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