Category Archives: New fishing report

Fishing Reports

7.20.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Bob Bernstein
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-20-2021
Your Name; Tom Saska
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below We headed out at 7:30am.  Pointed the boat WNW and motored out to about 30 ft of water.  On the ride out, we only noticed an occasional dead baitfish, apparent victims of the red tide.  Once locked onto the targeted spot, the grunts started immediately but the early bite soon switched to hogfish, red & gag grouper with an occasional blowfish.  We threw shrimp, batwings, pinfish, sardines and threadfins at them and all worked at attracting some action (we even threw a fishing rod at them but that’s not how you catch them Frank).  Lots of short reds and gags but we managed to land 3 nice gags to keep the grunts company in the fish box.  All action ended around lunchtime at the same time we noticed many more dead bait fish floating by.  With that, we called it and headed home early.

Crew:  Bob Bernstein (Capt), Frank Bellizio & Tom Saska
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Bob Bernstein – Gag 26″
Tom Saska – Gag 26 3/4″
Tom Saska – Gag 25″

7.19.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Mike Kaplan
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-19-2021
Your Name; Mike Kaplan
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below After looking at weather reports, we decided to roll the dice, in spite of wind and storms, to get in another Red Snapper trip before the season closes. The crew for the trip included Terry Freeman, Mark Cummiskey and Mike Brumley. We encountered flat calm conditions as we left Nick’s Park at 6. We headed North for 2 1/2 hours to some rocky areas in 92 feet. Using squid and Threadfin Herring we tried 8 previously successful spots for ARS with minimal success. We ended the day with several ARS to 22in, some nice mangos and some really large B liners. The catch of the day was a 30 inch gag caught by Terry Freeman.
By 130 the wind was picking up and the bite was slowing down so we packed up and headed home. Needless to say, the ride back was not as smooth as the ride out.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Terry Freeman- Gag Grouper 30 in

7.18.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Bob Sherley
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-18-2021
Your Name; Lori Sherley
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below We went west of Gulf Harbors with son-in-law and granddaughters. Seas 2’, lot of red grouper just short of legal but still got some keepers. Used threadfin for bait. We had a great family offshore fishing day.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Red Grouper – 24 1/2 – Lori
Gag Grouper – 26 1/2 – Bob

7.12.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Jeremy
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-12-2021
Your Name; Terry Reelitz
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Bob and Sharon Cohen invited members John and Lori Grieder, Frank Bellizio and Terry Reelitz for a day on the water hunting down Grouper and Snappers and any other tasty critters…

Headed out North of Anclote River and spent the day weaving in out of inshore and near shore with some tricky winds and waves that were much BIGGER than NOAA predicted – I know that is not a surprise to anyone.

Found some nice 2 taco Grunts to warm the gang up and then proceeded to haul in a fair amount of short Grouper but nary a Snapper. Bait of choice was all over the board and changed throughout the day – squid, herring, grunt heads and fillets and sardines all worked at various times.

Last ditch effort was the ticket as we looked over our shoulders and saw the pending thunderheads that were building off of Gulf Harbor/Hudson – the Gags were mean and hungry, collectively we hauled in 8 keepers with Sharon Cohen taking big fish honors – BooYah!

All in it was a fun day  mixed in with some feisty sharks for entertainment and 3 or 4  bruisers that got away to live another day – we’ll be back for them at a later date

A good time was had by all, especially since we stayed dry for the most part
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Sharon Cohen 30″ Gag
Frank Bellizio 29″ Gag
Lori Grieder 27″ Gag
John Grieder 27″ Gag
Terry Reelitz 27″ Gag

7.9.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Joe Stand
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; NO
The date you went fishing; 07-09-2021
Your Name; Bob  Sauban
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Went out with Joe, Rick, Jean & Bonnie and limited out in red grouper. The bite was consistent and weather was perfect. We hit lane snapper and Bonnie ended the day with a beautiful nurse shark Joe was able to cut him loose easily. Joe made a special rig for me shown in the picture with two grouper and a lane snapper and that was the first drop! His knowledge is amazing and I learn from him almost daily. Cannot thank him enough for another great day on the water!
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Red grouper 30-1/2”

