By Astrid DeGruchy
icked Tuna is a show my ancé, Capt. Brandon Storin, and I like to watch. As an avid angler betrothed to a charter captain, I think it’s pretty cool to watch these guys reel in giants, but it’s even cooler to do it Brandon and I wanted this experience, so we went on a charter with the legendary crew of the “Hard Merchandise.” Docked in Gloucester, Mass., the boat is very spacious with a heated cabin, full head and all the latest electronics. Capt. Joe Marciano and his Mate, Jay, are exactly as they are from the show, and their skillsets for catching
During our time with them, conditions were a bit rough. It called for us leaving the docks earlier than anyone else, and while riding out, you could really see how meticulous they are in each part of the rigging and set up. During the boat ride, conversation was great, with plenty of laughs to go around. Before we knew it, we were at the tuna grounds.
In the midst of catching and soaking baits and waiting for the bite, the crew made us fresh breakfast and it was amazing. We had bacon and scrambled eggs with lobster.
e experience is very much like what you would expect from watching the show. ere’s lots of refreshing baits and waiting for a bite. When they mark sh on the sonar, the enthusiasm from the crew is amazing, just like on television. Capt. Joe and Jay jump up, yelling “WE’RE MARKING!” Adrenaline starts pumping with anticipation as you hope everything is lined up perfect enough to get a bite.
Fortunately, we did get tight, and I have never seen a sh take such a wild and ferocious run… several times. I was up to battle this sh with coaching from Capt. Joe and Jay. ere is nesse needed to ght a giant like this, and a cra in staying tight and knowing when to let him run. Every second spent reeling elevated the hope that we might land this big tuna. Yet there was also anxiety. If you’ve watched the show, you know that losing one of these monsters is a very real possibility.
We battled the sh for a while. Gaining where I could, adrenaline kept me pumping while the crew maneuvered the boat. e communication is constant as everyone works together.
Finally, I saw this huge beast start surfacing. Capt. Joe moved in with the harpoon, ready to take the shot. Everything happened so quickly! e beast surfaced, and Capt. Joe drilled it with a perfect gill shot. It wasn’t over yet, but it was just a matter of time. A er the sh made one last run, taking a bunch of rope, we hauled it back in and roped its tail. At that point, I knew I had landed my top bucket-list sh.
It was an amazing experience, and it felt like we were literally in an episode of Wicked Tuna. What you see from the show is what you get in person. ere is no script; nothing is fake. ere is only grit, talent and hope, and these guys have all that.
e Hard Merchandise team recently launched Angelica Seafoods, where one can order fresh blue n, lobster, scallops, oysters and more to be delivered to your door. If you plan a trip to Boston and want to catch a sh of a lifetime, book a charter with the Hard Merchandise.
For more information on the Hard Merchandise, visit www.angelica sheries.com/fv-hardmerchandise.
IG: @catching_astrid @bnmbean @hardmerchjoe @melodyredwing @hardmerchandisejay.
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That’s quite a headline for a 17-year-old high school student from Clewiston, Fla. who loves bass shing.
I spoke with Hilary while she was in Palatka, Fla. preparing to sh the Florida Bass Nation tournaments on the St. Johns River, and her enthusiasm and passion for the sport of bass shing were impressive.
Last year, at 16, she nished h at the State Championship of the Florida Bass Nation with a total weight heavier than 19 pounds. She’s hoping to do even better this year.
I asked her if she could remember when she rst started shing, and she laughed as she guessed that she was “probably only 2 years old.” A er all, she does come from a pretty well-known family of professional bass shermen.
Her grandfather, the legendary Roland Martin, is one of the greatest bass shermen of all time. Her father, Scott, won the 2011 Forest Wood Cup Championship, and also has 45 top-ten nishes and eight tour victories in the FLW and hosts the Scott Martin Challenge.
But things are di erent today than they were
By Don Norton
Iin the past. Today, social media is the key to reaching your audience, and Hilary has done an incredible job on both YouTube, with over 100,000 subscribers, and Instagram with 103,000 followers.
Most of her videos are bass shing, although she’s had some very interesting saltwater shing videos, as well.
Hilary said she started taking bass shing seriously when she was 15 years old, and at 16, joined the Florida Bass Nation Series.
She has her own bass boat, a 20’ Skeeter FXR, with a 250hp Yamaha, but she also shes out of her dad’s boat from time to time, because, “it’s got all the goodies,” she laughed.
Her biggest bass, a whopping 9.1-pounder was caught ipping a black/blue Sweet Beaver along the edges of cattails on Lake Okeechobee when she was only 14 years old. She hopes to break that personal best soon.
Her shing arsenal includes a Favorite Phantom Series shing rod, a Shimano Curado reel and braided or uorocarbon line, along with her favorite bait, a Zoom Speed Worm.
“I was shing out of a kayak and I saw this
far away, so I threw my Speed Worm just past the mark,” she recounted. “I started a fast retrieve when a big bass came up and just exploded on it. at sh drug me around for what seemed like forever before I nally landed it. It weighed just over ve pounds. e cover picture of me holding a bass was taken the day a er.”
Listening to her tell that story, her excitement, enthusiasm and passion for bass shing became even more obvious.
If you haven’t seen one of her videos on YouTube ( eReelHilarySue), I’d strongly recommend you check them out. ey’re fun to watch, and you might just learn something. She’s a natural.
What an incredible future this beautiful, talented young lady has in store. I think she’ll be one of the biggest names in professional bass shing in the years to come.
Don Norton is co-publisher of the Okeechobee edition of e Angler Magazine.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY MCGUIRE/SHOW ME THE FISH CHARTERS
shing the Gulf of Mexico out of Florida have two weekends remaining in November to harvest red snapper. is special fall season announced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) opened a total of ve weekends for snapper harvest in October and November. e remaining dates are Nov. 11-13 and Nov. 25-27.
e fall red snapper season is open for recreational anglers and for-hire operations in the Gulf of Mexico. During this season, private recreational anglers may harvest red snapper in Gulf state and federal waters. However, state for-hire operations are limited to shing for red snapper in Gulf state waters only. Gulf state waters extend to 9 miles o shore, where federal waters begin.
e bag limit during the fall season is the same as the regular summerseason bag limit. Anglers may keep two red snapper per person, within the 10-per-person daily aggregate snapper bag limit. e minimum size limit is 16 inches tail length. Charter captains and guides may not keep a limit on top of those retained by their anglers. A descending device or venting tool is required to be rigged and ready for use while shing for reef sh in Gulf federal waters. FWC will continue to monitor harvest relative to Florida’s available quota.
ese additional days were made possible by the State Reef Fish Survey, which was developed to provide better data for management of red snapper and other reef sh. It has allowed FWC the unprecedented opportunity to manage Gulf red snapper in state and federal waters.
All anglers shing from private recreational vessels are required to sign up as a State Reef Fish Angler if they target red snapper or other reef sh in state and federal waters, even if they are exempt from shing license requirements. Sign up for no cost at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or by visiting any location where you can purchase a Florida shing license.
State Reef Fish Anglers may receive a questionnaire in the mail regarding their reef sh trips as part of Florida’s State Reef Fish Survey. If you receive a survey, please respond whether you shed this season or not or whether you’ve submitted data via other methods.
For more information, see the Florida red snapper regulations at MyFWC.com.
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Brought to you by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., the 12th Annual Jimmy Johnson’s “Quest for the Ring” Championship Fishing Week will take over South Florida March 7-11, 2023, additionally hosted by Visit Lauderdale, with tournament headquarters based at Seminole Hard Rock in Broward.
e annual four-day tournament includes the 2-day Quest for the Ring Catch & Release Championship and the National Sport sh Championship Weighted Tournament, which takes place as a separate tournament during the event week. Hosted by Contender Boats, powered by Yamaha and fueled by Papa’s Pilar Rum, the 2-Day Catch & Release Championship features the World’s RICHEST guaranteed purse of $1 million, in partnership with Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla, making it the longest-running guaranteed purse in history.
