Rendering of Tremont Towing's proposed development in Sunset Harbour (Credit: The Next Miami)
1. Tremont Towing planning to build new headquarters in Sunset Harbour [The Next Miami]
3. Exploring what $3,500 rents across Miami [Curbed Miami]
3. Developers feel the media has painted wrong picture of Miami real estate [GlobeSt]
4. China's real-estate firms rush to tap capital Markets [Wall Street Journal]
- Sean Stewart-Muniz
Suniland Shopping Center
A Terranova Corp. affiliate just sold the Suniland Shopping Center to Denver-based Dividend Capital for $66.5 million.
Terranova's Suniland Associates Ltd. had owned the property for 22 years, originally purchasing the center in two transactions: paying $9.3 million in 1994, then buying an out-parcel for $1.12 million in 1996. The total was $10.4 million for the 82,000-square-foot property on 7.11 acres at 11325 South Dixie Highway in Pinecrest.
The latest sale price equates to $811 per square foot.
Investors received an annualized internal rate of return over the investment period of 33 percent, Terranova said in a release. “Suniland has provided one of the most remarkable returns on a real estate investment ever, returning an equity multiple of twenty five times,” Terranova Chairman Stephen Bittel said in a statement.
Bittel was on a plane flight on Tuesday, but responded to The Real Deal via email, saying his company chose to sell the property now because it was “the highest income ever. It's a wide open capital market with huge demand for A quality assets in A markets.”
Bittel said there was “enormous interest in purchasing the asset from buyers throughout the country.” But Dividend Capital's price was the highest “and they were fast,” Bittel said.
The sale was brokered by Mark Gilbert of Cushman and Wakefield.
The shopping center's tenants include Flanigans, Piola, SunTrust, Citicorp, the U.S. Post Office, CVS, Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Pete's Barber Shop and Wagons West.
Dividend Capital, a real estate investment trust, has been expanding its holdings in South Florida. In December 2015, the company purchased the Bank of America Tower in Boca Raton from Clarion Partners for $35.75 million. The firm primarily invests in commercial assets, and has a portfolio of 59 properties, totaling roughly 9.8 million square feet, according to its website.
Harold Castleberry at Academy Sports & Outdoors in Jacksonville, after verifying the first winning tag in the STAR Tagged Redfish Division.
Castleberry caught and reported the first of the CCA-FLSTAR tagged redfish on Sunday, May 29, in the Guana River near St. Augustine. He was fishing with a friend, Donald Brickle, on Brickle's 16-foot Stottcraft.
“We usually fish the ICW where the Guana River comes out, but there was a lot of boat traffic and rough water, so we moved up the river a ways,” said Castleberry. The two had fresh mullet for bait, and they anchored in a bend in the river. “We put out a few live mullet and some chunks. Right away, I hooked a fish but it broke off on our motor. Then Brick had a few bites but he was snoozin' back there and missed them.”
At about 2:00 p.m., Castleberry got another bite on a chunk of mullet behind a 1-ounce sliding sinker rig. “That was on the pole we call 'Old Lucky',” he said, referring to an Ugly Stick with a 6500 Abu Garcia baitcast reel. “When Brick netted the fish, he was more excited than I was-he saw the tag before I did.”
Fortunately, the two had already registered for the STAR tournament-Castleberry only one day before, on Saturday morning. They measured the fish-25 inches-on the special STAR measuring stick, photographed it, snipped the tag and released the fish. “It swam away fine,” Castleberry said. He began to enter the catch into the cellphone STAR app, but found his phone had a dead battery. “We ran back to the ramp, charged my phone for a few minutes, and called Andrew [Gillespie, the tournament assistant].”
Tournament staff quickly reached Castleberry to confirm the catch, and he later passed the obligatory polygraph test with flying colors. Castleberry says he's been told by STAR staff that he'll be awarded the GMC truck following the October awards banquet. Currently, Castleberry, who commutes to Jaxport Shipyard, says he's driving a 2008 Nissan Titan. The new GMC, says Castleberry, “sounds a lot better!”
Castleberry also says he's hooked on redfishing. “I was born and raised in Macclenny, and I love fishing,” he said. “I've been a bass fisherman for a while, but my buddy Brick got me turned on to redfish. I've been doing it about a year now.”
This is the first year that there has been a Tagged Redfish Division on Florida's Atlantic coast. Last year's tournament was strictly limited to the Gulf side. STAR stands for Statewide Tournament and Angler's Rodeo, and it's modeled after successful Coastal Conservation Association events in Texas and Louisiana. Earlier this spring, Florida STAR staffers planted 150 tagged redfish at widely distributed, confidential points around the Florida coastline. This year's STAR tag is red. Printed on the tag is a special number beginning with FL followed by CCA Florida STAR and the phone number 844-387-STAR (7827). Winners are determined by time of catch, and must have been registered both as a CCA FL member ($30 for standard membership) and a STAR participant ($35).
The next prize up in the Tagged Redfish Division is a 22 Contender Sport, or, for youth anglers, a $25,000 scholarship. And of course there are all sorts of prizes and awards up in the many categories of the 101-day STAR tournament. See ccaflstar.com for registration or call 844-387-STAR (7827).
Rendering of USTA National Campus in Orlando
The Florida branch of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) will break ground ceremonially June 3 for a new headquarters in Orlando, where USTA is building a national tennis campus and tournament venue with more than 100 courts. The Florida branch of the USTA will move its headquarters from Daytona Beach to a 10,000-square-foot building at the USTA National Campus, now under construction in southeast Orlando's Lake Nona area.
The total cost of the new statewide headquarters is $3 million. The Florida branch, which has 40,000 members, moved its headquarters several times since leaving its longtime home in Miami Shores. The state headquarters has been in a city-owned rental space in Daytona Beach for the last 14 years. The USTA is the national governing body of tennis. [Orlando Sentinel] - Mike Seemuth
Steven E. McCraney, president and CEO, McCraney Property Company
West Palm Beach-based McCraney Property Company bought land for a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial development in Plant City, located about 30 miles from Tampa along Interstate 4.
MCraney paid an undisclosed amount for 70 acres and plans to construct four industrial buildings there, including one that would span 876,240 square feet. The sellers of the 70 acres are berry farmer Carl Grooms and his wife, Dee Dee Grooms.
Plant City's planning and zoning department is reviewing the proposed development, named the County Line Logistics Center at Fancy Farms.
Plant City also is the location of other commercial real estate developments including a 100,000-square-foot building on County Line Road that Central Florida Development (CFD) began constructing in January.
