January 13, 2021
By Florida Sportsman
Recent inshore fishing reports from the Big Bend region.
Wacasassa Bay Redfish
Florida Sportsman Follower: @thejuanhurtado
Despite cold weather, the reds were fired up.
North winds, lack of water, frigid temps, no problem when you have tailing redfish. Juan Hurtado Ignored the cold and scored up in the creeks of Wacasassa Bay. “We saw him tailing and casted right to him with a live finger mullet and he took it and ran!”
Click here to read the full report and others like it.
Horseshoe Beach
Florida Sportsman member: RevJoeyFitz
There were lots of bait pods and fish busting them up. Water clarity was good. We started by Pepperfish Key. We moved the boat once and drifted for hours with almost never ending action. We caught lots of trout, more than I could count. We caught some spanish and had several cutoffs. My buddy caught a nice 20 1/2” flounder and a big pompano, first one I've ever seen out there. We fished all artificial and jigs in three to four feet of water over spotty bottom. All in all, we finished with nineteen keeper trout, two spanish, a pompano and a flounder. It was a great day.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Fishing Report
Florida Sportsman member: nick
Seas have been flat and fishing has been great. It's about time! I don't think I could fish the main river another day and stay semi-sane. Macks are zooming around the flats attacking jigs like piranhas. Sheepshead on the rockpiles crushing shrimp in 10-30'. The trout pushed out on the flats! I've been seeing bait pods offshore and even saw a cobia landed yesterday. I'm going to be trying to work on the reds this week.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Recapping Action in Big Bend
Florida Sportsman members: nick & dadof3under3
Trout have just about pushed out of the river and onto the flats in 3' of water or so. They are not too far off the islands yet though. The usual gulp shrimp/mirrodines/doa's have been productive. Reds have really picked up in the past couple weeks. Th problem for me in my bay boat is having enough water to get to them. In my two trips yesterday, I bet we landed 70+ reds and it only took 300 shrimp. Water temperatures peeked into the low 70's yesterday. It shouldn't be long before everything fires off! I may go try to chum up some spanish mackerel next week. I've seen a few darting around and cutting jigs off lately.
Click here to read nick's CR report.
Click here to read nick's Waccasassa report.
Click here to read dadof3under3's Marco Island report.
Inshore Fishing in the Big Bend
Florida Sportsman members: Alex from GA & anglerbros 7286
Reports over the last few months about inshore fishing on the Big Bend are all reporting the same thing. Good numbers of trout and drum have been cataloged throughout Homosassa and Yankeetown. Black drum have been especially good. Sheepshead catches are on the rise and keep a lookout for some big snook prowling around. Slams can be achieved with a bit of work. For what they're biting and where, check out the reports below for more information.
Click here to read Alex from GA's Homosassa report.
Click here to read anglerbros 7286's recap report.
Click here to read anglerbros 7286's Yankeetown report.
Click here to read anglerbros 7286's late January report.
Big Bend Drum
Florida Sportsman member: mr.bubba
The fish are coming back. We got 15 reds, two were just over 18" so they went back, but we did get a 24 incher. We also caught four snook and just one trout. We also got two big black drum. The big one was around 25 pounds. All were released.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Rainy Day Reds
Florida Sportsman member: shuterkng
A couple of small reds kept us busy for a few. We anchored at Short Point, because of some windy conditions. From my experience, Short Point has more small reds where as long point has bigger fish and this was the days theme, small reds. Our bait was live shrimp with small split shots. When we ran out of shrimp, we used cut squid. Lots of catfish, 15 small reds and two keepers mixed in. Great to be back on water.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Yankeetown Snook and Reds
Florida Sportsman member: gators7233
I was thinking, with all this rain the snook bite should be on fire. I only had three hours to fish and I wanted to hit a few areas. For the first hour and a half I fished topwater and artificials along oyster bars and cuts holding current, but caught nothing but a couple of small redfish. The second spot of the day is where I had a good hour of fishing! I went to a creek mouth that was holding good current and a couple oyster bars that seemed to be funneling the bait. After the third cast the 33” snook started screaming line. After about five to ten minutes got her to the boat and then quickly released her. She put up a great fight and it was a lot of fun. Right after that caught a smaller snook and a 25” redfish.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Latest from Big Bend
Florida Sportsman member: various
Some reports have been recently made from Yankeetown, Horseshoe and Crystal River. Yankeetown resulted in some redfish, snook, jack, trout and a tripletail. Horseshoe fishing yielded good numbers of trout, some ladyfish, a couple sharks and a cobia that pulled the hook after nearly spooling the reel. Good numbers of trout, big sharks, cobia and some flounder have been biting hooks in Crystal River. For what they're biting and where, check out the reports below for more information.
Click here to read the Yankeetown report.
Click here to read the Horseshoe report.
Click here to read the Crystal River report.
Walkasassa Black Drum
Florida Sportsman member: Quad32x
We fished around the islands on the first of the outgoing tide and the wife caught some under sized redfish and we got a few catfish. Then, I got a solid hit, hooked up and the fight was on! It was a good drag stripper and after a few minutes, I pull in a nice big black drum! I really enjoyed the fight, it has been a while since I'd had one. All in all, a good fun day on the water. I let Mr.Drum go to fight again another day.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Big Bend Bites
Florida Sportsman member: nick & Captian_Louie_Argiro
Crystal River fishing has been RED HOT!!! Since the weather has started to even itself out proving that our last cold front has passed, our water temperatures have risen and so have the amount of bites our anglers are getting every day. The trout flat has been the area that we have been spending a lot of time lately since there is much more than just speckled trout frequenting this area. Check out the reports for more details
Click here to read nick's forum report.
