This winter, the weather has not been our friend. We have been forced to cancel too many of our fishing trips because of cold temperatures, windy conditions or rough seas. But, some clients have opted to enjoy an afternoon or sunset cruise. Sure, we would all like to be offshore fishing, but when it isnt safe, getting out in the water is still better than going to the movies. As you can see from the photos, these folks are enjoying a leisurely trip down the ICW and a short run out into the Gulf to watch the sun dip into the sea. An afternoon cruise works well, too. If you have friends or relatives coming to town, a two-hour cruise is a nice way to spend the afternoon together. Give us a call and we can get you out on the water.

Dennis and Alex joined Jose and I for a 6-hour trip today. We started out trolling the John’s Pass channel which almost always produces a few fish. We got three Spanish, but only one was box-worthy. We trolled a few spots hoping for some more Spanish action but the fish had other ideas. We bottom fished a nice ledge and pulled in few grey snapper and then went over to the Egmont ship channel. We trolled the lower numbers and hit a nice pocket of bait which produced two nice kings and several bonita. One bonita got eaten by the first barracuda we have seen this year. The cuda was huge and took the lower half of the bonita in one spectacular bite. A good day was had by all-except that bonita!

Steve and his family braved the chilly weather and did a 3/4 day trip with Jose and I last week. They are from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so a little cold doesn't bother them too much. With a 3/4 day trip, we are able to go a bit farther offshore and fish some deeper waters which gives us a better chance at a variety of bottom fish. We came in with a nice fish box of good-sized gray snapper and sent them off to dinner with some really good-eating fish. We fished in 70 ft. of water about 20 miles offshore on good limestone bottom which produced many too-small red grouper, a gag and a scamp. we also caught several good-sized triggerfish, but they are out of season, so back they went. The triggerfish are great fighters and even out of season, they are fun to catch. The wind and seas were light on the day we were out, so we were in shirtsleeves after lunch. All considered, a good day on the water!

On Saturday, Jan. 7, we ventured out to one of the local artificial reefs and trolled around just to see if there might be anything still hanging around. Sure enough, we tied into a double-header hook-up on the second pass. Bonita are a fun catch because they really fight hard and are a good size to deal with; they are not much on the table, although i understand that if prepared right, they can be good. We caught three nice one in two passes, then the bite cooled, so we went off to bottom fish near by.

Today was our first day out since the Alberta Clipper moved through Florida over the Christmas holiday. With the cold front, the water temperature dropped to the low 60s in our area. This temp drop snuffed out Spanish mackerel and king mackerel activity likely until spring. So, today we went bottom fishing and caught a nice bunch of grey snapper. We also caught a bunch of too-small-to-keep red grouper. The grey snapper is one of the beat eating fish in Florida waters and are overlooked by many fishermen. During the winter months, grey snapper are one of the most reliable catches we can think of-plus, they are pretty easy to catch and fight like crazy!

The weather has been on-again, off-again, being sunny and 80s with light wonds for a few days and then the Alberta Clipper arrives again with 40 knot winds, temps in the 50s and rain. And then there is the red tide sweeping in killing dish qnd making it impossible to breathe. We were able to sneak in a 4-hour charter this week just before the bad weather and underneath the red tide. We fished about 5 spots near shore before we finally hit on the spanish bite at about 3:30. In an hour, we caught 15 good sized Spanish mackerel, then the bite turned off and the wind had picked up to about 20 kts. So we beaded for home. All in all, a good day!!