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Venice - April 1st, 2007
supplied by: Casey Key Anglers & Outfitters
RECORDED: 
84 °
FISHING: Great
Where, oh, WHERE are the baitfish?
That, my friends is the million-dollar question! Once it’s answered, holy hell is going to break loose on the nearshore Gulf of Mexico.
You see, we are absolutely loaded up with Spanish mackerel out there in 25 to 30 feet of water. They’re hugging the bottom, and thrashing around, and generally in a bad frame of mind.
Why?
Because the huge schools of baitfish that will (soon, I hope) turn the water off Casey Key, Manasota Key, and Venice Beach into a churning mass of body parts are still somewhere out in the Gulf.
Consorting with foreign senoritas? Maybe down ole’ Meyhico way? Perhaps, senor! Because they’re not around here. Yet. Which is driving all of us absolutely CRAZY with anticipation.
Every morning just after dawn several of my compadres and I blast out of the Venice Jetty and fan out north to Grassy Point or south to Casperson Rocks. Our eyes are lifted skyward, praying for the telltale giveaway of gulls and terns and pelicans smashing the water in a frenzied feast.
With but few exceptions—like the day I took the Brothers Ragone, Dominic and John, to The Rocks—we just haven’t had a full-blown Mac Attack.
For those of you who don’t catch the lingo, allow me to explain. Have you ever been on the bad end of a mortar attack? How ‘bout just a boyhood snowball fight when you were “It” and half the known world was “Them?”
Maybe something as simple as getting caught between the Sno-Cone truck and 79 third-graders from PS 122 on the last day of school.
Understand what I’m saying here? A Mac Attack is to be taken seriously. Verrrrrry seriously.
You guys from Up East know what I mean. The Bluefish Blitz? Sure, that’s it. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.
In other words, all-out war. Baitfish being slaughtered by the thousands by Spanish and King mackerel and Little Tunny while the birds gorge on the remains and anglers revel in the hookups.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about” John Ragone said that morning two weeks ago. I was trying to keep the brand new Redfisher 18 from nudging The Rocks just off the beach when John hooked up.
Then he hooked up again. And again. “Dom! Still wanna keep usin’ that fly rod? I’m already up on ya three-zip.” Dominic grunted and made a longer case.
“Make that four-zip, brother!”
Dominic finally got on the board, though, and then we headed inside for a looksee at reds and trout and ladyfish.
By the way. I haven’t Snope-d this, but I heard the fast-food joints now are using ladyfish for their fish sandwiches. A guy told me somebody found a way to pressure-cook the meat away from the bones. Then they shape it into a fish-stick and serve it up with tartar sauce and a side of pickle.
Anybody else heard that?
Geeze. I hope they don’t decimate the population of A Guide’s Best Friend. Lord knows, those Leapin’ Lenas saved my bacon a couple times just in the past week!
The Brothers Elsener (George and Jim) were down from Chicago and that certainly was the case. Ditto for Rod Hamilton and his wife, Kim Kompetitive.
In each case, we were zip-for-the-morning on Spanish, but look-out-brother on ladyfish. Kim was a real hoot.
“Got another one! Oh, god^%#@ it got away. Am I allowed to say that? It’s not very ladylike, is it?”
Well, it’s certainly “ladyfish-like.”
John Courtemanche and his son, Rod, fared a little better. Rod, at least, managed to dredge up a couple of Spanish before we tucked back inside and nailed some trout and ladies.
Jamie Lynch and his dad, Jack, had a non-stop morning in Little Sarasota Bay. Too bad Jamie’s 9-year-old daughter, Katie, decided to sleep in.
Especially when Our Favorite Dolphin—Freddie The Freeloader—came calling when we were idling near the Albee Bridge. “I’ve gotta get some pictures,” Jamie yelped. “She’ll really be upset that she didn’t see THIS.”
Jamie and Jack are both engineers from Pennsylvania. At least Jack WAS before retiring and moving to Gettysburg because of his infatuation with the American Civil War.
“After the second time my wife asked me what I was going to do the rest of the day and it was only 9:30 in the morning,” Jack said, “I went down and became a guide. I absolutely LOVE it.”
Jamie was still taking calls for pending construction projects, even as we were tooling our way home. “Sorry,” he said. “That’s OK, I replied. YOU keep working so then down the road I’LL keep working!”
