24 inch gag grouper

I fished with Matt and his girlfriend Jess this week. We were blessed with calm seas and great gag grouper fishing. The action was great starting at 3.5 miles. We caught several nice grouper to 27 inches using a live pilchard on a chicken rig. We also had good snapper action using the same bait on a smaller hook. The nearshore action should hold through the spring. With the Gag grouper being out of season for the last several months the big fish are really stacked up.

I fished with Gary and his friend this week. We had some gag grouper action right away and then we moved into the back and picked off some jacks, snook and snapper. The water has been abnormally warm this winter making the fishing great on some days and tricky others. The action has been best fishing live pilchards rigged on a chicken rig offshore and fished free-lined in the backwaters.

The weather has finally begun to cool off setting up a true winter patter here in Naples. The trout fishing has been very good lately with a D.O.A cal hardly being turned down. There are still quite a few bonita around but they have been difficult to catch most days because are feeding on fast moving ballyhoo. Snapper are still biting good but the gags have filled in heavily on the nearshore ledges making snapper fishing extra exciting. Book your fishing trip today.

Thad with a nice trout

The trout fishing has been getting strong as the weather finally cools down. My clients have been trowing jigs and shrimp and producing nice catches of trout and pompano. On the right tide the redfishing has also remained good. Shrimp under a popping cork has been key for redfish. Nearshore there is still a good snapper bite in place but the gag grouper are starting to move on the ledges. Gag grouper are hard fighting and aggressive but are currently out of season unfortunately. Shrimp has been the best bait for fishing this week so far.

This december has been extremely warm. The snook fishing has still been good along with redfish trout and pompano. Live whitebait fished near the mangroves under a popping cork has been the ticket. The nearshore action has also remained strong with bonita, triple tail and snapper still eager to bite. If the warm trend continues the fishing will remain strong. On a side note the docks at night have been loaded with tons of snook.

Fall fishing here in Naples is at its peak. There are plenty of snook and reds around as well as some very nice sea trout. A mix of whitebait and live shrimp fished under a popping cork have been very effective. Above is a nice trout Gene caught on an afternoon outing in the mangroves. Hope to fish with you soon!

Over my years as a guide, one of the most rewarding parts of my career is sparking someone’s interest in fishing, especially big game fishing. When I first meet Sandra, I was impressed by her eagerness to catch the biggest gamefish Naples, Florida had available  (Tarpon) even though she only had one day of experience. Her skills at first were shaky at best and her adrenalin only amplified her mistakes. But, after Sandra boated a few tarpon she settled down, started taking my instructions (reel, reel, reel, reel, reel!) and quickly became an expert angler in just a few days. Sandra had an immediate interest in chasing something bigger down, so her quest began. Sandra set out and broke the IGFA Royal Billfish Slam in 48 days and 12 hours. This is no small feat as it requires so many factors to fall into place to accomplish. Sandra caught one or more of the following : Blue marlin Pacific, Blue marlin Atlantic, Black marlin, White marlin, Striped marlin, Spearfish, Sailfish Pacific, Sailfish Atlantic, Swordfish. I can’t help feeling a sense of pride for what Sandra has accomplished.

Congrats again!

I fish for tarpon here in Naples, Florida with two great clients this week. We found great action both days with the tarpon fired up and, feeding on mullet. We caught one fish the first morning with a couple other bites mixed in. The second day we found even more fish and hooked a double within the first 5 minutes. The guys fought and landed both fish the one above took and hour to subdue. The action is great book your fishing charter today.

I fished last week with Bob, Gary and Frank. We intended to fish for tarpon first thing in the morning but oddly found no action. i decided to take them for redfish instead as the action has been great. We fished a few outside points on a shoreline and found plenty of action. The guys wound up with a limit of redfish including Gary’s nice 27 incher above. Don’t miss the fall fishing action here in Naples.