Jimmy Johnson’s “Quest for the Ring” Championship Fishing Week is “all about the ring!” according to Coach Johnson. Each year teams vie for their champion rings and entrance into the highly coveted Ring of Honor, an elite group of champions who have taken home the top prize at this exciting competition in the Catch & Release Championship. Each year, overall champions receive Jimmy’s famed National Championship Ring. Renowned for the best parties, which are
Palm Beach’s TEAM LUNATICO won the 2022 Championship, taking home $321,500 and entrance into Coach’s coveted RING OF HONOR on a 42’ Invincible owned by Lance Converse.
back at Hard Rock, the highest guaranteed purse and the ultimate week of shing, tournament highlights include celebrity charity days and highly competitive tournament showdowns. Registration will end with the captain’s meeting on Tuesday, March 7, if spots are still available.
“ e best wasn’t the Super Bowl, the best was not University of Miami, the best is right now!” said Coach Johnson. “ ese teams are part of THE BEST. We continue to grow each year, and I am thrilled to have our partners at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood join us as we
showcase the thrilling challenge of sport shing and to move our hosting of our event to such a beautiful destination in Broward County. We look forward to seeing everyone in March!”
Contender Boats is the o cial center console boat sponsor and a presenting sponsor of the tournament along with the o cial outboard sponsor, Yamaha, and o cial spirits partner, Papa’s Pilar. Additional Hosting sponsors include Oakley Prizm, Michelob Ultra, GED Lawyers, Visit Lauderdale, Garmin, Celebrity Cruises, Hines Securities, Titos Vodka, Atlantic Radio Telephone, and Cadillac. Miami Retail Partner is Crook and Crook and Broward Retail Partner is Big Dog Tackle. e o cial tournament artist and apparel provider is Connected by Water. Additional event sponsors can be found on the event website. e tournament is produced by Fish Hard Events.
Boat Entry information and the full schedule of events can be found at www.jj shweek.com. Registration starts at $5,000 for the Quest for the Ring Bill sh Tournament and $2,500 for the Sport sh Weighted Championship. Register on the tournament website or by contact the tournament o ce at info@jj shweek.com or (305) 255-3500 for more information.
Follow @JJFishWeek on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for up to date tournament information.
By Rex Hannon
There’s an eruption during your retrieve that’s immediately followed by one of the most vicious strikes you’ve ever encountered. e unknown assailant pulls drag, digging deeper only to reverse course and perform one of the most acrobatic aerial shows you’ve ever witnessed. Your rst thought is a monster largemouth, but that idea vanishes when you see the color scheme and the large bump on the sh’s forehead. A er a trying and equipment-testing battle, before you lies an unmistakable dream about or watch on television shows recorded in exotic locations. It’s a butter y peacock bass.
Peacock bass are native to South America, where they are most commonly found in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. Because of their appearance and name, there’s a common misconception that they are members of the bass family. Actually, they are cichlids.
Peacock bass were introduced to South Florida by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in 1984. ey are nonnative, but they are considered noninvasive. ree stocks of sh were imported from Brazil, Guyana and Peru. A er spawning at the FWC Non Native Research Lab and being tested for disease and parasites by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Auburn University, they were released to combat exotic invasive snakeheads, clown knife sh and oscars.
Peacock Bass have a body similar to largemouth bass, but the color scheme is noticeably di younger examples are generally golden/green with three black bars that fade as the sh matures. is also usually a prominent black spot with a yellow/ gold halo on the tail. Peacock bass are fast growing, pushing an inch a month from one year to 18 months. A 19-inch sh can weigh 5 pounds. While the Florida state record butter
undocumented catches of 12 pounds and e IGFA all-tackle world record is 12.6 pounds and was caught in Venezuela. y peacock bass are intolerant of cold water and high salinity. ere have been reports of sh north of Palm Beach County, but they cannot survive temperatures below 60 degrees or salinity above 18 parts per million. is species is commonly found in canals, lakes and ponds, and prefers to feed and spawn in shallow water with vegetation.
Live bait is the easiest way to catch these amazing sh, and they will also strike arti cial lures and ies. Butter y peacock bass prefer feeding during daylight hours, when they use their great speed to pursue
y peacock bass are edible, but the FWC recommends catch and release due to the valuable service they provide in keeping invasive species in e pursuit of this species is also an economic boon to the state. It is estimated that anglers spend more than $8 million a year chasing peacock bass in y peacock bass are another example of shing opportunities.
Guy Harvey has dedicated his life to creating beautiful art and apparel to protect the sport and the oceans he loves. From using recycled materials in his apparel to ensuring a portion of his proceeds help protect the ocean through the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), wearing Guy Harvey means you’re part of the movement to protect our sport and our oceans. Shop now and turn the tides at GuyHarvey.com
In this series on long-distance lures, we’ve covered just about everything about the cast and equipment. Now that you’ve made that super-long cast—beating other anglers’ distance by 50 feet, or maybe 50 yards—you are presenting your lure to sh that others can’t reach.
What’s next the next step? is is where we enter the heart of the action, where things get fun and exciting. First thing rst, start working your lure.
e long distance between your rod tip and the lure means more line is on the water. You will have less control of the lure’s action, and the delay between when the sh strikes and when you feel it will be longer. e hook set is also a ected. Waves, wind and current all amplify this lag.
e type of lure will determine how you should alter your retrieve to achieve the proper action. Darters, heavy spoons, billed minnows, bottleneck swimplugs and jointed swimbaits are all designed to provide their own action, and they will start swimming when you begin your retrieve.
Lures that require more angler interaction
will require you to adapt your retrieve to compensate for the extra distance and diminished control. A popper
hand what I am trying to impart. You’ll need practice to adjust the way you work a lure at distance, and by paying attention to the way di erent lures react, you will learn to sh them more e ectively.
might require harder pulls to pop. A stick bait or pencil might need a slower cadence and sharper rod twitches to achieve the desired action.
ese details might seem insigni cant as you read this, but go give it a try on the water, preferably in calm conditions. At the end of a super-long cast, you’ll experience rst-
Now, with the current ripping and wave action pulling the line and lure side to side, there’s no way to avoid losing some control over the quality of a lure’s action. e good thing is, sh in such conditions are usually less picky and more aggressive. Still, the better the action you provide to your lure, the better your results will be. en suddenly, the bite happens! A long belly of line in uenced by current and waves increases the delay between your hook set and the moment it translates to the lure. Also, some energy will be lost. Use a wide, sweeping rod movement to set the hook when the lure is far away. is generates a long pull that provides the most energy possible to drive the hook into a sh’s mouth. Also, sh a tight drag when you’re casting for distance. I’ve seen many anglers miss sh when the drag gives line on the hook set. Be ready to adjust the drag lighter based on the power of the sh once you have it hooked.
Legendary angler Patrick Sebile is a world record holder and an award-winning designer of innovative lures and shing gear. Check out his creations at abandofanglers.com.
Poststorm fishing can be great or a complete bust. With the recent passage of Hurricane Ian, I decided to get out once sea conditions subsided. Here in Palm Beach County and miles away from the storm epicenter, we were able to get out and fish comfortably just a few days after. The trip turned out to be epic! Winds were confused and shifting but we were able to locate a weed line in about 800 feet of water. We marked its position and decided to go a bit further to locate cleaner water and the edge of the Gulf Stream. At around 1,400 feet and with white caps continuing to build we decided to turn back for the weed line we had found. It turned out to be the right decision. We slow trolled the edge of this line for about ten minutes with a skirted ballyhoo to try and locate feeding mahi. We didn’t have long to wait. The port trolling rod went off – game on!
