Recent How-To's
May 15, 2013
Fishing for Sharks in the Springtime
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Shark fishing in the spring can be very productive and very fun. In the spring the water is beginning to warm up in the the 68-72 degree range. At this temperature the bait fish begin to show up again and with that the chain reaction begins. Bait fish bring the Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and other predator fish which in return draw in big sharks again. Finding Sharks Sharks are found on the beaches and chase the big… Read More
May 12, 2013
Tips for Catching Speckled Trout
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The speckled sea trout is a fish that some guides and many serious amateurs consider too common to bother catching. Smaller fish are, in fact, so abundant at times on our grass flats, and deeper channels are loaded with them. Small fish are far more common than the big ones, but in the past ten years cleaner water and the long-term impact of the reduction of inshore commercial netting has made big ones – 5, 6, and even… Read More
May 04, 2013
Artificial Lures for Catching Snook
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Many anglers find that catching fish using man-made artificial lures adds flavor and challenge to the adventure of catching fish – especially the snook many anglers in Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico, and in most of the world's sub- and tropical waters love to catch. People pay a lot of attention to snook, and there are almost as many lures for snook as there are people fishing for them. But once you understand a few… Read More
May 01, 2013
May 2013 Fishing Forecast for Sarasota
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Tarpon fishing will take off during May as migratory fish arrive along our beaches. Also look for Spanish mackerel, tripletail, cobia and false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal gulf. Snook will move into passes and the surf and reds and trout should feed heavily on shallow flats as baitfish become more plentiful. Blues, Spanish mackerel and more mixed with trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay should also be… Read More
April 29, 2013
Using Lures - Action or Cadence
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This is an article about how to use fishing lures. That is a challenging headline to fulfill for an article, and in some ways misleading. We cannot teach you to use a lure as well as some people we know who make them. There's a man who invented DOA shrimp, for example. You cannot believe this guy with his own lures. Ditto the man behind Mirrolures. He can catch fish on plastic when they will not eat scaled sardines,… Read More
April 10, 2013
How to use Topwater Lures
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Some fish look down when they're hunting for food. Called "Inferior" fish, their top jaws are longer then their lower jaws. Redfish come to mind, and sure enough, if you know them, you are more likely to use a jig that bounces on the bottom with a small soft plastic 'tail' or real shrimp tail (better yet) then you are to use a splashy topwater lure. In this article we are going to talk about using topwater lures. You can… Read More
April 04, 2013
How to Catch Tarpon the Easy Way: Fishing Bridges
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"Tarpooooon!", yelled Captain Mike. The fifty-pound test Ande monofilament was singing. I can still hear it when a line gets tight enough, though a head injury in 2006 left one ear as dead to sound as a fingernail. But the vibration monofilament makes when it is between the tip of a heavy Ugly Stick and a 120lb Megalops do not need to shake your eardrums to shake your head. It doesn't matter what species or strength; it… Read More
April 01, 2013
Doug Hannon
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Doug Hannon died this weekend at the young – surely to me at least – age of sixty-six. I would bet anything that when my partner Rieumont and him were talking bass two weeks ago, he was as young looking as he's ever been. It must have been the bass slime soaked into his very being over those years. The Bass Professor... The first time I met the guy they called the Bass Professor for real was at lunch about three years… Read More
April 01, 2013
April 2013 Fishing Forecast
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This is a great month for snook on shallow flats or around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW at night. Reds and trout will also be more active as the water warms and baitfish become more plentiful. You might find Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano in passes or on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Look for Spanish mackerel, false albacore (little tunny), cobia and tripletail, in the coastal gulf this month. Tarpon… Read More
March 28, 2013
How to use a Sabiki Rig for Bait
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The Japanese - like all peoples of the world - love to fish, but their language is as foreign as their beautiful nation to many of us. However American anglers have certainly learned a word or two in Japanese; sabiki being one of them (saki comes to mind). Sabiki means "to catch bait" in Japanese. But enough about that, let's talk a little about how to use a sabiki rig for bait. The Go-to Lure for Tarpon Bait In case you… Read More
March 11, 2013
Catching black drum in different seasons
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Black drum are in the same family as the redfish we love to target. They eat mostly the same baits and (to a surprising degree) taste exactly the same when they're young. If you have ever caught and eaten a big redfish or black drum you know why experienced anglers who harvest some of their catch favor the young'uns. The species start small, and until they're about eight or ten pounds display distinct stripes -- four or… Read More
March 01, 2013
How to Fish with a Cane Pole
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Fishing is something that has been important in people's lives since the dawn of time. First as a way to feed families and then as a way to spend time with them. Fishing with a cane pole is the easiest and most ancient method of fishing you can share with your kids, your parents, friends you have, or friends you have not met yet. Learning how to fish with a cane pole is a good part of anybody's fishing library. To learn… Read More
February 25, 2013
Snook Fishing Tackle: What are the best rods to use?
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First, remember there are no rules in fishing and all these suggestions are interchangeable. Meaning: there are times and conditions that will require using rods outside the general rule of thumb. You will learn when these changes apply by continually coming to and reading The Online Fisherman. Fishing Rods for Snook Here are the basics for snook fishing rods: Snook Rod One: 7 foot spinning or casting rods – medium power… Read More
February 17, 2013
Catching Snook in Different Seasons
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Snook are around all year, and you can catch them in the dead of winter and in the middle of the day in the heat of summer. If you talk to one expert they'll tell you that the best time and place to catch snook is under the bridges at 2 in the morning in December, and another will argue flyrods with tiny flies on the hot flats of mid-August. They're both right. But for the sake of being the best single place in the world… Read More
February 15, 2013
Whitebait
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Some people frown on using live bait. Some people ONLY use live bait. Rather than use a live shrimp in the wintertime, some people prefer to use artificial bait made to look and smell like shrimp. Those artificial lures produce fish, without a doubt. People have been trying – often successfully – to catch fish with artificial lures and attractors since Day One. But we're going to talk about live bait – whitebait to be… Read More
February 11, 2013
Fishing the Flats; 12 Important Tips
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There are fish everywhere. Literally, You can catch big largemouth bass in little tiny golf-course ponds. You can catch tiny fish all day long fishing on huge party boats. But living near coastal waters means you're living near the richest fisheries on the planet: grass flats. And catching fish on grass flats is something that's not very hard to do if you know a few simple steps and tips on being more effective. Fish… Read More
February 10, 2013
Picking the Right Lure
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Picking the right lure is easy for some people. "Topwater works great on snook on those grass flats!" says one popular guy on the forums. He's known as a snook hunter par excellent. He catches them on days when nobody else does, and if the guy says to use a topwater tomorrow on the grass flats outside Neighborhood-A (wherever that is), you use a topwater. It's a matter of relying on proven knowledge; of drawing from his… Read More
February 04, 2013
Grouper Fishing: How to Catch Red and Gag Grouper
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There are many different grouper in Florida waters, and you will be finding stories and extensive information for those that remain in water deeper than 200', but for this story we are going to talk about grouper fishing for a few of the species within a reasonable distance from the shoreline - and even inside the bays and inland waterways: gag grouper and their close cousin, the red grouper. Understanding the species… Read More
February 03, 2013
How to Catch a Shark
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Learning How to Catch a Shark is something that many of our readers would love to learn more about, and is a very popular speciality of the sport we all love so much. We're going to talk a little bit about how anybody can successfully target and catch these primeval sea creatures. You are not likely to catch one of these massive and incredible whale sharks -- but we've sure seen them a lot of times in the deeper waters… Read More
January 30, 2013
How to Catch Black Drum
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The black drum is a chunky, high-backed fish with many barbels or whiskers under its lower jaw. Younger fish have four or five dark vertical bars,but these disappear with age. The bellies of older fish are white but coloration of backs and sides can vary. Fish from Gulf waters frequently lack color and are light gray or silvery. Free spawning occurs mostly in February, March, and April, with some later spawning occurring… Read More
January 23, 2013
Surf Fishing Tips
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A lot of our readers spend their entire lives nowhere near the beach, and may never spend a day getting so burned by the sun's harsh rays that locales can almost tell what state you're from by the smell of the meat searing. And they've never spent an hour or a weekend doing something that is very, very special in the world of angling: Surf Fishing! If you're new to surf fishing, or are thinking about it, you're in the… Read More
January 21, 2013
10 Tips for Catching Largemouth Bass
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Each of the many species we talk about here on TheOnlineFisherman.com presents their own unique challenge. This specific article is going to be: 10 Tips for Catching Largemouth Bass. Catching Largemouth Bass Some fish – grayling, let's say – are incredible, but little-known on the angling circuit. The almost-magical dorsal fin on the northern species, lifting as amazingly as if it were attached to an Atlantic Sailfish –… Read More
January 18, 2013
Higher Callings
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Targeting the Community... It is easy for a writer to drift off-subject. Take a story about redfish, for example, or a smallmouth bass. You're trying to encapsulate every thought you have about some aspect of the fish. You try to write a general story, and your mind goes right down the alley of spinning tackle, or how to tie that special knot, or why it's better to fish for them at 2:00 in the morning in a strong flow… Read More
January 18, 2013
Fishing with Shrimp
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Some of the very best anglers in the world never touch bait whether it is dead bait or living bait, relying solely on the use of plastic, feathers, metal, and assorted organic and man-made components made to look like a natural bait. But learning how to fish with bait or fishing with shrimp starts with understanding what bait works, where it works, and when it works. After that, you should learn how to effectively catch… Read More
January 16, 2013
How to Set a Hook
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Assume you have been visiting our site for a while, you have a rod, a reel, the correct line, the right bait or lure, and you cast it perfectly to the place where fish are waiting unsuspecting for food. You get a strike?!!! The trick now is to learn how to set a hook. How to set a hook Before we talk about actually setting the hook, it is important that you understand that different fish hit differently, they have… Read More
January 09, 2013
40 Break On The Live Wire
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Captain Travis Palladeno is one of those "Legends" we talk about. There are only so many of them, after all. But of all the people we've been lucky enough to have lunch with in the few months since we started this amazing adventure is a guy named Captain Travis. In the coming months and years we can only hope to get as active in protecting our sport as Captain Palladeno is. Being in the fishing business, I have had the… Read More
January 01, 2013
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota, FL Fishing Forecast for January 2013
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Fishing can be good in January, especially if you are able to pick your days based on tides and weather. You may find reds and trout concentrated in potholes of Sarasota Bay or reds may tail on shallow grass flats. Snook should be in rivers, creeks and canals although docks in the ICW can also very good this month. You might also find sheepshead, reds and more around docks. Not much happening in the coastal gulf along… Read More
December 31, 2012
Proper Catch and Release - How to Hold a Fish
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If you were watching the news this morning you might have caught images of the year's best "Bloopers". You know the ones. The season's best that caught our eyes was one where the reporter – a young lady wearing a very nice pink dress – was holding what appeared to be a sizable salmon by the tail. She actually had a good grip on it – her right hand dominantly holding that 20lb fish above her left hand, which was palm-up… Read More
December 23, 2012
How to Clean Sheepshead
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Learning how to clean sheepshead – a tasty local resident fish that is ignored (or at least not popularly targeted) by the men and women fishing our waters – is the first step in eating them. In some parts of the country – Louisiana, for example – they're not exactly considered trash fish, but they do not find their way to the fisher's table. Here in Florida, those of us that know the crab-like texture and taste of these… Read More
December 21, 2012
Fishing the Flats
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Fish have been around for a long time. In a past when mankind was living in a world lit only by candle (the title of a wonderful book), fish were doing the same thing they're doing now. Their ability to survive is based on feeding patterns which (in turn) are based on seasonal change. Northerners do not think we have seasons in Florida, but we do. Fishing the flats in the winter is different than fishing them in the… Read More
December 19, 2012
The Perfect Tackle Box
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If you fish only once every couple of weeks, it makes you think about carrying only as much tackle as you need, or at least carrying the right tackle for the right fish. Do you think about the Perfect Tackle Box? What would it have in it? This article could come in two flavors – one for saltwater enthusiasts and one for those fishing in the sweet freshwater of our beautiful nation – but there are basics you need to… Read More
December 15, 2012
Catching Largemouth Bass on a Rubber Worm
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Largemouth bass are surely one of those fish that everybody has either caught, almost caught, or thought about catching. Having grown up most of my life in the Sunshine State – also referred to as the Fishing Capital of the World – I am certainly no stranger to largemouth bass. Since the very first one I caught, I've been catching them on black (or purple) rubber worms. While I've successfully caught them using every… Read More
December 13, 2012
How to Catch Flounder
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Last night I drove the mile-and-a-half down the street (a hill all the way) to lower Tampa Bay, to a neighborhood they named *CoffeePot Bayou* many, many years ago. A charming area, the tiny fisherman's shacks gave way to stunning mansions in the twenties, decrepit again in the early seventies, until money found its way back to the waterfront. The houses face a sidewalk that is a two-mile long seawall onto grass-rich and… Read More
December 10, 2012
Dock Fishing in the Winter Part 2; Skip Casting
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"Fishing Docks in the Winter; Skip Casting" is part 2 of our "Fishing Docks in the Winter" series. In this article we will touch on the proper way to get your bait far under the dock where fish generally are going to be set up waiting for a meal. Skip Casting; the secret to effective dock fishing So what’s so hard about this? If you know where the fish are going to be when it’s cold outside, and you know just about how… Read More
December 10, 2012
How to catch Bass: Winter Bucketmouths
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I had the pleasure to fish with Roland Martin a gazillion years ago in the winter on the big “O”, Okeechobee, during the wintertime and the one thing he told me that has stuck in my head was, “You cannot fish too slow, there ain't no such critter. Cast it out, let it sink to your desired depth between the mat of the Hydrillias and think crank it in slow and now, cut that slow crank in half as you approach your grass… Read More
December 10, 2012
Jig Fishing
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A long time ago on Saturday mornings in Tampa Bay, Captain Mel Berman's chocolate voice warmed his audience, at times approaching 70,000 avid, new, old, experienced and green anglers. Fond memories aside, even 20 years ago on that radio show jig fishing was a favorite subject. What are Jigs? A jig is a lure designed to simulate a baitfish, shrimp, crab, or other Crustacean. They have been around as long as fishing rods… Read More
December 01, 2012
December Fishing Forecast
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You may find reds along with big trout concentrated in potholes or along the edges of bars when the tide is low in December. Reds may tail on shallow grass flats of Gasparilla Sound or lower Tampa Bay when the tide is low. You may also find reds and sheepshead around docks this month. This is a good month for catch and release snook action around lighted docks in the ICW. Some lights will also have trout making it… Read More
