Category Archives: Charter Boat

October Redfish

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“This one’s only a baby!”

How many times have you been able to say that in all honesty while fighting a 12 lb redfish? Well, hitting the marshes of Louisiana during October, you can. I joined Captain Greg Moon of Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters for a 4-day trip to the marshes during some prime October fishing. As luck seems to have it with me, weather would not be friendly for the whole trip. A front moving after the first night in was predicted to whip up winds too strong to fish, so we had to make the good weather on day 1 count since it looked like it would be the only day I’d get to fish.

Fish on the flats

Look carefully at this picture. Every light marking in the water is a fish. This particular school was heavy on the black drum, but had plenty of redfish mixed in as well.

This time of year, the fish school up like crazy. And I’m not talking like in South Carolina where you’re getting schools of 5 pound fish. I’m talking about the big boys and girls. Your average fish is in the twenty pound range. Acres of fish, too. Some schools, like the one pictured, were heavy in black drum, but still had plenty of redfish mixed in. Others schools were predominantly redfish. The schools had one thing in common though – they were HUGE. Acres of fish.

Redfish on the MarshThroughout the day, we stopped counting the fish I caught, but it was somewhere in the ballpark of 20-25 redfish and two black drum. I only caught two fish all day under 20 lbs. The average fish was in the mid 20-lb range, with a few creeping close to 30 pounds. There were definitely some 30+ pound fish in the schools, but I missed my shot on them or had a smaller one take it away. Towards the end of the day, I even stopped casting to fish that didn’t have a shot at going 30+. To put it bluntly, this was the single best day of fishing I have ever had in my life. I know if the weather would have held, I would’ve found my 30 lb fish over the next several days. Look below for the rest of the pictures from the day!

Ready to book? Good luck! October dates book up WELL in advance. In fact, Greg already has all of October and most of November 2016 booked already, so check out 2017. Don’t fear, though – the entire year has fantastic fishing! Give Greg a call at (702) 497-1673. Additional contact information is on his website. Don’t forget to check out his photo gallery for some seriously amazing pictures of fish his clients have put in the boat. Half day trips run $475 for up to 2 people, and full day trips go for $600. Once you go, come back and leave a review!

Big school of redfish

Big school of redfish

Beautiful shot of a tail on the release

Beautiful shot of a tail on the release

Nice action shot

Nice action shot

Black drum on the fly

Black drum

Redfish on the fly

One of many redfish

Redfish release

Redfish release

Redfish on the fly Redfish on the fly

The Ghosts of Redfish Past

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Ever since my first trip down to Louisiana to fly fish for some of the giant redfish, I haven’t been able to get those pigs out of my mind. I think redfish, sleep redfish, and, well, eat redfish. Luckily, I get down to New Orleans quite a bit and always try to tack a day of fishing onto my trip. But just one day was never enough. Getting great weather on any one single day isn’t a guarantee, and even if it is great, the day goes by WAY too fast. So, I booked a three day trip back down to the marsh with Captain Greg Moon of Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters.

As it turns out, three days isn’t enough either. I booked this past weekend almost one year ago. September and October is historically some of the best weather and fishing conditions you can get, so those months are often 100% booked six months or more out. The best tide days can book more than a year in advance. Of course, booking that far in advance, you have no idea what the weather will be like and if you’ll have seasonally unusual conditions. It didn’t cooperate.

Day 1

The forecast called for high winds and an 80% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. To top it off, the marsh had been dealing with high water conditions for almost the entire month of September. Nonetheless, Greg said we’d be able to get out there.

Morning time came, and we hit the launch, greeted by the predicted high winds and overcast skies. We ran out to where Greg thought the water would be the cleanest and we’d have a little protection from the wind. Not too long after we get out there, we see some fish working, but I couldn’t deliver the casts. Battling the wind and low visibility from the cloud cover made fishing a challenge. A few giants came and went, ignoring my inaccurate casts.

Greg finds me a medium sized fish that was eating and happy, and I finally deliver a decent cast that the fish sees. It chases down the fly as I’m stripping it back to the boat. Just as the fish lunges to eat, I snag a small piece of marsh grass, tricking me into thinking that was the strike. I strip set, only to realize I hadn’t connected and simply pulled away the fly from the fish.

Close to noon, we see a tail waving at us from 100 yards away. We both knew this fish was a monster. We worked the boat closer and closer, Greg doing everything he could to keep the boat on the flats in 20-plus knot wind. The tail looked to be the size of a dinner plate. I got the line ready as we slid into position. This fish was as happy as could be. I knew if I can drop the fly in the right spot, I’ll be battling a 35 pound redfish.

I double haul and shoot the line out. The wind carries my fly about 4 feet left. I pick up and cast again with the same result. One more pick up, but I compensate for the wind this time. I drop the fly, and the wind dies, leaving my fly 4 feet right. One more pick up and lay down, and the tail disappears. I blew it.

We stayed out another 20 minutes or so as the wind kept picking up even more. Finally, we had to call it a day. Casting was near impossible, and holding the boat in position was even more of a chore. The giants evaded me today, but I still had two more days.

Day Two

I wake up at 5 AM to get ready. Ten minutes later, I see my phone light up from Greg. It’s the dreaded call. Winds are even crazier, and water levels are a foot higher than the already high water levels. Rain was certain, too. Greg said he’d take me out if I wanted, but recommended we save up for tomorrow. While you never want to lose a day fishing on your trip, it’s a sign of a great and ethical guide to not take you for an expensive boat ride in crappy conditions with little chance to catch fish.

I hit the hay for a few extra hours of sleep before waking up, watching some football, and grabbing a couple beers and raw oysters.

Day Three

My last day on the marsh was shaping up to be a little better. The forecast called for the clouds to clear and the winds to lay down. We couldn’t shake the high water though. No one is really sure why the water won’t fall. According to the local guides, the only time you see water levels like that is right after a storm – which they didn’t have. But, we were still going to make the best of it.

