November wrapped up on a high note, capped off by a busy holiday week and some incredible catches for our clients. As we transition toward winter and the water continues to cool, our offshore fishery shifts into an entirely different gear. This time of year, you truly never know what you might run into offshore—and that unpredictability is part of the fun. Just this week, we ran across a school of massive Blackfin Tuna surprisingly close to land. Encounters like these are exactly the kind of bonus opportunities winter can bring. Along with the occasional surprises, all of our reliable...
November wrapped up on a high note, capped off by a busy holiday week and some incredible catches for our clients. As we transition toward winter and the water continues to cool, our offshore fishery shifts into an entirely different gear. This time of year, you truly never know what you might run into offshore—and that unpredictability is part of the fun. Just this week, we ran across a school of massive Blackfin Tuna surprisingly close to land. Encounters like these are exactly the kind of bonus opportunities winter can bring. Along with the occasional surprises, all of our reliable staples have been showing nicely too. Cobia schools have been consistent from the nearshore wrecks out to the offshore structures, and they’ll remain one of our primary targets throughout the winter season. With the cooler temperatures, big Amberjacks are also pushing in closer. These fish provide an absolute blast on rod and reel—we'll chum them up and throw artificials or flies right at them on the surface. Winter also brings some of the best bottom fishing of the entire year, and it’s prime time for serious meat runs. Grouper and Snapper will continue to be major players offshore through the coming months. On the inshore side, we’re right on the edge of switching fully into our winter pattern, transitioning from live pilchards to shrimp and jigs once the backcountry water temps reach that key threshold. Live bait is still producing well with Snook, Redfish, and plenty of Jack Crevalles. As things cool a bit more, shrimp fishing will light up with Trout, Sheepshead, Pompano, Redfish,
Fall Fishing is my absolute favorite time of year here in the Upper Keys. Fishing is very productive from the Everglades to the flats of Islamorada as we have beautiful sunny 75 degree bluebird days.
Fall Fishing is my absolute favorite time of year here in the Upper Keys. Fishing is very productive from the Everglades to the flats of Islamorada as we have beautiful sunny 75 degree bluebird days.
Been a great week on the water! Morning bite is definitely where it's at, get out early beat the Heat has been the best bet. Peacocks have been super aggressive first thing in the morning and almost each trip has had a few clowns mixed in along the way.
Brian K.
Delray Beach, FloridaReported 11 months ago
Been a great week on the water! Morning bite is definitely where it's at, get out early beat the Heat has been the best bet. Peacocks have been super aggressive first thing in the morning and almost each trip has had a few clowns mixed in along the way.
Summer time is in full swing and, for us that men's calmer seas, and beautiful clear water to fish. Reef and wreck has been a bit of a challenge with warmer water temps bringing in more shark activity, some days have been tougher than others but we still managed to put some nice boxes together of yellowtail, and more Offshore bite has been decent with a very consistent almaco jack and amber jack bite. Mahi have been a bit a of a roller coaster with some strong weeks early on and a few tough days in between to find quality...
Summer time is in full swing and, for us that men's calmer seas, and beautiful clear water to fish. Reef and wreck has been a bit of a challenge with warmer water temps bringing in more shark activity, some days have been tougher than others but we still managed to put some nice boxes together of yellowtail, and more Offshore bite has been decent with a very consistent almaco jack and amber jack bite. Mahi have been a bit a of a roller coaster with some strong weeks early on and a few tough days in between to find quality fish. On tough Mahi days the tuna have been great on vertical jigs and live bait, and also had some great deep drop opportunities for vermillion and more.
Summer time protocol is underway in Naples, FL. Hot temps, scattered thunderstorms and hungry fish will be the trend for the coming months. June fishing has been phenomenal so far and is one of our favorite months of the year for a reason. Permit fishing has been epic with large aggressive schools of fish being a common occurrence. They tend to move around more this time of the year but once you get on them it's go time. There have been a few Cobia around offshore as well and are always a welcome guest while we are out Permit fishing....