Don Peterson was down—also from Pennsylvania—visiting his longtime pal Jim Cranos, who lives on Casey Key, and we headed off the beach last Friday.
They caught a rather mixed back of snapper and blue runners but no Spanish before we went inside and Don absolutely wore out his arm landing fish.
I was teasing them about the Report I was formulating in my head. “Yep, I can see it now,” I told them. “I’ll write about how two CFOs from a couple of huge Fortune 500 companies had this $100,000 bet on the first fish.
“And Jim won with a four-inch Lane snapper!”
I THINK they thought it was funny! Eh, guys?
Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers (FFF) banquet is tonight so I’d better scoot to get there on time.
BTW—my Hewes Bayfisher 16 is for sale. It’s in GREAT shape—looks darn-near like new, and does have a new steering linkage that just was installed last week.
Lots of extras like poling platform, stainless prop, windscreen/grab-rail, and more. An absolute steal at $9,750. Call me for a test drive!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Venice - Snook Alley - March 24th, 2007
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
80 °
FISHING: Great
MARCH 24, 2007
Where, oh, WHERE are the baitfish?
That, my friends is the million-dollar question! Once it’s answered, holy hell is going to break loose on the nearshore Gulf of Mexico.
You see, we are absolutely loaded up with Spanish mackerel out there in 25 to 30 feet of water. They’re hugging the bottom, and thrashing around, and generally in a bad frame of mind.
Why?
Because the huge schools of baitfish that will (soon, I hope) turn the water off Casey Key, Manasota Key, and Venice Beach into a churning mass of body parts are still somewhere out in the Gulf.
Consorting with foreign senoritas? Maybe down ole’ Meyhico way? Perhaps, senor! Because they’re not around here. Yet. Which is driving all of us absolutely CRAZY with anticipation.
Every morning just after dawn several of my compadres and I blast out of the Venice Jetty and fan out north to Grassy Point or south to Casperson Rocks. Our eyes are lifted skyward, praying for the telltale giveaway of gulls and terns and pelicans smashing the water in a frenzied feast.
With but few exceptions—like the day I took the Brothers Ragone, Dominic and John, to The Rocks—we just haven’t had a full-blown Mac Attack.
For those of you who don’t catch the lingo, allow me to explain. Have you ever been on the bad end of a mortar attack? How ‘bout just a boyhood snowball fight when you were “It” and half the known world was “Them?”
Maybe something as simple as getting caught between the Sno-Cone truck and 79 third-graders from PS 122 on the last day of school.
Understand what I’m saying here? A Mac Attack is to be taken seriously. Verrrrrry seriously.
You guys from Up East know what I mean. The Bluefish Blitz? Sure, that’s it. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.
In other words, all-out war. Baitfish being slaughtered by the thousands by Spanish and King mackerel and Little Tunny while the birds gorge on the remains and anglers revel in the hookups.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about” John Ragone said that morning two weeks ago. I was trying to keep the brand new Redfisher 18 from nudging The Rocks just off the beach when John hooked up.
Then he hooked up again. And again. “Dom! Still wanna keep usin’ that fly rod? I’m already up on ya three-zip.” Dominic grunted and made a longer case.
“Make that four-zip, brother!”
Dominic finally got on the board, though, and then we headed inside for a looksee at reds and trout and ladyfish.
By the way. I haven’t Snope-d this, but I heard the fast-food joints now are using ladyfish for their fish sandwiches. A guy told me somebody found a way to pressure-cook the meat away from the bones. Then they shape it into a fish-stick and serve it up with tartar sauce and a side of pickle.
Anybody else heard that?
Geeze. I hope they don’t decimate the population of A Guide’s Best Friend. Lord knows, those Leapin’ Lenas saved my bacon a couple times just in the past week!
The Brothers Elsener (George and Jim) were down from Chicago and that certainly was the case. Ditto for Rod Hamilton and his wife, Kim Kompetitive.
In each case, we were zip-for-the-morning on Spanish, but look-out-brother on ladyfish. Kim was a real hoot.
“Got another one! Oh, god^%#@ it got away. Am I allowed to say that? It’s not very ladylike, is it?”
Well, it’s certainly “ladyfish-like.”
John Courtemanche and his son, Rod, fared a little better. Rod, at least, managed to dredge up a couple of Spanish before we tucked back inside and nailed some trout and ladies.
