February 17th Fishing Report

FINALLY, the weather is beginning to cooperate! After several weeks of wind, rain and freezing cold temperatures, the forecast looks very good for the upcoming week with temperatures getting back up into the mid 70's! Fishing should be very good with this warmer weather, raising the water temperature several degrees which should really turn the bite on! Trout, redfish and sheepshead are the targeted species this time of year. Not only are these fish fun to catch, they also make for some excellent eating! My charter today caught several nice trout up to 22 inches, redfish up to 26 inches and a few sheepshead on live shrimp. If your interested in going fishing, you can contact me at (941) 812-1402!

GOOD FISHIN,
CAPT. Craig

January 4th Fishing Report

Fishing has been good the last couple weeks, even with all the cool weather. With the water temperature being cooler this time of year, we have primarily been fishing docks/ structure in the bay/rivers for redfish, sheepshead and black drum, using live shrimp for bait. We have also been drifting the grass flats throwing artificial lures, catching trout, redfish and a few pompano! Clients have been getting good action and plenty of fish to take home for the table! It looks like the weather is going to warm back up some, which should make for some great fishing! If your interested in going fishing, you can reach Capt. Craig at 941-812-1402!

November 15th Fishing Report

With the water temperature cooling down, the Kingfish bite has been very good the last couple weeks! We have been catching kingfish in the 15-30 LB class on live shinners, about 1/2 mile off the beaches. There has also been alot of mackarel, bonita and black tip sharks in the same area, providing some great action!

In the backwater, BIG trout, snook, redfish and flounder have been bitting very good. The weather has been beautiful the last few days and this weeks forcast calls for some ideal fishing conditions! If your ineterested in booking a charter, contact Capt. Craig for a fun filled day of fishing!

October 22nd Fishing Report

We finally had some cooler weather this week, which has made for some good fishing! Clients have been catching kingfish, spanish mackarel, bonita and black tip sharks 1 mile offshore in the gulf! The backwater fishing has been consistently good for the last few weeks, producing good catches of snook, redfish, trout and mangrove snapper. I expect the fishing to continue to stay good as cooler weather starts approaching and more fish move in from the gulf. The fall is a great time to go fishing! Call or email Capt. Craig to book a fun filled day of fishing!

September 16th Fishing Report

Fishing has been unbelievable this week! We had alot of rain over the weekend, which dropped the water temperature a few degrees and also turned the water to more of a copperish color. The fish have been bitting very good with the changes and the Snook, Redfish and Trout have been the targeted species. The tides have also been very good with some very high water the last few mornings! The fishing should continue to stay good and provide good action througout the next couple months as water temperatures will continue to cool down a bit. Call or email Capt. Craig to book a fun filled day of fishing!

August 26th Fishing Report

Thanks to numerous afternoon thunderstorms this past week, the water temp. has dropped a few degrees and the water is not as clear, making for some really good fishing! Redfish, trout and snapper have been the targeted species. Clients have been catching redfish between 18 - 34 In. and also bringing home plenty of keeper trout and snapper for the dinner table. I have noticed alot of snook are moving in from the passes/gulf and are beginning to move back into the shallow flats! Snook season is just a few days away and with all the snook I have been seeing lately, it should be an excellent fall! Call or email Capt. Craig Madsen to book a fun filled day of fishing!

August 3rd Fishing Report

With tarpon season coming to an end, we have been targeting trout, snook, redfish and snapper the last couple weeks. The fishing has been good in the mornings and late afternoons. With the weather and water temp. being so warm, its a good idea to get an early start this time of year or go later in the evenings. The snook and trout have been the most consistent catches with some redfish mixed in as well. The big schools of redfish should be showing up anyday though and will stick around through the fall. Dont forget, snook season is just around the corner! Call Capt. Craig or send an email to book a fun filled day of fishing!

June 27th Fishing Report

What a week it has been, both good and bad! The wind/rain has not cooperated much this week, but the fishing was good! High winds, rain and rough seas did not allow clients to tarpon fish this week, limiting us to the backwater for snook, redfish and trout! The snook and trout fishing has been very productive and clients have been catching several redfish a trip as well. The catch of the week was by Cloey, a 7 YR old who caught a 47 Inch snook, the biggest I have ever seen! It blew away the previous boat record of 44 Inches and weighed an estimated 35 LBS. What a beautiful fish and great job by Cloey reeling it in! (see picture of fish below)
The weather forcast for next week looks good and I really look forward to getting back out on the beach and catching some tarpon! Tarpon fishing is without a doubt the most exciting fish to catch! Not only are the fish huge, they fight very hard and provide some amazing jumps while on the line! Its also fun to find the schools of tarpon and present baits to them just right, so you do not spook the fish! Tarpon fishing can be a challenge, but when you hook a "Silver King" the reward is like no other! Hang on tight, your in for the fight of a lifetime!

