September 26, 2008-The last 5 weeks have been just fine. Plenty of biting fish, lighter crowds, and mostly warm weather.  Other than a couple of cold fronts, it's been glass calm and warmer than normal.  Fishing has held up very well as the pre-spawn approaches.  Lots of small to average fish, and enough big ones to keep things interesting.  Things will begin to slow down very soon for the very large fish as they approach the spawning stage, but action will remain fast for 2-8 pounders if you fish for them specifically.  If you choose to target the big ones, action will be slower, though you should still get several bites a morning from them if you fish hard and stay focused.  And, this beautiful late-summer weather surely won't last, so bundle up!

 

August 20, 2008-We're now beginning my favorite time of year.  Crowds are gone with back-to-school season, fish are stacked like cord wood, and the weather is near-perfect most every morning.  Fishing has been pretty good for most of August so far.  Some exceptional days, some average ones, and a just few tougher ones.  Most days have been dependent on angler effort and ability.  We're still catching a lot of bigger fish, with fish over 20 pounds on more days than not, and enough over 30 to keep things interesting.  Pups are red-hot during the limited hours I've targeted them, but mostly we've been grinding it out for the bigger fish with good success for the patient and dedicated.   I expect this trend to continue for at least another month.  Overall,  August has exceeded July in terms of numbers of nice fish we've caught.  I'm still scratching my head about how tough mid-July was this year, but that happens sometime every summer for a few weeks.  I still love August and September!

 

July 29, 2008- If you're damn good, have done this before, can make a perfect lure presentation every second of every minute, can set the hook at the same time you get the bite, and are VERY focused, it can work.  If you're just out for a nice day on the pond, don't bother.  You can't be distracted and you can't miss many bites if you want to catch some big ones.

 

July 21, 2008- Well, it sure ain't as good as last July . . . We're catching some fish most days-but not easy.  Working hard for a few good bites.

 

July 2, 2008- Damn.  Just when you'd think . . . It hasn't been pretty out there the last week.  Very tough fishing, the toughest of the season.  Getting a fish here and a couple there, and that's it.  It was sure fun while it lasted!!!

 

June 23, 2008- OK. Summer is finally here.  We just caught the largest fish ever landed on my boat, we had the best morning of fishing I've ever seen a few weeks ago (24 in the boat-all big!), 30-pounders are becoming routine, and everyone's a happy camper!  "2008--The best May and June in a decade!"

 

June 7, 2008- "2008--The year of no summer" . . . Cold rain, snow all around, 38 degrees.

 

May 30, 2008- Now this has been what May is supposed to be like!  Quite a few big fish, 30-pounders on more days than not, with some pretty tough days in between the very good ones, and one day that was just an unbelievably good one in that we couldn't keep 'em off!  Weather has been mostly cool and unsettled, and not nearly as nice and warm as last year.  Fishing has been more consistent though,  more so than the previous few years.  Some may remember that last May was a very tough month.  Fishing pressure this year was much lighter than normal, which I believe made for the better fishing.   Here comes June, and the patterns will certainly change, but we're off to a booming start!

 

April 27, 2008- I've been back on Flaming Gorge for about a week now, and things appear to be running a bit late, just like ice-out was.  The fish are very, very scattered about, in all depths of water, and not holding in any particular kinds of areas.  Typical early spring:  It's very hard to locate fish to drop to.  Today, we spent most of today idiling around the lake looking at a blank sonar screen.  Despite that, we have run into a few small areas of "happy" fish, and have been catching some nice ones.  In fact, we haven't caught a fish under 20 pounds yet.  We've caught 2 34-pounders and a 35 in the past two days, so I can't really complain.  The best is yet to come though.

 

March 5, 2008- WOW!  It has been a terrific winter so far in the Fabulous Florida Keys.  A couple weeks after the devastating cold front that came through on New Years, fishing has just been great in between the smaller fronts.  The water and air temperatures have been above normal for nearly two months now, and the fish are lovin' it.  The BIG tarpon arrived in mid-February (a little earlier than last year), and the smaller ones have been present on a regular basis, both day and night.  Lots of permit on the flats this year too.  Sharks and barracuda have also been easy to find and catch.  We're entering the windiest period of the year in the Keys, so there are a lot of days when sight fishing is tough to impossible, and some days where its impossible to even get out with any chance of catching a tarpon or permit.  On the calm days in between the blows though, there is no shortage of fish to cast to.  I love global warming!!!  We have the temperatures that bring on the great fishing.  Now, if the wind will stay down for a few days each week . . .

