Fishing Reports

This has been the week we have been waiting for, the warm air, light winds and warm water have made for the best fishing of the year so far. The only drawback this week is we have slow tides, but that will change this upcoming week. I left the house early knowing it was going to be a beautiful weekend day, and the ramps would get busy fast. As I got to the ramp at Anclote River Park in Tarpon Springs I could see my thoughts were correct. It wasn’t real busy yet but for 6 am it was busier than usual. I got the boat in the water and decided to go to a different area for bait, as the flat I have been getting it at, I was sure would be covered up within the hour. I went to a small out of the way flat behind Anclote island and had it all to myself, and it took about 30 minutes to fill my well and that gave me time to do a little scouting before I had to meet my charter at the dock in New Port Richey.

Today’s trip was one I had to reschedule from January, Jessie has two daughters (8 and 10) so today’s weather was much better than the cold windy day a couple of months ago. As I pulled into the dock we got the charter started by taking a short run south to Gulf Harbors to fish some deep channel edges on the last of the outgoing tide. The girls started out catching some Mangrove Snapper and then a few Jacks came through and woke them up. It didn’t take long for the boat traffic of the weekend to push the fish down, so we decided to run to a hole I usually catch some nice trout out of. As we pulled up I could see mullet in the hole and new it would be good, this time of year whenever you get a school of mullet in the area your fishing there are going to be fish. The girls started out catching trout on just about every bait for 30 minutes, then Jess got in on the action and it was all I could do to keep the bait on the hooks.

The tide finally died off and we had a little while before we would feel the incoming so it was lunchtime, the girls had prepared a full picnic and even had a sandwich for me! After lunch we took a short ride north to a creek in Hudson that I had seen some snook in, the water was now moving in and I could see snook in front of the boat. I threw a few chummers in and they were immediately eaten, I love springtime. I told the girls the snook would pull harder than the trout, so be ready, they handled the fish like pros. Both girls caught 3 or 4 snook in the 20 to 25 inch and then it happened, the water parted and the drag started singing. I’m not sure what was louder the drag screaming or Cassidy, either way, the snook fought hard but was at boat side and posed for a picture before being released. It wasn’t the largest snook but it was the biggest one of the day and one I’m sure Cassidy will never forget.

After that we caught several more and called it a day, on the ride back I was amazed at how many boats were on the water, and after we got to ramp the parking lot was completely full, thank God it’s Monday tomorrow!!

Boom, and just like that it was spring again. It is always amazing to me just how fast the conditions change on our water. On Saturday the water temps were struggling to get above 52 degrees, and 5 days later we are sitting at 70. I had to work my tail off on Saturday to catch a handful of fish for my clients, today it was just stupid, every bait was devoured, and every spot was loaded with fish. It is just crazy how tough the fishing can be and how fast it bounces back. This is the main reason I always tell my clients if you’re going to be here for a week or so book more than one day, you won’t be sorry. 

I had a good feeling about today but man, I didn’t realize how good it was going to be. I had my clients meet me at the ramp this morning and go with me to catch bait. We arrived at the bait flat just as the dawn was starting to break, I started chumming and after 5 minutes or so decided to throw the net and see what we had. I was pretty confident after yesterday that bait would be easy today. My first throw yielded absolutely no sardines, not the start I was looking for. But I could see I was parked over a sand hole, so I moved about 20 yards and reset, the next throw was much better as I had 100 or so pilchards. I made 2 more throws and off we went to catch fish.

 We had about an hour left of a fairly low outgoing tide so I decided to start on some rock piles that have been holding trout, we caught a few but the tide stopped and so did the bite. I moved into a deep canal that I had seen some fish at yesterday and as soon as the tide started in the bite went insane, Snook, Trout, Jacks, and redfish all started feeding like they had never seen bait before. We sat on those fish until the bite finally died down, we then moved north to a small cut that I knew would have good current flow through it. We arrived just as the water started moving and again the bite was crazy, it was mostly snook here but we did get a few trout and several jacks. The Tide was ripping through the cut and as we free-lined the baits in, the fish seemed to be lined up and waiting for them. We had snook on three at a time for most of the time we were in this spot, nothing huge, but several in the 24 to 28 inch range. I’m sure once the water temperature rises another 3 or 4 degrees the big girls will be ready to play.

 We were getting close to the end of the trip so I told the group we would hit one more spot in the river that is notoriously full of jacks. As we set up I dropped in a few freebies and they were crushed almost immediately, we baited up and had a jack party with the rest of the bait.

