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Three Days For Atlantic Snapper PHOTO BY CAPT. BLAKE RIGBY COURTESY OF TRIPLETAIL CHARTERS WWW.TRIPLETAILCHARTERS.COM VOLUME 26 • ISSUE 316

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very once in a while a timepiece comes along that’s so incredibly good looking, masterfully equipped and jaw-droppingly priced, that it stops us stone cold. A watch that can take you seamlessly from the 18th hole to the board room. A watch that blurs the line betweens sports watch and dress watch. We’re talking the Blue Stone Chronograph, and it sits at the top of the discerning gentleman’s watch list. Striking in appearance and fully equipped with features, this is a watch of substance. The Blue Stone merges the durability of steel with the precision of crystal movement that’s accurate to 0.2 seconds a day. Both an analog and digital watch, the Blue Stone keeps time with pinpoint accuracy in two time zones. The watch’s handsome steel blue dial seamlessly blends an analog watch face with a stylish digital display. It’s a stopwatch, calendar, and alarm. Plus, the Blue Stone resists water up to 30 meters, making it up for water adventures. A watch with these features would easily cost you thousands if you shopped big names. But overcharging to justify an inflated brand name makes us blue in the face. Which is why we make superior looking and performing timepieces priced to please. Decades of experience in engineering enables Stauer to put quality on your wrist and keep your money in your pocket.

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Experience the Blue Stone Chronograph for 30 days. If you’re not convinced you got excellence for less, send it back for a refund of the item price. Time is running out. Originally priced at $395, the Blue Stone Chronograph was already generating buzz among watch connoisseurs, but with the price slashed to $69, we can’t guarantee this limited-edition timepiece will last. So, call today!

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n the era of the coronavirus, outdoor recreation has become an important survival tool. Last year, the boating industry saw a record number of new boat owners. Both new boaters and seasoned boaters changed their habits to social distance while making the most of their love for the recreational outlet. According to a survey of 3,500 boaters by Sea Tow Services International, this trend is expected to continue into the 2021 summer season. Pandemic-influenced boating behavior: • 52 percent of boaters surveyed anticipate their boating activity to increase this summer compared to last. • 20 percent cite the pandemic as the reason for extending their boating season again in 2021. • 24 percent plan to vacation on/by boat (versus other forms of travel) because of the pandemic. • 35 percent plan to use their boat primarily for cruising near their home. • 16 percent upgraded to a larger boat in 2020 or plan to do so in 2021. • 52 percent plan to use their boat primarily for fishing (65 percent inshore/30 percent offshore/5 percent freshwater). • 30 percent have found it more difficult to find dockage and/or marina space. “Our member survey has typically been a very strong indicator for seasonal recreational boating trends,” said Kristen Frohnhoefer, President of Sea Tow. “Last year, Sea Tow saw a 34 percent increase in requests for on-water assistance in the summer of 2020, and our nationwide network of captains are anticipating another busy season for 2021.” With the sale of a record number of new boats in over a decade and an influx of new boaters, Sea Tow noted that in 2020 owners of new boats were 142 percent more likely to need ungrounding services, 108 percent more likely to need fuel delivered to them and 11.2 percent more likely to need a battery jump. Alternately, new boat owners are 22 percent less likely to need a tow. “These numbers are very interesting,” Frohnhoefer said, “They reflect the fact that new boaters are not yet familiar with things like shifting sandbars and hard to navigate channels, or how to manage their fuel, like their more seasoned counterparts–which is getting them into trouble and causing them to call us for assistance. But likewise, these stats demonstrate what we’ve been saying all along—that when it comes to new boats, on-water assistance typically is needed due to user error, not mechanical failure, as newer boats and engines are more reliable than ever before.” With the number of new boaters recreating on the water, the need for boating education has never been more important. Sixty-nine percent of boaters surveyed are looking for more advice on local navigational assistance, mishap prevention and general boating basics. “2021 is sure to be another banner year for boating,” said Frohnhoefer, “We’ll find out real soon if these trends for recreational boating activity are in fact here to stay.” For more on Sea Tow, visit www.seatow.com.