The morning started off with a few clouds and still a pretty good breeze, but definitely fishable weather. With the high water, fish were more spread out with more places to find food. Most of the fish were laid up on the bottom. Since the water wasn’t gin-clear yet, the low light made it tough to spot most of them until you’re on top of them. My sweet spot for casting on the mark is 30-50 feet – we were getting 10 foot shots at best. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried casting an weighted fly accurately with little more than a leader, but it is not easy.

I get a shot at a 20 pound fish. Stripping the fly, I can tell it was just far enough outside the fish’s strike zone for it to ignore it. Out of nowhere, a decent slot redfish nails the fly. I put it in the boat, happy to have the skunk off my back for the trip.

The clouds finally start to part, giving us some much needed light. It was still tough seeing some of the laid up fish, but at least we had more shots from more reasonable distances.

We still hadn’t gotten the giant I was hunting. Greg found me another, but I just never saw the fish. It’s pretty amazing how a 40 inch fish can be completely invisible to someone 30 feet away. I put several more slots in the boat over the rest of the day, but that would be last giant fish we’d have any opportunity to catch. One more bull made an appearance, but disappeared before we were in casting distance.

Even though I didn’t get the trophy I was after, I still had a blast. The weather didn’t particularly cooperate, but that’s part of fishing. The difference between a good and great guide is in how he handles the situation. With the high water and tough weather, many guides would either call it, or give up before the day even started. Greg dealt with what he could control – reading the conditions, finding the fish, and positioning the boat for me to get a shot – in the best way possible and gave me as many opportunities to catch a fish as possible. I have learned my lesson though. Next year, I’m doing four days.

If you want to fly fish for some trophy redfish on the fly rod, there’s no better place than the marshes of Louisiana. If you go, look up Greg Moon and let him know we sent you. After you go, come back and leave a review for Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters!

Offshore Fishing Aboard Bouncer’s Dusky 33

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Snowstorms, frigid temperatures, torn up roads, and sluggish fish. That’s the best of what Washington, DC has to offer in late February. It has been a long winter, so the obvious solution was swinging down to Miami to visit my friend from college, Kyle. We booked an offshore trip with Captain Bouncer Smith aboard Bouncer’s Dusky 33. I have always heard such great things about Captain Bouncer, I had to get out fishing with him.

Our day started off with us running a couple minutes late to pick up some sunscreen. Josh, the mate, greeted us and loaded our lunches onto the boat. Captain Bouncer, told me that my sunscreen would be left behind. It was Banana Boat. No bananas on the boat! I guess that’s what happens why you try to get your supplies minutes before the trip. Luckily the Captain was well stocked up with sunscreen for us to use anyway.

Fire Boat

We push off and start making our way off the docks. It doesn’t take long to add more excitement, and we haven’t even wet a line yet. We see a thick plume of black smoke up on the harbor. A sailboat was on fire! Captain Bouncer called it in, and we raced over to the scene to observe and ensure everyone was safe. Luckily, no one needed additional assistance and the fire boat was right behind us, and we got to witness the water cannons at work. After a couple minutes of gawking, we went on our way to catch bait.

Bouncer got us to the bait marker, showed us the proper way to fish the sabiki, and set us on the first drift. Nothing. Second drift, Kyle pulls up a herring. A couple more drifts, and Kyle pulls in one or two, and I don’t even get so much as a nibble. Captain Bouncer demos it again, and gets nabbed immediately. Kyle pulls up another. Bouncer pulls up a double. Kyle pulls up a double. I pull up nothing. The good-natured ribbing begins. I can’t even catch myself bait – how the heck am I going to catch something worthwhile?! Finally, after about 15 herring and pilchards were in the boat, I got my first one. That didn’t ease the ribbing though. We kept bringing in the bait with Kyle often getting a double and the occasional triple. Finally with the livewell full, we reeled in the lines and headed off to the fishing grounds. Kyle easily doubled my numbers, and didn’t let me forget that. Oh well. I guess that just makes him the Master Baiter.

Bouncer brought us a little further south than usual in search of “clean” water – and he sure found it. The beautiful deep blue water looked like something out of a painting. Combine that with the beautiful warm weather and very light seas, and it was a fantastic day on the water. Josh set the baits, and the captain gave us instructions on what to do if and when the lines pop off the wire – count to 4, flip the bail, and start reeling!

Sailfish JumpingNot even five minutes in, the boat rolls, and the line comes off the wire. My immediate thought was that it was going to be a long day if the line is simply going to pop off every time the boat rolls. Just to be safe, though, I grabbed the rod, counted to 4, and started reeling. Much to my surprise, the line came tight and went into a deep bend. We were on our first sailfish for after fishing for only a few minutes! The sail took off on a tear and started dancing at the surface. The sailfish put up quite the fight, and Captain Bouncer did a great job controlling the boat, making sure the fish wasn’t running too fast, and making sure I could keep up with the line if it ran at us.

Sailfish UnderwaterAfter about 10 minutes, I got the fish near the boat. This one wasn’t ready to call it a day though. For another five minutes, we played a game of tug and war. I’d get four feet of line; the sail would take back five. At one point, we got a legal tournament catch, but that wasn’t enough. Captain Bouncer and Josh were committed to actually getting this sailfish to the boat – they knew it was my first sail. You may remember from previous posts that each sailfish I had ever hooked popped off shortly after the battle started. The determination paid off. I finally got the sailfish next to the boat, and Josh was able to grab the bill and subdue the fish. We got the cameras ready, and Josh gently lifted the bill out of the water for a photo op. While Bouncer prepped the tag, Josh made sure the fish was fully in the water. Bouncer estimated this sailfish would weight in around 60 pounds – definitely an above average fish. The captain stuck the tag, and we let the fish swim off to fight another day. This would be the biggest fish of the day, but luckily, not the only one.

