Islamorada Tarpon

Ryan, Brady, Patty, and I headed out Fishing today in Islamorada. We caught a bunch of snappers and jacks to start. Then we headed into the backcountry chasing sharks. We pulled the hook on a lemon shark and landed a bonnet-head. We then went back to snappers and jacks. Ryan then made a great cast to rolling Tarpon and we fought and released the first Tarpon of the winter season. Pro Tip: Reacting quickly makes a difference. We had three seconds to make a cast to a pod of rolling Tarpon. Ryan saw the fish and made the cast. His quick reaction netted him his first Tarpon of the winter season.

Back in the Keys

Fished with Lori, Justin, and Luke yesterday in the Keys. Yes the keys are still there after the hurricane. In fact, where I go and what I have seen things look much better. There is definitely still evidence of the destruction, but the recovery has been pretty good from what I have seen. We started out fishing downtown and caught a bunch of snappers and jacks. We moved into the backcountry where we went one for three on lemon sharks and we also had a bonnet head shark. Pro Tip: Waiting until a fish turns to swim away increases your chances of a solid hookup with a circle hook. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

Monster Striper on the Fly

Fished with Mike last Sunday in the ocean for stripers. We set out to catch Stripers on the flyrod. We found the fish under birds and on the surface. We caught them with floating lines on the surface. We ended up catching and releasing 15 stripers up to 43". The fish of the day was Mike's 43" striper that weighed over 35 pounds that he caught on the fly. It was his personal best on the fly. The fishing was excellent. Pro Tip: Fish on the surface require a different approach. Forget those weighed lures and jigs. Unweighted soft plastics or floating lines on the flyrod are the best option. Other surface lures like poppers are another option that produces.

15 Stripers

Fished with Larry in the ocean on Saturday. We headed out and found a few fish trolling. Then the birds showed up and the fish chewed on the surface. We ended up catching and releasing over a dozen more fish up to 43" and around thirty pounds. We had fantastic conditions and happy fish. Pro Tip: Bunker always swim into the wind. The movement of the bait is mirrored by the stripers.

Striper

Fished last Sunday with Frank and Dave in the ocean for stripers. We trolled up one keeper in tough conditions and called it a day. Pro Tip: Stagger your lines when trolling. Your "long" lines should be different lengths. The same is true for your short lines. This minimizes tangles when you turn.

Last Saturday

Fished with Chris last Saturday in the ocean. We had a tough day. We had one on but pulled the hook. It has been hot and cold. Pro Tip: Avoid pumping and winding with mojos and umbrella rigs. The heavy weight of the lures will dislodge the hook of you pump and wind. It is better to reel steady with minimal pumping of the rod.

Joe Hughes