June 12TH Fishing Report

Tarpon fishing has continued to be very productive this week! We have been fishing the schools of tarpon that are moving down the beach and also catching fish in the evenings around the passes using live shinners and crabs for bait. The full moon tides this week have been awesome and it sure made the tarpon very hungry! Clients have been hooking and boating several fish a trip in the 80-130 LB weight class. Bob from California, caught the fish of the week on Tuesday evening, an estimated 180 LB tarpon on 30 LB test line! Bob fought the fish for 55 Mins and it pulled us 2 miles out into the gulf!

I did not fish for tarpon today, instead my clients wanted to fish the flats for snook, reds and trout. We did very good on catch and release snook (they are out of season right now) and we also limited out on trout in the 15-22 IN range. The redfish still have not shown up in large schools, but we did manage to catch 2 keepers, 22 & 26 IN. If you are interested in going fishing, Capt. Craig can be reached anytime at (941) 812-1402.

June 4Th Fishing Report

Tarpon fishing this week has been unbeleivable! Alot of tarpon showed up in huge schools just off the beaches and also in Tampa bay. I was on a school of tarpon yesterday, with an estimated 500 fish in the school just off Anna Maria Island. We boated 3 tarpon and jumped 4 others on a 1/2 day trip! With the full moon approaching on sunday, the fishing should continue to be excellent! Capt. Craig can be reached at (941) 812-1402.

May 19th Fishing Report

Tarpon fishing has finally broke loose and the silver kings are showing up in good numbers just off the beaches and also in Tampa Bay! We have been using live shinners, threadfin and pass crabs for bait to catch these large fish! On saturdays charter we hooked five tarpon, boating two of them between the 110-130 LB weight class. The other three fish fought hard pulling alot of drag and provided some awesome jumps, but we were unable to boat them. The weather has not cooperated the last couple days with heavy rain/wind and we have not been able to leave the dock. The forecast looks good for later in the week and with the new moon on Sunday the 24th, the tarpon bite should be on, providing spectacular action for clients! Call or Email Captain Craig today to book a tarpon trip that you will never forget!!

May 6th Fishing Report

With the full moon approaching this friday tides have been very good this week, providing some great fishing! Roger from Wisconsin had the catch of the week, a 31 IN snook that he released and lost a bigger one that ran out a bunch of line and cut us off in the mangroves! Roger fought the fish very good, but this snook was not happy and there was no stopping him with the light tackle we were using. Snook, trout and redfish have been the targeted species! Clients have been catching limits of trout (5 per person) and redfish (1 per person, 18-27 In.) along with several catch and release snook. Snook season closed May 1st. We have also been catching King Mackarel within 1 mile of the beach in the 10-20 LB class. The tarpon have begun to show up in good numbers in Tampa Bay and I also spotted some fish working there way to the beach! The tarpon fishing should really break loose here in the next week! Get ready and hang on ..... The silver kings are here!

April 7th Fishing Report

The Snook fishing has continued to be very good this week! The catch of the week was a 33 in. 14 LB Snook caught on a live shinner by Bryan from Michigan! Nice Fish! The trout fishing has been good as well with many keeper size fish between 15-20 in range. The redfishing has been hit and miss. One day its good and the next day they are gone. The redfish have been moving around alot and havent been in the same spots for more than a day or two at a time. Overall the fishing has been good, providing plenty of action for clients! Dont forget, Tarpon season is just around the corner and Moon tides are filling quick! Call or email to reserve a trip to battle a giant Silver King on light tackle!