Jeff with SailfishAfter the excitement of my first sailfish, we set off for more. The day was still early. The baits were reset, and Captain Bouncer and Josh started chatting with us about what we do for work, what kind of fishing we’re into, and making general conversation. We ended up uncovering from Josh – Bouncer was too humble to admit it himself – that Captain Bouncer had just been recognized in the 2014 IGFA Legendary Captain and Crews Awards Ceremony. While we were chatting, Bouncer spotted a free jumping sailfish.

Sailfish jumping at the boatBouncer told Josh to bait a rod and pitch it out towards that direction. Josh hopped into action and stuck a herring with a circle hook. His first attempt at the pitch was thwarted by some rods in the holders behind him. Whoops. Attempt number two was much better. A few seconds after the bait was in the water, the line started peeling off the bail. With the rod now in Kyle’s hand, he flipped the bail, started reeling, and went tight on the free jumper! The fish put on another great acrobatic show, but tired much more quickly. About five minutes later, we had our second sailfish to the boat for another photo session, and Captain Bouncer tagged in before Josh released it.

Sailfish at the boat

The rest of our day was a bit slower than the beginning – but still a great day. We ended up with three quarters of a blackfin tuna – the rest of it was lost to a shark – and a third sailfish. Through the lulls in the afternoon, Captain Bouncer and Josh kept us entertained with jokes about swollen thumbs and stories of fishing. Listening to radio chatter, Bouncer seemed to always be the one everyone would call to figure out where to find the fish rather than Bouncer needed to call others. It is pretty clear why Captain Bouncer earned his IGFA distinction.

 

 

Captain Bouncer fishes year round for anything from tarpon to mahi mahi to snapper to swordfish. Basically, if it is swimming in the seas off South Florida, Captain Bouncer is catching it. Captain Bouncer offers full day and evening/night trips. Ready to book? Captain Bouncer can be reached by email at captbouncer@bellsouth.net. Have you fished with Bouncer before? Leave a review!

Blackfin TunaJumping Sailfish

 

Redfish on the Biloxi Marsh

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Back in September, I tried to go out for some redfish on the flats of the Biloxi Marsh, but the weather conspired against me. Luckily, I found myself needing to get back down to New Orleans for a wedding, so I called up Captain Greg Moon of Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters to get me back out on the water. The perfect timing of the wedding got my Christmas vacation started a little early with a flight down to the Crescent City on Wednesday night just in time to grab a fantastic po’boy from Tracey’s before resting up for my Thursday excursion. The excitement of targeting this bull redfish was already building, and sleep did not come easily.

Captain Greg picked me up from the hotel early on Thursday. Even though my hotel was right on Canal St., I’m not sure how he managed to navigate that trailer through the old city streets. We headed southeast towards the launch, stopping at Penny’s Cafe for a hearty breakfast and to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. I had one of the best ham and cheese omelettes my taste buds have ever had the chance to savor. This was starting off to be a great trip.

We got down to the boat ramp, and Greg pushed us off and started motoring through the bayou. Despite the relatively warm forecast temperatures, I was glad I made the last second decision to pack my Under Amour and sweatshirt. We pulled off to our starting point, and Greg readied the fly rod. Since this was my first time on the flats for reds, he explained what I’d be looking for, what he’d be doing to get me in the right position, and how I’d need to present the fly and set the hook. We weren’t going for slot reds, so this trip would be all strip sets as if we’re targeting tarpon. I stepped up to the casting platform and readied my line. Greg had barely finished the instructions before I look down and see a giant redfish maybe 10 feet off the boat. Unfortunately, this one was too close to really do anything with, and it swam off to the horizon.

A few minutes later, I spot another redfish. Like the first, this one looked enormous – or in Greg’s words, a “donkey.” I laid down a perfect cast, and Greg says, “Strip! Strip!” The bull turned on the fly and inhaled it! In the moment of excitement, I lifted the tip and the rod bent in half. The weight of the fish became quickly apparent, then suddenly, everything went quiet. There was no longer a brick on the end of the line, and no longer a bend in the rod. Remember when I said the fly would need to be strip set? Well I didn’t. The trout-strike just didn’t have enough power behind it to drive the hook point into the tough mouth of the redfish, and it popped the hook out of its mouth. I hope I don’t make that mistake again.

What looked like it was a beautiful day to my untrained eye turned out to be actually somewhat challenging conditions. The past several days had seen nearly perfect conditions – light prevailing winds, bluebird skies, and lots of hungry fish. For my trip, a new weather system came through, bringing moisture in from the gulf. We had some clouds come through, plus slightly hazy skies – which makes it incredibly difficult to see fish. The wind changed from the prevailing northerly direction to coming in from the south, which made water levels change. A full moon likely had the fish feeding all night. All these conditions combined for finicky, spooky, difficult to see fish. Luckily, I had Greg on the push pole.

We kept getting stifled by the spooky fish, or by the time we could even see them, the boat would be on top of them. Greg moved us on to another flat and set up the drift. Shortly thereafter, Greg spots a big “floater” – which is just like what it sounds. The redfish looked like on the surface. “9 o’clock!” he calls out. I peer off the side of the boat, but just can’t pick it up. Greg starts feeding me more location details as I start up a cast blindly. “Give me 30 feet, 9 o’clock! It’s the it’s orange blob!” I still can’t pick it up the fish, but could manage to hook myself mid-cast. Of course, as soon as I do that, I see the bright, jack-o-lantern-like redfish glowing on the surface. It’s simply astounding that I couldn’t find it in the water to begin with, but that’s what comes with experience and bow time for this type of fish. All was not lost, though, Greg kept a bead on the fish while I untangled myself. Sure enough, it disappeared from my sight again somehow. Greg kept trying to give me directions on the fish as it swam off out of reach and permanently out of sight. I guess all was lost on that fish.