Click here to read Captian_Louie_Argiro's forum report.
Strong Bites in Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: Captian_Louie_Argiro
When the wind is not blowing, the trout fishing has been pretty good and there have been a lot of things changing around the Nature Coast. Some cobias have began to show their faces and if you look really hard there are still a few tripletail to play with.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Trout and Sheepshead
Florida Sportsman member: nick
Messed with the sheepies a bit this week and they're beginning to get a bit bigger. Or the cold has pushed the grouper out and we can actually get to the sheepshead now. The trout bite has been decent after it warms up a bit. We've just been slinging plastics in three to four feet of water. I caught some in the river while freezing to death yesterday messing around. I also broke off a mid 30's snook trying to flip it.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Past Week in Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: nick
The trout bite has been solid on the shallow flats in two to three feet of water. The fish have been responding to a popping cork and a shrimp or soft plastics on 1/8oz jigs. It's varied day to day on which one they prefer. Luckily, they've been mostly slot fish. We've also been starting to get some sheepshead on the nearshore rocks. Wednesday we had to get wrecked by grouper and catch 100 grunts to weed out six keeper sized sheepshead. It wasn't easy.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Cedar Key & Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: nick & Gator4Life
Reportedly the trout bite was slow in the Cedar Key area, so your best bet would be to focus on reds. Gator4Life limited out on reds each day of his 3 day trip. On the other hand, nick reports a good trout bite in Crystal River along with spanish mackerel, ladyfish and the occasional redfish and tripletail.
Click here to see nick's Crystal River reports.
Click here to read about Gator4Life's Cedar Key trip.
Cedar Key Reds & Crystal River Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life & josh...BAMF
Gator4Life: We fished for some trout first and didn't get as many as the last trips out. We caught around 20, with 1/3 being keeper size fish. We had a large nurse shark swim right up to the boat. He was probably seven or eight feet. We moved over to the oyster/shell bars just before high tide and my wife reeled in her personal best redfish. In the middle of some pictures, it spit up an old, rusted jighead. Interesting
Josh...BAMF: There were only a few vehicles int he parking lot a Fort Island Trail Park boat ramp when we arrived. We started at the spoil banks and landed six trout, all between 18-20 inches and a nice 12 inch mangrove. All were caught on live shrimp on jig heads on the south side of the spoil banks. After about a half hour the trout bite shut down, so we started looking for bigger bait. We found a nice weedling with sardines all over it. We loaded the livewell and headed a few miles out and caught nothing but short gags and grunt. The seas were very nice and there was no wind which made for a smooth ride, but unbearably hot when not moving. We called it a day around 3pm and came home with some meat for the kids.
Click here to see Gator4Life's Cedar Key trout and redfish report.
Click here to read about Gator4Life's redfish surprise.
Click here to see josh...BAMF's trout and snapper report.
Big Fish Sightings in Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: ocala
It was a good day on the water, even the rain held off. I got this real nice red right at the boat that hit a topwater. Later, while using a stick bait I missed the biggest trout I've ever seen. My buddy got snagged, so I turned around to see where he was snagged at. When I turned back there was this huge trout staring at my bait which had floated to the surface. I twitched it once and she jumped. I twitched it again and she jumped on it. Instantly, my line broke. I estimate the size was about 30 inches. Like I said, it was huge. Fast forward about a half hour and I saw an very large snook, about 44 inches, take a swipe at my stick bait. Again, right at the boat. That got my heart pounding. She missed it, but man that fish was enormous. My buddy also caught several trout, with one measuring about 20 inches.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Yankeetown Forum Adventures
Florida Sportsman member: BigRedBaron
I asked a bit ago if anyone had room on a boat and had a few responses. I got busy the day I had chosen, but my wife and I ended up meeting up with a forum member a week later to try one last time for snook before the season closed. It was fairly windy, so we did not go very far offshore, but tried a number of spots inshore near the Crystal River power plant, the channel, a few of the islands, and a bit into the Withlacoochee River. The fish seemed to be tight lipped, which resulted in not that many tight lines. We did end up catching a decent sized whiting and an overslot red, which my wife happily hooked up with. Overall, it was a fun day out on the water with a new friend and we got to explore a new area that we had not fished yet. We really liked the area and will definitely return in the future.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Big Bend Reports
Florida Sportsman member: Elapid, Gator4Life & NativeOne
Although strong winds have been reported in the Big Bend region, the fishing has been difficult, but decent. Forum member Elapid reported good fishing on a high tide and reported redfish, big trout and later day snook. Gator4Life fished Steinhatchee where he caught many short trout, one red and a big ol' 24" trout he found in a creek. While fishing Yankeetown, NativeOne reported, "The action was steady fishing into the tide under big schools of mullet all through the incoming. Using a mix of bait and spoons we managed three overslot reds, the biggest at 34", two lower slot reds, a big ugly, and a stud snook. It was a solid day, and reports from my members indicate that this kind of action has been pretty steady in Yankeetown as well as Cedar Key and Ozello all week."