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JULY 2021

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TIPS TO DIAL IN RIVER-RUN BASS S

By Nick Carter

triped bass don’t stay in the same place long. Huge spring runs up the Atlantic Coast and into freshwater rivers to spawn is natural behavior for stripers. Even fish trapped by dams in inland reservoir systems retain a strong urge to move. Across the east, wherever reservoir striped bass exist, the movement begins as a spring spawning run. Fish push out of the lakes and as far up creeks and rivers as they can go. This spring run is followed by a larger summer migration, when stripers pile into the rivers seeking more comfortable water conditions. Here are a few tips from the pros for dialing in river-run stripers. • Make Shots Count: “Fish good water, and fish it well,” said Bill Stranahan. Stranahan guides with Southeastern Anglers, and the striper run on Tennessee’s Hiwassee River is a summertime staple. Fishing the Hiwassee run is like deer hunting. You’re fishing hard for a few bites from monster fish that get up into the 40-pound range. “Look for good structure, whether its wood, shoals or rock faces,” Stranahan said. “When you’re on that good structure, don’t rush it. You can spook ’em with a bad throw, so take your time and make good shots.” Whether you’re throwing streamers with a fly rod or swimbaits with conventional gear, Stranahan warned against locking into the big bait, big fish theory. “We all know stripers will chase down big 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-inch skipjack and gizzard shad, but don’t forget your smaller baits,” he said. “A lot of their forage base is 4 inches or less. There’s a time and a place for fishing small stuff.” • Fish it All: Rob “Mustache” Smith, of The Fish Hawk in Atlanta, has guided the Chattahoochee River striper run for two decades or more. He knows all the hotspots where there are always fish. He also knows those spots

PHOTO COURTESY OF GARNER REID

get a ton of pressure. Smith said to slow down and fish all the likely structure instead of rushing to areas where you’ve caught fish before. “If you’re on the river, fish everything,” he said. “Those fish are constantly moving, and you’d be surprised at the fish you’re passing when you’re rushing to get to that one little area. Fish it all, and fish it like you expect a fish on every cast.” • Move Some Water: “When they’re in the river, those fish are laid up in ambush,” said Garner Reid, who made his name guiding fly fishers to big Georgia stripers on the Etowah River. “You’re drawing reaction strikes, and what triggers them is a fly that looks like it’s wounded or fleeing.” Reid said it’s easy to get sloppy with the retrieve when you’re blind casting all day. He reminds anglers that it takes an aggressive presentation to move some water, cause a little commotion and trigger a striped bass’s predatory instinct. “Use the current and the swing to enhance your strip,” he said. “Make that fly hunt for you.” Visit Southeastern Anglers at www.southeasternanglers.com. See The Fish Hawk website at thefishhawk.com. Call Garner Reid at (770) 866-0301.