It was a great day with great client who I know had a great time, the weather is set to only get better and with everyday for the next few weeks booked I am ready for some great fishing!!

Till tomorrow, tight lines

I’ve always heard “Be careful what you wish for”,  well I have been wishing for some warm weather and light winds. And today I got it, slick flat water and 68-degree air temperature. When I dropped the boat in the water it was 65 degrees, today was looking up for sure. My plan was to go and see if our supply of pilchards had returned, as I left the ramp I was the only boat there, I was optimistically hopeful about the crowds.

I put the boat on top and cruised to the bait flat, it was literally like a mirror. As I slowed down I was again the only one in sight, could it really be happening like this, time would tell. Now the only thing I had to hope for was to see the flash of silver in the chum, and to my delight, it only took about 5 minutes before that happened. The first throw had about 50 of the magical crickets in it and I was happy I would not spend my morning throwing the net over and over. As I was cleaning the boat up to get ready to meet my charter, the first boat finally showed up, but it would not be the last!

I left the flat and worked back to the dock to meet my charter for the day, Eric Is a great client and friend and I was looking forward to today’s trip. We were set up to meet at 9am and they were right on time. We loaded up and left the dock, the group was very excited to see that I had filled the well with shiny pilchards. Our first stop was a springtime spot that always loaded up with big gator trout when the conditions are right. Unfortunately, everything was right except for the water temperatures, we are still fighting cold water in a lot of places, and this was one of them. We gave it 20 minutes or so and decided to move back inland to find some warm water, as we were running across the flat I saw a very large school of very large fish. As we spun around and dropped the trolling motor I could see it was a bunch of BIG black drum, about 200 of them. Luckily I still had some shrimp in the live well, and while its not their favorite food, we were able to get 10 year old Hoog hooked up to about a 45 pounder that wore him out. We chased the school of drum around for about an hour and could not stay attached to another one. But it was very cool to see them roaming around the flat. We left the Drum to go get some Snook and Trout, we were able to get set up on a rock pile that was loaded with trout, but only a few of them were hungry. I was able to get everyone a few trout and off we went to find some snook. We decided to fish a dock with a lot of current and got set up and caught them two at a time until they decided enough was enough. We ended the day in a small creek where we could see Snook and Redfish swimming around, we set up and drifted some pilchards to them. The bites were almost immediately and after 4 or 5 of both species we decided to call it a day.

One thing is for sure, the empty boat ramps of the beginning of the week are only a memory. I do not want the cold and wind back, but maybe just enough to keep the boat traffic low. One thing to remember, we do have loads of bait but if the fish aren’t ready to eat it they wont, so you better have what they want. Time to load the boat and get it ready for tomorrow’s trip.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Finally, I arrived at the ramp this morning to see slick flat water and air temperatures in the 60’s. As I backed the boat in I had some time to look around as I was picking my clients up at their house on the water at 9AM. So off I went to see if any of our miracle bait (sardines) had started to show back up yet. The water temperature was still 60 degrees so I wasn’t very optimistic, but I had an hour to burn. I checked two very popular spots and there was not a sign of them, still too cold. So I used the rest of the time to find some new fish as I new with nicer weather the water would be packed soon, and the community holes would all be overloaded. I was able to locate some good numbers of Redfish, Black Drum, and plenty of Snook, which I new would not eat.

As I pulled up to the dock my clients were right on time and off we went. We had another very low negative tide, so I decided that we would do some dock fishing, as they wanted to catch some fish for dinner.  We worked our way deep into the canal system of Gulf Harbors to a dock that always holds drum, and sheephead. The bite started very slow, pretty much like every day this week but when the tide started back in the bite picked up enough to make a few of them eat. After we got dinner we decided to see if any of the Snook I had seen would like a big shrimp, I was not very confident but it was worth a try. Once we got set up I could see the snook laying in the current, but we still had 60 degree water, we drifted shrimp to them but the result was same every drift. The Snook would just move to the side and a smaller redfish or Mangrove snapper would inhale the shrimp. This was good action but we decided to move on to other chances.

