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.
SELECT CONTENT AVAILABLE NOW ON OUR DIGITAL CHANNELS WEBSITE WWW.FLORIDASPORTSMAN.COM TACTICS FOR BIG PRESPAWN BASS – DAVID A. BROWN Florida blesses bass anglers with year-round big fish potential. But one special period spikes those “personal best” chances: the prespawn. DIGITAL WEB EXCLUSIVE TOP 10 NORTHEAST FLORIDA FLOUNDER FISHING SPOTS – RICK RYALS What Northeast Florida lacks in glamour species is more than made up for by enough flounder to keep your freezer stocked 365 days a year. Rick Ryals divulges the top ten places to catch flounder in his corner of Florida. PODCAST YEAR IN REVIEW This month Capt. Rick and the guys look back on the last year of fishing in each region. What species are doing well? Which fisheries need our help? Tune in to the…
Flares are kind of a PITA and seem to expire faster than milk. Recently I’ve taken to carrying the ACR ResQFlare. It’s a C-battery-powered, handheld device which meets U.S. Coast Guard standards for nighttime Visual Distress Signals (VDS). It automatically flashes the Morse Code S.O.S. at the correct intensity. You carry this plus an approved daytime distress flag to conform to the Coast Guard rules for day-and-night signals. (Don’t DIY this stuff: There are very specific requirements—published to save your life.) But news out of Alabama this fall has me thinking I’ll update my conventional pyrotechnic signal flares. Yes, first I have to take my expired flares to my local hazardous waste drop (AKA: PITA). But, I’ll probably keep a few of those on the boat as backups. Here’s why.…
“I lost everything I own when seven feet of angry Caloosahatchee raged through my riverfront home.” September 29, the day after Hurricane Ian made landfall, volunteer relief efforts were already underway. Alex Pomareda, of Boca Raton, posted on Facebook that he had an airboat and was looking for people organizing relief efforts. Captain Ed Zyak, of D.O.A. Lures in Stuart, already posted his company’s address as an official hurricane relief drop-off center. Conrad Peterson, of Fort Myers—even with his own home damaged by the storm—posted his phone number for boaters in need of help. Countless others around the state shifted into gear, ready to help. “Outdoorsmen don’t need a plan,” Zyak said. “We get stuff done.” Alex said that when he saw the size of the hurricane and where it…
Amazingly, Boca Grande’s historic lighthouse and facilities survived a direct hit from Hurricane Ian on September 28. Within weeks, the light was back on, but there was roof, water and structural damage to this historic property and adjacent structures at Gasparilla State Park where the lighthouse is located. At press time it was closed until further notice, according to Sharon McKenzie, director of the Barrier Island Parks Society that maintains the facility. She also noted that nearby Cayo Costa State Park, one mile across Boca Grande Pass, may be closed for a year or more. Available funding will determine repair work. The light has led a fairly charmed life since it was built and lit in 1890, serving navigation duty for countless ships stopping to load phosphate fertilizer for many…
PENN FATHOM II LEVER DRAG Building upon the proven family of PENN Fathom conventional and low-profile baitcast reels, the all-new Fathom II enhances the user experience with new sizes, features, and specific billfish models. At the Fathom's core is a stainless steel main and pinion gear and a forged and machined aluminum spool for maximum durability. With a design borrowed from the International series, Fathom II 2-speed reels now feature a Quick Shift II mechanism that makes switching gears more accessible. The Fathom II Lever Drag series also delivers a new pull-to-turn preset knob that firmly locks in place once adjusted. There are four single-speed models (10-30 sizes), seven 2-speed models (10-80 sizes), two high-speed tournament models (40 and 60 sizes) optimized between 4 to 7 pounds of drag at…
Kite fishing is a great approach to catching pelagic species—the presentation is unmatched in its covertness where the entirety of your terminal tackle and main line is out of the water; just a struggling baitfish remains to tread water. But it really only works in regions where game-fish concentrate in a specific depth or along a convergence zone of fishy waters such as a weedline or color change. Unlike fishing off St. Augustine or Jacksonville where there are many miles between 100- and 300-foot depths, when kite fishing in South Florida, captains can place baits across a wide swath of water; a left-long bait might be splashing in 200 feet while the right-long sits in 90 feet. The narrow continental shelf, swift Gulf Stream current and natural reef paralleling the…
