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Fishing News: Spanish Mackerel
October 4th, 2012

Fishing News: Fall Redfish Season
September 18th, 2012

Fishing News: Between the Storms
September 16th, 2012

Fishing News: Summer Fishing
August 30th, 2012

Fishing News: Stormy Fishing
August 18th, 2012

Fishing News: FISHING NEWS - Bull Red Run
August 3rd, 2012

Fishing News: Lucky Friday 13th
July 19th, 2012

Fishing News: After The Storm
July 3rd, 2012

Fishing News: Fathers Day Fishing Trip
June 21st, 2012

Fishing News: Catch and Release
June 9th, 2012

Fishing News: 3rd Week Of May, 2012 Fishing Report
May 23rd, 2012

Fishing News: Up Close and Shallow
May 11th, 2012

Fishing News: GTO Airboat Fishing Tournament Winners
May 9th, 2012

Fishing News: Out Past the Keys
May 1st, 2012

Fishing News: Are You Superstitious ?
April 14th, 2012

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Gone Fishin`: Fishy Tales

Gone Fishin`: Fishy Tales

Capt. Dan Shannon


President Everret (left) and Ron of the Villages Deep Sea Fishing Club

Escorting the President

That`s right. I had the president aboard early this week with four more members of the Villages Deep Sea Fishing Club from the Leesburg area.

The high tide that day was just before noon. We motored out at 9 a.m. to find some fish. We didn`t have to go far. It was a beautiful day with light winds and a clear sky. I anchored in about 6 feet of water about a half mile due east of Deadman`s Key in the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge.

On a local chart you can pinpoint that spot pretty easily. You don`t have to be really specific when finding a "good spot" in these waters. Great fishing is almost everywhere.

There`s good live green grass growing on the bottom and oyster bars up close to little islands. It makes for some great fish habitat.

We caught six or eight speckled trout within the 15" to 20" legal size range, and we had to release several more because they were too small. I learned something important about measuring speckled trout: to measure legally correct, you must pinch the tail and make sure the mouth is closed before you take true measure of the lenght of the fish. You`re allowed to possess one speckled trout over the 20" range, over and above the limit of 5 per person per day.

The tide was approaching high, so we cruised over a short distance to the edge of Deadman`s Key and hooked up on some of that good bottom there. Oysters all around the little island. It`s tough keeping your line out of the oysters and on the edge in the grass and sand, but that`s where we found the redfish. I tried to fish, but I was too busy helping my guests catch their fish. I was netting redfish fore and aft; side to side. There was alot of fast action, and everyone caught keeper redfish.

A legal size redfish falls between 18 and 27 inches. You have to release the juveniles under 18 inches and the big bull breeders over 27 inches. All of our fish were between 18 and 23 inches. When we ended up back at the dock four hours later, we had a beautiful box full of fresh Florida seafood: 12 speckled trout and 6 redfish.

I fillet my guests` fish at the end of each trip, so i got busy. That`s 24 trout fillets and 12 redfish slabs sealed in ziplock bags ready to go. The men gave me a redfish and a large trout for myself and my wife Jeannette. Oh, yes......and our cat Whitey.

Folks, fishing is great right now, and if you`d like to experience 4 or 5 hours if inshore Florida fishing on a comfy 24 foot pontoon boat, give me a call at 352-486-1656 and we can arrange the best time for you and your party to have a great time and bring home the freshest seafood.

Capt. Dan
email shanadan50@hotmail.com
www.inshorefloridafishing.com

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Cedar Key News

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