I'm telling those grouper "watch out, only two months to go" before the season opens. David and Steve joined me today out of Crystal River and they wanted to experience some hard fighting fish. I suggested cobia and grouper and the guys said "great, lets do it". Cobia was going to be our first target and once we anchored on our structure, we caught three just under keeper sized cobia to start the day. Free lined live pin fish was the bait of choice for the cobia. With some great pictures and the guys ready for some grouper; we made a couple mile run, anchored and FISH ON. We caught and released eleven keeper sized gags to 16lbs and had our lines busted a couple times as well. We called it a day a little early and the guys couldn't have been more happier. Here's David with the big grouper of the day released, to be caught again in July... Capt. Dan
A great day on the big pond with Gary, Jim and Kristi for a full day Crystal River charter. We left from Pete's Pier Marina just before 8am and made our track south off the keys. The tide was quite low and there wasn't much happening after a couple drifts for the first hour. The tide was about to turn around 10am and the breeze was calming, so we made a run to the 10ft range and did some jigging on the early summer time locations. Well, the trout are there and we also picked up a couple flounder and sea bass to add to the mix. Bourbon colored Lil Johns and motor oil DOA jerk baits were the flavor of the day. We wrapped it up just after 2pm and called it a day. I thank you all for the fun time and hope to see you soon... Capt. Dan
Hello everyone, today's charter set a new record for my boat having the largest trout caught on a charter. Bill and Brad joined me again for day two out of Crystal River and the fish turned on for us today. The trout settled in to the weather change and were feeding once again. My plan today was to fish the shallow "yellow" hard bottom areas and try to stay out of the wind as much as possible. The plan worked excellent and even though the trout were not interested in cork rigs, glow DOA jerk baits were on fire. Making long drifts over the flats produced several nice trout in the upper slot range including a true gator trout reaching the 27" mark. This is the largest trout I've had a client catch and we safely released her to fight another day. The guys caught their limit of trout and will be taking plenty of tasty trout fillets back to Georgia. We couldn't find a red fish to add to the mix, but what a great turn around day to end their stay. I thank you both for a fun couple days and look forward to seeing you again soon. Here's Brad with a true trophy Citrus County trout.. Capt. Dan
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Another unexpected change in the weather pattern and a late season cold front came through today. Brad and Bill joined me out of Crystal River for a full day of inshore fishing and I'll say "it was a tough one". The water temperature dropped in to the upper 60's and it just about gave the fish lock jaw. We worked hard for our strikes and did catch four nice keeper trout to show for our efforts. The day stayed chilly and I would have paid for a pair of jeans, if I could have bought some on the water. The wind was picking us and gusting strong, so we spent the afternoon in the creeks red fishing. The red fish were just as tough to find as the trout for us, but Bill saved the day and landed a just over 18" red fish to end the day. I appreciate all your patience today guys and we'll go get them tomorrow. Here's Bill with a brightly colored multi spot red fish... Capt. Dan