Had the pleasure of fishing Boman Lapp on the bow of my boat this day. He is an ex-guide who was very able to cast the 12 wt we were throwing. I knew with the perfect conditions and the ability of my caster we could pick and choose our fish(25+ lbers). We did just that. We landed 5 equaling over 127 lbs. I even got to stick one myself while Boman was getting his in.
Ran across a school of whale sharks covered up with tuna. Ended the day with a limit of snapper.
I had two days of fishing with Carlyle and with great weather the first day it wasn’t a problem getting to the big fish grounds and even sticking a few of them. Day two presented a challenge with overcast skies and varying winds from calm to 15+mph. We decided to stay close, mostly due to a storm that was headed right for us. We ended up having about 4 hrs to fish. When we reached our spot we started to notice redfish coming up and sipping at the ends of these coon tail grasses in the water. You could watch them go from grass to grass inspecting the tops for any creatures stranded with the incoming tide. Well we started taking shots and as soon as we popped the popper they would spook. So after about the third spook we changed presentation to a slow long strip. As long as you got the fly in their sight and had it slowly moving away they would pounce on it. It was crazy to see such a different reaction.
I had Mr Tadayoshi Sakurai on board for a stretch of 4 days. Although he knew little english he did bring a translation book that he gave to me after i tried to explain left, right, 11 o’clock, etc. So I looked up some directional words and went to work. The only words I focused on was left, right, out in front, close, and far. He was able to see the fish well so as long as I got him looking in the right direction he could usually lock in and make the cast. We fished a new area each day due to conditions and did well each day. The trophies for the trip were a 27 and 34 lb redfish and a monster 8.5 lbs sheepshead which would of been a state record had I known that the state record was only 8.15 lbs.
Headed out on my own to get some footage of these beasts swimming around and maybe sticking one or two. The weather was on and the fish were there. Here are some stills that I thought came out pretty sweet.
Had the pleasure of fishing with John and Gary these two days and with decent weather and decent tides we made our way to the big fish grounds. With dirty water pushed into the gras spotting fish was hard, even with the ability to see color. Gary had a great first day catching four fish equalling over 100 lbs with the big fish going 34 lbs. John had a tough one. Turns out he is color blind and he was unable to see the glow these fish were putting off. The second day was better though. John and I worked on our communication and with his spot on casting and my directing to the fish we were able to hook 3 and land one going 28 lbs. Good finish.
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.
Boothville-Venice
Last Updated on Dec 2 2019, 10:51 am CST
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Current Conditions: Fair
Temp: 52°F
Wind: North at 16mph
Humidity: 49%
Windchill: 47°F