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The water warmed from the 50s and 60s to the upper 60s and about 70 on the right tide in Boca Grande. This had the Goliaths feeding in full swing. The big fish bite picked up towards the end of the month, with several trips scoring big fish. One particular fish in the 100-150lb range came boatside and while I was leadering and unhooking the fish I didnt notice one of the egg sinkers that one of the egg sinkers slid up the line and hung on a frey in the line. It was sitting right about the same level as my head. The fish gave one good head shake and that 8oz sinker came crashing into the side of my mouth and split my lip right open. Luckily I had my mouth shut and didnt end up looking like a hockey player. I ended up with a pretty fat lip, but we managed to catch a few more fish before the day was out. We also managed a 300lb+ fish right before sunset (it may have been approaching 400lbs but I didnt get a good tape measurement on it) which made for a great afternoon. The guys on the trip were really keen on learning how to fish for these monsters, and managed to get out in their own boat under less than ideal conditions later that week and nail a few themselves (their picks included). Great job Scott and Tanner! Its always great to get good feedback like that.
The redfish and trout have been cooperating on most days, with the reds still hovering around the 10lb mark, and believe it or not the trout have been right on their heals with a couple in the 6-10lb range. Now THAT is a big trout.
One of the exciting things this month is that we are adding another boat to our charter service the likes of a 32 foot Flybridge Sportfish. Powered by brand-spankin-new twin MPI 350s she will get you to distant fishing grounds dry, comfortable, and you can even catch a movie on the flat screen TV on the way out. With enough fishing room for 4-6 people we now have the capability to reach far beyond our previous grounds, and on days that are less than ideal for a smaller boat. We will be focusing almost exclusively on 8h and longer trips at 30-85 miles offshore. These grounds are home to some of the largest Grouper, Snapper, Amberjack, Blackfin Tuna, etc. to be found in the Gulf. From bottom fishing exclusive live bottom, jigging huge deepwater wrecks, and fishing for sharks, tuna mackerel, and more behind culling shrimp boats, I am sure we can make even the most discriminating angler happy. With the ability to adapt years of experience fishing the heavily pressured waters of the Florida keys, its like shooting fish in a barrel in the wide open and fertile grounds of the deep Gulf.
Other than that, there is not much going on. April-june are filling up fast for Tarpon, shark, and Snook fishing. If you were thinking of holding off on vacation plans be sure to contact me soon or you might miss out. Here are few photos of some of this months trips that I managed to get photos of. I do have some decent videos that I should post soon. Until then be safe and courteous out on the water...that way at least there is one person doing it!
Capt. Tom
PS
Yes that little black creature is a dog and not a pig...a face on a father could love!