Captain Jim Scarpa - January 16:  Fished for Mangrove Snapper in 65' of water, chumming and chunking.  Fish did not come up to the surface but they did get very active when we were chinking cut threads consistently.  Got our limit of 15-21" fish by lunch time and headed home.

Captain Mike Lopez - Jan 1:  Great start to the New Year as Capt Mike Lopez took his crew out on a beautiful day. While the water and air temps were cold ( by Fl standards ) the fishing was hot. In search of RG for the 1st time in months, we managed 3 fire trucks 29", 30"& 31.25". What we didn’t get in quantity we made up for in quality. Also managed to catch 8 African Pompano and kept our boat limit of 2- 24"& 28”, our throwbacks were all as large or bigger. Managed to catch some AJ’s and tangled with a couple of taxmen. Great day on the water!

Captain Jeff Michael’s - Aug 27:  Took my son-in-law snapper fishing, loaded the box w mangroves and yellowtail up to 15 inches and lanes up to 14 inches at rough bottom in 70 feet.  Also caught all 3 species at a wreck in 50 feet.  Released many smaller legal fish or shorts, including red grouper up to 20 inches at both spots.  All live shrimp or small chunks of cut bait.  They were not fussy they hit everything on the bottom.  Tried a chum slick at the T Tower and brought some large yellowtail to the surface but cudas made short work of them before they could be boated, so we didn't stay there too long.  Weather was good for summer conditions.  Action all day.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Aug 27:  ran out to a wreck in 65’ of water, set up chum slick and had jumbo mangroves on the surface in a few minutes. Caught several before they got spooked and went down. Ended up with a four person limit of mangroves 14-22” and a half dozen 15-18” YTs. Threw back dozens of smaller snapper and Spanish mackerel. No predators all day, was a welcome change.

Capt Paul Doppelt - July 9:  Ran out for an overnight trip to Pulley Ridge on a friends boat. We spent the evening and overnight fishing using shrimp, live bait & cut bait and were rewarded with Scamp, Muttons, Red Grouper and other species. In the AM we moved out to deeper water ~600’ working the drop offs with electric reels. We had a rough time and only caught a few fish so we headed back into 235’ and continued catching various grouper, Blackfin and Snapper exclusively using Slow Pitch rigs. One guy caught two big Scamps on one jig.  Weather conditions were great with no wind and current was just strong enough.  Learned a lot for a 1st trip and hoping to get back out again sometime.

Captain Jim Scarpa - July 3:  Ran out to 105' of water and dropped for grouper, no current at all despite an incoming tide and no bite.  Moved quickly to a snapper spot in 110' of water, again no current but managed to get the YT's to come up but they were very cautious.  Had to get them up top and close or the cuda's made them into a quick meal.  Picked them off one by one until the kids couldn't take the heat any longer (zero wind, water was like a lake), caught a few cudas for my nephew then worked our way in looking for permit.  Hit several spots on the way in but no permit were around.  Caught several nice mangroves and a few keeper mutton in 65' of water.

Captain Rod Lashley - July 18:  Captain Rod Lashley and a crew of Gary LaMotte and his 3 grandkids (Brady, Lane, and Riggins) went 25 mi south of Marco in 40 ft of water.  We picked up lots of short Red Grouper and Brady got a big hit and with the fight of his young life we got a 40in nice fat Cobia.  On the ride home Brady’s smile was big but his Grandpa’s smile was bigger.

Captain Jim Scarpa - July 21:  Got out just in time to stay north and then west of the morning storms.  Messed around with some small bonito behind a shrimp boat then proceeded to 100+ feet of water WSW to snapper fish.  First spot had YT come up in the chum slick fast but they would not eat, never have seen this before - event threw cut bait to them with no line and they would look at it and turn away.  Moved to another spot and YT came up pretty quick then disappeared but we were able to get them pretty far behind the boat freelining small jigs with cut bait.  Caught a near limit before we hit high tide and they shut off, most fish were 20-23", got one 20" mangrove as well.  Hit a few spots on the way back looking for permit with no luck. 

Captain Mike Mueller - July 28:  Left dock about 7:00am and headed NW to 155’ and targeted red snapper as the tide was turning around 10 am. Got one nice 30” red snapper and probably 25 small 13” to 16” shorts. Moved out to 179’ and had same problem all shorts. Kept 4 or so large lanes about 20”. Released about 20 short red grouper and three big keepers.  Gave up late in day and came in to 110’ and anchored up on a great spot for yellow tail snapper caught about ten or more 20 to 22”. Then it started attracting predators, so we headed home. Tough day but the yellow tail success put everyone in much better mood.  Probably giving up on red snapper inside 85 miles. Too expensive for too few fish. Oh well January red grouper opens yeah.

