Big Haul...
Much better conditions today and "Uncle" Phil was in town from Pennsylvania. It's always a fun time when he's here and we had an awesome catch today. A pair of red fish started our day on an oyster bar and it was two cast's, two fish. Sheepshead were up next and we soon enough had a fine catch. We left the sheepshead and ran down some triple tail for our mid day in between tide changes - they are always a welcomed surprise. To end the day we jigged with MirrOlure Lil' Johns and a good catch of trout made their way on board. A fun 1st day buddy and I'll see you tomorrow... Capt. Dan
Did Somebody Say WIND!!!
Holy Mackerel!!! It was howling today, but John, Bill and Wayne were ready to go for it. I ran out the Salt River and in to the gulf, but quickly turned around; as we tucked in the back country for the day. Using artificials were out of the question, as I kept it simple and free lined live shrimp under a cork. It worked out just fine and a nice catch of trout came on board and a bonus red fish for our 1/2 day trip. Thank you guys for coming every year and hopefully we'll have better conditions next time... Capt. Dan
Crystal River Good Catch...
A really awesome trout bite today with Chuck, Tim and Kyle and the guys got them going. We left from the Plantation on Crystal River and made our way to some rock piles and jigged up some beautiful trout. Root beer colored Lil' Johns were the flavor and some stout trout came on board. Not to much in by catch today as just a couple lady fish and a few grouper - it was mostly keeper sized trout. We fished the afternoon for red fish but most were little guys again, but a fine 26" ended our day. A fun time guys and I thank you... Capt. Dan
Slam....
The opening day of snook season and the Bart, Shane and Dwight team did awesome. We spent the day in the shallow stuff and had a really great day on the DOA jerk baits. I used the glow holographic color today and they sure did their job. The wind was up a bit out of the SW and the tide rolled in quickly. The red fishing was OK with mostly short guys, but a nice keeper and over slot came on board to add to the catch. I thank you all and can't wait until next time... Capt. Dan
Great Mix...
A perfect trip today with Larry, Dean and Nathan - and the weather was fabulous too. The wind was down so that gave us the freedom to go anywhere we wanted. The gang and I spent the morning jigging up some really nice offshore trout on MirrOlure Lil Johns. Fifteen beauty's came on board and we spent the rest of the day picking up a couple surprise sheepshead, triple tail and red fish. I thank you all and always look forward to next time... Capt. Dan
Jigging Trout...
Always a fun day with Dave and Danny on board and these gentlemen had a great day. We spent the majority of the day jigging up some trout, with the usual by catch on grouper, sea bass, mackerel, etc... I love this time of year as every cast can be a surprise. We secured a limit of trout an ended the day on the little bit of tide we had to find a red fish to bend the rod. A great day and I thank you both as always... Capt. Dan
Trout & Reds...
A super fun Sunday with John and Val and the husband and wife team did fantastic. We stayed inshore for the day and targeted trout and red fish. The trout were quite cooperative and they were caught on a combination of DOA glow jerkbaits and bourbon colored Lil Johns. A fine limit came on board and we dunked some shrimp on the outer points for a couple red fish. I thank you both and I look forward to next time... Capt. Dan
In the Weeds...
Icy Snook....
A quick update before today's report.. Well folks, it looks like a major snook kill for our area from the Withlacoochee area to Chassahowitzka. I've seen lots of pictures of dead snook of all sizes and even though we still have several thousand that are safe in the rivers, the "outside" population took the hit. We'll still have fish to catch, but like the 2010 freeze; it will take some time to recuperate... However though, I did have a great first charter to start 2018 with the Beeson party in Homosassa. Myself and Capt's. Mark Zorn, William Toney, Rick Spratt and John Hamilton all had ice on board our boats and we made something happen in the cold conditions. The gang and I stayed in the river and had some luck with a mixed bag around the springs. Snook, red fish, jacks, large mouth bass, trout and we even jumped a tarpon, filled out our day. It's a small area, but we did OK, as the gulf will be slow for quite a few days. Here's Phil with one of the larger snook of the day... Capt. Dan
Crystal River Grouper & Reds...
A fine day offshore as we eased our way to the 30ft range with Gil and Tom on board. I poked out a bit deeper as the conditions were quite nice and fished some bottom I haven't yet this season. Well, it was a good choice and the guys did very well. We bottom fished with live pinfish and the gags were slow, but a slow steady. We found our four keepers and hit an outer point for a couple red fish to top off the day. A fun time and I thank you both... Capt. Dan