With a beautiful 8-pound mahi on the line and jumping, we immediately got a handful of fresh cut chum in the water. I do not use or like frozen chum but cut up my own using baits left over from previous trips. With only 2 anglers total on board, 2 additional spinning rods were deployed with live finger mullet and were immediately intercepted – we now had a trio of jumping mahi in the 8 to 15-pound class attached to lines. This is the mahi show all anglers live for. With the 3 fish under control the rods were put in rod holders at the bow and 3 more baits were deployed –instant hookups! We now had 6 decent fish attached to lines and circling the boat and decided to work them to the net. I keep a 55-gallon pail on the boat and all the fish we land go directly into this barrel. This keeps the deck clear and cleanup to a minimum.
This is the most crucial part of a successful day. The ability to put feeding fish in the boat quickly and re-deploy fresh rods with bait. Doing this before a feeding school disperses can make the difference between a few fish or a maxed-out cooler. The current recreational limit is 5 fish per angler. We decided to stop fishing at 8 nice mahi in the hopes of finding a few larger sized fish.
We cleaned up, moved all fish to the cooler and headed back inshore while scouting for anything interesting. The plan was to bottom fish the reef off Palm Beach Inlet and finish the day with a mixed bag of edibles. We got to roughly the 600 feet of line when we spotted the “holy grail” off the starboard bow. A large piece of heavy lumber washed ashore from the storm. No telling what might be underneath as the wood appeared very new to the water. No sooner than we pitched a live bait to the debris than we saw multiple
Two of my local favorites – tripletail and snapper!
Fresh cut squid is a must for tripletail.
needed for an incredibly healthy meal.
of
marine
adversely effected by the storm.
The“mullet run” should be drawing to a close right around the beginning of November. There was plenty of mullet in and around Ft. Pierce, Stuart, Jupiter, and Boynton Beach during early September to early October. There should still be bull sharks, snook, and tarpon crushing the remaining schools, so this is your last call to get out and enjoy the hot inshore bite. Follow the mullet for excellent snook and tarpon fishing inshore and along the beach. If tarpon and snook are biting, you can catch them on a live mullet using a circle hook or any number of swimming baits and “flair hawks”. I caught my first fish on a flair hawk last month and it was a very satisfying feeling.
November should start bringing sailfish, wahoo, and bigger-sized mahi mahi into the area. In the Palm Beaches it’s most popular to kite fish with live bait for these pelagic fish, but slow trolling live baits works nearly as well. Dead-bait trolling for sails will also land you plenty of mahi. If it’s calm, head offshore and find some floating debris or other structure that holds bait that the mahi feed on. November weather will mean more northerly winds and cooler drier weather
with
Please be sure to check out my YouTube Channel “Darcizzle Offshore” for fishing videos every week! www.youtube.com/DarcizzleOffshore
which translates into rougher seas. If it’s rougher stay close and troll those ballyhoo for sails and mahi from 80-300 feet or deeper depending on water conditions.
Closer to shore and on the bottom, fishing has been excellent! The fall run of Spanish mackerels should also be starting up. They will be present in good numbers and are so much fun to catch on light tackle. The party boats are coming in with a good number of yellowtails and even more
www.USHarbors.com
Healthy spillway snook- my first fish on a flair hawk! This fish was just over being keeper size but released safely.
mutton snappers. Even mahi mahi have been caught shallow recently, presumably chasing mullet closer to shore than normal. There have been a decent number of kings landed as well, however bigger kingfish have been missing from the Palm Beaches for several weeks. The drift boats typically use a triple-hook rig with a whole dead sardine as bait. This is a great yet simple fishing method and will catch you plenty of fish; I have caught a sailfish in the past with this simple rig so don’t count it out when you just want to relax on the water.
Here is your November inshore salt & freshwater forecast for Palm Beach County. Cold fronts and dry air should really get things going, starting this month. The water will clear up as the fresh water works its way out of the ICW. Migratory fish such as pompano, sheepshead, drum, and many others will start to move into our area. I keep the fishing pretty simple this time of the year as I have three main lures that I use. A small white bucktail, goofy jig with a quill, and a silver spoon. This is a great time of the year to take home some fillets for dinner, just remember to take what you need and leave some for everybody else. Hopping the bobtail or goofy jig around docks and pilings will usually catch you a great
Dylan took advantage of the conditions right after the hurricane and scored a lot of nice peacocks.
Jamie fished the mullet run with a big popper and was rewarded with a nice jack.
variety of fish. The silver spoon can be worked just about anywhere, but days that you can get out on the beach and around the jetty can be pretty action packed with bluefish, mackerel, and jacks.
Fly anglers should keep it pretty simple also. I like to use a Clousers in whatever color I can grab the fastest, they tend to get chewed up as I go through quite a few flies.
On the freshwater side, everything is going to be eating! This really kicks off the aftersummer season, when fish start to school up and their mind is on one thing, food. I will fish humps and deep holes usually producing a mixed bag of peacocks, largemouth, sunshine bass, and clown knifefish. As always, live bait will be the fastest ticket to action but don’t be scared to throw artificials and flies.
Good luck out there and enjoy the beautiful weather!
By Christopher Sprague
I hope you all have been catching fish but more importantly, I hope you stayed safe during Hurricane Ian. This hurricane wreaked havoc across the west coast and showed us that you can never be prepared enough. A few days after the hurricane, we put a 27 Pathfinder in the water to make the best of the situation and catch some nice fish. We figured that all these low-pressure systems would have stirred the water up enough to make the bite insane- and it was exactly that. We grabbed the snapper rods and some trolling rods since we didn’t know what would be biting. We pointed the boat straight east and about 5 miles out we found a nice weed patch, but after trolling around for a while with no luck, we continued our journey. We could see massive rollers about 9 miles out, and in a bay boat we were slightly nervous about them. The ocean was almost flat calm up until we found where the south current met the Gulf Stream. On one side, the water was green and calm, and on the other side were 6-foot rollers. The second we put our lines out we got a nice dolphin, and then continued getting fish of all species including barracuda and blue runners. We finally got a school of dolphins to the boat, but since we didn’t have live bait, we struggled getting them in. It was fish after fish, and with just my dad and I on board, we would have to improvise. Since we both had fish, we had to grab the gaff with one hand while holding the pole in the other and get `em in the boat! We got all the dolphin we needed, around 8, and headed in. It was such a fun day and something way out of the ordinary to see and have the privilege to fish.
Asmuch as we love time on the ocean, the arrival of fall means more windy and choppy conditions offshore. Although there are some easy ocean days, there are lots when it’s just too rough to have fun out there with clients.
Fortunately, we have plenty of inshore waters to explore too, including Lake Worth Lagoon.
From weekend sandbar parties to quiet outings with wildlife and nature, the lagoon offers easy access for fishing, boating, birding, paddling, swimming, snorkeling, sandbars, and more!
“Lagoon” gets some people thinking of remote islands, surrounded by crystal clear blue water and abundant wildlife. We definitely get checkmarks for crystal clear water, abundant wildlife, and biodiversity! But Lake Worth Lagoon is an urban estuary at its core, and not at all remote.
That wasn’t always the case. 150 years ago, the lagoon was a freshwater lake located in the midst of wilderness. No roads. No railroads. Very few people, just a few hearty souls along its shores. Ships sailing the coast had no reason to stop here. And mostly, they did not.
How times have changed! Over the next 50 years the lagoon was transformed from fresh-water lake and marsh to an open-water brackish environment.
This process started gradually, with a series of shallow, hand-dug inlets
to the ocean. These early inlets closed almost as quickly as they could be dug, so salt-water impacts to the freshwater lake were minimal.
But as the surrounding area became more settled during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, wider and deeper inlets were cut. When permanent inlets were opened in the 1920’s, the old lake was forever changed. Saltwater flooded in from the ocean, quickly killing freshwater grasses, trees, shrubs, and other vegetation.
