamond jig, with Jim putting a pair in the boat on the first drift. Jeremy had a monster hit on the snapper rod that beat him to the hole. A couple decent lane snapper made the box as well. On ensuing drifts, we added a few more grouper to the box. It didnt take long and we had our limit of Red Grouper.
We started focusing more on the snapper, and ended up with about 25-30 or so lane/vermillions. We headed on in with an even better ride with the waves now at our backs.
5/27/17
Today's charter was great, getting out on the boat today with Shipley, Richard and Patrick. Richard and Patrick are Marines who just finished their basic, and are off for the weekend. Thank you for your service gentleman.
The guys were staying on Ft Myers Beach, so we headed offshore to go play tug of war with some grouper. On the run out, lots of bait schools moving around with some flipping up on top. We picked up about 2 dozen Spanish sardines to go along with the the dozen or so horse pilchards I picked up at A span. (Bait was tough this morning). Our first drops were some lane and vermillion snapper. We put a few in the box ad continued out. The next stop resulted in a great bite, with all 6 of our keeper grouper going into the box (3 man limit, 2 per person). We lost the tug of war to a few BIG girls, but we also landed a few of them with the biggest at 30.5 inches. We moved out a bit deeper and found some good sized lanes and vermillion to add to the box. An american red was caught as well. They will come home in just a few short days from now (season open June 1st-3rd recreational...I can fish them till July 19th) With plenty of meat, we tried running to a deep wreck but there was already someone sitting directly on top of it. We began working back in and made a stop at the Fantastico. Lots of boats in the area, and ran into a buddy of mine out there as well. We hooked into a few BIG bottom dwellers that evaded us and got into the wreck. The cudas wanted to play with the flat line but kept short striking, biting thru the leader, and even bit above the metal leader twice. With a long run back, we called it a day and enjoyed a nice ride home. We were greeted a few times by dolphins who wanted to play.
Weather is supposed to be good the next few days l.. get out and fish!
Today's charter was great, getting out on the boat today with Shipley, Richard and Patrick. Richard and Patrick are Marines who just finished their basic, and are off for the weekend. Thank you for your service gentleman.
The guys were staying on Ft Myers Beach, so we headed offshore to go play tug of war with some grouper. On the run out, lots of bait schools moving around with some flipping up on top. We picked up about 2 dozen Spanish sardines to go along with the the dozen or so horse pilchards I picked up at A span. (Bait was tough this morning). Our first drops were some lane and vermillion snapper. We put a few in the box ad continued out. The next stop resulted in a great bite, with all 6 of our keeper grouper going into the box (3 man limit, 2 per person). We lost the tug of war to a few BIG girls, but we also landed a few of them with the biggest at 30.5 inches. We moved out a bit deeper and found some good sized lanes and vermillion to add to the box. An american red was caught as well. They will come home in just a few short days from now (season open June 1st-3rd recreational...I can fish them till July 19th) With plenty of meat, we tried running to a deep wreck but there was already someone sitting directly on top of it. We began working back in and made a stop at the Fantastico. Lots of boats in the area, and ran into a buddy of mine out there as well. We hooked into a few BIG bottom dwellers that evaded us and got into the wreck. The cudas wanted to play with the flat line but kept short striking, biting thru the leader, and even bit above the metal leader twice. With a long run back, we called it a day and enjoyed a nice ride home. We were greeted a few times by dolphins who wanted to play.
Weather is supposed to be good the next few days l.. get out and fish!
5/16/17
Headed out with a 4 man crew to look for some grouper meat. We pushed off the dock a little after 5AM making our way downriver from the cape coral yacht club and out thru redfish pass. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise as we cruised towards the fishing grounds thru 2-3 ft seas. Our first stop showed good marks on the sounder. We dropped down the small spinners with small baits and immediately were pulling up lane snapper. One by one the anglers swapped out for the bigger rods and bigger baits, and it became a methodical pick of keeper grouper. We managed 6 keepers over the coarse of the drifts before moving on to another area. One short drift resulted in the two biggest grouper of the day, the biggest just shy of 30". We moved on to see if we could find some alternative species to bend a rod. We tryed for amberjacks, but they just werent in the eating mood with the sun high in the air. We did get a 10-15 lb barracuda to join the party, which was quickly released after being landed. We moved back in a little shallower and played with the snapper a bit before deciding to head on home. Lots of smiles and good times were had, and the boys went home with lots of meat for several meals. Look forward to having you guys out again.
Headed out with a 4 man crew to look for some grouper meat. We pushed off the dock a little after 5AM making our way downriver from the cape coral yacht club and out thru redfish pass. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise as we cruised towards the fishing grounds thru 2-3 ft seas. Our first stop showed good marks on the sounder. We dropped down the small spinners with small baits and immediately were pulling up lane snapper. One by one the anglers swapped out for the bigger rods and bigger baits, and it became a methodical pick of keeper grouper. We managed 6 keepers over the coarse of the drifts before moving on to another area. One short drift resulted in the two biggest grouper of the day, the biggest just shy of 30". We moved on to see if we could find some alternative species to bend a rod. We tryed for amberjacks, but they just werent in the eating mood with the sun high in the air. We did get a 10-15 lb barracuda to join the party, which was quickly released after being landed. We moved back in a little shallower and played with the snapper a bit before deciding to head on home. Lots of smiles and good times were had, and the boys went home with lots of meat for several meals. Look forward to having you guys out again.
5/9/17
Tuesday took out my intl crew Kevin Mayo Nally Bill, trevor, Andre and Jane for their second charter to look for some more rod bending action. We certainly found it today. Target was primarily AJs, with a secondary focus on something big off the bottom.
We made it out to a wreck in 100 ft of water and immediately were hooking up and catching AJs on top water poppers and livebaits. The action continued thru the day with many AJs and barracuda making their way to the boat.
