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.
DIGITAL WEB EXCLUSIVE 10 TIPS FOR PUBLIC LAND TURKEY BY GEORGE LABONTE If you are among the lucky ones with a quota permit in hand, here are a few tips to increase your odds. YOUTUBE HOW TO CERAKOTE HARDWARE The crew at TRB explain how to prep and paint hardware for a Cerakote finish to avoid common mistakes. PODCAST CHANGING OF THE SEASONS This month Captain Rick and the Action Spotter crew discuss what changes spring will bring to your area. BECOME A SOCIAL STAR Send post-worthy pics: @floridasportsmanmagazine or #floridasportsmanmagazine GET YOUR MUG IN THE MAG Email your best catches or scenic shots to photos@floridasportsman.com…
Let me reflect on two of my recently departed crew members. You were a faithful companion, Ten-Foot Quarter-Inch. Your fine mesh helped resettle untold thousands of sardines from backwater haunts to ocean depths. Yes, on rare occasions you gilled anchovies. And there was that day when you brought eight hardhead catfish to the boat, a giant, snot-covered porcupine. One time it was an entire school of sheepshead. At least we ate those. But mostly you fulfilled your duties to the letter. You asked for little in return, other than your semi-annual soak in fabric softener. Six-Foot Half-Inch, you were the nemesis of mullet everywhere. You were small but you were fast. You led those schools like a champion’s Krieghoff on the clays range. They couldn’t hide, they couldn’t run. Fingers,…
Tampa Bay didn’t flatline in July 2021, but after 600 tons of dead fish were trucked off the beaches of St. Petersburg, I expect some anglers may have been looking for life-saving paddles. Following 200 million gallons of toxic water—literally liquid fertilizer—being pumped into lower Tampa Bay from the long-abandoned Piney Point phosphate gypsum stacks in March 2021, the bay crashed and fish, by the thousands, died. Manatees perished, too. Now, going on two years since the disaster, what’s the current situation in the bay? What are our chances of seeing schools of redfish, seatrout and snook off Tarpon Key this spring? After fishing with Capt. Tyler Kapela, of Tierra Verde, in lower Tampa Bay in December and speaking with captains Dustin Pack and Ray Markham, I’d say that having…
With 673 square miles, Ocala National Forest is the largest scrub pine forest in the world. The southern boundary of this vast wilderness is barely 50 miles from Orlando. There is excellent fishing and hunting here, and room to find relative solitude. On a recent trip, I camped at one of the 14 RV/tent campgrounds, Alexander Springs. Not 15 minutes from my tent site was Beakman Lake, a 199-acre spring-fed lake with a boat ramp. There are many small lakes like this in the Ocala Forest, one of the big draws for visitors. Night times at parks like Alexander Springs are why I camp. The solitude, the owls, the rapidly cooling air. I sat close to the campfire, reading Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy, while sipping icy Big Boca beer…
In my experience, bonito strips have always been as effective as any ballyhoo, but they only produced when you could get them to run straight. If they spin, or even slowly roll, they just don’t seem to get bit. Strips roll for one of two reasons. Either the hook is poking through the strip too far forward or too far back, or the strip has slipped on the hook and instead of riding straight up, the hook is through the strip at an angle. The hook must go through the strip in exactly the right place for the bait to run true. If there is a ripple effect in the strip either ahead or behind the hook, it will spin. The best way I’ve found to ensure a strip will…
Late season cold front? Sudden drops in water temperature can make fish lethargic. Warming up is often their first concern with feeding taking a backseat. Summertime tactics of big plugs and large baitfish imitations might not be your best option. Instead, downsize your offerings, lighten your tackle and slow your presentations. Some very productive finesse techniques worth trying this time of year started in the freshwater bass scene, predominately out of the Midwest. Anglers realized that with some minor tweaks, these rigs and tactics crossover well into the salt. This subtle movement can be all a fish needs to commit to eating. That can be the key. The Ned rig has gained a lot of popularity in recent years due to its effectiveness on finicky fish. This presentation is a…
