Florida Sportsman October 2025

Good ol’ redfish. After Florida made them a gamefish in 1989, taking commercial pressure off, their populations recovered. By the late 1990s, reds seemed to be everywhere. New subcultures of anglers, entire sectors of the tackle and boating industries, grew up around the renewed abundance of a hard-fighting drum that seems perfectly engineered as a sportfish. Whatever largemouth bass give us, redfish match and exceed. Never mind the fact that reds can top 50 pounds! There’ve been dips, however. Where I live, on the Indian River Lagoon, redfish are presently catch-and-release only. I have to remind myself of that fact now and then, as reds are one of those “take for granted” species that seldom have us swiping for our Fish Rules app. I mean, the slot limit, 18 to…

Unchecked nutrients, primarily phosphorus and nitrogen, are being dumped into our state’s 400-plus public lakes and rivers, and that is fueling out-of-control surface aquatic vegetation growth. Our state’s response to the supercharged growth? Instead of mandatory, enforceable laws limiting nutrients from entering the water, Florida spends millions of taxpayer dollars dealing with the aftermath by spraying toxic chemicals trying to control aquatic vegetation. The two state agencies primarily responsible for creating and prolonging this cycle of death are the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Commission (FWC). The DEP is responsible for managing the nutrient pollution, while FWC is the primary agency responsible for dealing with the subsequent explosive plant growth. This isn’t a new problem. Opponents to herbicide spraying have packed…

Little Manatee River State Park, in Hillsborough County, is nestled along 4.5 miles of the namesake river. The river is designated as an Outstanding Florida Water, and flows another 20 miles west into Tampa Bay. When I first set eyes on the river, barely 50 feet wide as it curls through a forest of sand pine and oak scrub, my fresh-or-brackish-water question was answered when a bank fisherman told me he had just caught and released his first ever snook, a 22-incher. He showed me the 4-inch crankbait he used, with which he usually catches bass and muskie in his home state of North Carolina. More common catches in the Little Manatee this far inland are bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. Snook, redfish and jack crevalle prevail downstream toward the…

G. LOOMIS IMX PRO GREEN RODS Over the years, G. Loomis IMX graphites have always been sleeper hits for saltwater flats fishing—crisp actions in the 7-foot-and-change range, incredibly light and responsive in the hand, but packing surprising power for delivering lightweight lures. This year, G. Loomis launches the IMX-PRO GREEN series focused squarely on inshore fishing. Nine rods range from a 6-foot, 8-inch medium light/fast action to a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy/extra fast action. Guides are Fuji K frames with Alconite inserts. Cork handles for classic feel and reliable grip. MSRP ranges from $400 to $430. www.gloomis.com COLUMBIA PFG FORCE XII ODX JACKET AND BIB Columbia has a great solution this year for mid-weight, breathable, active-fit foul-weather gear: the new PFG Force XII Jacket and Bib featuring the company’s innovative…

GIVE ME SOME 60-DEGREE water off Northeast Florida, which usually occurs from December through the first half of April, and you’ll find me happily on the hunt for one of the best-tasting fish in the ocean. There’s no easier way to catch black sea bass than a two-hook chicken rig on a traditional bottom fishing setup. “It’s almost never necessary to anchor. The bass you catch on the first couple drifts will be the biggest of the school.” There’s a few things you need to know about sea bass. The big “greenheads” are dominant males. The fish are spawning in the winter off our coast, and the males will congregate a harem of smaller females. The reason that’s important is because the males are dominant, they almost always feed first.…

LATE OCTOBER through December is a great time for limits of slot-sized speckled trout. The cooling waters seem to congregate schools of trout over shell bars and other features, and finding a likely spot can be as easy as looking at aerial images of river and creek mouths and identifying the lighter-colored, near-surface shelves and ridges. During changing tides, the outer margins of these locations orient schools of trout near current seams that act as feeding corridors, conveying small baitfish. When targeting speckled trout, many fishing applications have been enhanced by the advent of low-stretch braided and fluorocarbon lines paired with ever-faster action graphite rods. Together, these enable sharper hooksets, as well as more precise control of jigs worked on the bottom or topwater plugs skirted along the surface. But…