Fall Fishing

Fall is the time for changing weather here in the keys and with those weather changes the fishing styles and species we will be fishing for change as well. When the cold fronts move to the south and through our area the water temps will take a dive into the 60's and even the 50's at times. The fish will sometimes stack up in the deeper holes and moats in the backcountry and double digit days on snook and reds are possible. Also the fishing in the nearby Gulf of Mexico heats up with the arrival of schools of Spanish Mackerel and bluefish , providing anglers of all abilities with a strong fight.

This is also the time of year for some of our annual backcountry tournaments, most notably the the Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series, which is a series of three events held here in the Keys to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I recently had the opportunity to fish the Baybone Tournament held Oct.3rd,4th and 5th in Key Largo with my anglers Jim and John Dunkel of St. Petersburg, Florida. Both Jim and John were able to catch a nice bonefish with John boating a big bone of over 9lbs measuring over 31 " to the fork. The last event the 2008 Redbone tournament will be held Nov. 7th,8th and 9th the targeted species will be redfish and bonefish and there is still time to enter the tournament and fish with some great people for a great cause for info visit http://www.redbone.org/.

On Oct, 10th and 11th I fished the annual Sen. Joe Barton fishing tournament, a fun event that also benefits the C F Foundation. My anglers Brian and Joanna did quite well the first day posting a tally of 3 tarpon , 7 snook , 10 trout and all their required "fun fish" (snappers , ladyfish, jacks etc.) The second day was a little slower but we managed a nice catch of 8 snook most of our Trout and fun fish and ended up with the high point team honors for the event. A picture of Joanna with one of her snook ( below ) and a photo of the High Point Team and their "humble" guide receiving their awards (lower right )

Lots of good fall fishing left so book now,

Tightlines everyone , Capt. Paul

Trying to reason with the hurricane season

As I write this Gustav has just passed by us and other than lots of rain and some wind we have been left in great shape. Tropical storm Hanna will be next but if the projections hold we probably won't feel any effects from her. It's just part of living here and once a storm passes the weather is beautiful again. Over the last few weeks and in between a few Tropical storms I managed to get out and do several days of fishing. The snook and redfish have been found in good numbers in the back country and near Flamingo. I have heard of double digit days on snook and reds jigging shrimp on the bottom in the deeper island moats near Flamingo. My clients and I have been sightfishing the shorelines and flats and finding snook , reds and some nice jacks willing to take a tipped jig tossed in their direction. I fished with Cliff Harper and Dennis Dewey a few weeks ago and Cliff was able to land a nice redfish in the 11lb range (top photo). Jim and Patrick Gribben had fun with a bunch of jacks that were busting bait on a shoreline (photo on right) . T. K. Conner and his dad Tom did a day of flyfishing with me on the 23rd and caught snook and reds on the fly and had a chance to cast to some baby tarpon as well. So don't let the weather channel give you the impression that we have been wiped out. We are still here and with snook season opening in a few days I expect that the fishing will just continue to improve into the fall months.

Tight lines, Capt.Paul

Summer Fishing

Although the number of guides fishing has slowed for the summer the fishing has remained good for those who have made it out on the water. Guides and their anglers are finding plenty of redfish and snook on the flats in the Flamingo area. I fished on the 6th and we found a few baby tarpon to 8lbs or so that eagerly took our live pinfish. Lots of good fishing and many dates available for the next couple of months. So come down to the Keys and enjoy some of our good uncrowded summer fishing. Or get the kids out for a fishing trip before school starts again. I will be offering some special rates for the next couple of months so give me a call for details 305-393-2495. Most of the area resorts and hotels have some great rates this time of year as well .

Tight lines, Capt. Paul Hunt