Over the next 50 years people flooded into the area too. While mangroves slowly took root along undeveloped shorelines, hundreds of miles of seawalls were quickly built to protect newly developed homes and other development from shoreline erosion.
Much of the new development was built on top of lowlying marsh land, which was filled to raise it above high tide levels. Even into the 1970’s, fill material for new developments was dredged right out of the lagoon. It seemed like an ideal solution...faster and less expensive than trucking it from inland sand pits.
How much fill was needed determined the size of dredge projects. Smaller projects left behind smaller dredge holes. Larger projects left behind deeper dredge holes.
How deep? Many were 10-15 feet, others 20-30 feet, and some were even deeper. It would take many years to realize that this “ideal solution” was anything but. And decades to begin fixing it.
Want to learn more about the fix? Ride along with us at LagoonFest on November 5th in downtown West Palm Beach! Visit www.lagoonfest.com and www.facebook.com/ aquaadventuretours for details.
Hope to see you outdoors and on the water!
The Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County will once again light up the Intracoastal Waterway this holiday season for the 28th Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade.
The Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County will once again light up the Intracoastal Waterway this holiday season for the 28th Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade.
Bring new, unwrapped toys to any viewing location. A “toy fleet” of boats from TowBoatU.S., Sea Tow and other volunteers traveling along the parade route will make dockside pickups during the parade. Just wave a flashlight when you see a boat with a flashing amber beacon and/or Toys for Tots signage.
Bring new, unwrapped toys to any viewing location. A “toy fleet” of boats from TowBoatU.S., Sea Tow and other volunteers traveling along the parade route will make dockside pickups during the parade. Just wave a flashlight when you see a boat with a flashing beacon and/or Toys for Tots signage.
PARADE BEGINS AT 6PM AND ARRIVES IN JUPITER AT APPROXIMATELY 8PM Follow us on Facebook @pbboatparade
PARADE BEGINS AT 6PM AND ARRIVES IN JUPITER AT APPROXIMATELY 8PM Follow us on Facebook @pbboatparade
North Palm Beach to the Jupiter Lighthouse
North Palm Beach to the Jupiter Lighthouse
FOR DETAILS VISIT:
FOR DETAILS VISIT:
palmbeachboatparade.com
Cap T. We STON r u SS ell
to the November Coastal Angler fishing forecast for the waters from Palm Beach to Jupiter, Florida. The mullet run will start to fizzle out, but there will be a few good fish still crushing schools, so if you’re an inshore angler, this is last call. In October there were a lot of sharks chasing the massive groups of mullet and rumors of a couple white sharks also feeding on them off of Juno Beach. So, if you’re interested in a toothy creature...don’t forget the wire at the bait store.
For the offshore report, expect some better fishing than the month before. The cooler weather moving down from the north will move some good fishing our way. Sailfish, dolphin, and wahoo will be on the list. This is the time to get that kite reel out and change the swivels. All the fish on this list want to eat live bait, so suspending some from a kite is a fun way to catch one. The bottom fishing this month will also be good. Sardines or squid will work great for snappers, but there is a new player in town... the Berkley Gulp! Shrimp. Put one of these killer artificial baits on a jig and bounce it around structure...hold on!
One other thing I would like to talk about is the fall run of Spanish Macks. These sharp tooth fish are fun on light tackle. Use a jig with light wire to up your chances. Be careful when removing the hook. These are not monsters, but they bite like one. The use of a de-hooker helps from losing your fingers. Well, good luck and remember, you can’t catch them from the couch!
HappyThanksgiving anglers! Cool fronts start to bring comfortable weather. Water temperatures will start to cool down and predator fish begin to push into back bays, canals, and coves.
Snook fishing in Jupiter and Palm Beach will offer anglers steady action along seawalls, mangrove shorelines, and channel edges. Sight fishing on the flats is another option for those who enjoy watching the bite. A D.O A. C.A.L. 3” Shad or D.O.A. 3” Shrimp presented in the right spot gets the drag screaming.
Fall weather drives tarpon into back bays and canals offering excellent fishing for the silver king. Tarpon are prevalent inside the ICW, mangrove shorelines, docks, and deep passes. Live shrimp drifted with the tide is the best bait, other baits like mullet, pinfish, and
greenies work as well. For artificial enthusiasts, the deeper passes offer plenty of shots on D.O.A. Bait Busters or D.O.A. C.A.L. 3” Shad in Arkansas glow or ale wife with a jig head. Tarpon this time of year range from 10 to 60 pounds.
November offers great action for big jack crevalle on the Intracoastal Waterways. Jacks will pounce on Rapala Skitter Walks or live bait in the vicinity of seawalls, docks, or open water flats. The jacks are schooling fish averaging 5 to 25 pounds. Battling jacks on light tackle or fly is something an angler will never forget, come experience the tussle yourself!
Well, that is the fishing report for the Palm Beach and Jupiter area. I hope you all enjoyed, so get out there and get hooked up. Tight Lines!
Tamyka with a slot snook.
November will bring on the cooler weather and give the fish some relief from the heat. Snook, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel should be on your radar. Kayak fishing the inlets, docks, and seawalls will produce most of the inshore species. Live mullet is your best bet along with hair jigs and soft plastic jerk baits. The bluefish and Spanish mackerel will start to show on the beaches and push in the inlets. Any shiny and quickly retrieved presentation should entice a bite from these toothy fish.
Northeast winds will start to push through this month making beach launches a little more difficult. Pick your days wisely and be prepared to get wet on launch and re-entry. Fish will start to move in shallow as the cold fronts push through. Look to target mahi, kings, and sails in
Cap T. J O h NNy S Tabile
plugs, and bucktail jigs are my top three for chasing peacock and largemouth bass. I’m also a big fan of South Florida’s exotics, such as snakeheads on topwaters and clown knifefish on crankbaits.
peacock and largemouth bass in it. With a little bit of time and advice from this article, you can really pick up on these fishing trends. If you have kids and want to get them into fishing, this is the time of the year. Take the opportunity of the great weather and the bite, pick up some live bait, and go for it! Tight lines!
the 80-120’ area, trolling live goggle eyes and blue runners. Bottom fishing during this time is my favorite. Muttons and yellowtails will be lurking in the 60-100’ reef patches. Frozen sardines, live mullet, and frozen gogs on long leaders in the 40lb class will work best.
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November is my top favorite month for all things outdoors related, in particular - fall fishing. November is the month where South Florida really changes into its fall patterns. The water cools down, making the largemouth bass more active, but not too cool to shut them down. The peacock bass fishing has been the best that I have seen in years and continues to produce big numbers, especially in the urban canals. The fish aren’t quite as picky this early in the season, so pretty much the usual suggestions that I would make would be perfect to use for artificial. Jerk baits, topwater
Lately, I have found myself fishing in some new areas. When doing so, I like to use a search bait to see if a new area is productive or not. When choosing a search bait, it’s a good idea to pick something that is somewhat light and easy to cast numerous times with minimal effort. When I’m choosing a search bait, I want something that makes a lot of noise or puts off a lot of flash. Even if I’m fishing live bait, I will still have a rod rigged with an artificial to see if I can get a bite or spark some interest. In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than wasting a bunch of live bait searching for fish in a new area. With that said, we have been catching peacock bass in extremely large numbers; most of my four-hour trips pull in more than 40 fish! There are plenty of places to fish for these peacock bass, and there’s lots of good information on the internet to lead you in the right direction to find them. Pretty much any freshwater lake south of Palm Beach has
sailfish, sailfish! November is one of our best months for catching sailfish, our most sought-after game fish. In Fort Lauderdale we have the perfect location for targeting these hard fighting and aerobatic gamefish. The Gulf Stream current comes closer to shore near Fort Lauderdale than anywhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Just inside the Gulf Stream is our 100’ reef that runs parallel to our coast. If you were designing the perfect place for sailfish to congregate, you couldn’t do any better than just offshore of Fort Lauderdale. The narrow strip of water between 100-200ft deep is known as “Sailfish Alley”. It acts as the migrating highway for almost all the sailfish that move northward along the Florida Coast. Nowhere I have ever fished is there such a concentration of these highly prized gamefish. The best technique is a method called ‘kite fishing’. Using kites, we can suspend live baits so that they are held high on the water’s surface, struggling to keep their heads underwater. These struggles give off ‘fish-in-distress’ signals that sailfish can pick up on from a long distance away. November’s pattern of strong winds make kite fishing a perfect technique for this time of year and of all the fishing tactics devised to catch sailfish, kite fishing remains the most effective.