Despite my screw-ups, Greg wasn’t deterred. He moved us to another flat, and sure enough he found the fish one more time. This time, every direction we looked, we had some donkeys swimming around us. I cast at one, but it spooked. Greg saw one he wanted me to target and called it out. Once again, I couldn’t find the fish. I cast blindly in the direction Greg was telling me. I somehow managed the right distance, and managed to get it pretty close to the fish. “Pick up and go a few feet left,” Greg instructed. “Strip, strip, strip!” I managed to pick up the fish at this point. Suddenly, I felt the resistance on the end of the line. My instincts still started the lift of the rod, but I corrected myself halfway through and gave the line a good, strong tug.

This time, the hook stuck. The fish took off, immediately cleared the line from the deck, and started peeling off backing. Between my hoots and hollers, you couldn’t wipe that grin off my face. I’d reel in a little line, and lose a little more. I started gaining some ground, finally getting all the backing back on the reel. The redfish must have sensed this and made another blistering run. Greg explained how to “put the wood to the fish” so we didn’t unnecessarily prolong the fight. Sure enough, it worked, and the fish gave up the good fight.

29 pound Redfish

29 pound redfish with Captain Greg Moon of Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters

Greg dipped the net and got the fish. My first redfish on the fly was successfully put in the boat. Always prepared, Greg pulled out his big camera, positioned me with the fish, and snapped away masterful a few masterful photos. That’s right – not only can the man put a first-timer on a big fish, he can take a damn good picture of it too. After the photo session, it weighed in at 29 pounds on the bogagrip before he had me release it to swim another day.

I had another shot or two at fish the rest of the day. Despite a couple well placed casts, we could only drum interest up from the fish instead of another bite. With the lighting challenges being difficult enough, the sun began falling lower in the sky making sight fishing near impossible. We called it a day – a fantastic one at that.

If you’re itching for some of the best redfish fishing in the world, you really can’t beat Louisiana. Combining that with a trip to such an incredible city like New Orleans, and I’m hard pressed to come up with a better vacation. When you go, I highly recommend looking up Captain Greg Moon. Everyone knows the “best” guide for an area, but few that make those claims actually have fished with more than one or two – so I can’t tell you if Greg is the best. What I can tell you is that Greg will work his butt off to put you on a fish. He’s a guide that knows the area extremely well, knows how the fish will react and respond to different weather situations, and knows how to coach his clients. Whether you are a seasoned pro or it’s your first time on the flats, Greg will give you a fantastic chance at putting a bull redfish in the boat.

Ready to book? Give Greg a call at (702) 497-1673. Additional contact information is on his website. Don’t forget to check out his photo gallery for some seriously amazing pictures of fish his clients have put in the boat. Half day trips run $450 for up to 2 people, and full day trips go for $600. Once you go, come back and leave a review!

Full Day Islamorada Trip with Rick Killgore

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***Author’s note: Sometimes I’m having such a good time, I’m not very good about taking pictures. This trip was one of those situations. The only real pictures I snapped were while I was snorkeling. Unfortunately, even those are mediocre at best. I had a very difficult time getting my usually reliable underwater camera/housing to focus on the subjects. Please forgive the lack of pictures, and the low quality of those I did include with this post.

I spent the long Labor Day weekend in the Upper Keys with my girlfriend, Susanna – who has made previous appearances in my posts. Our initial trip plan didn’t have fishing in the cards, so you can imagine my surprise and excitement when a week before we were set to leave, Susanna actually ASKED to go fishing. She wanted to do a simple half day and catch some dinner. I started scrambling to find a last minute guide in the Upper Keys that fished for snapper or grouper. I narrowed the choices down and started sending some emails and making calls for availability.

Several guides had trips, but I picked Captain Rick Killgore after chatting with him on the phone. Rick was so easy to talk to and loved to share stories about fishing in general. You could tell this was a guy that loved every minute of his job. I booked the half day trip, planning to meeting in the afternoon. Rick had also mentioned he also leads snorkeling, lobstering, and spearfishing trips – even scuba diving if he can get a divemaster to come along. After talking with Susanna and my friend Kyle, who was joining us for the trip, I called Rick back up to change to a full day combo trip.

Barracuda

Barracuda on the reef

We met up with Rick at the docks in the morning and watched some big tarpon swim under the boat as Rick was putting the final preparations on the boat. Rick pushed off and we made our way to our first stopping point. We were starting off the morning with some snorkeling on a shallow reef while we enjoyed the scenery and looked for lobster. As soon as we jumped in, I was greeted by a barracuda patrolling the reef. He casually looked at us before moving along. Swimming around the sea fans, I finally saw a couple antennae sticking out from beneath a coral head. I dove down to check it out, and sure enough, there was a nice lobster relaxing. I called over Rick who explained what technique we used, then suggested he show me how to catch the first one and he’ll hand everything over for the second. We dove down, and Rick set up the net and used the tickler to coax the lobster out of his hiding spot. As Rick expected, it went speeding out into the net. He was a quarter inch bigger than legal size, so we knew we’d at least have some good eating for dinner!

Florida Spiny Lobster

Hiding spiny lobster

We swam around for a while looking for more lobster, but around this time the purple moon jellyfish started moving in. I spent a little more time in the water, but I felt like I was getting to the point where I was spending more time dodging the jellyfish than I was looking for lobster. Susanna had already bailed on the snorkeling, so I decided to join her on the boat while Kyle finished up looking for lobsters with Rick. Kyle and Rick managed to put one more keeper lobster in the bag before Kyle gave up on the jellyfish too. While I was on the boat watching, I was wondering if I’d regret not staying out there. My mind was very quickly changed when I saw the welts on Kyle’s back from jellyfish stings. Maybe he should’ve taken Rick up on his offer of a spare protective lycra shirt…

After we got on the boat and out of our snorkel gear, we headed off to a nearby wreck to try to pull up some mutton snapper or grouper. Rick hooked on a live pinfish and dropped the bait. Kyle manned the rod as we drifted across the wreck. We see a tap-tap-tap on the rod, then suddenly it doubles over as Rick tells Kyle to reel. Unfortunately, the line didn’t stay tight. Drop number two, however, had different results. The rod doubled over again, and this time Kyle got tight. A few minutes later, the leader broke the water, and Rick pulled up the fish. It was a shark – not our targeted quarry, but still a fun fish. The next drop, I was on the rod with the same result: another bite, another shark. Even Susanna had the same luck. Rick kept us tight on fish the whole time. In fact, we never even had a drop that didn’t result in a bite. Sharks were king that day though and we probably got eight of them to the boat. I pulled up one very good size bonito that made a very strong run, but nothing that we were planning on eating. All our suspected grouper or snapper bites ended up freeing themselves before we could get them to the gaff.