March 29th Fishing Report

Snook, Snook, Snook and more snook! Although it was a very windy week, with winds from 20-30 MPH just about all week, the fishing was on fire! The tides were very good due to the New Moon, especially in the afternoons with a very strong outgoing tide. The snook fishing this week was some of the best I have seen in some time! Clients were averaging anywhere from 30-65 fish on half day trips! We were able to catch several keepers this week between the 28-33 In. slot limit. Even though we did catch several keeper size and a few over size snook this week, The catch of the week had to be a 27 In. 8 LB trout caught by a client from Maine. It was a beautiful fish that was released alive! The redfish were scattered out this week, but did manage to catch a couple. Hopefully with all this rain we have got today, many snook, redfish and trout should get pushed out of the rivers/creeks and produce some more excellent fishing this coming week!

March Fishing Report

The weather has been beautiful so far this month, nice sunny days in the low 80's and the fishing has been great as well! Clients have been catching impressive amounts of snook, redfish, trout and pompano. With the water temperature being on the rise, the fish have been alot more active and have been eating live bait much better! The fish of the week was a 31" snook caught on a live shinner! Redfish have been running in the mid-upper 20's and trout up to 23". Fishing should continue to be very good with plenty of nice weather ahead!

January Fishing Report

After being spoiled with beautiful weather and good fishing for the past few weeks, the weather has not cooperated so much this week and has been very cold and windy! The Weather outlook looks promising for the weekend with Temperatures getting back into the 70's, which should make for some good fishing! Fishing has been extremely good for this time of the year! Redfish, trout,sheepshead,mangrove snapper, grouper, black drum and blue fish have been the targeted species. Live shrimp with a 20lb leader and small split shot and artificial lures have been the baits of choice! I have been having the best luck with trout/redfish on the Gulp 3" shrimp (molting and new penny have been the "HOT"colors) with a 1/4 oz. jig head. Work the jig very slow on deep grass flats and bouncing the lure off the bottom in the white sandholes.

February Fishing Report

The weather has been beautiful this week and the fishing has been on fire! Yesterdays trip offshore was very productive. Mangrove snapper, red grouper and black grouper were the targeted species. Charters have been coming home with plenty of snapper and grouper for the table. We have been fishing hard bottom and ledges in 75-90 ft of water with frozen sardines and pinfish.

The bay fishing has continued to be great as well. Whitebait is beginning to show up on the beaches and in Tampa Bay. If the weather continues to stay warm like it is, we will defiantly be back to fishing with live shinners in the next few days. Sheepshead, black drum, bluefish, trout, redfish and pompano have been feeding the best. The snook, trout and redfish are begiining to come out of the rivers and canals and making there way to the flats. Its just going to be a matter of waiting for the water temp. to rise a little bit more and for bait to become catchable and snook and red fishing should break loose. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope the "MAJOR" coldfronts are done with and fishing conditions stay fishable!

January Fishing Report

What a crazy month it has been. One week the weather is beautiful and sunny, and the next week it is cold and windy. For the most part, fishing has been very good for the conditions we have been facing. The Grouper and Snapper fishing has continued to be on fire! The 6-8 hour trips have been coming back with anywhere from 20-30 mangrove snapper and several nice Gag Grouper in 85-100 feet of water.. Frozen Sardines and live Pinfish have been the types of bait used. The catch of the week was a 40 LB Goliath Grouper!

In the bay, there has been plenty of action. The fish this time of year are on the move each day, due to change in water temperature. I have been using live shrimp and artificial lures to catch sheepshead, bluefish, black drum, trout, redfish and a few mixed in snook. Hopefully the water temp. will begin to rise a bit here in t he next couple weeks, which should only make fishing even that much better!

October Fishing Report

With water temperatures beginning to cool down gradually, Snook fishing continues to provide steady action. Anglers have been catching impressive amounts of fish on both half and full day trips. The average size fish has been ranging from 22-26 inches. The biggest fish of the week was a 31 inch snook! The redfishing has slowed down a bit compared to last month, but are still catching some between the 20-24 inch range. The Trout bite is finally starting to turn on as well. With all the east winds we have been having, the red tide has not been an issue and the water is as clean and clear as I have seen it in months. If your ready to go snook fishing, the Fall is one of the best times to go!

August Fishing Report

August has been a pretty productive month both in the bays and Gulf. Recent trips in the bay have been producing some large numbers of redfish and plenty of catch and release snook. The Red Tide has been showing signs of improvement throughout the area and fishing has defiantly been more productive compared to last month. In the Gulf, Grouper and Snapper fishing between the 20-25 mile range has been Excellent! Charters have been catching red, black and scamp grouper as well as yellowtail and mangrove snapper.