Offshore fishing this month is great too. The mahi-mahi (dolphin) bite is excellent this time of year, and if last year is any indicator of how this year will be, we caught boatloads of mahimahi throughout last November. Mahimahi are gregarious fish, so if you hook into one while trolling, look out - there probably are more in the area. We usually catch them underneath floating debris such as boards or seaweed floating on the top of the water. This month, we catch most of them just trolling open ocean. Keeping an eye peeled for birds working a school of fish is always a good idea. Trolling offshore, trying to cover the most territory possible, is the way to catch them this month. When you are fishing this way, usually trolling at a slightly faster clip, you can also entice wahoo or tunas to bite. Wahoo are another offshore gamefish that bites well this month. If sailfish, mahi-mahi, and wahoo aren’t to your liking, wrecks hold some nice fish such as cobia, groupers, jacks, and sharks. It’s a great month to come fishing in Fort Lauderdale. Tight Lines!
Watch and wait for cold fronts this month as cold weather really gets the sailfish frisky!
mahi all lit up and streaking for our lone mullet – Fish On! With 2 more nice sized mahi in the boat, we maxed out and left this healthy school for the next anglers to find. Time to find something else edible.
With our mahi limit reached by 9:30 am, we began the slow cruise in towards the reef. I always keep my speed down so I can spot any promising weed patches. Anything sizable enough to hold jacks is worth prospecting. Within a mile we found 1 lone patch approximately 10 feet around. I slowly edged up to the patch and deployed a fresh squid bait. I use a double hook rig consisting of a Mustad size 3/0 Beak Hook in front and a 4/0 Beak Hook in the rear – both bronze in color. These hooks go together super easy without pliers or having to flatten the barbs on the leading hook due to the mis-match sizes. We were using squid to prospect for the delicious tripletail and instantly had 2 nice sized fish in the cooler. The trick is getting your bait past the always ravenous jacks! Time to head in and see if the inshore bite was as hot as the offshore. We fished the 70 to 80-foot ledge just north of Palm Beach Inlet and ended up catching multiple snapper and grouper – two of my favorite bottom fish. We ended the day with a bit of everything; tripletail and mahi offshore as well as snowy grouper and red snapper inshore rounded out the table fair. Some of my favorite eating fish that are all delicious! We headed back to the dock by 2:30 and called it a day.
Glad we went because the sea conditions started to build again with
Well,as you may or may not know, the FWC’s new range has finally officially opened. We say “officially” because they just had their grand opening about a week ago. The range has been open for a while now, but because of the grand opening and the fact that the main and only road out to the facility is now paved.
The run down on the range is that it is operated and under the state’s control with the land that it sits on being a donation from Palm Beach County. To say this was a long time coming would be an understatement. I remember at least 8 or so years ago sitting in on several FWC meetings about this range. With setback, after more setback, and a lot of effort, it is now a reality. I am happy to say it was worth the wait, this range is topnotch!
The location of the range is right outside the entrance to the J. W. Corbett Wildlife Area in the western part of Palm Beach County. The range hosts a 300-yard, 200-yard, and 100-yard rifle range. There are several handgun ranges. For me, the real gems are the trap, skeet, and sporting clay ranges. The sporting clay range and 5 stand range are some of the nicest around. The course is set to bring in new shooters to the clay game and challenge the experienced ones as well. There are numerous skeet and trap ranges, along with a bunker trap, to use. The target system is set up so that you can run it yourself and you get your clay “card” to fill with how many clays you want. We are regulars there now and you can usually find us out there on Sunday mornings.
For all the specific information on the range you can visit the FWC website, or you can visit their website at Palm Beach County Shooting Sports Complex. It has taken awhile, but now the shooters and hunters of Palm Beach County have a top-notch facility to hone their skills at, or just to get out for a little recreational shooting.
the storm front trailing edge pushing winds our way from up north and making for rough seas again. The mark of fall weather. This trip was everything an angler hopes for and will stay in the memory bank forever — a great time with my good friend Wayne Stallings.
Hurricanes are a fact of life here in our beautiful state. Our hearts and prayers go out to all effected. Floridians are a resourceful group, and our state will recover. Thoughts, relief efforts, and prayers will remain with those impacted by the storm.
I want to personally thank our Governor Ron DeSantis, the US Coast Guard, and the Florida National Guard for the early and effective response. I literally had to call the Hurricane Hotline to provide information for evacuation of friends I have that were directly in the storm’s path. Assistance was almost immediate, and everyone was eventually on safe ground. This story was repeated for many individuals unfortunate to be in the storm’s suddenly shifted path. Kudos to the local men and women who stayed in harm’s way to provide this support. The ones I spoke with were all very professional and are truly Guardian Angels and our local heroes.
author – avid outdoorsman, sports writer, and photographer. Contact marksgonefishing25@gmail.com
gear used – Coastal fishing Company made exclusive for the fisherman by fisherman www.coastalfishing.com
Shellen Guide Service • (863) 357-0892 • sjmike7@aol.com www.OkeechobeeBassFishing.com
Ares Church and his 2 boys had an amazing day catching a bunch of chunky bass!
Heavy rainfall has triggered Lake Okeechobee to rise at a rapid rate. The largest rainfall of the year, thanks to Hurricane Ian, fell in the Kissimmee Basin that feeds Lake Okeechobee making it necessary for the water structures to be opened wide, triggering an inundation of water coming into Lake Okeechobee. It is great for fishing and the local economy in Okeechobee. Add a huge bass population to the mix and the town of Okeechobee has all makings of a great fall and winter season.
As the summer finally ends, the water temperatures in Lake Okeechobee are dropping. The water level is high enough to provide access to the marsh areas as well as the shoreline cover. Each fall, savvy anglers anticipate the first wave of large female bass as they move along the shallow shorelines, where they gorge themselves. From October into December, Lake Okeechobee’s bass go into feeding mode, chasing and eating shiners, shad, and whatever food morsels are available.
Once the bass locate a food source they will hang out in that area if the food is available. Last year we located a spot early in October that bass frequented fall, winter, and spring, with bass coming and going in conjunction with the moon phases. We were able to catch bass in this same area during pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn. It is not easy or normal to find a spot that will produce big bass and large numbers of bass. Sometimes a little luck plays into it. We fished this productive spot in many ways and from many different angles. At times during the season the fish would be holding in one single piece of cover along the area, other days they would be scattered along the whole stretch. Don’t misunderstand, there were a few days when we could not catch fish in our number one spot, and we would have to move to another area. Each year as we have fished Lake Okeechobee, we have learned something different about the lake, the lesson is not always immediate or mindnumbing. Many times, it is very subtle and only becomes clear after much retrospect. Bass fishing is a wonderful sport, and I can honestly say that I still get excited when a big bass comes onto the boat.
Fall fishing on Lake Okeechobee is second to none. The sheer number of bass in the seven to twelve-pound range is incredible. Traffic is relatively low during the month of November since many of our visitors from the North aren’t here yet. The days are mild, and the bass are biting.
The north end of Lake Okeechobee is loaded with hydrilla, eelgrass, pepper grass, and other great cover elements that bass love to hold. From the east side of the lake at J&S Fish Camp all the way around the north end of the lake to the Point of the Reef, bass are already being caught in great numbers. Each year it’s only a matter of time until the bass are triggered to start their fall feeding spree. It happens suddenly and without fanfare, one day the bass will be of average size, and the next day you might catch four or five bass over seven pounds.