After a little while of fighting the sharks, Rick moved us on to some slow trolling over the reef for some cero mackerel. Almost immediately, one of our baits got nervous. Suddenly, there was a big blow up behind the bait, but the fish missed our hook. Like the sharks, this became a repeated pattern. We’d have the fish blow up on the bait, but would just miss it. Finally, Susanna’s line actually held tight, and she fought the cero mackerel to the boat where it would become dinner in a few hours.

We kept on trolling, and Rick told us a few stories about fish he’s caught on the reef. He said it wasn’t uncommon for him to hook into mahi mahi, blackfin tuna, or even sailfish. Less than three minutes after, I see my bait starting to get nervous. Suddenly, I see what looks like a dark triangle behind the bait. As I’m trying to get the words out of my mouth to describe what I’m seeing, Rick yells, “SAILFISH!!!!!” Rick jumped in to help feed the bait to the sail, sets the hook, and the line stays tight. He immediately handed over the rod, and I started the battle. A big sailfish (easily 6 feet or more) makes his first appearance above water and goes on a tear in the opposite direction of the boat. The reel is screaming as my smile is growing. The sailfish was clearly unhappy being hooked as it unleashed another beautiful tail walk. Unfortunately, the sailfish got its wish and threw the hook, but the exhilaration didn’t go away.

Rick tried to get us on another fish before the light was gone, but the fish just wouldn’t cooperate. After a good 9 or 10 hours on the water, we headed back to the dock. Rick says he always likes to make sure his clients get at least 8 hours actually on the water. It’s a nice differentiation between other guides that consider a full day 8 hours dock to dock. Rick also doesn’t hesitate to stay on the water for some extra time if you are hot in the action, or in our case where he’s trying to get you that one last fish. We got back to the dock and Rick cleaned and prepped the Cero and the lobsters for us to bring off to get cooked.

Ready to book with Captain Rick Killgore? He can be reached at rick@fish-killgore.com via email or by phone at (305) 852-1131. Rick is a versatile captain based out of the Upper Florida Keys (Islamorada) that has both a 23′ Center Console for some reef, wreck, and offshore fishing, as well as a flats skiff for hitting the flats and the backcountry. Rick guides for everything from snapper to bonefish to tarpon to sailfish, and uses either spinning gear or the fly rod. Rick will do everything for you on your trip, or is more than happy to teach you everything you need to know. I’ll be booking Rick again for some flats fishing next time in the Keys. Make sure you leave Rick a review if you get out with him!

2 Days of Islamorada Tarpon Fly Fishing with Randy Stallings

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Over Memorial Day, I did two days of tarpon fishing on the fly with Captain Randy Stallings. My trip got off to a pretty rough start. Storms rolled through the east coast, and I was faced with severe delays. After several hours of sitting at the airport and wondering if my flight was even going to take off, I finally heard those magic words: “We’re now boarding the flight to Miami.” We touched down a little after 1 AM, and by the time I grabbed my rental car, drove to Islamorada, and checked in to my hotel, I was getting to sleep a little after 3 AM.

Islamorada Flays

After a brief nap, I met Captain Randy at 7 AM at the docks. He was all loaded up and ready to go, so I hopped aboard his 18′ Hell’s Bay flats skiff, and we headed out to the fishing grounds. Although I’ve read as much as I could find about tarpon fishing, this was my first time out of the flats, so I had no idea what to actually expect. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Calm seas, clear water, and blue skies. A short trip to the flats and Randy cuts the motor and breaks out the flats pole. I immediately look straight down off the side of the boat and see two giant tarpon just cruising right past us. I’m blown away by the size and stealth of these fish. Randy tells me those 80-100 lb fish I just saw are about normal size. My adrenaline starts pumping, and I can’t wait to get in on the action.

Randy grabbed a rod, and gives me a quick demo on using the stripping basket and the proper retrieve. He hands me over the rod, and I toss out the line to get it laid out nicely in the stripping basket. We’re ready to go. Randy starts scanning the water from his platform and calls out “We’ve got a line coming in, about 1 o’clock!” I get ready to cast, wait for Randy’s go ahead, and start double hauling. I lay down my third false cast, and shoot the line at the fish. My fly laid down about thirty feet wide and ten feet short. Woah. Let’s chalk that up to high adrenaline throwing me off. I quickly pick back up and toss a mildly better second cast. A bit long this time, but at least a little on target. I strip in the fly, but don’t get so much of a mention. I didn’t really have a third shot at this line of tarpon. Randy spots a second line and gets us in position. I managed a bit more accuracy this time, but still overshot and spooked the line. I could already feel the lack of sleep starting to hit me, and slinging around a 12 weight was no easy task when all I wanted to do was take a nap.

The fish were running pretty good, but my casting just wasn’t up to par. About the 7th or 8th line of fish in, I finally laid down a perfect cast. I start stripping in and a tarpon breaks for my fly. He followed it about 10 feet before quickly spinning back around and joining back up with his school. No luck that time. Off to find the next fish.