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JULY 2021

NATIONAL 7

THREE CLUES TO

Mahi Mahi By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

ahi fishing can be tricky in some places and times of year. They congregate under floating material adrift in the current, leaving them with no fixed address within an area of greatly variable depths. If you are fortunate enough to be able to target dolphinfish along the Gulf Stream this summer, you are in the right place at the right time. You shouldn’t have much trouble filling your cooler and even maxing out on the generous daily bag limit of this species. Head out to target mahi with a full tank of fuel. Assume you will have to run far and wide to find them, but hope to get lucky along the way. Recruit everyone on board to remain on the look out for the three telltale mahi hangouts: weeds, birds and floaters. Weeds can be productive whether they are formed tightly in a line, or even a tight patch. Birds can be a great sign of actively feeding fish at the surface, but they can also just be birds being birds. Learn to read them properly to avoid wasting time. A group of circling birds or diving birds is what you want to look for, and the more the better. Sometimes, a bird that’s on fish will flicker in the sun, reflecting the sunlight in a sporadic pattern as it moves its body to stay on top of something it has spotted under the surface. Circling frigate birds are always a good sign. If you see one even attempt a dive, start trolling immediately. Floaters can be anything floating in the water, from debris to sea turtles. When you find floaters in open water, it doesn’t take long to feel out if it is productive or not. If you happen to see all three of these goldmines come together, with birds diving around debris sucked to a weedline, troll the ever loving shi…mano out of it. When trolling for mahi, you won’t need to run more than four lines. Troll two small lures long, ideally on the outriggers, to draw in smaller dolphin. Troll one medium lure or ballyhoo at mid-length, and one large lure close. Dolphinfish have the mentality of a toddler. When you reel one to the boat, leave the fish in the water, put your rod in the rod holder, and cast out behind the hooked fish. The school should have followed your mahi to the boat, and with their mahi-see, mahi-do mentality, they’ll all want to partake in snack time. Continue hooking mahi and leave them in the water until you run out of available rods to cast. Start by putting one fish in the boat, but don’t take the second out of the water until the first rod has gone back out and hooked another fish. Try switching from live bait to chunk bait to keep them eating. If they don’t slam a bait as soon as it hits the water, try twitching the bait. Even a completely healthy and well-presented live bait sometimes isn’t as enticing as one that’s getting yanked away from them. Mahi will eat nearly anything, especially if you know how to taunt them properly. One of the biggest challenges in catching them is trolling through weeds. Weeds that cling to your lures is a pain to manage on the deck, while constantly clearing lines, and you also miss a lot of opportunities to catch fish. All lures catch weeds, the determining factor is whether they shed those weeds. Deep diving lures that never breach the surface are not your friend in this situation. Lightweight, squid-skirted lures do an excellent job of popping out of the water when bogged down with weeds. Most times, they clear themselves of weeds. Blue Magic Charters makes their own 3D-printed lures designed to troll in weeds. Visit them in Marathon, Fla., and ask us about their DR. BUBBLES lures. Capt. Quinlyn Haddon fishes with Blue Magic Charters in Marathon, Fla. Contact her at (504) 920-6342 and visit CaptainQuinlyn.com.

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RHODAN: TOTAL GAME CHANGER FOR GROUPER

Tim Barefoot

here was a time—not too long ago— when only a select few would consistently come home with grouper, and not just “bottom fish.” There were several reasons for this. First and foremost, not everyone wanted to learn and spend the energy it took to learn to anchor. Anchoring accurately is an art form not mastered by all, but when mastered, it is the gateway to consistently catching grouper. Rhodan trolling motors, with their GPS Anchor systems, have made it so anyone can have a shot at catching grouper and not just all the other species down on the bottom. It’s one thing to have a trolling motor with “Spot Lock” that will hold position in a small bay boat, but Rhodan made the tool for serious offshore

boats to sit on the same place without using the anchor. Partner this Rhodan with a couple 36 volt lithium deep-cycle batteries, like Dakota, Ionic or Lithium Pros on a battery switch, and you have the tools it takes to score. Rhodan is just one aspect of what it takes to go grouper fishing, and not just “bottom fishing.” The way I set the dinner table for a grouper on every ledge is to have everyone on the boat sending down whole squid on the first five or six drops. I don’t care what they’re catching during this “chumming exercise,” because chumming is exactly what we’re doing. We’re getting one spot on the bottom chummed up with little pieces of squid swirling around. The smell and sound of an ongoing feeding

frenzy draws in the top of the food chain in no time at all. This is the point when we start to grouper fish. Yes, I’ve caught a lot of grouper on the whole squid, also, but this part of the routine is strictly to get the party started. Once it’s going, we drop live baits that none of the grunts, pinkies or sea bass can fit in their mouths. The smaller fish just hang out looking at these bigger baits and hoping for scraps. This is when grouper see four or five live baits on the bottom attached to Squid or Crab Decoy Jigs. To them, it’s a no-brainer. The sight of a grass grunt, pinfish or sailor’s choice struggling against the weight of the jig is more than a grouper can understand. They are hardwired to eat these fish that eat their eggs. The live bait and Decoy Jig combo gets the bite because a struggling bait is a “gimme.” Also, while you’ve got those grouper lines on the bottom, don’t forget to send a light out near the surface. Bait it with a live or frozen bait to catch pelagics like kingfish, dolphin, wahoo or tuna that happen to be swimming past. What does this all have to do with the Rhodan? Well, Rhodan’s powerful and precise GPS anchoring eliminates drift without all the aggravation and hard work of anchoring. Let Rhodan change your game by allowing you to concentrate on the fish while it keeps the boat in place! See more from Capt. Tim Barefoot, of Barefoot Cats and Tackle, at barefootcatsandtackle.com.