Captain Wayne Woodring - June 30: Me and five mates left my dock at 7:00 am and went out to depths around 105 feet.  We were fishing with cut ladyfish and jigs tipped with squid.  The bite was slow until around 11 am and then the fishing picked up. We limited out on red grouper that were up to 28 inches.  We also caught 2 porgys, 6 yellowtail snappers and 1 mutton snapper.

Captain Jim Scarpa - June 30:  Wanted to stay close because I had some novices on board and was only going to fish for a few hours, hit the Naples Ledges in 58-65' of water looking for snapper.  Marked large schools of fish but they were mostly small lanes, pinfish and threads.  Caught enough decent mangroves for dinner and released many mall lanes, a small cobia and several sharks.

Captain Paul Doppelt - Friday May 5:  Friday afternoon rode out to fish overnight. Bait used was squid, threadfin and cut bait. Set up on a large structure and chummed up 18-28” Mangrove Snapper. Also caught quite a few larger Vermillion Snapper. The bite was excellent when the incoming tide started to crank up. It was nice to see so many recreational boats out fishing.

Captain Mike Lopez - Apr 2:  Went out in beautiful conditions, dead calm seas, to spots from 100-115’. Managed 5 RG from 21”-24”, 2 beautiful gag’s 26 & 28” that didn’t get the dinner invitation along with a Black @ 22”. Also caught was an approximately 100 lb goliath. A 12” hammerhead almost got the black near the boat but missed. Managed a 4 man limit of snapper, mostly vermillion, along with YT, lane and some large Mango’s, biggest being 21.25 & 20.25”.  Our last spot of the day was loaded with AJ’s, had some fun with them till it was time to go. Had a couple of small birds in need of some rest, land on the console, and stayed with us for over an hour. They were not afraid of us when we would get near, we tried to offer them some water, which they didn’t drink. Saw quite a few turtles, easy to spot in the slick calm conditions, some were mating, spring is definitely in the air!

Captain Jeff Michaels - Apr 2:  I ran 45 miles with my nephew.  Water conditions were flat calm.  Wind forecast was accurate 5 knots or even less.  Thread herring pods everywhere all the way out easily sited for live bait.  Fished 100 feet, slow bite on live bait, switched to chunks of fresh blue runner that we caught on the way out and limited on RG up to 29 inches very quickly.  Switched over to snapper and filled the box with mangrove snapper up to 16 inches on live shrimp, a few lanes up to 12 inches but mostly mangroves.  We were anchored the entire time.  Moved to 84 feet and mostly short lane snapper and safely released a few more RG up to 23 inches there.  Great day on the Gulf, summer conditions without the heat or humidity.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Sunday April 23:  Went out to 100' and hit a few grouper spots, got 3 keepers and a bunch of shorts on frozen threads and live bait.  Moved to a snapper spot, anchored and chummed.  Dropped a bait to the bottom while chum was dispersing and hooked and found a 10'+ shark for 45 minutes, it actually pulled the boat off anchor.  Once the shark fun was over, moved back to the spot and anchored and caught several 18-22" yellowtails then the tide went slack and it shut off.

Captain Ralph Crowell - Mar 28:  Almost a perfect day for an offshore trip. We went out to the bait spot and loaded up with Grunts and Pinfish, and a few Thread Herring. Then went west to 120ft of water and found a lot of Lane snapper and Vermillions, not what we were really looking for. Moved in to 115ft and caught a few nice Grouper and some more snappers and a smaller grouper.

Captain Ralph Crowell - Mar 12:  We went offshore and ran west to 112ft. We caught less than our limit of Red grouper but we caught 3 nice keepers.  We landed on some nice Lanes and Vermillion Snapper that were a of fun. The wind kicked up quite a bit after 12:00pm so we cut the trip short and headed in at 1:00 pm. Even with the building seas we had a decent and quick ride home. Contender makes a great sea keeping hull!

Captain Mike Lopez - Feb 28:  Headed out to our 1st stop 48 miles out, slow bite with a lot of shorts managed 2 keepers. Moved out a little further, 115’, and same story, 1 keeper here, tidal flow was very low. Had a couple of short cobia swim around us, but were pretty wary of our lures and even live bait! Moved to our final stop on our way in and managed our final keeper, our largest of the day 23”. Lots of AJ’s and jack crevalle at this spot and managed a nice mango and YT also. Nice day on the water.

Captain Jim Tessmer - Feb 28:  Left the dock at 6:30 headed SW to 83 feet. Caught 2 Red Groupers 28in and 25in. Headed to reef at 95ft, Loaded with nice lanes. Largest 20 in .many 14-16 in, 2 more Red groupers. Fished at a few stops around 100-110 feet and nothing. On way back in stopped at 86 ft caught 2 more Reds. Great day, about 1 to 2 footers on way out and flat on way back in.

Captain Bob Bixler - Feb 26:  Went out SW to 101 ft of water today.  Saw lots of bait on the way out, water was flat and glassy.  Got 4 keeper red grouper a good number of shorts, one gag, numerous small lanes and a couple yellowtail.  Tide was barely moving and no wind offshore, we drifted about 0-0.2 mph.

