Left to Right: Gary Smith, Captain Steve Skevington and Dennis Macalister holding a 25-inch Red Grouper caught in “Paradise.”
APtravelnews–July 22, Marina at Cape Haze Englewood, FL.–Barb and I, along with friends and business associates from Click-It Hot Use It Cold, had a bus-mans holiday after the ICAST, Giant fishing show in Orlando, FL. The grouper, lane snapper and very large grunts bit sardines and cut grunts, like rabid squirrels. We released, between 5 of us fishing; more than 75 fish, most under size slots, but the group of us took home a fine assortment of legal fillets to prepare and eat at our respective homes. The real story here is the very capable Captain Steve, who with his mate Deone, made it all worthwhile and an enjoyable experience. We spotted dolphin and curious giant sea turtles, Frigate birds circled, and flying fish glided by too! The Cape Haze Marina was clean, loaded with snook that took the cuttings at the cleaning table and gained weight and length-they were beautiful! An alligator also partook in the cleaning table carcasses after Steve sliced and diced with his electric filet knife. Go fish with very knowledgeable and friendly Captain Steve on the Paradise, by going to the booking number of941-575-3528and check out www.paradisefishingcharters.com Rods will bend on the 35-foot charter craft called “Paradise.”
A fine example of one of the more than a dozen Lane Snapper we caught. Very delicate and tasty member of the snapper family!
The rocks held a fine kettle of lane snapper, grunts and porgies!
Gorgeous grouper surprised us in Paradise, all day long!Slicing and dicing through filet after filet!
An Alabama Guide shows a nice bass, not a monster, but any bass is a gudin!!!!
APtravelnews-Port St. Lucie, FL.–February 20th,— According to Kevin Van Dam, a big winner at the Bass Masters Tournaments, the following Power techniques and baits will work all four seasons ..if you’re using the right baits—Jerkbait “This is my favorite choice for lakes that have clear water, says Van Dam! “Bass are focused on shad during the winter, and I prefer a suspending jerkbait for fishing around vertical structure, like main lake bluffs and bridges, this time of year. When the water is colder, the shad suspend in the water column and if I see shad dying and gulls diving on them, that tells me the suspending jerkbait is the best choice. I will snap it a few times and always experiment with the action until I know how they want it.
Red Eye Shad The lipless crankbait can be dynamite on cold, lowland reservoirs or natural lakes, especially if there is vegetation. It’s very efficient for covering a lot of water. However, I do slow the retrieve down and keep the bait in contact with the bottom.
Flat-sided crankbait There’s something about a flat-sided crankbait that neutral bass react to better in cold water than they do to rounded-body lures. My favorite is the Strike King KVD 1.5 Flat that has a long bill and no rattles. I love to fish this bait parallel on channel swings close to the bank in major creeks and even along bluffs, riprap and laydowns. I throw it on 10-pound line and it runs about 10 feet deep. It has a subtle action they can’t stand when the water is cold, so use a steady, slow-to-medium retrieve.
SwimbaitI really like the Strike King Shadalicious in either the 4 1/2- or 5-inch sizes, opting for the larger one in lakes with big bass and big shad. These baits are very efficient for covering deeper zones of lakes where bass hold off main lake structure.Also, hollow-body baits have a paddle tail that kicks and moves a lot of water, which is very important in stained water. And, like flat baits, they wobble seductively from side to side.
Blade baits and jigging spoons Blade baits are good for fishing edges of deeper flats. I cast and work it similar to the way I fish the Red Eye Shad, except the blade bait is more efficient in deeper water. Use a lift-and-drop retrieve, feeling the good vibration from the lure each time you lift. And remember: both blade baits and the Red Eye work best this time of year on heavier line because it slows the fall and reduces problems with it burying in the grass. The jigging spoon is a bait I primarily fish vertically. Our electronics are so good that, while graphing creek channels, you’ll see pods of bait and mark fish around them. With the spoon, you can fish through the bait. It’s even good along timber and doesn’t snag as much as you think. If it does, jiggle it and it shakes free.”
Note**Bottom line is; Bassmaster anglers fish for a living and have far more experience going after largemouth bass than the average angler. So, we believe following some of these techniques will help you catch the “bigun!” Also, remember bass are fun to catch, but release them, crappie and perch are much better eating!!!
Barb offshore with Kingfisher Fleet and mate, Matt holds one of the 15-grouper caught and released by Barb!
APtravelnews-Dec. 20th, Punta Gorda, FL.-Offshore in the Gulf of Mexico–It was a laid back day and the seas were laid down too! Mostly calm with a 3-foot following sea as we headed out from Port Charlotte towards where concentrations of ground fish held among rocks and bottom cover. Our quest: catch em up and release the ones out of season (grouper) but take some porgies and Key West large grunt and a snapper or two for dinner for our group. Successful by end of day, yes and yes! The Captain and Mate performed their jobs perfectly! The Captain found the fish, the mate assisted us all in uhooking, baiting the hook with shrimp and cut fish, we Barb, yours truly and Bob Nesoff, writer from New Jersey pulled on some fiesty fins that of course in no way wanted to visit with us, topside. We got a workout, pulling and reeling them in. Yes, it was great fun for us all! None of the fish that shouldn’t have been kept were and they all scampered back to their bottom homes with only a tiny hole in their lips, much less damage than a gal or guy with a piercing in their tongue, lip or elsewhere, unmentionable! Take a fishing trip or excursion with the King Fisher Fleet. For info.: www.kingfisherfleet.com located at the Marina at Fishermen’s Village on Punta Gorda. Stay tuned-next up will be our fabulous adventure at the 90-thousand acre, Babcock Wilderness!
A Remora fish. It has a suction-cup head and it sticks by “vacuum” to larger fish and travel with their hosts picking off the crumbs of the larger fishes (sharks, marlin, etc.) meals. A very interesting specialized fish!Looks a bit rough, but it wasn’t this time! Just nature turbo-charged at its best!