We shifted focus to getting something large. We anchored up current of the wreck and put down big baits. First bait down gets eaten and after a few minutes the shark chewed thru the steel cable, likely a large bullshark. Second bait down is again eaten, this time running towards the wreck. Break off. Goliath grouper.... third bait, same results.
In between the big bait, we had the opportunity to see not 1, but two whale sharks! What big and amazing creatures. They swam right under our boat.
After a few quick shots, we rigged up for a 4th attempt at the big nasty down below. This time we would use the boat's forward momentum to assist in getting out from the wreck.
Once hooked up, we pulled anchor and the battle ensued. On a 7 ft star rod and Penn 4/0, we had a roughly 15-20 minute battle before our fish surfaced. A Goliath measuring in at 77" estimated 300-325 lbs! Some quick photos were taken before the fish swam back down to its lair.
We began our run back in and made one quick drift over an area we marked in 75 ft which produced a few BIG hits that bent our hooks, and put a keeper size grouper in the boat.
A fantastic overall day on the water with some folks who truly appreciate our fishery.
Tuesday took out my intl crew Kevin Mayo Nally Bill, trevor, Andre and Jane for their second charter to look for some more rod bending action. We certainly found it today. Target was primarily AJs, with a secondary focus on something big off the bottom.
We made it out to a wreck in 100 ft of water and immediately were hooking up and catching AJs on top water poppers and livebaits. The action continued thru the day with many AJs and barracuda making their way to the boat.
We shifted focus to getting something large. We anchored up current of the wreck and put down big baits. First bait down gets eaten and after a few minutes the shark chewed thru the steel cable, likely a large bullshark. Second bait down is again eaten, this time running towards the wreck. Break off. Goliath grouper.... third bait, same results.
In between the big bait, we had the opportunity to see not 1, but two whale sharks! What big and amazing creatures. They swam right under our boat.
After a few quick shots, we rigged up for a 4th attempt at the big nasty down below. This time we would use the boat's forward momentum to assist in getting out from the wreck.
Once hooked up, we pulled anchor and the battle ensued. On a 7 ft star rod and Penn 4/0, we had a roughly 15-20 minute battle before our fish surfaced. A Goliath measuring in at 77" estimated 300-325 lbs! Some quick photos were taken before the fish swam back down to its lair.
We began our run back in and made one quick drift over an area we marked in 75 ft which produced a few BIG hits that bent our hooks, and put a keeper size grouper in the boat.
A fantastic overall day on the water with some folks who truly appreciate our fishery.
5/2/17
Had my international crew from 3 different continents join me for a deep sea adventure. Primary focus was amberjack. We headed out and picked up some bait with the sabiki rods, and continued our way out to 95 ft of water. Immediately we were greeted by a giant school of hungry fish. Our first hook up was fighting fantastic till the line went slack..... Bill reels in nothing but the head of an amberjack, with a 6-7 ft hammerhead shark in hot pursuit! He circled the boat a few times before sounding down to the wreck.
We continued to hook up with ajs with both live baits and artificials. Large poppers were the hot ticket with the ajs chasing in hot pursuit to outdo the other. A 4 ft bull shark was caught on the vertical jig. We picked up a dozen or so edibles for dinner with a quick stop made up of yellowtail snapper, lane snapper and porgies. A legal kingfish was also added to the box by Andre who casted a small spoon to some fish who were working a baitschool on the way out. A great day with a great crew.
Had my international crew from 3 different continents join me for a deep sea adventure. Primary focus was amberjack. We headed out and picked up some bait with the sabiki rods, and continued our way out to 95 ft of water. Immediately we were greeted by a giant school of hungry fish. Our first hook up was fighting fantastic till the line went slack..... Bill reels in nothing but the head of an amberjack, with a 6-7 ft hammerhead shark in hot pursuit! He circled the boat a few times before sounding down to the wreck.
We continued to hook up with ajs with both live baits and artificials. Large poppers were the hot ticket with the ajs chasing in hot pursuit to outdo the other. A 4 ft bull shark was caught on the vertical jig. We picked up a dozen or so edibles for dinner with a quick stop made up of yellowtail snapper, lane snapper and porgies. A legal kingfish was also added to the box by Andre who casted a small spoon to some fish who were working a baitschool on the way out. A great day with a great crew.
4/26/17
After what seems like an eternity of somewhat crappy weather, the forecast was calling for lighter winds and reasonable seas (forecast 10 knots with 2 ft seas laying down in afternoon). Pushed out from dock around 430AM and made the run out for the early bite. Found some decent shows which produced some quality grouper. Kyle, Wally and I put together a solid box of fish. We planned to keep on running out to the 160-200 ft range, but the seas and wind continued to pick up thru the day with no let down. Our furthest point of the day was around 60 miles out and 140+ ft of water. Caught a bunch of American Red Snapper that we let go. Porgies, lane snapper, vermillion snapper and red grouper were all welcomed home for dinner. We found a big piece of floating debris that had some small dolphin on it. We put one in the box at 20" to the fork. Biggest grouper came in at 30", with 2 others close behind at 29". Small grouper for the day was a solid and healthy 25" fish. Great day on the water and happy to see the seas allow us to get out.
After what seems like an eternity of somewhat crappy weather, the forecast was calling for lighter winds and reasonable seas (forecast 10 knots with 2 ft seas laying down in afternoon). Pushed out from dock around 430AM and made the run out for the early bite. Found some decent shows which produced some quality grouper. Kyle, Wally and I put together a solid box of fish. We planned to keep on running out to the 160-200 ft range, but the seas and wind continued to pick up thru the day with no let down. Our furthest point of the day was around 60 miles out and 140+ ft of water. Caught a bunch of American Red Snapper that we let go. Porgies, lane snapper, vermillion snapper and red grouper were all welcomed home for dinner. We found a big piece of floating debris that had some small dolphin on it. We put one in the box at 20" to the fork. Biggest grouper came in at 30", with 2 others close behind at 29". Small grouper for the day was a solid and healthy 25" fish. Great day on the water and happy to see the seas allow us to get out.