In April, CFD announced plans for another project on County Line Road in Plant City, a 72-acre business park development. [Plant City Observer] - Mike Seemuth
The Real Deal won't be posting any stories on Monday, May 30 - but will keep our eyes peeled for any breaking news. Don't forget to check back Tuesday morning, when we'll resume regular posting starting at 7:30 a.m.
Enjoy the sunshine! - TRD
Anthony Fortino
Developer Anthony Fortino plans to build condo units and hotel rooms on land along U.S. 41 near Naples.
Fortino submitted plans to Collier County for a mixed-use nine-story structure at the corner of U.S. 41 and Davis Boulevard, just outside Naples city limits.
Construction could start by October, said Fortino of Fortino Construction and Development LLC, with offices in Naples and Hackensack, New Jersey.
The development site, now home to an automotive body and rim shop, is adjacent to five acres that Collier County sold to another developer planning to build an 11-story hotel and an 18-story condo there.
Collier County Commissioner Penny Taylor told the Naples Daily News, “It's kind of becoming hotel row … It's certainly a step above what's there now.”
The nine-story Fortino development would include high-end condominium units, extended-stay hotel rooms and a ground-floor restaurant. [Naples Daily News] - Mike Seemuth
Rendering of Hallandale Oasis
Hallandale Beach is rapidly morphing from a quiet coastal suburb to a vertical development hub.
The city's fast-changing built environment will include two recently approved projects: a 28-story office building, called Optima II, and Hallandale Oasis, a mixed-use development with a 19-story hotel and twin 26-story condos.
Hallandale city commissioners granted approval May 18 to Optima II and Hallandale Oasis, and in June, they will consider whether to approve a 23-story residential development, together with a hotel and commercial space, at 900 South Federal Highway.
Earlier this year, the owners of the 127-acre Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club in Hallandale Beach won city approval to construct condo and condo-hotel buildings ranging in height from 20 stories to 30 stories.
Jack McCabe, a real estate analyst in Deerfield Beach, told the Sun-Sentinel, “We're going to see Hallandale go through a metamorphosis in the next five, six years. Just 10 years ago, that area was fairly blighted. But we've seen Hallandale undergo a gentrification process.” [Sun-Sentinel] - Mike Seemuth
SH Communities' 257-acre tract in Melbourne (Source: Florida Today)
Miami-based SH Communities is revising a master plan to develop 257 acres of wooded land in Melbourne.
An affiliate of SH bought the land for $13 million in 2005, and in 2006, the City of Melbourne approved the company's proposal to develop 1,381 single-family homes, villas and townhouses spread across 14 mini-neighborhoods.
But that development, called Mayfair Isles, never advanced after the real estate market crashed in 2007.
City council members unanimously agreed in April to consider rezoning the land and terminating agreements with SH related to the Mayfair Isles project.
The 257-acre tract is east of Babcock Street, south of Florida Avenue, west of Lipscomb Street and north of Pirate Lane. The land, wedged between Palm Bay High School and Melbourne Central Catholic High School, is among the biggest remaining wooded tracts in Melbourne.
Phil Nohrr, a Melbourne attorney for the developer, told city council members that the revised SH master plan will be a catalyst for growth in southern Melbourne. [Florida Today] - Mike Seemuth
2014 aerial view of West Palm Beach (Credit: WPPilot)
1. Palm Beach County's taxable property values near pre-recession highs [Sun Sentinel]
3. How the Seminole Tribe came to rock the Hard Rock empire [Miami Herald]
3. Bidder for Miami Beach mansion ends up paying out for not buying [Daily Business Review]
4. Seven-acre residential site in Miami faces foreclosure [SFBJ]
- Sean Stewart-Muniz
Arbor Oaks apartments
LSR Communities, a Texas-based owner and operator of apartment communities, just sold one of its rental complexes in Boca Raton to an affiliate of JRK Property Holdings for $77 million.
County records show the sale is for Arbor Oaks, a 360-unit apartment community at 9703 Arbor Oaks Court.
Described as a luxury community on its website, Arbor Oaks has asking rents ranging between $1,275 and $1,900 per month. Its floor plans come in one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations that are a minimum of 820 square feet.
LSR Communities added Arbor Oaks to its portfolio in 2009 when it paid $39.15 million, or $108,750 per unit for the complex, according to county records.
Now, the company has sold it for nearly double that price at $213,888 per unit. The buyer, JRK Property Holdings, is a real estate investment firm based in Los Angeles. It mainly targets “value-added opportunities” that produce solid cash slow, according to the company's website.
JRK financed its purchase with a $58.6 million loan from Berkadia Commercial Mortgage.
South Florida's multifamily investment market was a hot ticket last year, with more than $2.7 billion worth of rental properties trading hands. Industry insiders cited steadily rising rents and growing demand from demographics like millennials as reasons why the multifamily market here is heating up.
A 2011 photo of downtown Miami's skyline (Credit: Lonny Paul) and the Chinese flag (Credit: Daderot)
1. Chinese investors are pouring money into U.S. property [Wall Street Journal]
3. Sports Authority to close all stores including these SoFla locations [SFBJ]
3. ZOM seeks approvals for more Brickell apartments [The Next Miami]
4. GSA has no good place for new Fort Lauderdale courthouse [Daily Business Review]
- Sean Stewart-Muniz
Fredrik Eklund, Ryan Serhant and Luis Ortiz (Credit: Bravo)
From the New York website: On this week's episode of “Million Dollar Listing New York,” our three heroes make one thing clear - they're willing to do anything to get the job done.
Whether it's crashing a top developer's suite at a Nets game, tolerating a co-broker who absolutely despises every fiber of your being or dropping thousands of dollars to “become” a pop culture icon, our three heroes are ready and eager to put their pride aside and money on the table to hear the three most coveted words in real estate: “It's a deal.”
Fredrik
Fresh off conquering Williamsburg, Fredrik sets his sights back on Noho, which, if you've heard, is definitely the new Soho. This time, he must “create a record that's pretty tough to beat for a very long time” according to Madison Realty Capital's Dan Cobleigh, whose firm commissioned Fredrik to market 1 Great Jones Alley. Dan wants $3,000 per square foot for his precious pads, but Fredrik ultimately sets the bar at a more reasonable $2,850 per square foot. The kitchens may have been carved alongside the Statue of David, but this development still ain't the Schumacher.
Because he wants the open house to reflect the neighborhood's artistic roots, Fredrik drops $9,000 to be transformed into Andy Warhol, though maybe he looks more like Meryl Streep's character in “The Devil Wears Prada”? The Swedish-tinged Warhol shtick seems to work, and Fredrik's method-acting lands him four sales right out of the gate. Dan is not impressed with the full-ask offers, however, and thinks the units were sold “way below” market value. “It makes no sense to give them away for free,” Dan says. “This is not what we're in this business for.” And with a swoosh of his iMail inbox, Dan instantaneously raises the prices of the remaining 12 units by 5 percent. Apparently New York City real estate is so outrageous that $3 to $5 million apartments are considered “free.”
