Fishing Report for November 10, 2005

Lately 4hr. trips are seeing an average of 50 plus Key West snapper , 1-3 keeper gag groupers and a few mangrove snappers of good size. This array of fish (after I fillet and skin them to perfection) will give you around 8 great meals if your feeding a group of four people. Since the strong red tide outbreaks of the summer months, grouper are now more plentiful in the deeper waters (100 plus feet). I'm now running long trips out to these areas to catch black grouper and yellowtail snappers. Red snapper and red grouper are now closed for the next few months. Yes, we have closed seasons. This is in place for your benefit and so that we don't overfish certain species. I am all for closed seasons of certain fish. Its smart. In other news, along our beaches there have been plenty of Spanish mackerel and small tunas breaking the surface everywhere. I have been using yozuri swimming minnows to catch them either by trolling 12lb. test light spinning rods or by driving right up to the churning water and fish and casting. This is also another option for you for a 4 hr. trip, especially on those cold front days when the seas are rough and you don't feel like getting bounced around.

Be sure to click any of the images here in the report for full-sized pictures!

Be well and Happy Thanksgiving!
Captain Tommy Tinacci

Fishing Report for November 1, 2005

Greetings from captain Tommy Tinacci.

Fishing on board the brand new ahi spirit has been very successful. As you may already know, January, February and March are prime bottom fishing months for all of us here in Sarasota. I have been having very fishfull 8 and 10-hour trips onboard the ahi spirit. Big groupers and amberjacks have been hitting the decks. The amberjacks have been in the 25-50lb ranges with a couple topping the scales at 60lbs. We have also been catching red groupers in the 15- 25lb range. These 8 and 10 hour trips will catch you all the amberjacks you want in addition to 5- 15 really big keeper grouper. This is more fish then I could ever need. The amberjacks we feed on the surface with large baitfish, and the groupers have been taking dead sardines on the bottom. I have been finding most of the action on the grouper in about 120feet of water on hard, patchy rock/coral bottom. I use about 30lb test and a medium action conventional rod with is maxed every time you get one on. One could still consider it light tackle, even though it is a bit larger equipment needed to get these fish up from the bottom.

As far as the shorter trips are concerned, 4 and 6 hour trips have been seeing lots of Spanish mackerel, key west grunts, and mangrove snappers. I would say that a 4-hour trip has been seeing about 70 fish over the rail for 4 persons. Not bad and definitely a normal trip for us. Most 4 hour trips have been able to get at least one keeper grouper out of the lot of shorts and 20- 30 keeper snappers. That has been the story since I last did my report. Not much has changed except for the more mild weather. The seas have been calm all the way out and the boat is running strong. Thank you and be well. Capt Tommy Tinacci.