Quick pic of a gorgeous Everglades sunrise.

Now and again, as I sit in my office wishing for some on-the-water-time, I crank up some old tune that I like to play when I’m out tossing plugs, and it distracts me from the yearning. Or maybe it makes it worse – can’t be sure. This Neil Young tune, on the water or off, is a classic doozy. I think it’s high time that I started inflicting my musical preferences on you, my semi-captive audience. Expect more Essential Fishing Tunes to pop up in here down the line.

A friend recently shared the following little story with me, and I was stuck by the simple wisdom it conveys. Hope you will be, as well.

A business man was at the pier of a Mexican coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The business man commented on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied “only a little while.” The business man then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? Read the rest of this entry »

The good folks at The Snook Foundation recently asked if I’d be willing to represent them in next week’s 16th Annual RedSnook Fishing Tournament. Hell yes, sez I. My buddy Joe will join me and we’ll be fishing in the unguided spin/plug division out of Chokoloskee. All proceeds from the tournament support the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s initiatives to protect our local waters. We’ll keep you posted on the results. If you can spare some time or a few bucks, I’d strongly suggest that you contribute to the Conservancy. Click here for info on membership.

Shallowfish.com will soon offer this practical guide for novice anglers – or experienced anglers fishing Florida’s shallows for the first time. Learn how to catch these two challenging game fish through detailed facts and advice on tides, weather, time of year, live bait, lures, tackle, knots and much more! Written by a lifelong Florida angler, “The Redfish and Snook Book” is the only resource of its kind. It will be available for immediate download from Shallowfish.com in November.

Return to the Shallowfish Gallery and Shop.

My buddy Pete and I tried to get out and chase some redfish and snook this past week, but Mother Nature copped a ‘tude again and, after about 20 minutes on the water, we were forced to run pell-mell for the dock to avoid being deep fried. Can’t recall a year with so many afternoon squalls over DependaBay. We’ll be back, regardless.

Two trips last week – one with MoJoe and Abby and another with my old high school buddy Brad. Slow going, with high, weak tides, lots of weeds that limited our plug fishing, recurring storms that chased us off the water and lots of big, fearless bull sharks in the shallows. Did manage a couple of healthy loner redfish between the raindrops. The sunsets at this time of year – framed by dark clouds rolling in from the Everglades – are at once beautiful and menacing.

On Tuesday evening Abby and I snuck out for a quick shot at some afternoon snook and redfish, but Mother Nature copped a major ‘tude so we languished at a nearby waterfront restaurant, discretion kicking valor to the curb. Not a bad backup plan. Today we gave it another shot with my buddy Joe in tow, and the weather was more kind. Not a great trip fish-wise – though we did have a shot at some big reds, caught a trout or two, and landed a nice snook – but the highlight of the trip was the free light show courtesy of a falling sun and some funky cloud formations, with golds bleeding into pinks bleeding into blues. Yowza. Some pretty paint jobs entertained us until darkness fell, while bottlenose dolphin and brawny bull sharks jockeyed for position around by the skiff. We live in paradise, truth be told. But don’t tell anyone – it’s crowded enough as it is.

I’ve received a number of intriguing emails chronicling the adventures of my buddy David Noble, who recently left his job as an Everglades guide to perform the same role at a lodge in gorgeous Ketchikan, Alaska. The folks there target rainbow trout, various types of salmon and huge halibut, which are like a Florida flounder on steroids. David is having a ball guiding clients to big fish in a gorgeous natural setting – I envy him his adventure. He’s pictured here with a 90+ lb. “barn door.” Nice work, Noble man.

Abby and I headed back down to the Keys this past week with the kiddos, taking a much-needed break from work while sneaking in a final getaway before the end of what has been a wonderful summer. Our destination was Marathon, Florida, one of the “middle Keys” in the state’s famous chain of tropical islands. My aunt and uncle introduced me to Marathon many years back, inviting me along on their annual offshore fishing trips. I owe them for that, since it’s a wonderland. Though I don’t own a large boat capable of deep water pursuits, Marathon abounds with opportunity for the shallow-water angler.

Our goal was simple: to fish and snorkel away each day between long naps and good meals. Though we were beset by a series of problems with my little skiff, we nonetheless snuck out to Sombrero Reef (a fantastic dive spot that materializes out of deep water along the continental shelf), explored both Key West and Big Pine Key one afternoon, and – despite windy weather and grumpy seas – also managed to populate the cooler with enough chunky mangrove, lane, schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper for several delicious meals. All in all, it was a classic tropical getaway. A handful of memories stand out: the sight of a shiny permit gliding across a stark white flat, a burly barracuda slicing the largest of our catches into writhing halves before clearing the water by eight feet, a water spout that never quite reached the churning Atlantic, smiling faces lit by glorious sunsets. Now that’s a vacation. Alas, it’s back to the grind, golden sunsets and azure waters in mind.