So one of the questions I got when I went live on Instagram was how to catch snappers offshore. Of course, I am an inshore guy but I have had some chances to learn from some very talented offshore fishermen. I've gotten to fish with Captains Scott Walker and Steven Rodger from Into The Blue TV and learn how they catch really big snappers. One of the key factors you need to pay attention to is the chum.
Read MoreJeff Maggio has been the go-to tarpon guide for the Broward and Dade counties taking over 230 trips a year. He then teamed up with his buddy Lamont who was in the production industry and they began making fishing videos. Over the past 10 years LunkerDog has continued producing videos and showing the world how “reel” guys/girls fish.
Read MoreOne of my favorite things is sight casting - it’s all I did when I was first guiding. I never learned how to chum, it was not something I did when I was just starting out. However, eventually with fishing there are days where you just can’t sight fish (rainy or cloudy days). If you are a professional fishing guide you get put in this situation a lot, of days when you wouldn’t normally go fishing but because people have booked the trip you have to go and make the most of it. Chumming for bonefish is excellent for this situation.
Read MoreI sat down with Heath Daughtry of Yellowfin Yatchs, Alycia Downs of Captains For Cleanwater and Chase Daniel from Yellowfin Yatchs to talk about the Florida Skiff Challenge. This event is not joke - you get in a Skiff (18ft or less boat) with a 70 horse-power or less motor. You take that boat around Key West and end in Cabin Bluff, GA. This event is 1,600 miles and you go for 48 hours nonstop. You don’t sleep.
Read MoreWhen you go down to the Florida Keys it is common to want to go into the Everglades. Sometimes when there is a cold front and the weather isn’t ideal it can be a fantastic option to go back up into the Everglades and explore the No-Motor-Zone. Over the years Rich and I have tried many different crafts for the area but none have compared to the paddle board. With the shallow waters and the dynamics of the area you are trying to fish, a paddle board is the perfect craft for the job.
Read MoreMiles “Sonar” Burghoff, host of Sweetwater TV and a self proclaimed shallow water fishing fanatic came to my podcast studio to talk about the fires in California where he used to live and still has family,. We also talked about his tournament fishing and hosting a TV Show. Miles is super easy going and very friendly - I’ve had him on the podcast before (Pro Bass Fishing) and love hanging out with him and talking.
Read MoreThere are many knots that may work better, but his knot is the only one you need and will work for 99.9% of fishing situations.
Read MoreJust wanted to take a second to thank you. It was your article from 2014 about quitting your job and becoming a full time guide that pushed me over the edge to leave a career I was no longer happy with to pursue what I love. I am now a full time guide and owner of a boat concierge company out of Marco Island, Fl. I have never worked so hard and been so happy to do what I do.
Read MoreToday I got to sit down with Jessica “Dixie” Mills of Homemade Wanderlust and hear about her story and why she is known as “Dixie” in the hiking world. Jessica was born in Florida, and grew up in Alabama spending summers with her grandparents on their farm. She loved the outdoors as a kid and as she grew up she studied Biosystems Engineering and Agronomy and Soils in college.
Read MoreToday I wanted to talk about boat ramp etiquette - things like how to back your boat in, how to get ready and how to avoid altercations or frustrating other people. The boat ramp is a place where everybody is pretty excited, you have professional fishing guides there who have their system down and can get their boat in and out pretty quickly.
That is exactly the way you want to do it whether you’re a professional fishing guide or a rank amateur. Here is a way for you to start your day at the boat ramp in the best way. So here are some bullet points from this How 2 Tuesday.
Read MoreBorn in Florida, Captain David Mangum grew up cultivating his passion for fishing. David guides in the waters where he learned to fish and is well versed in light tackle and offshore fishing. But David has a particular passion for fly fishing. He’s gone to guide in Alaska, Colorado, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Because of his experience David offers very specific instructions when stalking, casting and watching a Tarpon eat your fly.
Read MoreOne of my biggest questions was how to decipher what workouts and diets are worth it and which ones are good and which ones are bad. I have found that certain diets/workouts will be highly advocated for and a year later be condemned. BioLayne walks me through current statistics and his way of dieting and working out.
Read MoreBorn in Florida, Captain David Mangum grew up cultivating his passion for fishing. David guides in the waters where he learned to fish and is well versed in light tackle and offshore fishing. But David has a particular passion for fly fishing. He’s gone to guide in Alaska, Colorado, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Because of his experience David offers very specific instructions when stalking, casting and watching a Tarpon eat your fly.
Read MoreIt’s not the biggest or the most - success as a fishing guide is not that you catch the biggest or the most fish. The most important thing you can do is showing your customers a good time. Give them a great experience, this means that they will return to you. That is then how you have a successful business. Have happy customers.
Read MoreRussel Kleppinger is a professional fishing guide who works in the Miami Area as well as the Bahia Honda area and Florida Keys. He moves with the tarpon and may catch more tarpon in a single year than any other person on the planet. Last year Russel landed 814 tarpon. He posted a picture of 3 tarpon at once which got him to the 814 number last year and it really made me curious.
Read MoreChris Wittman from Captains for Clean Water, Benny Blanco, TV Show Host and Everglades Fishing Guide and Steve Davis, Ecologist with the Everglades Foundation sit down to discuss the current water situation in the State of Florida. Recently Florida elected a new Governor and in his first 48 hours he asked for the resignation from the Water Board and signed an Executive Order called “Achieving More Now For Floridas Environment”. We discuss what this means for the State of Florida and what needs to happen to effect real change.
Read MoreThe first thing you need to keep in mind when you’re out fishing with your kids is that it’s their day, and not yours. Their fishing trip should consist of the things they want to do, even if that isn’t fishing. Think of this as a learning opportunity to expand their knowledge on marine life and what the ocean has to offer. This can include going to the sandbar, looking for critters under rocks, etc.
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