Ryan
Ryan is dealt good karma in the form of a new listing at the Jade, which Sherif, the buyer of the $15.5 million penthouse at 52 Cooper, is now trying to sell. There's a catch, though. He must work with Amy, who is the “B” word women can never seem to get away with - bossy. Unmoved by his Wall Street Journal accolades and cheesy smile, Amy admits to Ryan that it was her boss's idea to co-list, and not-so-gently reminds him that he needs to “remember that she was here first, k?” K.
The two spar over the initial listing price, until they settle on a $12.95 million ask. After an unfruitful open house, however, Sherif reaches out to Ryan (?) and suggests that they tweak the price a little bit (??). The two settle on a $2 million price cut, and even though a miracle seems to be unfolding before our very eyes, something seems to be missing… the critical glare and curt responses from Amy! When she catches wind that she wasn't included in the conversation, she confronts Ryan at his office. She requests an apology, and in true Serhant fashion, Ryan issues his signature “sorry not sorry.” “I'm sorry that he called me, instead of calling you!” Ryan says. When will he learn not to throw stones in glass offices? Maybe on his other Bravo show!
Luis
Luis fails his first attempt to get back Schedule A pricing at 111 Murray. Howard Lorber, who's not only Luis' boss but a co-developer on the project, says he didn't do right by anybody by negotiating the initial asking price. ”There's no way a developer is going to discount one of the first units he sells, there's no need to do it, it doesn't make any sense,” Lorber says. While the big boss man can't help, Luis does have one last chance to erase the 5 percent premium placed on the pad. But he must bow before Steve Witkoff, who, according to Luis, is god of all things real estate.
Witkoff is too busy basking in the glory of 150 Charles for an in-person meeting with Luis. The only way the two can meet face-to-face is at a Nets game the next day, which Witkoff will be attending alongside Lorber before he jets out of the country. Luis pulls up short with his initial request, but soon proves to Witkoff that his client is a “very legitimate buyer” who's known to purchase units in the pre-construction phase. Though Luis is over the moon about the price reduction, reality sets in when he arrives back at his pad and has nobody to celebrate with. “Everything seems so exciting, but it's so quiet at the same time” Luis says. “You know, I wish I had somebody to celebrate this with - I've been so busy I haven't had the time - it's time for me, time for me to look for her.”
Even a $13.75 million listing can't erase the fact the “1” is still the loneliest number.
Not to be outdone, West Coast anglers fired back catching a 2016 STAR Tagged Redfish of their own! See it can happen to you!
Captain Damian Picciano of Siesta Key Sportfishing Charters guided an angler on vacation from Missouri to this prized catch while fishing in Sarasota Bay. Captain Damian was familiar with STAR so he took the information from the tag and released the fish.
Had the tournament already started and both Captain and client were both CCA members and registered for STAR they both would have brought down some insane prizes. The client would be driving home a brand new GMC truck and the Captain would be the proud new owner of a 150 HP Yamaha Outboard!
We bet that Capt. Picciano will be registered before Saturday and that every one of his clients will be too! www.ccaflstar.com
George Pavelko of Jupiter with his CCA Star tagged redfish.
Should a, would a, could a is something too many anglers said last summer during the CCA Florida STAR tournament. Don't let that be you this summer.
Should a registered for STAR and become a CCA member. Would a done it but I never thought I would catch a STAR tagged redfish. Could a won a new GMC Pick-up truck or boat, motor & trailer package from Contender, Pathfinder, Hells Bay, or Sea Hunt all powered by Yamaha. There was only one angler who got it right, Jerry Bergeron and he won the Conley Buick GMC Pick-up truck. There were 22 other anglers who had the catch of a lifetime but they either were not a CCA member or did not register for STAR because they never thought they would catch a tagged redfish. But… they did and suffered serious disappointment, not to mention humiliation. Which angler do you want to be this summer?
CCA Florida STAR has released over 150 tagged redfish in the coastal waters of Florida on average 4 per coastal county, starting from the Alabama border south to the Southern border of the Everglades National Park and from the Georgia border to Homestead and the upper Keys. Seven of those 150 plus fish will be prize winning STAR tagged redfish swimming around with either a truck, boat, motor and trailer or an education scholarship attached to their back. There are 5 adult prizes and 2 youth prizes available. Verified tagged redfish winner number 1could win a new Conley Buick GMC Pick-up truck, #2 a Contender 22 Sport, # 3 a Pathfinder 2200TRS, #4 could win a new Hells Bay Waterman, #5 a Sea Hunt 235 Escape all powered by Yamaha or should there be youth anglers who catch one of the first 7 prize winning fish they will have the opportunity to win one of two scholarships available to youth anglers valued at $25,000.
Participants may register throughout the entire tournament however there are only 7 prize winning fish and there are lots of anglers who have wised up and have already registered. Don't go fishing this summer without first becoming a CCA member, registering for STAR, getting your 2016 Official STAR measuring device and downloading the CCA Florida STAR tournament app on your phone. This will help insure you are prepared to catch a winning STAR tagged redfish or one of the many other species in the additional 13 catch/photo STAR divisions. There are 101 fishing days but it only takes one day of fishing in order to catch a winning fish. The more you fish the more entries you may submit and the greater your opportunity to win will be. For further details, registration and rules & regulations visit www.ccaflstar.com
South Beach
Airbnb has grown exponentially in Miami, marking one of the top five markets for the short-term rentals website.
A new report shows that if municipalities collected the same taxes as other local lodging businesses in Miami, Airbnb operators would have owed nearly $16 million from October 2014 to September 2015.
And more than three quarters of Airbnb revenue in Miami came from operators who listed their properties for the majority of the year.
That means $93 million of revenue was generated from operators who listed their units for more than 180 days a year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Penn State University.
The report, which analyzed data from October 2014 to September 2015, also showed that Miami has the highest percentage of multi-unit operators of the 14 cities studied. Sixty-two percent of listings were from multi-unit operators who generated more than $76 million.
The report also shows:
In the report, AHLA president and CEO Katherine Lugar said a growing portion of Airbnb's revenue comes from commercial landlords. “Policymakers in Miami, in Florida and across the country should act to ensure a fair travel marketplace by closing the illegal hotel loophole,” she said.
Oversight on short-term rentals in South Florida varies. Legislation passed in Florida in 2011 prohibits local governments from regulating and restricting vacation rentals. Local governments also can't limit the duration or frequency of the rentals. But any regulations prior to that date still stand.
