This month we had the opportunity to fish with some great families! Mostly inshore fishing, exploring the flats in Boca Grande and Lemon Bay. The Benisch Family from Colorado, had an exciting day on the water. Starting with some inshore and fly fishing, they had a great bite this week. Hooking into snook, snapper, sennet and even a gag grouper out of the mangroves! All of those species fly made for an exciting day. He was throwing a patterned fly that matches local bai

We made it though the storm with minor damages. Back on the water this week, finding that if anything has changed... its only gotten better! Bigger bait is moving in on the flats calling in the fish from all areas. The higher than normal tide is great for fishing under the mangroves. Captain Andrew Cast Netting Bait- Pictured Bait Maker Chum by Aquatic Nutrition Sport Fishing Chums Redfish are beginning to school up and will only grow larger in numbers as the month press

My guests today were excited to hook into their very first tarpon. We had a relaxing morning, fishing a few different schools along our beaches. There are less boats, less stress on the fish. A more peaceful sight casting environment. Anglers wait all year for calm waters when these silver kings begin to roam the sandy shorelines. It was a tough bite, plenty of fish to cast your crab at. None seemed interested in eating what we had to offer. Like any tarpon angler we pr

Richard Simms, is an outdoor writer and guide from Tennessee. We fished with him in the fall of 2016, he wrote a great article about our adventure on charlotte harbor. ( You can read it here ) I remember stopping to throw some bait busters at rolling fish in the harbor. He told how he's always wanted to land a tarpon. It was one of his bucket list fish, we made sure to get him on the books during tarpon season. Fast forward to this past week. We set out about 5pm, hop

This past weekend I had a trip with a close friend. We planned to scout out a few inshore spots and then check out the beaches and passes for tarpon. To our surprise they are here, and biting! The temperature is up and with a weak cold from rolling though on Friday it doesn't look like much will stall them out. Now we just have to get this wind to cooperate, looking forward to many more this season. I have limited Tarpon Fishing dates still available in April and May. C

Not often do charter guests end up in the water.... Captain Andrew is always looking out for angler safety. When catching a fish that weighs more than you, there is always a bigger risk factor. Best advice the captain gives to our guests, if they feel as if the fish is too strong or they need help to ask, or drop the rod and reel. We tie off our big game gear just in case of an emergency. Dustin found this out today while nearshore fishing for goliath grouper. Dustin was

Julie and her husband Todd set out for a day of inshore fishing. Snook was the most active today, eating free lined white bait on a small circle hook. They tagged the two largest catches of the day and even RE-Captured Tofu. This is the second recapture of this snook since his original tag in April 2016. We are working with Gray Fishtag Research to get some data together on this guy and it will be on their site with in a few weeks. Julie will receive a pair of Costa Sung

I had some great anglers this week. Inshore redfish and snook have been biting though the full moon. Our client caught a snook we previously tagged for Gray Fishtag Research. Full report will be up on their site in about two weeks. This is an exciting recapture showing that when handled properly juvinile snook can be caught and released with little to no damage. The tag was left in place during second release. Tarpon are sprawling out along our beaches making for a fun h

You never forget the very first time you hook into a tarpon. Rarely you hook, and land your first fish but today that's exactly what happened for our client Raygin. She hooked into this 100lb + fish on a live crab and 6/0 circle hook. This fish was full of energy giving everyone an aerial show as it jumped completely out of the water a few times. Raygin did a great job of bowing to the fish ( pointing the rod towards the fish) as it jumped trying to shake and throw the hoo

Sheila loves a good fight behind the reel. We knew she would love tarpon, when we had her out on charter for the second time the silver king is what we were after. We set out late morning and right away we spotted a pod of fish. Crystal clear water, and these fish were swimming all around and under the boat. An amazing sight. Clear water isnt always the greatest when your trying to trick a 100lb fish into eating a live bait with a hook hanging out of it. After only 20 m