4/12/17
Started the day off by making the run thru pine island sound out towards redfish pass. Lots of osprey, a couple bottle nosed dolphins were seen on the way out. We made it out thru the pass and set up on our first spot in 60 ft of water. A bunch of sand perch (squirrel fish) were caught and kept for live/cut bait. Soon, the Lane snapper began biting with a flury of fish coming on board. After boxing about a dozen, we made a quick move and set up on our second spot. Here, we caught a nice JoltHead Porgy, lots of Lane Snapper, and some close to legal Red Grouper. We had 3-4 BIG Thumps on the bottom that ultimately beat the anglers. A long, drag screaming run that pulled out about 250 yards of line before coming unglued. THis was for sure a bigggg kingfish. We continued to add some quality snapper to the box, ultimately boxing a little over 50 total. I gave the 5 minutes notice before we headed back in when the flatline again takes off on a steady long run. Paul battled back and forth with the fish for nearly 1/2 an hour before we got a visual of the fish: A large 6-7 ft Lemon shark! We got it boatside about a 1/2 dozen times where it would again take off on a drag screaming run. We got it to the boat for a pic or two before sending him on its way. With sore arms, we made the run back in thru beautiful, calm seas!
Started the day off by making the run thru pine island sound out towards redfish pass. Lots of osprey, a couple bottle nosed dolphins were seen on the way out. We made it out thru the pass and set up on our first spot in 60 ft of water. A bunch of sand perch (squirrel fish) were caught and kept for live/cut bait. Soon, the Lane snapper began biting with a flury of fish coming on board. After boxing about a dozen, we made a quick move and set up on our second spot. Here, we caught a nice JoltHead Porgy, lots of Lane Snapper, and some close to legal Red Grouper. We had 3-4 BIG Thumps on the bottom that ultimately beat the anglers. A long, drag screaming run that pulled out about 250 yards of line before coming unglued. THis was for sure a bigggg kingfish. We continued to add some quality snapper to the box, ultimately boxing a little over 50 total. I gave the 5 minutes notice before we headed back in when the flatline again takes off on a steady long run. Paul battled back and forth with the fish for nearly 1/2 an hour before we got a visual of the fish: A large 6-7 ft Lemon shark! We got it boatside about a 1/2 dozen times where it would again take off on a drag screaming run. We got it to the boat for a pic or two before sending him on its way. With sore arms, we made the run back in thru beautiful, calm seas!
3/27/17
The weather Gods blessed us with a gorgeous day to be on the water. We took advantage and ran out a little deeper looking for the solid bite. The Lane and Vermillion snapper were happy to cooperate with lots of fish coming up over the side for the fish fry. The grouper bite came later in the day with a flurry of them caught. Two legal sized grouper joined us for dinner with the biggest being roughly 26". We fished with a plethora of live baits including pinfish, sardines, squirrel fish and spottails, along with fresh cut squid.. The largest fish came on none other than the vertical jig being bounced off the bottom. Was a great day with a great crew. Tight Lines!
The weather Gods blessed us with a gorgeous day to be on the water. We took advantage and ran out a little deeper looking for the solid bite. The Lane and Vermillion snapper were happy to cooperate with lots of fish coming up over the side for the fish fry. The grouper bite came later in the day with a flurry of them caught. Two legal sized grouper joined us for dinner with the biggest being roughly 26". We fished with a plethora of live baits including pinfish, sardines, squirrel fish and spottails, along with fresh cut squid.. The largest fish came on none other than the vertical jig being bounced off the bottom. Was a great day with a great crew. Tight Lines!
3/21/17
Had a nice weather day with smooth seas laying down as the day progressed. We started out chasing amberjacks. The fish were on the finicky side and were not agressively eating, but we did manage a few hook ups including landing a nice 36" fish! A few others broke off and/or bent out the hooks. We also managed a fun drag screaming barracuda on the lighter tackle. We decided to move and look for some bottom fish. We caught lots of grouper that were 18-19 inches (need to be 20 inches minimum to keep). Lots of jolthead porgies, vermilion and lane snapper joined in on the fun. A keeper grouper was added to the box. We finally called it a day and made the long trek back in to clean the fish. Lots of fillets for these guys!
Had a nice weather day with smooth seas laying down as the day progressed. We started out chasing amberjacks. The fish were on the finicky side and were not agressively eating, but we did manage a few hook ups including landing a nice 36" fish! A few others broke off and/or bent out the hooks. We also managed a fun drag screaming barracuda on the lighter tackle. We decided to move and look for some bottom fish. We caught lots of grouper that were 18-19 inches (need to be 20 inches minimum to keep). Lots of jolthead porgies, vermilion and lane snapper joined in on the fun. A keeper grouper was added to the box. We finally called it a day and made the long trek back in to clean the fish. Lots of fillets for these guys!
3/9/17
Had a group of 5 join me to make the run offshore.They too had never had the thrill of an AJ. We marched out to 95 ft of water and were greeted by another swarm of ajs. They were VERY FINICKY. The vertical jig came out and seemed to be the hot ticket. They took turns reeling in the fish. Our two youngest anglers handled the ajs like pros! Grandpa is definitely teaching them right! After everyone had their turn, We ran in a bit shallower to work on some other tasty treats. Lots of snapper and porgies, along with another keeper grouper were added to the box. Weather was about as flat as it could be, and we were blessed to spend it out fishing.
Had a group of 5 join me to make the run offshore.They too had never had the thrill of an AJ. We marched out to 95 ft of water and were greeted by another swarm of ajs. They were VERY FINICKY. The vertical jig came out and seemed to be the hot ticket. They took turns reeling in the fish. Our two youngest anglers handled the ajs like pros! Grandpa is definitely teaching them right! After everyone had their turn, We ran in a bit shallower to work on some other tasty treats. Lots of snapper and porgies, along with another keeper grouper were added to the box. Weather was about as flat as it could be, and we were blessed to spend it out fishing.