Airbnb has also taken a toll on the hotel industry, industry experts say, as the market reaches its peak in 2016.
The company has said that it “strongly opposes large-scale speculators who turn dozens of apartments into illegal hotel rooms.”
Elevated casting platform with bucket to organize fly line.
Sight fishing is one of the most exciting ways to fish inshore, whether it is a school of redfish feeding on a grassflat, a snook roaming a shoreline, or a laid up tarpon in the back-country. To be successful at sight fishing, you must see the fish. Obvious, right? But to the untrained eye, this can be difficult and very frustrating.
I once took a buddy of mine fishing who was relatively new to the sport. He had heard about how great sight fishing a redfish was, and that's what he wanted to do. I must have poled miles that day, with not one fish caught. Albeit we didn't see huge numbers, but I would get responses such as, “I don't see it,” or, “Where?” when I would point out a fish from the poling platform. It was a humbling and learning experience for both of us.
Here are six things you can do to help see the fish better, when the opportunity arises.
GOOD SUNGLASSES
Regina Gallant releases a fine permit caught in the clear waters of Biscayne Bay.
When you are trying to see fish, a good pair of sunglasses is essential. Polarized lenses minimize glare reflecting off the surface of the water, allowing you to see deeper into the water. Dozens of manufacturers offer good polarized lenses in a wide range of frame styles. I prefer wide frames which block peripheral light coming in through the sides. This light can be distracting, almost blinding at times. The Smith Frontman, Costa Blackfin and Maui Jim Canoe are some examples of frames that block light coming in through the side of the glasses. Note: Pair up your glasses with a hat that has a dark under brim. The dark under brim further reduces glare off the water, helping you see deeper and distinguish fish better.
HEIGHT
Height is huge when it comes to sight fishing. Not only does it help you see farther out, but it enables you to see deeper into the water column. This can help tremendously in situations such as scanning potholes for big seatrout.
There are a few different ways to elevate yourself on the water. Casting platforms are one of them. Nowadays it's somewhat rare to see a technical poling skiff without a casting platform mounted on the bow. These platforms typically range from 14 to 24 inches in height. Today's new super coolers are another viable option. These rigid, roto-molded coolers can easily support the weight of a person and can double-task as a cooler or dry storage. Often times these are used for a seat in front of the console, then moved to the bow or stern when at the fishing spot.
Captain Ed Zyak, of Jensen Beach, has his own way of getting the upper hand on the fish. He has a collapsible grab bar on top of his center console, on his 24-foot bay boat. With his electronics flush mounted into the dash of the console, he has a stable platform on top of his console and is able to hold on to the grab bar when necessary. He then controls his Minn Kota i-Pilot trolling motor from its remote, while being able to scan for fish.
CAST FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER
If you see something and can't decipher what it is, there is at least one way to find out: Cast! I was recently poling my buddy down a shoreline. For 300 yards or so all we saw were large mul-let milling around. I spotted a school of fish 20 yards in front of the boat, brushing them off as just more mullet. Come to find out, we rolled right up on 15 redfish, only to have them blow out and disappear. If we would have just cast at these fish, the outcome may have been different.
The majority of sight fishing on coastal waters involves the assessment of shadows, small wakes or glimpses of color. Opportunities of seeing a whole fish and making the “perfect” cast don't happen all the time. You have to play the cards you're dealt. For example: Broken branch-es in the water often look like big snook sunning. It can be hard to tell what is a fish and what is not. Snook are notorious for sitting still, waiting to ambush prey. If you're in doubt, try looking at your subject from a different angle, by crouching down or moving the boat quietly. Make out which way it seems to be facing and make the cast.
I caught my biggest snook on fly this way. Poling down a bank, I noticed a dark spot amongst grass patches that just looked out of place. I staked the boat and then noticed what appeared to be yellow tips of a fish's tail. I cast four feet in front of it, slowly stripped, and a big snook charged and inhaled the fly.
TIMING WITH THE SUN
During the summer thunderstorm season, many flats anglers make morning starts and midday finishes.
There's no rush getting on the water before daybreak when wanting to sight fish. You need at least a little bit of sunlight to see into the water. Most days when I am strictly sight fishing, I won't get on the water till 8 a.m. or so. I will plan on where I am fishing, according to where the sun is in the sky. If it is on the rise, I will fish an area that allows the sun to be to my back. This eliminates the bad glare that you get when facing into the sun. (This applies to when the sun is dropping as well.) Usually, between 10:30 and 11 a.m. the sun is high enough that I won't have to worry about the glare. Optimal time for best light to see fish is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. More afternoons than not during the summer time, Florida is met with clouds and thunderstorms. This can obviously put a damper on sight fishing, so try taking advan-tage of the late morning sun for best success.
READ THE FLAT
So you have just poled up onto a flat you have never fished be-fore. It looks good, but you don't know where to start. Don't jump the gun and push across it as if you're trying to win a race. Take your time. Most of the time, when I get up onto a flat, I will stake out the boat and scan the area. I will look for depressions, potholes, channels or cuts in the flat and any signs of life. It's the same process of evaluation, whether I've fished the spot hundreds of times or not at all. Many times I have done this, and was able to point out a fish, that I would've blown out if I didn't scan the area. Not only will you see fish when doing this, you will often notice things such as the tide flowing over a bar on the flat. This is a good spot to look for fish that are staging into the current. Remember that fish will be in different spots on the flat at different stages of the tide. A good way to get a general gist of an area you would like to fish beforehand is Google Maps.
FIND CLEAR WATER
Spotted seatrout favor clean water and seagrass meadows, where they can find these conditions.
Clear water is a very important component when trying to see fish. Tide and wind are the major factors when finding the clear water. If you have a week of sustained winds out of one direction, chances are the leeward side of the area you are fishing will have cleaner water than the windward side. The more fetch the wind has (bigger waters such as Tampa Bay, especially) the bigger the chop will be, causing the water to be more turbid. Also, the leeward bank usually protects the first 20 or so yards off the bank, keeping it glass calm. Glassy conditions are much easier to see fish in than in a wind chop.
Tide is also major when finding clear water. The majority of the time, I find an incoming will be cleaner than an outgoing tide. I often refer to the Florida Sportsman Fishing Planner for tide predictions in my area. I will know the moon phase and range of the tide that given day. If I notice a correlation in tide and water clarity in an area, I will make a mental note of it for future fishing trips.