Thinking of the boat as a clock face becomes incredibly more challenging as you get more tired. I can’t tell you how many times Randy would call out “3 O’Clock” and I’d look left, prompting a “Your other 3 O’Clock!” The day continued on, and while I did get a few follows, most of my casts were just poorly placed. I’d either lead the fish too much, throw way too short, or throw over the fish and spook the school. Randy did his best to work around my challenges. He got me as close as he could to the fish and even switched me over to a 10-wt rod with a clear line to help keep the fish from getting spooked if (when) I overshot the line. Even still, I could hear the frustration in Randy’s voice as I cast off target time and time again. I understand that it can be frustrating as a guide to work your butt off to get your client in perfect position over and over, only to have them completely miss so many shots, but I still would’ve hoped for a little more patience. After all, the client is the customer.

The day was wearing on, and I had yet to stick a silver king. I’m beginning to think I’m going to come up empty handed. Randy calls out that a line is coming straight at us from 12 o’clock. “Just toss it straight ahead!” That’s my wheelhouse right there. Straight line, no worrying about getting down the right distance to lead the fish – just straight down the pike and retrieve. I lay out the cast and start stripping in the fly. I see one heading right for my line. My heart begins racing and I loose track of where the fly is in the water! I’m still watching the fish, then I hear Randy call out “Holy sh*t he ate it!” At the same time, I felt my line go tight on my retrieve and I strip strike the fish like my life depends on it. IT SET! The fish was stuck, and luckily for me, didn’t go skyward and throw the hook immediately.

The battle is on. The reel is screaming as the fish pulls off line at will. Within seconds, I’m into the backing. The prehistoric beast starts dancing on the surface. Randy happily reminds me to bow to the fish as he jumps. I remember on jump number two. We’re still hooked up. He already has about 100 yards of backing out. Every maybe thirty seconds, I get an opportunity to reel in some line, but for every ten feet I get back, he takes out 50 more. Another jump, another bow, and the fish is still hooked. This is the biggest fish I’ve ever caught or even hooked on a fly rod, and the battle was unlike anything I’ve experienced.

We’re close to five minutes into the battle and the fish leaps skyward one more time. I bow, but then the dreaded feeling comes over me. A sudden slack in the line. I reel quickly in hopes the fish was just running at me, but I soon come to the realization it’s gone. I bring in the line with an ear-to-ear grin despite losing my first tarpon. It was an incredible experience. I finally get the line reeled up and go to inspect the fly, only to realize it isn’t there. The loop we used to tie on the fly was severed. Our only guess is it somehow got caught up in the eye of the hook and the sharp metal cut it free. As it was pretty late, we took a few more shots – no follows – before calling it a day. I grabbed a quick dinner at one of the local restaurants and headed back to my hotel to catch up on sleep.

We headed back out on day 2. I felt well rested (finally!) and was looking forward to getting another shot at one of these monsters. It was fairly clear again, but an onshore wind picked up. Luckily, my casting ability came back now that I wasn’t about to nap on the boat. The first shot I had was perfect, but no interest. That morning, a missed shot was the rarity rather than the norm. I had several great follows that we were sure were going to take the fly, but we could just never coax the fish to inhale. The wind started blowing even harder, casting became more and more challenging, and one by one, the other boats started leaving the flats. A little after noon, and casting became almost impossible with the wind. Randy offered to end the day early and call it a half day. I appreciated Randy offering that rather than keeping me out there to “run up the tab,” particularly because we both knew it was extremely unlikely to get another shot at the fish.

I enjoyed going out with Randy. He was easy to talk with, and REALLY knew his tarpon fishing and how to give someone the best possible chance to hook up. If you’re experienced on the flats, I wouldn’t hesitate to give Randy a call. I have no question you’ll put up some great numbers with him. If you’re a flats fishing newbie, though, you might be wise to save Randy for your second or third trip.

Ready to book with Captain Randy Stallings? Captain Randy can be reached by email at info@randystallings.com or by phone at (305) 587-0307 or (305) 453-9854. Rates start at $400 for a 4-hour half day trip.

Trophy Striped Bass Trip on the Chesapeake Bay with Dancer Sportfishing

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Last Saturday, I gathered up several of my friends and headed off to Annapolis for a full day fishing trip aboard Dancer Sportfishing with Captain Joe Richardson. Our goal was trophy Striped Bass, or Rockfish as they call it locally. We met up with Captain Joe and our mate, Dorothy, at 5:45 AM to get our day started. Joe didn’t have the best news to start the day – the weather was pretty iffy. He gave us the option of cancelling, rescheduling, or giving it a whirl and see what we could do. My buddies and I figured we’d made the trek out there and got up early, so we may as well give it a shot. We packed up the boat and left the docks. Leaving the docks was a fairly impressive task in itself – the 37′ Sportfisher had less than 6 inches of clearance on either side between it and a couple sailboats, yet Joe somehow managed to extract the boat without even so much as a bump. Having piloted several boats that size and bigger and smaller, I know how tricky it can be to precisely navigate a boat in tight quarters when fighting both current and wind. I’m sure the neighboring sailboat owners greatly appreciate Joe’s skill!

Outrigger

One of the planers at work

We cruised out to the fishing grounds and Joe and Dorothy set out the planers and the lines. A planer is a device that replicates the functionality of an outrigger. It allows you to run lines the follow the boat, but are well outside the actual path of the boat – in essence, you can run more lines and increase your chances at a hookup while minimizing the risk of a tangle. We ran a spread of six alewife rigs, a couple bottom rigs, and a spoon. The waiting game was on as we trolled through the Bay, just waiting for one of the rubber bands to pop, letting us know our fish had been hooked. Joe and Dorothy told us the fishing so far this trophy season was typical spring fishing. One day would be on fire and you’d limit out in an hour, the next you wouldn’t even get a bite. We had no idea what to expect on this cool, overcast day. The first hour was quiet. Between that and the early start to the morning, most of us caught a quick power nap. I’m sure enjoying the Annapolis nightlife had nothing to do with our heavy eyelids either.

