Florida Sportsman June 2025

Walking on the riverfront boardwalk the other day, I chanced to observe something I felt worth relating. I was watching for snook among a series of oyster reefs planted by county officials for estuarine habitat enhancement. It was mid-April and there was a pogy “hatch” going on—glittering swarms of inch-long baitfish could be seen here and there. There were also scattered pods of 7- to 8-inch mullet. The tide was nearing the top of incoming, the water clear to about 4 feet. I’d noted several snook—one of them likely in the 40-inch range--and a few magnum jack crevalle surely pushing 30 pounds. It’s funny the things you see when you carry a coffee cup instead of a fishing rod. One little detail catches your eye and you see things differently.…

In a decades long effort by NOAA Fisheries to close huge swaths of our oceans to recreational fishing under the premise of fishery management, rather than using accepted measures such as bag limits, gear or season modifications, the Feds are on the doorstep of a significant closure. NOAA Fisheries is all but ignoring Congress, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as they move forward with Secretarial Amendment 59, a misguided effort NOAA claims is needed to rebuild Atlantic red snapper stocks. Amendment 59 proposes to close all recreational angling from the Florida-Georgia border south to Cape Canaveral, over 180 miles of coastline, for 55 snapper and grouper species, from December 1 through the end of February, in order to prevent…

Seahorse Key, a 165-acre island three miles south of Cedar Key, is home to an important marine research lab for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Since the 1950s, the Nature Coast Biological Station Seahorse Key Marine Lab has been critical to research and educational programs, partnering with universities like Purdue, Tennessee and Santa Fe college. This unique facility was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene last September. As the eye of the storm passed just offshore, Seahorse Key and Cedar Key were swamped with 12 feet of storm surge. At Cedar Key, rapidly rising water wiped century-old buildings off foundations, washed out bridges and roads, mowed down piers and docks and flooded businesses and homes. UF/IFAS plans to replace the storm-torn Seahorse Key field lab with…

I DON’T KNOW OF any fisherman who ever got on a hot streak of perfect weather, hungry fish and good buddies to fish with, who hasn’t thought to himself, “Hey, why don’t I quit my job, and let people pay me to take them fishing.” Imagine getting to fish every day, and never having to go to “work” again. All 11 of the Florida Sportsman Action Spotter podcasters I talk to every week are full-time guides. When I recently asked them about the pitfalls of being a guide, they all had some answers I really didn’t expect. They all agreed that with the cost and hassle of today’s permits, as well as the upgrades you would need to make for your safety and fishing gear, part time guiding is difficult.…

DURING THE FLORIDA summer, water clarity along the coast can change daily. One day a big incoming tide will push in what seems to be half of the Gulf Stream into the Intracoastal. Come the afternoon, Mother Nature will follow up with torrential downpours. This rain water has to go somewhere and that’s right into the river and where the ocean water quickly becomes silted and tannic. This may apply to different times of the year in different parts of the state, but the tactics stay relatively the same. When the water is clear, lighten up your tackle. The flats are where these techniques shine but can be applied wherever you find clear water. Starting off, I’m usually picking up my 7’6” Fenwick Elite Finesse Spin; a 6- to 12-pound…

AUSTIN SARVIS MADE a perfect cast, resulting in his orange-and-brown fly landing perfectly over the flooded jetty rocks. Lowering the tip of his 9-foot, 8-weight fly rod, he allowed his fly to sink deep into the falling tide. He then began making short strips of his floating fly line. The weighted Yank’s Assassin fly soon located a predator in a wide-shouldered St. Marys Inlet redfish that crashed Austin’s fly right on top of the rocks. Austin had all he could do in holding the big redfish from taking his 9-foot, 20-pound tippet leader into the rocks where it would certainly be parted. Keeping constant pressure, Austin steered his redfish safely into the channel. Soon we had it to the boat: 28 inches, photographed and released. When most fly fishermen think…