The heat and humidity are obviously back with a vengeance and I've already had causality's aboard my boat. Nothing terminal yet, but when new clients from Connecticut got onboard this past Tuesday morning, the first thing I noticed was their snow white tans and sweat drenched faces. It was ...
For the inexperienced tarpon angler, there are some basic tools that should be onboard: pliers, various hook-outs, lights, gloves, shin and knee protection, a helmet and change of clothes.If you've never experienced a hundred pound-plus, green and mean, adrenalin pumped tarpon jumping in your boat during a fight, then you probably can't understand the need for tactical protective gear.Met a nice couple last night that was fishing off Sanibel with the rest of the fleet last May when they had a big one simply free jump into the boat breaking the windshield while ejecting rods and coolers ...
Sometimes Neptune smiles, and grants anglers and guides lucky lifetime memory days on the water. This past Tuesday was one of those days when a client, 15-year-old Timmy Tyree and his father, Bob, had a banner day starting with Tim hooking and releasing a 75-pound class before dawn tarpon on a soft plastic swimbait. Avid bass anglers, this was their first saltwater fishing experience."Skinny Timmy" and the tarpon were about the same size, so it was quite a battle highlighted with some serious near-boat high-flying launches, which young Tim commented on, every seven minutes, for the next ...
For Florida anglers that enjoy throwing hard lures at local snook, reds and seatrout, manufacturers have provided a huge variety of new hard baits to pick from.Stopped in at Capt. Robs Bait and Tackle on Del Prado Boulevard to look for a new rod and was impressed by the store's well organized bright new look and great selection of baits and tackle. (Always friendly advice, well stocked and worth a visit)What really caught my eye were more new lures from Rapala. Their Coastal Series suspending twitch baits, like the X-Rap Series Twitchin Mullet #8 and the newer and smaller #6 have been ...
Offshore trips this past Wednesday produced bountiful mixed catches. A three-party group from Ocean City, Maryland, led by white marlin angler Capt. Tony, had a great afternoon catching a boatload of red grouper up to 14 pounds along with nearly 50 various snapper species.Tarpon are here big-time, showing up in all the time-tested locations and can be caught using a variety of methods from bottom fishing to throwing topwater lures at rolling fish or feeding fish.When you see them roll on the surface, are they moving quickly in one direction as a group covering water? They are obviously ...
For new nightshift tarpon anglers wanting to challenge the silver king using lures at night, it's time to make it happen.Location? It's no secret that bridges host tarpon 24/7, but especially at night.Why? Bridge pilings provide a break from the fast flowing current for baitfish, crabs and shrimp concentrating the tarpon's meal into predictable locations. Bridges with lights draw baitfish and predators, not only tarpon but huge snook, grouper, sharks, even cobia.The Cape Coral Bridge usually gets the most night press but at one time or another every bridge and RR trestle from the Sanibel ...
