October has flown by with many great catches and memories made on the water. Inshore fishing has been incredible over the last few weeks. Ive been seeing plenty of BIG fish as well as our average size juvenile species. This is a great sign for our fishery. Small steps in rebounding from the tragic red tide event. We are still reporting CLEAN water in our area this week, and FWC red tide testing confirms our area was negative in recent testing. Darin pictured with a 41 inch snook. WOAH! Cooling temps and abundant bait in the area has our inshore species FIRED UP! Monster snook are prowling the flats and red drum are schooling in Gasparilla sound and Charlotte Harbor. Looking for dinner? We have plenty of inshore edible species, such as mangrove snapper, trout, triple tail and cobia!

This species frequents the Gulf of Mexico in our fall/ winter months. They like to hide under floating structure and dock pilings. A fun sight cast as these fish are aggressive eaters attacking what floats or swims by in the current. It is a favorite for the dinner table. Tagged and released a few today. Remember if you recapture ANY of the species we’ve tagged and report your recapture to Gray FishTag Research and they will rewarded with a pair of FREE Costa Sunglasses! All in the name of fish science! To book a charter to catch a few of these tasty triple tail book your trip online now! My calendar is updated daily.

Heading into fall the bigger fish are still biting. Goliath grouper have been making anglers leave with lower back pain all week. Fishing mostly nearshore anglers have had the opportunity to hook and land multiple fish. After breaking countless store bought fishing rods on these massive grouper, I decided to have a custom rod built. Local rod builder "Reaper Rods" did a fantastic job building a tough and possibly indestructible rod. It is an unlimited class blank ready to take on the toughest fish on the wreck.

The hot story of the week? Eclipse fishing! It was another hot day here in SWFL. The fish did not seem to be effected by the rare event. Met Cameron at the dock, loaded with bait by 730am. Guests had a great morning catching snook, mangrove snapper and trout. Talk about bringing home a fresh lunch! September 1st begins snook season. Slot size is 28-33 inches. For this species, our vessel is catch (tag optional) and release. As we believe it's much better for our fishery and future generations to let these fish go. In the fall larger snook move into the back country from their nearshore spawning locations, where they have spent a large part of summer. They are following bait schools and other food moving inshore. Hiding in the shadows ready to ambush that pilchard as it swims by. An exciting catch and release, like a tarpon a snook gives powerful runs and arial action. After a morning of catching juvenile snook and trout, Cj (pictured) landed this 40 inch snook on live bait. Contact me today to schedule your fall inshore fishing trip!

Many anglers have been on the search for Snook and Redfish. Never heard of them? They are a common saltwater species and a popular inshore catch in Florida waters. These fish are a tough fight on light tackle. You can increase your hook ups by appealing to their senses. Snook are an opportunistic feeder, chasing down your pinfish or lure. While redfish (red drum) feed similar to a carp, as they are in the drum family. They enjoy crustaceans ( shrimp and crab ) as well as cut and live bait. During my charters we use a little bit of everything, until we see what they are eating that day. I've been working with Penn Fishing to product test some up coming reels! Ladies aboard have enjoyed fishing with the Penn Passion Combo for the last month. Don't let the pink color fool you. These reels have a full metal body, 5+1 sealed stainless steel ball bearing system, HT-100™ carbon fiber drag washers and stand up to some tough fish! Sizes range from **hidden content**. Look for them online in stores Fall 2017 Nearshore the snapper bite has been very productive. These trips are weather dependent ( seas 2 feet or less in the NOAA forecast) They are priced the same as inshore. Mangrove, lane and vermillion are the most common species. Depending on water clarity you can get these fish so charged up they will come up to the surface in your chum slick by the hundreds. I use a chum called "snapper up" for this exact reason. Chumming them to the surface increases your chances to get your fish to the boat. Snapper are notorious for breaking you off in reef structure once hooked. A delicious catch to bring back to the dock. Fish them on live bait or artificial. Other fun summer nearshore catches biting this week are spanish mackerel and barracuda. Last but not least the Goliath Grouper! We fish this species year round but find they are most active during summer months as they enter their spawning season. Dan ( pictured ) had a blast nearshore hooking into his first reef monster. These gentle giants are a fun catch for any angler who wants to feel a serious PULL! Talk about heavy line, I use 600lb Bullbuster Line to catch these. Contact me today to set up your fishing charter. Select days available thought the end of August and September.

The Vestal family joined us for a day of fun in the sun! Goliath grouper was the goal of the day and these fish made it look easy at first. Hooking up right away ( with in the first 10 mins) to a 300lb+ fish. Better than coffee to wake you up in the morning. After that the bite slowed as the tide slacked and we decided to switch things up and move into the Gulf of Mexico. A bit wavy out there but everyone toughed it out for some BIG fish! Catching three more Goliath Grouper while nearshore. There were other catches too, Jack Crevelle, Barracuda and Spanish mackerel were swarming this reef. Just as we called 20 mins left in the trip I heard a commotion behind the boat. A giant hammerhead was eating our shark bait! While this was happening the kids hooked up to a goliath grouper and barracuda! Craziest triple hook up to date. As we cleared the lines one by one we moved Dad up to the fight chair. Just in time too, there was about 3 wraps left on the reel before this shark would of spooled us. Thats how fast a hammerhead swims. We were able to get this fish boat side after about 45 mins, de-hooked and swam off strong. Check out the video clip of this incredible ocean predator!