As we approach June 19, many fishers are anxiously anticipating getting on the water to celebrate Father’s Day.
Whether from piers, docks, beaches, wading the grass flats or from a boat, we all should anticipate a busy day on the water.
Father’s Day is an important holiday for me, as I thank my father for instilling the passion of fishing in me so much that it became my livelihood.
From the time I was able to hold a rod and reel in my hands, my father was teaching me how to fish.
In fact, it was a tradition in my family to go fishing whenever the opportunity came along.
And growing up in Florida, you can bet we had a lot of opportunities.
Not only did my dad teach me to fish, he instilled in me the proper ethics of the sport.
Values such as never keeping illegal fish and only keeping enough fish to feed our family to preserve our fishery for further generations were just a few of the lessons he taught me.
He also taught me that fishers are secretive about their spots and how they catch their fish. There was no Facebook back then for people to feed their egos like nowadays. These are values I carry with me and practice every day in my profession.
My dad also taught me the importance of not being wasteful while fishing. You never kill an animal just to kill it — there has to be a purpose. And a lot of times, we just fished for fun, letting everything go. We just enjoyed quality time together — fishing.
So, I want to say, “Thanks, Dad. I owe everything to you. I now support my family in my dream career. And it’s all because of you. Happy Father’s Day.”
And Happy Father’s Day to all those dads who taught their kids to fish. And to the kids who carry on their legacy.
On my Just Reel Charters, snook and spotted seatrout are dominating the bite. Limits of trout are attainable by determined anglers as many of the trout being caught are just short of the 15-inch minimum. As for the snook, they are catch-and-release until the season reopens in September, but they are crowdpleasers for my clients on the boat.
I’m starting to see mangrove snapper being caught on the flats while targeting snook and trout. These snapper are a welcome sight and are finding their way into the cooler. They could be the perfect catch leading up to Father’s Day and a backyard fish fry.
Capt. Warren Girle is putting clients on tarpon along the Gulf beaches of Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island. Finding schooling fish as they meander up and down the shorelines and casting live crabs to them is key to Girle’s success. Most catches are 60-100 pounds, with larger fish mixed in.
When he’s not hunting tarpon, Girle is finding action in Sarasota Bay, where he reports spotted seatrout are the most abundant species. His clients are landing fish in the slot of 15-19 inches. Girle said he’s also hooking up with quite a few over-slot trout.
On shallow flats, Girle is finding action on snook and redfish. Although not as consistent as the trout bite, Girle is finding respectable numbers of the two species.
Capt. David White is fishing many days offshore, past the sight of land. He’s had some extraordinary luck in finding and observing large — 30 feet of large — whale sharks. The gentle giants almost appear attracted to White, whose numerous sightings are possibly owing to his respect for fish and nature. One trip produced a pod of four. Other trips, including one to the same spot last year, produced a single whale shark. His video and photos are striking — and have attracted a great deal of social media attention.
Meanwhile, in depths of 100-plus feet, White is finding his clients plenty of action on American red snapper. Live pinfish combined with a bottom rig dropped to the depths are being devoured by these most aggressive fish in the snapper family. An occasional red grouper also is being caught in the snapper areas — if they can beat the snapper to the bait.
In shallower offshore waters of 50-80 feet, White is targeting smaller snapper — yellowtails and mangroves. Both are being caught on live shiners.
Moving inshore, White is targeting tarpon along the beaches. Casting crabs or threadfin herring into schools of silver kings is getting a bite and a trophy photo for clients.
Numerous varieties of shark are being found along the beaches, too. White points out that blacktips, bull sharks and hammerheads are quick to sniff out a cut-bait soaked on the bottom along the shorelines.
Lastly, fishing mangroves for catch-and-release snook on the flats is providing action for sport anglers.
Capt. Jason Stock is finding plenty of action offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. American red snapper are the hot species to target and his clients are taking limits of the tasty fish. Red and gag grouper are being caught, as well as many yellowtail and mangrove snapper. As far as pelagics are concerned, Stock is finding some large wahoo, kingfish and amberjack.
Moving inshore, Stock is putting clients on tarpon and sharks along the beaches.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says a plethora of catch-and-release snook are arriving at the pier. In fact, on days when the waters are clear, people at the pier are watching the snook cruise the perimeter and waters under the deck. Sizes of these fish are 20-40 inches. Pier fishers using live shrimp as bait are hooking into quite a few of the smaller linesiders. Anglers hoping to hook into a monster are using larger baits, such as pinfish, mojarras and even some live ladyfish.
Other species being targeted at the pier include black drum and mangrove snapper. Both are being caught using live shrimp as bait. And, as the bait schools gather around the pier, Spanish mackerel is becoming more frequent. Casting silver spoons or small white jigs can attract these fish to bite, and moving the lures quickly to intrigue the macks is key.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.