Click here to see Elapid's 4/21 forum report.
Click here to see Gator4Life's 4/20 forum report.
Click here to see NativeOne's full forum report.
Cedar Key Drum
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
Our first spot we poled down on was a small grassy bar with no one in sight. As soon as our bait hit the water, here comes a boat straight for us. There are five square miles of oyster bars around us and this fella picks the one we're fishing. I then realize he's not fishing, but pulling right on top of our bait to get out and take some photo shoots with a tripod . My wife's bait is just feet from them, so she goes to reel in and wham! Red on! She catches a 28" on the first cast, feet away from Captain Guy Harvey and his photo companion. It was only a sign of things to come. We moved around hitting different bars and for the next three hours we caught a 29" red, another 28"er, and two between 26-27" that we took home for dinner. We also caught a large black drum that took forever to get to the boat.
Click here to see the 4/22 forum report.
Cedar Key to Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
I took a friend out around noon and headed out to the grass flats off Snake Key. We caught lots of speckled trout but even more silver/sand trout. If you threw a gulp under a cork, you mostly got specks. If you cast without a cork and bounced along the bottom, you mostly caught sand trout. I don't remember the last time this many sand trout were mixed in with the specks. There are plenty of ladyfish out there also, so we kept a large one to try for some reds. I caught one red at 17 3/4" and two reds that were twins at 27 1/4". We didn't bring home any reds for supper, but it was nice to see them back in the holes we got them in last fall.
For more reports like Gator4Life's above, check out the links below.
Click here to see Gator4Life's 4/7 forum report.
Click here to see Elapid's 4/7 forum report.
Click here to see meh's 4/6 night time report.
Crystal River Trout
Florida Sportsman member: crystalriverrat
I went out in the wind Saturday. It was pretty nasty out where I wanted to fis,h so went in to fish the banks out of the wind. The tide was about halfway in. We were floating shrimp on corks, just kinda rod-holder-fishing for about an hour and half. The trout bite started hot. I got an 18", then right after one around 17". Then I caught my my personal best trout. She was a hair under 27" with tail pinched out. She put up a good fight for a trout. I finished up with a 16" then called it.
Click here to see the 3/31 forum report.
Spring Break Success
Florida Sportsman member: Nobel
We got anchored up around 11:30 and for the next three to four hours it was sheepshead mania. We were using our light weight trout rods with 15 pound braid and 20 flurocarbon leaders with shrimp rigged on drop shots and jig heads. I barely had time to fish myself, between unhooking big sheepshead and retying an occasional break off. After the first 15 or so keepers, we began to be really selective and only kept the really big ones. By about 3:00 we had close to 25 keepers for our boat.
The last morning, my older son and I went out for an inshore fishing expedition starting at about 8:45. Armed with our usual popping corks and gulps, we managed to find a good group of trout stacked up in some three to five foot grass flats between Atsena Otie and Snake Islands on the high tide. We ended the morning with six keepers in the cooler, three of which were around the 19 inch mark, and numerous shorts that were released. The best combo seemed to be the cajun thunder cork with a four inch new penny shrimp gulp.
Click here to see the 3/25 forum report.
Steinhatchee Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: ASaltWeapon
The weather was gorgeous, flat calm and sunny. We ran north to a trough in the middle of a shallow flat. The trout were stacked up in the trough and reds were scattered along the edges. We caught about 30-40 trout, six reds, and nine flounder. We ended up bringing three reds, eight trout and four flounder in the cooler and were headed back by noon.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Surprise Red
Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One
We caught all the usual suspects, from baby groupers to almost everything that lives on the bottom, with spanish mackerel added to the list. We were just enjoying the day, shooting the bull, and then it happened! We got a triple. I had the elusive sponge fish, Barbara had the mini devil bass fish, and here comes the surprise, Butch had a 25 and 1/2 inch redfish!
Click here to see the full forum report.
Homosassa Sheepshead Report
Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One
The winds were perfect and the seas were flat. We decided to take Ruff One out on the bay to try our luck on those pesky sheeps. We headed out to the shallow Homosassa rocks. We finally found some around a big rock in 12 feet. The bite came on fast and ended just as quick. We used shrimp and a knocker rig. We put five in the boat and that was it for the day. The bycatch was off the radar. We caught every fish in the gulf except cobia and mackerel. We even put four trout in the boat!
Click here to see the full forum report.
Crystal River Variety
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
The plan was to look for sheeps, but it was blowin' pretty good in the morning. We went to a creek to check it out first. The trout were stacked up pretty thick still, even with the water temperature going back up to mid 60s. We used 1/8th oz Jim's Jig and a gold flake Lil' John all day. It would've been an easy two man limit if we wanted to keep a lot. Then got two redfish, one was 22" and the other was around 15". We also snagged four flounder in there, that doesn't happen often. Around noon we went looking for sheepshead, but found 50 baby grouper instead. Jake started playing around with the push button reel and got a monster sheepshead! Snapper and sheepshead are stacked up with upper 60 degree water temperatures.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Crystal River Slam
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
It was super windy and cold, so fishing was tough, but we still got some nice fish. We started off bouncing some jigs in the river. Will got a nice slot on his second cast of the morning. We got a couple more baby snook and snapper there before heading down river. We drifted for trout caught about six 12-14" and tons of annoying ladyfish tossing a white gulp shrimp on a Jims jig. We headed to the the spoil banks where we got a variety of small snook, reds, and a mackerel. The tide came up a little so we went into the creeks. There, I was surprised to find a few nice sheepshead. One was over 23" the other was 14", both on shrimp. Colin got a 25" red on a Cajun Thunder and shrimp combo. We headed to open flats to just find 20 more baby trout. We got bored of that and went up river to catch another ten baby snook before calling it a day.
