Ask 10 redfish anglers what the most popular lure for redfish is, and chances are at least 9 of them will give you the same answer – “the gold weedless spoon.”  That’s because thousands of inshore saltwater devotees, from Texas to the Carolinas, have been targeting reds with it ...more

The familiar early morning silence of the backcountry was momentarily interrupted y loud plops and gurgles from my fly. Every strip of the fly line instantly produced a fish wake-up call, followed by a brief, bubbling dive of the defiant deer hair bug that just said – “come and get it!...more

First developed for bass fishing, soft jerk baits have since gained vast popularity among saltwater anglers, particularly those who fish the flats and the backcountry for species like snook, redfish, seatrout and tarpon. Popular soft plastic lure manufacturers, like Spike-it and DOA, now offer soft jerk baits among their lures selections. Spike-it's 5-inch jerk baits, for instance, are extremely effective for the aforementioned...more

Winter weather is settling in, and its arrival is marked by the appearance of gamefish that usually migrate through our area once temperatures finally begin a steady decline. By now redfish are becoming a bit scarce over the shallows, and most snook have moved up rivers or headed offshore to spend the cold months in more temperate areas, leaving seatrout as the most readily available flats species for the moment.

“Wait, don’t bring him in yet!” I instructed my partner. “Let me get my fly out there,” I added. The tip of his bent rod telegraphed every head shake of the big trout, and I could see desperation in my friends eyes when I asked him to keep the fish in the water a moment longer, so I knew I’d better hurry.

With a single false cast I sent my fly in the direction of his ...more

Hard to believe we were already dropping anchor just a few minutes after leaving the marina. But here in Southwest Florida, we don’t have to run far to get into some great grouper fishing. I still suspected most people would have considered us crazy if we told them we were gunning for world record gags in 6 feet of water. But Kevin has for years been pulling big gags out of places most anglers run right past, and thanks t...more

Those infamous linesiders that were once dismissed as trash fish way back when, have since gained fame of practically epic proportions. Though no census has yet confirmed it with any certainty, I’ll go out on a limb and guess that most inshore anglers in Florida first think of snook when they dream about tangling with a lunker. Although I have a great affinity for one Megalops Atlanticus a.k.a tarpon, I’d be lying i...more

The sun's fiery circumference was spreading over the horizon as I eased into position. It had been a few weeks short of a year since I'd watched the glistening backs of tarpon break the surface as fish took turns gulping air. I was immersed in the memory, when I spotted the first school of the new season coming toward me. The fish milled leisurely, rolling without a care, and I could hear them blow in the still morning air as t...more