November 25, 2012
How to Catch Sheepshead
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There are certain men, women, and even what we would consider kids that have a certain gift when they're hunting fish. First of all, they're born hunters; they have a nose that smells things normal humans fail to notice. They see things. They hear things. When I want to talk about yoga, I talk to a man who's lived in the caves of the Himalayas. Arrowheads? A guy named Jim Bennet. When I want to talk about how to catch… Read More
November 24, 2012
Largemouth Bass Habitat; Finding Fish Near You
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Largemouth bass are something many of us grew up with; so, too is largemouth bass habitat. In the springtime of our youths, we watched the six and eight pound fish that frequented the newly-dug and scraped gulf courses of the west coast of Florida come into the shallow water to dig three-foot holes. We knew how to catch them, and knew better than killing the big girls, whose eggs kept those lakes and ponds alive. We… Read More
November 19, 2012
How to Catch Pompano
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"Do you think of Pompano as a well-kept secret?", Frank Sargeant asked about Tampa Bay Pompano fishing in his landmark book Secret Spots in Tampa Bay. Although locals were somewhat peeved at the many honey holes that Frank revealed, to our knowledge, the chapter about catching pompano around the area's bridges went unnoticed. Still, there are plenty of locals who consistently target and catch these highly-prized, silvery… Read More
November 02, 2012
How to Saltwater Fish; Making the Change from Fresh to Salt
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I was sitting on a plane returning from a successful hunting trip to Wyoming the other week, when I heard a father talking to his young son about possibly going fishing once they got to Fort Lauderdale. Having lived in South Florida most of my life, I'm used to the hordes of people flocking down to beaches of Florida in the Fall and Winter with hopes of escaping the cold of the north, and also getting some quality time… Read More
November 01, 2012
Sarasota Fishing & Fly Fishing Forcast for November 2012
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As the water cools this month there will be many changes. You may find blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano mixed with trout on deep grass flats. You'll also find larger trout in skinny water along with reds. Snook will stage around bars and on shallow flats as they make their move towards winter areas. Action in the coastal gulf with Spanish mackerel, blues, false albacore, tripletail and more will explode! Look for… Read More
October 12, 2012
Eyes of an Eagle; Sight Fishing the Flats
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Years ago, before moving to Florida, I used to fly here from wherever I was in the country to go saltwater fly fishing. I owned a commercial real estate company that took me all over our beautiful country. I was watching a saltwater flats fishing show which was new to TV up north. As a fly fisherman I just had to try that. I had been fly fishing since I was eleven or twelve when my Grandfather put an old copper fly rod… Read More
October 09, 2012
How to Catch Trout
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When a five year old boy was asked in the spring of '57 if he wanted to learn how to catch trout, the blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy whose brass shoes were on a bookshelf, didn't know the difference between trout and sardines in a can. I take the back. I did know. I ate both and knew that they tasted a lot different. I loved both and still do - one fried in butter and one taken from a can. There were no options in… Read More
October 02, 2012
Sarasota Fishing Forecast for October 2012
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Reds should still be schooled up early in October. However, schools will break up later in the month and reds will be more widespread on shallow flats. Snook will be staging around docks and bridges in the ICW and on shallow flats as they make their move towards winter areas. Trout fishing will improve as the water cools and fish spend more time feeding in shallow water. Migratory species such as king and Spanish… Read More
October 02, 2012
Sarasota Fly Fishing Forecast for October 2012
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Reds should still be schooled up early in October. However, schools will break up later in the month and they will be more widespread on shallow flats. Snook will be staging around docks and bridges in the ICW and on shallow flats as they make their move towards winter areas. Trout fishing will improve as the water cools and fish spend more time feeding in shallow water. Migratory species such as king and Spanish… Read More
September 11, 2012
Snook Fishing From a Pier
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From the Publisher: John Montagnino has been around the fishing community for a long time, and wrote a book about snook fishing that really deserves a review - and will get one soon. The name of the book is "A Fisherman's Secrets to Successfully Catching Snook On Florida Fishing Piers". We know the importance of delivering information to shore-bound and pier-bound anglers. A lot of people don't have their own boats. And… Read More
August 19, 2012
How to Catch Grouper: Inshore
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Of all the people I encounter, a good percentage of them are anglers. I ask complete strangers, you see (being immune to what an idiot many people think and are convinced that I am). Doctors, people at the gas pump, cops I run into (not literally, fortunately), people next to me at a restaurant, etc. I always bring up the subject. What the heck, right? About ten percent of them fish or know somebody that fishes. If I… Read More
August 16, 2012
Snook Fishing Tips
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Well folks I could not resist. It’s back to snook fishing. Why? Because it's that magical time of the year when BIG snook are cruising the beaches and passes! If you put your time in on the water this month, a 40 incher should be an achievable goal. There have been so many big snook showing up that its almost impossible not to run into one sooner or later if you're fishing in these areas. We're getting double and triple… Read More
August 09, 2012
Picking Fly line
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Flylines aren't that much different than finely-braided nylon inside the equivalent of a soft PVC pipe. Nylon wrapped with PVC tends to remember its shape. Flyline remembers its shape; those of you that use long rods most of the time call it "memory". Loop it around a reel fairly tightly and it remembers the shape of the reel. Adding to the issue of shape memory: cold flyline is stiffer than warm flyline. If you take a… Read More
August 02, 2012
How to Cast Net
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Having written the book Skinny: How to Fish in Shallow Saltwater with Captain Mel Berman, we had to talk a great deal about castnets -- how they work and how to throw them. I wish the copy I wrote for that very popular book was as good as what Captain David Rieumont wrote for Mr. Lee of Lee Fisher Castnets. It's not :) Wherever you may fish, live bait is always the best lure. To save time and money, you need to keep live… Read More
July 25, 2012
Our Favorite Lures from iCast 2012
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OK, so going to iCast is like putting a kid not in a candy store, but in the place where owners of every candy store on the earth go to find out exactly what candy's hot and what candy's not-so-hot in the upcoming year. They arrive in cars, planes, and trains to glance at, touch, and wish they could buy right-there every lure, rod and reel, navigation equipment, video equipment, photographic equipment specially designed… Read More
July 21, 2012
How to Catch Catfish
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When is the last time you caught a catfish? Not the ones we complain about all the time. I am not talking about gray saltwater catfish, or gaff topsail catfish. I am talking freshwater catfish. Delicious, fun to target, tough to catch, and in waters near where you are sitting right now. A how to catch catfish article surely isn't something you often see in today's high-end, glittering sailfish world of fishing… Read More
July 19, 2012
How to Catch Redfish
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It was a hot summer July night in Tampa Bay. I had never fished before and my brother invited me to go fishing with him for the 200th time and something in me finally said, "OK, let's do it". My brother had been fishing for a while, but mostly from local ponds and lakes for bass...or anything else that was biting I guess. We decided to go out to the Sunshine Skyway fishing pier for some night fishing. We didn't catch… Read More
July 01, 2012
How to Fish; Fishing the Flats
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We always talk about how important the whole lifestyle is for us - how the actual pull of the fish is only part of the game. That said, it's fun to catch fish, and finding fish on grass flats is usually a matter of finding the holes. And the holes are easy to find if you know what you're looking for. So this article is about finding fish, and finding them based on the shape of the grass flats around us. This grass flat… Read More
May 24, 2012
The Three Best Fishing Lures
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I once had a friend with a radio show called the Captain Mel Berman show. It was a Saturday morning call-in format broadcast on local AM that at-its-peak was drawing some 60,000 listeners between the hours of 6 and 10am. Over the years, the show became the cornerstone of our local sport fishing community, and being close friends with him allowed me to watch how he put the show together. We would often fish on Mondays,… Read More
May 23, 2012
How to Find Fish Anywhere
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When you have fished one place - or even one huge fishery like we find in Tampa Bay or Charlotte Harbor or Biscayne Bay or the Raritan River in New Jersey or Galveston Bay or Boston Harbor, you get to know it. And you might even be one of a broad swatch of any angling community like ours that are of the "that is my spot" coalition. All communities have such populations of the protective, just as they have some anglers… Read More
May 01, 2012
Truly understanding Solunar Tables
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What fishing web site is complete without solunar tables? When we first started the site a couple of years ago, one of the very first things we did was a story about solunar tables. I wrote about waxing and waning, and about the role the moon plays in creating our tides. But best efforts often fall short, for sure, and readers have asked more than once what that first article was trying to say. The man who invented them… Read More
April 18, 2012
Where to Fish: Bass in Local Ponds
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Have you ever caught a fat largemouth bass? A six-or-eight pounder? Or even a small one that just weighed a pound? If you answered 'yes', then chances are you might be fishing very close to home. Right next door in some cases. Scouting your neighborhood for largemouth bass We are elitists. Face it. There are all these huge, hungry, hard-fighting sportfish all around us, and we hardly fish for them. Or at least I hardly… Read More
April 09, 2012
Blackened Snakehead Fish Recipe
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Here are ingredients for our blackened snakehead recipe: 1 1/2 Teaspoon paprika 1 Tablespoon onion powder 3/4 Tablespoon granulated garlic 1 Tablespoon dried thyme 1 Tablespoon black pepper 1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 Teaspoon 1 tsp dried basil 1 Teaspoon dried oregano 1 Teaspoon kosher salt 1 snakehead filet, skinned 1 pineapple, diced 1 can cream of coconut (find it in the cocktail aisle) ½ bunch cilantro, chopped 1… Read More
April 03, 2012
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota, FL Fishing Forecast for April 2012
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April is one of my favorite months for a variety of species. With the warm winter we had this year; spring fishing is already in full swing. With more plentiful bait due to warmer water, redfish, snook and trout should be on the feed. In addition to trout, look for Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Migratory species such as Spanish and king mackerel, blues, cobia and tripletail… Read More
March 25, 2012
How to Catch Kingfish, Part I; Trolley Rig
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This article is the first of a three-part series, about three different rigs used to catch kingfish from shore; from North Carolina to Florida. Kingfish are toothy sea creatures and make an appearance along the coastlines in a ritual migration in the spring and fall. Coming up from the tropics in the spring - with their return in the fall months - kingfish are following a stew of baitfish that the warm waters of the… Read More
March 22, 2012
Fishing on the Edge (How NOT to lose a fish)
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Thud! I can feel the sound more than I can hear it. It's that moment a fish with some size to him - what we call a fish "with shoulders" -- grabs our bait or lure and stops it cold in its finny tracks. That moment, and that sound that somehow rings in your fingers is ultimately what keeps us out there. Sure, the pull is part of a complex dance of prey, predator, and angler - but to me it will always be that thud that… Read More
March 21, 2012
Sundown Sessions; Nighttime Kayak Fishing
Want to get out on your kayak more often but too busy making a living during the day? Can't get out on the weekends due to chores and catching up? No worries. Instead of sobbing on the couch about how bad your workday was, load your kayak, bring a rod and get out for a sundown session. Just because the sun is going down and light is limited on the water doesn't mean you're restricted from chasing fish. Sundown sessions… Read More
March 09, 2012
Seeing Spots --- Big Spots!
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When Mike Bucca goes fishing, he sees spots. But it's an addiction, not an affliction. While spotted bass are an incidental catch for many anglers, the guide specifically targets them in North Georgia lakes such as Lanier, Carters and Allatoona, where they predominate. What he has learned about them and the success that he enjoys pursuing them might convince you to target them as well. And in ways that you've never… Read More
February 29, 2012
Fishing Forecast for West Central Florida
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March is usually a good month for fishing the flats. Fishing for redfish and trout should be strong this month as baitfish become more plentiful. Top water plugs should work well due to the warmer water we've been having here in Florida. You might also find sheepshead around docks and oyster bars. Look for catch and release snook in the ICW at night. In the coastal Gulf, king and Spanish mackerel and more should begin to… Read More
February 29, 2012
The Lure(s) of Tarpon Fishing in Charlotte Harbor
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Sometimes when I am out on that water, there's some kind of feeling that comes over me. It's not the water. It's not the mud. It's not the air. It's not the gasoline or the quiet sound of paddles moving a canoe or kayak. It's not the birds or water, although in some ways it is that, too. It's something else. Something ancient. There's no words for it, so it's not something I can "define" like I can a slip knot. I believe… Read More
February 26, 2012
Florida Black Crappie
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In Florida, black crappie are not just another fish in the pond. In fact, they are considered "the other white meat" by many of us who love their clean, white meat and delicious gentle flavor. Florida black crappie are more numerous than the state's black bass and just as sought after. After the Florida largemouth black bass, Florida black crappie are the second most popular freshwater species targeted in Florida. Black… Read More
February 12, 2012
The History of Fishing Reels
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A fishing reel is a device used for the sport of angling. In more scientific terms, a fishing reel “deploys and retrieves fishing line by using a spool mounted on an axle”. They are most often (but not always) used in conjunction with a fishing rod. The first use of a fishing reel can be seen in Chinese paintings from around 1195 A.D. In these paintings the fishing reels were hand wound, much like a simple fly reel… Read More
February 07, 2012
Florida's Trophy Bass Program
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Twenty-five years ago, the first largemouth bass entered in Texas’ fledgling ShareLunker program, and also proved to be a state record, weighing in at 17.67 pounds. Since then, anglers fishing Texas waters have caught more than 400 bass weighing at least 13 pounds, including 50 that weighed 15.38 pounds or better. Among them, an 18.18 record caught in 1992. Activist Angler Robert Montgomery with a trophy-sized largemouth… Read More
February 03, 2012
Using Google Earth to Find Fish Part II
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This is the second article we're writing about the incredible program called Google Earth. Google Earth increases the chance of you finding fish, and gives you a way to share fishing spots with your friends, as well as, the community. To us, it's all about sharing, and trust us, the places you find and catch fish aren't a secret. You may have found your own secret 'honey-hole.' But, reality is that it is thirty other… Read More
January 31, 2012
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Forecast for February 2012
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On sunny afternoons this Feburary, you are likely to find reds and trout on shallow grass flats. Look for pompano and blues on deeper grass flats. You might find flounder on the edges of bars, in potholes, or on deep grass flats that have a good mixture of grass and sand. Look for sheepshead, flounder and reds around docks with deep water. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW should be a good option, unless… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "History of Ft. Desoto")
January 23, 2012
History of Ft. Desoto
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Fort Desoto is a place that's been attracting campers and fishers for a long time; there are scientists that venture to say as many as 10,000 years. We do know that for the last 400 years our entire region's attracted a wide array of western and world travellers. At first those travellers met the Tocaba Indians -- the latest tribe we have some vague information about. They had been here since roughly 1,000 A.D. The… Read More
January 07, 2012
Flounder in Pecan Butter Recipe-Cracker Food!
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When the fall and winter cools down the air and water, two things arrive. First, the spawn is on for big flounder, and a species that ten years ago was relatively rare begin showing up on sandy flats and the edges of grassy flats where channels cause sandy bottoms. Secondly, it's tomato season in Florida – and this wonderful tasty recipe for Pecan Butter, and Fried Flounder to put it on -- uses the same flour wash to… Read More
January 06, 2012
Sacrifice
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I’ve had time to review the moment, and I still don’t know what it is I’ve learned. Something lost. A fishing rod, the best I’ve ever owned. I broke it Christmas Eve morning, 2011. A day cold enough that without gloves on, you would’ve lost your hands. We were codfishing east of Block Island. I wish I could say it happened dramatically, the boat taking a heavy roll in a breaking sea, spilling bodies, water blowing… Read More
January 02, 2012
January Fishing Forecast
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Weather will be a factor this month so fish smart ahead of fronts, or in windows of good weather between fronts for the best action. You’ll find reds and trout in potholes or around deep docks on low tides in the morning. Snook should be in rivers, creeks, canals, and around lighted docks and bridge fenders in the ICW at night. It may be worth taking a look in the coastal gulf for albies (little tunny), tripletail, and… Read More
December 29, 2011
Bass Fishing: Deepwater Winter Tactics
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A new lake, stream, canal, or pond is an easy read, if you know what you are looking for. When I was a licensed Captain in Florida, clients would ask if I was taking them to an old haunt, or a favorite spot, and many a time I would reply, “No, I've never fished here before.” The reason why I had never fished there before, is because all water is the same no matter where you fish. From The Rocky Mountains to the rivers,… Read More
December 27, 2011
Dock Fishing in the Winter Part 3; Positioning your Boat
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"Fishing Docks in the Winter Part 3; Positioning your Boat" is part 3 of our "Fishing Docks in the Winter" series. In this article we will touch on the proper way to position your boat to help get your bait in the strike zone (under the dock!). If you are just finding this article and haven't read parts 1 and 2 yet, you might want to read them first! Here are both of the previous articles: Fishing Docks in the Winter Part… Read More
December 19, 2011
Hook Injuries: Part I
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“No way, man. I'm going to the hospital. I ain't gonna let you mess with my ear, man,” Ray Valdez said to me. The injured, hospital-bound angler was my lifelong friend. He had a hook in the lobe of his left ear. I had offered to do the String Trick to quickly and painlessly remove it, but there wasn't any way on God's Green Earth he was gonna let me get anywhere near his ear. I didn't push the issue (if you knew Ray, you… Read More
December 18, 2011
Ken Salos
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Professionals like Ken Salos bring a unique combination of formal education and on-the-water "fish smarts" when it comes to shooting much of the outdoor imagery you're going to be seeing here. [widgetkit id=26] Read More
December 12, 2011
Fishing from shore
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You wanna see something interesting? Look at a group of anglers fishing from the shore. Watch them cast their lures or baits. Study people fishing on the beach, a sea wall, or a dock, and you see a common thread: they are all trying to outcast each other. Some are better than others, and some equipment proves to be better suited to long-distance casts. There are some - us among them -- starting to use kites to extend our… Read More
December 03, 2011
Under the Boat: Basic Bottom Fishing
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Understanding Thermoclines, Structure, and Fish Behavior at or near the bottom Most of us at TOF – and indeed many of the guides and contributors to our site – fish live bait. Let's say that 70% of the contributors are live-bait people, with 20% never touching live bait, and the other 10% not caring one way or another. If you fish live bait near or on the surface, or use lures near or at the surface (popping corks on a… Read More
November 29, 2011
Dock Fishing in the Winter Part 1
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These series of articles underscores what many of us think is the most challenging and entertaining category of winter inshore action on saltwater -- fishing residential docks! The mud in the backwater where residential docks have been built by the thousands in and around the bays and intercoastals is black and thick. When the water's cold, it holds warmth. That warmth attracts fish. Redfish and snook, in particular,… Read More
November 28, 2011
Bass Fishing in the Slot
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This time of year in Southwestern Florida, area ponds are bumping up and down in temperature ranges by as much as five degrees (in what's called by scientists as Diurnal Range). This temperature differential makes for some hard angling, but if you use the right baits, you can have days where you hook up almost every cast, if you fish "in the slot". "The slot" in this case isn't the legal size of the fish, but is the time… Read More
November 15, 2011
Wintertime Largemouth Florida Bass Tips
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Some of the toughest fishing you will ever find is catching Florida Bass in the Winter. Largemouth bass become lethargic in cold water, as do many other freshwater fish, seeking the shelter and warmth of the deep. Eating habits are true year round -- large bass eat generally in a 48 hour cycle, with the exception of wintertime where at the peak of this 48 hour window, they generally feed only an hour or two. Compared to… Read More
November 11, 2011
Spanish on Straws
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What’s in Your Tackle Box? McDonalds is the place to be but it’s not for the burgers! I’ve got a Mac attack on my mind and I need some straws. Their shakes may be the best in town but it’s the straws that are totally awesome. The next time you’re in there, order a couple of extra shakes and keep the straws; you’re going to need them to satisfy your Big Mac attack. The Macs were talking about are Spanish mackerel and with… Read More
November 07, 2011
Fishing with a Kite
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"Why the heck would I want to use a kite to fish?" Reach. The answer to the obvious question is reach. By putting a clip in the kite line, and learning to use that clip to carry your bait (dead, alive, or man-made) into the air just below the kite itself, you can successfully reach fish you would never have had a chance to catch. Professionals and serious amateurs have been using kites for years to catch sailfish on live… Read More
October 10, 2011
How to Catch Kingfish: Trolling
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The other morning it was probably around 63F. outside my Saint Petersburg home, and the wind was absolutely howling from the east. Signs of Fall's arrival are starting. I had spoken with a close (Northern) friend of mine just the night before about seasons -- or what he felt was a lack thereof in Florida. I reminded him of one day last Fall when we were out on my boat during the height of our local fall kingfish run.… Read More
September 28, 2011
Great Catch & Release Videos
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The video "Playlists" you will see at the bottom of most pages are only samples of related videos on our YouTube site (YouTube/TheOnlineFisherman). There are many more specific videos there -- from how to catch to how to cook what you catch. And much, much more. Check it out :) Working on the new site for the past four months (?) has had us spending more time thing about JavaScript then fishing reels, and more time… Read More
September 28, 2011
Basic Bakes
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Scott's "Cracker Food" is quickly becoming a favorite among our readership. What started out as a friendship between Mel Berman, myself, and Scott has developed into a rich combination of articles, phone calls that I don't want to finish, and recipes like this one. Where Lefty Kreh and Mark Sosin have become TV celebrities and are -- certainly -- great resources to our wonderful sport, Captain Scott is special to us in… Read More
September 24, 2011
Lighten up!
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This time of year the main target inshore species are trout, redfish and sheepshead! For the most part the average fish are less than 5 lbs and most are in the 2 to 3 lb range. The numbers are on average higher than the summer time numbers and some of the best baits are artificial! So to have more fun with these fish it is not a bad idea to lighten up your rig! Read More
September 16, 2011
Sheepshead Recipe
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This excellent sheepshead recipe was actually part of an article our friend and Southwest Florida Editor Captain Gary Anderson had written about using sand fleas to catch these tasty targets. This recipe is simple, and makes use of two things that are always good when cooked together in any way: butter and clean white fillets. So have at it, and be sure to let Anderson know if you hated it. We doubt he'll be getting a… Read More
September 10, 2011
Use Fishy Spot Maps for Trip Planning
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A fish's eye view... This is an article that I've been wanting to write for some time, but didn't really find the right context in which to draw the analogy between how a fish sees the world and how we see the fish's world. The chance comes with a comparison between a spot you can see on one of our Fishy Spot maps and a sideview of a very productive hole. The hole, by the way, wasn't even mentioned in the original map.… Read More
September 10, 2011
Casting a baitcaster
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Something we feel is very important to the new site we're in the process of designing are videos -- lots of them. It takes us a lot of time to find ones we feel are appropriate, useful, and fun to watch. This is one of two videos we've chosen (so far) from the 1950s. Needless to say, they predate computers -- or at least publicly available computers. Space ships in science fiction movies were equipped with lots of black… Read More
September 05, 2011
Bass Sweeping
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Tell us what you think after watching this incredible video. Not only is it funny, but I will take the first opportunity to try it on a largemouth near me! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G8XGFTxFDE In the olden days we used to "noodle" for cats and such. Now this guy comes along in a kayak and sweeps a buzz bait at six inches from the tip of his rod and wham, bam, a fish? No casting necessary. In Florida you do not need… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "Slot Specks & Spots")
September 01, 2011
Slot Specks & Spots
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Laying Her Out...No Fish Tale Here! Angling Lemon Bay, Englewood, Florida for Sea Trout (Specks) and Red-Drum, a.k.a. Redfish or Spots, is a real adventure this time of year, as we are in mid-spawn. The Spots are extremely active, whether following the pack, (females bunched and tailing like a school of mullet), or hanging in the pots in wait for a meal. Catching Specks to Spots in the Slots is a real challenge, unless… Read More
August 25, 2011
Help from FWC
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These great resources are available from the State of Florida for fishers and hunters in our state enjoying our wonderful fishing and hunting. Thanks to the people at FWC for their outstanding work to keep us on the water and in our forests and those waters and forest clean and safe! The FWC seeks to ensure access to hunting, fishing and other recreational opportunities for persons with disabilities. This section of our… Read More
August 14, 2011
What "Flies" in Salt Water?
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It's a growing passion with many a Florida angler -- fly fishing in saltwater. Most are northern transplants who migrated to the Sunshine State bringing boxes filled with freshwater patterns. And the question on the minds of these fly flinging enthusiasts is "can I use my old favorites in this new saltwater environment?" For the answer, we turn to our own "Fly Guy." While giving a saltwater fly fishing seminar at a fly… Read More
August 14, 2011
Fly Fishing; Transitioning from Fresh to Saltwater
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How does one become a saltwater fly fisher? Usually, most are freshwater converts. But these days there are many that have actually started in saltwater. Northern visitors that come to Florida to enjoy our weather can be frequently seen in our airports carrying rod cases. All fly rod companies make 2, 3, 4 and even 5 and 6 piece outfits that easily conform to on-board baggage requirements. However, I have one word of… Read More
July 27, 2011
Everglades Bass
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Several people I know had told me there was good fishing for largemouth bass just north of me, but I hadn’t done much about it. Once I tried, but that was a cold winter day and I had no luck at all. I was nearing the end of my seven month stint in the Everglades, and I was staying on the water in Chokoloskee. "Sorry?", you might wonder, because even most Floridians have no idea where it is. Chokoloskee is at land's end,… Read More
July 09, 2011
How Smart are Tarpon?
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Fishing is a very personal thing. What's amazing and worth any effort to one person on the water might not be of any interest whatsoever to the next guy or girl. Running a web site like we do, it's easy to see that one forum member from Land-o-Lakes is primarily interested in fishing skinny saltwater, and doing so from a kayak. Another user -- based on their hit-statistics -- can be identified (and introduced to… Read More
July 06, 2011
Bruce Butler
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Bruce Butler first got hooked on saltwater fishing as a young child by his grandfather on the east coast of Florida. Grandpa Dale Butler was a champion snook fisherman on the coast two times in the early 60’s. He passed his love of the water and respect for the environment on to Bruce. Bruce is also a well known outdoor writer featured in the coastal angler magazine. Fishing reports, destinations, and a dash of humor,… Read More
June 23, 2011
Secret Cream
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In the world of publishing, a magazine or book in progress has a way of taking over one's life. You go to bed at night thinking about the next day's story, or edits, or printing presses, or national sales. You think about upgrades to software, and you think about the stuff you're writing. In our case, it's fishing. Talking about fishing to someone either brings a blank look into their eyes as they fade away; or (in many… Read More
June 14, 2011
Lake Talquin
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If you don't know about Gadsden County, you really should take the time to click the link and learn a little about it. This report from an oustanding new contributor -- Jeff DuBree -- is the first of what we hope are many reports coming from Lake Talquin and surrounding waters. Seven miles north of our State Capital in Tallahassee, Gadsden is rural, historical, and so very beautiful that its proximity to the political… Read More
June 13, 2011
How to Catch Redfish; Kitchen Reds
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This story came from Captain Scott Moore, in one of many conversations I've had with this legendary fisherman over the years. It's about how to pull "slot" reds out of those schools of big breeder redfish that frequent our flats at different times of the year. To keep the one legal redfish you are allowed to target in Florida, it has to be between 18 and 27 inches. (You can access the FWC online regulations by clicking… Read More
May 25, 2011
The Sour Taste of Summer
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. As we quickly near the annual kick-off of Florida's dreaded hurricane season, the fishing is starting to heat up quickly, along with the asphalt that is now hot enough to fry an egg on, thus signifying that summer is in full swing here in South Florida. Along with summer, some of the lucky ones get to indulge in three month long vacations and all the other benefits that come along with being young still. So to sample… Read More
May 17, 2011
The King & I
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The Silver King and I have had our battles, some long, some short. The months of May and June are considered the season for those battles here in South Florida. Just try to find a good guide with an open date and you will see the stage is set for the joust. But beware; the tables are not in your favor. You can equip yourself with the very best guide with his mulit-thousand dollar high-tec flats boat, the very best flyrod… Read More
May 09, 2011
Spring Time Pompano
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Spring time is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only is the weather heating up but so is the fishing! Out of all of the fish that show up in the Spring, pompano are one of the best to fight and delicious to eat. Pompano are known as, Trachinotus Careolinus, and are silver sided with yellow on the bottom. They are small scaled and toothless with a rounded head. The tail of a Pompano is narrow and forked. They are… Read More
May 02, 2011
Ouch! Fishing Local
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I just filled up my truck and the tab was $83, OUCH! I’m in New Jersey which traditionally has some of the lowest gas prices in the country too. Most places it would have been a C note and before long it will here too. I don’t know about you but it’s affecting how I’m going to approach my fishing days; both where and how I go. I’m sure I’m not alone either. The other day I considered going to Raritan Bay. Reports have… Read More
April 19, 2011
How to Catch Cobia
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The first time I saw a cobia I thought it was a shark. I was around 14, and had been fishing here a couple of years. Catching trout in cold streams is a very beautiful thing, and one that's still burned in my memory and my love for the sport as any snook, tarpon, or wahoo that's burned out expensive equipment. I could probably still tie a decent nymph if I had to. But that day in Anclote Key, when that three-foot-long… Read More
April 15, 2011
Captain Rob Mims
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A locally born, tournament proven guide, Captain Rob is passionate about sharing his knowledge and life experience, guiding you to a fun, memorable and successful South Florida flats and inshore fishing experience. He is a USCG licensed and insured Captain, a Member and Certified Guide of the International Game Fish Association(IGFA) and a member of The Florida Keys Guide Association(FGA). Capt. Rob is involved with and… Read More
April 12, 2011
Capt. Ray Markham's - West Central Florida Fishing Journal- April 2011
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Trout and redfish take the main stage Good numbers of fish have been caught over the past few weeks with a number of different lures. The variety of fish caught has been good, including snook, trout, redfish, flounder, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, cobia, and ladyfish. We’ve seen some tarpon rolling in the lower Tampa Bay over hard bottom but they have not been on our target list…yet! Read More
April 11, 2011
Warsaw Grouper and the blindfold 2007
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Captain Mike Cole supplied me with this photo and the story! Read More
April 08, 2011
Bait Tips from the Pros
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To put it quite simply. It’s here. You may have to work for it a little bit and put your time in of course, but patience and the ability to throw a few pancakes will yield a blacked out well full of frisky white baits. The key is to not chase the bait around with your trolling motor, or especially you’re outboard. This will put the bait down in the deeper holes and not allow you to get close enough to throw a net on it.… Read More
March 19, 2011
WaveShield 1 Waterproof Gloves
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I would like to share some information with you about PRECISIONPAK’s new kayak gloves. The new WaveShield 1 waterproof Neoprene gloves are very comfortable and flexible. I found it easy to pick up small objects with them on. In addition the WaveShield 1 gloves have a very nice Kevlar palm and fingers for added grip when wet. Read More
March 19, 2011
Plano Guide Series Waterproof Case
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Have you ever had your cell phone get water damaged while enjoying your favorite outdoor adventure? How about your camera or even your electronic lock-fob on your car keys? As a fly fishing guide I have managed to dunk just about everything electronic at one time or another and I can tell you that it is not something you want to do. It is very inconvenient and an outright bummer when you can’t get back into your car or… Read More
March 17, 2011
The Captain Dave Cast Net Chart
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This chart shows which castnet works best for the bait you're targeting. One of the primary factors in picking the right net is the depth of the water in which you expect to find the bait. Oftentimes the bait we're looking for is found close to the large bridges in our bays; the water's deep and moves hard. To get the net deep fast, it has to be heavy. The same bait on a four-foot grass flat can be caught much easier --… Read More
March 06, 2011
Trolley Set Up
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Black Tip Shark Venice Pier, Florida Well, you know Spring has sprung when everything from small sharks show up at El Jobean to big Black Tips and Kingfish are starting to make a presence at Sharky's on the Pier, in Venice. We have been fishing everywhere this week with the exception of the freshwater action; to which we will do some ultra-light spin tackle Bass fishing on Tuesday morning and kite angling from the beach… Read More
March 05, 2011
Springtime Fishing Forecast
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After a winter like we've just experienced on the West Central coast of Florida, it's easy to think that we're about to experience an unusual springtime fishery. Is it true? Will we see more fish than normal? Will the bite be above the frenzy we see in a "normal" season? What exactly is a "normal" season? Or will the coldest winter many of our readers have ever seen suppress the feed that warming waters, mating… Read More
March 02, 2011
Fly Fishing Forecast August
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The early bird gets the worm in August! With afternoon heat and thunderstorms being potential problems, the best fishing should be early in the day. Tarpon will still be an option and snook will still be found in the surf and around docks and bridges close to passes. Reds should be forming large schools and deep grass flats should have plenty of action with trout, blues, pompano and more. Tarpon will move from the… Read More
February 18, 2011
Circus
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Brought to you (in part) by the schools of BIG Black Drum (the rest is by me)! Seems like yesterday, but it was two years ago, Capt. Billy Turney, his son Reese, my son Jake and I were out for a little scouting trip in the lower bay. I had a couple of charters on the books and wanted to see if the redfish were chewing in this part of the bay. We were tooling from one spot to the next when I see the whole flat rise up and… Read More
February 10, 2011
Sand Fleas for Sheepshead
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Sand Fleas will yield up more sheepshead than you could ever imagine! Sand Fleas, also called sand crabs or mole crabs make good bait for sheepshead. They’re no bigger than 2 inches and have no real pinchers. I held one and it was weightless. We dug a few up... only to release them and watch how fast they could dig themselves back into the sand. They're perfectly camouflaged so it's hard to spot them swimming back into… Read More
February 06, 2011
A Guy Named Mel...
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From the publisher: It's one year ago this week that a guy named Mel Berman died of complications following heart surgery. He had lived a wonderful long life and I think of him often -- especially today (Sunday, the sixth of February). I wrote this article about six months ago -- when the web site you're reading was about four months old. At the time, there was a great deal of drama in the local fishing community over… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "Fly Fishing Forecast for February")
January 30, 2011
Fly Fishing Forecast for February
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You might find trout, reds and snook in rivers, creeks and canals this month and they may sneak out onto grass flats and around bars on sunny afternoons. You’ll also find snook in the ICW at night feeding on glass minnows and small shrimp. If the weather isn’t too harsh, you might also find pompano on grass flats and around bars and drop offs this month. Sheepshead should be plentiful around docks and oyster bars and… Read More
January 24, 2011
Somerset Fly Fishing Show
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I just got back from The Fly Fishing Show at Somerset, NJ. I first attended as a guest in 1999. Then I exhibited 3 years in a row when I was a retailer. This was the 19th season for the event. Over the years the show has expanded and for 2011 they include Marlboro MA, Denver CO, Raleigh NC, Pasadena CA, Pleasanton CA, and Philadelphia PA. I always tell anglers even if you don’t fly fish the show is highly worthwhile.… Read More
January 24, 2011
The Canal Game
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I just can’t get enough of fishing our canal systems in West Florida. There are endless docks, beautiful homes, the occasional friendly sunbather (sorry honey), and of course, the fishing. On a recent trip in Sarasota Bay with Capt. Erik Nixon along for the ride, we came across flounder, sheepshead, and redfish schooled in the hundreds. We only saw over slot trout, including a few 30”+ gators that looked at us, flipped… Read More
January 24, 2011
The Retail Fish Trade
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When asked last week what we did for Christmas, I said "eat". If you're family's anything like mine, the holidays bring with them something much more important than gifts, trees, holly, mistletoe, or signs on the side of a bus that tell me what an idiot I am for believing that there are Divine forces at play in the Universe that make me look like a thread on an old garment. Which I am by now. Christmas brings with it… Read More
January 17, 2011
Florida Sinkhole Bass
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With the lack of spring to summer rains here in south Florida, winter water levels are a bit down, causing foliage and such as aquatic vegetation to also be sparse in places with only large patches of cat-tails or Pussy-willows to make the breaks of your drop-off lines along Florida natural sinkholes. Sinkholes too are areas if which many a gravel to coral-rock quarry are often started in Florida, as this material is… Read More
![eric](/modules/mod_raxo_allmode/tools/tb.php?src=/images/stories/CAPTAIN_Images/DeSpirt_Erick/eric.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 ""The Age Old Question: What color to use?"")
January 09, 2011
"The Age Old Question: What color to use?"
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We have all been part of a conversation about what color works best. I am frequently asked how do I know what color to use. After a conversation with a friend, that I fish with regularly, I began to think about how to help people make the best of their time on the water. My first response to question of "what color to start with" is usually a question. What are the conditions you are going to be fishing and how many… Read More
January 06, 2011
A Fishermans Dream
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Its been over 2 months since I have been fishing. My fishing partner left for Italy a month ago, and the time before that we’ve had some boat issues that need to get resolved when he gets back next week. Last night I had a dream that I was out there on the cool water sometime after 10pm, fishing the docks around St Pete. Read More
December 18, 2010
Mangrove's Galore
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Depending on the weather, winter fishing is in full swing in Tampa Bay. According to what you want to catch is the area you wanna be in. Myself, Captain John Baty and Chef Davie (Dave Brewer) put the boat in at Apollo Beach ramp after paying the 10.00 fee about 10am and headed for the power plant warm water outlet. Upon arrival at the power plant discharge outlet, we anchored just inside the metal fence where it was… Read More
December 04, 2010
FishClippers
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"You need more fishing stuff like you need a wart." Coming from the mouth of my lovely wife, it's one of those strings of audio vibrations men (and women with non-fishy husbands and significant others) learn early to let come into one ear and out the other. If we didn't have that capacity when it comes to fishing stuff, we would drown quickly, much like a featherless duck. We don't do the kind of reviews you see on most… Read More
November 24, 2010
Free Charting Software and Waypoints
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With the advent of Open Source software initiatives - you can now obtain a software program that will run on your Windows XP computer that has the ability to plot way points and tracks on the ocean for you, and did I mention it's FREE? Here's the really cool part... the charts you need are also Free. Now ... if you could only find some way points for all those wrecks and manmade reefs. Well... look no further - you'll… Read More
November 17, 2010
Bay Grouper with Vance Tice
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Vance Tice has been a fixture in the sport fishing community for most of our readers' lives. His "Bubba Jigs" are still in many of our tackle collections somewhere. This image of Vance in his store is only one side of a very diverse, interesting, compassionate, and plain-fun guy. His dedication to our community includes years of spending his time, money, effort, and frustration working to protect our right to fish in his… Read More
November 15, 2010
Sharky's Sharks
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Out on the Boards with Sharky's Sharks As water temperatures have been on the drop, with the passage of each new weekly cold front, so too has been the bite of a variety of fish. Those magic temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees bring in the Kings as they run their migratory dash up or down our beaches, depending on the time of year it is and to this migratory run are to those who would dine upon them; sharks, big… Read More
November 10, 2010
You Never Know
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My buddy John mates part time on the charter boat Jamaican Princess out of Pt. Pleasant, NJ. Each fall they go on an annual cod and Pollock trip out of Glouster, MA. I got a message on my phone ‘Cod trip gone bad o ya’ and attached was the following picture. Upon speaking with John he told me the story. They were having a great time catching cod when a school of giant bluefin tuna showed up and started eating their cod.… Read More
November 10, 2010
Wintertime Wading...
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From the publisher: A brief seven months ago this site had empty pages. Now we have content coming in from the professionals working so hard to educate, entertain, and catch fish for their clients. It's not only about the fish to any of them; the joy of the process, the connection to their clients, and the ability to share their incredible knowledge with people dying to learn more makes them all very special in a very… Read More
November 04, 2010
Simply Cooked
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This stuff is great spooned over every type of plainly cooked fish I have tried. Read More
November 03, 2010
Fall/Winter Bass/Snook Bite
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Shallow to Deep Bass Bite Hot on Top & Snook too! With the lack of spring to summer rains here in South Florida, water levels are a bit down, causing foliage and such as aquatic vegetation to also be sparse in places with only large patches of Hydrillias and lilies floating on top along drop offs, causing the bass bite to be as hot as ever. Largemouths are taking any lure mimicking small bait fishes in the three inch or… Read More
October 24, 2010
Ron Presley and Secret Access
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Rod Presley's a unique guy; as the Treasurer and Secretary of the Florida Guide's Association, let's say he has a couple of emails laying around. Having emails is nothing though -- take it from somebody that looks for them anywhere he can find and legitimately use them. In Presley's case, his history as a well-known writer, teaching resource, author, and professional charter captain had already established a list of… Read More
October 19, 2010
Fishin'Buddies
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Or "Watch between the lines"... Like everyone I have a short list of those who I enjoy fishing with the most, some I only fish with once or twice a year, but they are still one of my favorite fishing partners. This past week, my list became shorter. My father in law was taken from my family unexpectedly. I would like to share a couple of our stories with you. Read More
October 17, 2010
Proof that Cavemen Fished!