A little while after our quick refresh, we’re standing around the deck chatting, when suddenly we hear the POP! we’ve been waiting for. Two of our lines went down, and we scrambled for the rods. Unfortunately, the battle ended shortly after it started. I’m not sure if we didn’t keep the line tight enough, if we just didn’t have the fish hooked well, or if we pulled the hook, but that fish was lucky enough to see another day. Our other line never really had anything hooked that we could tell. It either popped when the first line went, or got fouled by a school of alewife. Dorothy reset our lines, and we went back to the waiting game.

Fighting the fish

The battle is on between us and a striped bass

A little later on, another pop. This time, we were determined not to let it get away. I grabbed the rod, and knew this wasn’t a small fish. The fish made a run and the drag started screaming. I kept the line tight and began gaining ground on the fish with the standard lift up/reel down tactic. The fish made several runs before I handed the rod off to one of my friends. Since it had been a bit of a slower day, I wanted to be sure we all got a chance on a fish. Charlie took over and wrangled the fish into submission like a pro. It may have been one of his first times fighting a fish like this, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by watching – and luckily, neither could the fish! Charlie got it to the side of the boat, and Dorothy netted our catch.

Striped Bass

This striped bass hit the scales at 36 inches and 21 lbs – and sure tasted good too!

We won the battle against a very nice sized Chesapeake Bay Striper. We did a quick photoshoot and stopped for measurements before throwing this 36″, 21 lb fish into the icebox for a good meal later on. Dorothy reset our lines after the excitement was over. As the day grows old, we’re hoping for another shot as we enjoy a beer on the deck. Just as these thoughts cross our mind, the rod with the spoon doubles over, and the reel starts screaming. We’ve got another fish on! Unfortunately, this fish was a little better than we were that day, and freed itself shortly after we hooked it. It turned out to be our last shot at a fish that day. Joe slowly brought in our lines and headed back to port.

Fishing with Joe and Dorothy was a ton of fun. Even though the fishing was on the slower side, we still had a great time. We got to trade some fishing stories with some seasoned pros, and Joe and Dorothy did everything they could to make sure we were comfortable and having a great experience. We got back to the docks, and Joe cleaned and packaged up our fish. Dorothy recommended a few recipes to cook our catch, and we excitedly went home to fire up the grill. Our total trip time was around 8.5 hours even though we were only scheduled for 8. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back out with Joe and Dancer Sportfishing soon!

Cleaning Fish

The expert at work

Filleting fish

The fillets start to take shape

Ready to book a trip with Dancer Sportfishing? Captain Joe can be reached by email at captjoer@verizon.net or by phone at (410) 570-4632. Rates start at $400 for a 4-hour evening trip.

Offshore Trip with Hot Shot Charters

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This past Sunday marked the final day of my trip to South Florida. Having taken care of the backcountry fishing, it was time to do some offshore fishing. I got in touch with Sig Ozols of Hot Shot Charters and set up a full day offshore trip, this time bringing along my old college roommate, Kyle.

We met up with Sig for a 7 AM departure out of Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. Sig’s mate, Chris, grabbed our bag – and more importantly our beer. We pushed off and started off to the fishing grounds. The inshore bite was dead according to reports, so we made the run to the further fishing grounds, about halfway to Bimini. That may sound like it’s really far away, but it was still only a 30-45 minute run.

WahooOnce we got to our fishing grounds, Chris rigged up the rods, clipped them to the outriggers, and we started our troll. Not 5 minutes in, our down bait gets hit. I grab ahold of the rod and start cranking away. A couple minutes later, I have a beautiful 10-15 lb wahoo at the boat. Chris gaffed it and tossed it in the icebox. The morning was off to a great start. Chris reset the bait as Sig kept the troll going. A little while later, we start getting another hit on the down bait. This time Kyle grabs the rod, and brings in a smaller mahi mahi. Chris reset the baits and we readied ourselves for the next one.

 

Mahi MahiThe morning grew later and Kyle and I were relaxing with a beer (come on, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere), when suddenly we saw a mahi mahi skipping through the air behind the boat. Sure enough, seconds later, it took a bait. I grabbed the rod and started the fight, but it managed to shake the hook. Through the rest of the morning, we put two more mahi mahi in the boat. We were hoping to find a school of the mahi so we could toss a fly line out to them, but no such luck. Sig asked us if we wanted to change things up, which meant it was time to go sailfishing. Sig set course for the sailfish grounds while Chris got the spinning rods rigged up.

With a few hours left, Sig got the Hot Shot into position, and Chris let out the baits. A little time went by with no action, but we saw a sailfish hooked and dancing across the surface behind one of the boats several hundred yards away. We knew we were in the right spot, and it was only a matter of time before it was our turn. Not long after, we could see one of our baits start to get nervous. It was exactly what we were waiting for – a sailfish. It took the bait, and I grabbed the rod and started the fight. While I was grabbing the rod, we realized another bait was getting nervous. About 30 feet behind the boat, my sailfish crashed through the air as Kyle’s rod doubles over. We’ve got two sailfish hooked! Kyle’s starts jumping about 150 feet behind the boat, and his drag starts screaming. All the fun proved to be too much of a distraction for me, and I didn’t keep enough tension on my fish and it threw the hook. Kyle’s was still fighting strong. Kyle battled back and forth, with Sig passing along instructions and controlling the boat, while Chris stood by Kyle’s side to lend a hand when needed.The battle went on for about 5 minutes before our luck took a turn for the worse and our line got caught up, and the sailfish broke off.

SharkAfter we collected ourselves from losing the double, we had about an hour’s worth of fishing left, and we were optimistic for another shot. We reset the baits and began the waiting game again. Another nervous bait, and another fish on the end of the rod. I picked it up, and started battling. It felt like a pretty good fish, but we didn’t see any surface action. After a couple minutes of the fight, we were pretty sure we didn’t have a sailfish, but still knew it was something with decent size. The fish was close to the boat, and we realized we had ourselves a Silky Shark. The shark proved to be our last fish of the day, and while it wasn’t a sailfish, it was still a fun fight.