Captain Ralph Crowell - Feb 26:  My crew and I fished Feb. 26th. A near prefect weather day, we caught some really nice keeper Red Grouper some Lane Snappers, a lot of under size Red grouper and far too many sharks. We were fishing 60 miles out in 118 - 120 ft of water.  A good time was had by all.

Captain Frank Troha - Feb 20:  We went south today 30 miles and caught 1 keeper red Grouper and several 20 inch lane snapper, but the most unusual thing we saw at least 12 boats trolling with outriggers in a area of 200-300 yards, not sure what they were trolling for.

Captain Norb Mika - Feb 1:  Jim Heidergot and I fished on “REEL BAD GAS” 63 miles off shore near L tower with live bait and shrimp. Highlights include catching a 33" and 35" red grouper.  Gorgeous day, waves less than a foot.  I hope others enjoyed that day as much as we did.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Feb 1:  Went out on a friends boat with 5 people to several spots 118 and 130' of water.  Caught 7 keeper red grouper, 2 keeper black grouper, a couple dozen or so yellowtails, a half dozen porgies, a giant pufferfish, sharks, a 100# or so goliath, and an AJ.

Captain Paul Doppelt - Jan 2:  We pushed off the dock heading offshore to hard bottom at 110-118’.  We had to move around a bit anchoring up on ~ 6 spots to catch our 18 Red Grouper limit. Bait was various live baitfish & Squid. The Grouper measured between 22 1/2 and 33”. We also picked up a 28” Mutton Snapper on Squid and 6 Almaco Jack. At noon we made a quick stop on a ledge in 98’ anchored up and picked up a dozen large Yellowtail and Mangrove Snapper using squid & Threadfin as bait. We didn’t use chum and jigs were 1/4 to 1/2 oz lead heads.  Conditions all day were 1’ seas with light breezes. Water quality looked clear at the surface.

Captain Frank Christensen - Jan 30:  On Monday with dead flat seas, Captain Jeff Krantz, myself and two other crew mates ran 66 miles SW to 105 feet.  With a good tide during the first hour we caught 5 reds. Shortest 22, 27, two 28 and one 30.  Also a few nice porgies. When the tide slacked the bite shut down. We caped the day by running back to 30 miles and loaded up on some nice lanes. A beautiful day on the water with good friends.

Captain Ralph Crowell - Jan 31:  We had perfect sea conditions for our offshore trip.  Fish don't seem to care what the solunar fishing predictions are, it was a fine day for myself and crew.  We limited out on Red Grouper, Ron Linn caught a nice 32.25 inch Red for the largest fish of the day.  Keith Wohltman, John Ryckman and myself all caught nice fish.  We were 62 miles west of Marco fishing in 120 ft of water.  Live bait was best bait.

Captain Mike Lopez - Jan 31:  I took our new President and Vice President on a grouper trip, weather and sea conditions were ideal. We pulled up to my spot in 107’ and within minutes I’m tight with what turns out to be the biggest RG of the day, 32”. Within minutes after that I’m once again fighting another firetruck, 30”. After a while we move a short distance away and again I’m tight with a 27”. I catch a nice gag @ 24” and at this point Brent and Chris are wondering what’s going on. Chris finally gets tight, but it’s with a monster Goliath, 200 lbs. He’s fights the fish for 10-15 minutes before he finally succumbs to Chris’s efforts. Meanwhile, Brent has brought in an AJ and a RG while Chris is still struggling. We move off to another spot and pick up some more grouper and Chris has hooked himself a Spotted Moray eel, 1st time I had ever seen one caught. Brent manages to hook a cobia from the deep and we nearly get him to the boat but he manages to spit the hook.  We started to fish around 9 and by 11:45 we had our quota of RG. We made another move to try our luck with some snappers, with limited success. We managed a few small lanes, a porgy, some grunts and some small RG’s one being 24” though, back he went to fight another day. Great day on the water with great company!

Captain Jim Scarpa - Jan 31:  Went out on a friends boat with 5 people total to several spots in 115-118' of water.  Caught 6 keeper red grouper, largest 29", a few snapper, a 41.5" AJ and some other assorted smaller fish.

Captain Mike Mueller - Aug 26:  Big red machine went offshore and got delayed by a big storm about 15 miles long, so after waiting it out for an hour getting bait nearshore, we preceded more SW and tried for red grouper. Got five keepers and more shorts after going out to 100’. Biggest was around  28” but we had lots of nice looking sonar bottom that produced nothing. Best bite was right before tide change. Supposedly a good tide day from solunar tables but a very weak bite not sure if there were fish there or if it was an area fished out. Moved back into a wreck in 75’ and got one permit on crab and a few big snapper on cut bait: one mutton, one yellowtail and one mangrove all over 20” then headed back home. Overall a slow day but at least we tried a new area and didn’t get beat up by the storm. Late day weather was actually better with nothing too rough.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Aug 26:  Ran to a wreck SW of Marco in 80" of water to avoid the morning storms.  Set up for snapper and caught several in the chum slick and on bottom - Mangroves to 12-18" and Yellowtails 14-23".  Got ran off the spot by a storm and circled around another storm to some live bottom west of the T Tower, caught several more Mangrove Snapper and dozens of short Red Grouper then gave up trying to find a keeper.  Set up chum slick at the T Tower but could not get any Yellowtails to come up, hooked several on the bottom but could not get them to the boat.  Overall we got 30 snapper and came in early.

