Scalloping Season

June 25th marks the start of the 2011 Gulf of Mexico scallop season. If you wanna see crazy, go to one of the many boat ramps along the nature coast and watch the weekend warriors in action. There will be thousands of folks launching their boats and heading out to the flat in search of a limit of scallops. Its a great way to get out and enjoy the summer and stay cool doing it. A legal dive flag and a set of snorkeling gear is all you need to get in on the action.

Tarpon season is in full swing and most of the action is along the beaches north of Tampa Bay. My clients are doing well on big fish by casting small crabs in the path of traveling schools. Most are averaging in the 130 pounds class but we have hooked into some much larger fish upwards of 200 pounds. Tarpon of that size generally make quick work of a rookie angler and after just a few jumps, get free and continue on there way.

If you have any questions or need tips on scalloping locations or good areas to target tarpon, feel free to drop me a line on my email address. Im glad to answer any question I can to help you have more success while on the water.

REDFISH TIME

The reds are getting thick on the flats finally here around the Ozello area. My Cleints are getting good numbers of them during half day charters. We are also seeing alot of big snook and picking up a few here and there. As the water temps climb, we will see the reds school up more on the outside islands along the coast. Those 30 fish days are soon to come.

On a side note: the boaw fishing action is tops. We are killin the big mullet around the islands on high tides with the stick and string. Shooting over 200 times each during a trip is good fun but takes its toll on an old man. If you havent tried bowfishing, add it to your bucket list. Its awesome!

Stay connected to my blogs for updates on the coming scalloping season. It starts soon and there are plenty of them already moving into the area. Lookin good for some summer fun.

TARPON SEASON IS HEATING UP

Just got back from a run to the Ten Thousand Islands with a few buddys to target snook and tarpon. Very bad east winds set us packing after only one day in Everglades City. Made a quick trip back to Tarpon Springs and the big tarpon put on a show. We cast to dozens of pods cruising the beachs and flats and then left them to get hooked up with some redfish and snooks action. After getting our fill, we trolled into some back creeks for some of the best bowfishing action I have seen to date. All in all it was a cool 3 day adventure spent with some good freinds. One thing to remember, the Everglades snook population is hurt bad. FS Magazine says the realestate market will come back before the Glades snook population does....ouch. May want to look else where for your linesider fix.