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This week is Fred Flintsone's fiftieth birthday. For those of you that don't know who Fred and his friend Barney are, watch this week's video in the lower-right corner of this page to see an episode about the two going on a fishing trip together. Remember, these were pre-iPhone days, so they used their feet to drive their cars, and we can only imagine that races other than Caucasian hadn't yet evolved, though. There were… Read More
October 16, 2010
The Dance Fly
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Now you might think this about some new crazy, magic fly that catches any saltwater species of fish under any condition, but it is not. As a fly fishing guide I have the privilege of being on our waters often. In doing so over the years I have learned to quickly spot an angler that has let his boat sit dry docked for some time. It seems that many of this species of angler accompanies their annual outing with a rather… Read More
October 14, 2010
Claw Daddies to Blue Coats
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Well, it’s that time of year again with the open season; lasts from Oct. 15 to May 15 here in Florida, of those big orange and black pincers stuffed with sweet, succulent white meat to begin reappearing on menus and in marketplaces everywhere, known as Stone Crab Claws. Besides being tasty, claws are a guilt-free way to enjoy Florida seafood for these lucky little crustaceans doesn’t normally die when their claws are… Read More
October 14, 2010
Fried Stuffed Hard Crabs
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From the Publisher: Andy made sure I said that his came from the Eastern Shore of MD/Va. With that said, this was originally written by our friend and totally cool forum resource, AndyS. Having a fishing site is a very cool thing. Some of us have run commercial web sites since Al Gore was kind enough to invent the Internet (he had time; the Earth was still cooling back then, and he weighed about 100lbs less). Having a… Read More
October 12, 2010
Brackish Water Fishing
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When the wind whips up, I love the brackish waters from Snook Haven to the canals of Ft. Myers, and down through the vast stretches of the Glades and across Alligator Alley for that is where one can find an abundance of excellent fishing. Yaking the brackish waters of our canals, streams and rivers will pit you up against some hefty critters on the rod, fly and gators in your eye. Caution should be taken when angling… Read More
October 11, 2010
Killer Crab Cakes
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Like all of Captain Scott Moore's recipes, this one is simple and very easy to put together. And like every recipe we've ever gotten from him, just outstanding in its down-home "cracker-style" approach to the food God provides us in our incredible environment. This one is really cracker food, since it takes advantage of something most people will find in their closet -- albeit eighteen years old in some cases. It happens… Read More
October 04, 2010
Kayak Fishing for Albies
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Jon's reports and articles are primarily based in the Northeast, but the guy's fished all over the world in Kayaks. He's the guy that wrote the book about Kayak Fishing, and we're not kidding when we say so. One of my favorite fish species are what we call here in the northeast, albies. In the south they call them bonito, but here we also get true bonito. Albies are also called little tunny and fat alberts. They are… Read More
October 03, 2010
Whitebait Report
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The North Skyway Pier today. The bait has finally grown to a good size. There are different baits mixed in. There are large thread fins and palm size scaled sardines. My best luck for locating bait has been to choosing a stall and using the bottom finder. Once located simply throw your net and back out. Be sure to allow plenty of time for your net to sink. It is not uncommon to load the well with just one throw but most… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "The Kings Highway")
October 02, 2010
The Kings Highway
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Trolleys posted on the end of the pier at Sharky's, are an indication of the onslaught to come in weeks, if not days ahead, of the annual Fall migration of Scomberomorous cavalla, the Kingfish or better known as King Mackerel. This biannual migration of the Kings occurs first in the springtime and then again in the fall before water temperatures become too cold for their comfort. Trolley rigs account for most of the… Read More
October 01, 2010
Fluke - a Very Civilized Fish
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In the northeast we call them fluke but from southern NJ south they’re known as flounder. Another name here is summer flounder, that’s because we also have true flounder. Using a kayak to go fluke fishing is about as easy as it can get. I have to admit I hadn’t done much of it and most of my fluking was via party boats out of Montauk or rental skiff also on the east end of Long Island. Lots of the local kayak guys would… Read More
September 28, 2010
The Birth of an online fishing resource
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From the Publisher: Our friend Jon's next book is about fishing of a different kind, but for now the author of Kayak Fishing is a welcome addition to the incredible talent we seem to be attracting. This article from Shein is about the birth of the nation's leading online kayak fishing resource. And it ain't TheOnlineFisherman.com. But if we're going to tell you about resources, we can't hide the best you might find if we… Read More
September 27, 2010
Just don't act like a seal...
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What's the matter? Forget to wear your man boots?" Casting the barbed comment was a guy named Jason Boyle -- better known to people lucky enough to fish the Live Wire with him and the boat's owner, Captain Travis Palladeno -- as "SuperJ". So here I am 120 miles offshore on Travis' boat, being abused by the first mate. The funny thing, though, wasn't the fact that I was told I had worn the wrong "gear" when I came that… Read More
September 26, 2010
First Redfish on a Fly
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This video of Captain Greg Poland putting one of his hundreds of annual clients on a redfish on a fly is done in waters much like those we fish. The redfish comes safely to the boat, and after a photo op (with the captain telling the fish to smile for the camera) it's released safely back to her habitat. At least half of Greg's clients are fly fishermen and women. He's totally comfortable bait fishing. He made that clear… Read More
September 26, 2010
Kayak Fishing; Don't Let It Pass You By!!
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Backwater fishing has taken a new twist for some of my most hard core," I would never fish out of a kayak" clients!! Some of the most intense fisherman I know now have a new outlook on kayak fishing` For years I have fished out of my kayaks, not because I had to but because I love to! My 22 ft center counsel sat in my driveway as I loaded my kayak into the back of my truck! Yes that's right, a professional guide with… Read More
September 26, 2010
Quick Pine Island Visit
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This week I finally made it up to kayak and fish Pine Island, Florida for one day. It’s another place in Florida I like to visit a couple of times a year along with Matlacha which is by Pine Island. It’s still kind of rural and has a great fishery. It’s very different from the Everglades in one way that there are miles of grass flats to fish which the Western Everglades lack and you approach it a bit different when… Read More
September 25, 2010
Spey Cast (Fly-fishing)
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When was the last time you were out on the skinnies, working a channel or mangrove lined creek and there were trees behind you, the current and wind were moving right to left or vice versa, and fish were tailing at long distances dead ahead. Having no room for a Straight line Backcast, you have but two choices: find another spot or rely on a centuries old technique that lets anglers make accurate change-of-direction… Read More
September 24, 2010
The History of Fishing
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Since you're reading a fishing site, you're not surprised by a lot of pulls, losses, jumps, singing drags, fishing politics, scary regulations, wonderful friendships, a place to talk fishing, blah blah. If you're really into fishing, you would read hieroglyhics about fishing if you could. Stick you in the right place without web sites like ours or GregPoland.com or SpanishFlyTV.com, and you would figure out what little… Read More
September 23, 2010
How to Tie a Permit Fly
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This is a video that will teach you how to tie "The Permit Fly" Click on the picture below! Read More
September 19, 2010
Fine Line
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There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot -- Steven Wright From the Publisher: All of our contributing guides are communicators. Some of them send us emails with sentences like "Red Big 30 Noon" and others tell stories while others write 1000 words of literature. Tim Whitfield is a guy whose writing is like Captain Gary Anderson's in a lot of ways. While not having the years of… Read More
September 16, 2010
The Spawn is On!
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This article by Gary Anderson is another in the vast field of content the man has inside him. His history is something to hear -- which you will when we finally get around to writing something close to a real biography on the guy. From planting sub-tracking devices for some dark ops people to owning a shrimping boat ala-Gary Senese's Colonel Dan in Forrest Gump to fishing northern pike for years in the canals of Holland… Read More
September 15, 2010
Fish Finder Rigs: Are They Effective?
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If you do something enough times, and you start doing it well enough that it begins to produce repeatable results, there's a danger of figuring that your way is the way. That's true with painting a ceiling and it's true with tying fishing rigs. If you do it and it works to produce a beautiful and evenly colored ceiling or you do it and it produces big breeder reds, three-foot long snook, and a 50lb cobia once-in-a-while… Read More
September 12, 2010
Reel Cleaning with Captain Steve Betz; Reel Advice
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Having spent over twenty years as an automotive technician and then another fifteen years as a handyman servicing homeowners around the Tampa Bay area one of he main things I have learned is how to repair things and not replace them. This is something I was taught by the owner of the first auto repair shop I ever worked at in Tampa. My mentor and the owner of the shop Ed Wittliff was a true blue German that believed in… Read More
September 12, 2010
Bite-ON, Bite-OFF
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Catching fish or going fishing to your favorite spot is like, well, turning on a light switch; up it is on, down it is off. Fishing pressure, traffic, weather and water conditions can all cause bite-on to bite-off behavior, causing a previous productive fishing pattern to fall apart. Change is not a bad thing if you can read the pattern and understand just what is going on with that area of concern under the surface in… Read More
September 12, 2010
Brown Sugar Redfish...
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Brown Sugar Redfish September is redfish time, and the other day I spent some (time, that is) on the phone with my friend Gary talking about redfish. I told him a couple of tips you folks might find useful when you're attempting to put a client (or yourself) "in the grocery store" when you find yourself in the big schools of breeders you see in September. When I was younger, I thought it was just lucky if you can find… Read More
September 11, 2010
The Hybrid Flurry
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I have used lots of baits throughout my life. You name it and I’ve tried it, but like a lot of our fellow anglers, I am partial to top water dog walkers. Recently, I was introduced to a new, soft swim bait by Edge Products called The Hybrid Flurry. Now I know what you’re thinking -- all swim baits are the same. I don't believe that's true. The Hybrid Flurry has a larger button tail, which gives it lots of vibration; so… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "Bass Notebook: Topwater Euphoria!")
September 09, 2010
Bass Notebook: Topwater Euphoria!
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7.04 pound on 6 # test! Pulling into the boat ramp to unload the ‘Snapper’, our 16 foot tandem 1978 Mohawk canoe, there was an angler on the dock casting one of the larger Zebco casting reels in search of fish. I ask him what he was targeting and he replied fish, anything that will bite my hook. I then went onto explain that by targeting a particular species, he could improve his chances on bring home the bacon. He then… Read More
September 08, 2010
Fly-fishing Inshore for Trout
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Saltwater fly fishing inshore for game fish is becoming an increasingly popular sport. Trout are the perfect game fish for the beginner as well as the seasoned pro. You can find saltwater trout just about everywhere from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico. Here in Florida there is a 15 to 20 inch slot limit, but you CAN possess ONE greater than 20 inches. There is a 4-fish bag limit in the southern region and 5-fish bag… Read More
September 02, 2010
Series Leader Captures Third to Hold Lead
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It's cool to see one of our own really slamming the tournament circuit in the area -- and doing it in Kayak Tournaments. Derick is an excellent fisherman and contributor to our site and to our fishing community. He's helpful and always willing to share his extensive and growing knowledge of the most rapidly expanding sub-category of our popular sport :) Derick Burgos, the Kayak Fishing ClassicS Series Leader, hooked… Read More
August 31, 2010
The Humps of the Florida Keys
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There are a series of three humps located on the edge of the continental shelf off of the Florida Keys. These humps are loosely called seamounts, because they are like mountains rising from the ocean floor. Worldwide, there are thousands of these structures. Some are remnants of underwater volcanoes; others may have once been emergent islands. Wherever you find them, seamounts are unique marine habitats. The Marathon… Read More
August 26, 2010
Skyway Bait Report
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Special thanks to Captain Erick for this excellent bait report -- something we really need to pay more attention to. We'll be doing a profile on the Cap as soon as we can get him on the phone for half an hour. Thanks a ton, Captain, for helping this site be as cool as it's becoming :) The bait was thick at the north Skyway fishing pier just at first light. It was not visible on the surface but was showing on the bottom… Read More
August 25, 2010
Tying Feathers in the Rain
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There’s something mellow about tying flies when it rains. I find it to be special every time I sit down at the tying bench, when it’s like this. I put a hook in the vise and look out onto the Gulf of Mexico. I watch the birds wading the shore, hunting for a meal between the droplets on the surface. An hour goes by and it’s time to put something onto the hook. A piece of this and a piece of that, a few windings of thread… Read More
August 23, 2010
SHIMANO BEST OF SHOW!
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Shimano's Waxwing Sub-Surface Swimming Jig won for "Best Hard Lure." Hydrodynamic body design Upper Wing makes the jig swim in zigzag motion Lower Wing makes the jig prevent rolling Owner Tin-coated double hook Stainless Wire-through construction UV reactive paint on lateral line Available sizes: 88mm/118mm 14 available colors MSRP: 88mm $17.99, 118mm $19.99 SHIMANO BEST OF SHOW "Best of Show" at fishing's annual ICAST… Read More
August 23, 2010
Shein's Book: Kayak Fishing
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This review comes courtesy of the people at No Bananas and Captain Pat Horrigan. You can learn a lot from Captain Pat, and if you want to touch the sport of fly fishing in a way that few men can help you do, call him and visit his web site. This review is about Jon Shein's book Kayak Fishing. You'll see Jon routinly on his web site (KayakFishingMagazine.net). Jon's a very cool guy, and dedicated fisherman. He's also an… Read More
August 21, 2010
Rigging Florida Flats Shrimp
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Rigging Florida Flats Shrimp Rigging a Florida Flats shrimp will keep your bait on the hook for those stealthy long casts across those grassy beds full of what ails you; trout to reds and other fish too. Using a Florida Flats rig on your live shrimp will also keep it virtually weed less when slow presentation is involved or under a cork in the grass or weed lines and it is a rigging every angler should know. Angling deep… Read More
August 21, 2010
DOA Lures Hosts Writers and Guides
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If you've followed this column over the years you've heard me talk often of DOA Lures and its charismatic designer Mark Nichols. Nichols didn't start DOA with seed money or a public offering. He started his company with an idea, the most rudimentary of materials and most importantly an indomitable spirit. Oh, and yes, the fact that he had a "nose" for fish didn't hurt. Nichols didn't ask you to believe him, he was… Read More
August 17, 2010
Drifting Over Structure Offshore
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Matthew and I talked about the fact that you can create a grid for fishing offshore structure in much the same way as you do to fish new flats. The difference with a flat, of course, is that you can 'triangulate' the spot visually; offshore you have to do the same thing with buoys -- but the concept is the same. Draw a grid and use the wind and tidal flow to create a zig-zag drift that effectively covers the entire area… Read More
August 15, 2010
Finding The Slow
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Zooming to work, zooming home, hurrying the kids to school and hurrying to pick them up or take them to a soccer game. Blasting off to the grocery store to get a last minute item for dinner and on and on is an everyday occurrence for many. I thankfully no longer have to do that however I am guilty of becoming hurried when going out to the flats to throw some feathers. I see this mind set in many anglers. Hurry up and… Read More
August 15, 2010
Into the W
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If you are an experienced saltwater fly angler, you know what I mean and if you are not, you will. The “W” on the flats can be a mean master unless you learn how to harness it, even in face on encounters. Here are a few tips that should help. To begin with you have to get over the fact that most fish caught on fly are within 50 feet of the boat or angler if you are wading. Many fly anglers stay home when the “W” is up… Read More
August 14, 2010
Fish Feathers
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I was out scouting with finding snook in mind. Not to catch, just to look and see how my friends are doing and perhaps throw a few feathers at some reds. I pushed deep into the backcountry to enjoy one of my special places. I often find huge snook there and enjoy just watching them sometimes. I haven’t been casting to them much this year because of the tough winter we all went through and I haven’t taken a single snook… Read More
August 13, 2010
Center Pin reels
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First I want to make it clear that I do not claim to be an expert on center pin reels. This is my first season fishing with one and I do not even have a matching rod for mine yet. Let me start by telling you two things that center pin reels are not. They are not new technology; nor do then tend to be inexpensive. Center pin reels, or a version of them, were likely the first reels ever made. In there simplest form they… Read More
August 13, 2010
Shrimp on the Grill
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This is really about grilling anything, not only shrimp, since it affects your grill, and it's likely you put chicken, meat, and fish on it during the course of a month. If you're anything like me, at least half the food you eat is made on a grill. Read More
August 12, 2010
The Fly and The Spider
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It was a midsummer day and that means you fish the morning, take a break at lunch time and go back out and fish the late afternoon into the evening. It just gets too hot around 11 AM until around 4 PM to fish. Of course the tides have to be right and if they are not you can mix up the day with some wreck fishing near shore and some flats fishing in the afternoon, for example. It was on such a day and we had come in for… Read More
August 08, 2010
How new's that braided line?
