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Complete Book of
 Baits, Rigs & Tackle


Features:  This one book provides all the important angling know-how you'll ever need to fish fresh water or salt water, big game or bass, spinning or baitcasting, flyrod or canepole, boat or shore......

New Edition By Vic Dunaway.  Published By Florida Sportsman  A Best Seller.  256 Color Pages, Illustrations

Buy your copy here 
for only $16.95.

Sport Fish of Florida   
       
This Full color 256-page book from long-time fishing legend and Florida Sportsman Magazine Sr. Editor, Vic Dunaway features his 50-plus years of fishing knowledge. Each of the 231 species is illustrated with original full-color artwork from renowned marine artist Kevin R. Brant.  

What Is This fish?   Is It Good to Eat?    Is It a Record?     Answers to these common questions, plus many others are answered in this book. Plus, Common and Scientific Names, Distinguishing features, Food Values, Average and Record Sizes,  Range throughout Florida, Main  Habitats, Game Qualities and Best Fishing Methods.
By Vic Dunaway,   Published By Florida Sportsman
  Buy Yours Here 
For Only $16.95

Florida Fishing reports are provided by professional Fishing Charter Captains 
and Fishing Guides throughout the State of Florida, The Keys, and Bahamas. 
Whether you prefer fishing salt water, freshwater, inshore or offshore, flats, 
back country or flyfishing, for bass, trout, marlin or tarpon, 
you'll find what's happening on the water here.  

Click on region name below to see 
fishing reports for that area.

Florida Major Cities By Region

Northeast East Central Southeast The Keys
Fernandina Beach
Jacksonville
St. Augustine
Flagler Beach
Daytona Beach
New Smyrna
Titusville
Cocoa Beach
Melborne
Sabastian
Vero Beach
Ft. Pierce
Stuart
Jupiter
West Palm Beach
Boca Raton
Ft. Lauderdale
Miami Beach
Key Largo
Tavernier
Islamorada
Marathon
Key West
Florida Bay

 

Southwest West Central Panhandle Central
Flamingo
Everglades City
Marco Island
Naples
Ft. Myers


Bahamas
Abaco

Central America

Hawaii

Punta Gorda
Boca Grande
Venice
Sarasota
Bradenton
St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay area
Clearwater
New Port Richey
Pine Island
Homosassa Spgs
Chambers Island
Cedar Key
Suwanee
Steinhatche
Carrabelle
Apalachicola
Port St. Joe
Panama City
Destin
Ft. Walton Bch

Pensacola
Gainesville
Palatka
Ocala
Deland
Leesburg
Orlando
Kissimmee
Lakeland
Winter Haven
Lake Wales
Sebring

Okeechobee
Belle Glade

See Map of  Florida  By Region  & The Bahamas  Here

              Fishing Reports  --  SOUTHWEST  FLORIDA       (Back to top)

(For contact information, see the Charter Directory)

Captain Becky Campbell ~ Everglades City, Florida
Rather Be Fishing Charters
Ph# 239-695-2029 Cell# 727-709-1375    email: captainbecky709@aol.com


August 15, 2009 
Don’t forget snook season opens Sept 1.

 
Snook are on the beaches and also in our passes. We are hooking up and catching some Big fish (snook) up to 43". Talk about exciting, think about it, free-lining pinfish or shrimp on light tackle and having one of these monsters grab your bait and almost pull the rod out of your hand. That will get your attention fast while in a split second he is up and dancing on the surface trying to throw the hook back in your face and making your drag sing like you have never heard before. Just gets me excited just thinking about it. There is nothing better sounding than a singing drag, unless it happens to be your pole that's doing all the singing.
 
Tarpon seem to be everywhere, and you never seem to know when they are going to eat your bait. These fish run from about 50# to 175# with the average size about 90#. They are on the flats, off the edges of the flats, in the passes and along the beaches. Therefore we fish for them while we are fishing for snook, redfish, and trout. Now tackle buster are what these guys are, they will put you and your equipment to the max
 
Trout are feeding good and are really nice in size. We are catching trout on the flats and also on the edges of the flats and in the channels. Artificial and/or live baits along with popping corks is my favorite way to fish for trout. A lot of fish being caught with no problem catching a good mess for dinner.
 