Captain Rod Lashley - Aug 17:  Struggled a little getting bait fish.  Went 25 miles SW of Marco. We caught 6-7 short Red Grouper and 1 26 inch Red Grouper.  Rain moved in and waves kicked up a bit, we headed in before 2.  Much of our fishing time was in slack tide. Not a great day

Captain Mike Lopez - Aug 19:   Weather conditions and seas were ideal. Fishing was slow, lots of shorts, hitting spots from 30-55 miles out. Ended up with 4 YT 12-14", 1 RG@ 20” and a young AP, still had his streamers. Also hooked into 3 large nurse sharks, between 8-9’. We had live and cut bait and squid.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Aug 23:  Ran west to 115' of water to snapper fish.  Got set up and caught a nice African Pompano while the chum slick was doing its thing.  Got ran off the spot by a big storm.  Circled around the storm and drifted over another wreck while waiting to go back to the original spot.  Caught another African Pompano and a 29" Red Grouper.  Fishing shut down at slack tide.  Went back to the original spot and got a dozen or so nice Yellowtail Snapper and then they shut off.  Hit a few spots on the way back in and got a 25" mutton and lost a few others.  Decent day.

Captain Frank Troha - July 4:  We were in 70 feet of water today and caught our limit of Yellowtail Snapper and some nice Mangrove snapper! The largest Yellowtail was over 18 inches and the largest Mangrove was just over 17 inches.  We were fishing with Pilchards on top and bottom!

Captain Rod Lashley - July 3:  Went west of Marco to 115 ft of water. The seas were 2ish on the start of the ride out increased to solid 3+.  Fishing was slow till afternoon, once the tide started moving things picked up we got our 8 Grouper with the biggest being 29 1/4.  Throughout the day seas backed down below the 2 mark for a fairly nice ride back.

Captain Bill Hillyer - July 6:  We went out 82 miles found one grouper and a lot of the big lane snappers and one porgy. Had to dodge a few thunderstorms and the water was great. First trip for the new 32.5 Grady White.

Captain Rod Lashley - June 25:  Went south west of Marco, 40ft water, out going tide, limited out red grouper various sizes 21,22,23,24, home at 3:30 very active after slack tide.

Captain Steve Schwindt - June 24:  We left the dock at 7:00 am with flat seas. Started fishing around the T tower and picked up some decent snapper. Moved farther west to 80/90 ft of water and caught grouper and snapper on pinfish, squid and shrimp. We moved to fish around the L tower and got our limit of grouper and a nice box of snapper. The grouper were caught on both pinfish and squid. All in all it was a smooth ride and a productive day.

Captain Mike Lopez - June 18:  Went out on Saturday for red Snapper, got to our spot 82 miles out in 160’ of water. Live well loaded with pins and other live bait. Lines in and 50 minutes later our 6 man crew limited out on them. All of the fish coming over the side were quality size, this one being the largest. The others were within 2-3” of this one. Also picked up a nice 32’ Scamp and 24’ RG. Fantastic day to be on the water!
  Click image to enlarge.

Captain Barry French - June 16:  Ran offshore, a little bumpy in the morning, stopped at 17 miles, 54’ depth. Lots of short red groupers, tons of lane snappers. Kept 5 nice lanes and one nice grunt, great catching day!  Almost flat calm coming back in.

Captain Paul Doppelt - June 15, 2022:  Seas less than 2’ little cloud cover and no rain! Ran out to the T Tower chummed up some Yellowtail and fed the Barracuda for an hour.  When that got old we pushed west to a small wreck in 85’ & started chumming. The Yellowtail surfaced and were super hungry. Surprised as we’re coming off a full moon. Caught a limit of decent size Yellowtail in ~30 minutes. Moved out west to 105’ and dropped our anchor on some live bottom. Began chumming and caught 40 Lane Snapper ~16” as well as some big African Pompano, a dozen decent size Porgy, a bunch of Red Grouper & little Dolphin. We used squid, shrimp & cut bait, all was working equally as well. We didn’t use much live bait.