During the summer, Florida tends to get a lot of rain. This is great for our lawns and gardens, but not good for coastal water clarity. Storm runoff from surrounding areas into an estuary can be detrimental to water clarity. Ecological problems such as the persistent algae bloom in the Mosquito Lagoon, in east central Florida, also play a huge role in water quality. You may be rewarded by spending the time looking for clean water. But if that's not an option, you'll have to re-ally be on your game. When I am faced with tough conditions due to runoff or algae, I will fish shallower than usual. I will also be on the lookout for signs of fish in the form of water texture-such as waking or tailing fish. FS
First Published Florida Sportsman Inshore Special May 2016
Recent offshore fishing reports from the Northeast region of Florida.
Northeast Bottom Bite
Florida Sportsman member: LouD
Our first stop was at 40 miles at 120 feet and later stops were at 140 and 150 feet (50 miles). Continuous action all day. Captain Roger put us on fish at every stop with emphasis on targeting grouper and Mangos using live bait and 8 to 10 foot leaders.
Click here to read the full forum report.
St. Augustine Bull
Florida Sportsman member: Big Bend Brian
At the Ledge in 180 feet the starboard flatline gets hit but comes off followed by a hit on the port flatline which pulled drag but came off too. Looking back you could see the head of the dolphin trying to inhale the lure. Casey drops the lure back and we watched him eat it. Once the line came tight it was some very cool jumps by a very large dolphin!
Click here to read the full forum report.
New Boat Mojo
Florida Sportsman member: Maverick
Loaded the well with some stud pogies, milled around on the beach for a little bit to see nothing worth staying so we moved off shore. Hit it hard but never did find a brown fish. Luckily we found seven grouper, but only two were legals. And more snapper than any one person really wants to catch when you can't keep em'.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Northeast Dolphin Bite
Florida Sportsman member: flblue
We started with just a four line spread but quickly dropped to three, at one point we had a triple hookup. Got them all on board but it was chaotic. The kid with me at one point said “This is a story I'll be telling my grand kids!”
Click here to read the full forum report.
Northeast Wahoo Bite
Florida Sportsman member: arunram
I had a great time wahoo fishing with Capt. Jerry Moulton aboard his boat Another Tangle last weekend. We had four nice wahoo at 60, 50,50 and 40 pounds. We also caught a bunch of triggers, pinky, AJ and a limit of bees to go with it!
Click here to read the full forum report.
St. Augustine Offshore
Florida Sportsman member: Chilly
This spot looked better so we dropped the hook to focus on cobia for a bit. We sent down live mullet and starting catching fish! Several big snappers came up on the first drop. We decided to use some chicken rigs to get fish moving up and down in the column. Before long, the big bait on the back got slammed and up comes a cobia with a golden ticket for the fish box.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Northeast Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: Captnathanstuart
Forum member Captnathanstuart and friends got into some fish recently, filling the cooler with a nice mixed bag of fish.
Click here to read the full forum report.
Northeast Wahoo
Florida Sportsman member: Off the Hook
Within the first 20 minutes that ever so energizing sound of reel screaming was heard. The original plan was to troll out to the break, but we never traveled more than three miles from the spot we caught the first of what would turn out to be six wahoo.
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Northeast Bottom Fishin
Florida Sportsman member: Bigchocolatelab
Broke the jetty's to light NE winds and pretty seas. Plan for the day was to load up on white baits and fish deep. Found all the bait we wanted at the barge and pointed her east. Arrived in 160 feet and didn't see much on bottom. We dropped lines anyways and found bite to be sluggish at first. Finally found the fish and managed to get on an incredible drift.
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Jumbo Mangroves and More
Florida Sportsman member: sheepdawg
Well we started out pretty good on the Mangos and had 8 big ones before dark. They lit up the screen pretty good as the sun went down and then the sharks found our chum line and we had to make a run to another spot.
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Northeast Kings
Florida Sportsman member: zay
After that we decided to stop and drop the sabikis down for some live bait and filled the livewell with some nice cigar minnows then started trolling again. Not 5 minutes in we get a double with two nice kings that my brother in law and dad both caught.
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Thermocline Bite
Florida Sportsman member: Boattronics
I went out to the nearshore wrecks and found that that thermocline out there has the cobes stacked up. We fished a few different spots and crushed the cobia on all of them, going 11 for 13 before getting chased in early by a storm. Almost all of our fish came off alien jigs.
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Northeast Cobia
Florida Sportsman member: OnTop~170
Right before I climb off the tower I decide to pitch one more in and let her sink and bam another hook up. This time I set the hook I don't know how many times and muscle the fish in. Finally I get one on the gaff and it went 39 pounds.
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Northeast Blue Marlin
Florida Sportsman member: Captjeffcrabtree
As we were talking about the conditions being too perfect for a billfish, the left flat gets hammered. As it's dumping a 50 wide, we see a bill thrashing up top. At that point we knew we found him. Cleared the lines and 15 minutes later released a beautiful blue marlin in the 150 pound class.
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Jumbo Hoo
Florida Sportsman member: CZKid
Forum member CZKid caught this 93 pound Wahoo on his last day of the Wahoo Shoot Out.
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Northeast Wahoo
Florida Sportsman member: out of the blue
Picked a couple numbers off the temp charts and plugged them into the machine and off we went, we stayed mainly in 130 feet water 15 to 23 line. We got bit within 30 minutes of trolling and pulled the hook , for a bit I thought, bad sign then Michael got on his first northeast florida hoo, it got interesting because we missed 3 bites in a row. We just couldn't figure out how they don't get hooked at 15 knots with 2 mustad 10/0 hooks, then luck changed and we got the next 3 fish and headed for home.
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Crazy Cobia Action
Florida Sportsman member: Boattronics
Arriving at the spot, my eyes bulged as the new Lowrance marked the bottom, there was no doubt in my mind what I was looking at. I deployed the Ipilot, and within only a couple minutes, I was bent over the gunnel with a good fish! The next hour and a half of fishing was absolute mayhem! In less than two hours, I boated 10 cobia!
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Long Runs and A Lot of Fish
Florida Sportsman member: AUcary
As it approached the boat it looked like a huge blackfin 30 feet back, that's when we saw the stripes! Wahoo! Chris put a nice gaff job on the fish and we had our first hoo of 2015 in the boat! Time for a beer!
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Northeast Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: minnowsnmonsters
Our first stop was in 62 feet of water, about 6 miles from the jetties, and we found a ton of snapper from little chickens up to 22 to 23 inch fish, a few decent bass but mostly just legals and shorts. Fortunately we found 2 keeper grouper with one being 24 1/8 inches and the other around 27-29 inches.
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Fishing with New Friends
Florida Sportsman member: model14
We next moved and found a goldmine of fish. Catch included many black seabass, numerous ringtail porgy, a big bull red, and a nice red snapper. I was really glad to see the boys get on some fish. Bait was squid, sardines, grunt and boston mackerel.