Fishing, The Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, The City of Pompano Beach, The City of Deerfield Beach, The City of Margate, The City of Hillsboro, The Coast Guard, BSO Marine Patrol, Pompano Beach Fire Marshall, Sea Tow and The SANDS HARBOR RESORT & MARINA are proud to announce that we have a great parade in store this year, as we present to you the 60th Annual CHAOS Pompano Beach/Lighthouse Pt/Deerfield Beach Holiday Boat Parade on FRIDAY, December 9, 2022 at 7:00 P.M.
Dennis Friel of Connected by Water and Ocean Conservationist, and always funny, Jeff Martin, of EASY 93.1 Radio, are returning to emcee this year’s event. The Judges Reviewing Stand will be located at the Sands Harbor Resort & Marina, where the Mayors of Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point and Deerfield Beach and others, will cast their vote for the winners in a variety of categories.
“What a great opportunity for all of us to join together to not only celebrate the holidays but show our community support and spirit, especially our gratitude to all those that contributed to and supported 60 years of Pompano Beach Boat Parade joy. Come join us at our 60th Annual Holiday Boat Parade with lights and music to thrill the thousands of spectators, all along our beautiful waterway, for it truly is “Magic on the Water”, said Jean McIntyre, President & CEO/Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Prizes and cash will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place for best décor, excitement, music, theme and lighting at the Annual Awards Party.
To enter your Boat for FREE and for info about Sponsorship Packages, contact: CONNIE DAVIS, Director of Programs at cdavis@ pompanobeachchamber.com or call: 954.383.2285
For additional information please contact the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber at: PH: 954.941-2940 or: info@pompanobeachchamber.com or www.pompanobeachchamber.com
ToP oFFShoRE: holly Smith, Key Largo, FL 12 lb. bonito on Sea Horse with Capt. Rick Rodriguez
SEConD PlACE oFFShoRE: lyn Gremonprez, Tavernier, FL 8.3 lb. mutton snapper on Plantation Boat Mart
aspiring anglers came from Florida as well as other states to learn from the pros at the award winning “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!®” Keys University, October 7-9 at the Elks Lodge, Tavernier, FL. Participants came to learn about fishing and practice their skills on the water, catching 183 fish and releasing 185 for a total of 368 fish from seven boats in the Fishing Fever Tournament.
ToP InShoRE: Pat Kucera, Clearwater FL 45-inch barracuda released on Capt. Eric Scoble’s Blackwater Charters
SEConD PlACE InShoRE: Julie Duncan, Pinecrest, FL 35-inch snook release on Capt. Chris Hanson’s Scales 2 Tales
ToP InShoRE RElEASE: Cheryl Craig, Key West, FL for five tarpon releases on Capt. Chris Hanson’s Scales 2 Tales
Con TACT In F o (954) 475-9068 info@ladiesletsgofishing.com www.ladiesletsgofishing.com www.facebook.com/ladiesletsgofishing.
The University kicked off on Friday with a meet-and-greet.
Saturday’s events began with classroom presentations on fishing basics by Capt. Lee Lavery, offshore fishing by Capt. Jeanne Towne, and inshore fishing by Captains Ron Galeota and Scott Ray, followed by lunch and hands-on fishing skills until 4 pm. Skills such as releasing, conservation, knot tying, bait rigging, spin casting, net casting, gaffing grapefruits and more were available for hands-on practice.
Saturday events concluded with a silent auction, followed by a networking party hosted by Seaside Glassworks, Islamorada, FL.
On Friday and Sunday, offshore or inshore, participants embarked on a fishing adventure out of Whale Harbor Marina, Islamorada, FL and other locations, followed by a fish fillet demonstration. Fish caught and/ or released included yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, bonito, tarpon, snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, barracuda, sharks and more.
8-year-old Kenan from Wellingtoncaught this awesome mahi whilefishing in Boynton Beach.
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By Capt. Michael Okruhlik
time… ounder time! e fall migration typically reaches its peak in November along the Gulf Coast and more ounder are sure to reach their spawning grounds in this Gulf this year. Louisiana has joined Texas and Florida with their closed season during the peak of the run. However, the fact that you can’t keep any atties during this time doesn’t mean you can’t catch them.
Flounder will be migrating into the Gulf, so the obvious ambush areas will be around passes that lead to open water. e ounder will position themselves in di erent areas based on the tide level and current strength. In addition to using their burying-in-the-sand ambush technique, they also like to utilize structure in a couple of ways.
First, any object that protrudes above the bottom is a great ambush point. is o ers a current break for forage sh to gather directly above a buried ounder, which makes for an easy meal. Objects such as bulkheads are also great ambush points. Flounder like to position themselves against the solid barrier. I think this can be for two separate reasons depending on what other factors are at play. As mentioned above, it could be a current break, especially if the bulkhead has a corrugated shape. When a ounder settles against a bulkhead, its prey has fewer directions to ee, allowing the ounder greater odds of capturing it. When targeting ounder, never pass up a bulkhead.
Second, ounder can be caught on a variety of lures and live bait if you keep it in contact with the bottom to increase your odds for a strike. On the live-bait options, a frisky mullet will produce larger ounder, so if you want to increase your opportunity of landing a trophy, this is the way to go. I prefer to sh with lures and lean heavily on the paddletail style. Twitching these hard along the bottom sends a pulsating sound and vibration that really grabs their attention. Jerk-style so plastics and bucktails can also be e ective worked in the same manner.
If I had to pick a tide to maximize time on the water, I would choose a medium- ow outgoing. Although there are no set rules that sh always follow, ounder feed more on their way out to the Gulf and utilize the current to ease their journey. During the incoming tide, they bury themselves rather than ght the current.
Don’t let the closed season discourage you from targeting ounder during this migration. It will have its advantages. Going forward, we will undoubtedly have a larger ounder population, but the instant grati cation will be a lot less tra c in our favorite ounder spot! I will use the closed season to target a new personal best this season, and so should you.
Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures®, Controlled Descent Lures™, and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.
Winter in south Florida brings an awesome collision of ballyhoo and sail sh that makes for some of the best shing of the year. It’s also the time of year for some of the richest and most fun tournaments. If you’re interested, right now is the time to register. Here’s a list of some good events:
Nov. 30 – Dec. 4, 2022 Dust ’Em O Sail sh Warmup
Fort Lauderdale • www.dustemo sail sh.com
December 1-4, 2022 Pirate’s Cove Sail sh Classic
Pirate’s Cove Resort & Marina, Port Salerno www.piratescovesail shclassic.com
Dec. 2-4, 2022 Islamorada Sail sh Tournament
1st Event of the Florida Keys Gold Cup Sail sh Championship Whale Harbor, Islamorada www.islamoradasail shtournament.com
Dec. 7-10, 2022 Stuart Light Tackle Sail sh Tournament Stuart • stuartsail shclub.com
Dec. 16-18, 2022 Islamorada Junior Sail sh Tournament Islamorada • shnbully@msn.com
Jan. 5-7, 2023 86th Annual Silver Sail sh Derby Sail sh Marina, Singer Island westpalmbeach shingclub.org
Jan. 6-7, 2023 Fish for Holly Sail sh Tournament Islamorada • shforholly.com
Jan. 11-15, 2023 Operation Sail sh
Leg One of the Quest for the Crest Sail sh Series Sail sh Resort & Marina, Palm Beach www.bluewatermovements.com
Jan. 17-21 Buccaneer Cup Sail sh Release Tournament
Buccaneer Marina Resort, Riviera Beach buccaneercup.com
Jan. 18, 2023 Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sail sh Tournament
2nd Event of the Florida Keys Gold Cup Sail sh Championship Cheeca Lodge, Islamorada www.islamoradasail shtournament.com
Jan. 21-22, 2023
Islamorada Fishing Club Sail sh Tournament
3rd Event of the Florida Keys Gold Cup Sail sh Championship Whale Harbor, Islamorada www.islamoradasail shtournament.com
February 22-26, 2023 Sail sh Challenge
Leg Two of the Quest for the Crest Sail sh Series
Three checkpoints: Miami, Pompano Beach, West Palm www.bluewatermovements.com
April 12-15, 2023 Final Sail
Leg Three of the Quest for the Crest Sail sh Series Miami Beach • www.bluewatermovements.com
Florida region you’re shing.