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LIFE IS A BEACH S By Richard L. Matteson

The

Weeds G3 Sportsman 1810

argassum is a brown seaweed with berry-like bladders that at times covers the beaches and is washed into the lagoon around the inlets. Recent fishing at the beach has proven difficult because of the large mats of sargassum. Piles of sargassum are dumped on the beach at high tide and those same piles are pulled back into the ocean with the next high tide. The good thing is baitfish like to hang around sargassum—it protects them from predator fish. Sometimes the fishing is better with sargassum in the water. Conventional crocodile silver spoons with treble hooks do not work at all; they get hung up and you drag seaweed in on every cast. All your conventional crankbaits with treble hooks won’t work either. What to do? You simply have to fish lures with single hooks and use weedless spoons. The Johnson 3-inch weedless spoon is a regular bass and redfish lure. If you want to spice it up, use a pork rind or plastic trailer. This is a deadly lure for any saltwater fish. I like gold, but silver works too. Yo-Zuri makes crankbaits with a single hook, and you can also take off the front hook and put a weedless hook on the back of any crankbait. This might affect the action and takes some tinkering, but it keeps you from catching so many weeds. My favorite lure is a DOA 3/16-ounce jig with a 4-inch shad tail. Surprisingly, unless you fish it deep or hit a large mat of seaweeds, the jigs do not get hung up much. I just caught a nice snook in the weeds this week by popping the jig off the bottom. Sure, you’ll get hung up sometimes, but the jigs can be fished near the surface and usually come up clean. Try a topwater. Now is the time for great topwater action. Most of the time you can maneuver your topwater lures around the weed masses. If it’s bad, just take off the front treble hook and replace the back hook with a single hook. You can use a weedless hook, but it’s usually not necessary. You won’t have many weed problems with topwater, anyway. I like Skitter Walks in trout color and gold Zara Spooks. Lots of Sargassum on the beach? No problem. Switch to weedless or single hooks and catch the big ones feeding on the bait in the weeds. Richard L. Matteson Jr., of the Stuart Rod and Reel Club, is a regular contrinutor to Coastal Angler Magazine. Call him at (336) 414-3440.

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First Winner Named in State’s Largest Fishing Competition

n just the second week of this year’s STAR competition, CCA Florida has named the first verified winner in the CCA Florida STAR West Marine Tagged Redfish Division. After catching his tagged redfish, Ken Clarke, of Fort Pierce, selected a prize package from Contender Boats and Yamaha Outboards valued at more than $80,000. It will be awarded to him during the STAR Awards ceremony on Oct. 9 in Crystal River. A CCA Florida STAR registrant and CCA Florida member, Clarke caught the 20-inch redfish while fishing from a dock with live shrimp near St. Lucie Village on June 10. Clarke immediately notified the organization to begin the verification process. “I read the rules and knew I needed to follow them. Only after I submitted my catch through the STAR app, did the real excitement begin to set in,” Clarke said. “I’m still in shock and incredibly fortunate to be the first registered angler to win. I can’t wait to take out my new Contender 2200 Sport with 200HP Yamaha motor on the water.” This year, 160 West Marine Tagged Redfish were released across Florida’s coastal waters on average four per coastal county with Brevard, Charlotte and Citrus counties being Destination Counties with eight tagged fish each. Remaining prizes in the division include a Pathfinder 2200 TRS with Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird

electronics and a Spyder FX19 Vapor all powered by Yamaha. Additionally, STAR’s other tagged division, the Tigress Outriggers & Gear Tagged Dolphin Division, will award $10,000 to the first registrant to catch a tagged dolphin. Unlike traditional fishing competitions, CCA Florida STAR presented by Yamaha focuses on conservation and offers $500,000 in prizes and scholarships during the 101-day event. As a “catchphoto-release” competition, STAR’s smart phone app eliminates the requirement for anglers to harvest or capture and transport fish. “Our state’s fisheries are here for everyone’s enjoyment, and CCA Florida understands that smart fishing can help restore, preserve and improve marine habitats and water quality for today and tomorrow,” said CCA Florida STAR Director Leiza Fitzgerald. “Implementing a catchphoto-release competition is just one way to continue fulfilling our organization’s mission and protect our coastal waterways.” STAR is also focused on youth participation, with its Youth Scholarship Division presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors offering more than $100,000 in scholarships. Youth anglers (ages 6-17) can register for free with a current CCA Florida youth membership. Prizes for the first two youth anglers in the West Marine Tagged Redfish Division include a Salt Marsh Skiff 1656 powered

with a Yamaha 40 HP motor and trailer, and the first registered youth angler who catches one of 20 tagged dolphin (mahi mahi) is eligible to win a $10,000 scholarship in the Tigress Outrigger & Gear Tagged Dolphin Division. The STAR competition includes 17 divisions and 12 species, and most winners are determined by random drawing, giving anglers of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to win. Registration is $40 for current CCA Florida members or $75 for non-members.

Because every ﬁsh could be a winner!

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CCA Florida STAR is the largest family-friendly saltwater ﬁshing competition in Florida, and it’s unlike traditional ﬁshing tournaments.

• $500,000 in Prizes & Scholarships

• West Marine Tagged Redﬁsh Prizes Include Boat, Motor & Trailer Packages • 1st Tagged Tigress Dolphin/Mahi Mahi Wins $10,000 cash • 101 days of ﬁshing $40 entry for current CCA members. All others add $35 for one year membership.

• Prizes for Additional Non-Tagged Non Species Snook, Trout, Redfish, Grouper, Kingfish, Dolphin, Tarpon & Lionfish

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Summertime in the Florida Keys By: Capt. Greg Poland

he water temps are getting warm around the middle of the day so I try to get out as early as possible and fish till about noon then jump in the pool to cool off and get back out towards the end of the afternoon and fish till sunset. The fishing in the backcountry has been exceptionally good especially on the calm days when you Capt. Greg Poland 305.393.3327 | gregpoland.com can see the rolling tarpon or tailing redfish. I have found plenty of action fishing Instagram: gregpoland the shorelines and my Gulf spots that I have marked and it has been great fishing Facebook: Fishing in the Florida Keys for all the regular species. with Capt. Greg Poland If you don’t want to run into the backcountry and are looking for some fresh fish you should have perfect weather to run offshore in search of a Mahi Mahi when hopefully the winds lie down as they usually do in June and with my Contender 25 Bay boat, I do it all the time. I like to carry a few light spinners in the 10-15lb range with a 4/0 circle hook tied to a 3ft piece of fluorocarbon for the schoolies and I like to use a piece of squid as bait. For the larger fish my go to gregpolandphotography.com is a 20lb outfit with the same leader and hook but I use a whole squid or ballygregpolandstudios.com hoo which can be trolled or if you spot them just cast out in front and give it a few twitches. I always carry a 50lb trolling rod on board which makes it easy to drag a trolling lure or rigged ballyhoo with a skirt when I approach the weed lines which I’ll start about 100 yards before the weeds just to get things out in the wake. Summer fishing is a great time to be out in the water and do some offshore fishing since a lot of us have been in the backcountry due to the constant winds. If you are in the upper Keys and would like to get out with me in my new rig and see what I’m talking about, give me a call and let’s do some fishing together!