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Northeast Bottom Bite
Florida Sportsman member: minnowsnmonsters
We caught a few more just short grouper on that spot along with 12 to 15 snapper and a few bass before we decided it was time to move. Bait of choice all day was boston mackerel, the small livies were being inhaled by sea bass and snapper immediately upon hitting the bottom.
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Weekend Wahoo
Florida Sportsman member: out of the blue
The short flat starts to sing around 11am and we got our first high speed trolling hoo in the boat! Put lines back in water and then got a nice fish at 57.5 pounds.
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Northeast Offshore
Florida Sportsman member: benchmark
We fished only big hooks and tried to avoid them. No luck, caught them on everything we put down and released them all. Luke caught his personal best trigger, he was very happy young man. We also caught scamp, gags, and lots of red snappers.
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Breaking in the New Boat
Florida Sportsman member: Lug Man
We drifted the spot and put about 2 dozen baits in the live well anyway. My buddy decided he didn't want to run another 15 miles in the slop so we just hung around 9 mile and drifted baits. We caught mostly sharks and red snapper which were released to swim free.
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Northeast Offshore
Florida Sportsman member: Richardrbloom
I gave the fish another 30 yards or so then threw it into strike and held on. Then the shotgun rod goes off and my buddy Austin grabs it. We had a double hookup for about a minute until mine came off again. We fought his fish to the boat and after only a few minutes of fighting it I sunk the gaff into it.
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Running Deep in the Bay Boat
Florida Sportsman member: Bigchocolatelab
Decided to make a move and pressed on eastward. Next spot, dropped squid on chicken rigs and livies and got into em. Found good football size bees, triggers, pinkys, and other fish.
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Cobia Chaos
Florida Sportsman member: Pangaman
The small cobia raced to the jig and grunts before I could get a bait in front of the big one. I caught and released 3 more cobia on the jig and pitch rod before I was able to get a bait in front of the big one. I had used all the grunts in the livewell and the only thing remaining was a half dozen small spanish sardines.
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Venice Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: Blind Squirrell
We fished sardines, squid, cut-bait and live pinfish on the bottom in 100″-110″ of water. We boxed our limit of red grouper, mixed in with big mangroves, some flag yellowtail, a few scamp, porgies, and lane snapper.
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Topwater Tuna Time
Florida Sportsman member: Snaphappy
When we arrived we were the first boat on the scene and there were fish busting everywhere! We started casting poppers and it was game on immediately. For the next two and half hours it was wide open. We boated 10 fish on poppers and 6 on live bait.
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Ending on a Good Note
Florida Sportsman member: bgood
We then headed off 35 miles to our first stop, the bites started off a little slow but it picked up and we caught our limit of snapper. 3 of them measuring out to 30 inches plus, we threw back quite a few 18 inch ones also.
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St. Augustine Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: DoradoDreamin
We finally changed to some chicken rigs and smaller hooks and the triggers, beeliners and porgies started coming over the gunnel. A bait would not last on the bottom for even 5 seconds before a fish would be biting.
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Birthday Snapper
Florida Sportsman member: Uncle_Mike
After the long run out we dropped the first bait to the bottom and had a 25 pound snapper in the boat within the first 5 minutes. After that it was non stop action for the next 2 hours. Had to pull up and leave early due to a storm moving in.
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Northeast Bottom Bumping
Florida Sportsman member: Mirage-GNV
Baited up at a wreck then went out to 21 fathoms in somewhat snotty 2 to 3 foot seas with a little rain mixed in to boot. The vermillion bite was easy, the ARS's were reasonably plentiful along with the lesser AJs, but the sharks were thick on the ledges and live bottom.
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Florida Sportsman member: arunram
“We could have stayed north and killed them but we just wanted to see what's happening south. We released some small ones and kept 12 big mahi with the biggest around 40 pounds. Then we bottom fished for a very little time and caught…”
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Bam Bam Mahi
Florida Sportsman member: Bam Bam
We had fish on within a couple minutes. The fish were chewing and we put 23 mahi in the box with including a few studs. Had one small sailfish and saw a big blue marlin go through a school of peanut dolphin and come out of the water with one in his mouth about 20 yards from the side of the boat.
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Northeast Mahi Madness
Florida Sportsman member: no peekin
We caught fish on plastics and skirted ballyhoo.Ended up keeping 20 fish and released some others.All were nice fish with 5 going over 30 pounds and the big fish hit the planer and was 36.8 pounds.
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Making it Happen in the Slop
Florida Sportsman member: T-Daddy
220 feet seemed to be the trick and we boated seven or eight Mahi, mostly from 15 to 20 pounds, but one at 36 pounds. We knocked more than one off boat side in the rough water and teetering gaff. One Wahoo hit on the plainer coming in at 26 pounds. We had a Sailfish in the spread as well but he picked on one of the only two rigs without a Ballyhoo and didn't hook up.
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Getting Fishy out of State
Florida Sportsman member: ledslinger29
Hit the ledge to find a slow but steady bite on the troll, with 15 fish in the box we rode in to dive some numbers and see what we could do. Slippers were all over the place, and got a personal best 13 pound spiny. Also shot a 14 pound hog and a 25 pound gag, and had an overall good day.
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Crushing the Cobes
Florida Sportsman member: Boattronics
Next trip, Luis headed south with me again, and this time Jason the duck slayer got invited. Fresh off of grounding restrictions from telling a fish “secret” lol, he was eager to redeem himself to the rest of the crew, which he did get to do that day!
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Bringing Home Some Trophies
Florida Sportsman member: capcioffi
Time goes on and we spot a huge rip with weeds all over it in 800 feet. We go down one side (inside) and it is not producing. Cut across the weed/rip line and the water jumps 3 degrees. In come some of the marlin lures and out goes the meat. Within 5 minutes we get hit!
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Wrecking the Wahoo in the Northeast
Florida Sportsman member: 15whaler
“When we have a wahoo strike, its like a car accident. We are traveling at 13 to 20 knots, the fish is a torpedo, traveling at 30 to 40. Its a very violent collision.” Englert continued “We don't throttle down, though. When we get a fish to the boat, I want you to grab the shock leader and secure the trolling weight. Walk everything to the front of the bow. That's your job, understand?”
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Beating the Bottom, Northeast Style
Florida Sportsman member: JSiler21
We had a couple cool surprises also. My dad reeled up a grunt on a chicken rig and decided to just open the bail and send it right back down the way it was. Within 30 seconds his rod doubles over and the line starts screaming off the penn battle 6000. I decided clear a line we had on the bottom with another live grunt on it and when it came tight, my rod also doubled over. The penn senator 4/0 cranked in the fish in no time and to my surprise was my first bull red!
