Category: fishing
Florida Fishing: The Flats
If you’ve never done any Florida fishing on the flats, you don’t know what you’re missing! The Gulf flats are loaded with fish, and the region is blessed with many scenic locations, historical sites, state parks, beautiful beaches, and plenty of restaurants that serve fresh local seafood and traditional southern food. Based on my experience, the best flats fishing is done in the Gulf of Mexico, from Florida’s Big Bend region southward, along with the waters of Tampa Bay. More specifically, my favorite site for flats fishing is off the coast of Port Richey.
This area is called the flats because it’s basically a very shallow area without much dropoff. It’s sort of a flat shelf that’s covered by salt water. Off Port Richey, the bottom is mostly covered with grass, but there are some bare sandy spots, too. There are also buoys, channel markers, mangroves, tiny islands, sand bars, and small islands to fish around. The Port Richey Florida flats are also home to unique structures called stilt houses – houses and shacks that are located out in the water and are supported by wooden pilings. Fishing around the stilt houses can be very productive, as most fish species are attracted to just about any type of structure.
What have we caught while Florida fishing on the flats? We’ve caught spotted seatrout, cobia, redfish, mangrove snapper, tarpon, sharks, and snook. We’ve had good luck with several different baits, but we’ve had the best luck by using live pinfish. Pinfish is a great bait for flats fishing because it’s what the predatory fish are used to hunting and eating. You can see the pinfish almost everywhere in the flats region. Remember – the water here is usually very clear, so it’s easy to see the fish in the water. Sometimes we use a small cast net to catch pinfish to use for bait. At other times, we let the kids catch pinfish on hook and line, using small hooks and small pieces of fresh dead shrimp.
Once you catch a pinfish, hook it through the lips and freeline it over the grass beds with no weight attached. The small fish will swim around with a natural motion, which will attract the larger predator fish.
Spend More Time Fishing with Passive Income
Many people dream of the day that they can retire and spend their days enjoying life, doing things like fishing and just hanging out with their friends and family. Well, why wait until you’re 65? Who knows if you’re even going to live that long? If money is the issue, then figure out how to make passive income or win the lottery. Obviously, the first option is a bit more practical. If you don’t know what this type of income is, it’s basically money that comes into your pocket even while you’re on a boat fishing and drinking with your friends. How is this possible? Let’s take a look.
When you go to Starbucks, do you see the owner there? Of course not. The reason is because the owners created the business, and hired other people to run it for them. They can sit back, relax, and still make money every single day. You are probably already making some if you have a savings account. So what do you do if you don’t have money to open up a business? One option is to run an online business. Cost is small and if you build the right type, you can enjoy more of your days catching fish without having to worry about paying the bills.
Florida Fishing: The Keys
Florida is a great state for vacation, and one of the best sports in the world is amazing Florida fishing. One of the best saltwater fishing tips is being told where to fish by locals. No matter where in Florida you choose for a magnificent getaway, you’re sure to run into some nice locals that share a love of saltwater fishing and maybe even their saltwater fishing tips, too! The Florida Keys is an amazing place for saltwater fishing.
The Florida Keys offer a vacation packed with saltwater fishing adventure. There are great options for deep sea fisherman as well as those of us who love to fish with our feet on solid ground. One of the best saltwater fishing spots in the Florida Keys loved by locals and visitors alike is the Seven-Mile Bridge. The bridge links Marathon, Florida in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Florida Keys. This bridge is a goldmine in fishing terms. Some parts near the channels have much deeper water and you can catch tarpon. There are plenty of great places to anchor a boat all along the Seven-Mile Bridge. Lots of people like to anchor and fish near the pilings. With so many fish to be caught and such a large area to fish, all it takes is a love of fishing to enjoy a vacation in the Florida Keys.