January 5th, 2010

 Man I am excited, It has been so good fishing, alot of pompano, spotted sea trout, redfish, sheephead, a few spanish macks, alot of flounder. And all inside the bay. I had 6 yr olds reeling in slot redfish to 26 inches. Obcourse we were helping to hold the rod. But at times not sure who was going to win. And got to see so many new expressions during the struggle and strain,lol..  January is a great month for fishing and as far as fishing so far, it has been alot hotter then the weather. Never take chances, but if you can get in the bay safely, GO, find the protected areas from the wind. Work your presentation slow on the sand bottom and never pass up a deeper water dock in protected areas.. Where to start for the rest of the month forcast, ahh. One of my table favorites is Spotted Sea Trout. Yep, it opens this month the first of January. After it's south Florida Nov and Dec closure. Here are two of my favorite ways to catch them.  I like deeper sand areas close to grass beds or oyster bars .  A shrimp on a 1/8oz jig head casted next to the grass. if no responce in a minute or two. Start bouncing the jig across the bottom. If after 3 or 4 cast into a area with no responce. time to move. But this method works very well slow swimmed or even behind the boat drifting over deeper grass. My second favorite is a 1/8 to a 1/4 oz 4" curly tail grub. White, dark green and rootbeer are the 3 colors I use the most. Working these jigs over grass beds in 4 to 6 feet works for me. You can cover alot of area looking for the aggressive fish and areas holding them. Will cast then give a small twitch  and reel slow between letting thye jig drop a foot or so. The closer to the top of the grass the better.

 For my second fish, I was requested to talk alittle about my pompano techs by one of my readers. I like heavier, to keep it on the bottom. I believe the fish responde to the sound of the jig head bouncing in the sand. So 1/4 to 3/8 oz small white or yellow, no bigger then a inch long. A piece of shrimp on the hook gives it alittle smell attraction. In water less then 5 feet a shrimp under a small float over the sand, for you Fly fisherman a white fly is great. I have taken great pompano with a white fly. the fly was less then a foot under the water so watching these fish hit the fly was incredible. The speed they hit it,  is something and they always hit it from the side never from behind. I have also taken pomps fishing for trout in the same locations( deeper sand areas by grass, 3 to 7 feet). I locate pomp many times by running at a slow speed across the sand, they will jump behind or beside the boat rotate sideways in the air and skip once or twice on their side before disappearing.  When I see this I will make a mental note, and about 30 mins later drift the area casting the jig. Very productive technique. Well keep only what you need, gently handle and release the rest. This way they are around when you come back. Good fishing to you, Capt John Dixon, www.saltwaterguide.com , (941) 544-8357    

February 5th, 2010-  

People it is comin on strong, after that horrible cold weather. Here is what we did in the last 2 days. Redfish  to 10 lbs. Flounder of the perfect plate size, spotted seatrout to 4 pounds, black drum and sheepshead up to 5 lbs. Have turned on, and provide both great action and some drag ripping, tough fights. Most of the fish other then the trout are comin off deeper water docks.  And it is only going to get better as the water warms up.

Well keep only what you need, gently handle and release the rest. Good fishing to you, Capt John   if you would like to book a great trip, call me at 941-544-8357.   

May 10th, 2010

It has started out as a great month, in one 4 hour trips we did over a dozen snook, throw some redfish and spotted seatrout in the pot with it. All the capt. agree non of us have ever seen the amount of small sharks in the bay right now, they do not want anything to do with people, but provide a great fight on light tackle. We are getting kings off the beach, the schools of jacks are comin in, pound for pound, one of the hardest inshore fighters around. Spotted sea trout over 4 pounds are nothing big, some trout have been over 7 pounds. sheepshead, Pompano, Spanish Macks so big they look like small kings. And do not even get me started about the TARPON, weee doggy, Here comes the silver kings, just put new line on my tarpon rigs, nothing like 300 yards of 50 pound line screaming off a reel and a 100 plus pound fish jumping wildly... But also we get the Big jacks, 15 ,20 pounders on the beach, mix some 15 pound bonitas and you have a party. Just add something for them to eat.. Getting so excited talking about whats going on, if I was not in my pajamas and it being dark, I would go fishing.... Heck with it, the fish do not care what I am wearing and the boat is already hooked up!...... Gone fishing......