Captain Jim Scarpa - June 12, 2022:  Went out on a friend's boat SW due to rollers from the west.  Anchored and chummed at the T Tower for a while with no action.  Moved to a wreck in 80', anchored and chummed and caught a near 5 man limit of snapper, mostly yellowtail and 2 muttons. Also caught an AP and a few Almaco jacks.  Later moved NW to live bottom in 100-110' and drifted for grouper and caught 1 keeper.  Anchored on live bottom and caught several Vermillion and Lane snapper, smaller grouper and lost a few big fish...not sure what they were.

May

  Captain Jim Scarpa - Saturday Feb 26:  Fished 30 miles west on a wreck chumming for snapper.  Quickly caught 18 nice mangroves then current stopped and so did the bite.  Moved out into 105' and drifted for grouper, caught several shorts. Moved deeper to 112' and caught 1 keeper and several more shorts and assorted snapper.  Came back early to beat the front.

  Captain Jim Scarpa - Sunday March 20:  Fished about 50 miles south before first light before winds started to pickup.  Not much current most of the morning, hooked 3 permit and lost them all to Bull Sharks and abandoned that mission.  Anchored and chummed for snapper but mostly small ones, caught one keeper Cobia.  Headed home to beat the front.

 Captain Jim Tessmer - Tuesday April 5:  Crew of 3 went out 270 heading. Seas forecast 1 ft, more like 3. 110 feet first drop 4 keeper reds. 24, 25, 25 and 27. Couple big lanes 14-17. Next drop 115ft=0, 118=0, headed to 108 ft caught 7 shorts and a 27 red with a few yellowtail and lanes. Good day but rough ride back in.

Captain Paul Doppelt - Friday April 15:  2 50' dives, shipwreck and reef.  Visibility was ~25-30’ and both sites showed large numbers of Mangrove Snapper many as big as 26”. There were also quite a few Gag & Black Grouper mixed in with Goliath Grouper. Surprised to see many large Gray Triggerfish and Hogfish. Schools of White Grunt were present around all structure as well. Many as big as 16”.  I imagine this condition will be scene on all structures at this time. We did find and recover a pair of large Fortress anchors! Next week the plan is to dive a large stretch of rocky bottom in ~80’ on scooters to look for some Muttons and Grouper.

Captain Norb Mike - Friday April 15:  Out 63 miles SW.   They’re out there.   32.5”, 31”, 28” and a bunch of shorts and 8’ Shark. Live bait worked the best.

Captain Paul Doppelt - June 10:  Ran out to a wreck in about 128’ looking for Snapper. We had a compliment of various live bait including Pilchards, Shrimp, Squirrel Fish & Pinfish. We brought a concoction of chum mixed with oats menhaden oil and cut bait which we proceeded to scoop into the water as the chum began dispersing from the dual chumbags we put out. The bottom marked well for Snapper and we were rewarded with large Vermilion Snapper some as big as 16”. We also had the Mangrove and Yellowtail up in the slick which came home with us too. Drifting way back on the bottom with a super long leader we caught some big Muttons. I think the secret there is long leader and live bait. A 42” Cobia showed up to check us out and became a passenger in our fish box as well.  Gotta remember to let them tire before gaffing them because this one flopped all around the deck for a bit.

Jim Scarpa - June 12:  Went out to 155' on a friends boat.  Got a limit of American red snapper.  Set up on a wreck for snapper and caught a few but we gave up to drift for grouper on the way in.  Caught several nice red grouper (24-30+") and a 26" gag.  Hooked and lost a permit.

Captain Rod Lashley - June 12:  No crew. Went out to check some marks I haven't used in a while......40ft of water, Dropped 2 lines in and limited and on my way home in 25 mins. Red Grouper 26in and 23in. Nice day for a 0 rated fish day.

Captain Paul Doppelt - June 12:  Left the dock at 6:00 AM headed out to deeper water looking for Red Snapper. We had pinfish & squid for bait. Anchored up on various spots in approx 195’ of water.  Although the screen marked very well we had very few bites until ~12:30 PM when the bite picked up substantially through 3:30. We were using chicken rigs & fish finders. Put a limit of large Red Snapper and an assortment of grouper - Gags, Blacks & Scamps, as well as some larger Porgy. The bite at 195’ maybe different from shallower water 100’.   Little taps on the line were big fish most every time. At two locations we had schools of Dolphin show up. We pitched bare hook skirted jigs & landed 20 schoolies 16-24”.   Good day seas were mostly calm with limited rain. Cannot wait for the weather to clean up so I can get back out.

Captain Mike Mueller - June 12:  Big Red Machine left the dock for offshore fishing last Saturday at 6:30 am. Our primary goal was Red Snapper and then grouper, so tide charts indicated best bite would be about just after high tide around 1pm for offshore 80 miles NW of Marco. So we fished our way out starting in 105’ of water for grouper and got about 8 keepers (22" to 29”) and numerous shorts out to about 115’. Then we went on out to 155’ to fish for Red Snapper and arrived there about 12:30pm and sure enough 8 other boats in the same big area. We saw on sonar large schools from bottom up to about 20’ off bottom and drift fished luckily right with them for about 15 minutes with not much wind and slow speed. Almost every drop got a bite and used chicken rigs with whole squid. No real big ones most 20 to 24” but nice size for eating and good fighters. Within 30 minutes on two drifts we kept our limit of 10 and released about 5 others with a descending device or venting. So it was very good timing, since they were really biting as forecasted by the tide tables. Left for home and fished several spots on the way back and got two more keeper grouper and then stopped at a wreck for permit. We had two bites but could land either with one to the boat almost in net range and it then it flipped out the hook. Oh well they are still there!