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Bottom Bite in the Northeast
Florida Sportsman member: redpro
Bite wasn't on fire but we managed a good meat trip. Passed a nice rip around 130 feet that made us wish we were trolling. Caught our limit of beeliners to 4 pounds and some nice triggers, one almost hitting 8 pounds!
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Bottom Fishing from the Bay Boat
Florida Sportsman member: Bigchocolatelab
Bite has been frequent and consistent. Went out last few days with some friends in the Coastal Bay and found them in 80-110 feet. Got into a mix of nice BSB, triggers, B-liners, ARS, and a nice 15 pound gag! Couldn't find the cobia everyone's been posting on the forum about.
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Awesome Day On And In The Water
Florida Sportsman member: renovator
In between dives we fished and loaded up with some nice fish, threw back a few red snapper, and got a scamp at the end of the day. 4 lobster made the trip back to the dock as well. Found some new bottom numbers to boot.
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Teaching Them Young
Florida Sportsman member: capcioffi
I took my 5-year-old Cohen out Saturday before the weather front to snag some fish. In the morning it was gamey with some big rollers and side chop, but little man was game and put his fishing face on. It took me 30 years to get my first red snapper on a spinner and found a school of fish 16 miles out to put him on his first at age of 5. We caught over 70 red snapper, 14 vermillion snapper, 10 triggerfish, 6 small sharks, 1 sheepshead (Brother snagged him sniffing the bait), and 1 sea bass [...]
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Nearshore King for the Smoker
Florida Sportsman member: creekgeek
The fish headed due east but we caught up pretty quickly and stayed on top of her as there were a lot of other boats in that area. I have not caught a lot of big kings so, when I first saw it down in the clear water, I was more than a little excited at it's size. Plus, I'm a fisherman and you all know that adds at least 25-50% to the size of any good fish! One good circle or three and Bob put the gaff in her and we had our first beach king. Awesome. I know a lot of you have been catching 30 pounders this summer and I really had no doubt that we had one but those must be some huge fish because I thought this was a whopper and it only weighed…25 pounds.
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Elton Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: Phinatical
Cleared the inlet around 6:25 Saturday with a crew of 4 plus my recon man (diver) Pat. Hunted pogies with little to show from one throw, they were just scattered everywhere but never balled up anywhere, so we pointed her east for the 50mi ride to Elton. Stopped short at TW to look around and then kept heading east. Pulled up on the first spot and on the first drift starting pulling up monsterous seabass. Most were easy 16 inches and fat if not more. We also got a couple fat beeliners off this spot and released some pig red snapper. We moved a little and then a little more and found some more nice bottom and dropped on it, pulling up an african pompano, two red porgies, a very nice mango, and then the cobia showed up under the boat along with some amberjack.
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Southeast Hole Sails
Florida Sportsman member: Triple A
Went to the rip and it was rough, turned south and pounded our way to the southeast hole to get a few kings for the smoker. Put the baits out in around 55-60 feet of water. Not ten minutes went buy we had our first hit. It took off like a smoker king would then it jumped. Dad called a cuda but I saw a sail and bill. Fought the fish for good while got him in the boat for a picture and then back in the water. He revived quickly and swam off. Looked back
towards land and saw nothing but dark skies the wind pick up but we stuck it out. After the storm skirted us we continued fishing with nothing but sharks, with our baits dying and looking pathetic we put out our final spread and were calling it quits at 1:30. Around 1:15 we saw a sail free jumping south east off the bow we turned towards him and did not see him, 5 minutes later we have another sail on the same rod, reel, and rig we caught the first sail on, after another good fight the fish was quickly revived and swam off.
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Bottom Bumpin'
Florida Sportsman member: Bigchocolatelab
Arrived at spot and seas built a little but not too bad. SW wind mixed with the SE swell to create a confused layout, but it was definitely fishable! We decided to drift fish with live bait and found action right away.
First fish up to bat was an assortment of seabass and beeliners. After that 2 of us stuck into a doubleheader of decent fish. First fish at the boat was a big Red snapper…and back he goes. Next fish was a nice Cobia! After a gaff malfunction we finally got him in and cracked open a few beers. Only 30 minutes in and the day started off right!
We drifted passed the spot and reset. This time we threw two flat lines out with big live pogies and started to bottom bump again. The drift produced again only this time Big amberjacks and red snappers showed themselves. As were drifting, both flat lines go off[...]
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Mayport Wahoo & Dolphin
Florida Sportsman member: mikelavine
Headed out of Mayport around 6:30 and stopped at 30 miles due to a lack of time today. Fishing in 100 feet of water, we got on a few cudas right away. After about a hour, we landed a 20 pound king with a curious cobia following that we couldn't get to eat the bait. He finally swam off and got the lines back out. Within 10 minutes had a hit and pulled in a 10 pound dolphin. At 10am we had a hit on the ballyhoo and by the time the rod was off the outrigger, the reel was smoking and came close to being spooled on a freight train of a run. Got the lines up and had a 15 minute fight without even seeing the fish. The fish decided to take off again and then snap…my rod broke in two below the third eyelet. Great. We carefully kept fighting and 5 minutes later my buddy yells, “Thats a big wahoo!” Got him next to the boat, gaffed, and in the boat he came!
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Busy Day at the Ledge
Florida Sportsman member: arunram
That was my second offshore trip and I felt like I was in a dream. That water was cobalt blue!! I would never forget this trip in my life. The mahi mahi jumping and tail walking in the air was a beautiful sight to see. We also saw a 15 foot hammerhead shark cruise by us that scared the living daylights out of me. Boy, pulling those groupers up is like pulling a baby elephant from 120 foot water. These offshore monsters definitely whooped me! Thanks very much to Jimmy, Jerry and his crew for having me aboard the “Another Tangle”. It was a dream come true!
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Trippin' Out on Tripletail
Florida Sportsman member: Morocco_madness
Me and Steve AKA Pilingjunkie, hit the water around 8:00am for a day in the Inlet. Got out there and there was nothing happening. Got a pile of Whiting but the desirable species were just not there. First time in a while that the Inlet was a wash. Around 1ish i get a call from Tony(Boattronics). Turns out he had some luck finding the Triple Tails. He gave us a few pointers on how to catch them and donated a dozen or so live Shrimp. Hadn't really intended on making the trip up the coast but we really needed to reclaim our dignity after the butt kicking we took in the Inlet. We took off toward Nassau following the coast at around 40-50 feet. We found some decent fish free swimming. Managed to get Steve his first TT and man, what a killer experience!! those things go all over the place! They jump and pull like crazy. Now of course im all kinds of pumped and want me one of these bad boys!
