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.
WEBSITE WWW.FLORIDASPORTSMAN.COM BEACHSIDE BIG GAME – BY BRENTON ROBERTS Leave the boat at home and take your chances at big summertime snook and tarpon from the sand. Catch this 2021 magazine article you may have missed, online now DIGITAL WEB EXCLUSIVES 10 MOST BIZARRE DEEP-DROP CATCHES – BY DOUG OLANDER See what strange life forms — from the frightening to the exquisite — may come up on baited lines dropped into the abyss HOW TIDES AFFECT FISHING IN BAYS, INLETS & RIVERS – BY TERRY LACOSS Planning your fishing trip around the tides is your best tactic for catching more fish SOCIAL MEDIA BECOME A SOCIAL STAR Got a post-worthy pic? Send it to us via @floridasportsmanmagazine or #floridasportsmanmagazine for your chance to be our featured catch of the day…
We’re proud this month to announce a few updates to our roster of expert writers from around the Sunshine State. Maggie Rosaine, from Freeport, FL, picks up the skillet for our “Sportsman’s Kitchen” column this month. Tommy Thompson, our cooking writer since 2012 and also Big Bend Action Spotter reporter since 2009, has retired. Filling Thompson’s spot in the Big Bend is Capt. Joe Richard, a Gainesville-based fishing guide and longtime FS contributor. Farther down the Gulf Coast, you may have noticed a few fresh names in recent months: Retiring Southwest Field Editor Capt. Ralph Allen (FS Class of 2003) turned over the helm this year to Capt. Greg Stamper, of Estero. Captain Matt Sturdivent, of Naples, assumed Capt. Steve Dall’s position (2016) as Ten Thousand Islands Field Editor. We…
In the 1870s Dr. Cesare Lombroso, founder of the Italian School of Criminology, became convinced that the “born criminal” could be identified by anatomical features such as a sloping forehead, ears of unusual size, asymmetry of the face and excessive length of arms. Of similar mind and nearly 150 years later, neuroscientist Dr. Jim Fallon was also convinced psychopathic killers were born, and he believed a specific gene in the brain was the link. However, after finding out that he himself, along with most in his family, had the gene, he had to rethink that hypothesis. So, the question remained. Do we have natural born killers among us? The answer is no. American psychiatrist and author Dorothy Otnow Lewis, after interviewing over a hundred murderers on death row, concluded, “Serial…
The road out there, Ozello Trail, is inches above high tide, twisting through quiet oak hammock, palms, mangroves and marsh. Minutes after you leave Hwy. 19, you’re traveling across water before you even get near the ramp. Ten miles later, at trail’s end, it’s north, south, east, west. Your call. You’ve been transported into fishing paradise. Back in time, it seems, too. I chose east. I had the last of the incoming tide to assist. Also, I had an east wind. All else being equal, paddling into the wind is usually the best course to start the day. I timed my route just right. With help from Google Earth and a little patience, I discovered a tiny creek dead-ending on my Navionics chart actually fed back to the Salt River.…
SUPPLIES: Island Outpost. Fuel, ice, drinks, tackle, bar and restaurant. Just what you need; nothing you don’t. 14231 W. Ozello Trail EATS: Peck’s Old Port Cove. Famous for fresh local blue crabs. Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. 139 N. Ozello Trail, (352) 795-2806 (reservations preferred). STAY: Plantation on Crystal River, a full-service resort hotel priced right and friendly to anglers, is two miles from the turnoff to Ozello Trail. LAUNCH: Ozello Community Park, 401 N Pirate Point. Free. Portable restroom. Also good shore fishing. MORE: St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve.…
SPRO BRONZEYE BRAID SPRO, the company that builds a lot of the frog baits we use all summer, now has an eight-carrier, moss green braid in favored line classes and capacities—40, 50, 60, and 80, each in 150-meter spools. SPRO notes that the Bronzeye Braid 8X is made in Japan to SPRO’s specifications, and equally well-suited for froggin’ or flippin’. MSRP $17.99-$19.99. ADVENTURE MEDICAL KITS MARINE 600 Gearing up for those summer Bahamas campaigns or deep Gulf overnighters? You’ll want a complete first aid kit—and that means more than just some bandages and sterilizer. Adventure Medical Kits’ new collection includes a Marine 600 kit stocked for one to six people on an extended trip up to six hours away from professional care. It comes in a waterproof and shockproof case…