Captain Paul Doppelt (as told by Jim Scarpa) - June 5:  Went to a wreck in 80' for snapper.  Lots of AJ's in the chum immediately, followed by big mangrove snappers up to 23".  Had to chum hard and chunk frozen sardines / threads to keep the mangroves in the slick.  Caught and released many AJ's.  A large school of permit came by later in the day and after a brief encounter with the anchor rope we managed to boat a 35" permit. Overall, it was an epic day of fishing.  Came home with a limit of mangroves, a few yellowtail, a nice mutton and a permit.

Captain Ralph Crowell - May 13:  Weather was not the best, winds and sea both higher than forecast. We went west to 110 ft. Caught a lot of short red groupers and 4 nice size keepers 25 to 21 inches.  Also a ton of mostly Lane Snappers. Kept only a few. Sharks got a few also. All said it was a decent trip.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Apr 25:  Went west to 105' late morning and drifted for grouper, bite was slow but we managed to land 3 keepers (29, 27, 21) and released several shorts.  Caught a few snapper and a porgy while grouper fishing and lost a king.  Set up for snapper on a wreck just before sunset, tons of fish but the cuda ate everything.

Captain Jim Scarpa - May 1:  Went south to fish for permit and cobia.  Went 4 for 5 with the permit, biggest 29.75".  Caught nearly a dozen cobia in the 30" range, no keepers.  Caught 10 keeper snapper in the 12-15" range.

Captain Rod Lashley - May 1:  Jeff K and I went out to 106ft, lots of small Red Grouper, tough day 0 keepers. 0 for 2 on Permits, lost 1 to structure and 1 to bad line.

 Captain Robert Bixler - May 1:  Went to a wreck in 40 fow, 2 other boats, lost something solid and had a few little fish, kept going west to 60 fow.  Got a 2-person limit of 10-14" lanes, a couple very short red grouper and a marginal mangrove.

Captain Jim Tessmer - Mar 23:  We headed out at 7 am. We’re able to get many pins 3 miles out. Fished 75 ft - all shorts. At 90 feet boated 3 legal Reds and 2 -16 in yellow tails. Headed south and picked up 5 more legal Reds in 95 ft. Also had a 30 minute struggle with a 9 foot Bull Shark. A lot of action, good crew and good seas.

Captain Joel Rohletter - March 15:  After a couple fishless trips in close (20-25 miles) decided to bite the bullet and run out to deeper water. No luck with bait on the way out so we pressed on to 90 feet. Still no luck with a Sabiki rig over the patch bottom so I broke out a "flutter jig". I had never had any luck catching keeper fish with them before. Partner was using squid and I landed 6 keeper Red Grouper to his 1 and mine were all larger. Unfortunately I lost the "lucky jig" and things slowed down. Back to the dock with 4 Grouper between 23 and 28 inches. Water was really clear and the water temp was 69 degrees. Don't forget your descending device.

Captain Joe Sambataro - February 26: On a friend’s boat, went out to 110 feet of water.  Water was 73 degrees.  Caught 6 Red Grouper, one short.  5 legal between 21 inch and 27 inch.  Caught them all on one spot.  Used live bait caught on the way out.  Ed R boat, crew was me, Gary Z and Andy.  Not many boats.  Calm conditions. 

 Captain Greg Peterson (written by Roger Linder) - February 26: Cap. Greg with crew Gary, Larry, and Roger left the dock at 7 AM low tide to fish the incoming.  After stopping for bait (where are the pin fish) headed west to 115 ft. By noontime we had our limit including 5 over 30 inches the largest 32.5. All on live bait, sand perch, blue runners etc. a little windy but 8 oz. held bottom.

 Captain Ralph Crowell - February 26: With a crew consisting of Mark Tanner, John Ryckman and Keith Wohltman we left Marco at low tide around 7AM and headed for a bait stop 12 miles out. No bait in close the day before. Weather was perfect and the seas a light 1-2' chop. After getting bait we headed out to our secret spot 55 miles "West of Marco" in 100' depth. Catching was slow at first, then as the tide turned it picked up and everyone managed to get at least one keeper. We ended the day with 6 in the cooler. Fished live bait, jigs with squid and gulp curly tail grubs. Largest fish was 28" and all were over 24. We utilized the Rhodan trolling motor on the 32' contender to keep us on the fish. Many shorts kept the action lively. A great day on the water.