Redfish are working the edges of rocks or around the oyster bars. I like to free-line pinfish or shrimp on an incoming tide. Artificial is good also, with my favorites being jigs. Most of the fish seem to be in the slot size, meaning you can take one home for some blackened redfish. So no matter whether you like to use live bait or artificial bait redfish can be a lot of fun to catch and also good to eat.
 
So come on and give us a call cause the fishing is good and a day on the water is great.
 
Capt Becky Campbell

 
 
 

             Fishing Reports --  WEST CENTRAL,  FLORIDA     (Back to top)

(For contact information, see the Charter Directory)  

Half Day and Full Day Fishing Charters

Backwater - Inshore
Nearshore

Eco & Photography Tours

Fishing - Sightseeing

Custom Charters

All ages welcome
Up to 6 passengers

REELIN  &  CHILLIN  CHARTERS  INC.

Captain Terry L. Frankford
USCG Licensed & Insured

 941-228-7802 

35 YRS EXPERIENCE FISHING IN SARASOTA 
AND BRADENTON 

Email Capt. Terry Frankford
 

Visit our website:

www.charterfishingsarasota.com 

 

Captain Terry Frankford    --   Sarasota 
Reelin & Chillin Charters Inc.

941-228-7802 ~ e-mail - terry.frankford@verizon.net

Fishing Report 11/09/2009 – Capt. Terry Frankford

Windy conditions made for some tough fishing, however with so many barrier islands in the Sarasota area I was able to find cover, and fish. Around northern areas of Siesta Key - south to middle Longboat Key were best during the North West blows. The shores of Sarasota's mainland from south Sarasota to south Bradenton we found calmer waters during the east blows, as well as near shore along the beaches. Snook, redfish, trout, flounder, shark, and spanish mackerel topped the list.

A Fish Tail aboard the Reelin & Chillin

With a low tide, and an easterly wind anglers of the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club and I headed out Sarasota's Big Pass south to Point of Rocks looking for Spanish Mackerel. Peter Paris, Joe Dovener, and Dick Barrett didn't waste any time getting into the mackerel. Non-stop action for two hours ended with the bite slowing down a little, and the last of twelve wire leaders biting the dust between sharks and mackerel. These anglers caught over thirty-five mackerel, Joe even picked up a nice King Mackerel. A few blacknosed sharks made it to the boat for release as well as several that just couldn't be stopped on light tackle. Joe had some additional luck after moving inshore landing a nice sixteen inch flounder.

Another windy day Alan, Debbie, and Brooke Riggs headed out for an afternoon trip. We hit several locations around Siesta Key finding some small redfish, and snapper. A couple nice trout were landed, however the trout are now out of season, and we did want a little dinner. With the winds gusting at 25mph, and the low tide, things didn't look to good for dinner. I decided to head for a deeper hole adjacent to a large flats area to see if maybe some reds were hanging around. Geez, I'm sorry, I just can't remember exactly were. Anyhow, first Brooke nailed a twenty-six inch red - then another - then another. Alan then landed a few with these two anglers ending up with around a dozen nice reds. They ranged from a couple undersized reds to a couple over sized reds with the rest in the slot. The law says one per person, that's all we kept of course - the rest were safely released.

Captain's Tip - Spanish Mackerel Gear & Rigs

I'm going to give you a run down of how I set up for a mackerel trip. I set up this way for the Spanish mackerel, and any by-catch that might be around like king mackerel, and sharks. You may have different brands, that's fine, I'm just letting you know what I use and why, you can of course adjust any way you wish.

Rod - Okuma Guide Select, 7'x 6" medium/heavy rod. Provides great light tackle action with enough strength for larger fish if necessary.

Reel - Okuma Inspira IA 45. Provides a larger spool to hold 150yds of 15lb test line, and still light enough to cast for long lengths of time.

Mono Leader - from the 15lb test line on the reel I tie using the surgeons knot a 4' piece of Berkly Big Game 40lb test mono.