Hot Shot ChartersBack at the docks, Sig cleaned and bagged our fish while Chris got the boat cleaned up. Sig apologized for the “slow” action, but I never would’ve guessed that action would’ve been considered slow. If that’s supposed to be a slow day, I can’t wait until the next time I fish with Sig and it’s a great day! Sig has a very laid back personality, and loves being on the water and having a good time. He’s your ticket to a great day on the water.

Ready to book a trip with Sig Ozols aboard Hot Shot Charters? You can contact Sig via email at captsig@hscharters.com or call him at (305) 608-3913 or (305) 667-2129. Visit his website at www.hscharters.com for more information. Sig leads trips inshore, offshore, and on the reefs for everything from snapper to mahi-mahi, tuna, and wahoo to sailfish and marlin. Check out all our pictures from our trip on our Facebook album.

Everglades National Park Backcountry Trip with Scales 2 Tales Charters

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I had been getting the itch to do some fishing down in Florida lately. Growing up on Cape Cod, I’ve done plenty of striped bass, bluefish, and bluefin tuna fishing, but have never had a chance to experience any warm water saltwater fishing. To solve the problem, I booked a plane ticket and signed up for a full day backcountry trip with Chris Hanson of Scales 2 Tales Charters.

Florida Bay

The plan was to fish the mangroves in Everglades National Park. We took off from the dock in Key Largo in Chris’s beautiful 18 foot Ranger flats boat and made the run over to the park. Since the weather was great, it was a quick trip thanks to the 150hp motor. Along the way, Chris was sure to point out some of the wildlife – everything from the birds to the crocodiles sunning themselves. After we shot across the glassy water, we cruised into the mangroves to our first spot.

Mangroves in Everglades National Park

Never having done this type of fishing, Chris rigged up a shrimp and showed me what to do, and what to feel for as the fish picked up the bait. Not even thirty seconds later, I feel a tap-tap-tap on the rod. I gave the fish enough time to swallow the hook, and started cranking. It didn’t feel big, but still had some fight to it. I had a small jack crevalle on the end of the line – not our intended target. Next cast, another jack. After that, a mangrove Redfishsnapper. You have to weed through some of the small guys before you get the bigger fish. Finally, after another couple snappers, I had a bigger hit. The fish made a bit of a run, as I fought him to the boat. I got the fish to the side of the boat, and Chris grabbed my first redfish. It was too small to keep, so we fired off a couple pictures and release him back to the mangroves. After tossing back a few more jacks and snappers, I got another big hit. This time, I brought in a black drum – another first for me. We got a few more jacks and snappers before things started slowing down a bit and Chris jetted us off to another spot. mangroves to our first spot.

Our next spot was a channel right at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. We were in some faster current with the hopes of some bigger fish. We tossed out another shrimp, and shortly thereafter, another fish was hooked. I pulled up my first saltwater catfish. Chris has one rule aboard the boat – no catfish allowed inside. Luckily, I remembered before I pulled it aboard. I got another couple catfish before hooking into another black drum. I got another couple catfish before we decided there were too many kitties around.

TripletailLooking to give me some variety, Chris took me out to the edge of the national park for some tripletail. We cruised along the stone crab traps until we saw a tripletail hanging out beneath a marker buoy. Chris assured me I’d find tripletail fishing a blast. After driving past a few buoys, we finally saw our target hanging out just below the surface. We circled around, and I tossed out a shrimp. The tripletail immediately swam over to it and ate it. I gave it a couple seconds to swallow the hook and started reeling. The rod had a nice bend, but my immediate thought was “what was all the fuss about?” No sooner than I finish the thought, and the tripletail realized it was hooked, and made a drag screaming run. THAT is what all the fuss is about. I battled it as it made a few more runs. I got it to the boat and Chris pulled it in. I was all smiles as I held my first tripletail. I was astonished to find a fish that fought that hard turned out to be just short of the minimum size! Chris snapped a couple pictures of me, and we set off to search for a few more. My next one was a nice four pounder that put up another heck of a fight. We got another small one and another keeper before heading back into the mangroves.

Anchoring into another one of Chris’s sweet spots, he tied on a jig and topped it with a shrimp, and again showed me the right way to fish it. A mangrove snapper was the first to bite, but shortly thereafter, we got hit by a nice sized snook. Putting up one of the best fights of the day, I had my first snook in the boat after a few minutes. The snook smiled for Snookthe pictures before we sent him off to swim another day. As the tide began to turn, things slowed down briefly – but not enough to stop me from catching my first sheepshead. Once we had some water flowing again, the bite picked right back up. We put another few redfish, some ladyfish (another first for me), and plenty of snappers in the boat. We had one particularly good sized redfish in the boat, but as Chris unhooked it and we were prepping for a picture, it saw an opportunity for escape and took it. The sun started getting low, so it was time to head back to the docks, happy and tired from a great day of fishing. Back at the dock, Chris happily filleted and bagged my keep and threw it on ice.

Crocodile

I really can’t say enough about how great it was fishing with Chris. He’s a fun captain to guide you through the backcountry or on any trip he offers. If you want peace and quiet, Chris is fine with that. If you want to blast some music, have some beers, and joke around, Chris is fine with that too. The whole experience shows how much Chris really enjoys his job as a guide. On top of that, Chris’s knowledge of the backcountry is impressive. He easily navigates the maze of mangroves, and knows exactly how much water will be in each spot at any given time. He has a GPS on board, but I didn’t see him use it to navigate once.

Ready to book a trip with Chris Hanson aboard Scales 2 Tales Charters? You can contact Chris via email at captainchrishanson@scales2tales.com or call him at (305) 522-3772. Visit his website at www.scales2tales.com for more information. Chris leads trips in the backcountry and on the flats for species such as snook, redfish, tarpon, black drum, and more! Check out all our pictures from our trip on our Facebook album.