Click here to see anglerbros 7286's full forum report.
Crystal River: Plentiful Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16
I've been fishing about twice a week with the cooler water temperatures and I have been catching a lot of trout. You have to work through all of the 14 inchers that are out there to get some keepers. The snook seem to be moving in for warmer water. The redfish seem to be scattered.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Homosassa Backcountry Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: Flat Nuts
My son Alex and I were touring Florida universities to give him a little taste of where he will continue his education next year. We made an important detour on our way to Tallahassee to fish Ozello! Using spinning rods - Alan Niblett poled us through the thick fog up the little creeks in the backcountry that he knows like the back of his hand. The fish were a little finicky early and we had a few refusals then things turned on and we were able to trick a few. I wound up with a snook and a small red and Alex caught a really nice red. I have to say your reds fight way harder than the reds down our way. Alex has caught more than a few in his day, but figured the drag must have been to loose to have a fish rip drag like that!! After figuring out it wasn't a problem with the drag, he went to work and after a few minutes and a little dance around the boat Alex was psyched to land the fish of the day!
Click here to see the full forum report.
Wife's First Snook
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
The fish gets about ten feet from us and surfaces for the first time. Holy cow, it's a snook- and a big one. I got it netted, measured, a few pics and back in the water. My wife's first snook ever and it was a 35" slobberknocker. I told her jokingly that we might as well head home because we're not doing better than that. We hit a few more bars and caught a 24", 25" and 26" redfish. I went home only catching one red and she went home with bragging rights.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Crystal River Slam
Florida Sportsman member: permit_me
Early on before the tide faded out I landed a nice lower slot trout. At the bottom of the a.m. tide I hooked into something nice. My first impression was a big mackerel, but no, an offshore snook at about 24". Some ladyfish came through busting on the bait, which was the first time I'd seen bait that thick this year. We switched gears and went for the reds. By now tide was ripping in, and wind was picking up. There were lots of small snappers, a couple small groupers, and just one rat red, but that would round off my first Crystal River slam. I suspect the reds pushed inshore with that big afternoon new moon tide.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Post-Irma Reds, Trout and Flounder
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
The spot we had been catching redfish didn't produce today. We did a little searching and found five reds. Not as good as before the storm, but I'm not complaining with a 30" and a 26 7/8" perfect size keeper. We also caught a couple of nice flounder. The trout bite was slow. We reeled in maybe ten total with only one keeper size.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Wreckin' the Reds
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
Right at high tide, every redfish out there all of a sudden was hungry. I got there at 12 and from 12:30 to 2 we seemed to catch one to two reds on every cast. All were upper and over slot, more slot fish than previous years. The bigger ones haven't made their way in just yet. I caught five 28-30" reds.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Snookin' Big Bend
Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed
The biggest snook since spring hits my lure and gives me a great battle. She took me all the way around the boat on the third run, after jumping completely out of the water twice. She had the whole lure in her mouth, with one hook in the gill supports and the other partially swallowed. Working from behind the gills and then in that cavernous mouth with two tools a hand and the lure, we got her unhooked without damage and only a drop or two of blood. We snapped a quick pic and released her with surprisingly short revival.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Cedar Key Reds and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
The short trout were biting my Gulp shrimp. I moved around hitting the deeper edges of the grass flats and managed three keeper size. I went back to my red hole a second time to fish the top of the incoming. I've been getting them the two hours after the high, so I didn't know if they would be there. I ended up with five more keepers, the biggest at 23.5".
Click here to see the full 8/13 report.
Click here to see the full 8/6 report.
