
Spot Croaker
Spot Croaker

Black Drum
Black Drum (cut fresh shrimp)

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Sept 09 053.jpg 2009-09-25

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Jan 3 2010 023.jpg 2010-01-03

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Offshore Trip Jan 2010 020.jpg 2010-01-15

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Jodie and Tim Visit 060.jpg 2010-03-08

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Fishing 052.jpg 2010-02-14

Lookdown
Gold Kroc Spoon

Snook
Yozuri Crystal Minnow

Dad's Big Barracuda
Mirrolure Catch 2000

First Mahi Mahi
.

Dad's Sailfish
~75lbs

Snook 28''
Skimmer Jig/Fishbite

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Jan 3 2010 020.jpg 2010-01-03

First Snook 1.02.10.jpg
Bucktail/Fishbite

Spanish Mackerel (teaser fly)
The difference between the Spanish and Cero Mackerel is that the Cero has a line and dots, while the Spanish just has dots.
The Cero is the least oily of the 3 FL Mackerels. While the King Mackerel is the strongest flavored (eeecch).

Cero Mackerel (Powerbait Minnow/Jighead)
.

Bonefish (brown skimmer jig)
Nassau...Belize...I don't think so
This Bonefish was made in America
This is my 3rd Bone in the exact same spot of the surf - there's a pothole in the middle of some grassy stuff - holds fish.
This Bone is also the first time I actually caught a fish I was specifically targeting (I used a Bonefish jig). I caught the first two with Yozuri swimmers.

Dad's Snook
Zoom Super Salty Fluke (Arkansas Shiner)
1/16oz weighted Gamakatsu offset work hook
10lb test - No Leader
First Snook off the beach...leave it to my Dad to show me who's boss.

Bonefish (color corrected).jpg
Bonefish (color corrected).jpg 2010-02-07

Red Grouper (Tsunami 4'' Swimbait)
Casting - Kayak - 10lb test
4.5 pounds.

Reef Shark
.

Ladyfish (Rapala Rattletrap)
Caught while trolling

Red Grouper (Tsunami 4'' Swimbait)
.

34'' Cuda (yozuri crystal minnow) Pic 2
I've caught a ton of 'cuda in the same spot on this yo-zuri, but in a spot I found out I can no longer fish (state park).
...but if I were in a kayak or a boat I could fish the same spot....I don't get it.
Actually...I do get it. The state park is beautiful and they don't want empty squid boxes, Corona bottles, and plastic bags all over it - Hey slob fishermen - Do us sportsmen a favor and pick up after yourselves. You're ruining it for the rest of us.

Spanish Mackerel (pic 2)
.

Kingfish
.

Speckled Trout (2.5lb)
.

Houndfish (live bait) - Pic 2
Here's a picture of a horrifying creature that swims in the ocean.
...also, there's a houndfish in the photo.

Skipjack Tuna
Pound for pound, these fish fight the hardest.

Blue Runner (teaser fly)
.

Sand Perch (cut mackeral)
This little guy is in the Grouper Family

Red Grouper (Tsunami 4'' Swimbait)
.

Houndfish (Yozuri Crystal Minnow)
.

Red Grouper/Yellowtail Snapper Combo
.

White Grunt (teaser fly)
Casting

'Cuda (Teaser Fly)
I finally mustered up the guts to eat this one.
Delicious...please put that on my tombstone

Nassau Grouper - Kroc Spoon
Kayak
Grouper?
Reef Shark
.

Leatherjack (teaser fly)
Trolling

Cero Mackerel - Business End
Oct 09 197.jpg 2009-10-17

Reef Shark
.

Baby Mutton Snapper (teaser fly)
.

Lizardfish - Topwater?
.

Lizardfish (DOA Terroreyez)
.

Lizardfish
.

Ladyfish (DOA Terroreyez)
.

Mangrove/Mutton Double Header
Oct 09 062.jpg 2009-10-09

Yellowtail Snapper Double Header
Oct 09 063.jpg 2009-10-09

Red Grouper - Business End
Check out the swimbait in that big maw!

Blue Runner (teaser fly)

Mutton Snapper (Teaser Fly)
Oct 09 059.jpg 2009-10-09

Mutton Snapper (Teaser Fly)
.

Another baby Cuda
Zoom Super Salty Fluke

'Cuda (DOA Glow Shrimp - carolina rigged)
.

