Coastal Florida Guide

January 24th, 2012 | Posted by florida guide

Yesterday, the fleet forged back through the St. Lucie Inlet with sailfish release flags flying. The 2011-12 winter continues to serve up the best sailfishing in anyone's living memory, and that is in large part due to the cultural impact of the sailfish release pennant.

Back in the 1930s, early billfish tournament organizers were concerned that tournaments were encouraging anglers to kill sailfish in numbers that the population couldn't take. So, in order to give a released sailfish proper credit and celebration as a catch, early visionaries with the West Palm Beach Fishing Club invented the "red release flag." Since then, the flags are flown high and proud on the way home from a successful day of catch-and-release sailfishing.

These flags also make great souvenirs. Some friends have them framed, and they look great framed under a mount. Modern taxidermy no longer requires killing the fish–you only need the fish's measurements, plus a few pictures. The fiberglass representations last forever.

Artist/Angler David Wirth recently unveiled a new rendition of the traditional flag that depicts an ancient style of circle hook n white against a sharp red background.  This flag celebrates a catch underscoring the value of using a circle hook for the sake of a safe release. Circle hooks almost always catch in the corner of a fish's mouth without harming internal organs.

If you're planning a sailfish trip this winter or next, or luck into sails during the spring and summer months, these are great ways to memorialize your catch.

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January 24th, 2012 | Posted by florida guide

While crappie anglers across most of the country are laboring over ice augers and steaming breath just to get a line to the fish, Florida anglers are double checking tackle bags for sunscreen. We're one of the most underrated states for catching crappie, in part because down here we call them "speckled perch," or "paperfish," so diehards don't know we have 'em. Yep, we've got the same black crappie you catch around North America, and big ol' "slab specs" to boot. Winter and early spring are the best times to speck fish.

This winter has already proved a banner season for many crappie lakes, with limits of "specks" coming from top lakes. Biologists with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission keep track of crappie (and bass) populations on most major public lakes. Click here for FWC's assessments of top crappie fishing destinations, and for more information on these areas.

A couple of personal favorites are Lake Okeechobee, especially near Lakeport where Fisheating Creek runs into the Big O, and over near Buckhead Ridge where the Kissimmee River pours into Lake O.

Lake Arbuckle, near Sebring, produces plenty of fish especially in cool weather, and it's one of the most beautiful lakes in the state.

The Rodman Reservoir, near Palatka, is perennial champ in terms of speck numbers, and this year, it will be doubly good because a habitat restoration program will require a drawdown of water levels, which will concentrate the fish.

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January 24th, 2012 | Posted by florida guide

Yesterday, the fleet forged back through the St. Lucie Inlet with sailfish release flags flying. The 2011-12 winter continues to serve up the best sailfishing in anyone's living memory, and that is in large part due to the cultural impact of the sailfish release pennant.

Back in the 1930s, early billfish tournament organizers were concerned that tournaments were encouraging anglers to kill sailfish in numbers that the population couldn't take. So, in order to give a released sailfish proper credit and celebration as a catch, early visionaries with the West Palm Beach Fishing Club invented the "red release flag." Since then, the flags are flown high and proud on the way home from a successful day of catch-and-release sailfishing.

These flags also make great souvenirs. Some friends have them framed, and they look great framed under a mount. Modern taxidermy no longer requires killing the fish–you only need the fish's measurements, plus a few pictures. The fiberglass representations last forever.

Artist/Angler David Wirth recently unveiled a new rendition of the traditional flag that depicts an ancient style of circle hook n white against a sharp red background.  This flag celebrates a catch underscoring the value of using a circle hook for the sake of a safe release. Circle hooks almost always catch in the corner of a fish's mouth without harming internal organs.

If you're planning a sailfish trip this winter or next, or luck into sails during the spring and summer months, these are great ways to memorialize your catch.

Read Users' Comments (0)

January 24th, 2012 | Posted by florida guide

While crappie anglers across most of the country are laboring over ice augers and steaming breath just to get a line to the fish, Florida anglers are double checking tackle bags for sunscreen. We're one of the most underrated states for catching crappie, in part because down here we call them "speckled perch," or "paperfish," so diehards don't know we have 'em. Yep, we've got the same black crappie you catch around North America, and big ol' "slab specs" to boot. Winter and early spring are the best times to speck fish.

This winter has already proved a banner season for many crappie lakes, with limits of "specks" coming from top lakes. Biologists with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission keep track of crappie (and bass) populations on most major public lakes. Click here for FWC's assessments of top crappie fishing destinations, and for more information on these areas.

A couple of personal favorites are Lake Okeechobee, especially near Lakeport where Fisheating Creek runs into the Big O, and over near Buckhead Ridge where the Kissimmee River pours into Lake O.

Lake Arbuckle, near Sebring, produces plenty of fish especially in cool weather, and it's one of the most beautiful lakes in the state.

The Rodman Reservoir, near Palatka, is perennial champ in terms of speck numbers, and this year, it will be doubly good because a habitat restoration program will require a drawdown of water levels, which will concentrate the fish.

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January 20th, 2012 | Posted by florida guide

Get in the captain’s chair at the Discover Boating Resource Center

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