Afternoon Redfish and Snook
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
We caught a few reds and a few snook plus a jack. Snook were really active, with me missing two of them when they jumped and threw the lure. The water was in the hot range and the fish were all in less than three feet of water. They were taken on soft jerkbaits, although I think Mark got one on a gold spoon. Nice day on the water.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Successful Snookin'
Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed
Our trip this morning was a very short three hour, dock to dock, but the tide was good and the fish gods were smiling on us. Megan caught two big snook and an oversized trout, all on topwater. I caught a snook too, and it was not as small as she says, just so you know. We saw dolphins, manatee, ospreys diving and a pair of frigate birds up close.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Two Hour Red Trip
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
It was a little choppy, but nice weather so we decided to head south. The fish were active, but were being picky about hitting an artificial. We managed to put an eater in the boat, added a few other reds, and probably six snook, counting the snooklets. All of the fish were caught on either a gold spoon or a soft jerkbait in less than three feet of water.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Yankeetown Variety
Florida Sportsman member: CoachTL
First cast of the day, I got a nice redfish on topwater. We ended up catching another slot red along with several shorts. As we were working our way out of the area we were fishing, I hooked a nice snook. After a few jumps and hard runs I was able to land it, and she was just over 36 inches. At the beginning of the outgoing tide, we worked a couple outside rocks and bars and were able to catch a couple upper slot trout, along with a bonus flounder. All fish were caught on artificials.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Red Hot in Yankeetown
Florida Sportsman member: NativeOne
My girlfriend landed her personal best red at 34" and my daughter brought in two slot reds, a 29" overslot, and a big ugly-her biggest fish yet. The black registered 42 pounds on the boga grip, which was funny because my daughter weighs 54 pounds. Once the girls got tired of catching fish, I was able to land a few for myself, before the tide got too low. It's been some great fishing despite the temperatures and the recent full moon. The water still feels like bathwater, but all this rain we've been getting must be doing something to keep the bite going strong.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Drumming in Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16
It wasn't ideal conditions, but we caught a few snook and had fun sight fishing for some giant black drum or as we like to call them, big uglies. The next time I got out, I was with forum member WishinIwasfishin and wanted to try some new territory. We had a good high tide to search for some red drum. I found a nice 26.5" red on a mangrove point. We patterned fished the points and had a good day finding redfish.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Homosassa Redfish and Scallops
Florida Sportsman member: josh...BAMF
We headed out to the Floatilla for some scallops. We started north of Homosassa and the pickings were pretty slim. We moved a few times and slowly managed to get about three gallons over about two hours. We were mostly in about five to six feet of water. We also found a really cool ledge with nice sized snapper and grouper sitting on it, right in the middle of the grass flats. It was about 20 feet long and had about a three foot relief. Figuring we had enough scallops for an appetizer, we headed in to try fishing. I picked up an 18 inch red and the next cast my wife one upped me and caught a 21 incher. Also caught about four or five little 12 inch snook.
Click here to read the full forum report.
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Bayport Reds and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: mleach82
It's been a while since I've fished out of Bayport, but I decided to stay local. I loaded up the kids and the boat and headed out around 10am. I cast netted some pinfish, while waiting for the tide to come in, then went to work. Spent maybe three hours on the water and ended up with a trout and four reds ranging from 19"-26". Great day with the boys.
Click here to read the full forum report.
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Ozello Slammin'
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
I finally got back in my little boat to give Ozello another try. In no time, I got some nice reds, 23" and 26". We lost a couple other slot reds and caught a baby snook. I figured we should plan for rain after 1:30pm, so we looked for trout quick. We caught a handful before getting bored with them, since catching trout in 8 feet of water in 15mph wind is no fun. We bounced around, looking for snook and managed one little baby. I got my first Ozello slam, with a couple nice reds.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Rainy Redfish Bite
Florida Sportsman member: SassaWhaler
The fishing was slow, but steady at first. We noticed the rain showers coming in from the southwest and put up the bimini and prepared for the soaking. As soon as the rain started, the bite went nuts! We left the fish biting with five fish boated in no time. We decided to run out to 12' NW of marker four to look for some cobia. No joy on the cobia. I fished the tourney Saturday with the wife and step-son. We got set up on the same island as Friday. Rains came again and so did the redfish. We boated six redfish and lost a very nice snook at the boat.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Backcountry Redfish and Snook
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
The fish were cooperative. We took all of them on artificial, as usual, with soft jerk baits and the Redfish Magic being the lures of choice. The fish were extremely aggressive when hooked, and many just either got off or didn't get hooked after hitting the lure hard. We put twelve reds in the boat and six snook were brought to the boat.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Topwater Blow Ups
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We made a quick trip on Mothers Day until 10:30 or so, just throwing topwater. For only a couple hours on the water, we still got a lot of hits on video. Hooking one out of ten hits is sometimes frustrating, but it's so cool to see them crush it. We probably had three to four 30+" snook destroy it and miss three or four times. We also boated around five 20-26" snook and a bunch of jacks.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Snookin'
Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed
We tried some new areas and were spectacularly rewarded with an epic day. We only use artificial hard baits, often topwater. We caught some big fat fish, all well over slot.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Homosassa Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: Catfish_Hunter
We hit some of our usual spots and ended up with a bunch of reds, several that were over slot, a 30" snook, and few drum and sheepshead mixed in.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Cobia
Florida Sportsman member: Alex from GA
I anchored where he said the redfish were and threw a DOA CAL a few times and caught a lizard fish, threw it some more and got a big bite. It was my first cobia.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Crystal River Trout, Mackerel and Whiting
Florida Sportsman member: xmuskyguide
We wanted to fish for cobia, but it was too windy to head out of the bay. We still managed to produce some fish to take home.
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Barge Canal Trout and Reds
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We had a full moon, cold front and somewhat windy day to deal with so it was a very slow bite. We ended up catching a couple nice trout and lost a few bigger fish either snook or reds.
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Yankeetown Slam
Florida Sportsman member: NativeOne
When the tide started to come in, we moved to a spoil island and worked some rocky bottom. We picked up a few solid reds 26-29" using gold spoons and live blue crabs. We moved to one last island for the top half of the incoming, which produced a particularly unusual catch for us.
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Crystal River Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: xmuskyguide
High winds held tidewaters back and where there is usually four feet of water there was only one foot. We still caught reds, sea trout, sand trout, whiting, etc. The highlight was a very nice redfish.
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Big Bend Winter Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: AZ2FL
All fish were caught with either Zoom Super Flukes, Z-man Paddlerz, Strike King Spinnerbait, Slayer Inc. Paddle Tails and Rapala Skitter Walk & X-Rap Twitchin Minnow.
