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How to beat the heat 07/2018

Every year, it is the same from June through August, HOT! It is also the busiest season for fishing guides in our area. The fishing can be amazing or amazingly slow and it seems to almost change from day to day. I have found the perfect way to “beat the heat” , which is to experience the heat while sharing the joy of fishing with young anglers.20180706_075129On this trip, Garrett was all smiles and laughter as he was getting all the bites. He was quick to remind his father just how well he was doing! Redfish and snapper kept us busy that day.

I had another fun trip this week and I hardly noticed the heat again. Tyler was so happy to catch a shark. His joy was so infectious he even had me and the shark smiling!IMG_2372 This summer is off to a fun start. There has been plenty of fun fish for kids and adults. The best bite for the serious angler has been artificial baits early in the morning.

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Guides Days Off 2/8/2018

Winter time, especially February, is my slow season. While the fishing can be phenomenal, we usually do not have as many visitors, this time of year. Fortunately, I received a call from a life long friend about a fishing trip. Rick Marcello, is starting up a performance fishing company, Hydor. While he is based near Atlanta, Rick informed me that he was going to be in Steinhatchee, Fl for a few days. A gap in scheduled charters allowed Capt. Jason Phillips and I to head over across the state for a chance to play with some new gear and some different fish!

Since this was a mini vacation we decided not to mess around with bait. We started out throwing Gulp jerk baits and Slayer paddle tails. Even with being new to the area, Jason found a nice sea trout almost right away.IMG_1314A few casts later, redfish was on the menu. Once again, it was Jason with the hot hand.IMG_1315As the pictures show, weather was not conducive to sight fishing. We both caught several fish and then decided to explore a bit further south. After making a run of less then a half mile, we started actually seeing bait and fish activity. Day one culminated with 10 nice redfish and close to 40 sea trout. It was a fun day for sure.

Day two was a little cooler and we had a heavy fog to start out with. We struck out with the new Hydor rods and reels and had similar results. A few casts in, and the fish were chewing again20180211_081500The fish may not be… but I am looking forward to the full release of the Hydor Performance Fishing line. Between the rods, reels, and performance gear I am excited to watch Rick’s company grow. Thank you for a good excuse to get away for a few days, as well as, the sneak preview of the great things to come.

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Great Morning! 2/6/18

Wow! I can not believe how many great opportunities, to share fishing experiences, that I neglected to blog about last year. Well this trip has fueled the fire and I will be sharing many more this year.

Tuesday morning, I had the pleasure of sharing the water with Mark. This was our second trip out during his vacation in Flagler Beach. and we were greeted first thing by perfect conditions.

20180206_072356It only got better from there. After searching for less then ten minutes we saw a group of redfish feeding. We had a school of about 25 reds within casting distance. Mark caught one almost right away.20180206_074442He then proceeded to boat 3 more fish within 20 minutes. We easily landed ten fish in the first hour. This was turning into a morning to remember!20180206_085955After catching so many fish that we lost count, Mark landed a nice oversized redfish also. I sure am blessed to have great clients to share the water with. I can not wait to get back out there and do it again soon.20180206_092540

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Summer Fun 8/1/2016

I received a call from Chad, a father, who wanted to take his two daughters fishing. Chad told me that it would be nice to catch dinner, but most important was for the girls to have fun.20160801_070435

It did not take long for Camryn to get us started with this nice redfish. The rest of the redfish seemed to have lock jaw so we moved on to another spot.

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Camryn, struck first here also. It seemed as though it might be a long day for Kyleigh. It was not long before Kyleigh started getting the bites also.20160801_074732

The flounder bite was good for the next twenty minutes or so. Between the two, the girls brought in 8 flounder!

From here we moved on to fishing deeper water. The bite slowed down but we did manage a fun bonnethead shark. We also were able to follow 3 manatee for a short while so the girls could see them up close.

 

 

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Not Just a Pastime 7/21/16

It has been over two years since Robert and I have fished together. Our first trip was stellar and I watched him catch upper slot redfish, black drum, and jack crevalle. It was more than obvious at the time that this young man loved to fish! That being said, the recent fishing had been a little slow and I was wondering how we would fair on this trip.