Mutton Snapper - Redfish Magic/Leadhead
For an undersized fish, he fought like a mule. Hopefully I'll bump into him again when he's 16''.

Dad's Tiny Blackfin
We were hoping for a 20 pounder....this is what we got

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cero - good2.jpg 2009-10-17

Dad's Kingfish
.

A Good Day
5 keeper specks and a grover.
...when you catch this many fish, you can call them cool nicknames.

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Oct 09 195.jpg 2009-10-17

Mangrove Snapper - Top Pup
Topwater Snapper action

Puffer - 3'' Gulp
These fish maintain a steady diet of gulp shrimp tails.

Mangrove Snapper - Redfish Magic/Leadhead
.

Mutton Snapper
caught by Aaron

Yellowtail Snapper - Yozuri Crystal Minnow
...since when does a yellowtail hit a yozuri?
(caught by Aaron)

Blue Runner
Caught by Aaron

Houndfish on a Kroc
caught by Aaron

Nassau Grouper - Kroc Spoon
caught by Aaron

Yellowtail Snapper
...a very odd catch inshore. He was 2'' below the legal limit, so back in the water he went.

World's Tiniest Barracuda
awwwwwww....isn't he cute with his razor sharp teeth.
He jumped on the lure while I was trolling in the Kayak...I had no idea he was even there.

Mangrove Snapper (Gulp/Popping Cork)
This Mangrove Snapper tried to convince me that the FWC size limit had been raised from 10'' to 30''.
...I think he just felt silly with a fake shrimp in his jaw.

Cuda - Topwater
Who says you can't catch 'cuda with a surface chugger?
...someone did say that, right?

Houndfish (live bait)
This is a photo of the first fish I ever caught on live bait.
Awesome - these guys put on some real ladyfish-esque acrobatics.
...I also stopped swimming in the ocean for a while.

34'' Cuda (yozuri crystal minnow)
Check out that little Yozuri in his mouth.

Southern Stingray
Surf
A very excited father/son team caught this nice ray on a ballyhoo chunk. They also had no hook remover or pliers - luckily I did, so I had some fun flipping over this manhole cover of a fish, removing the hook, and flipping him back to freedom.

Red Snapper
.

Silk Snapper (Ballyhoo)
Offshore - Miami
...he later found himself in a fish taco

Mangrove Snapper (squid)
Be free and grow a few more inches little fella. I see a fish taco in your future.
...the dark stripe keeps the sun out of their eyes - like Will Clark.

Jack Crevalle (live bait)
Surf

Blue Runner (live shrimp)
Surf

Sailor's Choice
I thought it was a Mangrove Snapper....nope.
11'' long

Bluestriped Grunt (squid)
Surf
Because the surf I fish holds a lot of grass, I've caught 5,000,000 of these fish. Butterflied, they're irresistible to sharks and rays. ...I think because their heads are both roly and/or poly.

Speckled Trout (2.5lb)
Redfish Magic/Leadhead (Trolling)
Reason #1 to troll a soft bait in a kayak:
...you may stumble upon a secret Trout hole.

Bluefish
Offshore Miami
Bluefish...blowing up bait on a Jersey Shore beach near you

Sailfish
My first and only Sailfish - released safe and unharmed.

Puffer (squid)
He's not puffed up - he's full of expensive Gulp tails

Pigfish (squid)
Surf
That'll do pigfish....that'll do.
The chick in the background is my best catch yet.

Spot (squid)
Surf

Pinfish (squid)
Surf
This fish later found himself inside of a Stingray

Ballyhoo (Sabiki Rig)
Surf
This is the first Ballyhoo I've ever seen without a pink teaser on his head.

Jack -type? (squid)
If anyone knows what kind of Jack this is, I'd love to know

Blue Runner (Jack)
This fish got foul hooked on a Yozuri Mag Series Minnow.
...if the lure didn't have 2 sets of big trebles, I would have free spooled him back in the wash with the lure attached.

Leatherjack (squid)
Surf

Yellowfin Mojarra (squid)
Surf
I just can't bring myself to use these guys as live bait....just look at those puppy dog eyes.
Be free, scrappy fish - I'll see you again on light tackle.

80lb Stingray (cut ladyfish)
Flamingo, FL

5ft. Bull Shark (butterflied catfish)
Flamingo

5ft. Bull Shark - Pic 2
.

Little Tunny (ballyhoo)
Those spots around the pectoral fin differentiate the Little Tunny from the Atlantic Bonito.
They taste terrible, but their bellies cut into long strips with a teaser make a great substitute for trolling Ballyhoo.