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Crystal River Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Alex from GA
Wednesday we went to the Crystal River trying to catch a redfish or snook. No reds or snook, but we took home four 17"+ trout and released several more.
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Crystal River Sheepshead
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We ended with 30 sheepshead by noon and released another dozen or so. All in the same spot in 32ft, never had to re-anchor. The sheepshead are everywhere still.
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Homosassa Trial and Error
Florida Sportsman member: Crabtrap
We decided there was enough water and started working the mangroves. In fairly short order, two upper slot trout, and two reds at 22” and 25” came aboard. Later, on the way home, Alex got his 25” trophy.
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Crystal River Sheepshead and Snapper
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We noticed the sheepshead were like 5-10ft off the bottom when I dropped the go pro down. We got some by slowly dropping shrimp on light weight knocker rigs or single split shot. We moved to the reef and got around 20 snapper from 14"-20" and some more nice sheepshead.
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Crystal River Variety
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
Everything was on live shrimp today, besides one 24" gag on a pinfish. Sheepshead were caught on a live shrimp 6-12" off the bottom and the snapper were caught mostly freelined. All in about 30ft of water out of Crystal River.
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Crystal River Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: Wishin i was fishin
Thinking the tide should be getting right to go hunt reds, we made our way though some shallow stuff and got set up on a oyster bar. Brandi struck quickly with a 19" redfish. I hear her drag screaming again. She brings up a nice chunky 24" fish.
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Hernando Beach Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: KingCatch
My friend Danny was using a DOA cal on a 1/4 oz jig and I was using a small, white rapala skitterwalk. We both had multiple hookups and caught a few mid-slot fish before the tide dropped out and the fish disappeared.
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Creek Fishing Trout and Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: Jim311
I worked my way in the creek with nothing but a few trout to show for it, until I came across the highest spot in the creek. It had boulders strewn about on both sides of an oyster bar choke point. The reds were holding here, waiting for bait to get flushed out on the falling tide.
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First Ozello Redfish on Fly
Florida Sportsman member: Flat Nuts
I switched to a jig tipped with shrimp and caught a decent snook and two rat reds. Fished my way home on the trolling motor, but no takers.Thursday morning wind was up and everything looked different from the two windless mornings I had Wednesday and Thursday.
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First Cedar Key Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: gunther318
As I lifted the rod tip, he shook his head one last time and the line sounded like a guitar string breaking and I watched him swim off with my gold spoon. My son said, "To heck with it, I'm using the last spoon" and quickly tied it on his rod. About ten minutes later he had a red that looked like a twin to my first one in the boat!
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Mason Creek Inshore Slam
Florida Sportsman member: floridafan
I headed out of Mason Creek with my daughter, son-in-law and son to try a spot that usually holds a lot of slot redfish this time of year and they were not home! There were nice sized trout in the hole and we managed two nice snook as well as a 33" redfish! A great day for three hours of fishing.
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Crystal River Fishing with Family
Florida Sportsman member: xmuskyguide
My grandson, Eli, caught several sand trout on his own, but needed a little help with his first Spanish Mac. James caught a real nice Mac also and we all caught a bunch of sand trout. Soon headed for the frying pan. A good two hours of fishing.
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Slow Inshore Weekend
Florida Sportsman member: Jim311
The plan was to drag some minnows for specks. We probably caught eight or so, but overall it was really slow. All of my fish came on soft plastic grubs and not minnows, which is odd. We abandoned that plan and started fishing some shiners near grass mats close to deep water. Caught one nice bass, but that was it.
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Homosassa Redfish and Big Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
Duane was convinced yesterday was a good topwater day, so he was throwing it while I used my usual soft jerk bait. We put two reds in the cooler at 24, eight trout smallest at 18, and released eight more reds. The smallest reds were the 24's we kept.
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A Week at Chassahowitzka River
Florida Sportsman member: zzzzzzsplash
We saw tons of mullet, small snappers, birds, manatees, bait fish, it's really a cool environment. The kids wore out the 6" snapper using dead shrimp, they easily caught 50+. No more than two miles from the ramp, I was bouncing a paddle tail soft bait near the bank and had my fishing highlight.
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Quick Ozello Trip
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We only had a couple of hours to fish and still had a great time. We caught plenty of fish that it felt like a whole day. Had a couple 24-25" redfish and some 18-20". We also got some nice drum and a sheepshead to bring home.
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Redfishing the Flats
Florida Sportsman member: Jim311
The structure and rock in there was incredible, with swiss cheese oyster covered rock everywhere and it was holding fish. It was so skinny you couldn't throw any bait but topwater. I fished until I ran out of water. I boated at least a dozen good reds with the biggest at 30 inches and lost at least half a dozen. All of the fish but two were caught on topwater.
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Backcountry Redfishing
Florida Sportsman member: butchbal
Barb and I headed out at noon to catch the afternoon tide. We found a school and caught a dozen or so in that spot. Barb caught her personal best red and had the biggest fish of the day.
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Homosassa Redfish, Snook and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Widespread Panic
Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went out with the same plan in mind. After a few ladyfish were on ice, we fished a shoreline with artificials. My wife did great. Two trout and a snook. After the snook we tried to get her a red to round out the inshore slam.
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Yankeetown Redfish and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: gators7233
I saw mullet jumping, tails popping out of the water, and wakes being made by some good looking redfish. I cut off the trolling motor drifted a little closer and on my second cast, fish on! For the next hour, this trend continued. I ended up landing a total of 9 redfish.
