West Central Features


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Goin’ for Gators

You’ll catch more trout weighing over five pounds on purpose than by accident. You’ve fished for seatrout for years. You can catch a limit on command, most months of the year. And yet you’ve never caught one over 5 pounds.

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Tampa Bay Double – Winter Action

From the duck blind to the redfish flats for an extra dose of cold season action. Ask most sportsmen about the action on Tampa Bay and they’ll say it’s a “blast.” Practically speaking, that colloquialism usually starts with a “cast” to snook, redfish, trout and the like.

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New Book on Hiking Orlando Trails

Five-Star Trails: Orlando by Sandra Friend details hikes in the Orlando area, just in time for the cool fall and…»

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Topside Mangos

An often fast-paced and highly visual pursuit, snaring mangroves within a rod length of the transom defines “cool,” but it’s also practically advantageous. Normally, when a guy tells me my fishing day will involve glass minnows and pompano jigs, I assume we’re talking flats and beaches.

Brian Jill... far from Florida.

Florida Fly Guide, Sunglasses Maker Fording New Waters with GeoFish Films

Capt. Brian Jill is a Tampa Bay-area fishing guide and roving video-journalist for the GeoFish film series. He’s listed as one of the Trout Bums on the Costa Del Mar Explore site, but Brian Jill is neither a classic trout fisherman nor is he a bum.

View from high point on the levee. Photo from FWC.

New Hunting Opportunities on Rolling Meadows in Kissimmee Chain

From FWC Press Release A new, but temporary, weekend hunting opportunity in portions of Osceola and Polk counties began Sept.…»

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Celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day with Florida Sportsman, Saturday, Sept. 22

One place to celebrate our sporting heritage is the Florida Sportsman Expo at the South Florida Fairgrounds in Tampa…

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Recreational Bay Scallop Season Closes Sept. 25

The 2012 recreational season for bay scallops, which was extended two weeks earlier this year, will close Tuesday, Sept. 25.…»

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Less Lake, More Bass

Within minutes we boated a fat 3-pound bass, and that was the start of a steady parade of fish. By the time an early afternoon thunderstorm ended our day, we had tallied over 20 bass. The best was pushing 7 pounds.

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Sand Patch Gags

West Coast summer grouper are easy to find, once you know what their homes look like. Each sandy patch we stopped at produced grouper, almost always on the first drop, attesting to Bradley’s formula–white patch plus dark bottom divided by 10 feet of warm summer water equals grouper.

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Fishing Tampa Bay Bridges

Your roadmap for success on the biggest “reefs” in Florida waters. Bridges carry folks from Point A to Point B, but how about Point Sea? You have to get out of your vehicle for that one, but sling a bait under one of these people pathways and you’ll find angling action aplenty.

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Fishing on Central Time

Angling over the horizon produces big. By Frank Sargeant, Projects Editor Ten minutes after that fish was released, we were…»

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Six-Day Extension Granted for Gulf Red Snapper Fishing

NOAA Fisheries Service announces that the closure date for the Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper season is being extended six days.

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Bottom Bouncing off Boca Grande

Family fishermen return to the Pass when the tarpon circus leaves town.

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FWC Poll on Extending Scallop Season

FWC asks about extending scalloping season.

Larysa Switlyk, of Sarasota, FL, poses with a 157-pound wels catfish on the Ebro River in Spain.

Florida Angler to Represent U.S. in World Catfish Classic (and She’s Smiling About It)

Larysa has been invited to attend to the World Catfish Classic, May 23-25, in Chiprana, Spain. Fishing with local guide Gary Sheriden, Larysa carries the flag of Team USA…