Let me start off by saying I realize there has been a long delay in between fishing reports. However, this one will be more than worth waiting for. Since I have finally received my boat back in good working order I have had the opportunity to get back on the fish in full force. The big Snook have been eating and torturing clients day after day.

     First of all I would like to start off with my trip on June the 29th with Robert Eskew and family. Robert originally wanted to go after Tarpon but he injured his shoulder the week before coming down and I recommended we stay inside instead of making a long haul offshore and getting his injury beat up more. He quickly decided in my favor and said they just wanted to catch some good fish. First we went after some inshore grouper and Robert's son managed a nice 18 incher. They hooked up a couple of more times but were broken off each time. After that we went inside to a secret wreck that I know of. We anchored up on it and before long everyone was taken a beating. The fellas hooked 10 fish in a row before finally landing one and it turned out to be a 5 pound sting ray. That fish but a beating on Robert but he did a great job keeping the pressure on and getting it to the surface.

     Eventually, the bite slowed and everyone was a little hungry so we decided to go in and get  a bite at the Waterfront Restaurant. After a great meal at the Waterfront we decided to go offshore and fish a nice rock pile off of Sanibel. The fellas hooked up with fish after fish out there. The unfortunate part was they were getting manhandled. Most people don't realize the intensity that is created when lock down drag fishing for big fish. Robert hooked up with a 100 plus pound fish and it was pulling him all over the boat. I know if his shoulder was better he would have been able to put a little more pressure on the fish but with it injured he just didn't have enough for and extra large Goliath. Robert's son was next to hook up and he laid in to a big one. I got real nervous there for a moment because he looked like he was going over board. When someone has a $550 rod and reel combo in their hands and it looks like they may let it go things get a little hectic. Robert jumped in and rescued him in the nick of time. With both of them working the rod and the reel they managed to land this nice Goliath Jewfish.

     My Next trip was with Joe and Dave from the East Coast of Florida. I picked them up at 7am at South Seas Plantation where Dave's parents own a condo. We started the day getting bait off of North Captiva and then we ran the beach until we found some big schools of Snook. The first fish of the day was caught by Dave and it was a true Monster Snook of 38 inches. Dave did a great job of pumping the big fish away from all of the underwater snags. He pumped and reeled and directed the big fish to the boat in a little under 5 minutes. If I'm not mistaken it was his biggest Snook ever.

     I could tell Dave and Joe were long time friends. From what I saw they usually have a competition between the two of them on who will catch the most fish and the biggest. Dave had a huge lead and I know Joe wanted to catch him more than just about anything. Joe had brought his own reel and equipment which is always fine with me but it usually is insufficient for the type of fishing I do. Joe preceded to lose the 5 of the next 7 fish he hooked. I warned him ahead of time that his leader and hook would probably not hold up but I encouraged him to find out on his own. Eventually, Joe switched up and went a little heavier and started having much more success. Between the two of them they caught a good 25 to 30 Snook with many more misses in between.

     As the bite slowed we decided to see if we could find some Tarpon around the outer islands and look for some Snook on Cayo Costa. The Tarpon were gone but the Snook were there in full force at Cayo Costa. We saw Snook in the hundreds but they didn't eat very well and we only managed to land a couple on the outside. We went inside and Joe landed this nice 10 pound Snook. Next we decided to break for a bite to eat at Barnacle Phils on North Captiva and then we headed to Redfish Pass. At Redfish they caught Snook after Snook until some nasty weather came through and finished off the day for us.

      The final trip to report on was with Gene Pervis a high school classmate and current fire fighter. He brought along his father Emmit and a fire lieutenant John from the Lake Gibson, Florida area fire department. The guys didn't know what they were getting themselves into. The current conditions in our area require either fishing for small fish or extra large fish. The small fish just don't do it for me so we went straight for the big boys. The fellas were all a little novice at fishing so I knew I would have a great chance of breaking them in right. We started off at a rock pile off of Sanibel and the bite was good from the get go. John hooked up to three fish in a row and was busted off each time on 50 pound braid and 100 pound leader. Eventually he got the hang of it and landed a nice keeper 23 inch grouper in 14 feet of water.

     Next, Gene and Emmit had their turns getting broke off one after the other. Gene managed to land a nice grouper that was just under keeper size. Emmit was next up. He hung his bait up in the structure and handed me the rod to get it undone. After working with the hung up bait I finally got it off. As soon as the bait came loose a big fish was there to pounce on it. He gave me a run for my money. I was calling Emmit up to get his rod and fight the fish and the fish pulled me right down the side of the boat to the transom before I could get settled and hand the rod over to Emmit. Once Emmit had the rod and the big fish on the other end he was amazed at how strong the fish was on the other end. Emmit pulled and reeled as hard as he could and landed this 50 plus pound Goliath Jewfish. Emmit had to take a seat after that one.

     Next, everyone decided it was time to get a bite to eat at the Waterfront Restaurant. After finishing up a great meal at the Waterfront we went after the grande Snook. The big Snook are as tough as nails. They can eat your bait and wrap you around 10 things in the two seconds you have slack in your line. They are masters at breaking and fraying lines off. Each one of the fellas had several opportunities to land a big Snook but each one of them missed there shot. We'll chalk this time up to experience and next time they should all be a little more skilled at it. All in all I believe they had a great time and look forward to fishing with them again.

     To conclude, the big fish are hungry and they are eating the big baits like candy. I had many great clients and awesome fish. I invite anyone who would like some top quality big fish action to give me a ring. To all of the clients in my previous trips thank you very much for your patronage.

      One last thing don't forget my Shearwater Tower Boat is for sale. Here is the link [Shearwater Tower Boat For Sale] to find all of the info on it. Offers are flying in and my new boat will be ready very soon.         

cell (239) 470-4243 or work (239) 540-7529