3/8/17
Today We headed offshore from Ft Myers, out to 90 ft of water and were rewarded with lots of ajs circling the boat. We dropped down the first bait which was quickly inhaled but got the better of us. Dropped down the vertical jig and it was game on. We proceded to put a handful in the boat and decided to keep 2 for dinner. We did get a nice would have been legal gag grouper as well which was released to be caught again.
We moved in a little shallower and got into the snapper and grouper hot and heavy. Vermillions, Lanes and a couple nice mangroves made the box along with some more porgies. The grouper bite was crazy. We must have caught at least 50 of them. We were able to box 1, with a lot of these fish just shy of the 20" minimum. The hot bait for the grouper was none other than the vertical jig.
Weather layed down as the day progressed and we had a nice ride back to the dock.
Today We headed offshore from Ft Myers, out to 90 ft of water and were rewarded with lots of ajs circling the boat. We dropped down the first bait which was quickly inhaled but got the better of us. Dropped down the vertical jig and it was game on. We proceded to put a handful in the boat and decided to keep 2 for dinner. We did get a nice would have been legal gag grouper as well which was released to be caught again.
We moved in a little shallower and got into the snapper and grouper hot and heavy. Vermillions, Lanes and a couple nice mangroves made the box along with some more porgies. The grouper bite was crazy. We must have caught at least 50 of them. We were able to box 1, with a lot of these fish just shy of the 20" minimum. The hot bait for the grouper was none other than the vertical jig.
Weather layed down as the day progressed and we had a nice ride back to the dock.
3/4/17
When it comes to offshore fishing, its always nice when the weather cooperates. Today we had a nice weather day with smooth seas laying down as the day progressed. We started out chasing amberjacks. The fish were on the finicky side and were not agressively eating, but we did manage a few hook ups including landing a nice 36" fish! A few others broke off and/or bent out the hooks. We also managed a fun drag screaming barracuda on the lighter tackle. We decided to move and look for some bottom fish. We caught lots of grouper that were 18-19 inches (need to be 20 inches minimum to keep). Lots of jolthead porgies, vermilion and lane snapper joined in on the fun. A keeper grouper was added to the box. We finally called it a day and made the long trek back in to clean the fish. Lots of fillets for these guys!
When it comes to offshore fishing, its always nice when the weather cooperates. Today we had a nice weather day with smooth seas laying down as the day progressed. We started out chasing amberjacks. The fish were on the finicky side and were not agressively eating, but we did manage a few hook ups including landing a nice 36" fish! A few others broke off and/or bent out the hooks. We also managed a fun drag screaming barracuda on the lighter tackle. We decided to move and look for some bottom fish. We caught lots of grouper that were 18-19 inches (need to be 20 inches minimum to keep). Lots of jolthead porgies, vermilion and lane snapper joined in on the fun. A keeper grouper was added to the box. We finally called it a day and made the long trek back in to clean the fish. Lots of fillets for these guys!
1/19/17
Thursday we had a full day and target species was amberjack. Headed out with a group of my regulars. We ran out and the ajs didn't disappoint. We caught a quick limit and lots of throwbacks. Biggest we kept was 53" to the fork and estimated 60-65 pounds plus. With sore arms, we moved on looking for other edibles. We marked fish at spot after spot but the fish had lockjaw. We kept moving and would pick off a few fish here and there. The hot zone was closer in where we nabbed a bunch of porgies, big key West grunts, some lane snapper, a ton of short red grouper, and a pair of keeper grouper. Another great day is paradise!
Thursday we had a full day and target species was amberjack. Headed out with a group of my regulars. We ran out and the ajs didn't disappoint. We caught a quick limit and lots of throwbacks. Biggest we kept was 53" to the fork and estimated 60-65 pounds plus. With sore arms, we moved on looking for other edibles. We marked fish at spot after spot but the fish had lockjaw. We kept moving and would pick off a few fish here and there. The hot zone was closer in where we nabbed a bunch of porgies, big key West grunts, some lane snapper, a ton of short red grouper, and a pair of keeper grouper. Another great day is paradise!
1/3/17
Target for the day was amberjack along with some other meat for the box. The fish did not disappoint. We left off from cape yacht club a little after 7 am. We headed out thru Sanibel A span and out and around the lighthouse. We stopped around 15 miles out to pick up some baitfish. After procuring a couple dozen good pieces, we set our sights on a nice structure out in 95 ft of water. Upon arrival,we fired down the first live bait and was immediately hooked up. After a solid tug of war and some drag screaming runs, a 50 lb aj hit the deck.
Each angler proceeded to drop down baits and hook up, with several of the fish getting the better of us and breaking us off on the wreck. We added another 40 lb and 30 lb fish to the fishbox before taking off for some other fish.
The rest of the day was a steady pick of porgies, yellowtail snapper, vermillion and lane snapper heading for the fish box. We caught countless throw back red grouper up to 19.5". Smooth seas all day make for a comfortable and great day on the water.
Target for the day was amberjack along with some other meat for the box. The fish did not disappoint. We left off from cape yacht club a little after 7 am. We headed out thru Sanibel A span and out and around the lighthouse. We stopped around 15 miles out to pick up some baitfish. After procuring a couple dozen good pieces, we set our sights on a nice structure out in 95 ft of water. Upon arrival,we fired down the first live bait and was immediately hooked up. After a solid tug of war and some drag screaming runs, a 50 lb aj hit the deck.
Each angler proceeded to drop down baits and hook up, with several of the fish getting the better of us and breaking us off on the wreck. We added another 40 lb and 30 lb fish to the fishbox before taking off for some other fish.
