Florida Sportsman June 2023

DIGITAL WEB EXCLUSIVE 10 IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING A ROAD TRIP –BY HIROTO HAYASHI Nothing will break an enjoyable adventure like a poor plan. Use this checklist to make your road trip prep a breeze. YOUTUBE BEST GEAR & BOATS OF 2023 Florida Sportsman editors take a look at the latest tech and models announced in 2023 and see what’s worth a deeper dive. PODCAST COUNTING KINGS Summer sun heats up the kingfish bite, but how are king mackerel populations standing up around the state? Let’s discuss! BECOME A SOCIAL STAR Send post-worthy pics: @floridasportsmanmaga-zine or #floridasportsmanmagazine GET YOUR MUG IN THE MAG Email your best catches or scenic shots to photos@floridasportsman.com…

So I’m writing this from my office during my lunch hour. I literally just took a bite of re-heated baked potato with Chick-fil-A sauce. (Go ahead and laugh). I was trying to take a real, actual break and watch some TV. (Another tater bite. My pleasure.) But here I am yet again scrolling through Netflix recommendations, feeling bored and sort of depressed. Yes, I watched all of Peaky Blinders. Loved it. Breaking Bad, too. But c’mon, Netflix. Give the “Chilly Thrillers” and “Award-Winning Dark TV Thrillers” a rest. I might actually like to watch “Romantic Movies” or “Coming of Age TV Dramas,” if only you’d give me a chance. It’s the problem with our algorithmic society. Purveyors of content track you and assume you want more of the same. Your…

The single most important thing we can do to restore our inshore fisheries in the lower third of the state is to reduce Big Sugar’s influence on our local, state and federal elected officials. • Because of Sugar’s never-ending lobbying and campaign contributions, Lake Okeechobee is kept unnaturally high, ensuring two years of irrigation water in the lake for Sugar’s 400,000-plus acres of sugarcane. •This insurance water, just in case they need it, kills submerged vegetation in Lake O severely affecting the multi-million dollar fishing and tourism industry around the lake. • Another result of keeping the lake too high during the dry season is that when the rainy season comes, every two or three years, massive discharges are sent east and west severely damaging estuaries on both coasts. •…

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park lies within north Florida’s Big Bend and is one of our state’s most outstanding natural marvels. There’s no fishing allowed in this small park—a departure from most of the Florida State Parks—but it’s a great place to get a sense of Florida’s unique geography and, if you jump in, you’ll come face-to-face with a panorama of fresh and saltwater species. This park now covers just under 10 square miles. Its last private owner, wealthy financier Edward Ball, bought Wakulla in 1931 as a retreat. He completed his Mediterranean Revival-style Wakulla Springs Lodge in 1937. The state of Florida acquired the property in 1986 and it’s since become one of the best state parks. Wakulla Springs receives most of its average daily flow of 400…

Last month we started a dive into offshore artificial lures, by talking about some favorites that are used to dress up a mullet, ballyhoo, Spanish mackerel or bonito belly strip. The advantage to pulling dressings over the heads of your baits, is to help them pull longer without washing out, making them easier to keep in sight, and allowing you to troll slightly faster. If you don’t believe natural baits will often outfish artificials, you need to explain to me why the best bait riggers will so often outfish everybody else. Divers attract fish up from the deep that may not bite them, but will pounce on a mullet swimming above them. There are, however, definitely times when artificials pulled without bait will catch more fish. The mere fact you…

Used to be easy to decide on an inshore saltwater reel. If you wanted something besides your Penn Senator or Daiwa Sealine, you bought a spinning reel. How? You picked one with a gold spool (though some may remember when Mitchell green was the go-to). Baitcasters? Bubba reels, for bass fishing. A disaster in the making on saltwater flats—though there were always good anglers who knew better, as well as some who remembered when baitcasters were all that was available! Even after the Penn Spinfisher and Daiwa BG captured the Florida market, revolving spool baitcasters continued to serve as our heavy line delivery system for close-quarters fishing in salt water. Think pitching live mullet or big topwaters to big snook and tarpon in the mangroves. Back when nylon monofilament was…