Wow! What an action packed day out of Crystal River and Juan and Dennis had their hands full. Running down the river this morning to foggy conditions, we took our time until we reached the mouth of the river at Shell Island. The skies cleared and we were offshore bound to find some early arrival offshore trout. We reached our destination and on the second cast, Dennis hooked into a 100 plus pound bull shark and we were off to the races. We ran him down with the boat, so we could get a good look at him and it was quite a fish. After close to a 25 minute battle, we finally broke him off and began drifting and catching some beautiful upper slot trout. Today, my favorite spring time bait, the DOA glow shad tail jigs were the hot ticket. The trout averaged 16 to 24" and a few Spanish macks and blue fish were also keeping us busy. To end the day with a bang, we sight fished a hefty black drum that bottomed out my 30lb boga grip. We took a couple pictures, had some high fives and called it a day. Thank you guys for the awesome time and here is Juan with today's big drum... Capt. Dan

Tony and Dean were on board today for a full day out of Crystal River and these anglers caught some beautiful gator trout. Leaving from Pete's Pier Marina at 8am to rain showers, we put on the rain gear and started the day jigging trout. Using MirrOlure Lil' Johns, the guys caught some hefty trout, with the largest touching 25". The trout bite was really on for the last of the outgoing tide and then we switched gears, anchored up on some ledges and found a couple late season sheepshead. Live shrimp on a knocker rig produced for the sheepshead and a mixed catch of grouper, porgys, grunts and sheepshead filled out the mid afternoon. We made a quick stop in the creeks on the way in for a red fish and Tony caught a nice keeper to end the day. Thanks guys for the outstanding trip and look forward to seeing you next time your in town... Capt. Dan

Yesterday was about as picture perfect of a day as one could hope for and today, gusty SW winds to 20 mph. Malcom and Brian were on board and we braved the elements and found some red fish deep in the back country of Ozello. With the tide rushing in and the added wind giving it some momentum, we had plenty of high water and the red fish bit very well. Keeping it simple and just free lining live shrimp around the rocky points, the guys did great and they had their dinner covered. It was definitely a challenging day with the conditions and I thank you all for toughing it out... Capt. Dan

Bill and Karen experienced fishing about as good as it gets inshore Crystal River today and the conditions couldn't have been any better. Leaving from Pete's Pier Marina at 9am to catch the mid morning tide, we began using MirrOlure Lil' Johns and gulp shrimp on the outer bars. The trout were schooled up tight and it was two and three on at a time, on several occasions and my crew had their limit quickly. We caught and released several other trout while we waited for the tide to get right for red fishing. Just after noon, we hit the creeks, staked out in a rocky cove and boated 9 beautiful back country red fish. Free lined live shrimp was what the red fish ordered and Karen caught and released the big one measuring almost 28". A very memorable day on the water and I thank you both very much for the great time. Here's Bill and Karren with their fantastic catch... Capt. Dan

An interesting variety today out of Crystal River and even though the gulf water clarity is quite dirty, the fish cooperated nicely. Robert and Peggy were on board from Texas and they caught some beautiful Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, grunts, red fish and a hefty black drum. The Spanish mackerel and sheepshead bite was fair due to the water conditions, but we had steady action and live shrimp was the bait of choice. We picked up the big black drum while targeting the macks and it was a bonus, plus, a welcomed surprise. Just afternoon with the tide running in hard, we hit the creeks and landed a couple back country red fish. Robert had the big one reaching the 26" mark. I thank you all for the great time and look forward to seeing you on your next visit to Florida... Capt. Dan

A fantastic 1/2 day charter out of Crystal River today and Daryl, Steve, Dylan and Ryan experienced a very good sheepshead bite. We left from Pete's Pier Marina just after 7am to get a jump on the incoming tide and find some sheepshead. The sheepshead are still spawning in good numbers, but as this month ends, they will be migrating farther offshore and we'll be seeing them next winter. Back to today's trip; we anchored up on a couple ledges dropping to 25ft and even though the annoying algae bloom is occurring, the sheepies were still on the feed. The guys had some great action and a little variety including grouper, sea bass, sand perch, grunts and porgies. Around noon we called it a day and I can't thank you all enough for such a fun time. Here's the family with their catch, Great job!... Capt. Dan

The D.O.A. jerk baits did their job today out of Crystal River and I had Bob on board to experience some skinny water trout. We left from Pete's Pier Marina at 8:30am and with the top of the incoming tide approaching, we targeted some shallow rock flats and oyster bars. The trout were schooling today and when one fish was caught, we power poled down and caught several others. We had our limit in short order, released a couple and a 1/0 nose hooked D.O.A. glow 5.5" jerk bait was all we needed for success. The rest of our 1/2 day trip was pretty slow and once the tide turned to go out, the bite turned off. It was a fun morning and I thank you for the great time. Here's Bob with the first fish of the morning, a beautiful Crystal River speckled trout... Capt. Dan

With a couple days of down time due to this February arctic cold front; I'm staying ahead of the game tying flies in preparation, for a July fly fishing trip to Jackson Wyoming. I'm really looking forward to this trip and hoping to experience some of the best cutthroat trout fishing this country has to offer. Most of my freshwater fly fishing experiences have been on Eastern streams and heading West, I'm sure, is going to be quite a change. I've been getting some great information from friends that have fished the area, and of course the Internet. I'm tying a little bit of everything to have all the nymphs, dries and streamers covered. I'll plan on featuring a few patterns from time to time and if any one out there has some additional information to share, feel free to contact me any time. Here's a couple recent patterns I tied (from left to right) Kauffmann's brown stone, Henry's fork salmon fly, Madam X and "18 cinnamon ant. I'll be on the water soon... Capt. Dan

Outstanding Spanish mackerel action continued for us today out of Crystal River and Bill, Len and Mel had some great drag burning fights. Leaving from Pete's Pier Marina at 8:30am, we made our run offshore to some hard bottom areas and tried our luck for some sheepshead. We caught a couple under slot sheepshead and numerous sea bass while we waited for the tide to turn, so we could anchor up and chum in the macks. Around 11am the tide was running hard, so we put out the chum bag, free lined some live shrimp and it was fish on. The mackerel bite was so fast and furious, we had to catch our breath a couple of times to keep from wearing out. Along with the mackerel, we picked up one beautiful sheepshead, some porgys and grouper to give a little variety to the day. Thank you guys as always for the fun time and look forward to seeing you again soon... Capt. Dan

It was a windy one today out in the Gulf of Mexico and Jim, Melanie, Ray and Linda put on their sea legs. I met the group at Pete's Pier Marina and by looking at the cooling towers at the power plant, I knew it was going to be bumpy. The crew said lets give it a try and we made it out to the 8ft depth range and did very well. Chumming up some Spanish mackerel was the main attraction for the day, along with a few sheepshead added to the mix. It's actually quite early for the mackerel to be here in such good numbers and it's a much welcomed surprise. Several gag grouper kept the rods bent in between the sheepshead and macks and they are always a fun fight on light tackle. Thank you all for the great time and here is Melanie with a beautiful Crystal River sheepshead... Capt. Dan