Jamie Lynch and his dad, Jack, had a non-stop morning in Little Sarasota Bay. Too bad Jamie’s 9-year-old daughter, Katie, decided to sleep in.
Especially when Our Favorite Dolphin—Freddie The Freeloader—came calling when we were idling near the Albee Bridge. “I’ve gotta get some pictures,” Jamie yelped. “She’ll really be upset that she didn’t see THIS.”
Jamie and Jack are both engineers from Pennsylvania. At least Jack WAS before retiring and moving to Gettysburg because of his infatuation with the American Civil War.
“After the second time my wife asked me what I was going to do the rest of the day and it was only 9:30 in the morning,” Jack said, “I went down and became a guide. I absolutely LOVE it.”
Jamie was still taking calls for pending construction projects, even as we were tooling our way home. “Sorry,” he said. “That’s OK, I replied. YOU keep working so then down the road I’LL keep working!”
Don Peterson was down—also from Pennsylvania—visiting his longtime pal Jim Cranos, who lives on Casey Key, and we headed off the beach last Friday.
They caught a rather mixed back of snapper and blue runners but no Spanish before we went inside and Don absolutely wore out his arm landing fish.
I was teasing them about the Report I was formulating in my head. “Yep, I can see it now,” I told them. “I’ll write about how two CFOs from a couple of huge Fortune 500 companies had this $100,000 bet on the first fish.
“And Jim won with a four-inch Lane snapper!”
I THINK they thought it was funny! Eh, guys?
Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers (FFF) banquet is tonight so I’d better scoot to get there on time.
BTW—my Hewes Bayfisher 16 is for sale. It’s in GREAT shape—looks darn-near like new, and does have a new steering linkage that just was installed last week.
Lots of extras like poling platform, stainless prop, windscreen/grab-rail, and more. An absolute steal at $9,750. Call me for a test drive!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
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Venice - Snook Alley - January 1st, 2007
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
77 °
FISHING: Great
January 1, 2007
THE YEAR IN REVIEW…
Biggest news was Kate’s recovery from cancer surgery and Ghost’s recovery from a torn anterior crusciate ligament. Both had a very good year. Thank You very much, Sir!
Kate got back into the Manistee River out front of our house quite regularly, “but not nearly as often as I plan to NEXT year!!!!” she says. True. But at least she was able to fish again without becoming exhausted after 10 minutes! Yes, she caught MANY gorgeous brookies.
“But I never hooked that Big Guy down at the Deward access,” she lamented as we put the rods away. Next year, Big Red. Next year.
Ghost was sidelined for several days during the past bird season because of leg muscle pulls and a hole in her left eye from a blackberry thorn.
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THIS if you’re an upland hunter. The canine ophthalmologist—who’s also an avid bird hunter—told me to rub Vaseline around the outside of her eyelids before letting her hunt. He said the thorns catch the dog’s skin and open the eyelids wider, making them more susceptible to getting poked. The Vaseline lets the thorns slip off the skin and helps prevent the punctures.
We finished the bird season averaging just under 6.5 flushes per hour, and saw 114 grouse and exactly 250 woodcock!
CHRISTMAS WEEK FISHING REPORT
I was booked solid—and that’s a GOOD thing. Just ask Kate!
We chased Little tunny (false albacore) in the early mornings, redfish and baby tarpon in mid-day, and snook at night. And, of course, we caught ladyfish morning, noon and night!
Ron Povinelli and his wife, Cheryl, fished with me one morning and again at night for snook, and caught a BUNCH of fish. Ron’s an excellent spin-fisherman from Indianapolis who first fished with me last year when he gave his father, Sam, a 91st-birthday present.
Sam subsequently hired me as a birthday present for his wife, Rose’s 86th birthday present! What a day THAT was, with Rose’s 82-year-old sister, Jeannette, joining us in Charlotte Harbor!
Anyway, Ron and Cheryl got into a bunch of fish. Same for Britons Bob Shorthouse and Jerry Setter, who were vacationing here from Merry Ole England.
We ran outside the Venice Jetty looking for ablies, but there just wasn’t any action. After poking around inside Dona Bay a while, I headed north and they got into myriad fish. A couple of “doubles,” and mostly non-stop action.