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Mayport “Jurassic Drum”
Florida Sportsman member: Morocco_madness
Hit the water with another of our fellow forum members, Trevor, AKA, Shadowcast777. Stevo(Pilingjunky) hooked me up with around 2.5 dozen live Blue Crabs 2 days ago and decided to put them bad boys to use. We originally were planning on doing something different but nobody had live Shrimp. Once we got out to the Inlet, we set up shop on the South rocks. Set up a good spread of rods and kicked back. Wasn't but maybe ten minutes before the first rod goes stripping. Had Trevor take care of it. 15 minutes pass and hes got a stud Bull Red in the boat. We set back up and it isn't long before we have another Bull in the boat. Both fish were right at 40″. The bite died down so we dragged up and hit another area[...]
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Playin' the Drums
Florida Sportsman member: samsiam74
After looking high and low for some Blue Crabs, we headed out… The weather man's report last night said 10-12 NW winds and sunny. Nice by the standards that Steve and I encountered over the last couple of days! Well, the weather man got the sunny part right but it was frigid this morning and the wind was a good 18-20 steady out of the north until about noon. Water was choppy as could be but we crept out to a spot that looked doable and anchored up.
Lines go out and not ten minutes later Sing is doing the tango in the back of the boat as he wrestles his PB Drum up to the surface.. A guess would be around 35 pounds… What a nice way to start the day! We send that big fish back down and lines go back out… A half hour goes by and one of his rigs starts doubling over again!
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Mayport Inlet Reds
Florida Sportsman member: Morocco_madness
Me and my buddy Tim went out today for a few hours of sheepshead fishing. Got to our target area at the Little Jetty rocks. Didn't want to rough the Inlet due to the weatherman's prediction of high winds and 3-5 foot seas. We wasted an hour or so at the Little Jetties and managed nothing other than a keeper Sea Bass. Seemed pretty calm out so i decided to check the Inlet just in case the weather prediction was off. Glad i checked. Dead calm, no wind and less than 1 foot seas. What a joke. Anyways, the sheepshead bite was very slow in the inlet today. Didn't see anyone catching. decided to use up the dozen Large Blue Crabs i brought as a back up. Got a few bull reds and lost something very large.[...]
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Slaying the Porgies
Florida Sportsman member: Morocco_madness
I really enjoyed fishing for Sheepshead using a jighead. Took a second to get used to it but was a lot of fun. The Bite at our first spot turned off so we headed over to the Southern rocks. Once we got situated it wasn't long before we get a few Decent Sheep in the boat. A short while later Leon brings up this giant Ring Tail! Neither of us have ever seen one this large. Next thing i know we are catching them left and right! Long story short, we end up boating about 40 of these things. Wasn't long before the water clarity went to crap and we called it a day. An absolute blast![...]
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St. Augustine Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: blue bird
Made the run out in great conditions Sunday morning. The bottom bite was good with all the endangered species making a great showing!!
We kept some nice triggers and a nosy cobia. Strangely enough, we didn't get a grouper bite. We did see some blackfins feeding around 27 miles out. They were traveling at warp speed, so we didn't even try to put out a spread. it got pretty snotty later in the morning, laid down mid-day for a decent ride back in until the 15 mile mark. At that point the following East wind turned into some kind of Northwest / South combination wind that slowed us down a bit on the end of the ride[...]
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Offshore Jax Bottom Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: boattronics
We headed out to about 110′ before dropping. Action was very good, flat seas and minimal wind and current certainly helped. Good clean water too. We started filling the box with the tastiest demersals the bottom can offer, and as we worked deeper, the action continued to get better as we power drifted drops out to 145′[...]
We caught huge triggers, gorgeous mutton snapper, grouper and cobia for the box. A couple sharks, some amberjack, etc. And as always, we sifted through endless red snappers, huge vermillions and seabass that were unfortunately released.
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Northeast Sword Report
Florida Sportsman member: knot tight
We went 3/3 on swords with 1 being released and two being taken. We high speed trolled in the evening with only a barracuda to show for it. We threw out ballyhoo in 400 feet in the morning and pulled the hooks on a nice wahoo and released another barracuda. We had a great trip with a awesome crew despite being surrounded by storms more than half of the trip. Thanks to Adrian, Casey, and Ryan for being an awesome crew in less than ideal conditions.
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Sunday Snapper Day
Florida Sportsman member: renovator
Left the dock with crew of Chris, Troutdiggler and his dad Mark, Mularkey, and myself just before sunlight for the last day and the only day this crew was able to get in for this “mini snapper season”, puleeeezze! Baited up at BB, fished 110 feet water and caught fish most of the day. Had to move around a bit to get our limit, and along with some B's, trigs, one gag, and plenty of throw back keeper seabass. Anyhow, hope a lot of folks were able to get out and enjoy the bite when you could find them.
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Birthday Fishing in St. Augustine
Florida Sportsman member: jacqueo
First of all…let me thank everyone on the forum for ALL of their awesome advice. About a month ago I posted on here questioning about St. Auggie fishing – AND the dreaded inlet. Growing up in South Florida the inlets are INSANE – narrow, and zig-zaggy (Boynton Beach Inlet to be specific). I hadn't taken our new boat offshore since getting it about 4 months ago [...]
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“Guana Bite” Swordfish Report
Florida Sportsman member: beaubaker
Had a great time Saturday night/Sunday morning on the “Guana Bite”. Thanks to Captain Kevin and first mate Darryl for having me and Brian along to try our luck at the swordfish grounds. We dropped baits in the water way south and setup drift for a long, long, sleepless night. Around midnight we had a good bite on the short/deep rod but couldn't manage to hook that fish up. We dozed and listened to satellite radio until sunrise when the short/deep drag sounds again [...]
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Beautiful Northeast Mangrove Snapper
Florida Sportsman member: Pangaman
Started the day at 20 miles catching bait. No white bait whatsoever, just grunts. We loaded up with 20 or so grunts and caught 3 barracudas and a bonito at the bait spot. We headed east and put out a bonito lure since we could only make 13 knots do to the swells being close together. We caught one nice bonito on the way to our first spot [...]
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Cobia Addiction
Florida Sportsman member: meglacharchodon
The first cobia hit a flat line on the Baitrunner, he put up a nice fight but pulled the hook ten feet from the boat. The next one hit a pogie on the bottom, he came to the surface and made a spectacular jump right before he ran circles around the anchor rope [...]
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The Ledge Report
Florida Sportsman member: knot tight
We had planned on fishing the Northeast Florida Marlin Association's Dolphin Tourney but they cancelled it on Thursday due to a 3-5 forecast. We decided to make the run still and were pleasantly surpr