By now the sun was up and the air temperature was closing in on 80, it was turning into a beautiful day and I knew what this meant, it would be very crowded from here on out. I started going to check on some of my out of the way spots, but we only had an hour or so before we were done. So we went out a drifted some deep cuts and caught some ladyfish to stretch the line and get some cut bait for tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I will be starting a little later and I am hoping the water will warm up enough to find some sardines but I will have shrimp until they show up. Time to wash the boat and prep the rods for tomorrow.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Finally, a day that wasn’t too cold to start with. However we did have the wind and very low water again, but ill take it because the wind was east and the tide was just starting to roll in and the boat ramp was empty again!

Today I would be fishing one of my best clients and a couple of his friends, they fish with me at least 4 times a month and it is always a good time with lots of joking and usually a lot of catching. Once we got loaded up and heading out the river I noticed that the water temperatures had risen to a balmy 59 degrees, not optimal but the warmest starting temps I’ve had all week. I decided to head out to Anclote Island with the negative low and good anglers I was hoping that the Trout bite might turn on. However the water was still a little too cold for anything great, we got a few to eat our jigs but all in all it was not what I had hoped for. We left the island behind and headed back to the mainland with the idea of hitting the back bays and creeks looking for some redfish, and anything else that wanted to eat some shrimp. On the way back across the intracoastal we had to go by the last flat that I caught Pilchards (Bait) at, I figured I would check the water temperature. It was not quite there yet but it is getting closer and with the warmth of the next few days we should get there.

After checking the flat we proceeded to the first creek to see what we could get, there is one dock on the creek and while it wasn’t loaded with fish we did catch redfish, mangrove snapper, and a flounder. The water was really moving good today as we are right on the full moon so we moved to a small cove that is very secluded and protected from the wind. As we worked our way in I noticed a large amount of mullet and a few redfish scampering away, I thought this was it, and it wasn’t a home run but we did catch 4 very nice redfish up to 30 inches.

We were on a bit of a time schedule so we decided to move and try one more cove, by now the tide had slowed and so did our bite. The last hole gave us a good mix of redfish, black drum, snook, and more snapper.

Tomorrow finally looks like the day that our water temperature will get back solidly in the 60s, and hold there. One thing is for sure when the bait returns to the flats, the fishing is going to get hot as the fish will be making up for lost time. I look forward to the big Snook, Gator Trout, and Cobia that are right around the corner. Of course I wont have the pond to myself once we get the fair weather but that’s okay, they got some catching up to do!

Till tomorrow, tight lines.

The calendar says its springtime, my book says its springtime perhaps someone should tell Mother Nature that it is springtime. I should have known today would be a struggle, first off the thermometer said it was 48 at 8AM, next I could still feel the North wind at my house (very protected), and finally we switched to daylight savings time, the time me and every other full time guide despise. But the show must go on and one of the benefits of Springtime is I am fishing everyday and it is easier to keep track of where and what the fish are doing. So as I drove to the ramp I was happy to hear that we would have east winds by noon, things are looking up.

I met my clients at the ramp at 9AM armed with an assortment of jigs and 100 of the prettiest shrimp a fish could want. As we eased away from the dock I noticed that the water temperature in the river was 56 degrees, not exactly optimal and the river was probably one of the warmest areas we would find today. My clients for the day just wanted to pull on some fish so that made things a little easier. We started in the Gulf Harbors canals that have deep water, lots of rock, and good current flow, all the things I was looking for except 70 degree water, but we did find some 60 degree water and caught Redfish, Black Drum, Ladyfish, and Mangrove snapper until the tide quit moving. The sun had actually come out so I was hoping we might get a little bit of a warm up, but with the north wind we had another giant negative low so the incoming water from offshore kept the chilly water in place.

There is only one real problem with low cold water, if forces everyone to fish together as there is not any water on the flats. This wouldn’t be a problem if our water temperatures were closer to 70 as the fish would be scattered on the flats, and with the boats I fish out of I can get to there when most can not. But the temps are 60s and to make it worse it’s the weekend! Well we bounced from spot to spot, with really no plan just looking for an open hole. The good thing was we were able to put together a pretty good catch and keep the rods bent most of the time.

We finally got to the highest part of the tide around 1:30 and it wasn’t very high. I told my crew we were going to try to get into one more spot, so I jacked it up, trimmed it up, and let her eat, and we made it across a flat that kayakers wouldn’t try. It dose help to have 40 years of experience at times. Once we got in the hole we were rewarded with a good bite of nice Black Drum, and small Redfish. My clients were happy and it was a great end to the day.