Rob Schumm, of Evanston, IL, also had a banner day on ladyfish last Wednesday afternoon. The all-white jigs I tie, with two hackle feathers on either side of the pearl estaz, was quite the rage up around Blackburn Point .
Tom Spence was still talking about that albie he caught the previous week (a 9-pounder that got into his backing within 15 seconds, and took nearly a half-hour to bring to the boat) when he stepped aboard with wife Cindy and daughter Natalie for a sightseeing tour Friday morning.
The weather was spectacular, so we cruised north from the ramp on Casey Key with side trips into the many coves so that Cindy could look at all of the varied architectural styles of the houses. We finally turned around after passing under the Siesta Key Bridge just south of Sarasota.
That night, after a brief rest, I squired Tom around in search of snook. Unfortunately, the only cooperative fish managed to throw the hook. One of them was a dandy, though. Tom hooked it in a little backwater I know that holds a nice population of wintertime snook, including a couple of large fish like the one he hooked on a size 8 glass minnow.
“that’s an awfully small fly,” Tom had said as I tied it onto some 16-pound fluorocarbon bite-tippet. “Yep,” I replied. “But sometimes when we match the hatch, it involves small flies like this one.”
About two casts later, Tom was hooked up. “Wow!” he yelled as he reeled in his line, “that fish didn’t even know he was hooked at first. But he sure made up for it once he realized he had metal in his mouth!”
We had drizzly rain this morning, with a prediction of possible thunderstorms for this evening and possibly tomorrow. But it’s going to hit 80 again by Wednesday.
What’s in YOUR fishing forecast?
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
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Venice - December 21st, 2006
supplied by: Florida Deep Sea Fishing Charters
FISHING: Good
Indian Summer Brings Gorgeous Conditions on Gulf
If you’ve had the pleasure of being out on the gulf over this past week and you had not looked at your calendar for a while; you probably would never have guessed it to be the month of December.
The reason I say this is the gulf has been simply gorgeous. The other day I ran an eight- hour fishing charter aboard the Legacy and sea conditions were almost slick calm with barely a trace of wind on the water.
As we cruised west heading offshore we passed school after school of baitfish working at the surface breaking the gulf's placid waters. Some of the bait was showering out of the water obviously in an attempt to elude the larger predator fish giving chase from below.
When I see surface action like this my mind always seems to drift as I wonder what species of fish has the schools of bait so skittish. The fact is out here on the gulf the surface commotion such as this can create a long list of possible suspects such as barracuda, king mackerel, blackfin tuna, Spanish mackerel, little tunnie, amberjack, blue runners, cobia, and a variety of sharks.
These warm balmy calm conditions coupled with all the bait working near the top are to be anticipated in the spring or fall of the year, not when we're two weeks out from Christmas Day. Just so you know, I'm certainly not complaining.
In fact, due to all the tropical type weather we've been enjoying the fall run of pelagic fishes is still on! Not only are the kings still passing through, but there's also been some huge Spanish mackerel running with them. And for those of you that like a good hard tug on the end of your line, the little tunny have been showing up just about anywhere we put the anchor down. One thing about little tunnie, when you get hooked up with one you may want to consider reeling in all your bottom lines as quickly as possible. The way little tunnies fight they have a way of tangling up all the lines you have in the water.
The bottom fishing on the longer trips has been decent with my clients catching some bragging sized grouper.
This past week I guided local residents of Sarasota, Dr. Chris Kaufmann and his family to a full day of fishing. It was just one of those days where everywhere we went we caught fish. It’s great when kids are catching fish and enjoying some of the great fishing this area offers.
For me the highlight of the day was when Dr. Kaufmann’s niece Emma Dobiash hooked and battled a beautiful red grouper up to the boat. Emma was so excited about her catch. The fish wasn’t the biggest of the day, but to Emma and me it was the catch of the day.
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Weather and Lunar Phases
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Venice - Snook Alley - December 15th, 2006
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
74 °
FISHING: Excellent
December 15, 2006
PHENOMENAL is the only word I can use to describe the fishing off the Venice/Nokomis coastline right now!
The first bit of excitement last Wednesday happened when we saw large King mackerel leaping out of the water all around the boat!
Since this was a “scouting trip” with Kevin Cooke, of Casey Key Anglers & Outfitters, and Mark Phelps, I was standing on the pointy end of the boat holding a fly rod. Which is a very unusual occurrence for me.