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This next edition of our "Fishy Spot" trip maps Feature is going to focus on an area of Tampa where Teddy Roosevelt camped with his manliest of manly "Rough Riders". And no -- the Rough Riders aren't simply a bunch of drunks who -- along with the Krewe of Gasparilla -- started the invasion and excuse-to-drink and throw-beads-at-babes parade for which our city has become internationally (in?)famous. The Rough Riders were… Read More
.jpg&w=150&h=125&zc=1 "Bass-Beads Bass Notebook Pt. 4")
August 08, 2010
Bass-Beads Bass Notebook Pt. 4
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Bridge Bass on Bass Beads w/live bait Part 4 of The Online Fisherman Bass Notebook Whether you are using a G-MAG, Oversize Worm hook designed by Gamakatsu to fit magnum size tubes, worms and jerk baits or your own favorite variety, slide a colored bead onto your line before tying on the hook. Your bead will slide freely on casting giving you an advantage in catching big bass over average to little ones. Depending on… Read More
August 04, 2010
Never Give Up...
I didn’t have high hopes for the Whiskey Joe’s Tampa Bay Redfish tournament. The weather was definitely not in my favor with an all day incoming tide and winds up to 20mph, who would? I just knew that locating reds off my 14’ kayak was going to be tough but that didn’t stop me. Dedication is the name of the game when tournament fishing is involved. Contributor Derick Burgos and a friend named Redfish. Derick's a regular… Read More
July 29, 2010
Drifting; How to Fish the Flats
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"We're in trouble." It was about 6:00pm, the sky to the north of my Saint Petersburg home way too dark to be out on the water. The voice on the phone was a friend of mine I had fished with just the day before. Scouting the flats outside the mouth of the Manatee River resulted in sardines, a few really nice trout, and the sighting of at least three beautiful redfish. Slot reds, but big fatties. The trouble that my friend… Read More
July 26, 2010
Meet My Special Friend
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I’d like to introduce all my fishing brethren here at TOF to a dear old friend of mine. We first met sometime in the 70s when I was a member of a couple of outdoor book clubs. We haven’t always been in touch but when we renew our friendship, it’s like we were never apart except that I’m always learning something new. We most often get together when I have a dentist/doctor’s appointment and I know I’ll be sitting around… Read More
July 21, 2010
Fried Trout
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When I edited this the first time Scott pointed out that I had failed to say that he uses regular Heinz Yellow Mustard. The dried powder is an option, not his first choice. To most of our region's fishing community, Captain Scott Moore is a legend in his own right. Often thought-of as the guy who taught the world how to use whitebait to chum snook, he told us in an interview that it was actually an old and passed friend… Read More
July 20, 2010
Let the Game Begin
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Let the Game Begin… A bit of a funny and extreme way to look at it but having a successful day of catching fish will usually involve getting some education and doing a little research about the area you are going to fish and especially when visiting new places. I see it so often, fisherman talking that they were skunked or that the fishing is terrible because of this or that. Sometimes there is a legitimate excuse but… Read More
July 19, 2010
Here Kitty-Kitty
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Here Kitty-Kitty; In Search of Florida Freshwater Cats Channel Cat fishing, no matter where you fish, has always been a past time to cool away under an oak tree, spinning tackle to a bamboo pole, a can of worms, your favorite stink bait or just a pint of chicken livers from your local grocery. In Florida, well back in the days before electronics, a staple for the table, ranking only behind the largemouth bass in terms of… Read More
July 17, 2010
The Orvis School of Flyfishing
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Let's face it. Other than flyfishing stories we write ourselves -- of which there are plenty -- anything you find on TheOnlineFisherman.com could be found on other web sites, assuming you had nothing to do but sit around a search the web all day looking for cool stuff to read. Since a lot of you already do that at work, we figured that we might save employers the nation-over plenty of hourly expenses if we took it upon… Read More
July 16, 2010
No Oil Guarantee
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Even though there’s no oil on our coast, for some people there’s the perception it’s everywhere. Just last month Governor Christ asked for another 50 million from BP for advertising, but was turned down. I say, “Good!” In my opinion, all the money that was spent on advertising should have instead gone to the people whose livelihoods are ruined in Louisiana. Read More
July 08, 2010
Sally's First Snook
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After I sold my kayak fishing business it was time to get back to completing the book I had started in 2003. I figured why spend a winter in NJ when I had an invite to do some guiding in the Everglades instead. It wasn’t a hard decision. Charles had made me an offer. He said if I got my Captain’s license he’d add another Mothership and I could run it. So I got my license, he added the boat, but also expanded too much and… Read More
July 07, 2010
Bonefishing In Style; Bair's Lodge
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Moments after Leslie Johnson pushed the skiff from the marl bank on the west side of South Andros Island, Captain Bryon Chamberlin was on the front casting platform stripping line from his eight weight fly reel. Before he finished, Johnson sighted two large bonefish approaching up-tide. After an initial moment of surprise, Chamberlin started a false cast that landed a "Peterson's Shrimp" fly just feet ahead of the… Read More
June 30, 2010
A Captain's Nightmare
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It has not happened to me yet in the approximately 7 years that I've been guiding professionally, but has happened to many of my professional captain-friends. Hearing the story from people you trust is one thing. telling it's another. Here goes... You get a late night call for a charter trip for the next morning. Four people, 8 hours, a $700 pay check. You're exited as you start planning your last-minute trip. Something… Read More
June 30, 2010
What are these?
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Guess what these are and win a pack of plastics! Registered users or Register today to qualifiy. Then send your answer to captaindavid@theonlinefisherman.com Read More
June 28, 2010
Built from the ground up
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This article is part of a series we're going to be providing our readers about boats. Fishing boats, to be specific. Although the article's falls under "Product Reviews", we've decided that you can't really review a boat. I mean how do you review boats? It's sort of like being the judge at the "Cannabis Cup" in Amsterdam. After being on three or four beautiful, essentially-custom boats built from the drawings up to be… Read More
June 27, 2010
Fly Pilot
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Many fly anglers focus on their ability to distance cast. Although this is important, it is not the most important component of fly fishing. Being able to cast forty feet into the W is great but it won’t do much good if you can’t control the fly and where it lands. Equally important is how the fly lands on the water. I say on the water because all of us sometimes land our flies in other places like the mangrove trees and… Read More
June 27, 2010
Sample Chapter from Skinny
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I worked a long time with Mel Berman to write the book Skinny: How to Fish in Shallow Saltwater. Now you can get the book at Tampa Fishing Outfitters, and enjoy a 20% discount if you mention you heard about it at TheOnlineFisherman.com. This is a sample chapter from the book. It discussed one of the fundamental issues we pointed out in the book; how to identify structure. What is structure? This brief five-page discussin… Read More
June 26, 2010
Hooked On Fishing
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Better yet, How not to be hooked on fishing... The best way to introduce myself to all is through a mishap, that I now chuckle about quite often, that happened as I was fishing out on the Venice City Pier. Remembering back, a couple of years ago, hindsight is a good thing to think about when hooks and proper usages are applied. Snook season was ending but I had a new rod and snook stamp, with angling for that big one on… Read More
June 26, 2010
Perspectives on Tarpon
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From the desk of Dr. Steve Bortone... Executive Director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council This white paper -- the work of contributor Doctor Steve Borton -- was described by the down-to-earth fisherman as 'perhaps being somewhat dry' when he gave it to us. He was kind enough to provide our readers the very, very cool scientific look at a species some of us literally live to chase at certain times of the year --… Read More
June 18, 2010
How to Videos
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What good is a fishing site that doesn't have a video section? Fishing videos can be found everywhere -- on people's phones, on the Internet, and on TV every weekend. In keeping with our promise to build the most useful, entertaining, and educational fishing site in the US of A, we offer a complete video library -- but one that's growing every week. TheOnlineFisherman.com is a "dynamic" web site -- which means that the… Read More
June 17, 2010
The Beauty of it All
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As I was thinking back to my humble beginnings in fly fishing Northern Michigan, I recalled the time spent chasing shinny steelheads up and down streams. The steelhead trout which is a salmonoid, can be found in many waters of North America and my favorite place to catch them is in a stream. Although I have not chased one of these finned bullets in many years, I will never forget the glory of getting my butt kicked by a… Read More
June 17, 2010
A Bucket List and the Live Wire
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Using an iPhone is a lot of fun, and quite useful. When Matthew Chin and I were about 9 feet from the back of Captain Travis Palladeno's bright red truck at 4:50am on Tuesday, the phone broke through Bob Marley to tell us we had arrived for a trip we were really excited about. Although a writing project, it was more than that, as you'll see. I only live about 10 miles from John's Pass, where the Captain's 45'… Read More
June 16, 2010
Fishing For The Golden Ghost
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Silver Ghost in Goldfish Clothing Captain David provides us a unique look into a fishery that few -- if any -- of us have ever explored; a fishery from carp that run like bonefish and weigh twice or three times as much as the biggest of the Silver Ghosts, as those who lurk the flats for bonefish love to call them. They are like silver ghosts; vanishing in a blink at the slightest shadow. These carp might not be quite so… Read More
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June 13, 2010
No Oil Here, Just Fish; Bass On!
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Part 2 Bass Notebook An American tradition etched into my mind that of a young girl, boy or both hand to hand walking along side their dog, a can of worms, armed with a cane pole brings to life a symbol of our youth learning the importance of independence while connecting with nature. Most of us as kids started out angling much the same way. Often from the banks of a nearby creek or pond and our first catch could have… Read More
June 13, 2010
Goodland
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There’s a local saying that when the bugs are the worst the fishing is the best. Today was very promising launching up in Goodland early this morning, the no-seeums were brutal getting the kayak unloaded and ready to launch. I launched at sunrise and headed out to some back bays to fish a slow incoming tide. When I arrived the water was totally muddy and maybe only six to at the most twelve inches deep, but the fish were… Read More
June 03, 2010
A Step Back in Time - Cuttyhunk
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Mike, also known as Fisheye, is an underwater videographer and wanted to hook up with me and take some pics. So we arranged to get together one day. Mike had been out snorkeling and said there weren’t many fish around but had discovered a school of fish tight to the cliffs in the second cove down the shore. Woody and I were on the water and as we approached the cove there was a charter boat casting into the cove. I… Read More
June 03, 2010
When Florida’s Freezing, Go Warm
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Warm water that is, but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. I was contacted by Captain Pat Horrigan about a tournament series he was starting. My brother in law, Paul, wanted to take a fishing vacation and I wanted to get some fishing in too. The tournament was in the Tampa Bay area and I was familiar with a guide there, Jason Stock, who often competed and he submitted reports to us at KFM. So I gave Jason a call and… Read More
June 03, 2010
Spring Blues in New Jersey
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Each spring the blues show up and take over the inside waters of the New York metro area in force for a couple weeks. It always happens but you can’t be sure of when they’ll arrive and when it stops. One of my favorite things is to introduce people to this fishery, via kayak, for the first time. It’s a lot like fishing in a lake except you catch a lot more fish. When I first started doing this fishing the blues were… Read More
June 02, 2010
Choosing the Right Kayak for Kayak Fishing
One of the most successful ways to fish on the flats is to be on a kayak. Not only is it very stealthy but next to wading you can get to places that boaters can only dream of. With that said, being a more skilled angler will be the outcome. In selecting a kayak, I suggest that you try many different styles before you make your choice. Ones’ taste or fishing needs may be very different from the others. Many paddling shops… Read More
June 02, 2010
My Window on the world
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“Florida can never really come to grips with saving the environment because a very large percentage of the population at any given time just got here. So why should they fight to turn the clock back? It looks great to them the way it is. Two years later, as they are beginning to feel uneasy, a few thousand more people are just discovering it all for the first time and wouldn't change a thing. And meanwhile the people who… Read More
May 30, 2010
My Real Everglades
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When you talk about fishing in the Everglades most will think or refer to it as fishing world renown places like Cape Sable, Lostmans River, and Gopher Creek, etc. When you watch the TV shows with the “Rock Star” guides when fishing the Everglades these are some of the areas a lot of them are fishing. The fishing can be phenomenal and there is no doubt it is a great experience to fish and see these areas. With saying… Read More
May 29, 2010
You Want To Find What?....
