April 2016: "Variety"

A good variety of fish were available in April including Red Fish, Speckled Trout, Spanish Mackerel, Triple Tail, Pompano, Cobia and others.

April provided great action both in-shore and off-shore.  Trout action inside was steady all month using a 5" jerk bait, and off-shore the Miro Lure "Little John" kept the action going.

The "Mack" attack was in full swing on the deeper grass patches and rock piles in 8 to 15 feet of water.  Free-lined shrimp or cut bait in a chum line did the trick to keep the rods bent and reels screaming !

Triple Tail have been on the crab trap markers and waiting for a shrimp to drift by.  This is a one person at a time presentation, so take turns as you come up on these unusual fish.

Cobia have been showing up in better numbers, and are hitting just about anything; jigs, shrimp, cut bait, or what ever you have rigged at the time when they decide to use your boat as a place to relax in the shade.

The Red Fish bite has been on fire !

The last 2 hours of the rising tide has been the most productive, and the first hour of the outgoing.  Shrimp, pin fish, spoons, jigs and jerk baits have all worked well.

Thanks again to all of my guests and friends for another fun month on the waters of Crystal River and Homosassa.  I look forward to our next fishing adventure !    Capt Mark

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March 2016: A month of "Catching"

If you enjoy "catching" fish instead of just fishing, March was the month to do it !

Inside everything has been feeding; Trout, Red Fish, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, and Snook.  On the flats the trout fishing has been outstanding !  Limits were the norm with some very large fish over the 20" range.   5" jerk baits over the hard bottom and Miro Lure "Little John" in any color on a 1/8 oz jig head in the deeper grass was all that was needed to fill the cooler.

Joining the action are the Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, Blue Fish, and others.  Out on the shallow rocks the Sheepshead has slowed down, but the Spanish Mackerel bite has taken it's place.  A little bit of chum and some shrimp is all that's needed to get them going. 

Even though the season is closed for Grouper, they are everywhere on the rock piles.  Fish ranging from 6" to 30" have been caught while using shrimp around these structures.  So the outlook for this grouper season is golden, and should be another great year.

Back inside, the Snook action has been getting better and better this year.  In past years Snook wasn't really a species that we expected to catch, but are becoming much more common.  This month we landed some nice fish with a few in the slot.  Many of these Snook have been caught while red fishing, so keep that in mind as you hit your favorite red fish hole.

The Red Fish action has been good and getting better, so April should be "Seeing Red" !  No changes on baits and locations.  Live shrimp is always good either free-lined or under a cork.  Top water baits and spoons will provide a lot of strikes, while you cover a lot of area.  As the water warms, fresh cut bait is always a good choice because of the numbers of pin fish eating your shrimp. 

Many Thanks to my fishing friends, and a month of fishing memories.  Capt Mark

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February 2016: Cold weather - Hot Fishing

Even with some very cold days, the fishing has been hot !

The trout action is still as good as it can get, with limits being boated on most days.  Just like last month, the fish are in tight on the cold days and move out after a couple of warm days.  Glow jerk baits and jigs on a 1/8 oz jig head is all that's needed to keep the action going.

The main action has been offshore on the shallow rocks.  Big sheepshead, grouper and grunts have been in a feeding frenzy.  The big sheepshead have moved in and we have landed some monsters.  The largest this year, a 12 pounder took a small live shrimp on a 1/4 oz red jig head.  At first we thought it was a big grouper since we've been catching and releasing a lot of gags.  But, it turned out to be a huge sheepy.  Remember, the bag limit on sheepshead is 15 per person, however, keep only what you can eat and release the others to protect this great resource.

Back inside, the red fish action has also been great !

We're finding them in the holes in the river and creeks on the cold days, and around the islands on the warm days.  Live shrimp is always a sure bet this time of year, but artificial, jerk baits, gold spoons, and jigs will all produce, but a slow presentation is a must.

Again, it's been a pleasure fishing with all my friends and guests, and I look forward to March for  more great fishing on the Nature Coast.  Capt Mark

January 2016 - Speckled Trout, Reds, and Sheepshead

This month the trout bite has been off the hook !  We've boated our limits on just about every trip and a lot of big trout over the 20" range have been landed.

On the warmer days, the trout will be on the shallow flats and rocky bottom sunning themselves.  A jerk bait or a live shrimp does the trick.  The Mirro Lure "Little John" on a 1/8 oz jig is still producing in the holes and ledges in the river and creeks.  Work the bait slow and be ready for just a slight thump at the end of your line, because the trout are hitting slow when the water is colder.

Red fishing has been good in the rivers and creeks.  Live shrimp on a 1/16 oz jig has been working well for me and my guests.  Sizes range from 12" 50 30", with many in the slot keeper range.

Black drum and sheepshead are hanging with the red fish in the holes in the river and creeks.  The same bait is working just as well for them as the reds.

