Florida Sportsman is the complete fishing magazine for Florida and the Tropics. Devoted to fishing, boating, and outdoor activities in the Sunshine State, Florida Sportsman is the authoritative source for Florida's most active fishermen.
The one piece of fishing gear that’s with me 24/7 is my Rip Curl digital tide watch. At any moment I can see where we are on the tide cycle. Middle incoming, as I write this. The backlight is green and the optimal brightness so that I can roll over in bed and know—without disturbing my wife—whether it’s worth getting up to load the boat. Style-wise, my tide watch is square and vaguely geeky, somewhere between a 1980s calculator watch and a contemporary Apple watch. The digits are big enough I can read them without my glasses on. The little silicone band loop breaks once a year. I ordered a baggie of replacements on Amazon for twelve bucks. As I said, vaguely geeky. If my timepiece identifies me as a…
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC, took over red snapper management, off Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico in 2020. And now it looks like the FWC is set to begin the process of taking over management for red snapper off Florida’s east coast in 2026. By all accounts the management change in the Gulf has been a win for west coast snapper anglers. In 2020 Gulf red snapper recreational fishermen had 56 days to fish. In 2024 anglers had 120 days, with an eye-popping 16-million-pound quota. Rick Ryals, who attended FWC’s first public workshop in October, to discuss the change, in Jacksonville told me anglers are already sharpening the hooks on their chicken rigs in anticipation. But, the unfortunate reality is the 2025 ridiculously small quota for…
Fishing Pine Island Sound, just off North Captiva Island, had yet to bring tarpon to any of the boats nearby. A big storm had rolled through, likely pushing the silver kings offshore for a couple of days. I took a bite of my sandwich and scanned the water as Capt. Josh Santangelo of Screaming Reels Charters readied the boat to try our luck in the mangroves in search of snook, part of the inshore Pine Island Sound Grand Slam that includes redfish and seatrout. Out of the blue, the line started zinging, and we knew immediately this was a giant fish. I worked to the boat what we initially thought was a tarpon, but as the big fish twisted out of the water and shot into the air, it revealed itself…
RAPALA CD MAGNUM ELITE Improve on a classic tuna-and-wahoo slayer? Rapala looks to be doing just that with the rollout of the new CD (CountDown) Magnum Elite series. Fiveand 7-inch Elite’s feature super-durable Abachi wood body, premium hardware, 3X VMC hooks and a traditional metal lip. Models are available in running depths of 15-18 feet and 18-21 feet. Model CDMAGE145 weighs 1 7 ⁄ 16 ounce, with No. 1 trebles, and CDMAGE185 weighs 2 ¾ ounces, with No. 2/0 trebles. The Elite features slightly flatter sides than the standard CountDown, which helps it track better at high speeds, up to 10 knots, the manufacturer advises. Ten color patterns are available to cover basically every shade of mackerel, flyingfish and sardine that swims. MSRP $24.99 to $27.99. Visit www.rapala.com. MUD HOLE…
ANGLERS WHO TROLL offshore commonly deploy two to four lines behind their boat in order to spread out the possibility of catching fish. Those who can extend outriggers mounted on gunwales or connected to a boat’s T-top add yet even more lines. But if you’re not using a downrigger, you may be leaving an entire part of the ocean left untapped. Bandit Fishing Team’s Ron Mitchell, two-time Southern Kingfish Association angler of the year and hall of fame kingfish tournament winner, said the downrigger is an important tool for the offshore angler. “I never fish without a downrigger,” Mitchell said. An important aspect of fishing, especially in deeper water, is understanding where a big bite might occur. “There is so much opportunity with a downrigger and getting something down,” he…
SOME YEARS between late December and the end of January, Florida gets a real dose of cold. Even as far down as the Everglades, where I primarily fish, air temperatures may plummet into the low 40s for several nights in a row. That can push water temps into the 50s, which has dramatic impacts on many coastal species. On one trip after a December cold snap a few years back, I saw thousands of Oscars and Mayan cichlids killed on the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve’s East River. The piles of dead fish made for vulture heaven. I saw only a couple of dead baby tarpon and no snook, but friends reported seeing dead sportfish in the backcountry. Some fish had the luxury of retreating into the deeper waters of the Gulf…