The rest of the day was a steady pick of porgies, yellowtail snapper, vermillion and lane snapper heading for the fish box. We caught countless throw back red grouper up to 19.5". Smooth seas all day make for a comfortable and great day on the water.
12/28/16
Had a 1/2 day charter with a a group from Canada. We headed out roughly 25 mile in search of some steady action. The fish did not disappoint. The rods were bent from start to finish. We caught a smorgasbord of species, most of which were new for my guests. We got into the porgies hot and heavy again, with some lane snapper, grunts, flounder, juvenille amberjacks, barracuda triggerfish and of coarse red grouper making a good showing. Chris got the sole keeper grouper of the day, although we had many more opportunities with fish that won the 10 foot tug of war. It was an excellent day of fishing with great weather all day. You could call it a picturesque day at its finest.
Had a 1/2 day charter with a a group from Canada. We headed out roughly 25 mile in search of some steady action. The fish did not disappoint. The rods were bent from start to finish. We caught a smorgasbord of species, most of which were new for my guests. We got into the porgies hot and heavy again, with some lane snapper, grunts, flounder, juvenille amberjacks, barracuda triggerfish and of coarse red grouper making a good showing. Chris got the sole keeper grouper of the day, although we had many more opportunities with fish that won the 10 foot tug of war. It was an excellent day of fishing with great weather all day. You could call it a picturesque day at its finest.
12/27/16
Picked up my party of 4 from Punta Rassa boat ramp at 7am. Grouper bight has been pretty solid in 60-65 ft the past few weeks so we headed out to some tried and true grounds to see what we could muster up. We found lots of grouper, but all on the small size. Along with them were lots of jolthead porgies. Im never one to turn down some porgies, and my clients had never tried them. The bight was steady, but the crew were after some bigger fish. Made the call to make a run 17 miles further out.
got to the area and marked some good fish. We boated a few yellowtail snapper and beeliners before Kelly broke the ice and put the first 22" red grouper in the box. She followed it up with another 22" keeper. Heck of a way to spend your birthday! Happy Birthday Kelly! Marty followed up with a nice 24" Grouper with his son Mike pulling in a 21" at the same time. Ended the day with a flurry and made the 40 mile ride back with nice calm seas.
Picked up my party of 4 from Punta Rassa boat ramp at 7am. Grouper bight has been pretty solid in 60-65 ft the past few weeks so we headed out to some tried and true grounds to see what we could muster up. We found lots of grouper, but all on the small size. Along with them were lots of jolthead porgies. Im never one to turn down some porgies, and my clients had never tried them. The bight was steady, but the crew were after some bigger fish. Made the call to make a run 17 miles further out.
got to the area and marked some good fish. We boated a few yellowtail snapper and beeliners before Kelly broke the ice and put the first 22" red grouper in the box. She followed it up with another 22" keeper. Heck of a way to spend your birthday! Happy Birthday Kelly! Marty followed up with a nice 24" Grouper with his son Mike pulling in a 21" at the same time. Ended the day with a flurry and made the 40 mile ride back with nice calm seas.
11/23/16
Had a group of 5 join me to head offshore in search of some meat for a thanksgiving feast for 12. Left the dock at 645 AM from the cape coral yacht club and made the trek out thru Redfish Pass. Sea Conditions were decent with 2-3s on the way out laying down to less than 2 ft as the day progressed. Spent the majority of the day in 60-75 ft of water.
The morning bite started off pretty decent with a flurry of porgies, grouper, and big key west grunts making their way to the fishbox. And like a light switch going off, so did the bite. We bounced around for 45 minutes, and had some great shows on the screen, but the fish had gone into lockjaw mode. I Figure it was the tide switch.
Made a move about 6 miles and marked some good shows, and it was game on again. We put another 5 keeper grouper in the boat, and dozens of good size Lane and Porgies.
As Darwin's law theory suggests, the biggest fish hit the smallest rod. THis was the case today with the biggest 2 grouper coming on a 4000 series penn battle II with a 2/0 circle hook and 30 lb leader.
Was a great day on the water with excellent company
Had a group of 5 join me to head offshore in search of some meat for a thanksgiving feast for 12. Left the dock at 645 AM from the cape coral yacht club and made the trek out thru Redfish Pass. Sea Conditions were decent with 2-3s on the way out laying down to less than 2 ft as the day progressed. Spent the majority of the day in 60-75 ft of water.
The morning bite started off pretty decent with a flurry of porgies, grouper, and big key west grunts making their way to the fishbox. And like a light switch going off, so did the bite. We bounced around for 45 minutes, and had some great shows on the screen, but the fish had gone into lockjaw mode. I Figure it was the tide switch.
Made a move about 6 miles and marked some good shows, and it was game on again. We put another 5 keeper grouper in the boat, and dozens of good size Lane and Porgies.
As Darwin's law theory suggests, the biggest fish hit the smallest rod. THis was the case today with the biggest 2 grouper coming on a 4000 series penn battle II with a 2/0 circle hook and 30 lb leader.
Was a great day on the water with excellent company
10/02/16
Headed offshore with repeat clients to bend some rods. We headed out to 100 ft of water where the first line down resulted in a keeper grouper. Second line down resulted in a nice lane snapper. The bite then completely shut off. We had a few cutoffs which tells me there was a large shark most likely scaring the grouper and snapper from eating.
We moved to another spot a few miles away in 95 ft. We scored a monster red grouper as well as a second beautiful red grouper. We caught and released several short red grouper as well. The seas were a bit like a washing machine, and the group wasn't feeling so well (those who took their sea sick pills or patches were fine) so we started heading back in.
On the way in, I came across a show on the screen that was too good to pass up. We had a few quick drifts which resulted in another keeper red grouper as well as a handful of keeper lane snapper, key west grunts, and lots of throwback size red grouper.
The action here was fast and furious with all 6 fisherman getting hooked up at the same time on multiple occassions.