— Contact Capt. Greg at 305.393.3327 or email at gregpoland@icloud.com FACEBOOK.COM/CAMFLORIDAKEYS

JULY 2021

FLORIDA KEYS 1

Leave the Bananas Ashore! By: Capt. Armando Alejo

n a recent trip, we had our return clients Mr. Neil and Mr. Jimmy. We had our sights set on some Flamingo Everglades Redfish and so we began our trip out on the front of the park. We made a good run that morning to an area that has been producing good numbers of Redfish, many of which were in the upper slot window! We bounced from spot, to spot, to spot, finding only Snook at every stop! I referenced to my clients how the number of Snook caught lately would later cater to a good Snook season in September. Shown in our photos are Neil and Jimmy with some healthy Everglades Snook.... Every trip has back story! On this day, we took a lunch break in the middle of the day and to my surprise, the forbidden fruit had made it aboard. I vividly recall Jimmy yelling! “Now I know why we are not catching Redfish”, I looked up, and there it WAS! One of my guests was having a banana aboard! Now, we all know, the myths and stories behind this fruit, but on this day, as the story goes, the banana kept the Redfish away. Hop aboard with us today! But PLEASE leave the bananas ashore!

— Fish with us: Call Capt. Armando at 305-778-5342 or visit us at www.a2charters.com, we are a FIVE-STAR rated service and guide.

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Whoever named wahoo, “wahoo“ was right on! By: Capt. Joel Brandenburg

f you’ve ever fought a wahoo you know what I mean. Wahoo is the fastest swimming fish in the ocean. Wahoo have been clocked at over 60 miles per hour. Most clients who high speed troll for wahoo on our boat say “how can a fish hit a bait that’s moving so fast?” The speed and agility of a wahoo is unbelievable. They are the perfect killing machines. 90% of the wahoo I’ve cleaned in the Florida Keys have baby tuna in them. Tuna are very fast, but no match for a hungry wahoo. A black fin tuna has hues of purple and orange over its deep black hide. The best colored artificial baits to use for wahoo are coincidentally purple and/or orange. Some people swear by red, but that’s because purple and orange make red. We catch wahoo using several different techniques, but our most effective way is high speed trolling.

Below are some high-speed trolling tips:

• We like to use tormenter plastic skirts and Nomad lures for high speed trolling rigged with a 250lb cable tied to 30ft of 100lb mono tied to a 1/2lb inline weight with 100lb braid on a bent butt rod n 50w conventional reel.

— For a charter with Ana Banana Fishing Company Marathon Florida Keys call 813-267-4401 cell, 305-395-4211 office, or email us at marathonkeyfishingcharters@gmail.com You can also visit us in person at Ana Banana Marina at 12699 Overseas Highway Marathon Florida Keys or Captain Joel Brandenburg 570 Sombrero Beach Rd Marathon FL 33050

Friends of the Pelicans

ven if you take precautionary steps to avoid it, sometimes you might hook a bird by accident. That’s when it’s important to remember—don’t cut the line and let the bird fly away with it attached. This will lead to entanglement, resulting in death of that bird and possibly others as well. Instead, follow these simple steps to unhook the bird: Reel. Remove. Release.

How else can you help a seabird or wading bird?

1. Wear safety glasses and enlist a partner for help. 2. Reel the bird in slowly and lift it from the water using a hoop net. Even a large pelican weighs only 4-8 pounds 3. Grasp the bird by the head just behind the eyes and fold the wings against the body. For pelicans, hold the beak, keeping the mouth slightly open so it can breathe. Cover the bird’s head with a cloth to keep it calm. 4. Never pull the hook out but carefully push the end through the skin, cut off the barb and back the hook out using pliers or clippers. If the bird is entangled, remove all line. 5. Release the bird (if healthy) by placing it on the ground near the water and allowing it to take off. 6. If the bird has swallowed the hook or is severely injured, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator from the list at MyFWC.com/unhook. 4 FLORIDA KEYS

At 14kts your lure will troll about 40ft deep. Set your clicker as light as you can possibly set it to keep your spool locked. • We find the best time to high speed troll is on a sunny clear day with little or no wind and waves early in the morning or late in the afternoon. We try to pick areas that don’t have scattered weeds for a clean troll. Weeds will trip your reel. • We’ve had our best luck in 100ft to 250ft deep just outside the reef. Troll over wrecks, ledges and structures also troll under war birds and next to floaters, even next to crab and lobster trap buoys and beside organized weed lines. • We’ve done well high-speed trolling on the frontside and the backside of thunderstorms. We also troll color changes and temperature changes. Its best to have two trolling rigs going at the same time. The reason two seems to work the best is because wahoo run together and it’s common to have two hit simultaneously. Also, more than two at one time is too much chaos. • Another good wahoo tip: when you are low speed trolling ballyhoo for mahi in areas that wahoo are likely to be in, don’t be afraid to use wire rigged ballyhoo. The mahi don’t seem to mind the wire and if a wahoo does hit you’ll be glad you were wire rigged. Many times, while trolling mono rigged ballyhoo we experience what we call “zoom pow. “The wahoo hits and all we hear is “zoom pow” as the mono leader snaps from its power and sharp teeth.