Captain Roger Linder - Jan 22:  Left dock at 6 AM stopped for bait 15 miles out, no sign of red tide, continued west to 100 feet. By 1 PM had our limit of 10 nice sized grouper. It was as perfect a day one could hope for light breeze but a perfect drift. The crew, Gary, Bert, Rod, Mike opted to stop at the R tower to try for a leader board Cobia. No luck, several boats no fish. Back at dock at 3:30, cleaned boat and fish, great crew!  The mystery is how can fisherman standing a few apart, using same bait, rig etc. have completely different catch rate, 0 verses 4? And you can never know who will have the hot hand!

Captain Joe Sambataro - Jan 26:  Went out 55 miles from Wiggins Pass to find keeper grouper.  Got two in the boat, two lost on the way up, one giant Porgy and a snapper.  Not red hot but OK- we did not get skunked!  Anchor got stuck at the last spot.  I use Anchor Saver - a system to get anchors off the bottom without losing it all- that worked great.  Crew was Ed R, Mark S and Gary Z.  Did not take time to take pictures of fish.  Got in late after working anchor for half hour.  Went right to cleaning the fish.  Good day with great friends.

Captain Wayne Woodring - Jan 27:  I went out to the same general area as Jan 23rd leaving the dock around 8:30 and limited out by around 1:00 with 10 red grouper with the largest being 30 inches.  We also used jigs, squid and cut up lady fish.

Captain Frank Christensen - January 19th: With a crew of three, we stopped at the 12 mile reef for bait. After filling the live well went southwest to 48 feet. After catching a ton of Lanes started drifting for grouper. Probably 30 shorts between 14 and 19 inches with three keepers 21 to 24 in length. A great fishing day inside of 30 miles.

Captain Paul Doppelt - Jan 23:  Found a bunch of live bait at 41’ due west of the Marco River. Took a ride out to MSC fishing area at 112’ and attempted to drift for Grouper. No current and tough bite. We caught a dozen or so undersize Reds, lost a few larger fish in the rocky bottom, came in with 3 keeper Reds. There were lots of Tuna & Bonito chasing bait and got to at least watch them hunt.  Stopped off at the Spring hole and caught a 26” Gag. The morning tide was stronger which seemed to make a difference.

Captain Wayne Woodring - Jan 23:  Left dock around 7:30 with 4 crew members to a depth of 100 feet.  Limited out with 10 red groupers by noon with the largest being 28 inches.  I used a drift anchor and caught the grouper on jigs, squid and cut up lady fish. We also went to another area in 100 feet and caught 4 amberjack and 5 African pompano. We only kept 2 of the African pompano because the limit is 2 per boat and we released the amberjacks.

Captain John DeMarco - Jan 13:  I took out a crew to look for our limit of grouper about 61 miles out, limited out with all big boys largest 31.5 inches long by noon. Then drove around looking for big snapper, found awesome bottom stacked with fish and all big boys! Took 30 large mangroves, 1 monster Mutton and a surprise tuna!  Couple of yellowtail.  It was a great day out there and just got in before the winds hit. Bait of choice was sardines! Thanks to Chuck, Dan Eagle and George we wacked them!  Can't wait to go to this spot again!  Jim if any members are ever looking for an offshore trip I'm there Captain. We split the cost, usually 150.00 to 200.00 based on how many on board!

Captain Frank Troha - Dec 13:  Caught our limit today in 45 feet, largest Grouper was 32 inches.

Captain Paul Doppelt (as told by Jim Scarpa) - Dec 13:  Ran out to 107' to fish in the Super Grouper / Snapper event.  Anchored  and fished for Snapper and grouper.  Caught a good number of decent Mangrove Snapper, a few Yellowtails and Vermillion as well.  Lost our largest Mangrove to a cuda, the remains were 12".  Caught many undersized Red Grouper, three undersized Gags with the largest being 20", lost a few decent fish after they holed up, and a 10' Hammerhead shark ate a Red that would have gone 30"+ - we did land the 16" head.  At the end of the day we had 1 22" Red Grouper on the boat.

Captain John DeMarco - Dec 13:  Life is Good headed out as many did last Sunday. The game plan was to find Mr. Big grouper! Then chum up snapper!  The crew decided that we should get on the wreck early to avoid over crowding, so after we hit our bait spot we headed to the wreck!  Using chum and corn, forgot the oats!! We chummed up the PREDATORS! Got 1 yellowtail in the boat, the rest became fish food!  Then Mr. Grouper time, different results instantly! Limited out in 3 hours! Biggest 26.5, may not be enough for our Super Grouper contest but my crew had a BLAST! PERFECT DAY! on the gulf. We ended the day with a surprise Mutton Snapper 25.5 inches.