We will see what tomorrow brings as the forecast is shaping up and the wind is shifting to a favorable fetch. I have one of my best clients tomorrow so either way it will be a great day.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Just when you don’t think it can get any worse, be careful what you wish for. Yesterday looked like a banner day compared to this morning’s weather, but you don’t know if you don’t go. With the air temperature in the low 40’s I decided we would let the sun get up before we embarked on today’s trip. The wind had not let up from yesterday at all, but it had clocked around to the north some. I knew this would mean a giant negative tide and plenty of exposed flats, thus trapping any fish in the nearby holes and troughs. It was a good plan in my mind, however, when we got halfway to our destination I could see solid muddy water and 2 to 3 foot swells with lots of white. I asked my clients if they were game and they were, I wish they had said no! After a 10-minute hell ride we arrived at the first hole only to find 50-degree water temperatures, it always amazes me how fast our water cools off. I knew immediately that this plan was a bust, but we had made the ride so we gave it a try. After 30 minutes, a couple moves, and several casts, we had zero bites, so I informed my crew we were going back through the washing machine to find some warmer and protected water in the river.

This would have been my first plan if it weren’t for the giant low tide making me think we would have no water in the river and trapped fish waiting in the holes. Well at least it didn’t take me all trip to figure that out, and once we got in the river it instantly got better for just the mere reason of less wind and warmer air. We planned to fish some spring-fed bayous and deeper docks as the water was coming in at a good clip. We arrived at the spring to find birds working, mullet flipping, and 64-degree water. We got warmed up with some ladyfish and Jack Cravelle, both were a welcome sight I can assure you. After the spring bite, we decided to see if we could find some Redfish or Black Drum hanging around any of the docks. We stopped at 3 or 4 docks before we found one with a 40-foot boat a good depth, which was holding a good bunch of just what we were looking for. The Redfish were not very big but the Black Drum were all 3 to 5 pounds and pulled like trucks in the deeper water. We even managed to get a couple of very nice Sheepheads although it took some practice to hook these bait stealers.

All in all, what started as a day I wasn’t sure we would even get in turned out to be a very good and more important comfortable day. One thing is for sure if the temperature in the morning is chilly and the North wind is blowing, I’m positive I will not be lured into the hope that fish will be stacked in the holes this time!

Till tomorrow tight lines.

What a difference a day makes, yesterday we were greeted by 25 MPH South winds, high humidity, and fairly hungry fish. Today was 25 MPH North West winds low humidity and very uncooperative fish. None of this was a surprise as the weatherman actually got this one right, and I had already let my client for today know that we would reschedule to a better day, and had my day off all planned. And then my phone rang, it was a short conversation with a very determined angler that had his offshore trip cancel due to weather. It took some talking but he was able to talk me into giving it a try, and trust me it took some talking.

We met at the ramp at 7AM and there was already I stiff “breeze” out of the worst direction we can have it, NW. I once again warned that these were not optimum conditions for what we were going to do, but they insisted. So off we went to find some sheltered water with good tidal flow, and hungry fish…no problem. Well after two or three spots and two catfish we started to see the picture, however after 25 years I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. The water temperature was still 68 so I decided to try and catch some bait, It was blowing almost 30 by now and the water looked like chocolate milk but sardines have a good nose. We arrived at the flat I have been getting bait on and immediately saw no birds, no porpoise, and white caps, not what I was hoping for. I started chumming and threw the net, and to my surprise I saw silver, not a lot but enough.

So with our new bait I decided to change it up and fish some windy points, which were not hard to find. We caught a few Jack Cravelle and then had a big hit that we never turned, not sure what it was but I think a shark came though as the bite stopped on a dime after that. Unfortunately, that would be the best bite we had all day, most everywhere else we stopped and tried to fish was muddy or just to much wind.

The best part about today was I got to fish with Al and Craig two new clients on my boat that I would have not met if the weather had stayed nice. We had a lot in common as they are from New Hampshire and do a lot of hunting, We had a lot of time to talk about the hunting we have done in between bites. As I had warned, and I think they knew, the bite was slow. We did manage to catch a couple of nice redfish and the sun warmed it up to make it a pretty nice day.

Looks like we’re going to cool down tonight so tomorrow’s trip will have Shrimp and Jigs on the menu. Hopefully we get a little reprieve from the wind, but it will stay north so I will be doing one of my favorite things, fishing the potholes on a big negative tide!!

