Backcountry And Blue Water

It was hot and calm this week. All the options were open...

Richie Silver and Ira Kanarick fished with me last Thursday and Friday. Day 1 we took a ride over to Cape Sable. Small pilchards are swarming right now which is making for plenty of great fishing. Using  4 piece Bonefish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels the boys released 25 Snook, 4 Redfish and countless Seatrout and Crevalle Jacks. Finally a large Bull Shark showed up and ate a Redfish which is when we moved on to another spot where Ira landed a Tarpon. Nice job on the backcountry slam for Ira. Snook, Tarpon and Redfish.

Snook action was red hot as was the temp

Richie Silver with a Redfish

Richie and Susan with a beauty

Day 2 it was slick calm again. The offshore report was lots of Dolphin fish so we decided to check it out. At 10 miles offshore we hit the edge of the Gulf stream. Even though the wind was very light the hard running current made for some choppy rips.

Fifteen miles out we started running into schools of Mahi-Mahi. What fun on the light Bonefish Trek and Permit Trek rods. We kept 15 for the table and released another 20 or so. We finished the day at the 409 seamount. Trolling a couple small ballyhoo on the Sailfish Trek rods and Diablo 750's Richie caught 2 Slammer Dolphin. Rest of my crew was worn out. 

Ira Kanarick with one Snook of many

great jumpers great fighters and great eating

fishing close to the beaches of Cape Sable

Ira and Richie with 2 Slammer Dolphins.
Sailfish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 750 spinning reels were used

On Saturday  Doctor Frank Eismont and son Austin fished with me. After hearing yesterday's report they wanted to try Dolphin fishing. It was slick calm once again so off we went. On the way out we stopped in a school of pilchards inside the reef and loaded the livewell with 2 inch baits. We got out to 20 miles before finding the right set of birds. By this I mean 5 or 6 birds feeding on baitfish that a school of dolphin fish were pushing to the surface.

This was an incredible school of fish. There must have been 75 Dolphin. Dr. Frank had heard about this but this was a first for him and Austin. We used the Bonefish Trek and Rage Ultralight rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels. We drifted for 2 hours.. Every once and awhile I would toss a netful of pilchards to keep the school around the boat. It was a sight seeing these colorful fish all around the boat. We kept enough to feed family and released the rest.

On the way in we did a little deep dropping in 450 feet of water. Young Austin cranked up a nice Tilefish. The Fox Sport Fishing Boatrod XT fitted with an EOS Trolling reel was perfect for this action.

450 feet of water

after plenty of dolphin we did some deep
dropping in 450 feet of water.
EOS Trolling reel and XT Boatrod was perfect for this

Austin Eismont with his first Dolphin of the day.

Its amazing to be able to fish 30 miles into the backcountry and then run 20 miles offshore into the Gulfstream the next day. Fishing in the Florida Keys is the best.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rods fitted with Diablo spin reels catch S...

Lens new Friend

Islamorada Tarpon fishing in clear water

Richie Silver and Ira Kanarick catching Snook

One Day Report

The McJunkin luck factor kicked in yesterday. After cast netting some live mullet we fished off the beach at Cape Sable. Stanley, Bobby and Paul released 4 Tarpon and 3 huge Snook up to 23 lbs. Sharks were absent from the scene probably allowing the other fish to bite so well.

We used Fox Sport Fishing Sailfish Trek 4 piece travel rods fitted with Diablo 750 spinning reels for the catches.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Bobby caught and quickly released this Snook
while fishing for Tarpon

off the beach at Cape Sable.
Bobby uses Fox Sport Fishing tackle to catch this Tarpon

Paul and Bobby hard at it

Stanley McJunkin caught this Snook over
20lbs while Bobby fights another

Stanley McJunkin uses Fox Sport Fishing Sailfish Trek rod
and Diablo 750 spin reel on this Tarpon

Mid June Fishing Report

6 foot juvenile Tiger Shark is beautiful

My favorite time of year. Loads of bait, hungry fish and lots of options. I have been taking my guests to the far backcountry of Everglades National Park the last 10 days. Baitfish such as pilchards and silverside ballyhoo have flooded the flats and are choice baits for Snook, Trout, Red-fish, and Tarpon. Lots of fat mangrove snapper have moved into the grass flats as well providing great action and good food. Snook have started their summer migration along the Cape Sable beaches. Medium and large Tarpon are in the backcountry channels. Not swarming but if you are patient you will get a couple on the right tides.

Fox Sport Fishing Trek rods and Diablo Spinning reels continue to do the job for me day in and day out. 