Suddenly, Kevin yelled in alarm, “It’s a HUGE King! He’s jumping into the boat!” Mark stuttered a little bit and I think he might even have used the first profane word I’d ever heard him utter. I made the cast. “Got him,” I said smugly.
“Lost him,” I said sadly five seconds later, and stripped in a line and leader minus a fly at the end of the 30-pound bite tippet. “You want some wire? I’ve got wire. Do you want some? Wire?” I finally calmed Mark enough to reply that yes, a fly tied onto some wire would be a fine thing, thank you.
In a few moments I had a close encounter with one other King, but the affair was brief and we went our separate ways with only passing regret. See, I can say that NOW because we almost immediately were swarmed with Spanish mackerel.
And birds. Did I mention the birds? No? Well, there were hundreds of them dive bombing the water and generally creating a rather severe casting problem. Fortunately, there were so many Spanish that finding a pod devoid of birds feeding on the chopped-up baitfish wasn’t an issue.
Suddenly, the Mac Attack ended. The birds went away, and eventually we did, too. South of the Venice jetty we saw more birds. Some were slashing at the water practically on the beach. Others were launching their attacks at pods of fish everywhere we looked.
Only this time is was Little Tunny (or False Albacore, as they’re also known) that were turning thousands of glass minnows into an oily chum slick.
Thousands of Albacore, my friends! Yes, thousands. They were everywhere in a feeding frenzy that turned the inshore Gulf of Mexico into a boiling, churning mess of fish-parts.
That was the good news. The bad news was that Mark and I had to leave to meet our charter clients for the day. He had an 81-year-old man and his daughter—neither of whom had ever fished before. For anything. Ever. They did meet us at the dock with a huge cooler filled with sandwiches.
My clients met me in Englewood to chase redfish in Lemon Bay. They hadn’t wanted to get up early to chase Albies and mackerel. So, we chased redfish. And chased. And chased. And chased.
Let’s just say that the second portion of my day was more of a boat ride where two anglers got to practice their casting and one Captain got to fiddle with the Garmin 172C on his new Redfisher 18.
And Mark ate well.
Oh, yes. Kevin did hook an eight-pounder that thrashed and circled the boat and sounded and caused both of us to be late for our charters. Albies are like that.
Come see for yourself some time.
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
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Venice - Snook Alley - December 4th, 2006
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
70 °
FISHING: Excellent
December 4, 2006
WHEW!!!!
It certainly has been a whirlwind since Kate, Ghost, and I got back to Venice on November 22!
The trip down from Michigan was, thank God, uneventful. Each of the past two seasons was wrought with mishaps, so a smooth ride down was very welcome indeed.
Anyway, we got in about 5pm on Tuesday. The following morning I was at Ingman Marine in Sarasota to take delivery of a 2007 Hewes Redfisher 18. We had spent a considerable amount of time on measurements to ensure the whole package would A): make it through the garage door and B): allow the garage door to close.
All of this resulted in a custom-built trailer with a pull-out tongue, and a narrower trailer body than normal. Which was good. EXCEPT. As I stood out in the back lot looking over the boat before handing over that VERY considerable check, it suddenly dawned on me that this boat was WAY taller than my old Bayfisher.
“Um, Mike, “ I said to general manager Mike Brimer, “I think we might have a problem here!” Off we went in search of tape measure (Mike) and cell phone (me). “Kate,” I said, sorta tentatively, “would you go measure the height of the garage door opening?” Silence.
“I’m not liking the sound of this,” was the reply from She Who Must Be Obeyed. “Wait one.”
I waited.
Click.
“Floor to garage door is 83 inches,” Kate said. “Good luck.”
By the time I got back to the boat, Mike was standing at the poling platform with tape in hand. “Looks like 86 inches,” he said. Then I told him it was three too high and he blanched. Whipping out his cell phone, he called the Port Charlotte store and explained the problem. “He’s on his way,” Mike said, and flipped his phone shut.
At Ingman Marine’s shop in Port Charlotte, on hard concrete, the news was even worse. “It‘s 89 inches,” the technician intoned. “We’ve got serious trouble here.”