Kingfish (ballyhoo)
Pompano Beach Offshore Trip

Mahi Mahi
AKA Dolphinfish
AKA Dorado
AKA Delicious

Pompano Beach Offshore Trip
We caught a total of 17.5 fish that day (including a Sailfish) in the scarcest thunderstorm I've ever been in. I felt like that priest from Caddyshack. Take note of the Blackfin Tuna all the way to the right.

Speckled Trout (propeller plug)
Flamingo, FL
They don't put up much of a fight, but man is it cool to watch them crash a surface plug.

Speckled Trout
Our first three fish of the day were Specks. We let them all go in anticipation of bringing home a cooler full of fish.
3 Hardheads, 3 Ladyfish, a Bull Shark, some undersize Grover snapper, 2 Stingrays, and a Sawfish later we found ourselves heading home to buy some fishsticks.

Hardhead Catfish (gulp shrimp/jighead)
Flamingo, FL

Hardhead Catfish
.

Bait -any ideas? (sabiki rig)
Surf

Silver Perch
Surf -
...also, he was tasty

Another Yozuri'd Cuda
.

Ahhhhhhh
Surf

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June 2009 087.jpg 2009-06-07

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May 2009 138.jpg 2009-05-24

Who says Crevalle Jack isn't good eats?
This Crevalle got gut hooked and didn't make it. It's better I eat it than a shark, right?
...it's better I get deadly parasites than a shark, right?

Zoom Super Fluke (white) with a 1/16oz weighted Gamakatsu offset work hook - texas rigged.
Aug 2009.jpg 2009-08-15

Ahhhhhh...get it out!

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Tsunami 3'' Swim Shad (glow)
Species Fooled:
Red Grouper
Blue Runner

Rattlin' Rapala
Species Fooled:
Ladyfish
Blue Runner

Tsunami 4'' Swim Shad
.

Top Pup (green top)
.

Top Dog Jr.
.

Popa Dog
.

MirroMullet
Tiny Topwater bait

DOA Terroreyez/Teaser Combo
All on the troll.
Species Fooled:
Ladyfish
Mutton Snapper
Yellowtail Snapper
Mangrove Snapper (fly)
Blue Runner (fly)
Pinfish (fly)

Mirrolure Top Pup
This plug walks the dog on the surface - it's my all time favorite lure.
Species Fooled:
Barracuda
Mangrove Snapper
Jack Crevalle
Blue Runner

Top Pup (battle scars!)
A barracuda bit a hole in it and it filled up with water. Now it's a "Bottom-Pup"

Redfish Magic 4'' Glass Minnow (Strike King)
This my new go-to softbait. They're much more resilient than Gulp and Zoom baits. Oh, and they catch fish.
Species Fooled:
Tarpon
Speckled Trout
Barracuda (retrieve skipped quickly across the surface)
Mutton Snapper
Mangrove Snapper
Lookdown
Jack Crevalle
Blue Runner
Pinfish

Yozuzi Crystal Minnow (floating)
I caught 50,000 barracuda on this plug in June.
...ok, that might be an exaggeration.
It did catch my first big Bonefish though.
This is also the 5th one I've purchased, hence the lack of teeth marks.
Species Fooled:
Barracuda
Bonefish
Mutton Snapper
BIG Stingray
Jack Crevalle
Houndfish
Blue Runner

Skimmer Jig (1/8oz)
The head on this jig is a "Wiggle Jig" - the flymaster at Captain Harry's in Miami tied on some better hair and flash.
Species Fooled:
Bonefish
Barracuda
Snook

Yozuzi Crystal Minnow (floating)
Species Fooled:
Barracuda
Jack Crevalle
Yellowtail Snapper
Blue Runner

DOA Shrimp - 2 ways
With the backwards rigging, the fish face the shrimp's face, front legs, and eyes - which may look more appealing, and supposedly natural.
I removed the stock weight and used a weighted Gamakatsu offset wormhook. The cavity where the stock weight once sat is a prime place for a glass rattle.
Species Fooled: (standard rigging)
Tarpon
Mangrove Snapper
Species Fooled: (backward rigging)
Tarpon

Yozuzi Mag Series Minnow
These swimbaits have an internal magnetic-transfer system that improves casting distance, as it will travel more like a bullet and less like...well, a Yozuri.
Species Fooled:
Barracuda