I was thoroughly impressed with our youngest passenger, a 6 year old who held up better than everyone. He didn't get sick, and did a heck of a job reeling in his first fish as well as countless others.
Headed offshore with repeat clients to bend some rods. We headed out to 100 ft of water where the first line down resulted in a keeper grouper. Second line down resulted in a nice lane snapper. The bite then completely shut off. We had a few cutoffs which tells me there was a large shark most likely scaring the grouper and snapper from eating.
We moved to another spot a few miles away in 95 ft. We scored a monster red grouper as well as a second beautiful red grouper. We caught and released several short red grouper as well. The seas were a bit like a washing machine, and the group wasn't feeling so well (those who took their sea sick pills or patches were fine) so we started heading back in.
On the way in, I came across a show on the screen that was too good to pass up. We had a few quick drifts which resulted in another keeper red grouper as well as a handful of keeper lane snapper, key west grunts, and lots of throwback size red grouper.
The action here was fast and furious with all 6 fisherman getting hooked up at the same time on multiple occassions.
I was thoroughly impressed with our youngest passenger, a 6 year old who held up better than everyone. He didn't get sick, and did a heck of a job reeling in his first fish as well as countless others.
9/15/16
We met up at Cape Yacht Club at 530am sharp. We pushed off shortly thereafter and made our run in the dark out thru redfish pass. We had friendly skies and seas with some small rollers and 2 footers on the way out. We made our way out to 70 ft to look for some snapper and grouper to take back home. We had a fairly steady bite, with good lanes coming up with with a keeper red grouper after the first drift. We made one more drift which equated to a couple more snapper and a porgy for the fish box.
We pushed on out another 14 miles or so to an area ive caught some really nice grouper and snapper. We proceeded to catch more nice lane snapper to 16" and a few more legal grouper for the box. Both the guys got taken to town by what were surefire firetruck red grouper or large gags. We got the hookups but couldn't keep the fish from getting back to their hole/breaking us off on the bottom. 0-7 today on the big boys. We did get a surprise baby thresher shark that hit a butterflyed bait fish 1/2 way off the bottom on the upward retrieve.
The ride back in was phenomenal with seas laying down to 1-2s.
Final tally in the fish box was 3 red grouper, 3 jolthead porgies, 2 dozen lane snapper and a couple vermillion snapper. Some good eats in their future.
We met up at Cape Yacht Club at 530am sharp. We pushed off shortly thereafter and made our run in the dark out thru redfish pass. We had friendly skies and seas with some small rollers and 2 footers on the way out. We made our way out to 70 ft to look for some snapper and grouper to take back home. We had a fairly steady bite, with good lanes coming up with with a keeper red grouper after the first drift. We made one more drift which equated to a couple more snapper and a porgy for the fish box.
We pushed on out another 14 miles or so to an area ive caught some really nice grouper and snapper. We proceeded to catch more nice lane snapper to 16" and a few more legal grouper for the box. Both the guys got taken to town by what were surefire firetruck red grouper or large gags. We got the hookups but couldn't keep the fish from getting back to their hole/breaking us off on the bottom. 0-7 today on the big boys. We did get a surprise baby thresher shark that hit a butterflyed bait fish 1/2 way off the bottom on the upward retrieve.
The ride back in was phenomenal with seas laying down to 1-2s.
Final tally in the fish box was 3 red grouper, 3 jolthead porgies, 2 dozen lane snapper and a couple vermillion snapper. Some good eats in their future.
9/5/16
Headed out about 40 miles where we drifted an area. The kids used homemade chicken rigs while the adults got the carolina rig with big hook and big bait. The fishing was fast and consistent with lots of legal Lane, Yellowtail, porgy, and vermillion snapper coming up for the fish box. Bryant boxed our only keeper red grouper of the day, although we did have several hooked up that won the 10 ft tug of war.
About noon thirty the bite began to slow so we headed out a little further to a wreck to try our luck at some big tuggers.
First bait down hits bottom, gets inhaled immediately as im passing the rod off to Bryant. IT makes several line screaming drags, but begins to surface. What we initially though to be an amberjack turned out to be a really nice cobia. As soon as it saw the boat, it dove again. IT did this several times, each time taking a little less line. With some great teamwork, I was able to gaff the fish and into the boat.
After the adrenaline and excitement wore off, we made a few more drops, successfully hooking up, but getting took to town by what surely were large AJs. One even managed to break a 7/0 gamagatsu circle hook, a first for me (Ive seen other cheap hooks bend and break, but gamagatsu have held up incredibly well to everything Ive thrown at them).
Headed out about 40 miles where we drifted an area. The kids used homemade chicken rigs while the adults got the carolina rig with big hook and big bait. The fishing was fast and consistent with lots of legal Lane, Yellowtail, porgy, and vermillion snapper coming up for the fish box. Bryant boxed our only keeper red grouper of the day, although we did have several hooked up that won the 10 ft tug of war.
About noon thirty the bite began to slow so we headed out a little further to a wreck to try our luck at some big tuggers.
First bait down hits bottom, gets inhaled immediately as im passing the rod off to Bryant. IT makes several line screaming drags, but begins to surface. What we initially though to be an amberjack turned out to be a really nice cobia. As soon as it saw the boat, it dove again. IT did this several times, each time taking a little less line. With some great teamwork, I was able to gaff the fish and into the boat.
After the adrenaline and excitement wore off, we made a few more drops, successfully hooking up, but getting took to town by what surely were large AJs. One even managed to break a 7/0 gamagatsu circle hook, a first for me (Ive seen other cheap hooks bend and break, but gamagatsu have held up incredibly well to everything Ive thrown at them).
8/18/16
With the full moon, snapper was our intended target. We met up at 930 am to load the boat. After loading the boat with gear, we headed to Matlacha to pick up 400 lbs of ice for the fish box.