7.10.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Capt Freedie
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-10-2021
Your Name; Todd Minear
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Went with Bonnie and Freddie offshore to 120 feet of water.  Absolute gorgeous day with barely any waves.  GPS Coordinates as follows…
55.7558° N, 37.6173° E.  Good luck.  Make sure you fuel up before you leave the dock.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. 25.5 Red Snapper

7.11.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Rick Thompson
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-11-2021
Your Name; Jack Hexter
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Rick Thompson and his wife Barbara invited me to go look for ARS..  We left Skeleton Key Marina at 6:30 and pulled up on on the flat next to Hudson channel.  Chummed bait for 15 minutes, threw the net a couple of times and we were off on a 60 mile trek to 118′
First spot we were not marking a lot so we looked around, found a good show and Rick deployed the Rhodan.  Whiie he was doing this, I dropped a slow pitch jig and caught an almaco jack.  Good Start.  We used a variety of baits, Threadfins, Squid, Frozen shrimp, plus the whitebait and pins that I netted and we caught a plethora of fish.   Besides the almaco, we had vermilion snapper, lane snapper, mangroves snapper, I even caught a scamp grouper (surprise) and a second surprise, we had a couple of dolphin swimming around the boat and rick caught both of them.  We also caught the elusive ARS.
We motored to a spot about 10 miles inshore where we tried for red grouper (Rick had caught them here a couple weeks ago), but no one was home so we pulled the plug at 1:30 for the 2 hour run back to the marina  with a lot of fish to clean.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. 20″ ARS

7.10.21 OFFSHORE

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Name of Captain; Capt. Mike Spanhel
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 07-10-2021
Your Name; Terry Reelitz
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Capt. Mike Spanhel invited Stu Johnson, David Diehl, and yours truly for a day in the Gulf chasin’ grouper, snapper, hogfish , and whatever other tasty critters would oblige.

We headed out about 8:30 am with a game plan of starting out about 20 miles west of Gulf Harbor.

Water at first drop was a little dirty with a lazy current.

Caught plenty of above average grunts and numerous groupers – unfortunately all just a little short.

Started to hopscotch out to +60’, water clarity improved, but current was still sluggish.

Continued hookin’ up with 2 taco sized grunts and plenty of gags and red grouper – regrettably, they continued to be a couple inches short of being table fair.
The seas were calm and a most enjoyable day on the water.

The fishing stories took on a hilarious twist and most of us ended up tied up in knots laughin’.
By midafternoon, we had hooked up about 30-35 gags and red grouper that got to live another day because they were just an inch or so short….

Several were lost that will live in infamy, of course – estimating that those were all keepers that just got lucky that day.

A couple highlights for the day…

Capt. Mike Spanhel continues his legacy of being the ‘Hogfish Whisperer’ hooking up 1 legal hogfish and another that was just short (seemed to be the theme of the day!).

David Diehl caught a +17” mongo mangrove snapper – it was a fatty!

Water went slack early afternoon, and it was hot with minimal wind – the crew was all  good with heading in after an enjoyable day…

“A good time was had by all”,  except maybe the one hogfish that became a 2-taco participant at dinner Saturday night with Mary and Terry.

Thanks Capt. Mike

7.10.21 INSHORE

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Name of Captain; Bob Sauban
Where were you fishing? INSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 07-10-2021
Your Name; Bob Sauban
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Got a late start 12:30 pm at end of high tide turning low at 1:00 pm. Used live shrimp and popping corks. Fished the flats and the bite was slow at first and picked up a little after the tide changed. Some small trout and could have had several keepers. Went to island and no bite at all. Headed back to the flats and ended the day with several beautiful trout including this beauty!
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Trout 22-3/4”