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Sherlock Holmes here, My friends here at the online fisherman have brought you a bit of my intuition in finding clues to help YOU find fish. Its a bloody brilliant idea and honestly it brings the technology of my bloke james bond with my ability to find anything you might need fishing related. Built through the wonders of the internet we have compiled a collection of maps for you to access here. Maps that matter to… Read More
May 29, 2010
Win Free Stuff for Telling Stories
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Publishing a fishing magazine -- be it ink-on-paper or pixels-on-screen -- is all about content. Let's face it -- there are a lot of fishing sites on the web. Want to get an idea of how manyfishing sites there are on the web? Try a simple search. Type the word Fishing into Google's powerful search engine (are you a little scared that it might be an alien intelligence behind that site?). Suffice it to say there are more… Read More
May 28, 2010
Remote Alaska
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I had only fished Alaska once and that was in June of ’83. Now I was going to spend two weeks kayak fishing in late July ’08. Troy and Allen had arranged the trip and the highlight of the first week was going to be staying in a remote forest service cabin on Montague Island in Prince William Sound. The Mothership dropped us off at Port Chalmers (the name of the bay and cabin) with all our gear. We were 70 miles from… Read More
May 24, 2010
Tarpon Tips
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As you all may know the tarpon have showed up in the bay area and are here for the taking. They are once in a life time fish that will put you and your tackle to the test. You can either use conventional or spinning gear its all personal prefrence. I myself like a little heavier spinning outfit so its eaiser to cast baits at these fish. A 6000 to 1200 size reel with a 7'6'' to 8' heavy to extra heavy rod spooled with 65… Read More
May 24, 2010
Maine Smallmouths
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If you’re a bass fishermen and you’ve had an opportunity to catch smallmouths then I don’t have to explain why when my buddy Mike told me they were regularly catching five pounders, he had my attention. Turns out Mike and his brother had been fishing the Penobscot River in Maine. They liked the Lincoln area and go each fall. I decided to join them in the fall of 2008 and I’m sure glad I did. Hurricane Hugo was moving up… Read More
May 22, 2010
My First Marlin
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It was the mid ‘80s and we were going to spend a few weeks fishing Cabo. This is before the party world discovered the place and it was still mostly a fishing locale. In fact the spot on the beach where we camped for $3 a day now has a high rise resort as does the rest of the beach. As we left the launch marlin was our quarry. I had never caught a billfish but Ken had caught many. Striped marlin are very common there but… Read More
May 22, 2010
Kayak Fishing for Bull Sharks in the Everglades
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When we first started this magazine, two guys named Jon Shein and Joey Cambria helped a lot. They had started a kayak fishing magazine that's become one of the world's leading kayak fishing sites. We thank those guys a lot for the help they gave us when we were a newcomer, and this story is one that Jon shared with me long ago. It's about catching bull shark from a kayak in our own Everglades. Jon told me about him and… Read More
May 22, 2010
Bluefin from the Kayak
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It all started in winter when I decided it was time to give bluefin tuna a shot from the kayak. The fishery has been broadening out with fish in numerous size classes. Cape Cod bay has seen an influx of them in recent years. I didn’t make it up to Cape Cod and one day I got a call from Joey. Danny found a captain who was interested in exploring kayak fishing for tuna in New Jersey. Turns out Rich, the captain, was… Read More
May 21, 2010
Bass Report 5/21
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Bass Report 5.31 The bass are done spawning by this time of the year. The water has warmed up and the bass will be looking for shady spots. I have been finding the bass in the lilly pads close to deep water. With the change in temperatures the bass are more prone to aggressive topwater strikes. Buzz baits in the morning seem to always get a few exciting topwater explosions, as well as Doug Hannon's topwater snake over… Read More
May 20, 2010
Running and Gunning Bait
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There are times when whitebait is all over a particular flat you’re on but for some unknown reason, they just won’t come to your chum. You can use a gallon of menhaden oil, but all that happens is big shiny schools of four-inchers are moving under your boat at 100 knots. You can see the schools moving, but you can’t get them to eat. If this happens, first try a sabiki. If those don’t work either, try a technique we call… Read More
May 19, 2010
How to Choose a Fishing Rod; Part 2
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We know the basics of rods now. How to choose a rod for specific needs, we know power, length, and action and how they affect the rods we use. If you don't already know check out our article "How to Choose a Rod Basics." We are going to talk about more advance rod technology including: Rod Materials (blank), Tapers, guides, and reel seats. Choosing the Right Rod Blank This is the framework for the entire rod, consider it… Read More
May 19, 2010
How to Choose a Rod Basics
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Fishing poles are an important piece of the puzzle to catch fish. In its simplest form they are used to throw the line out with a hook at the end of it. Rods have been used ever since man has figured out it is a better way to fish than just holding a line... technology advances and we now have more options than ever for us to pick. Fishing rods will vary in length, taper, action (also known as flexibility) and power. The… Read More
May 17, 2010
Structure at Your Local Lake
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When looking at local lakes finding the structure might be the difference between catching fish or just wetting a line. Bass are creatures of habit. They will find structure and hang around it. The saying "think like a fish" gets thrown around alot but if we do take a moment to "think like a fish" we can see that in small ponds bass will stick to structure even if it seems insignificant. Bass need a few things. 1.Food… Read More
May 17, 2010
Captain Travis Palladeno
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Captain Travis Palladeno has 25 years of experience fishing the Gulf of Mexico. He runs a 45 foot Phantom Speed Fish with twin 350 Yanmar engines named “Live Wire.” Live Wire boasts a fast racing hull, yet is fully equipped for deep sea fishing. It is outfitted for electric reels and has all the latest safety equipment, such as a Globalstar satellite telephone, 406 MHz EPIRB, Class 2 life preservers and a covered life… Read More
May 15, 2010
Finding Bait
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This "Bait" map is only a small inkling of a new level of content you're going to be seeing from the team at TheOnlineFisherman.com. This map will be showing you where you can throw a castnet, or drop Sabiki rigs down to catch anything from Pilchard sardines (what we call Scaled sardines), Threadfins, and Shad. Among the other maps you'll be seeing are maps about where Reports are coming from, Maps about where to get… Read More
May 15, 2010
Casting a Baitcasting Reel
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Before we think about casting a Bait Casting reel we must set the tension adjustment to try and prevent as many backlashes as possible (backlashes are when the lure stops but the line continues to come off the spool, resulting in a mess on your reel) The spool on a casting reel is shaped like a barrel that turns within the gears and mechanisms of the reel. There will be a small knob on the side of the reel that will be… Read More
May 15, 2010
Casting a Spinning Reel
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Casting a Spinning Reel Spinning reels are easier to use than casting reels. You will have a good grasp on how to use them within a few minutes and cast well with a few hours of practice. To cast a spinning reel grab the line with your index finger just above the bail, flip the bail open which releases the line from the spool then move the rod and reel behind your head keep your eye on the location that you are aiming… Read More
May 15, 2010
Choosing the Correct Reel
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Reely Simple Basics Although there are 3 different types of reels, spinning, bait casting, and fly. We will just cover the two major types casting and spinning. Fly rods are in a league of their own taking more physical effort and good conditions to use effectively (ever try using one in 20 knot winds?) The all serve the same two basic functions hold the line and provide power (in drag) to fight the fish. The general… Read More
May 14, 2010
Destination Nature Coast
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There are so many fantastic destinations to fly fish in the beautiful world that it is difficult to write about just one, so I am going to talk about Florida’s Nature Coast for starters. To begin with, just where is this Nature Coast? The region comprises the inside curve known as the Big Bend area of the western coast and stretches along the Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Dunnellon, Citrus, Hernando and Pasco… Read More
May 12, 2010
Why We Kayak Fish
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When you think about fishing you realize that there are many forms of the sport. Sight fishing is by far the most challenging approach to be taken. In order to be successful in sight fishing, you must have a stealthy approach or you will do nothing more than spook your quarry. Wade fishing has its’ place for sure but it can be a long walk and as you tire, you are naturally noisier by default. Using a flats boat is very… Read More
May 12, 2010
Sticking Your Head in a Cooler of Ice
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Have you ever stuck your head into a cooler full of melting ice? Of course you have. It’s too tempting to have not done it, at least once. It’s the ultimate in brain freeze and when you stand up and the liquid ice pours off of your head and down your sweaty hot back, it insights a uniquely blended dance of panic and pleasure. It’s always fun to encourage and induce someone that has yet learned of these delights to try it… Read More
May 12, 2010
Finding the Holy Grail
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To what end do we fly fish? Why are we out on the flats in 85 degree temperatures? Are we gluttons for extreme punishment? No, we all have a remarkable desire to catch fish on the fly and that’s far worse. The Holy Grail for me is permit. For others it may be bonefish or tarpon. I know a lot of redfish addicts that won’t even talk about another species. We are all in search of our favorite species. To do battle with our… Read More
May 12, 2010
The Art of Selecting a New Fly Rod
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The art of selecting a new fly rod is just that, an art. So much so as the art of fly fishing being an art. If you don’t understand the art, you can’t partake in the art effectively. Man that sounds snooty, but it’s true. Let’s talk about what you need to know about your upcoming selection Picasso. For the sake of this conversation we are talking about saltwater fly rods. First and foremost, you need to decide on what… Read More
May 12, 2010
The Science of Selecting the Right Fly Reel
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To begin with, this discussion is directed at saltwater fly reels. There are many manufacturers of saltwater fly reels today and that is great in the sense of direction. On the other hand it not only can be confusing to someone new to the sport, it opens the window to making a purchase of the wrong reel. When you hookup with a very powerful, trophy saltwater fish and he cooks your new reel, you have purchased the wrong… Read More
May 12, 2010
Lines, Leaders & Tippets, Oh My
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The performance characteristics or your fly rod will play a major role in your fly line selection. Think about that for a moment. If you have a good fast action saltwater fly rod you do not need to overweight the rod. If you are purchasing a new fly line for your 8 wt rod then purchase an 8 wt fly line and not a 9 wt. Using an overweight line takes away designed lifting characteristics of the rod and will aid in… Read More
May 12, 2010
Choosing the right fly for fly fishing
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If we were talking about selecting the proper fly for stream fishing, I would have to tell you to learn how to identify aquatic insects. That can take years to become expert at that science and fortunately what we need to do is not that complicated or involved. On the stream there is a saying; ‘match the hatch’ and we will do something similar. To begin with, know what your target species likes to eat. Permit, redfish… Read More
May 12, 2010
You Look So Nice
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Have you ever given any thought to how you look while fishing? Perhaps I should say how you look to the fish. Fly fishing; be it freshwater or saltwater is mostly a sight fishing experience. We see the fish and make our cast. We can increase our chances in this cat and mouse game that is so captivating to so many of us. Fish sometimes hear or feel us by our slightest noise or movement in shallow water. Worst than that,… Read More
May 12, 2010
FlyGlasses
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If you add up how much you have spent on your entire cache fly fishing gear and effluvia over the years you would probably be shocked. In our defense, all of us know that golfers spend way more money than we fly anglers could ever hope to achieve in unnecessary miscellany. Can you imagine having a fly caddy? Jarvis hand me a number eight Clouser, or Jarvis, the 9 wt please. Really, that’s all too much. Wait that kind of… Read More
May 12, 2010
The Triple Haul
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Everyone that enjoys fly fishing wants to be able to cast further than they already can. For that matter, at times we all need to be able to make a longer cast no matter how we are fishing. But this is about hauling fly line. Lets’ start with what a haul is, what it means to your fishing and then we’ll talk about how to do it. A haul is the deliberate and sudden acceleration of the fly line. This affords a much longer… Read More
May 12, 2010
I Like Jello-O
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I like Jell-O. You like Jell-O. What’s not to like? It’s cool and sweet and tastes good. It tickles going down and it’s fun to play with because it wiggles. Just ask any kid if you forgot that part. It’s the kid in us all that makes fishing fun. Most of us began fishing as children. Perhaps your father or mother taught you. Or maybe an older brother or sister showed you the ropes. Lets’ not forget grandpa. After all, he… Read More
May 12, 2010
Mayhem at Sunup
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I was on the water before light headed north to the flats. I had been passing a likely looking spot for some time now and really wanted to work it. I had to wait for the proper conditions to make it worthwhile considering the ‘sure thing’ area that awaited me in the backcountry. Well the conditions were just right. The tide was pulling at day break. There was no ‘W’, not the slightest breeze and the temperature was a… Read More
May 11, 2010
The Ultimate Seat Cushion for a Kayak
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I first started using a cushion in the early days of my becoming a kayak fisherman. I remember a post somewhere of an angler who started using an air pillow as a butt pad. I tried one and was hooked. Since then a number of companies have offered a variety of cushions. Some use gel, while others used foam, air or a combination of both. The latter are my favorites but there’s one thing they all seemed to have in common.… Read More
May 11, 2010
Internal Pulley System
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Have you ever put some items in the center hatch of your kayak and when you went to retrieve them on the water you couldn’t reach them? It’s happened to all of us. Items shift and if we can’t get to them while on the water. When this happens on the open water it’s like you never brought them along. There is a very simple solution. Set up a system that’ll cure the problem. I call it an internal pulley system. It’s… Read More
May 11, 2010
G-Flex Epoxy
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I first learned about West Systems G-Flex from Chris, the owner of Saltwatersports, a Naples kayak shop. Upon returning to Florida for the 2007/2008 winter season I stopped in the shop on my first shopping trip to Naples. Chris filled me in what was happening with the shop and then asked if I knew about G-Flex yet. I hadn’t. I am always tinkering with kayaks and other stuff and what excited me was here was an epoxy that… Read More
May 11, 2010
Malone Foam Stacker Blocks
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When transporting several kayaks on the roof of a vehicle it becomes necessary to stack them vertically. This results in a couple problems. It isn’t easy getting the kayaks to stay in place. On my 78” wide bars I can carry 6 kayaks using a stacker and I have. However it’s difficult to load them and have them stay in place while I strap them. The other issue I have is the hard bar on the side of the kayak will dent it.… Read More
May 09, 2010
The Fish Grip
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There are a myriad of lip gripping devices on the market to help you handle fish. Most function as the name implies by gripping the lip of the fish. America’s most popular gamefish the largemouth bass comes with a built in handle of sorts. Grip its lip with your thumb and forefinger and the bass is subdued. This works for all members of the bass family including its larger cousin the striped bass. However there are many… Read More
May 09, 2010
The Next Wave in Kayak Fishing Kayaks
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Kayak fishing is an evolving sport. The first quantum leap was the use of plastic as a hull material. The next leap was the Sit on Top (SOT) kayak. After that came better designs and then pedal drives. I don’t know if it will be the last leap but the next big thing is going to be the electric kayak (EK). Using an electric motor to propel a kayak isn’t anything new. Over a decade ago Cobra added a motor mount that would… Read More
May 09, 2010
Bonefish by Kayak
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We got the two tandem kayaks in the water. Even though we had four kayaks back at our rental villa, we were only able to get two on the roof of the rental van. Even two was a bit of a challenge and four was out of the question. Scott and I paddled to a point we had nicknamed Barracuda Point, the previous day. That’s because we had spotted a four foot cuda there the day before while doing reconnaissance. Joey and Terry… Read More
May 09, 2010
Laguna Madre Reds
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Jim had asked if I would be interested in helping out at a Heroes on the Water enclave they were going to have in Texas. I told Joey about it and he mentioned he had a couple days of fishing at Cast and Blast, in Arroyo City, down near the Mexican border. So we looked into flights and I decided to drive and make a road trip out of it. I could combine some other excursions into the trip. Besides my time at the enclave,… Read More
May 09, 2010
Baja 2004
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We had been catching a bunch of skipjack tuna and they were fun but the East Cape’s Sea of Cortez has much more to offer. Bill and Terry were off chasing schools of skippies but I decided to stay tight to our Mothership. Alonzo, the captain, started tossing live sardinas to see if he could raise some Dorado or Yellowfin. It isn’t easy to see well into the water while sitting in a kayak but I saw something big in the… Read More
May 09, 2010
Tube in Worm
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In June of 2002 Joey, Doug, Jim and me made a trip up to Cape Cod. We were looking at lures in a tackle shop there and we came upon the Tube and Worm (TnW). We discussed how it was one of the hottest big striped bass lures in New England and how we should try a smaller version from our kayaks but we didn’t take it any further. Read More
May 09, 2010
7th Annual Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Tournament (May 15th)
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It started as an idea. Joey felt it was important to start a tournament somewhere in the New York metro area to help promote kayak fishing. I knew it was a good idea but in May, when Joey was proposing to have the event, was our busiest time of year in the shop. I told Joey he’d have to take on most of the leg work and I’d pick up his end in the shop. Joey started looking at places to hold it and I said Jamaica Bay was… Read More
May 09, 2010
Is it the lure or where it swims?