Jimmy and Andrew joined us for a day of inshore fishing for snook. A saltwater species they had yet to catch. After battling a windy morning we found a quiet place to set up, by the afternoon everyone was hooking up on snook. It was great to see their excitement every time a line got picked up. They are featuring their trip on their YouTube Channels over the next few weeks! Check out their pages NoobAngler & RawrFishing. Today we were tagging ALL our snook for Grey Fish

Inshore Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande the bigger fish have been roaming around. Plenty of in slot redfish, snook and trout prowling around our local flats. White bait is first choice, pinfish and live shrimp are tied for a close second. Artificial has been working well in the morning. Popping cork and artificial shrimp for trout. Top water lure for snook and jacks. Larger trout have been attacking small pin-fish on a float. Redfish have been picky eaters but not pa

Inshore fishing just before this cold front hit with some great clients. The trout bite has been great, an easy limit for a fresh dinner. Trout are hanging out in our grassy flats of Boca Grande. They were biting on a mix of live bait, shrimp and small pinfish on a jighead. Switching it up to some artificial soft plastics and topwater plugs. Van pictured below with one of his trout catches. Redfish have been getting hooked on a similar setup. Live pinfish on a jighead

We are now taking reservations for the 2016 Tarpon season in Boca Grande Florida. Tarpon trips are April- Late June. Rise with the kings, experience an amazing sunrise on the water as pods of tarpon roll though. Cast your bait into a sea of tarpon and hold on, dont forget to bow! Captain Andrew provides all equipment. Rods, reels, and bait. Bottled Water and a cooler full of ice is provided. Pack a lunch, snacks and sunscreen. NO Bananas! FULL Day trips have the option

Full boat full of fun today. CHILLY temps, I'm tallking 40 degrees with the wind chill when we left the dock. We had some serious focoused fishermen with us today! Ann and Bob King from Setting the Hook Apparel, Robert Warner from Florida Fishermen and Venny Melton a hard core lady angler who wanted to hook into a goliath grouper for the first time. We pulled up to our location dressed more like we were going skiing than fishing. The heat was in the fish today. We wer

Raygin & Steve have fished with me for years. They have been traveling to Florida yearly for vacation. All those great times, and fun in the sun convinced them to buy a house right here in town. We took them out to celebrate becoming Florida residents and to explore the gulf of Mexico! Our local weather has been iffy. Day to day you never know what the gulf is going to look like. When we saw 2 feet or less on the NOAA forecast we set out towards the west. We couldn't

Remember Barry from a few posts back? Well he's join us again and this time brought friends. His sister Brittany and their friend Adam. They wanted to experience these HUGE fish for themselves. We set out on a windy morning. Wavy conditions, they were going to earn their sea legs today. Adam was up first. Barry was on deck helping him get the line in the right position. He yelled up to me that it was snagged. Knowing this area well, there aren't any snags. I pull

Christams eve on the water with Don, Patricia and Heather. We had an action packed day in the Gulf of Mexico. Don caught the first fish of the day, a blue runner. He was pretty surprised when I immediately put a 20/0 circle hook though it and sent it to the bottom. I told him we were going to upgrade him. Time passed and we hooked up to a few more nice catches. Big Mangrove Snapper, great to take home for dinner. Sharks started to come in when the jacks showed up. The

Barry and Cameron joined us on the water recently during Barry's Holiday break from college. Our first goal today was a goliath grouper. Barry had been unsuccessful at previous attempts and we wanted to make sure this trip was a success. We hooked Barry up to a nice live jack for bait and it was not longer than a few mins he had a bite. Right away we knew it was a good sized fish running and taking drag. Even breaking the 80lb billfisher rod during the fight, but the 600

Ty and his son Trey, came down from Tampa to spend the day in Boca Grande. They are experienced fishermen, and have a love for Boca as many of us do. They were interested in some Bowfishing and catching a Goliath Grouper. One of the most adrenaline filled trips we offer. Whats more exciting than shooting your bait with a spear and using it to catch a 100lb+ fish?! You couldn’t of asked for a more beautiful morning. We set out on the flat in search of our bait, stingray