The first thought was to re-drill and lower the metal guide plates. Two drill bits later, the new plan was to spread the bunks as wide as possible and see where we ended up. The tape showed 84 inches and everybody gulped. Hard.
“Let’s drop the tires down by one size,” said Jordan Brimer, Mike’s brother. It was done and we were at 83 inches on the button. GULP!
“We can spread the bunks just a little bit more,” Dave, the technician, said. When it was done, the tape showed 82 ½ inches. YOW!
The following day, which happened to be Thanksgiving Day, by the way, I dropped the boat into the water at the Venice Train Depot ramp and went through several hours of “break-in” for the new Yamaha 115hp four-stroke. Up and down the Intracoastal Waterway I went, following the recommended specs and the posted speed zones.
The next day, bright and early, Darrel Kratt and his Dad, Gene, hopped aboard for a guide trip. We ran outside looking for King mackerel and Spanish mackerel, but there just wasn’t anything happening.
So, we popped back inside the Venice jetty and headed for Dona Bay and some redfish, trout, and maybe a snook or two. All was well until I hopped forward to drop down the trolling motor only to learn that it had been mounted too far back and the shaft wouldn’t clear the gunwale!
I also already had learned that the throttle wouldn’t hold speed, but crept back down when I let go, which made trimming the boat difficult.
And, at the end of the day, I realized that we hadn’t adjusted the winch assembly after spreading the bunks. Which meant I had to fiddle with the boat before it was properly secured.
Back to Ingman.
Next day, all was well. Except when Admiral Parker and I went out looking for albacore I realized that my shiny new Garmin 172C wasn’t giving me water temp or depth, nor a few other things. A quick phone call to Mike revealed that “there’s another card you need for all that. I didn’t think you wanted to spend the extra money for it, so it wasn’t installed.”
Back to Ingman.
So, now we have a spiffy new boat, motor, trailer, and multi-function GPS waiting for all of you to come catch a bunch of fish like the Kratts did once we got back inside.
In fact, Gene hooked up first on a very respectable jac crevalle that took him up, down, and sideways. Once he finally managed to land it, he was darn near trembling. “WOW,” he yelled, “that’s the biggest fish I ever caught!”
Son Darrel, whom I’d met at the fly fishing show in Chicago last January, admired dad’s fish with grim determination. It wasn’t long before they both were into fish after fish after fish.
By the time we pulled back into the ramp area at Casey Key, Dad was exhausted and Darrel was ecstatic. “Thanks,” he said, “it was a great trip. My Dad had a blast!”
The albies are still around, and it’s rumored that tripletail and cobia are going to show up verrrrrrrry soon! I still have a tremendous package rate at the Venice Holiday Inn, so I can save you a bundle on lodging if you’ve got a hankerin’ to head on down for some fishing!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
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Venice - Offshore and Coastal - December 2nd, 2006
supplied by: Super Strike Charters
RECORDED: 
54 °
FISHING: Fair
The weather has been keeping us at the dock lately. This has been a very windy season so far, but not any more than usual. It has mostly been strong north winds with all the cold fronts we've been getting. The fall/winter fishing this year has been somewhat tough. We are use to catching big tuna and wahoo in close this time of year but the fish never really moved in. They are still mostly out about 50-60 miles offshore. When they were in close we would only have to run about 15-25 miles out which was doable in the winds we've been having, but since they are still out there a good ways our fishing has been limited to non-windy days only. The good news is that about mid- December it seems to hit a plateau for about a month, the wind settles down, which gives us plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the huge tuna and wahoo on the lump and surrounding areas. Then about mid-January the wind picks up again and we will have more days at the dock than on the water. The after affects of hurricane Katrina are mostly memories now. Life has returned to normal for the most part. Although I would have chosen not to go thru a devastating storm such as this one. It has taught manhy of us a valuable lesson. We now know what to do if this ever happens again. It looks like we will be back out again on Monday and Tuesday. I will try and report shortly afterwards. We still have dates available to fish in January and February. If you are after trophy size fish this is the time of year.
Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Venice - Offshore and Coastal - October 10th, 2006
supplied by: Super Strike Charters
RECORDED:
80 °
FISHING: Excellent
Another good weekend of fishing down here in Venice, La. This past Friday we had the David Hyde Group. They had been down here before, they wanted tuna, and knew what to expect. Sometimes no matter how much you prepare for a day of fishing things don't always go as expected. The night before I changed all the line on the reels. 80lb. clear Momoi diamond line. This is some strong line. I knew the fishing was going to be good and the big boys were out there so I did not want to have any tackle issues. Our early morning started out slow, the first couple of spots we went to produced nothing. One thing you can always count on in Venice is that the fish are biting somewhere 90% of the time. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. Here is a very good example: About 20 miles from us another capt. fished all day with tuna all around him and could not buy a bite. He said they were rolling all over and just wouldn't eat. Right place, right time. Finally around 10:00 a.m. we found them and they were biting. First line out 65lber. No problems, got him in the boat. Then the unexpected started. 2nd fish on, fought him for a while and the line broke. The line looked like it was popped by tuna teeth. It is unusual to lose a tuna because his teeth(which are tiny) hit the line in just the right spot, but it does happen. 3rd fish on, fought him to the boat, about a 70lber. and the hook just came right out. Nice and easy, almost as if it was planned. 4th fish, ran drag, got him in the fighting belt, line broke. Lever drag was pushed to far forward. 5th fish, clobbered the bait and this was a big one. Had him on just long enough to break the line. Lever drag pushed to full again. We lost a few more fish but we did manage to get 3 more in the boat. One was about an 85lber. and the other about 70lbs. We ended the day going 4 for ? Some days this happens and it seems to be going around right now. I talked to two other capt.'s that had the same problem. One that day, and one two days before. Wasn't the first time and won't be the last. There was a lot of action, tuna busting everywhere and we didn't go very long without a bite. You can't ask for much more than that. On Saturday the wind was howling so we opted to go snapper fishing with the Benoit crew from New Orleans. The snapper bite was steady but there were a lot of throw backs. I think we managed to get 14 keepers in the boat and then concentrated on cobia fishing. The cobia weren't as thick as last week but they were there. We went three for five. Nothing real big, the big ones wouldn't bite although we did see them mixed in with the others. Looks like the wind will keep us in towards the middle of the week. We still have some days open in Oct. and Nov. The big tuna are here, not like they will be after this front though. This is the one we need to push the mullet out. The tuna should be on them very soon. The offshore fishing will remain very good for a while. Just need the right weather to get'em.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
WWW.SUPERSTRIKECHARTERS.COM
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Venice - Offshore and Coastal - September 26th, 2006
supplied by: Super Strike Charters
RECORDED:
80 °
FISHING: Excellent
Offshore Fishing Venice, La.
The offshore fishing out of Venice, La. has been on fire. This time of year we catch a lot of Yellow fin Tuna, Black fin Tuna, Snapper, and Cobia. It has been a while since our last post so I am going to give it a recap. This past July and August was incredible as far as tuna, dolphin, and the wahoo catch went. There were more wahoo caught this summer than in a long time. The tuna fishing was outstanding also with plenty of 100+lbers. caught in some of what are supposed to be the hardest months to catch fish this size. Our largest went 193lbs., caught by John Potts, on a live herring. The Bull dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing started out strong and ended strong. One day we smoked them and the next they seemed to disappear. There were a few days we managed to get a few pairs and singles in the boat but towards the end of July it got slow for dolphin. Right now we are catching as many snapper as you want. One day it is nothing but 10-15lbers. the next all 5-6lbers. all depends on the day. Any day now the 100+lb. yellow fin will start to move back in to eat the mullets that will start moving out of the passes. This is a very exciting time of the year. Along with the Tuna you get the big Wahoo as well. It is very common to catch huge wahoo in close during October and November. They will eat just about anything but live bait is definitely the best. We will be out fishing the next few days and our report will follow shortly after. Venice is back in business and has been for a while since Katrina hit. Plenty of lodging in cabins, hotels, and houseboats. If your looking to get in on an exciting charter check out or Website Pics to see what you can possibly have a shot at catching down here.
Capt. Damon McKnight/Super Strike Charters/1 800 318 1720
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Venice - Snook Alley - May 10th, 2006
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
86 °
FISHING: Excellent
May 10, 2006
OVERVIEW
Tarpon are EVERYWHERE in southwest Florida!
Hendricksons and black caddis are EVERYWHERE on the Manistee and AuSable rivers in Michigan! Check out www.freep.com to read the article Eric Sharp wrote about our fishing trip May 3, and to look at the really neat video that photographer Dave Gilkey put together.
