Another perfect window in between fronts and today's conditions couldn't have been better. Skip, Dave and Chuck were on board with me today out of Crystal River and this was their yearly sheepshead extravaganza charter. I assured them with the full moon and calm seas, today was going to be great! We left from Pete's Pier just before 9am and made our way offshore. The fishing was absolutely fantastic and immediately we had two and three on at a time. Just after 10am, we had close to twenty in the cooler and then we just had some fun catching, releasing and adding one here and there to the total. We caught some beautiful keeper sized gag grouper and sea bass to add to our species list and I thank you all for the outstanding day. Here's my crew with another great Crystal River charter... Capt. Dan

We found the big ones today out of Crystal River and Clell and Harry did great. Leaving from Pete's Pier Marina, we were welcomed to calm gulf conditions which made for an easy ride offshore. We targeted some deeper hard bottom areas and "wow", did we find some good ones. Some of today's sheepshead were in excess of 8lbs and one monster hit the 10lb mark on the boga grip. We had some steady action with grunts, sea bass and grouper; but the big sheep's stole the show. We released numerous keeper sheepshead and only kept some of the larger ones, so the others can continue spawning. I thank you both for the fun time and congratulations on a beautiful catch... Capt. Dan

Well my cold turned in to Bronchitis and I think this has been the longest stretch I've endured being off the water. The good news is, I'm feeling better and today's clients Jesse and Jesse Jr. had an outstanding Crystal River charter. I met the father and son team at 8:30am and we shoved off from Pete's Pier Marina, ready to go. The tide was running in pretty well at the mouth and the oyster bars were just right for jerk baiting some trout. We made a quick stop and found some hefty trout that couldn't resist some DOA glow colored jerk baits. The guys put eight in the cooler in less than 30 minutes and then we were sheepshead bound. It was pretty much the same scenario as it has been with a live shrimp on a knocker rig jumping spot to spot; and the sheepshead were very cooperative. We did get cut off by a couple mackerel and the usual sea bass, grunts, etc... filled out the day. I thank you both for a great time and congratulations on a fine catch... Capt. Dan

If you're a local, you would agree with me and think it was spring right now. We have been so blessed this last week with very mild temperatures and we reached the mid 80's today. Bud, Brad and Ken joined me out of Pete's Pier for a full day Crystal River charter chasing down some sheepshead. We fished together a month ago and did outstanding on the trout and the group was ready to try their luck on some sheepies. The conditions couldn't have been better and the gulf was truly as smooth as it could be. Running offshore to the 20ft range, we fished a variety of rocks and ledges and found some hefty sheepshead, grouper, grunts and other assorted species. The action was a little slow for the morning, but picked up as the day went on. Live shrimp on a knocker rig was or bait and tackle of choice and these guys did outstanding once again. There's so many great pictures to share and if you can, please check out my Crystal River Fishing facebook page so you can see the great shots. I thank you all for a wonderful time and congratulations on a superb catch... Capt. Dan

I broke a record today for my boat and we caught the largest sea bass I've seen yet. Doug and Virginia were my guests today out of Crystal River and they had a great time. Running offshore to the ledges and rock piles, we caught some beautiful sheepshead, grunts, sea bass, grouper and some other odds and ends to fill out the day. The seas were flat calm and it was truly a picture perfect day. We ended today's trip targeting some shallow rock/oyster bars catching some trout on jerk baits and all the trout were upper slot quality fish. I will say the large sea bass we caught today was quite a fish and a true trophy at almost 3lbs. I thank you both for a fantastic Crystal River charter and look forward to seeing you again soon... Capt. Dan

It felt so good to finally make a run offshore to the sheephead grounds and hooked in to some big ones. The weather has been so hit and miss lately and today was our window of opprotunity. Chuck and Edna were my guests out of Pete's Pier Marina and while the winds were quite strong during the morning - by noon, it was smooth sailing. The gulf is still cold and hovering around the 58 degree mark. When the conditions are like this, sheepshead are a best bet. The big sheepshead today were on the ledges and using a simple knocker rig with a live shrimp was our method for success. A pleasant bonus for Chuck with the hot rod, were three keeper sized grouper. We caught and released them on 10lb test line, which gave Chuck a great fight and a run for his money. He played them out beautifully, took some pictures and sent them home. The afternoon was gorgeous and I thank you both for a great day... Capt. Dan

One thing you do know, is that you never know. This is what we experienced with the weather today. Steve, Scott and Cindy were on board with me today out of Crystal River and we saw a HUGE swing in the weather. Leaving from Pete's Pier Marina, there was a slight chop on the water and overcast skies to begin the day. We anchored up on a couple rock piles and began targeting sheepshead. The bite was a little slow, but we did put a couple keepers in the cooler. The big surprise was the dense sea fog that came in rapidly. The fog limited our visibility to no more than a couple hundred feet to make our ride back in to shore a little time consuming. We made is safely back to the marina and I thank you all for great day. Here's Cindy with a hefty Crystal River sheepshead... Capt. Dan

Yes folks, there was Ice on the boat until 10am today, but we made the best of it and had a fun day. Myself and fellow Homosassa Guides Association members Mark Zorn, William Toney and Gary Cox had the pleasure of fishing the Homosassa Fishing Club members out of Crystal River for this chilly December day. I had Bo, Brant and Ashley on board and we covered the all the basis from the river to the gulf. Through out the morning, we had great action in the river with mangrove snapper, trout and lady fish, but the table fair species were all on the short side. The wind was quite strong until noon time, so after noon, we made a quick dash to a shallow ledge and loaded up on the ever reliable tasty sea bass. My crew put 13 nice keepers in the cooler to secure our shore lunch for tomorrow.  The other captains had a nice assortment of mangrove snapper, sheepshead and a red fish and trout to total our trip. Capt. Zorn won the  prize with most keepers with 15 and yours truly just fell shy with 14 to take second place. I thank you all for the fun time and we'll see you tomorrow. Here's Ashley with one of our sea bass from today's Crystal River charter... Capt. Dan

The Christmas Vacation I had with my wife and family is over and it was back to chartering today; with the Austin family out of Crystal River. What a great day to be on the water between cold fronts and the sea condition's counldn't have been better. Calm seas made for an easy ride jumping rock pile to rock pile and even though the gulf has cooled down to 57 degrees, the sea bass and sheepshead cooperated nicely. The sea bass were by far the most aggressive and we caught loads on several structures while simply using a live shrimp on a 1/8th oz jig head. The sheepshead are beginning to show and as winter progresses and as long as the gulf remains cool; it's only going to get better. I thanks the whole family for a great time and congratulations on a great catch... Capt. Dan

We changed it up today and had a great Crystal River charter targeting the shallow water rocks while catching a mixed bag. Nancy, Scott and Mike were on board and we let the sun come up a little, especially since there was ice on the boat this morning. Leaving the dock at 9am, we reached the gulf to a chilly 59 degree water temperature and continued our run offshore. We primarily stayed in the 10ft range and had some great action including sheepshead, grunts, sea bass and grouper. Live shrimp on a 1/8thoz Hank Brown jig head was our bait of choice and makes for fun easy fishing. After we had a cooler full of goodies, I just had to check on the grouper inventory to see how they were doing. We made a couple passes over some holes and caught some hefty gags. We took a few pictures, released them and called it a day.  I thank you all for the great day and here's Scott from Ohio with a beautiful Crystal River grouper... Capt. Dan