Jacob and the Bull Shark

It is not everyday I see something new fishing but today I did. While showing a crew from Jacksonville a few spots today at the Seven Mile Bridge Jacob hooked into a a trade up Bull Shark.  A fish ate his pinfish the the Bull Shark ate that fish and since we had wire leaders for the toothy critters the game was on.  After following the shark for about an hour still without a look at the big fellow, the shark did a a rare straight out of the water leap.  It came up about 25 yards for the boat and with what appeared to be a toothy grin spin and broke the line.  Estimated at 200 to 400 pounds, the respectable size critter didn't clear the water instead doing a Flipper kind of tail stand which of course no one had a camera ready for since the fish had been on for an hour.  I have never seen a Bull Shark trying to do a tail walk.  Pretty interesting.

 What the shark probably ate was one of these Yellow Jacks which really don't get the press they deserve.  They are good fighters and most find they are one of the tastier jacks.  So tasty that they are becoming a Sushi species for some of the locals in the know.  I still prefer them lightly smoked but they do make good sushi rolls in the right hands. 

This Black Grouper just missed a dinner invitation and there were a few mystery fish that had potential, but while there were plenty of Mangroves in the slick, the bait situation and Jack/Shark presence determined the plot line for today's quickly put together fishing 101. 

The weather looks like it will be pretty nice for the next few days so I will have more reports.  The video from last week didn't turn out all that great so I will give that another shot on the patches or rock piles in a few days.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Chicago Joe is Back in the Fishing Spirit Again

Chicago Joe and the Fam are back for another fish filled Christmas.  This year he brought some fine weather with him which I much appreciate.  Day one was the typical running around trying to get the boat checkout, gear figured out and making do with what we got considering water clarity.

For a quick trip my no brainer is the bay side which can be a crowd pleaser this time of year if you like steady action.  Even with conditions less that perfect Jimmy, Joe's young male child managed to make sure there were plenty of Mangrove Snapper for dinner while Joe spent most of his time agrivating fairly large Black Tip Sharks some call spinners due to their acrobatic leaps.  Joey, Joe's oldest male no longer a child mainly kept the boat supplied with Blue Runner baits plus quite a few Bluefish that were not particular welcome for dinner.

The Mangroves were respectable but not monsters.  This one is in the 15inch range or about 1.5 to 2 pounds.

 The Spanish Mackerel were also respectable but not monsters.  Thanks to the Blacktips and the desire for more Mangroves we only boated and kept a few of the Spanish which are now on their way to becoming my first batch of Spanish Mackerel Jerky.  This batch is more a temperature test batch so they got a limited brine time, but they should be ready around 5:30 in the morning after 11 hours in the sauna.  If they turn out okay I will give a batch the full day brine treatment with whatever appears to be the optimum dehydration time.


For the non-fishing Aunt Kathy, a warm sunny day with plenty of sea turtles to watch plus a few pretty exciting shark encounters seem to have been just about a perfect first day on the water.  Kathy tried one video attempt that after revue I will try to upload later.  If the water clears up we may hit the bridge which has been very hot lately for large Mangroves plus the usual suspects.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Almost

With customers in town and the fish biting it is a bit frustrating to be sitting and waiting on "ideal" weather.  There are plenty of fishing opportunities available but I get customers that want a little more specialized fishing instruction experience.  With smaller boats that means the ocean side is closed to some of the more interesting adventures.  So it may be Thursday or Friday before I can provide an on the water report.

The season so far looks good.  Today the winds are manageable in the 15 knot range which shouldn't close the ocean side but my client has a few weeks and opted for the wait.  Hawk Channel is very fishy and fishable for the grouper/snapper guys and the bay side Spanish Mackerel bite is about as hot as it gets.  Since Grouper closes again the first of January down here due to fish stocks that may be under pressure somewhere else, the last two weeks of December will be dedicated to them and the Spanish more likely to be targeted after Grouper closes.  I am working on a few new recipes for the Spanish after experiencing Chum Salmon Jerky.  In fact I have a new to me Brinkman monster grill that I am planning to modify for drying/curing Spanish fillets for the Jerky instead on the standard smoked fish dip.

Sexy sport fish like the Sails and Tarpon are doing a very good job of entertaining folks right now.  How long that will last is anyone's guess, but the number of "resident" tarpon appears to have more than doubled over the last few years.  Along with that, Cobia, one of my favorites have been a lot more reliable than say 5 years ago, in the bay.   That means that there can be some spots in the bay that I haven't used in a few years due to algae issues following Wilma that should be hot as a firecracker again. 

So sorry for the low number of posts but that should change pretty soon from the looks of things

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas