Fox Sport Fishing Catch Report - August 2011

Fishing report for August 1, 2011
Andy Wadham and his son Tom joined me today. They are visiting from the UK and came to Islamorada for a summer vacation, my good friend Ty Pollock recommended that the family fish a couple days with me.

Andy, Tom and Calem aboard Foxy Lady sunrise

On day one Andy and his son came along, we had a slick calm morning and a nice outgoing tide. I thought Tarpon fishing would be good. We caught Pinfish and big Pilchards for bait and headed for Cape Sable. It all looked good but the Tarpon did not show up for the party... Then we tried a spot for Snook. Tom came up with a Redfish, Dad hooked a beauty of a Snook only to have it eaten by a Bull Shark as I got ready to net it.

10 year old Tom Wadham was an impressive angler. Holding a Redfish

We then managed to lose a couple sharks. Not quite the start I expected but that is fishing! So we tried another spot and nary a bite, Now I had to catch some fish. We stopped at a channel and castnetted a load of small pilchards and went to a "honey hole". There we spent 2 hours bending rods on Mangrove Snapper and Ladyfish.

loads of jumping Ladyfish were fun on the Ultralight rods

We decided to try one last spot for Tarpon before going home. It really did not look too good. Big nasty incoming tide , water loaded with floating grass. But next thing you know Andy hooked a really nice Tarpon of about 70lbs. Lots of jumps and a DNA sample before releasing it. Way to go Andy. Made my day, and his. Some days you just have to fish hard and put your time in to be successful.

Tom videos his dad's jumping Tarpon

Andy Wadham caught this high-jumping Tarpon

Day 2 was a different kind of day.
Joining us today was Caleb. Tom is 10 and Caleb is 12 and these are the two fishiest brothers I have had on a boat. Bait was very easy. Loads of small ballyhoo and a livewell full of small pilchards.

We went to the Transition Zone. One of my favorite areas for rod bending action. We were not disappointed. Non stop bites for 2 hours. We had a good outgoing tide and the Seatrout bite was on fire. 20 Seatrout were released along with Mangrove Snapper for dinner and many, many Ladyfish. We kept Ladyfish for bait for later in the day. We used Fox Bonefish Trek travel rods and Fox Rage Ultralight 185 rods paired with Diablo 350 spinning reels for all this fun.

20 Seatrout were caught on this morning

Tom with a Seatrout and if you look closely
his brother has a jumping Ladyfish hooked

Dad was happily casting away with his 6 weight flyrod and caught Trout, Ladyfish and Snapper as well.

Andy Wadham caught 4 species on his 6 weight flyrod

Well I had been watching a few squalls forming but by now they had evaporated. The weather looked good for a foray out into the Gulf of Mexico. I ran another 12 miles to a spot where I have found a small ledge on the bottom in 22 feet of water. Life was showing as soon as we got there. Crevalle Jacks were crashing schools of ballyhoo while Frigatebirds above got in on the feeding frenzy.

out on a gulf wreck the Crevalle Jacks showed up

with the drag backed off on a Bull Shark the boys battle a
triple of Crevalle Jack that were following the Shark

Bonefish Trek rods and Diablo 350 spinning reels
helped the boys land a double of Crevalle Jacks

This was to become a "Trip of a Lifetime" for the family. It was an epic afternoon.

10 year old Tom Wadham with his Goliath Grouper

12 year old Calem caught his Goliath Grouper
with a Fox XT Boatrod and EOS 30 reel

 We used Fox Trek XT Boatrods and EOS Trolling reels loaded with 50lb Fox Horizon Braid line on the big stuff.  7 Goliath Grouper to 200lbs, 2 Bullsharks and more swimming around the boat. 3 Blacktip Shark and a few big Nursesharks. And lots of Crevalle Jack and the last fish of the day was a small Cobia. We released it and it immediately got eaten by a hungry Bullshark.

Andy and Calem used Fox Trek XT Boatrods and EOS reels
to catch a double header of Bull Sharks

A nice shot of Andy's Bullshark using the Fox XT Boatrod and EOS 50 reel

Calem beats up a Blacktip Shark with the EOS reel

Calem beats up a Blacktip Shark with the EOS reel

Tom catches another Goliath on the
Fox Trek XT Boatrod and EOS trolling reel.

Fishing with these 2 young lads was the best for me

The boys give a little perspective to this 200lb Goliath

 Throughout the day the 2 brothers never rested and fought fish after fish, I was amazed. At times Dad did give a helping hand, The boys even double teamed sharks while dad was busy himself.

The boys double team a shark while Dad battles another on the other side

At times a helping hand from dad was appreciated

Well it was my last trip guiding for two months and I had a blast watching these young guys living the dream. I will be in Montana for holiday and of course I will be fishing. Trout fishing with my flyrod. Its hard to leave this kind of fishing but everyone needs some time off.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Catch Report - 1st August 2011

On this perfect fishing day I had Dr.Frank Eismont and his 2 sons, Adam and Austin, On holiday in Key West they drove up the keys to fish with me here in Islamorada.

Knowing that young folks love constant action we filled the livewell with frisky  pilchards and headed west to the Transition Zone. Young Austin caught the smallest Goliath Grouper I have ever seen. 4 inches long!. We caught our limit of nice sized Mangrove Snapper over 12 inches and released many more. Also caught were 40 or more jumping Ladyfish, We saved a few of these for big fish bait late in the day.

young Austin Eismont caught the biggest Snapper of the day
using the Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

Skip holds a Blacktip Shark for Adam Eismont,
Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spin reel were used for the catch

Frank caught this Goliath Grouper using the
EOS trolling reel and Tarpon Spincast Trek rod

After lunch we headed further west to a slough with a strong incoming tidal current. First bite was a Nurse Shark for Adam. Then a Goliath Grouper of 60lbs for Frank, Then Frank hooked up on a 70lb Tarpon using a Trek Sailfish 8 foot rod and at the same time Adam hooked a Blacktip Shark which circled the boat 5 times. It was hectic and a fun way to finish the day. We were able to obtain a DNA sample from the Tarpon and then we headed home.

this double of Blacktip Shark and Tarpon caused some scrambling

Frank's Tarpon jumps at the boat giving him a soaking

Frank Eismont caught this Tarpon using a
Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spin reel

After an action-packed day both boys dozed on the way home.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Catch Report - 29th July 2011

Scott and Ron Evans joined Stanley Mcjunkin and Mike Porterfield on their last day in Islamorada. We filled the live well with Pilchards and decided to see if we could find some Snook action. It was a very windy day so we headed for Middle Cape Sable which would put us fishing in a lee shore.

livewell full of pilchards!

Mike Porterfield with a Seatrout

The Snook did not think much of our plan but the Redfish cooperated and we had fun with them. Stanley did come up with a really nice Snook and a Red then managed a small Tarpon. All these were caught using the Fox Bonefish Trek travel rod and Diablo 350 reel, These 3 catches gave Stanley a west Florida grand slam. Nice going!

Stanley released this snook using the
Bonefish Trek rod and Diablo 350 reel

Stanley with a nice Redfish caught on a
Diablo 350 spin reel and Fox Rage Ultralight rod

Tarpon on the Fox Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 reel

After a choppy ride from Cape Sable to the Sandy Key area we made 2 more stops. The first spot was loaded with Ladyfish and Mangrove Snappers. Then we headed to a spot where I had caght Grouper and snapper in the past. We released 15 Gag Grouper and a load of Mangrove snapper as we had already kept our limit.

Ron Evans holding one of 15 Gag Grouper that were
caught on Ultralight Rage rods and Diablo 350 reels

Scott Evans releasing a baby Tarpon

The group took their snapper to the local restaurant Lazy Days which specializes in cooking your catch. The backcountry action has been on fire.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Catch Report - 28th July 2011

MIke and Scott Evans joined Stanley Mcjunkin today along with Mike Porterfield. Mike and Scott have a big farm in Kansas and Stanley does a little hunting on their property and wanted to show the father and son some Keys Fishing. We used Foxy Lady  a 22ft bay boat which is ideal for groups of 3 and 4 anglers.

The wind was up but bait was plentiful, Live pilchards and small ballyhoo and pinfish.

We spent the first 3 hours in an area I call the transition zone, The Gulf of Mexico meets Florida Bay and it is an area of huge grass beds in 6ft of water, With our chum and live bait in no time at all we were catching fish.

Bonefish Trek rods and Diablo reels did a great job
for my crew all morning action fishing

Seatrout, Mangrove Snapper, Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, Crevalle Jack and Catfish kept me hopping baiting up my 4 anglers. We used Bonefish Trek rods and Fox Rage Ultralight rods paired with Diablo 350 spinning reels and Fox Horizon 10lb braid line.

We probably caught and released a hundred fish. We kept a couple mackerel and a dozen or so ladyfish for our afternoon fishing.

Ron and Scott Evans had a blast using the Fox Rage Ultralight rods
paired with Diablo 350 reels for light tackle action

At one o'clock we moved over to Cape Sable just off the beach where I had been doing a lot of Tarpon fishing last week, We had seen numerous sharks in the area and that is what we were looking to catch this afternoon. As the tide switched and the water started moving to the west with the wind the sea conditions calmed.

Ron used the EOS 50 to catch 6 Sharks to 250lbs

Lemon Sharks have double dorsal fins

The action began after about 20 minutes of soaking baits, We caught and released a dozen sharks, 3 Lemon Shark, 7 Blacktips and 2 NurseShark.

Mike and Scott enjoy a double header of Sharks using
EOS Fox trolling reels and Trek travel rods

Mike Porterfield's Blacktip Shark scowl

The last fish of the day was a HUGE surprise. Scott Evans was using an EOS 30 reel on a Trek XT Boat rod and kept losing line on a big fish, I thought maybe he had foul hooked a shark. With the strong current he was steadily losing line so we dropped the anchor buoy and gave chase. One hour into the battle we were able to get our first look, A Goliath Grouper. The biggest I have seen in the last few years, I estimated this fish at 350 to 400lbs. Scott had Fox 50lb Horizon Braid and really had to put the pressure on but it still took another half hour before we could get the leader and take a picture.

Scott Evans fought an estimated 350lb Goliath Grouper for over an hour

Scott used the EOS 30 Fox reel and the Trek XT boat
rod to best this giant fish

Stanley Mcjunkin release's giant Goliath  Grouper caught by Scott Evans

The pictures do not really show how big this fish really is, It was truly a monster. Congratulations to Scott Evans for a great job of angling and Fox Tackle for giving us such a great rod, reel and line.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Catch Report - 26 & 27th July 2011

Stanley Mcjunkin and nephew Mike Porterfield are fishing with me this week. The first day was spent offshore chasing MahiMahi. Kind of slow but we managed 9 gaffing size Dolphin. We did find schools of small Dolphin that we did not mess with. The big weedlines and current edge from the day before had moved on.

Stanley and Mike used Permit Trek rods paired with
Diablo 550 reels to catch some gaffer Dolphin

During the night we had the makings of a tropical depression swing through and move into the gulf of Mexico. It is now a named storm called Don and heading for Texas.

So... Day 2 dawned windy. 20 to 25 mph. But we still had a great day. Bait was easy. Pilchards and small Ballyhoo, We used these to provide 4 hours of non-stop action with Mangrove Snapper, Ladyfish, Seatrout and Spanish Mackerel. The boys enjoyed using the light tackle, Bonefish Trek/Diablo 350 and the Fox Rage Ultralight/Diablo 350, Loads of fun.

Stanley Mcjunkin caught this big Ladyfish using
the Bonefish Trek rod and Diablo 350 reel

The Diablo 350 reel paired with the Fox Rage Ultralight rod
makes it fun to catch Mangrove Snapper

Later we moved to a spot somewhat protected from the wind. There Mike landed his first ever Tarpon. He barely had his bait in the water and this crazy Tarpon almost jumped in the boat, Mike was estatic, He had always wanted to catch a Tarpon and now it was a done deal.

Mike catches his first Tarpon using the
EOS 30 Trek Tarpon Spincast combo

Mike Porterfield with his first ever Tarpon
and this is one very happy man

Stanley scored a Tarpon as well and while he was doing battle Mike hooked up again and brought a nice sized Goliath Grouper boatside, That was another first for Mike and he caught that on the same rod and reel, Nice going Mike! 

Stanley catching a Tarpon using the
Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Stanley next scored a Gag Grouper and we finished with a Blacktip Shark and a couple Nurse Sharks.

Another first for Mike, a Goliath Grouper

Stanley used the Permit Trek rod Diablo 550 reel
to catch this Gag Grouper

Not bad for such a windy day!

Captain Skip Nielsen