Wire Leader - I make my own wire leader, here's how:

I start with a package of thin wire leader around 39lb test (yes 39 don't ask me why it's not 40). This wire found in your local tackle shop comes in a 200' length. The first thing I do is take the wire out of the package that is coiled up in a ring and cut through it at one spot. Now instead of having one two hundred foot single piece of wire I have a bunch of 20" pieces to make leader with. Saves a lot of time pulling the wire through two or three tie wraps and cutting each one individually. Using the "haywire twist" shown on the back of the package I wrap on a "size five" Fisher 90lb test barrel swivel on one end. On the other end an Eagle Claw 1/0 2X LONG hook. This leader of course gets tied to the 40lb test mono coming from the reel using a uni-knot.

The bait of choice is the scaled sardine - I have been able to net plenty along the beaches close to shore - just look for birds feeding. Live shrimp works also as a second choice.

Now I'm ready for almost anything - plenty of line on the reel for long runs from a surprise king mackerel, little tunny, or small shark. Forty pound test mono to prevent chaffing from the tail and body of these larger fish. A wire leader, and long shanked hook to get past the sharp teeth on these critters. Notice I said "ready for almost anything" this is because often something very large picks up your bait, maybe a blacktip shark or a 40lb smoker king mackerel. This is where you have an anchor with a fender buoy on the end that you can untie quickly and throw over and start chasing the fish all over the Gulf of Mexico. Trust me - it happens - it's a blast - plan for it.

Hope this helps you enjoy a great day on the water, Capt. Terry

Tight Lines & Good Times, Capt. Terry FrankfordReelin & Chillin Charters Inc.

941-228-7802

terry.frankford@verizon.net

www.charterfishingsarasota.com

 

 

 

Capt Rick Rodriguez
Gulf Grouper Deep Sea Fishing and  Dive Charters,  Hernando Beach, FL
(727) 992-9494                       Email:  gulfgrouper@tampabay.rr.com 


November 11, 2009

Hernando Beach Gulf Grouper Deep Sea Fishing Report

Unbelievable Gag grouper fishing west of Hernando Beach Florida.  We are having a great time catching Gag grouper this fall.  So many keeper size grouper being caught we have to stop at our limit and move on to other types of fishing.  Most of the common areas like the Tanks, Richardson Reef, Martins Reef, and the Concrete Ruble are holding a lot of Gag grouper.  Be prepared to use a lot of bait.  There are still thousands of short Red and Gag grouper in the area eating us up. It is not uncommon to catch over a hundred short grouper in a day and use fifty pounds of Threadfin Herring.  The only way to use less bait is to use cut up Grunts and Mullet.  Other fish that are around in great quantities are Spanish Mackerel, Kingfish, Bonita's, Amberjack, and Red Snapper.   The Snapper and Amberjacks are released since the season is now closed.   However they are a lot of fun to catch and release since they provide non-stop action due to their immense population. The Kingfish are here now and are scatted in all depths of water.  The closest Kingfish we caught lately was in 20 feet of water.  It hit knocker rig on the way up when an angler  was checking his bait.  To his surprise he had to hook the fish in the eye with his circle hook and was able to land the large King with a mono leader.  He was reminded by his fishing buddies to buy some lottery tickets after this great catch since luck was truly on his side that day.  Off-shore in 50 feet there are large schools of bait working their way south.   These schools of bait are under attack by Kingfish, Spanish Mackerel, and Bonita's.  Great trolling action for these fish with spoons, dusters on a plainer, and deep diving lures. Look for the birds diving and chasing bait near the surface.  These tell tale signs will keep you fishing were the fish are and hooked up.

Off-Shore Forecast:  Fishing of Hernando Beach is consistently very good and will always have grouper swimming around it's reefs for you to catch.  December is looking like it will be just as good as any other December in recent past.  Look for awesome big Gag grouper in shallower areas and ledges to eat larger cut up bait like Boston Mackerel, Mullet and Grunts. Same basic types of rock, ledges, and hard bottom areas will produce great numbers of fish.  Do not forget about the greatest fish to fry in the Gulf of Mexico the "Grunt".  Grunts are great to eat and are worth the effort to catch, fillet, and fry.  Recently some anglers brought back to memory how great a meal  grunt make.  They are easy to catch, plentiful, and will keep kids busy while you are working on catching the big grouper.