Captain Mike Mueller - Dec 10 & 13: We had trouble getting bait inside 3 miles due to red tide and most of it dying in the bait well. However, on both trips we got bait at 12 mile area which survived nicely. Both of these trips had very good success especially right before high tide and right after high tide. On the first trip, we fished an area predominately for red grouper and got our limit by 1 pm. Size ranged from 22 to 30” and we released several keepers in the 20 to 25” range. Water depth was about 110’. Most undersized fish could be released by using a needle insert but the bigger ones needed to use a device like SeaEqualizer. Then left for a wreck in 80’ and got some small yellowtail and rudder fish. Nothing worth reporting there.  The trip on the 13th was really outstanding just like when we started out in 2014 or so where lots of small red grouper and then we got the mother lode, 15 keepers and kept the biggest ones with four about 30” but lots of action sometimes with four fish on at the same time. This was our tournament day so regardless of how it works out we had a blast since the action was so good. Hopefully, this portends well for the future fishing since the fishery may be recovering after most of us greatly reduced fishing due to weather and COVID concerns over there last 4 months or more. Left this area which was in about 115’ of water and went to another wreck in 80’ and then a tower. Got nothing worth mentioning in these two spots and headed for home about 3:30pm.

One lesson from both of these trips is to really zoom in on the bottom 20’ or less, the best fishing was on bottom signal with minor sonar response that could be overlooked especially when moving at higher speeds than 20mph. I mark some areas when moving around where it may be one small blip and then come back and check them out later at very slow speeds like 10mph or less. Move around in a X shape pattern to see the extent and many times its patches on bottom that are productive and we drift from one to the other. Older spots that still look great with large amount of fish coming 6 feet or more off bottom are less productive for grouper but are probably ok for anchoring and snapper fishing and after chumming and waiting sometimes grouper will come to you. Recommend trying to find those new smaller areas that haven’t been fished and are harder to find but more productive.

Captain Norb Mika - Fri Nov 27:  Went out Friday L tower and thereabouts.  Big snapper on shrimp.  Would not hit pin fish or other live bait? Couple small grouper. 

Captain Paul Doppelt - Sat Nov 28:  Ran out looking for Red Grouper. Had not seen many reports as to depths they were holding. First series of drifts were in 90’ on live bottom. We didn’t get even one bite. We pushed out to 107’ over very hard bottom and anchored up. The bite was pretty good using live pinfish as well as squid rigged on 6 & 8 Oz jigs. The Red Grouper were 22-31”. We also managed to catch Mangrove Snapper 18-26” and a 26” Mutton all on the same spot with no chum. Once the tide change was complete we deployed chum and put a bunch of Yellowtail & Vermillion Snapper on the boat. I think the tide change around noon swung the boat and allowed us to cover more ground.

Captain Jim Scarpa - Sat Nov 28:  Ran SW to a wreck in 85' looking for snapper, bottom was marking well, anchored and chummed but we could not get them to come up, possibly due to the barracuda party under the boat.  Lost a very large cobia at the boat, had several break offs on the bottom, released multiple AJ's, landed several 15-16" muttons only to watch them get eaten by the cuda when released.  Moved away from the wreck and drifted and landed a 20" mutton.  Moved northwest to 100' and caught a limit of red grouper in 1.5 hours (21" to 30").  Moved to another wreck in 105', bottom was marking very well but we could not get the YT to come up into the chum slick.  Hooked some YT on the bottom only to have them "shortened" by the cuda on the way up.  Gave up on snapper for the day.

Captain Marty Wilhelm - Sat Nov 28:  With flat seas and moderate temperatures we headed west for Grouper. Bait was frozen squid and we stopped by Red 2 and picked up live bait as well. Relative quick and pleasant ride out to 110' of water and the bite was strong. We had windless trouble and drifted with a drift anchor most of our time. They hit almost anything that was sent down. Jigs, live and cut bait all worked. We limited and released the smaller keepers. No records, our biggest was 27". We did pick up an undersize Gag. Ratio of keepers was good probably 1 in 4 or 5. Had an 8-9' Hammerhead chase one Grouper to the boat but, he got spooked and didn't take him. Didn't run into any Snapper but, we really weren't trying. 

Captain Paul Doppelt - Sunday Nov 1:  Ran out to a small wreck in 85’ hoping to catch some snapper. We knew it was gonna be tough to get those fish to eat given we have such a big beautiful full moon but hey it beats reruns of “The Twilight Zone” right?  Got on anchor by 11:30 AM and began chumming hard. Within 20 minutes we had hundreds of flag Yellowtail up on top at our boat! The frenzy continued and by 2:00 we had 50 YT Ave 16” in the box. As the tide turned the fish were still eating! Also had a nice Rainbow Runner take a bait. We fished exclusively with shrimp and small lead head jigs. I think the secret sauce was bringing plenty of chum and keeping it flowing hard.  My friend tried hooking up with Muttons and Mangroves on the bottom but couldn’t get the fish by the posse of Barracuda around the boat. The run to the boat was just too long.