Here are some pictures as of late. A thunder storm chased us in giving me a  little time to post the report. Going back out for the outgoing tide when it clears up.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Bobby and his first ever Tarpon release.
He caught it using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

David Kubert caught this beauty using the
Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

great snook fishing, 20 released on day 2 for Joe Kubert

Happy Father's Day to David Kubert  the father
and sons caught Tarpon and Snook and Sharks

Huge Redfish for Wendy Sims on the
Permit Trek travel rod and Diablo 550 spinning reel

interesting double header, Paul points his rod at a 100lb Tarpon
while Bobby gets a rare backcountry Tiger Shark release

Joe Kubert released this jumbo Snook he caught while
Tarpon fishing with the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

John Kubert used Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo
on his 100lb Tarpon release

Lots of big Mangrove Snapper in the mix.
Bobby caught this one on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Paul releases this Snook.
Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rod and Fox Diablo 550 spin reel
 were used to make the catch

Paul with his first ever Tarpon

Randy Soth did a great job of angling.
Fox Sport fishing Bonefish Trek rod on a 50lb plus Goliath Grouper

she's a real Beauty

Paul's 2nd Tarpon was over 100lbs and he caught it
using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

Snook bite was on for Stanley and Bobby

Stanley McJunkin gets a Tarpon release

Stanley McJunkin releasing Bobby's Tarpon

Tom got a big Redfish as well

Tom Sims caught his Snook on the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Using Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels filled with 30lb braid
The rods were great. they allowed us to get the snook

Wendy Sims with a great Snook on the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

An Awesome 6 Days Of Fishing

Cliff and Cathy Fox, joined by Freddy DuPreez teamed up to catch and release 32 Tarpon in 6 days of fishing.

Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 750 spinning reels, EOS Trolling reels, Sailfish and Tarpon Trek travel rods were used for the catches. Timing is everything. The ocean and bayside channels had been clogged by Sargassum week blown in from the Gulfstream. It finally moderated this past week and the Tarpon went on a feeding spree.Also on a strong incoming tide near Cape Sable ,a big pulse of migrating Tarpon made for a couple fantastic days of action.

Cathy,Cliff and Freddy were fortunate enough to enjoy some of the best fishing of the season. The fishing is still holding up well near the bridge channels but the backcountry Tarpon action has slowed the last couple of days. Plenty of other species to be had back there though.

I can not say enough about the Trek travel rod series. The Tarpon Trek and Sailfish Trek rods break down into 4 pieces but can handle all kinds of abuse. And the Diablo spinning reels are bullet proof. Half a dozen guides here in Islamorada are now using the DiabloSpinning reels and all of them are amazed at the drags and the toughness of the gears and handles. 

So here are just a few pictures of the action the Fox Crew enjoyed this past 2 weeks.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Cathy Fox catches first Tarpon of the trip.
Freddy DuPreez does the release

Cathy Fox prefers conventional reels to fight her Tarpons.
Here she uses the EOS 30 reel and Tarpon Trek rod

Cathy Fox

Cathy hooks up while Cliff clears his line

Channel 2 Bridge provided plenty of Tarpon action
for the Fox Crew this past 6 days

Cliff and Freddy catching a double header of Tarpon

Cliff doing battle and Freddy piloting

Cliff Fox and Freddy DuPreez had 13 Tarpon releases on this day!

Cliff Fox gets a jump out of his first Tarpon of the trip

Cliff is using the Tarpon Trek rod and Diablo 750 on
his 2nd Tarpon of the day

Cliff using the Diablo 750 spinning reel and
4 piece Sailfish Trek rod on another jumping Tarpon

Cliff with a Tarpon missle

down and dirty

Freddy and Cliff had an incredible day out in the backcountry

Freddy doing the bridge piling dance

Freddy DuPreez tries to put the stop on an
estimated 150lb Tarpon.
biggest of the 6 days

Freddy gets a Tarpon release.
The 8 foot Sailfish Trek 4 piece travel rod is a perfect Tarpon rod

I get hi-fives from Cathy.
She did a great job on a tough Tarpon using the
EOS 30 Trolling reel and Tarpon Trek rod

major air from this Cape Sable Tarpon

on a rainy 5th day we released 6 and had 10 takes - Here,
Cathy Fox catching a Tarpon on the EOS Trolling reel and
Tarpon Trek rod

the Tarpon Freddy is fighting wove us in and out
of almost all the pilings for a nerve wracking 30 minutes

this never gets old

this Tarpon is a movie star

to the air we go

we wonder about this man but he absolutely loves his Tarpon fishing

Wild jumping

a little rain got the Tarpon biting

Action, action!

and the Tarpon gets another breath and the battle goes on

another jumper for Cliff Fox

Cliff catches the last Tarpon of the trip - 32 Tarpon releases
in 6 action packed days.
All using Fox Sport Fishing rods and reel