Blog

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but the sheepshead bite is still going strong. After I picked up some fantastic live shrimp from Blue Water Bait and Tackle in Homosassa, I met my crew at 8:30a.m. for a great upcoming day. Bill, Pat and Gary joined me for a full day of sheepshead fishing the hard bottom areas off Citrus County. We kept 13 beautiful sheepshead and the action was steady. Live shrimp rigged on a 1/8oz chartreause DOA cal jig head was all we needed for a hook up. To go along with the good sheeshead catch, Gary also added a hefty flounder, which is always a welcomed surprise. Thanks guy's for the great time and look forward to doing it again soon. Here is Bill and Pat with a double header.... Capt. Dan

The annual Trout Masters tournament was held today at Pete's Pier on the Crystal River. My good friend Capt. Mark Zorn and myself fished together and we won 1st and 3rd place. It was an exceptionally good day and we had our limit by 10am. DOA jerkbaits in the glow color was by far the #1 color of the day. It was a good showing of close to 70 anglers and some good catches of trout were brought in. The fish fry afterwards was fantastic and everyone had a great time. Here is Mark and I with todays big pay checks. Good fishing and I'll see you on the water.

Wind, wind and more wind was the story today. I had Brian and Tom on board again for there second charter and they wanted to experience Crystal River. The conditions were far less than ideal, but we always manage to catch a few. Due to the 25mph North winds, I stayed in the safety of the river and we caught several nice keeper trout to show for it. DOA jerk baits in the baby bass color rigged on a 1/8oz chartruse jig head was the hot color today.  Along with the trout, we boated loads of ladyfish and a couple of  hard fighting jack crevelle. I want to thank Tom and Brian for a great couple of days and I hope the weather is much better for you guys on your next visit to Citrus County. Here is Brian with the first trout of the morning...Good Fishin'.. Capt. Dan

Today was March 1st the opening of trout season, and it started off spectacular. I had Brian and Tom on board from New Jersey and we left from Macrae's on the Homosassa River in search of trout and sheepshead. We arrived at out first spot and in less than 5 minutes we were catching sheepshead after sheepshead. We had numerous keepers and released several others to fight another day. Live shrimp on a 1/8oz jig head was the best bait. Next was the fast and furious trout action. In my 31years of fishing and 14 years of guiding this was some of the best trout fishing I have ever experienced. It was cast after cast and we estimated catching close to 60 trout or more and everyone was a keeper. We kept several for a meal or two and released all the others unharmed. DOA cal shad tail jigs in the glow color was the hot bait. The large schools of black drum were out there as well, but eating was not on there mind today. Here is Brian and Tom with there great catch and they assured me they will be back soon. Thanks for the great time guys... Capt. Dan

We got into the fish today, and it was another perfect day on the water. I had a great group of guys I picked up from the Best Western on the Crystal River, for some sheepshead action. Pete, Scott, Darren and Vic met me at 8am sharp and we were on our way off shore. Our first couple of stops were very successful. Sheepshead, flounder and seabass were on every rock pile we fished today. We caught numerous keepers, but since this is spawning season for the sheeshead, we only kept 10.  This limit was plenty for tonight's fish dinner. The seabass were very aggressive and the gulf water temperature was 58 degrees -- a big jump from 2 days ago. On our way from rock pile to rock pile, we came across huge schools of black drum. There were literally several hundred fish in the school. I quickly rigged up two rods with shrimp on a jig head and the fight was on. We had a double header and landed both fish that were between 25 to 30 lbs. It was an awesome sight, the highlight to the day along with the cooler full of sheepshead. Thanks guys for the great charter and look forward to seeing you next time. Here is Scott with the first black drum that was a great fight for only 10lb test line.... Capt. Dan

Another fantastic charter in the books. I had Carl and Marg on board today for a full day of targeting sheepshead. We left from the Best Western on the Crystal River and found perfect offshore conditions. The gulf was as smooth as glass and the sheepshead were awaiting our arrival. The sheepies did not disappoint and we filled the cooler with several nice sheepshead in the 2lb range. The water visibility is extremely dirty from all the recent winds and the water temperature is hanging around 50 degrees. Live shrimp rigged on a jig head is my favorite way to target the notorious bait stealer's. After a busy morning offshore, we ran back into the creeks and picked a shoreline where the tide was just right. Our first couple of cast produced some true gator trout. A 25" and 23" were caught back to back. Along with the trout there were some redfish mixed in and we caught one as well. DOA glow jerkbaits nose rigged did the trick. Thanks again Carl and Marg for a perfect day on the water. Here is Carl with one of the Gator trout we picked up holding tight to the rocks...Good Fishin'...Capt. Dan