Gotcha 4'' Trout Killer/Jig Head
Species Fooled:
Barracuda
Jack Crevalle

Zoom Super Salty Fluke
Rigged with a Gamakatsu offset weighted work hook.
Species Fooled:
Snook (Arkansas shiner/weighted hook)
Jack Crevalle (white/weighted hook)
Blue Runner (Arkansas shiner/unweighted hook)
Cuda (white/football jig)
Puffer

Yozuzi Mag Series Minnow
Yes, you can catch Bones on big, honkin', rattling, plugs.
Species Fooled:
Bonefish

Gulp 3'' Shrimp (new penny)
There's not much these scented softies won't catch when rigged on a jighead or in a martini glass full of cocktail sauce.
Puffers love chomping their tails off and killing the action of the bait...jerks.
I'll do my fair share of wading when the fishing gets slow. There's just something unsettling about having a pocket full of fish attractant when you're waste deep in the ocean.
Species Caught:
Everything that eats shrimp

Bomber A-Salt® Pop ‘n Minnow™
http://www.bombersaltwatergrade.com/products/detail.asp?id=asalt_pop_n_minnow
Color: Silver Flash/Red Head
Species Fooled:
Barracuda
Crevalle Jack

Hopkins
The Hopkins company has been forging these metals since 1948, so I guess they work.

Luhr Jensen Krocodile (1/2 oz)
This is one of the best designed metals I've ever used. The swivel on the end not only prevents line twist, but creates retrieve that spins the lure. Also note the small red disc.
It also casts a country mile.
It's currently at the bottom of Biscayne Bay.
Species Fooled:
Mangrove Snapper
Lizardfish
Houndfish
Blue Runner
Nassau Grouper

Yozuri Crystal Minnow
I like this plug so much, I bought one in every size.

Cajun Thunder Popping Cork/DOA 1/4oz Shrimp
The popping cork is supposed to make a noise that sounds like a big fish swallowing bait. The pop also make the DOA shrimp jump a bit.
I like it because I can cast it much further than the DOA shrimp on it's own, and it doesn't hang in the weeds.
Species Fooled:
Jack Crevalle

Teaser Flies
I've got a few flys to tie in front of the big plugs to give the illusion of a "chase".
The shrimp fly on the right was given to me gratis by the manager at an Orvis in Atlanta. He told me it was free if I could send him a picture of a Bonefish with the fly (used as a teaser) in his mouth.
...no pressure, right?

Chrome Spoons
Q: Is there anything these spoons won't catch?
A: If you're me, fish

Yozuri Mag Series - Darter
This lure got stolen before I could ever use it...so there.

Mirrolure Mirrominnow
(Currently at the bottom of the sea)
It was floating in the water by my feet at the surfline while I was fixing a wind knot and a Ladyfish absolutely crashed it. The hook didn't set and the Ladyfish literally skipped away out of the water like Woody Woodpecker.
Species Fooled:
Ladyfish

Bucktails
I still haven't caught a darn thing with a bucktail (excluding the skimmer jig)
...why do I keep trying?
Gotta love the photo though...it's like an Ipod commerical

Tube Lure "Surge"
I think these are better for trolling - they're a pain to cast.

Mirrolure Catch 2000
Suspending Twitchbait
Species Fooled:
Snook
Barracuda
Jack Crevalle
Leatherjack
Blue Runner

Yozuri Crystal Minnow - MAGNUM
This is a big boy

Doc's Goofy Jig and Teaser
This jig/teaser combo is great for fishing sandy bottoms
...I've yet to realize any success with it - too much grass where I fish.
Note the orientation of the jig and teaser - this is how they should look on your loop knot.
...and you better be using loop knots on your jigs.
Check out this article about these jigs:
http://forshorefishing.theledger.com/default.asp?item=2215176

Crippled Herring
For deep jigging.

DOA Baitbuster
This is the deep runner model.
Great for sight casting to rolling tarpon, or trolling.
Not so great for sight casting to rolling tarpon...10# test

Rapala Skitterpop
This plug is huge...

The First Mirrolure
William Lamb was pretty cynical about fish. This apparatus, patented in 1894, assumes that a fish that sees itself in a mirror “will be made bolder by the supposed companionship, and more eager to take the bait before his competitor seizes it.”
“He will lose his caution,” Lamb wrote, “and take the bait with a recklessness that greatly increases the chances of his being caught on the hook.”