Speaking of sheepshead, the action has been great offshore on the rocks and ledges.  Shrimp on a knocker rig or jig is all you need to catch these striped bandits.  The larger ones are starting to show up, so February should be great.

Thanks as always to all my friends and guest for a great start to the new year.

December 2015: End of another great year of fishing !

What a way to end the year !  Beautiful weather, good friends and great fishing.

2015 went out with a bang, or should I say " a scream of the drag" !  Just about every species was biting this month; trout, red fish, Spanish Mackerel, blue fish, snapper, sea bass, grunts and more.

The inshore action was non-stop with trout feeding on both the outgoing and incoming tides.  Jerk baits or jigs under a popping cork both worked well, it didn't seem to matter.  The best colors ranged from white to black and everything in between.  The trout seemed to be enjoying the perfect sunny days and were hanging out in 1-6 feet of water.  The only problem was catching our limit too quickly.  The trout are not like Red fish, they are not a good catch and release species, because they are much more fragile.  So when you get your limit, move on to another species.

As for the red fishing, plenty of fish are around.  Until the water temps drop, the fish are sill in their fall feeding patterns, so look for them on the outer points and keys and work your way inside with the tide.  Live shrimp has been the best bait, either free-lined or on a 1/16 oz jig head.  The cork rig is always a go-to option that just about always produces.

Offshore the Spanish mackerel are everywhere, and the blue fish are mix in with them.  Be prepared to to through some jig heads with these toothy fish.

On the rock piles and ledges, the action is non-stop.  Huge grunts and sea bass are attacking your shrimp if they can beat the grouper to it.  Even though grouper season is closed, they don't know that.  They are hanging on every rock waiting to put a bend if your rod.

The sheephead are also showing up in numbers, but the best action will start in January with the big females moving on to the structures, they will be hungry and ready to bite.

Thanks to all my clients and fellow guides for a great year, and I look forward to 2016 and all the new fish tales to come.    Capt Mark

November 2015 - Living the life !

It's great to live in Florida !  This time of year we're blessed with perfect weather and the fishing and catching could not be better.  What more could an angler ask for ?

Inshore; trout, reds, snapper, mackerel, and even triple tail are all over.    The trout are in the kelp patches and yellow bottom.  The every trusty popping cork and jig is working well, and so is the 5" jerk bait in the white or glow colors.  The bourbon "Little John" under a popping cork has been my go to color, but water melon and red glitter or white have all been producing well this month.

With the water still warm, the red fishing has been hot.  Live shrimp has been the bait of choice, but fresh cut bait has also worked when the shrimp have been hard to get.  The reds are still hanging out in the rocky points, oyster bars and grassy pockets, but that will change as the water starts to cool off next month.

Nice Homosassa Red Fish

Keeper snapper have moved into the rivers and for the young anglers they are hard to beat for dependable fun action.  Live or fresh dead shrimp on a light 1/16 oz jig head is all that's needed to keep a kid smiling.

The triple tail have showed up this month in droves.  Almost all the crab floats and channel markers held a few fish at any given time.  The best bait is a shrimp under a cork.  Let the bait drift down to them, and they can't resist a live shrimp.

Offshore; the grouper bite has been off the hook.  Casting plugs over the shallow rock piles or trolling over your favorite structure has been producing some monster gags.  The two fish per person has been an easy catch.  All colors have been working well, but the old standards, green, black or blue-back on the white or silver side are hard to beat.

Homosassa Gag Grouper

And as always, I'm grateful to my guests and friends for another great month on the waters of Crystal River and  Homosassa.  See you in December !

October 2015 Great Fishing !

It's almost not possible, but fishing this month has been better than last.  The trout action has been great !  The beautiful weather and good tides offered up some awesome catching.  We got limits of trout on just about every trip with fish ranging from 16" to 23" in length.  The bite has been all over, from Chaz to Yankeetown.  A 1/8 oz jig under a popping cork, or a live pin fish or shrimp have all proven very productive.  We worked the yellow bottom on the thick kelp beds on either the incoming or outgoing tides.  It didn't seem to matter as long as the water is moving and a breeze blowing, the trout were there.

The red fish bite is still active and shows no sign of slowing down.  Just like last month, all the normal spots are producing plenty of action.  Live shrimp or fresh cut bait, either under a cork or free-lined is all that was needed to put a bend in the rod and a scream in the drag.

Offshore the grouper action is king !  Giant fish landed in 8' of water were common with boats getting their two fish per person limit in no time.  Casting plugs on the shallow rocks makes for some arm-aching action.  Trolling the structures in 10-25' of water is also producing.  Many times, a double hook-up on just about every pass.    Don't forget to drop a shrimp or a jig head on these rocks for big grunts and hog fish too.  And speaking of great action, we can't forget the Spanish mackerel.  They are all over the inshore and offshore rocks and provide fun catching and good eating.

So get out on the water and do some catching !   The weather is great and the fishing is good.

Until next time, many thanks to my fishing guests and partners.   Capt Mark