By Emily Rose Hanzlikduring the colder months, where they gather together. Due to them being more condensed during the colder months, it makes them easier to catch.
While smaller seatrout school up and are most e ectively caught with live bait, larger individuals are more solitary. Mature individuals and breeding females longer than 20 or even 25 inches might pair up with another large sh, but they are rarely found schooling.
As the colder months arrive in Florida, the spotted seatrout bite will begin to pick up. ese gorgeously speckled sh are a nearly year-round target for anglers in Florida, and their meat is so and aky with a mild avor.
Seatrout typically lurk in shallow murky waters of estuaries. Usually, these areas consist of seagrass and oyster beds that are hot spots for juvenile prey. While being able to hunt on smaller prey like shrimp, crabs, and bait sh, trout also are able to escape larger predators like sharks, big snook and jacks. Most trout move into deeper bay waters
Seatrout in Florida are having a hard time. eir numbers have dwindled on the east and west coasts because of red tides, the disappearance of sea grass and other factors. ey were once a great option for lling coolers for a sh fry, but limits have been tightened to protect overall populations as well as breeding-sized females. ere is a slot limit in Florida, which allows anglers to keep only sh measuring 15 to 19 inches. ere is an allowance for one sh longer than 19 inches per vessel, per day—or one sh longer than 19 inches per person, if shing from shore. e bag limit ranges from two per person to ve per person, depending on which
ere are many ways to catch trout. e most e ective way to catch numbers is to nd a school and sh live shrimp under a cork cork. Live bait such as pilchards, mojarras, pin sh and nger mullet used with a oat also work well. If you’re an arti cial-lure person, you can have a blast casting topwater plugs. Using this method allows you to cover a lot more area in search of larger sh.
If you’re targeting huge gator trout, use live baits in the 6- to 10-inch range. Gator trout have a ferocious appetite and would much rather grab one large meal than chase around a bunch of small ones. Silver mullet, as well as pin sh, snappers and grunts in that size range work best. You’ll want to target structure, as larger trout are ambush predators. Spoil islands, docks, oyster bars and rock jetties are prime places to nd a gator trout like the IGFA all-tackle world record, which weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces and was caught out of Ft. Pierce, Fla.
Emily Rose Hanzlik holds 56 IGFA world records in various categories. She hails from West Palm Beach, where she has a part time Bow n Guide Service as well as shing classes for Jr. Anglers. Find her on Social Media @emilyhanzlikoutdoors.
as “the world’s largest wahoo tournament,” the Northeast Florida Wahoo Shootout Presented by Yellow n will run from February 4-March 26, 2023 and allows anglers to select three days to sh within this 50-day window.
It’s a very cool format, because all wahoo anglers know just how ckle the bite can be when it comes to timing the moon phases and weather systems. Captains are required to notify tournament o cials the night before they plan to sh, and the heaviest three- sh aggregate wins the tournament. Each boat will be allowed to weigh two wahoo per declared shing day. If more than three sh are weighed for a boat through the course of the tournament, the lower weights are dropped. All eligible sh must be weighed at Strike Zone Fishing in Jacksonville or Melbourne.
e rst-place prize is a 21’ Yellow n Bay Boat with a 200 HP Yamaha 4-stroke and an AmeraTrail Trailer, all valued at $95,000. Second place wins a Kubota RTV valued at $16,000. e tournament pays cash through 10th place.
Registration for the Northeast Florida Wahoo Shootout is open now through Feb. 3. Early entry is $550 through Dec. 31. General entry is $600 through Jan. 26. Late entry is $750 until registration closes.
For more information, go to www.wahooshootout.com.
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Like fishing, hunting is for early risers — those who find contentment and peace in getting out into nature early. But that’s not all you’ll find in wild Florida. From the Panhandle to the Everglades, we have some of the most accessible and affordable public hunting lands in the country. Six million bountiful and beautiful acres are closer than you think. So if you’re already an early riser, rise to the exciting challenge of hunting today.
In the history of timepieces, few moments were more consequential than the advances of the 1920s. Currently, inflation is roaring, which we’ve decided to fight by turning our prices back to the 1920s.
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In September, I embarked on one of the craziest adventures I’ve ever experienced to sh for crazy exotic species on the Rio Guaviare deep in Columbia’s Mapiri Jungle.
Just getting there was an adventure. We spent two days ying from Miami to Bogata and then to San Jose, Colombia, which was a buzzing little town where we picked up last minute supplies, ate a breakfast of pirahana head soup and got wrist bands tied by an elderly women and her pet spider monkey, Kiki.
At the port, we loaded gear in a small shaded boat powered by a Yamaha 200 2-stroke, with a spare lower unit tied on top. I was accompanied by my cameraman Adrian, from Poland, good friends Jake, Derek, Karl, and our jungle guide Diego, from Chile.
We set out downstream and rode for hours, passing through two army checkpoints, before we reached our halfway point at 118 miles. We stopped for lunch and to refuel at an isolated jungle town only accessible by boat. As we creeped up muddy stone steps, we were shocked to see a small town with convenience stores, restaurants, a playground, a basketball court, and happy people everywhere. It was a cool window into a di erent reality.
A er playing soccer with the local kids and a delicious fried sh lunch, we headed farther downstream. When darkness arrived, the jungle came alive and our driver did not feel comfortable navigating the rapids at night. So we stopped and Diego traded goods with an indigenous man for permission to sleep at his house. Some opted to sleep in the boat. e mosquitoes, hornets and massive cockroaches made it tough to sleep. A er long hours, the sun nally rose, and we headed another 45 minutes downriver to base camp, where we discovered we were in for even more travel.
We packed lighter for three days of shing and camping at a sacred waterfall inhabited by one of the jungle tribes. It was another 2.5 hours downstream to a small creek that would lead us up to a second camp. We shed our way up the creek.
On my rst cast, a 15-pound sardinata exploded on my popper boatside. Imagine a huge pilchard but with sharp teeth and hyper-aggressive topwater strikes. Fully grown, Sardinata can weigh 25 pounds. is one threw the hooks, and shing only got crazier from there.
I was throwing a 9-inch Countdown Rapala in Firetiger at the tree line and retrieving it to the boat. Almost every cast we hooked massive payara. is sh is similar to a tarpon, with silver scales, acrobatic leaps and a bony mouth that made hook sets di cult. Payara have long fangs on their lower jaw capable of slicing thick-scaled sh and shing line with ease. ey are without a doubt the most challenging, unique and aggressive jungle predators I’ve ever targeted. I managed to catch quite a few on y and spin tackle.
Another unique species was a matrinxa, a silver-scaled delicacy. ey are omnivorous and sit below trees to eat dropping fruits and nuts. ey also hit lures with insane power. ese sh were extremely hard ghting and very tasty. ey have teeth like human molars for cracking hard nuts.
Red bellied pacu are another ferocious species we caught. ey have a similar ambush style and diet to the matrinxa. ey are equally aggressive and display gorgeous hues of purple and black
Iwith a blood orange/red underbelly. Black and red bellied pirahana were in no shortage, either. A er three days of shing by the waterfall, we headed back to base camp for new species.
Heavy rains raised water levels, which busted our hopes to catch big peacock bass. But it opened a new door: catching monster cat sh.