 

January 1, 2008- Happy New Year!  December fishing was just great here in the Florida Keys.  Above average temperatures (air in the 80's, water in the high 70's!) combined with very light winds created fall-like conditions for shallow water, inshore fishing.  I've been catching tarpon every night around the bridges, along with an occasional snook, and lots of nice barracudas on the flats during the day.  There's been some permit around too.  Overall, it's the best December tarpon fishing I've ever had.  Unfortunately, there's an arctic blast due in this afternoon that will plummet temperatures into the high 50's and low 60's for a while, so the fun will slow down dramatically, if not come to a complete halt.  Gale warnings are also in effect.  What a December it was though!

 

November 2, 2007-The lake trout spawn is now in full swing.  The snaggers are out, law enforcement isn't, and it's combat fishing in Linwood Bay.  And yes, lake trout are biting lures, with their mouths, if you fish for them in a sporting manner.

September 24, 2007-The bigger lake trout are finally getting tougher, but we''ve still been getting a fish or two over 20 pounds on the days we try.  Some days, we've just been fishing for the smaller, 2-8 pound fish, and they're really going nuts!  Can't keep 'em off!  For the bigger fish, you just have to grind it out for a few bites each morning, and be ready to execute when the random bite comes.  And, today we had our first snow of the season.  Summer is officially over until Mid-June.  The pre-spawn fishing begins . . . 

September 8, 2007-The beat goes on!  Big fish still biting.  Small fish going nuts if you target them.  All are stacked like cord wood.  Crowds are gone.  Water is already cooling to high 60's.  "No sweat" mid-day warmth.  Sign me up! (Still have a few openings this month).

August 28, 2007-OK, its been the best month of the year.  August baby!  Warm, little wind, lots of fish, lots of big fish,  . . . Just the way we'd order it!  The past two weeks, especially, have been nothing short of fantastic.  What an end to summer.

August 14, 2007-Well, I can't complain.  Fishing's actually as good as its been all season.  Lots of 10-20 pound fish, steady hits most every morning, and just enough big ones to keep things interesting.  How long will it last?  Who knows, but we're enjoying it while they're biting.  I even caught a 36 pounder last week on a guide's day off!

July 30, 2007-July is nearly gone, and I'm singing the same old tune I've been singing most of the season.  We're catching fish nearly every day out, and catching a few good-sized ones most days, but it's nothing to write home about compared to seasons past.  July has turned out more productive than June, however!  Most of the fish we've been getting are in the 15-25 pound range, with an occasional lunker like last week's 38 pounder.  The fish are tough, but catchable every day if you have the proper form and focus to capitalize on your bites.  I went out alone (Guide's day off!) one day last week and again today, and caught fish over 20 pounds both days, and also several in the 12-20 pound range both days.  So, we're fishing hard and getting results, but its not spectacular.  Of course, most of the season hasn't been "spectacular."  This is the "new" Flaming Gorge.  Work hard for a few big fish.

July 17, 2007-Well, I guess I'm getting used to the tougher fishing this year, so I'd have to say the past week has been "OK."  We've had a couple of next-to-nothing days, and some that were downright entertaining and successful.  It's still very inconsistent from day to day, but the numbers of bites and fish caught seems to be a bit better than most of June was, and the sizes of the fish we're catching are still predominantly over 20 pounds.  Last week, we caught 4 over 30 in 3 days.  Yesterday and today were the best days I've had in a while for numbers of bites.  Still not a lot of numbers, but the one's we're getting are worth the effort.  So . . .It's fishing, we're catching, but nothing world-class.
It mostly depends on how many fish the customer can get a hook into, and then keep the hook in!

June 18, 2007-And still tough, tough, tough.  Oh, I've had a few banner days here and there, but I've also had some dreadful days.  Most are just tough, with a few fish landed.  The sizes of the fish we're catching are still up there, with more fish over 20 pounds than under, but the fish have had enough of us dropping jigs on or around them.  Did I say it was tough?  The "glory" days of easy fishing are gone, at least for now.  The truth hurts, but that's the truth. 

June 5, 2007-Tough, tough, tough.  Things have slowed even further the past couple of weeks, and I can say with certainty that this is the toughest May/early June I've ever seen on the Gorge.  I've been fishing here for over 25 years, and full-time for the past 17.  We're still catching a fish or two here and there, but for the most part, the lake trout are thumbing their noses at every lure we drop, and running from anything dropped anywhere near them.   They have plenty to eat, have been caught and released over and over, and have no reason to eat anything made of plastic, fur, or feathers with a hook in it.  We're working extremely hard and fishing very long for every bite.

