Although spring is not typically the big fish season we still have been able to target them. We have had great weather enabling us to run farther and fish each spot more thoroughly. Here is another addition to the Dirty Thirty club with Matt Scriven’s 31.5 lber.
Well the weather was perfect, the tarpon were there, but we just couldn’t make it happen. We did get this nice size bull shark to eat and also picked up a snook in the everglades on the way back. So it wasn’t a complete failure.
Spring fishing is here. The grasses have grown high enough to filter the water and the slot fish are happily swimming around, some singles, some doubles, and some in schools of 10 or more. Spring fishing is a different game then big fish. Fly presentation is much more difficult when you have to compete with the grass but luckily also with spring the shots per day generally increase as long as the weather is decent. Here are some catches from recent trips. Although we see plenty of Gar we usually don’t shoot at them unless its a good one (15+lbs), then we take the shot. Here is a 17 lber that did not hesitate to bite. Also here is a good example of why you should never forget to put sunscreen on your feet when wearing flip flops. He couldn’t even stand up to fish it hurt so bad.
March 18
After scouting this area for the past 3 days with the other group I stumbled upon a really good looking spot at the end of the third day. With water on the rise I knew it wouldn’t hold up for long. So I made one last trip to the area. As soon as we got there it was game on. We had at least 50+ shots landing 4 totaling 104 lbs and breaking off 3 others. Here is the big fish weighing 31 lbs (another addition to the dirty thirty.)
Sorry again for the post delays but just got back from the Keys. Time to ketchup. These guys came down March 15-17 and they took full advantage of what our fishery had to offer. We experienced some weather that opened up some opportunities that would otherwise not be there. Over these three days we landed a ton of fish, some going over 25 and we even added another angler to the Dirty Thirty Club (Congrats little Murph). We had all kinds of action. Little Murph went in the water to land a nice 25 lber and Metro although a slow start had a great buzzer beater shot that was instantly sucked in by a nice 26 lber. Great group of guys I can’t wait for these guys to make it back.
I have been really busy fishing these past two weeks. Our trips have been anything but consistant. We have had clear days with good shots to fish who wont eat. We have had cloudy windy days that even though we were blind casting we still boated many fish. And we have had clear days with big bull redfish swimming around hungry and happily taking flies. Here are some pics from last week to tease you up a little. Big fish pics coming soon….
With very few fishable days in the past few weeks we have had to do some serious running to track down the fish we want to catch. Water clarity is already becoming an issue with this warmer then normal winter. Looks like spring is coming in fast. Going to have to get my Poppers and Gurglers ready.
It is that time of year when the winds blow, the water starts getting stained, and the big fish start heading out. We have had very few good weather days this month but here is one. We had limited shots on big fish but we were still able to make some eat.
Here are some pics from last two weeks. We had good, bad, and ugly weather. We did what we could to make the most out of the bad and ugly and it turned out to be pretty good. You gotta love topwater no matter what size the fish are.
Michael has nearly five years of fishing experience out of Venice serving in all capacities from deck hand to Captain for Fish Venice Charters, a position he assumed in April 2012. Since then, he has led hundreds of charters, along the way setting records for the third largest Yellow Fin Tuna in the Gulf of Mexico and the largest Snowy Grouper on record in the state of Louisiana. He is licensed by the US Coast Guard and certified OUPV 6-pack. Born and raised in and around southern Louisiana, Michael has quickly established his position as one of Venice’s most successful fishing captains.
We had to make the most of this windy partly cloudy day. When the sun popped out we looked for redfish and when the clouds blocked the sun we blind casted for trout. We were successful at both but would of rather spot fished all day. Still a pretty entertaining day though.
After coming in during early December and just spanking them, Mike literally couldn’t wait to come back. Day one was bad weather, we had some shots but not many. Day 2 was a totally different story. Within about 2 minutes of turning the engine off we spot a big fish laid up on a bar. Mike made one cast short then the second perfect. Made the day in about a total of 20 min. But the rest of the day was also good, after the 20 lber we actually got into big schools of fish 10-12 range. Day 3 weather was horrible! 30 mph wind and zero sun. Luckily for us I figured the trout bite would be on with the warm water and it certainly was. We spent the whole nasty day catching little 2-3 lb trout on topwater. That is what I call making lemonade.
After catching plenty of little fish Chuck got a hook into this big fish.
With some really strong wins we made the day by landing this 42 lb monster that was taunting us with his tail.
Recent pics…
Start it off with a quick duck hunt I had on a bad weather day. Roll Tide.
I had Will and Andrew from Chicago on the boat this weekend. Mother nature dealt us a hand we could not help but take advantage of. Got on the water to calm winds and temps running in the mid 70′s. Luckily for us the red fish were as happy as we were about the warmer temps and they were floating high and showing off! Will and Andrew are both excellent fly casters and they were able to lock in on some massive reds and capitalize with some accurate shots to hungry fish. Sunday’s temps were similar and resulted in the same experience except that Andrew hooked and landed a red fish of a lifetime. After a 10 minute fight I snatched this slob of a red that went just shy of 30 pounds on the boga! 
All in all a great weekend of fishing that boated 4 fish over 20 pounds!
My buddy Mike from the shop is packing up and moving to Denver. After fishing Louisiana marsh for years and never having a good opportunity on a trophy fish we decided to make it happen. After adjusting our presentation from smacking the fish to actually leading the fish we started getting true refusals on the purple fly. We made the switch to brown and it was on. We caught some little guys and had 4 takes by big fish before we finally got a hook in. Good fish to hook into though. This beast went about 30.5.
I fished these four days with two young men visiting from Japan. Since my clients spoke very little English, we had to rely on the basics of fishing to communicate. During this four day trip, my only interactions with these young men consisted of “cast here”,” reel fast”, “reel slow”, “jig” and “set the hook.” With this direction we landed 8 fish over 20 lbs, 2 of which were over 30 lbs.
We had a great day this day with non stop shots at huge floating bull reds. The fish were so happy they were daisy chaining on the surface with their tails waving in the air. It was a sight to see. Even though some fish were being picky with the bite we had so many shots we obviously capitalized on some.
Finally had a good weather day with calm winds clear skies and warming temps. This was the switch that got the big fish moving. Everywhere we stopped there were big fish floating and hungry. We landed many fish but this was by far the most unique one.
Here are some picks from the last successful trip I took out of Venice before the water rose and brought with it the chocolate milk. Partly cloudy with every bit of a 30 mph wind.
This has been a great fall so far. As the temperature drops and winter sets in the game changes but the results should stay the same.
I had a great time fishing with the Greens. They were both great anglers but Daniel at the age of 12 is better then most adults I have seen. Daniel can not only see the fish, accurately cast at the fish (with distance), but also remembers to strip set on the take. Needless to say we had a good day. Big fish for Daniel which was also big fish for the day was this 28 lb beauty. 
Guide day fun fish with Dini.
The weather has been extremely warm for November but this isn’t stopping giant fish from moving into the shallows. Here are just a few of the 20+lb fish we caught last week.
Boothville-Venice
Last Updated on Dec 2 2019, 10:51 am CST
Weather by NOAA
Current Conditions: Fair
Temp: 52°F
Wind: North at 16mph
Humidity: 49%
Windchill: 47°F