I caught several new species of large cat sh. One of the most unique was a ripsaw cat sh. ey have so lips and a long face, similar to carp. ey also have a sharp chainsaw blade for a lateral line, earning them the nickname “Caiman Killer.” I caught small tiger shovelnose cat sh, as well as red tail cat sh. Red tail cat sh are one of the strongest ghting cat sh I’ve ever encountered. It took three days of break-o s before I was able to muscle one up. It weighed 40 pounds.
Fishing the jungle is tough, and it is not for everyone. is trip scarred me with bug bites from head to toe, and I su ered many bee and hornet stings. It is not comfortable in any sense, but it is good for the mind. ere’s no cell phone reception; you are stripped of everything. e only thing that matters is the present moment. For me, it is the biggest adrenaline rush to travel into the unknown and learn about new shing and culture.
Check out Ryan Izquierdo’s YouTube Channel, “Ryan Iz Fishing” for a series called “Jungle Jeopardy.” E-mail him at Ryanizquierdoyt@ gmail.com with questions or to nd out how you can go on one of these trips.
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more to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula than world-famous salmon runs. e saltwater shing is also phenomenal, with species like halibut, salmon shark, ounder, yelloweye rock sh and ling cod being primary targets.
When you run out of Seward to Resurrection Bay, you might see some of the Deadliest Catch boats, and you might see multiple species of whale. We saw a lot of humpbacks this past summer. At more than 900 feet deep, with glaciers around the rim, the bay is awe-inspiring. ere are several good charter operations. Some make long runs for big halibut, while some o er shing that’s a little more local. Check with J Dock Fishing Co. in Seward for the latest shing information and charters. If you’re more of a DIY angler, Miller’s Landing in Seward o ers lodging and charters, and they also rent boats and shing equipment. If you want this option, book early. I have mine booked for next year, already.
Homer is the Halibut Capital of the World,
and it’s another great Kenai destination. We went with some friends and got on some good Halibut! I’m new to the electric reels we used. You had to time the hook-set just right. It took several bites to gure it out, but we caught sh once we got the hang of it. I pulled one a good way o the bottom before it decided it wasn’t coming in and broke a 150-pound-mono leader! We caught several good keepers and turned the smaller ones loose. ere are plenty of charters in Homer. North Country Charters is a great one that o ers halibut and salmon trips. ey will put you on some big halibut. My largest weighed 99 pounds, but North Country catches sh that are much larger.
If you want a long-run charter, check out Casino Charters. If you want to catch sh from the beach, check out Family Shore Fishing. ey set you up with a guide, shing rods and bait at Lands End, which juts out into the bay. Fishing low tide on the shelf, you can catch cod, ounder and halibut. We lled a cart with cod
and ounder in less than two hours shing from shore. en we went back another day without a guide and wore them out again!
Fishing in Alaska is just like anywhere else, once you learn what works, you can do it over and over. ere are lots of di erent kinds of shing there, but once you learn where and how to catch them, you can do it yourself.
On this past summer’s trip, as we were headed to the airport to go home, we drove along Cook Inlet and spotted a school of beluga whales swimming the shoreline. You never know what you’ll see in Alaska. Some things are just so amazing!
I’m currently pulling together next summer’s trip to Kenai, and I’m making a short guide of things traveling anglers might want to know. Feel free to shoot me an email with questions.
For more information, contact Gary Turner at gary@purgeright.com.
About 50 years ago, Ralph Vodicka lost one of his favorite rod and reel combos when his boat capsized in North Carolina’s unpredictable Oregon Inlet. Recently, Vodicka was reunited with his 9-foot rod equipped with a Fin-Nor 4 spinning reel, and it still works!
Here is a brief recount of the amazing story reported by Summer Stevens in e Coastland Times.
In fair weather in the early 1970s, Vodicka and three buddies attempted to return through Oregon Inlet a er shing o Hatteras National Seashore in a 17-foot 1966 Boston Whaler. e outgoing tide colliding with incoming rollers created rough conditions, even for a large trawler the anglers watched navigating the inlet. Vodicka was faced with a decision. ey could either wait for the tide change, which would force them to make their run in the dark. Or they could go for it.
“Waiting it out would put us in the middle of the night,” Vodicka remembered. “We decided that the best choice was to race on in while we could see. I told everyone, ‘Hold on, don’t move. We’ll ride on the back of one of the breaking waves. Even if it takes a little water, it’ll be ok.’”
In the middle of the inlet, as they were taking on water, a line caught in the prop and it stopped turning. e boat was at the mercy of the tide and waves, and an 8-foot breaker ipped it end over end. e story of the exciting rescue is reported in detail in e Coastland Times. It involves the captain of an old 25-foot boat and his grandson risking great peril to time the waves and rescue each of the anglers one at a time. Vodicka’s badly damaged Whaler was later recovered, and he lost a bunch of shing gear, including the rod and reel that began this story.
e details are lost to time, but apparently the Fin-Nor reel and the rod were hauled up in a commercial angler’s net. e unique set-up ended up doing decades of duty as a showpiece on the wall in Dennis Dudley’s Elizabeth City, North Carolina home.
Vodicka,” and Dudley tried to locate the Fin-Nor’s owner when he received the rod in the mid-1970s. Dudley’s phone book searches came up empty, and the search was forgotten… until recently.
Dudley, 78, remembered the mystery of the reel’s owner while going through his possessions. A quick Google search turned up Vodicka, who is 89 and living in Raleigh, N.C. e men met to eat lunch, and Vodicka was reunited with the beautiful rod and reel he lost half a century ago.
Amazingly, the antique Fin-Nor is already back in action. Instead of hanging it on the wall, Vodicka had it serviced and used it on the Neuse River over Labor Day weekend.
e reel was equipped with a custom plate engraved with “Ralph E.
“It worked. It worked ne,” he said. “It’s amazing that a er 50 years you get your favorite rod and reel back.”
To read the whole story, go to www.thecoastlandtimes.com.
Everyone hates a cheater, which is why it’s no surprise that tempers ared when two cheaters were caught red-handed at a Lake Erie Walleye Tour (LEWT) event on Oct. 1. e event was the tour championship for the series, and the Team of the Year would also be crowned a er weigh-ins. Team Crankin’ Hogs brought to the scales a ve- sh limit that weighed more than 33-pounds. It It would have secured Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky well over $20,000 for the championship win and for Team of the Year honors. ey overplayed their dirty hand.
Tournament Director Jason Fischer suspected something was amiss when the sh hit the scales. Fischer later told CNN that the sh looked like they should have weighed 4 pounds each, but the total weight indicated they were much heavier. He handled the sh and felt something hard inside one of them.
In a now-viral YouTube Video, Fischer guts the sh as the cheaters stand by silently. “We have weights in the sh!” Fischer announced, and that’s when the shouting started as other anglers hurled obscenities at Runyan and Cominsky.
All-told, there were 8 pounds worth of lead weights, llets from other walleye and a pair of pliers inside Team Crankin’ Hogs’ sh. ey were immediately disquali ed and banned from the tournament series. Both men were later indicted by an Ohio grand jury on charges of cheating and attempted grand the .
It will be interesting to see if the team’s other tournament wins are called into question. ey have won numerous events over the last couple of years, including the 2021 LEWT Championship.
For more information, go to lakeeriewalleyetrail.com.
You raise the flags of the fish just caught to show you weren’t skunked.
Once onshore you can take it a step further showing your fellow anglers your catch of the day wearing “slippahs” from Scott Hawaii.
Berkeley County is a wonderland for outdoor enthusiasts, sports bu s, adventure seekers, and water lovers. From exemplary fishing for striped bass, or a trophy largemouth bass, to our hiking trails and water activities, along with scenic outdoors where you can catch a glimpse of white tail deer and gators, Berkeley County has activities to fit all visitors and families.
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