JULY 2021

1. Don’t feed the birds, which teaches them to approach where they are more likely to be hooked. 2. Dispose of filleted bones where birds can’t get them—in a trash can with lid or at home. Bones of a filleted fish will become lodged in or tear throats, stomachs and intestines leading to the death of that bird . 3. Cover bait buckets and take unused bait home. 4. Dispose of fishing line in a monofilament recycling bin or cut into small pieces and place in the trash. 5. Don’t leave your line unattended. 6. Cast carefully to avoid hooking a bird in flight or being snared on trees, bridge pilings etc. 7. Help others learn what to do when they accidentally hook a bird. It’s pretty easy, once you know how. 8. Sponsored by Friends of the Pelicans, Inc. More detailed information can be found at facebook.com/ friendsofthepelicans. — Photos by Carol Cassels

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Summer time is a great time for deep dropping in the Keys By: Capt. Bruce Andersen

e’ve got great offshore fishing available all summer in the Florida Keys. The Mahi Mahi fishing is going strong and should continue for the next few months. The blackfin tuna fishing is good and should really heat up towards late summer. The reef fishing especially for mangrove snapper is usually on fire, but one of my favorite types of fishing we do is deep drop fishing for the various types of deep-water grouper, snapper, and tilefish found offshore of the Florida Keys. The summer months are Ideal for this type of fishing as it’s very common to get long stretches of flat calm weather that make it easier when dropping in depths of 300 to 1000 feet of water. In addition to the weather, some of the most common species caught in the deep like snowy grouper and blue line tilefish are open to harvest from May 1st through the month of August. Deep dropping can mean anything from targeting vermillion snapper, yellow eye snapper, and rose porgies in 300 to 450 feet of water to targeting snowy grouper, yellow edge grouper, queen snapper, and blue line tilefish in the 500 to 800 depths to trying for barrelfish, golden tilefish and even black belly rosefish all the way out to 1,000 feet. No matter what depth you try, all of these fish are fun to catch and they’re some of the best eating fish you’ll find anywhere. There are several different fishing conditions that can factor into your success when deep dropping. It’s always easier to hold the bottom on calm days although not impossible on rough days as long as the current isn’t too strong. Offshore of the upper keys you’ll usually be fishing in the gulf stream current which can fluctuate daily. On days where the current is really ripping it will probably be best to target something else and switch over to dolphin or tuna fishing which are also very good this time of year and save deep dropping for a day with moderate current. When deep drop fishing, we normally use multiple hook chicken rigs usually baited with squid and a variety of cut baits. One of the fun parts about catching fish in the deep is you never know what’s on the other end of the line until you get them up. You could have what seems to be a big fish on the line and it could turn out to be a double or triple header of smaller fish or it could be the big grouper you’ve been waiting for. There are few things like the sight of a big snowy or yellow edge grouper starting to come into view from the crystal-clear blue depths and then scoping up and breaking the surface next to the boat. If you would like to try some deep drop fishing give me a call or try reaching out to one of the many offshore guides in the Keys. We’re very lucky to have some of the best captains in the world here in the Keys and some great fishing too!

— www.captaineasycharters.com You can reach Captain Bruce Andersen at Capt. Easy Charters, MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net

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FLORIDA KEYS 7

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Key Largo, South Sound, FL - Jul 20212021 JULY High

Date

Low

TIDE CHART ISLAMORADA

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Islamorada, Florida Bay, FL - Jul 20212021 JULY High

Date

Low

Thu

4:51

0.5

4:41

0.5

Rise

Set

12:01

0.2

6:35