14 Hour Trip

We have scheduled another 14 Hour Trip for Friday July 13, 2012. Due to the bad weather last month, the National Marine Fisheries has extended the Red Snapper Season by 6 days. Gag Grouper has also opened as of July 1. On this trip, we will be able to harvest all species except Amberjack. This should make for a great trip. Prices and times are the same as the last trip. We are taking reservations now, so call our ticket office for your spot. See you soon.

Red Snapper Trip

We have scheduled our Only Offshore Red Snapper Trip of the 2012 Season. It will be on Sunday June 10 from 4am-6pm. The cost is $120 plus $10 rod rental fee. We are taking reservations starting today, May 5, 2012. Fishing positions will be first come first served. You will be able to board the boat at 3am. NO ONE BOARDING THE BOAT UNTIL CREW ARRIVES!! Tickets will be paid on morning of the trip. Reservations will be held until 3:30 am. Reservation not paid for by 3:30am on day of trip, will be offered to any passenger on waiting list. We will limit the passenger count to 70 persons. This is 15 more than our previous trips to try and accommodate as many passenger on our only trip this season. I would like customer feedback on the possibility of a weekday 14 Hour Red Snapper trip at the end of June. I must have enough fares to make the trip profitable. This is our only other option due to a busy month of June. We have every weekend booked as of now. We appreciate your comments. Look forward to getting everyone offshore again.

Capt. Chad

Spring Is Here!!!

Hi everyone!! Spring is starting off very well so far. The weather has been terrific and the fishing has been as well. We are catching a ton of Grunts, Sea Bass and Porgies. We have still been having a few Hogfish on the all day trips as well as some King Mackerel starting to show up. The Grouper fishing has been pretty good but, unfortunately, we are still in the federal closure and we cannot keep any Grouper at this point. They give a nice fight and make a great picture, but you will have to wait a couple more weeks before you can keep one to eat. Red Grouper will open on April 1 with Gags set for July 1. The Gag Grouper season is currently set to run until October 31 this year but, as always, there are some questions to that. The state of Florida is considering opening a "special season" of 4 months for 4 North Gulf counties that could put the remainder of the Gulfs season in jeopardy. There is a distinct possibility that the remainder of Gulf fisherman could be punished up to 30-40 days if these select counties catch to many Gag Grouper. You can find more info on this topic at myfwc.com and search for Gag Grouper season. I encourage each person that is not happy with this possible decision to send emails with your concerns.

Red Snapper season is set to open on June 1. We are not sure of the length of the season yet. I will be attending the Gulf Council meeting in Corpus Christi, TX next month and they should be giving season lengths at that time. Upon my return, I will set dates for any 14 and/or 24 hour snapper trips for this year. Keep an eye on this blog at the end of April for trip dates and times.

I have been a board member of the Charter Fisherman's Association for the last year. This is a group of Captains from across the Gulf that are working toward a common goal of a sustainable fishery in the Gulf that gives the most access to the average American angler. We are fighting for your ability to keep fishing while continuing to find ways to rebuild our fish stocks for future generations. If you are interested in finding out more about our organization or possibly joining and supporting it, check us out at charterfisherman.org .

Remember: If you are coming fishing during the months of March and April,especially for our afternoon trips, leave yourself plenty of travel time. Traffic can be harsh coming to the beach and parking is at a premium in the afternoon. You will have an easier time finding parking the earlier you arrive. See you all soon!!!

Capt. Chad

Winter Update

Hi everyone!! The fishing this winter has been great! We have had a much milder winter so far this year compared to the last two years. Fishing has been great on both the 4 and 8 hour trips. We are catching lots of White Grunts, Sea Bass, Porgies and Grouper. The Gag Grouper season remains closed, so we have to release all Gags that are caught. We have been catching a few Red Grouper that are legal size on both trips. The All Day has been catching some Hogfish on a pretty regular basis. These are an excellent eating fish with white, mild and flaky filets. They can be caught on the bait supplied on board, but you stand a better chance if you bring frozen shrimp or live Fidler Crabs.

The Gulf Council should be announcing the dates for the upcoming Red Snapper and Gag Grouper seasons. Red Snapper will open on June 1 with the close date to be announced. Everything is pointing to a July 1 Gag Grouper opening running until the end of October. This has not been officially announced, so we will keep you updated. All Grouper are closed the month of February and March.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Come on out and take advantage of this wonderful Winter weather that we have had so far this season. The fish are biting and the seas are calm. See you all soon!!!