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REDFISH, SNOOK, TROUT, JACKS, POMPANO,
TARPON, COBIA, FLOUNDER and many more
species
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REDFISH:
These fish are known for their pure
strength. Their pulling power will amaze you. They are one of my
favorites. |
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Reds can be caught on shallow flats with
live and artificial baits. Wade fishing for them using a gold
spoon and 8 pound tackle is one of my favorite ways to pursue them.
Live bait is also fun to use and DEADLY. Conservation of reds is
important so I encourage clients to release most of their redfish catch.
Numbers are increasing due to protected fishing. Redfish are great to
eat especially on the grill.
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SNOOK:
This is the fish that everyone wants to catch. Snook
are known for their top water hits, line burning runs, and down right
"meanness."
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This great gift to out
area waters is receiving the conservation attention that will protect and
keep it around for a long time. A new size and bag limit has recently
been put into effect. We catch snook with live shiners on the flats
near mangrove islands, docks, and bridges year round. My largest snook was a
44 inch monster! The best snook fishing is in the summer. Although
snook is a great eating fish I release 99% of my catches.
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SPOTTED SEA TROUT:
The spotted sea trout is the most common fish in
the area. Although they are not the most aggressive fighters,
trout will take a number of artificial and live baits. |
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They inhabit the grass
flats, canals, bays and river systems across Florida. I enjoy using top water plugs
for trout since nothing beats a top water hit. Trout will "hammer" a
surface lure. I use barbless hooks when fishing for trout since they
are delicate fish. This insures a safe catch and release. Trout
are a good eating fish especially when deep-fried. The largest trout
landed on my boat was a 9 pound 30 inch whopper! ( see photo album #2 ) |
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JACK CREVALLE:
Jacks are pound per pound the strongest fish inshore.
They school in the summer months and can be found almost anywhere. |
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We catch them on live and
artificial baits. Jacks will attack smaller schools of bait from the surface.
We call these " jack attacks." The surface briefly erupts in an area about
30 feet in diameter. If you throw a bait in the middle- hang on ! Jacks are also fun
to catch on the fly rod but are poor table fare. |
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BLUEFISH:
We catch blue fish in the winter months. They are very
strong, have sharp teeth, and fight like crazy. They are usually caught in the
passes or mixed in on the trout flats. |
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On one trip that I will never
forget, we caught 50 blue fish on top water plugs. Our mirror lures were totally
destroyed. What a day!! Some people enjoy eating this species but they are a
little oily for me. |
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LADYFISH :
The ladyfish is like a baby tarpon. We do not really target ladyfish
but when they do intercept our bait we enjoy the fight and jumps. |
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These fish jump more than any other fish I know of while they are on the
line. They will hit almost anything and are caught on the flats and in
the passes year round. The ladyfish is not any good to eat but really
fun to catch. |
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TARPON:
The Sliver King is caught from May till August. Tarpon
schools can be small or large and we sight fish for them on the beach.
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These fish range from 50-150
pounds and can be seen rolling along the water surface in water depths from 5 to 25 feet.
We use live crabs, bait fish and hand - tied flies for bait. The awesome
Sliver King is appropriately named. They will fight to their death and should be
landed in less than an hour to prevent this tragedy. Experiencing the initial runs
and jumps of a hooked tarpon are unbelievable, even scary - especially at daybreak when
all is calm. |
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COBIA:
Cobia are known as ling or lemon fish in other parts of the
country. They are solid muscle and tough fighters. They must be 33 inches long
measured to the fork in the tail to be legal. |
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It
is important to make sure they are subdued before placing them in the boat
or they can tear up everything. We sight fish for cobia on the surface
with jigs and live bait. If your cast is on target a cobia rarely
turns down an offering. Cobia are great eating and one of my favorite
fish to catch. |
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SPANISH
MACKEREL:
Spanish Mackerel are a seasonal fish that we catch on
live bait, artificial bait, and on the fly rod. They show up in great numbers off
the beach in fall and spring. |
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Spanish Mackerel are extremely
aggressive and fun to catch on light tackle. We use 6 pound spinning and fly tackle.
These fish feed on small sardines and that is what we use for bait. Hand
tied spanish mac flies are used with a small piece of wire leader. These fish are
toothy critters that make lighting fast runs when hooked. They aren't bad on the
grill either. |
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FLOUNDER:
We catch flounder from October to March. They will hit jigs, but the best approach
is to use a shiner on rocky bottoms and reefs. |
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Flounder are sometimes
caught around docks in the winter months. No matter where they are caught this fish
is my favorite to eat. Nothing beats flounder stuffed with crab meat. |
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POMPANO:
The pompano have made
a big come back since the net ban in 1995. We fish for pompano in the passes and on
the flats with small jigs, shrimp and on the fly rod. |
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Permit are caught along with pompano, but the larger fish are caught on the
off-shore reefs and the beach. It is not uncommon to land a permit
in the 40 pound range. |
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BARRACUDA:
The barracuda is all
mouth and teeth. This fish is fond of warm water and hangs
around reefs and bait fish schools. Barracudas are caught with
live bait fish, and sometimes on plugs. |
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They
are extremely aggressive fighters and sometimes fly out of the water like rockets when on
a hook and line. Cudas are a lot of fin to catch, but they have to be handled carefully
around the boat. Their teeth are like razors, and inches long on a bigger
fish. We have landed barracudas up to 60 lbs. on light tackle. |
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MANGROVE
SNAPPER:
The mangrove snapper makes its home in a range of places. We catch them in the bay
around rocky structure, docks, bridges etc.... But the larger snapper are caught in
the Gulf of Mexico around artificial reefs & rocky ledges. |
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The
mangrove snapper will always be found around a structure of some kind. They are
excellent to eat, and fun to catch. Known for it's ability to steel bait off of a
hook, the snapper is a challenge to catch. Small hooks, light leader, and skill go a
long way. |
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TRIPLE TAIL:
The triple tail has to be one of the strangest fish in the sea. These
fish like to hang around crab trap buoys that float on the surface.
The fish will get its face under the buoy in the shad. It will sit
their for hours motion less.
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We run the boat along the
crab traps, and look for the triple tail under the buoys. These fish
are easy to catch with a live shrimp once you find one. In the winter
months, triple tail can be found pretty regularly. They are great to
eat, and fight to. |
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Grouper:
These
fish are known for their brute strength pulling power as well as their mild,
white delicious fillets. Grouper are caught using a variety of baits
including live bait, jigs and trolling lures. Live bait consist of pinfish,
cigar minnows, spanish sardines and threadfin herring as well as dead bait
such as squid, LY’s (menhaden) and many other dead baits |
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Two
main types of grouper are caught off the central gulf coast: red grouper and
gag grouper.Red grouper have to be 20 inches to be keepers and gag grouper
have to be 22. The limit is 3 per person with only one of the three being a
red grouper. Grouper are caught year round in water depths of 20-150 ft.
Most of our fishing is in the 40-100 ft. range which is only 3-20 miles off
the coast |
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Goliath Grouper:
Goliath Grouper were once called Jew Fish. They are very abundant
along the central gulf coast. The giants weigh from ten to hundreds of
pounds. Two hundred to five hundred pound fish are very common.
They will eat most any thing as long as it is big.
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Some of their favorite
foods are snapper, blue runners, grouper, amberjack, small permit and
barracuda. They can be caught year around and are mostly caught on wrecks
from 3 to 30 miles offshore. Some are even caught in the bays and
along the mangrove shorelines.
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To book a trip or to ask
any questions about our trips:
(bus)941.809.5793
(cell)941-809-5793
or
captaintom@topnotchfishing.com
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