Homosassa 1/17 prospecting sheep with Doc Lee and I planned to head out for some sheepshead today and also prospect some shallow reefs we haven't visited yet. The weather man called for 15 mph from the south so we took Lee's Grady and left my boat on the lift. We hit the water at around 8:30 and headed out to some reefs south in about 12' of water. The water temp was 55 degrees and still the spot tails were all over our bait so we ran to another area that we haven't fish and looked around for some fish. The sheepshead were around but very tight to the cover and not in great numbers. The new area was spectacular bottom consisting of good relief and ledges everywhere. We worked that area over as best we could only hooking 2 sheepshead ad landing one. There were a few small gags around that took our offerings. The bad news was the bay was FLAT as a pancake so we were in the wrong boat for todays conditions. A trolling motor would have helped our catch today. The good news is we now have a promising area to return to with the conditions being right we are confident that the fish will be there. We did end up with a sheepshead, a couple grunts a seabass and some porgies for dinner. Looking at all that beautiful bottom with the perfect conditions made for a great day on the bay! All fish were taken on knocker rigs with live or frozen shrimp.The water temp at the mouth of the Homosassa at 3:30 warmed to 60 degrees so go get after them!
With the gag grouper closures untill July we have been out prospecting red grouper. As most know red grouper inhabit flat and swiss cheese live bottyom areas that are rich with soft corals and sea fans. Homosassa Florida offers the best grouper fishing anywhere on this planet! That is saying a lot but a trip here will quickly make yiou a believer. One of the reasons our grouper are so
Zack (zack&drake) contacted me yesterday to see if I had an open seat for today. I offered to have him join me for a late morning departure (11)and we would fish the later tide till around 5. We hit the water and worked the barrier islands along the deeper cuts while waiting for the tide. Today was a bit diffrent. Where we normallt get on schools of underslot and lower slot fish we found a
With the young fellow aboard we decided to take a short afternoon trip to the flats and make a couple drifts across the open flats and toss Mirrodines. My grandson Bradley caught his first trout all on his own by dragging a texas rigged gulp across the bottom. His dad and i were very proud to see the smile on his face as he hoisted that trout over the gunnel. As we drifted across the flats we
Homosassa 1/17 prospecting sheep with Doc Lee and I planned to head out for some sheepshead today and also prospect some shallow reefs we haven't visited yet. The weather man called for 15 mph from the south so we took Lee's Grady and left my boat on the lift. We hit the water at around 8:30 and headed out to some reefs south in about 12' of water. The water temp was 55 degrees and still the spot
A couple of friends of mine had asked if I could put them on some grouper a while back. I offered to get them out to the area that has been good to us lately but we wouyld need to play the weather by ear and wait for a calm day. I called them up monday and offered up thursday the 3rd as a good possibility. The weather seem like it was going to cooperate so they met me dockside this morning at
Being agreat lakes transplant has it's benefits. Techniques that worked deep trolling for salmon and trout work here for grouper and kingfish. Drifting lake erie for walleye is a ringer for drifting up trout from thier deeper summer grounds. Pitching plugs and jerkbaits for smallies now produces snook, trout and redfish. I came here with a passion for fishing for anything that swims and I am now right where I belong. I was 5 yrs old following my dad down a brook. Then I bought my first boat and trolled the great lakes. Winter is tough up north unless you grab that noodle rod and drift egg sacks down river for steel head. I was truly born to fish! December 1971 I was a 14 yr boy on Christmas recess from school in western New York. My dad and mom had planned a special vacation for them but even more my sister brother and myself. We were to spend a week in Orlando florida at the newly opened Disney World theme park. We arrived and called a trailer in a KOA campground home for the week. We did the park is a couple of days (it was much smaller then) and saw some of the other attractions here in Florida. The biggest thrill for me was leaving the snow coverd yard behind and actually wear shorts and a t shirt in December. On our second last day of our visit my dad woke my brother and I up and told us we were going fishing. All of us were dedicated fisherman by then but knew nothing of guides or warm saltwater. This was an adventure I was so excited about I could not even eat breakfast. We drove west until we could go no further. Homosassa is where we ended up and met up with Riley Head a local guide. Off we went down the Homosassa river the three of us and Riley. We ran out the channel to 13 feet of water. I actually remember that depth since I was amazed that we ran so far to be in just 13 feet unlike the 613 feet of water we would be in had we gone that far out on our home lake Ontario. Mitchell 300’s and spinning rods terminated with a cork and shrimp was the tackle of the day. Out went a chum bag and in came the mackerel one after the other. We caught lots of fish that day and kept a few for dinner. 13 years later my dad and mom retired here in Homosassa and to this day my mom is convinced that this area was her idea! We let her believe this since she not being a fisherman at all loves this area every bit as much as my dad did,. My older sister and older brother also retired here in the very same neighborhood and family get togethers are plentiful. Dad passed seven years ago and mom needs a little help here to remain in her chosen paradise. Now here I am fishing the very waters I would dream of all the time and always looking forward to fishing with my dad during a visit. The boats are faster and more numerous, the houses are a bit more extravagant but the river remains every bit as beautiful as I first remembered. I might fish 5 days a week now but I still get just as excited to fish each time I head out. One thing I always do every single time I hit the open Gulf is take a moment and thank my dad for always having time to take me fishing. Incidentally one thing I missed the first time I came to the Nature Coast was the quality of the fine folks that live here whether native or not, This is truly paradise and I feel fortunate to be here. I can’t think of any other place I would rather be.