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Waccasassa Redfish, Snook and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: Jim311
We basically caught mid slot reds on the entire drift through this creek and also several 15-18 inch trout. Anna had a snook follow her spoon to the boat too. I caught a few decent reds on topwater and I definitely caught more trout than she did, they couldn't resist the topwater spook.
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Variety Slam
Florida Sportsman member: Gator4Life
We pulled into an almost empty CK parking lot. That's when you know your dedicated, dumb or both. Winds were blowing 15mph at times, but we made the most of it with four Reds, a Flounder and about ten Trout.
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Fishing The Chazz
Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One
Duane was fishing with his super secret redfish lure and his rod bends over. After a fight that has the red circling the gheenoe about 10 times, he finally boats a nice 30in fish!
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Homosassa Reds and Trout
Florida Sportsman member: SassaWhaler
Made several drifts catching trout on each pass. Stopped counting at 25 trout with 11 keepers in the box. Got 2 more keeper reds in the box with one being my friends son's first redfish.
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Yankeetown Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: gators7233
After a slow start while trolling some new spots in Yankeetown, forum member
gators7233 stumbled upon a couple of big Reds. Nice catch!
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Waccasassa Bay Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz
Even though weather hasn't been ideal, forum member
Redbonz made the most out of his day off in the Waccasassa Bay and snagged 13 beautiful redfish, the largest of which was 30". Nice!
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Fishing with Dad
Florida Sportsman member: ghostrider8
I see Jay putting on a paddle tail and I STRONGLY suggest that he use live bait as we had a bait well full of shrimp, pinfish and mud minnows and I figured it would increase his chances. But no, he stubbornly insists on using it and then promptly pulls this 29-inch snook out from under the mangroves on his first cast.
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Crystal River Redfish Action
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
We had a hard time catching a lot at first, being on the opposite side of the bar from the school, so we got snagged a lot. There was so many that we still managed catching several on top of the rocks though.
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Waccasassa Redfish
Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz
You gotta love this time of year. The Reds start coming alive, cooler weather is on the way and the fishing should just explode.
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Crystal River Snookin'
Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed
Today I went out early with Robbie, but we started at slack high tide and didn't catch anything until the water was flowing out hard. Been catching smaller snook and this 35 inch snook is the first big one I've gotten in a month or so and a real treat.
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Hot Redfishing
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
It was a little slow at first but then as we warmed up so did the fish. I started off with three keeper reds and a trout before we decided to move. Duane, not to be out done, adds three more keeper reds in the boat.
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Early Morning Reds
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
So off we go to Billy's Creek. It was full of reds with some with their backs out of the water. The problem was they wouldn't bite anything we threw at them. After a frustrating period of time, and for once wishing (sort of), that we should have had bait Duane says let's move.
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Big Bend Reds
Florida Sportsman member: Billy
Fished a bit for a few trout, caught maybe three or four, to wait for water. That didn't last long, just needed one for the box anyway, and Duane says let's go for the reds. They were around, even saw one with it's fins out of the water, but they were reluctant to feed. We kept trying and eventually put eight keepers in the boat all around the 22 inch size.
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Getting Revenge
Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed
It made a loooong run of probably 100 yards and we ran it down. When it came to the net, it was a "slob", very similar to mine from the other day, in fact we measured it at 39", same as mine, but a different place.
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Incoming Bite
Florida Sportsman member: permit_me
As I was re-rigging a spare rod, I put my rod in the holder and slam, Jack grabbed the rod was on with a 26 inch red. A couple minutes later we resume, I am just finishing my knot from earlier and slam, Jack takes my rod and lands another upper slot slob.
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Fishing with Grampa
Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286
My grandpa was able to catch a couple which was cool because they are pretty much his favorite fish to catch, and this was his last trip he had before heading back to New York.
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A Trip to Crystal River
Florida Sportsman member: badonskybuccaneers
As the day progressed, the wind seemed to die down some, so we hunted some crab pot floats for tripletail on the way out but didn't find anything legal. We tried working another bar along the spoils further out and picked up a couple more trout, some jacks, a redfish, and I finished my inshore slam with a decent snook.
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Steinhatchee Trip
Florida Sportsman member: Cole321
We went out the next afternoon into the Gulf and fished on the grass banks north of Steinhatchee. Found spots where there was thin grass and adjacent oyster bars/rock piles. The first spot we could see reds and drum tailing all over the place, the reds were also rubbing in the grass.
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Crystal River Slam
Florida Sportsman member:Blkmnstr
Finally had a nice enough day to head out to long point. We got a later start than what we wanted too but were still at the ramp in time to get to the banks before the tide changed. I hooked up with the first trout then my girlfriend landed the next three back to back.