Summer time protocol is underway in Naples, FL. Hot temps, scattered thunderstorms and hungry fish will be the trend for the coming months. June fishing has been phenomenal so far and is one of our favorite months of the year for a reason. Permit fishing has been epic with large aggressive schools of fish being a common occurrence. They tend to move around more this time of the year but once you get on them it's go time. There have been a few Cobia around offshore as well and are always a welcome guest while we are out Permit fishing. In terms of inshore fishing Snook has been the star of the show. The Snook bite has been incredible with activity out of them wherever we choose to fish them. Whether it be in the backcountry, the pass, the beach or even nearshore wrecks. The Tarpon migration is still underway as well with good numbers of fish swimming the beach. This is bucket list trophy fish time of the year and the On a Mission team is out there grinding in the heat making it happen on a daily basis.
Kicking off the month of May exactly how it should start with sight fishing big Permit and Tarpon. This is the best time of the year to target these bucket list game fish and this is primetime to catch both of them in the same day. We have strong numbers of Tarpon migrating our beaches and there are massive schools of Permit offshore. These two fish will be our main emphasis over the next couple of months but that doesn't mean there aren't other options as well. There have still been some straggler Cobia hanging out offshore which has been...
Kicking off the month of May exactly how it should start with sight fishing big Permit and Tarpon. This is the best time of the year to target these bucket list game fish and this is primetime to catch both of them in the same day. We have strong numbers of Tarpon migrating our beaches and there are massive schools of Permit offshore. These two fish will be our main emphasis over the next couple of months but that doesn't mean there aren't other options as well. There have still been some straggler Cobia hanging out offshore which has been nice while we look for Permit. Most of the wrecks offshore are also littered with Amberjacks which are fun to tease and throw artificial baits at. These are also great fly targets for any avid fly fishermen. Closeby there are great numbers of Snook inshore and nearshore. They're gearing up for their annual spawn and will be very hungry as we progress into summer. Our water clarity has been about as good as it gets which makes for some awesome sight fishing on all of the previous listed species. This is the peak time of the year for sport fishing in our area! We are looking forward to many great trips with all of our clients. Reach out to any of us with any questions you may have. Happy fishing!
Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.
Certified Damn Good Guides offer 10/10 trips. Guides earn this badge through quality reviews, quick and responsive communication, and low cancellation rates.
Kevin was an amazing guide. He was very knowledgeable and provided easy step by step instruction instructions while fighting 2 - 5 foot lemon sharks in less than 1/2 hour before daylight faded. Both were unkooked boat side with great video and pictures. His boat is clean and organized making it safe and easy to move around the boat while battling a catch of a lifetime for 2 Wisconsinites. Thanks Kevin. See you soon.
My dad and I were able to squeeze in on a charter with Captain Eric fairly last minute which was awesome! He got us both on some sea trout first thing in the morning, lined us up on some tarpon but before I was able to take any shots on the fly rod, we spooked a tarpon and in came the bull sharks. We buzzed over to a different flat where I had shots at both snook and redfish. I didn’t end up making any of my shots with the fly rod but this was also my first saltwater fly fishing experience as well as my first guided trip so it was all pretty new to me. I’m just stoked we were able to get out in the first place. But I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Captain Eric and I certainly wouldn’t turn down another opportunity to have him guide us! He’s quiet but very focused and knowledgeable about the marine life and was able to give me casting tips as well with the fly rods. Thank you again for squeezing us in Eric!
Sean was outstanding! Incredibly knowledgeable super safe and organized and gave us a really great experience. He is a true professional and knows the lanes like the back of his hand. Cannot recommend him enough.
It was a great day on the water. We were able to catch a few peacock bass and lots of largemouth. Roy was well prepared, good at coaching, knowledgeable about the waters and put us on fish.
Ken was great! Had a very chill time fly fishing for tarpon, snook, and redfish. Ken was easy to fish with and gave us opportunity at all three species on a 6 hour trip. I would recommend him as a guide to anyone!
Great fishing trip for our family with Captain Brian! He put us on more speckled trout than ever imagined and ensured that everyone had an awesome experience. If you’re interested in a wonderful fishing experience for a family, be sure to request Captain Brian!
Sign up to win $500 towards ANY trip. Winners drawn monthly.
Welcome to the Crew!
If you're lucky enough to win $500 we'll email you by the end of the month. If not there's good news: we still have thousands of Damn Good Guides who would love to take you out!