We then made our way to punta rassa boat ramp. After a 1/2 dozen quick stops looking for different varieties of bait, we headed SW in search of some fishy grounds.
We marked some good shows in 175 ft and decided this would be our spot for the night. With wind and tide kind of off, it took 3 drops of the anchor before we were set up just right.
We had a steady bight of Mutton Snapper, Yellowtail, mangrove, porgy and lesser amberjack thru the night. We also picked up a solid blackfin tuna on the flatline.
Come morning, the Greater Amberjack came out to play, and we couldn't get anything but squid past them. After wrestling with a 1/2 dozen of them and having to release them as they are closed for the remainder of the year (Thanks, Feds!), we decided to go ahead and make the ride home.
We made a few quick drops on the way back home, stopping on a private wreck.... of course the AJs were happy to come out and play.
With no sleep for over 24 hours and sore arms, we called it a day and continued our run back to Punta Rassa.
With the full moon, snapper was our intended target. We met up at 930 am to load the boat. After loading the boat with gear, we headed to Matlacha to pick up 400 lbs of ice for the fish box.
We then made our way to punta rassa boat ramp. After a 1/2 dozen quick stops looking for different varieties of bait, we headed SW in search of some fishy grounds.
We marked some good shows in 175 ft and decided this would be our spot for the night. With wind and tide kind of off, it took 3 drops of the anchor before we were set up just right.
We had a steady bight of Mutton Snapper, Yellowtail, mangrove, porgy and lesser amberjack thru the night. We also picked up a solid blackfin tuna on the flatline.
Come morning, the Greater Amberjack came out to play, and we couldn't get anything but squid past them. After wrestling with a 1/2 dozen of them and having to release them as they are closed for the remainder of the year (Thanks, Feds!), we decided to go ahead and make the ride home.
We made a few quick drops on the way back home, stopping on a private wreck.... of course the AJs were happy to come out and play.
With no sleep for over 24 hours and sore arms, we called it a day and continued our run back to Punta Rassa.
8/5/16
Had a 3/4 day trip with a group of four on Friday looking to dig up some meat for a feast. Picked up george and son, Mikos and Paul from Sanibel boat ramp and headed out. On the way out we saw birds working and fish crashing on some bait so we threw out the trolling lures and scored 5 spanish macs and a snake kingfish. Seas were a bit sloppy, with a steady 15 knot wind from the SW and seas at 3-4 with some larger rolling swells which we cruised out at 23 mph. After just shy of a 45 mile run, out came the bottom gear where we steadily filled the fish box. The final tally was a couple dozen snapper, a handful of jolthead porgies, a 1/2 dozen mackeral and a 4 man limit of red grouper (8 red grouper). Seas laid down in the afternoon to 2-3, and with a following sea, we made a steady 27 mph cruise back in. Had a good time with you guys and look forward to doing the long range trip with you in the future.
Had a 3/4 day trip with a group of four on Friday looking to dig up some meat for a feast. Picked up george and son, Mikos and Paul from Sanibel boat ramp and headed out. On the way out we saw birds working and fish crashing on some bait so we threw out the trolling lures and scored 5 spanish macs and a snake kingfish. Seas were a bit sloppy, with a steady 15 knot wind from the SW and seas at 3-4 with some larger rolling swells which we cruised out at 23 mph. After just shy of a 45 mile run, out came the bottom gear where we steadily filled the fish box. The final tally was a couple dozen snapper, a handful of jolthead porgies, a 1/2 dozen mackeral and a 4 man limit of red grouper (8 red grouper). Seas laid down in the afternoon to 2-3, and with a following sea, we made a steady 27 mph cruise back in. Had a good time with you guys and look forward to doing the long range trip with you in the future.
7/29/16
Headed out this morning with a party of 4. They were looking to score some meat for a couple meals this week including a big fish fry tonight.
Pulled off the dock at 5 am from the cape yacht club. Heavier Storms off of redfish pass on the radar ultimately changed my game plan, so we ran south-west to look for some fishing willing to eat.
The bite was consistent all day, with lots of throwback fish mixed in with the keepers. The end was a barrage of legal size grouper nearly every drop. We left them biting as to not risk killing the fish from bringing them up from the depths.
A dozen or so snapper of the yellowtail and Lane variety rounded out the 4 man limit of grouper.
They should be eating very well this upcoming week!
Headed out this morning with a party of 4. They were looking to score some meat for a couple meals this week including a big fish fry tonight.
Pulled off the dock at 5 am from the cape yacht club. Heavier Storms off of redfish pass on the radar ultimately changed my game plan, so we ran south-west to look for some fishing willing to eat.
The bite was consistent all day, with lots of throwback fish mixed in with the keepers. The end was a barrage of legal size grouper nearly every drop. We left them biting as to not risk killing the fish from bringing them up from the depths.
A dozen or so snapper of the yellowtail and Lane variety rounded out the 4 man limit of grouper.
They should be eating very well this upcoming week!
7/10/16
Took Wes and Laurens family out for some fun fishing. We started off catching a couple large spanish macs that were terrorizing a small bait ball. after putting a couple in the boat on lures, we continued on out. We anchored up over some good shows, and threw out the chumbag. Within minutes we were catching yellowtail snapper, key west grunts, and lane snapper. Lauren caught a surprise mutton snapper which was just shy of being a keeper, followed by another mutton shortly thereafter that was legal. Wes and Colin free lined for yellowtail and caught lots of nice keepers for the box. The tide slowed down with the slack tide, so we picked up anchor and moved a few miles away in search of more fish. with opposing winds and tide that had us doing figure 8s, we went ahead and drifted some good live bottom where we caught a handful of red grouper, some nice lane snapper, grunts, and other bottom dwellers. Wes had a smashing hit that unfortunately came unglued. The youngest member of the family, 6 yr old Chase (sp?) reeled in many fish as well with the help of mom, dad, first mate Lee and Capt Dan.