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Short Trip, Hot Bite Florida Sportsman member: Jim311 Click here to read the full forum report
Fun on the Chaz Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One Click here to read the full forum report
Fishing Both Sides Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Trout and Sheepshead Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Trip Florida Sportsman member: Flat Nuts Click here to read the full forum report
Catching in the River Florida Sportsman member: 4WARD Click here to read the full forum report
Catching on the New boat Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Low Tide Action Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Catching on Topwater Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Catching in the Creeks Florida Sportsman member: kingkong954 Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Variety Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
December Big Bend Action Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Topwater Action Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Reds and Trout Florida Sportsman member:StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Patience pays Florida Sportsman member:shuterkng Click here to read the full forum report
No Water No Problem Florida Sportsman member:barhopperAD Click here to read the full forum report
Cedar Key Action Florida Sportsman member:Big Bend Brian Click here to read the full forum report
First Trip Success Florida Sportsman member:Gman27 Click here to read the full forum report
A Trip Down South Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Fishing with the Girls Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Click here to read the full forum report
Catching in Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: barhopperAD Click here to read the full forum report
Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Click here to read the full forum report
Slot Slam Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 Click here to read the full forum report
From Tripletail to Tarpon Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Father and Son Fishing Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Click here to read the full forum report
New Spot Producing Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Cedar Key Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Click here to read the full forum report
Muddy Water, Big Drum Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Backwater Snook and Reds Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Drummin' Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 Click here to read the full forum report
Grinding it Out Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Snook and Scallops Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Mixed Bag Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Click here to read the full forum report
Cedar Key Reds and Trout Florida Sportsman member: me3260 Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Snook Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Giant Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Click here to read the full forum report
First Snook Florida Sportsman member: Lake13 Click here to read the full forum report
Jumbo Drum Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Reds and Scallops Florida Sportsman member: T-Bonefc Click here to read the full forum report
Poling to the Reds Florida Sportsman member: Dveres95 Click here to read the full forum report
Catching in the Creeks Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Variety Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Click here to read the full forum report
Early Morning Snookin' Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Low Water, Big Snook Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
On the Reds Florida Sportsman member: bigkahuna bigkahuna and wife got into the redfish in the big bend region, as well as a few bonus snook. Nice! Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Redfish Bite Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Calling in "Sick" Florida Sportsman member: hausw Click here to read the full forum report
Mason Creek Reds Florida Sportsman member: Dveres95 Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Redfish Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Inshore Bite Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips ripnlips has been on the fish. Catching snook, trout, redfish and more. Click here to read the full forum report
Windy Day Success Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Working the Docks Florida Sportsman member: Bassin Assassin Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Snook Bite Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Click here to read the full forum report
Fun with Friends Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Mixed Bag Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips ripnlips and Swampthing07 got into a nice mixed bag of fish from triple tail to black drum. Swampthing07 wife Kayla got in on the action too. Click here to read the full forum report
Successful Scouting Florida Sportsman member: CarneLoco Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend, Big Reds Florida Sportsman member: Jim311 Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Snookin' Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Click here to read the full forum report
Sheepshead, Snook and Snapper Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Bruisers Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Homosassa Redfish Florida Sportsman member: floridafan Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Inshore Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Afternoon Redfish Bite Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Catching the Bulls Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
December Inshore Fishing Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Nice Weather, Hungry Fish Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Hiding From the Wind, Catching the Fish Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Catching with the Kids Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Birthday Fun Florida Sportsman member: Bluewaterdrew Click here to read the full forum report
Catching in the Transition Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Seeing Red Florida Sportsman member: G8trbait Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Redfish Action Florida Sportsman member: cthurow Click here to read the full forum report
Suwannee River Tripletail and More Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Fishing and Fun Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips ripnlips and friends had a great weekend, catching a slew of fish. They also loaded on scallops, making for a nice meal! Click here to read the full forum report
Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Click here to read the full forum report
Tearing Up the Tripletails Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Slam Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Horseshoe Beach Inshore Florida Sportsman member: florida_dorksman Click here to read the full forum report
Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Black Drum Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Biggary16 got into some nice black drum! Only fishing for a few hours he caught 6 "big uglies" and a nice flounder. Tight work! Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Snook Bite Florida Sportsman member: Snook Spanker Click here to read the full forum report
Wrecking the Reds Florida Sportsman member: PONCE Click here to read the full forum report
Tarpon and Scallops in the Big Bend Florida Sportsman member: Bluewaterdrew Click here to read the full forum report
Yankeetown Slam Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Inshore Bite Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report
Crystal River Opening Day Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Scouting the Crystal River Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Click here to read the full forum report
Big Bend Slammin' Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report
Father's Day Fun Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Click here to read the full forum report
Getting to the Point Florida Sportsman member: shuterkng shuterkng got out this weekend and got into the fish! Fishing Long Point with live shrimp produced some nice fish, including black drum and flounder. Click here to read the full forum report.
Cedar Key Catching Florida Sportsman member: Flash Click here to read the full forum report.
Shired Island Monster and More Florida Sportsman member: jwroe Click here to read the full forum report.
Cedar Key Trout and Macks Florida Sportsman member: lboverhof Click here to read the full forum report.
Reds, Over and Under Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report.
Busting Reds on Both Coasts Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Click here to read the full forum report.
Birds to the Bay Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Want to catch trout like this? Click here for how-to videos, feature stories, and more!
Slammin' the Big Bend Backcountry Florida Sportsman member: Billy Click here to read the full forum report.
Light Tackle, Low Tides and Keeper Trout Florida Sportsman member: PONCE Click here to read the full forum report.
Seein' Red in Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: GatoRella Click here to read the full forum report.
Rainy Day Trout Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Click here to read the full forum report.
MidDay Trout Bite Florida Sportsman member: dakilmartin1 Click here to read the full forum report.
Steinhatchee Bulls Florida Sportsman member: JC_UF_ITK Click here to read the full forum report.
Catching A Little Bit of Everything Florida Sportsman member: troutman57 <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-80359" src="http://www.floridasportsman.com/f