May 23, 2007-Well, it's been an up and down month of May so far.  A few red hot days, a few really tough days, and a whole lot of mediocre days.  Overall, tougher than most years, despite mostly favorable (calm!) fishing conditions.  We have been catching some dandies lately, and the small fish are staying away.  However, the fish seem moodier than ever, and "bite windows" are short most days.  Lots of fish looking at the jigs, lots of fish running away from them, laughing all the way! 

May 2, 2007-A week of unseasonable calm, warm weather has made for great fishing conditions on Flaming Gorge, all of which will come to an end with tomorrow's COLD front!  This week we've been catching a few fish from 18 to 28 pounds daily.  The lake trout are moving around at depths from 40 to 100 feet, and are not stacked up anywhere, so lots of boat running has been necessary.  There's really no pattern yet.  Just look around a lot, make lots of drops, and catch 'em up!  They're scattered everywhere.

April 12, 2007-Night bite is on.  Morning bite is on.  Wind is gone.  (There IS a correlation there!)

April 8, 2007-The wind has gone away following this weekend's cold front and resulting north winds, the water has cleaned up and warmed today, and the night bite for tarpon is on.  Forecast is for calm water all week.  Hang on!!!

April 4, 2007-The dreaded March 15-day windstorm ended a few days ago--Finally!  We're hooking a few tarpon every day lately, and have had decent fishing for nearly a week now.  Today brought the first really calm conditions in nearly a month.  Temperatures are remaining in the 70's and low 80's, with water temps. from 72-76.  Now, if only the winds will stay down for a while . . .

March 24, 2007- See below.  It really, really blows.

March 18, 2007- And then the wind came.  It blew.  Its blowing.  Its supposed to keep blowing.  It really blows . . .

March 15, 2007- The tarpon are here!  It has warmed up again this week after the cold front 10 days ago.  Tarpon fishing has been good on the calmer mornings, and poor on the windy ones.  Its been about 2/3 windy days, and 1/3 calmer days lately, so we still have to pick the right channel, early in the morning, with good tidal movement, and not much wind.  When all 4 of those things are "right", we're getting fish.  The flats are still strong for cudas and sharks when the current is flowing strong, and permit are still on the flats as well.  Lately though, we've pretty much just been tarpon fishing all morning.  I haven't had a chance to try the night-time tarpon bite around the bridges because its been windy/breezy, but some calm nights would open the door for plug fishing for the 10-25 pounders that are loads of fun and don't wear you out on one or two fish.  This month's temperatures so far have been around 70 at night, and 80 in the daytime, except for a few days right after the last front.  Perfect!!!

March 4, 2007- What a week it was!  Following the fantasy day I described last week, the weather remained favorable, the full moon period brought on the big tides and faster currents, and fishing continued good through today.  More tarpon in more reasonable numbers, and great shark and barracuda fishing on the flats during the mid-day.  Permit made a good showing on the flats as well.  A cold front has just blown in, and by blown in I mean north winds around 25 mph with cool temperatures in the low 60's.  That puts the kabosh on fish in the shallows for a few days.  Everything has to recycle and warm up again now.  The 80's will be back by the end of the week, and so will the tarpon, cudas, and sharks.  Oh my!

February 28, 2007- It happened today!  All hell broke loose!  The tarpon have not only shown up, but they were eating this morning, all morning.  We hooked 11 tarpon from 25-125 pounds, and got 9 of them to the boat and removed the hook.  Most were just too large for pictures.  The water is nearly 80 degrees, the air is over 80 degrees, and there is no wind.  That won't last forever, but it was perfect today.  The spring tarpon migration has begun!

February 21, 2007- Well, I've been here in the fabulous Florida Keys since mid-December, and fishing is perfectly normal--Very Good!  It all has depended on the weather, as usual.  December and most of January was unseasonably warm, and the warm water temperatures made for some very good nights of "baby" tarpon fishing for fish from 10-30 pounds.  Most any calm night with an outgoing tide produced fish.  The sharks and barracudas have been prowling the flats, and permit were also showing themselves most of January.  Recently, we've had a south Florida arctic blast, with temperatures overnight in the 50's, daytime highs in the 60's, and water temps plummeting into the low-mid 60's.  That has put a damper on things in recent days, but warmer temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's are forecast very soon.  When the water temperatures recover back into the 70's, fishing becomes very reliable again.  Winds have been variable all season so far, with days of choppy water followed by a day or two of slick-calm water.  Fairly average for this time of year, but not like the endless days of glass-calm water we had a year ago.  Tarpon fishing is just getting ready to "break loose" in the coming days and weeks, with the very large migratory fish due to show, and warmer water to get the residents feeding again.  Stay tuned!