Florida Sportsman is the complete fishing magazine for Florida and the Tropics. Devoted to fishing, boating, and outdoor activities in the Sunshine State, Florida Sportsman is the authoritative source for Florida's most active fishermen.
As much as I bristle when I see kids staring at screens, I’ve gotta hand it to Nintendo. Animal Crossing: New Horizons does fishing. You can do all sorts of stuff in Animal Crossing. The main objective, as I understand it, is to collect specimens for a zoo. You also develop a community, interact with “villagers” and participate in an island economy. My oldest daughter, bless her heart, spends much of her time traipsing around her virtual kingdom with a fishing rod. She watches for fish along sandy beaches, in flowing rivers, in alpine lakes. I get frequent reports of new and unusual catches, some destined for her aquarium exhibits, others for barter with talking penguins or sale to the pushy raccoons who tend the store. There’s the fish you…
The headline above is from the front page of VoteWater.org’s website. It’s worth repeating if you want to stop kicking the proverbial can down the road. Say it again, “Florida’s water crisis is a political problem and requires a political solution,” meaning we need to vote out the can-kicking bums who will not prioritize the health of our waters. “The science is settled” meaning we don’t need any more studies. We know what’s causing the pollution and we know what can save our estuaries. And finally, “and the time to fix it is now,” why not? None of us are getting any younger. This isn’t a partisan issue. Both parties in Florida are equal opportunity offenders. The solution comes when we break from the Red and Blue teams and join…
LATITUDE TOURNAMENT BOATS 25 COMPETITOR Latitude Tournament Boats, in Fort Myers, builds classic center console hulls ready to rig, awaiting personalized finishing touches. This center console is immediately recognizable as a derivative of the 25-foot hulls of the 1970s and '80s that dominated the South Florida fishing scene. For anyone who ever dreamed of tackling a hull-up restoration of one of those classics, LTB offers a built brand new complete hull, cap, liner, center console, 180-gallon fuel tank, rigged with LED navigation lights, all stainless hardware, three livewells, bilge pump and basic wiring ready for your T-top, engine and electronics starting at $39,900. Completed boats are also available. See www.latitudetournamentboats.com PATHFINDER 2700 OPEN This all new for 2020 model from Pathfinder Boats plants a flag in the offshore market for…
Those rusty hooks you were staring at during your Safer in the Garage days earlier this summer: I am going to tell you something about them. However, one condition: If someone asks you where you heard this, don’t tell them it was from me. Okay. On jigs or potluck trolling rigs plummeting into deep water around clingy wrecks and toothy cudas, you may be just fine with your rusty hooks. Move along, go fishing. Heavy duty forged steel hooks—like the Eagle Claw 254 or Mustad 3407—can take an extreme amount of punishment. A little surface rust on these hooks is no big deal. Even thin wire bronze kahle hooks and inshore J-hooks—stuff you use for croakers, sheepshead and the like—a little rust is acceptable. On high carbon “livebait” hooks, however—with…
The soft plastic selection for the inshore fisherman nowadays is abundant to say the least. From big to small and just about every color under the sun offered, you have options. But what plays the biggest role in a soft plastic? The tail. The tail provides all of the action. There is no lip on these baits, so all the work must be done on the back end. Different tails offer different actions, knowing when to throw the right tail can be the difference in getting a bite or not. Let’s go over the mainstays in the world of soft plastic tails. SHAD TAIL The shad tail is one of the most popular. Why? Because it is easy to fish and does just about anything you need it to. When…
Maybe this isn’t your first rodeo, but if it is… welcome to hurricane season. As a boat-owner, getting in front of the situation early will take a load of stress off of your shoulders. The first thing to consider is where will your boat be safest riding out a storm. If you keep it in your garage at home, you’re probably in good shape to begin with, but if that is not an option, consider a safe place away from the coast. Ideally, inside of a well-protected windproof storage building is best but not always available. If you must store it outside, a location away from (large) trees is wise to prevent a falling tree from damaging your craft. A stand of (short) trees or the exterior lee side of…