Capt Rick Rodriguez

727-992-9494

www.gulfgrouper.com

 
Captain Bob Smith  --  Sarasota, FL.
Tel: (941) 366-2159     
Cell: (941) 350-8583    E-mail:  capt.bobsmith@verizon.net


October 18, 2009
Sarasota Florida Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith

Finally some cooler weather is coming our way!  As we see the Gulf water
temperature drop, we should see the fishing improve.  When the water
temperature is in the low seventies, I think that is the best for all around
fishing.  For now, we have some seatrout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, Jacks,
ladyfish, and an occasional flounder in the shallow water on the Middle
Ground grass flats.  Live pilchards, shrimp and the DOA artificial 3" shrimp
are some of the baits that have been working well.

The best methods of fishing the grass have been free-line or popping cork
and drifting or anchoring or a little of both.  I like the Eagle Claw 202,
Size 4/0, Gold Aberdeen hook for fishing with live bait on the flats.  About
3 or 4 feet of 30 pound test clear mono leader on 10 to 12 pound test line
and you have a very good grass-flats rig.  Of course ultra-light and fly
also will work well, but you may need to upgrade your skill level.

We have had some slow days fishing lately, but on the whole, the summer was
good inshore and offshore.  More than I can say for the economy.

We should see the King mackerel start offshore this month and the pompano
and blue action should pickup on the bay.  Things start to happen when the
weather starts to change.

Enjoy & Protect
My Website: http//www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com


Thank you!
Capt. Bob Smith
Phone: (941) 366-2159  Cell: (941) 350-8583.
Email: capt.bobsmith@verizon.net
My Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com



 
 

               Fishing Reports  --  PANHANDLE  FLORIDA        (Back to top)

(For contact information, see the Charter Directory)

Book Me A Charter Guide Service Apalachicola, FL  

850-653-2622  -  email: info@BookMeACharter.com

 

August 28,2009
 

Planning a vacation to St. George Island, Cape San Blas, Mexico Beach or Port St. Joe this fall?

 

We'd love to hear from you, come join us!

 

 

Our early fall fishing season is just beginning, so far the fishing has been great for the past couple of weeks.  We couldn't have asked for better temperatures or fishing with evenings in the upper 60's and the daytime temperatures around 80-85.   One thing about cooling weather it brings cooling waters which in turn trigger the fish to begin feeding up for the upcoming winter season.

 

 

If you're thinking about vacationing on the beach sometime soon, this is the time of year to do so!  

 

The reason I love the fall- The rental rates are lower after Labor Day!  The beaches and shopping less congested (even in our busy season it's not really congested compared to other beach resort areas!)  The nights are cooler and days are still sunny and warm, last but certainly not least the fantastic fall fishing!  

  

Below a highlight of July/August Inshore and Offshore fishing photos... 

 
We are offering a September client appreciation discount if you'd like more information feel free to contact us.  Just mention the fishing report when making the reservation.
 

  Any of you that were fortunate to fish with us during the spring or fall fishing seasons in the past, know this is the time to go inshore fishing in the area.  If you've fished with us in the spring expect the same type fishing scenario as the fish feed up in preparation for the winter season.

 

We do have boats open and ready to go fishing this month.  With a little notice and some great weather we can get you out there for a wonderful day on the water with one of our native guides.  So if you find yourself in the area or planning a trip to the area and want to go fishing or touring give us a call.  

 

We would love to hear from you!

 

 

Sandra Allen
Book Me A Charter Guide Service
Apalachicola, FL 32329
(850) 653-2622

 


              Fishing Reports  --  CENTRAL FLORIDA           (Back to top)

(For contact information, see the Charter Directory)

 

 

            Fishing Reports  -- BAHAMAS & CENTRAL AMERICA         (Back to top)

(For contact information, see the Charter Directory

 
 
 
   

 

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