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Robert was ready and put this fish in the boat less than 5 minutes into the trip!

From the start it appeared we were going to have another great day. After bending the rod with jack crevalle, we moved on to see about catching dinner for the family.

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Robert’s first sea trout.

While we were scouting for redfish, Robert was casting a GrandSlam Baits 3″ paddletail on a 1/4 ounce jighead and hooked up this nice sea trout. I was surprised to find out that this was his first one, ever. As we were landing this fish, the redfish started feeding around us.

This is more than a pastime for Robert, it is an obsession. With his level of competency coupled with the fact that he has his own boat, fish beware – Robert is coming!

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Ladies Trip 7/12/2016

I have had the pleasure of fishing with Judi and her granddaughter Camryn since my first year as a guide. It is great seeing the bond that they share. The trips have changed over the years from enjoying the outdoors and some fishing to quite the competition!

On this trip the redfish they both love to catch turned out to be elusive. Dinner was still in order thanks to several flounder and mangrove snapper though. 20160712_093404

I am not sure of the final count, but Cam sure was doing her part with the flounder. I always look forward to these trips. Every time out with these two ladies is an adventure remembered.

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Family Time 6/30/2016

I, once again, had the pleasure of fishing with a friend and regular client, Mike. His daughter, Anna, was in from Seattle and she joined us also.20160630_072122

At our first spot they both caught several “puppy” drum. This same spot yielded sea trout, jack crevalle, and mangrove snapper.  I think Anna caught the most! From here we moved on to targeting another drum.20160630_084921

Anna had to chase this one around the boat a few times before it finally made the net.

On our previous trip Mike boated a bonnet head shark.  While we were planning this trip his main focus was to show Anna the back country and hopefully catch multiple species. As a special request, he asked that we try to catch a shark for his daughter also.20160630_105941

Mission accomplished!

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Guys Weekend 6/18/2016

It was a real treat to have Ryan and his son, Nick, on the boat again today.  As we were leaving the basin Ryan explained how this was a bachelor weekend for them as the girls in the family (his wife and two daughters) had gone on a trip to visit family. 20160618_065611

This was Nick’s first fish about 5 minutes into the trip. He was quick to tell his father that he was in the lead for the day.  After asking Nick if he was going to take it easy on Dad, since it was Father’s Day weekend, I was informed that was not going to be the case. The competition was on!20160618_081428

This guy came to win. He was quick to update the stats too. Even during the slow times he would remind us of the tally.20160618_083943

At the end of the trip, according to our score keeper, Nick pulled out the victory 9 to 4. Ryan was still all smiles. I could tell that this would not be the last time that he would be happy “losing” a competition to his son!

Thank you to all of the Father’s out there! I hope you have a great time with family this weekend.

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Beating the Drum 6/3/2016

I had the pleasure of taking Larry and his son, Chris, fishing today. It was one of those trips where everything just seemed to go right. Everywhere that I dropped the Power-pole today we caught fish!20160603_072513

We started our day catching several black drum, until some dolphin moved in to the area. We made a small move and continued to catch more of the same.20160603_074352

From here we decided to play a different drum. It was time to go shallow and chase these guys around.20160603_105255

Chris was surprised at the power redfish generate! He got on a roll and caught the first 4 reds. I made one more move to attempt to find Larry his redfish. It worked.20160603_092857

This was his largest of the day at just under 8 lbs!

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Fish were chewing 6/1/2016

I had the pleasure of sharing the water with Frank this morning. As we begin this trip (and every trip we have had together), Frank says, “How lucky are we? It just doesn’t get any better.”. And I always agree… spending time on the water with Frank, and his family and friends, is always a great time. 20160601_084717

A beautiful day on the water with a good friend and cooperative fish! Frank went 4 out of six on some nice redfish. He also boated 4 nice black drum and a big inshore jack crevalle.  Frank called the trip early after about 2 hours. As a former charter captain up north, he understands fishing pressure and conservation. He decided to keep two redfish and two black drum, letting the rest swim free.20160601_095314