A great day on the water with some great folks!
Took Wes and Laurens family out for some fun fishing. We started off catching a couple large spanish macs that were terrorizing a small bait ball. after putting a couple in the boat on lures, we continued on out. We anchored up over some good shows, and threw out the chumbag. Within minutes we were catching yellowtail snapper, key west grunts, and lane snapper. Lauren caught a surprise mutton snapper which was just shy of being a keeper, followed by another mutton shortly thereafter that was legal. Wes and Colin free lined for yellowtail and caught lots of nice keepers for the box. The tide slowed down with the slack tide, so we picked up anchor and moved a few miles away in search of more fish. with opposing winds and tide that had us doing figure 8s, we went ahead and drifted some good live bottom where we caught a handful of red grouper, some nice lane snapper, grunts, and other bottom dwellers. Wes had a smashing hit that unfortunately came unglued. The youngest member of the family, 6 yr old Chase (sp?) reeled in many fish as well with the help of mom, dad, first mate Lee and Capt Dan.
A great day on the water with some great folks!
7/9/16
Ran out to 180 feet of water prospecting new grounds. Tide was screaming. needed 12 ounces plus to hold bottom. Picked up a quick limit of red snapper along with some very nice vermillion snappers. a few red grouper came up. Constant bite all day. Ran back in shallower to escape the tide and picked up a few grouper for the box.
Ran out to 180 feet of water prospecting new grounds. Tide was screaming. needed 12 ounces plus to hold bottom. Picked up a quick limit of red snapper along with some very nice vermillion snappers. a few red grouper came up. Constant bite all day. Ran back in shallower to escape the tide and picked up a few grouper for the box.
7/4/16
7/4 we headed out a little over 50 miles to look for some grouper. Bite was solid until about 11ish when it just shut down. Yvette picked up a gorgeous lane snapper that hit 19 inches along with a solid red grouper. Her husband Chris also had a hot hand picking up 2 more stud grouper along with some nice lane snapper up to 16 inches for the box . Patrick had some lane snapper also to 16", and the biggest grouper of the day which was right before the bite shut down. While everyone was bottom bumping, a school of peanut mahi came around. I tried throwing squid, pilchards, threadfin, pinfish, and shrimp at them to no avail. a naked 1/16 ounce chartreuse jighead was more than they could resist and i put 3 in the box. We lost a couple other big grouper that just weren't ready to become dinner. With some severe weather on the horizon, and some gnarly lightning strikes, I made the call to head on in to celebrate the 4th!
7/4 we headed out a little over 50 miles to look for some grouper. Bite was solid until about 11ish when it just shut down. Yvette picked up a gorgeous lane snapper that hit 19 inches along with a solid red grouper. Her husband Chris also had a hot hand picking up 2 more stud grouper along with some nice lane snapper up to 16 inches for the box . Patrick had some lane snapper also to 16", and the biggest grouper of the day which was right before the bite shut down. While everyone was bottom bumping, a school of peanut mahi came around. I tried throwing squid, pilchards, threadfin, pinfish, and shrimp at them to no avail. a naked 1/16 ounce chartreuse jighead was more than they could resist and i put 3 in the box. We lost a couple other big grouper that just weren't ready to become dinner. With some severe weather on the horizon, and some gnarly lightning strikes, I made the call to head on in to celebrate the 4th!
7/1/2016
Had some gentleman from Miami come over to do a night time offshore snapper fishing trip of of Ft Myers. We headed out just before sunset. We sabiki'd up some live pinfish, spot tails and squirrel fish for the livewell. While the bight was never on fire, but we did have a methodical and steady pick with some nice mangrove snapper and lane snapper joining us for dinner. We caught alot of different species, including Red Grouper, sharks, Triggerfish, Grunts, Gag Grouper and many more. There were several fish that hit and could not be stopped. The boys will have a great fish fry!
Had some gentleman from Miami come over to do a night time offshore snapper fishing trip of of Ft Myers. We headed out just before sunset. We sabiki'd up some live pinfish, spot tails and squirrel fish for the livewell. While the bight was never on fire, but we did have a methodical and steady pick with some nice mangrove snapper and lane snapper joining us for dinner. We caught alot of different species, including Red Grouper, sharks, Triggerfish, Grunts, Gag Grouper and many more. There were several fish that hit and could not be stopped. The boys will have a great fish fry!
6/28/16
Went offshore today with Bill, Joe and Paul. Day started off with a pre sunrise lightning show with a storm sitting just outside redfish pass. In typical pattern, once the sun came up, the storm dissipated. We spent some time catching a mixed variety of live baits via sabiki which included pinfish, spot tails and squirrel fish. We headed out to 110 in search of fish. The bite was a slow and steady pick all day. We didn't have any crazy moments of mayhem, rather a day where patience was tried.
We picked away at Lane and Vermillion snapper from 70 ft on out to 120. The grouper out deep had lockjaw, with the keepers coming in 70 ft and 90 ft respectfully. Lots of short throwback RGs, alone with the snapper and a handful of grunts.
All in all a good day out on the water with some great people. Look forward to getting out with you guys again.
Went offshore today with Bill, Joe and Paul. Day started off with a pre sunrise lightning show with a storm sitting just outside redfish pass. In typical pattern, once the sun came up, the storm dissipated. We spent some time catching a mixed variety of live baits via sabiki which included pinfish, spot tails and squirrel fish. We headed out to 110 in search of fish. The bite was a slow and steady pick all day. We didn't have any crazy moments of mayhem, rather a day where patience was tried.
We picked away at Lane and Vermillion snapper from 70 ft on out to 120. The grouper out deep had lockjaw, with the keepers coming in 70 ft and 90 ft respectfully. Lots of short throwback RGs, alone with the snapper and a handful of grunts.
All in all a good day out on the water with some great people. Look forward to getting out with you guys again.