As I begin to write my quarterly fishing update for April, May, and June, I realize that I’m very late in doing so. I guess I’d rather be fishing than writing. Even so, I promised myself I’d stop procrastinating and type a paragraph or two. Now that we’re well into September, we’re finding the early…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, December, January and February were a bit slower than years past—my experience and what I’ve heard from others. A park ranger I spoke with this spring, who is responsible for taking routine fish counts in the areas where I guide, informed me that recorded fish counts were lower than he’s seen…
June/July/August-Everglades Fish Report Greetings from Captain Buddy, So far, so good, with no hurricanes yet reported in Southwest Florida, though Louisiana took a hard shot with Hurricane Ida passing through. I feel their emotions all too well, after the experience with Hurricane Irma in September, 2017–seems like yesterday, though it’s been nearly 4 years! Other…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, Spring time in the mangroves brings clear, calm waters… and with that, good sight casting opportunities! Exploring the bays and small coves this time of year are the ticket to success during lower tides. Being the dryer pre-rainy season, the more sluggish tide more easily reveals our moving target. The windy…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, Life is good in Southwest Florida! Can’t complain, healthy, great weather, and the fishing is heating up. Last Wednesday, March 23rd, I landed my first large Tarpon of the year. It was about 70 lbs. and evidently loved the black and purple Puglisi bait pattern that I threw. While trying desperately…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, The fishing overall, definitely picked up in early September. Plenty of Redfish around, with occasional very large schools. The water has remained reasonably clear, so it was fun getting to sight-cast. Larger Snook were being caught again. Earlier in the season was a different story. From the second week in June…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, With fewer charters over these past months, it’s given me the gift of time to learn waters that I previously was not familiar with. It has been a time of discovery and surprisingly great fishing as well. After spending several months catching Redfish and Snook, and watching out for a rolling…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, The onset of this global pandemic has certainly allowed introspective time on the water, with more time alone than ever before. The fishing has been excellent, and darn, I had to cancel almost all of my charters until a few days ago. In April I had some exceptional Tarpon fishing, jumping…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, Hope everyone is staying healthy as we navigate through these challenging times. We are sure enough experiencing shifting times and an extraordinary time to be in the world. Spirit of the Fly has canceled all charters for the moment and, in keeping up with the movement of this pandemic curve, will…
Greetings from Captain Buddy, Life is good in the Everglades! I think the big surprise is how many Redfish we’re seeing and catching. Although we are sighting more young fish, occasionally we are hooking up with those in the upper 20-inch range. With a solid incoming population of smaller Snook, and the abundance of 1.5…