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If I'm on the Pinellas side of the pond, there are at least three stores I can be found at. One is Mastry's down on Fourth Street South -- right down the street from where I live in Crescent Heights. I've known the guy named Larry Mastry, and his dad, for a long, long time. The old man taught Phil Plastic (among many others) how to sport fish 100lb tarps under the Skyway. I think there are cork bobbers in my bag (or… Read More
May 04, 2010
Getting Started Kayak Fishing
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This is another article coming into The Online Fisherman from what we -- and many people into the sport -- feel is the Internet's most valuable and popular kayak fishing resource; our friend Jon Shein and partner Joe Cambria's KayakFishingMagazine.net. The site -- rich with kayak fishing content, is the number one online resource for what's rapidly becoming a primary category of our beloved sport (speaking of which -- is… Read More
April 30, 2010
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Forecast for May
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Tarpon will come on strong this month as their yearly migration begins. There may also still be some other migratory species around, such as Spanish mackerel and cobia. As fishing pressure shifts towards tarpon, anglers fishing bay waters should have fast action with trout, reds, pompano and more. Snook will move to passes and will also be found in the surf this month. Tarpon Tarpon should be plentiful by the middle of… Read More
April 30, 2010
Is this a game to you?
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If you fish as much as we do -- or spend as much time talking,writing, and thinking about fishing as we do, it can hardly be called a game. We take fishing very seriously. Since publishing is our business, and we publish a fishing magazine, to us it's work, pure and simple. Fun, but work. We're among that blessed group of individuals in the world that do something they love, and end up getting paid for it. This Fishing… Read More
April 30, 2010
Kayaks and Content Experts
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In coming weeks and months, you're going to see the Kayak section of our increasingly popular online sports fishing magazine experience dramatic improvements in the level and quality of its content, its entertainment value, and (perhaps most importantly) its ability to educate you on the down-and-dirty how-tos of Yakking. We're about to see work coming from two of the most respected and competent publishers, writers, and… Read More
April 30, 2010
A True Fishing Story
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Many years ago I read an article about this fish a called a hybrid. It was a cross between a striped bass and a white bass. It's was called a sunshine bass and could be caught in Florida. From the day I read about the sunshine bass I had an urge to find a place where I could fish and catch one. That was over 30 years ago. I never did fish for or catch one. Matter of fact I spoke to my friend Steve, who knew of a place… Read More
April 27, 2010
The Bass Professor
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D8E281C9BA1FF376 To see additonal videos in this category, click the square button right on top of the Play/Pause button. Read More
April 27, 2010
Wade Fishing
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A lot of us don't have boats, or don't have the chance to get to a boat every time we can fish. Wading is a very special way to fish. In the water, quite and in touch with the world in a way you never can be on the deck of a center console, the sound, smell, and feel of wade fishing leads many people with expensive boats and years on them to stop the boat, get out, and walk. If you wade, consider your equipment. Make… Read More
April 26, 2010
Cast Net Use
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Choosing the proper cast net is of the utmost importance if you are to be successful when trying to catch bait. These few tips along with the chart below will help you enormously in your bait catching efforts. Cast nets come in all different lengths, mesh sizes and weights. First and foremost the two most important questions you have to ask before you purchase a cast net is: 1) The size of the bait your trying to catch.… Read More
April 24, 2010
Dreads as artwork
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When we first started the site, we saw products as one of three things. First, rods and reels. Regardless of the genre of your spouse, unless they're equally addicted to our favorite sport, you spend time once, twice, or eighteen times a year explaining the subtleness of rod design and a specific combination's target-accuracy in being able to cast perfectly and result in a winning struggle time after time. Why? So you… Read More
April 18, 2010
Major Rules Change for ClassicS
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New Sport Angler & Guides Divisions for the ClassicS. In an effort to level the field for all of the contestants the Kayak Fishing ClassicS has made a major rules change. Contestants will now compete in either the Sport Angler Division for non pro's. The kayak fishing guides will compete in the Guides Division which is exclusively for kayak fishing guides. Over the past several months the ClassicS has been holding… Read More
April 16, 2010
Homosassa Hazard Extreme Tarpon Classic
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 The Kayak Fishing ClassicS is pleased to announce their next tournament. The Homosassa Hazard, Extreme Tarpon Classic is scheduled for May 21 & 22. The Host Sponsor is the famous Bayport Inn located at 4835 Cortez Blvd. In Weeki Wachee, Florida. The famous Bayport Inn has been serving great seafood and family meals for years and is well known along the Gulf Coastal area of Florida. Read More
April 12, 2010
Ladies Let's Go Fishing
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Women's fishing program teams with Langford tournament By staff report Treasure Coast News Ladies, Let's Go Fishing, the award-winning educational program designed to instruct women of all skill levels on fishing knowledge, tips and techniques, has partnered with the Frances Langford Memorial Fishing Tournament in Jensen Beach April 23-25. The union will give lady anglers the opportunity to participate in and experience… Read More
April 11, 2010
Fishing Tech 101
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Coming soon to a classroom near you... One of the things I wrote about in Mel Berman's book Skinny: How to Fish in Shallow Saltwater was how to use GoogleEarth to improve the odds you'll catch fish. More accurately, what I talked about was using GoogleEarth to better identify structure -- regardless of where you were on the planet. The impact technology has on the world of sportfishing goes far beyond simply using… Read More
April 06, 2010
America's Newest Online Fishing Magazine
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If you spend time fishing, it's likely you spend time on the Internet looking for fishing information-- reading about fishing, talking about fishing, talking to other fishers on forums, hopefully finding the best fishing reports from pro guides, and generally have a place to go when the subject of your favorite sport crosses your mind. The Online Fisherman is just that. And more. With the top experts, activists, and… Read More
April 03, 2010
It weighed HOW much?
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Calculating The Weight of a Fish If you've ever fished with another fishing addict, you have asked the question a million times. "How much you think this fish weighs?". It could be a thirty pound snook or a three pound sheepshead, but you gotta ask your friend what he or she THINKS it weighs. Lose one, and you can say it weighed anything you want to say; you never saw it, for God's sake. But if you get one in the boat,… Read More
March 30, 2010
Scott Moore
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Scott Moore When we started this special section of your magazine, it wasn't hard to put Captain Scott Moore on the list of legends. As people who live by whitebait -- and more accurately chumming (first for, and then with) "scaled" sardines -- the name Scott Moore reminded us of where the practice came from. To us -- and everybody we know that fill their live wells with fresh living baitfish -- the name is synonymous… Read More
March 29, 2010
Bass at your local lake
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So with this wind and the nice weather I have been wanting to go out fishing, well not having much time (and 20+mph wind) I figured hitting some residential ponds in my area would be a great idea since A: I get to fish B: There is always a chance for bucket mouth C: Fishing the bay with 20mph is no fun, but I want to put a tug on my line D: Most people will drive right by you not knowing there are good size fish around… Read More
March 24, 2010
How to Fight a Fish
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Successfully identifying a strike and responding fast enough to set the hook solidly aren't enough to ensure that you'll consistently catch fish. Hooking fish and getting them to your boat are two entirely different things. Even pros lose their share of fish, especially when using light tackle. There are lots of bruisers out there, many that have been caught before, and plenty of structure for them to cut you off with.… Read More
March 24, 2010
Drag Systems
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You can't see your drag system. You can only feel it. And either make good use of it in your fishing or no idea at all of how to use it. This article will attempt to let you see beneath the engine to understand how drag systems function. A drag system is basically a brake pad, designed to keep your line from breaking. The pad is positioned so it presses against a series of washers and pads, which then press on the spool.… Read More
March 24, 2010
Penn Reel
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Original Penn Squidder #140 - Mint Condition. $40.00 H - 727-943-5011 - C - 727-204-9723 Read More
March 23, 2010
Hybrid Bass
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The Online Fisherman's Picture of the Week If you look at our Contributing guides, you'll find an incredible picture of a man named Josh Zacharias holding what you just know fought like a freight train, wasn't a stupid fish that grabbed a piece of masking tape wrapped around a long-shanked hook (try it for Macks; you might surprise yourself, and if you string a six foot piece of 6lb mono with tiny gold hooks and wrap… Read More
March 22, 2010
Captain Pat Horrigan
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Captain Pat Horrigan 813.323.0363 IGFA Certified GuideNational Director of TournamentsKayak Fishing ClassicS Pat Horrigan, Tropic Bay Guides, Inc. Tropic Bay Kayak Fishing Classics Captain Pat Horrigan began fly fishing when he was only 12 years old, when his grandfather put a fly rod in his hands in Northern Michigan. He fell in love with the sport and some 40 years later, still has a very strong passion for it. Capt.… Read More
March 21, 2010
Baby Steps
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This article was written years ago by a friend of Captain Mel Berman's named Chris Hofstader and his wife Susan. I had it as part of the content for the book Skinny that we wrote together, and it remains the best article I've found on fishing -- and sharing our love of the sport -- for people injured and "challenged". "Wha-da-ya think yer doin'?!?" Yelled the young man standing near me on the Weedon Island fishing pier.… Read More
March 21, 2010
Being a Beginning Fisherman
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Once the beginning fisherman decides that fishing is what they want to do, they have begun a venture that is very addicting, time consuming, and oftentimes expensive. The first few outings the beginner starts to realize how much time and effort it takes to rig tackle, tie lines, and actually catch fish. To a person who is new to fishing all of this can seem a little difficult and frustrating at times. The things that… Read More
March 21, 2010
Get a Grip
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It wasn’t long ago that the now-famous Boga Grip made its entry into the saltwater fishing arena. The ability to quickly and easily grab a fish without imparting serious damage to them was made simple. At the cost of a mere $129 for the smallest in the range (and an astonishing $259 at Cabela’s online web store where we checked first), the tool not only grabs a fish quickly, but it lets it go as soon as you’ve… Read More
March 20, 2010
Fishing Piers; No Boat? No Problem
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When most of us hear the word "Pier", we thing of the world-famous Skyway Fishing Pier. Whether you're underneath that behemoth wrestling with a 20lb grouper or a 120lb Tarpon in June, our Pier is a wonder of the world. And being underneath the pier like many of us experience is only a small percentage of what happens year-round at the pier -- on it, not underneath it. For an experience -- even if you DO have a 21'… Read More
March 20, 2010
How to Clean a Fish
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A lot of people ask us about the best way to clean fish, and our normal response is to ask them what they intend to do with them. Depending on your intended recipe, there are three primary ways to clean a fish. First, it's a good idea to think about what a fish looks like inside. You don't have to turn into a Doctor Bob or anything -- a degree in fish biology isn't required to cut wonderful, perfect-every-time fillets.… Read More
March 19, 2010
Get Flies Deep for Big Fish
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As the water cools and fishing activity on the flats heats up, are there times when you would like your fly to go deeper? We all love to see fish come up to the surface and slam a top water fly or popper, but sometimes larger fish are more interested in having their dinner put closer to their nose as they lie with their belly against the sand. Deeper usually means a slower presentation is needed to entice a lunker to… Read More
March 19, 2010
Baby Tarpon Flies
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An article I wrote a while back on another fishing web site about small Tarpon elicited several questions about not only what flies to use, but how to use them effectively. Tarpon of any size seem to have their own agenda about what they like to eat at any given time. According to Donald Larmouth and Rob Fordyce, authors of, Tarpon On Fly, Baby Tarpon will eat almost anything you would throw at a Snook, size 2 or size… Read More
March 19, 2010
Take your fly out after dark...
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Snook action is hot around lighted docks and bridges. At night, the forage that is most readily responsible for the pop made by Snook as they slam the surface is a small shrimp. A fly fishing friend, Brad Lowman, was night fishing along the sea wall at one of our passes during a strong outgoing tide and could see small shrimp being devoured by large Snook. This small and simple shrimp fly being tied by Captain Pat Damico… Read More
March 19, 2010
Between shopping
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These past couple of days i have had the opportunity to get out and do some late afternoon bass fishing with a good friend of mine. So far every pond that we have fished in the Tampa Palms area has been holding a decent amount fish. Due to this cold Winter the bass have started there spawn later and are still on the beds. Lately we have been throwing the whole tackle box at them to see what is working best for the beding… Read More
March 18, 2010
Hooks
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7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1/0 2/0 3/0 4/0 5/0 6/0 7/0 Above is the hook scale (and above that is a picture of two hooks -- one an old and somewhat rusty 'J' hook and the other a less-but-still-rusty circle hook). Don't ask me; I got the picture from the collection of images we have laying around. They might be too rusty to use on a big snook, but for purposes of this article they were fine :) Â Read More
March 18, 2010
A Blind Guy on the Flats
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Set it! Yelled Captain Brad. Set it Set It Set it, he continued. Having absolutely no idea what Brad meant, I took a guess and started cranking the reel. I felt awkward as I used my left hand to do the turning while some sea creature tried to pull the rod out of my grip. My reel complained loudly with an odd whining noise and I thought I might lose control. Let him run! Instructed one of the others aboard the boat. Huh?… Read More
March 17, 2010
What's Biting next month?
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April is a good month to catch your Snook, Redfish and Trout in one outing. Now I am not saying its always easy, but your chances increase a lot. The water temperature and the abundance of whitebait will make this possible. Whitebait is a scaled sardine or a threadfin herring. In the North Suncoast region scaled sardines are the primary bait that is around our grass flats. They also last longer then a threadfin herring.… Read More
March 16, 2010
Captain Mel Berman
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From the publisher: There are lots of Captains on our site today. It's going on two years since I created this web page for a site that was thirty days old. It was the dedication page for this web site. If you spend time here, and have been around for a while, you know what has been happening. You've seen the incredible flood of new visitors. You've seen the readers -- not the forum members, but the readers that don't… Read More
March 15, 2010
Why I Fish
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While fishing one day I caught a very large bass. It weighed about 8.9 lbs. That is very big for a largemouth bass. It was a mother bass ready to spawn its young, so I did not handle it too much. I released it quickly with care so it could continue its life cycle and produce all the baby fingerlings. While driving back home for some reason, I started to think about what had occurred on my fishing trip, getting to see… Read More