Giddy up,

As I put the boat in the water this morning, I could feel the breeze blowing from the south. But as most in this industry know a south wind in the Spring is a very good thing. I was soon on my way to gather bait for my clients and I noticed one thing that was very strange for this time of year… I was all alone, just me at the ramp, just me idling out the river, and just me throwing the net for bait, It was a great morning.

As I stated before, I could feel the south wind, and as I broke the river I could feel it and see it. As I made my way south I could see pelicans diving and turns circling and figured bait was thicker today than it was yesterday. And the birds didn’t lie, I wasn’t easy but I had plenty of bait in short order today. As I started back to meet my clients for the day I could see schools of Jack Cravelle roaming the flats looking for food, all of these signals told me that it was a Spring day today!

I had a pretty solid game plan for my trip today and as I picked up my clients I could tell they were ready to get after it. Chris and his girlfriend Patty (who was a first timer to inshore fishing) got on the boat and we started catching fish right away. First were some Mangrove Snapper, Jack Cravelle, and Spanish mackerel, we bounced around fishing several rock points and channel edges on the big incoming tide we were getting. When Patty said she had the hang of casting and fighting the fish, we moved on to look for the bigger stuff. We moved to the north end of Pasco county to a creek that has some holes and bends in it, the fish have been lying in these holes waiting for the current to bring them a tasty treat or two. We got set up and drifted baits back with the current, almost immediately Patty’s bait was crushed by something large. It took off like a bullet and made several hard runs, we got it right to the boat and could see it was about a 30 inch Redfish, but that is as close as he would let us get, with a shake of his head he won his freedom. I will tell you this, the reason we as guides do this is because of the sheer excitement of someone catching a fish like that for the first time. We stayed in the creek and caught a bunch of big Sea Trout, some small Snook, and a few more Redfish, but none like the one that got away.

By now the wind was whipping up pretty good so we hit one more protected spot in the river and were able to boat a few more small Snapper and some nice Black drum. We ended the day with lunch at one of our waterside restaurants and Patty said she was ready for more, I’m sure Chris was very happy to hear that!

Not sure what tomorrow will bring as we have another small front coming through tonight, but I’m sure we will find something to stretch our lines.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

This week has started out on the cold side but has quickly warmed up, and we are again hopeful that springtime is here. I started the week filming with Capt. C.A. Richardson for his TV show “Flats Class TV”. We were able to put several nice Trout and Redfish on film but just couldn’t convince the snook to eat with the chilly water temperatures. We were at a disadvantage though….we were trying to fool them and not feed them. Meaning we were using artificial lures to catch our fish not live bait.

After two fun days actually getting to fish, today was back to reality and I was working to find fish for my clients. I had one of my longtime clients and his wife on the boat today, the weather was great low 80’s and sunny sky’s. I was able to secure a few different types of bait because I wasn’t sure what the fish would want to eat as the water temperatures are still in the mid 60’s. We started the day throwing shrimp and sardines in to a large pothole that was loaded with Trout and Snook, the Trout responded well with several fish over 20 inches coming to the boat. However the snook, with the colder water would not commit and all we could do is look at them. As the day progressed the water began to warm and we found some very excited Jack Cravelle swimming across some shallow grass and warmed up the drags on the reels for an hour or so. My client Anthony asked if we could target something for the table so off we went into the back country. This is a very normal request, but our area of the west coast of Florida is under a no take order for Snook, Trout, and Redfish, so this is not as easy to fulfill as it would be. Luckily for me our coast is loaded with Black Drum, basically the cousin to the Redfish, and a very good eating fish.

The wind had begun to really blow so moving into some protected water was a good idea. We found a small bayou that was protected from the wind and just happened to be loaded with the tasty drum. Black drum are by no means fish eaters, but they love shrimp and I just happened to have a well full of them to. I’m not sure how many we caught but three 24 inchers went in the well for dinner, and the rest got a free meal and some exercise for their trouble. The good thing about the water temperature in the 60’s is that it’s cold enough to keep the fish in the warm pockets, but warm enough to make them want to feed. This means when you find one of these pockets they are usually filled with several types of fish, and the pocket we were in was loaded, along with the Black Drum we caught Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Mangrove Snapper, and Jack Cravelle.

Were ended the day looking for a school of redfish I had found the day before filming with C.A. We located them but with the wind blowing right on them they were not very cooperative, we were able to get a Jack Cravelle to eat one of our baits but the Reds just wouldn’t stay put.

With the south winds blowing it is only a matter of time until our water hits the magical 70 degree mark. Until then its time to clean the boat and get ready for tommorows trip.