I met Capt. Brien Spina, my guide for the day, at Backwater Nicks, a popular marina and watering hole down around Marco Island’s way. He was ready to go, with the engines already running, and his gear stashed away in various compartments of his 24ft boat. After exchanging our morning pleasantries, I joined him aboard and we immediately got underway. “We need to make a quick stop to pick up bait,” Brien announc...more

The easiest way to know when the winter kings should be in your area is to keep an eye on the water temperature in the Gulf. The kings’ optimum temperature range is from 68 to 72 degrees F. Higher or lower temperatures send the kings north, south or west in search of that magic 68-72 range. Of course, the best places to fish are wherever the bait is most plentiful. Usually this is near hard bottom, in the passes, and some...more

You have 3 basic options to fish offshore effectively, trolling, live-baiting or deep-jigging. The easiest of the choices will be trolling, but unless you have outriggers or a very wide beam boat with rod holders well spread apart, you’ll be limited to 2 or 3 lines in the water. That is, unless you don’t mind taking time out of your fishing to untangle lines.

Depending on the species you int...more

Most people have a friend that somehow seems to always come back to the dock with fish in his cooler, surely you do, too. It doesn’t matter that you have a better boat or more expensive tackle than that buddy of yours, he still outfishes you constantly. If you pay close attention to tournament leader boards, you’ll also see a handful of names occupying the top spots pretty regularly. While the way these guys produce...more

We cleared the inlet about an hour after daybreak and headed offshore, following a southeast course to counteract the push of the Gulf Stream current. With dolphin on our minds, we scanned the water for signs of fish. We motored just fast enough to keep the boat planing over the almost glassy surface. The sky was clear, and the wind wasn't strong enough to rile up the slow-rolling summer swells, so we figured our search would b...more

A look at the boat’s compass told us the boat was drifting south, and judging by how quickly our lines would angle towards the surface, I could tell we were dealing with a strong current. Luckily, the wind was barely strong enough to cool our mugs as Phil and I drifted near a wreck off Naples Beach, methodically bouncing 3oz leadheads on the bottom.

Surely there had to be some gags here, the word ...more

I met Chris Carter at the marina just after day break. It was hard to resist asking him about his Hall of Fame football career. Of course, the only thing in common between him and the famous Vikings receiver is the name. I bet he never heard that before…right! Well, he did chuckle at my joke, but it was probably more out of courtesy than anything else.

We wasted little time on pleasantries, just a quick...more