While you’re in a “reading frame of mind,” check out the July issue (on newsstands now) of Fly Fisherman Magazine. I have an article beginning on page 16 that details the tragic contamination of groundwater that threatens to KILL both the Manistee and AuSable.
Oil and gas leaks and spills in Otsego County, where both rivers originate, has created an enormous plume of contaminated water that has already polluted residential drinking wells, and is moving toward the Manistee at the rate of six inches per day.
And the “solution” offered by Merit Energy, and supported by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (HAH! What a laugher THAT title is! They should more properly be called the Michigan Department of Energy Extraction Enhancement, because they CERTAINLY aren’t concerned with Environmental Quality!!!!) is to pump the “treated” water into the AuSable River aquifer. Yep, you read that right.
E-me for more details on this potentially catastrophic situation, and I’ll tell you how to join the fight to save these two great rivers.
On a happier note, the late-summer hunt tests in Michigan finally are set to be held near Clare on July 15, August 19, and September 16. E-me to reserve a spot for you and your dog, because these are fun events where EVERYBODY has a good time.
FLORIDA
As stated, we’re seeing a tremendous number of tarpon all along the southwest coast. My “little brother” Dave Gibson reports plenty of fish down in lower Charlotte Harbor, Capt. John has been jumping fish out of Gasparilla, near Englewood, and Capt. Mark called an hour ago to say he landed two on flies off Venice.
I called him back just now and they had another one on—“Gotta go,” he said. “Call you later!” Ahh, what sweet words for a Captain.
Personally, we ran into bad luck this week. I had Dave Phillips and his soon-to-be father-in-law, Tom Collins on the boat Monday morning but the rollers outside nearly flipped my Hewes over backwards.
Since I had an unexpected last-minute cancellation for Tuesday, I gave them the option of switching days. So, we did. Except the REST of Monday was beautiful.
Tuesday, well, that started out calm and peaceful and we started a slow crawl south toward Casperson Beach. Except we didn’t see any fish. So, we crawled further south. No fish. Finally, I decided to run the length of Manasota Key to check out Stump Pass.
And, as we ran, the wind increased, the clouds piled up and the seas became, uh, “interesting.”
By the time we got to Stump Pass, I turned the boat east, looked north and was greeted by a vision of lightning dancing across the blackened sky.
“Hmmmmm,” I thought. “This doesn’t look so good!”
We stopped momentarily to try and fish a spot that’s been good to me there in Lemon Bay, but almost immediately a few sprinkles began to fall. I revved up the 90 and we scooted to the nearby boat ramp at Indian Mounds Park, where we huddled under the pvillion while the rain started POURING down.
After an hour, the storm blew through and the sun popped back out so we fished out way back to Venice in the Intracoastal Waterway.
I certainly hope things will be better tomorrow and Friday, when I have Dave and his groomsmen for four-boat trips each day! I’ll keep you posted.
MICHIGAN
Kate, Ghost, and I rolled into Deward the afternoon of April 28, and quickly set about getting the house put back into shape. But, we certainly made time to fish The Opener on the 29th—something we haven’t done for a long time.
The weather was a bit cool, but we had to pay homage. There were plenty of bugs, and we caught fish, and then Ghost got to run (on a 30-foot lead) in the woods and life was good.
The next day, I took Chris DeVries and his pal Rick Tice down the AuSable. Briefly. It was a gorgeous day, alright—except the wind started blowing. And blowing. And blowing harder. Finally, I called Kate for a weather update. “Wind 17-to-25 all day,” she said.
After pondering this bit of news, I suggested to my relatively inexperienced charges that perhaps I should re-arrange the spotting of my truck and trailer. Instead of a full-day float from Thendara Landing to Wakely Bridge Landing, we should shorted it considerably and take out at Stephan’s Bridge Landing. Which we did.
We then drove to the Manistee River, where we spent about an hour on casting techniques before I taught them how to “fish” a river. That turned out to be a roaring success.
Not only did they smooth out a lot of wrinkles in their casting, they learned how to read a river and, to top it off, they both caught fish. In fact, Chris nailed a 14-inch brown on a cone-head sculpin that he ran through a deep trough that he and Rick both had already “worked.” His yelp of glee was what it’s all about for a guide!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
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