It's February and the fishing has been good. We have been catching a large variety of  species on our recent trips. Sheepshead,  mangrove snapper, white grunts, flounder, hog fish, snook, reds, trout, and pompano have been on the hook to keep our guests in awe. Anglers are impressed with how many species we can catch in such a short time. When the wind is not too strong, we can venture out into the Gulf of Mexico and do some bottom fishing, and this time of year the flounder and sheepshead are usually plentiful. There are mangrove snapper, porgies, and grunts too. On one of our recent fishing adventures it was too windy to venture out so we fished inshore around Gasparilla Sound and Bull Bay. There were three gentlemen and we started from Placida Park boat launch. We ventured to our first fishing hole - a spot where we caught a few sheepshead to harvest for a fish fry that these guys were looking forward to. The bait robbers started to nab almost every bait there so it was time to move. With the waters so cool, we began fishing the deeper waters around the docks and other structure where the fish have been hanging. We caught small red fish and small mangrove snapper as we would fish a spot for a short time, and then have to move as the bait robbers would find us. We ventured over to Bull Bay where we rigged for some trout action. The first rig in the water produced a trout on the line. I like to drift across the grass flats and work the baits as you cover lots of area.This has been productive for me and if you get some good catches in an area, crank up the motor and drift that area again.If it is a hot spot, drop the anchor, powerpole, or sticket whatever you have to hold you so you may fish that spot. Lots of time it turns out to be a sand hole or the edge of one where there the trout hide to ambush a passing bait. Sometimes you get reds or flounder out of these holes also and on some occasions you pick up a pompano. The picture that goes with this story is of my three guest anglers, from left to right Lee in his digital camo, Tom in his Realtree camo, and Rob sporting a black shirt. The other photo is of Tom Jones - no not the singer- but Tom's drag was singing as he reeled in that nice pompano in the picture. That thing gave him a fit it and ended up on both sides of the boat and I told Tom not to let the line touch the boat. Well, he did a great job doing that but somehow the line wound around the motor, so I trimmed up the motor and it freed up the line. Then we got a good look at the fish and realized it was a nice sized pompano. Tom let the fish run a few more times to burn off some of its energy since it was still pretty frisky at this time. Yes, it was harvested for that fish fry that we talked about earlier. This was the highlight of the adventure for all, we fished a while longer and called it a day. The bait of choice was those live shrimp from Fishin' Franks. This time of year they are very productive on all species. If you would like to come along with me Capt. Bart Marx call me 941-979-6517 or e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com or I can go with you on your boat using your gear and instructing you where and how to use your gear. So always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

With the cooler waters out deep at 80' plus there are AJ's roaming looking for food in the the deep and artificial reefs. Just find one that is holding bait and send almost anything live down and get ready for a fight. The nick name for these guys is reef donkey. They are stubborn and do not want to come to the boat. Depending on the size and how long you take getting them away from the bottom, you may have to deal with goliath grouper. Before you head out there to those depths, check the FWC regulations on size and closures to harvest. AJ's do eat good and are great smoked. Red grouper have been doing well out in these depths too so I encourage you to get the latest regulations new to 2015. There should be triggers on the hard bottom spots and between 50' and 80'  yellow tails, lanes, and mangrove snapper can be targeted. From the beach out to 50' there should be plenty of grunts, flounder and sheepshead on the artificial reefs and natural bottom and an occasional hog fish. Mangrove snapper will be in this range too. As it gets later in the season and the water gets clearer, to get more bites, lighten up on your leaders even down to 10lb. fluorocarbon. This will raise your catch on the snapper. For the snapper, I start with fresh dead baits shrimp, squid and small fish. As the bite slows, this is the time that you put those live baits down. I like live shrimp from Fishin' Franks - the 3 to 4 inch is the good size that the snapper take them whole. If you take the big shrimp, the snapper eat the meat and leave the heads. I use 3/0 circle VMC's with a knocker rig with as small a weight as possible - from 1/4 to 1 oz. egg weights. It is time to head inshore and see what is going on. Around the passes and off the beach you could encounter flounder, pompano, whiting, silver trout. Further inshore around the islands and sand holes look for trout and reds and an occasional flounder. Around the pilings of the trestles and bridges is where you can find sheepshead and black drum and even those mangrove snapper seem to be more plentiful. Pompano can be targeted with jigs tipped with shrimp close to the passes where the current is moving swiftly.  You may see them jump out of your wake as you travel the inshore waters from one fishing spot to another. So you could come along with Capt. Bart Marx or I can go with you on your boat.e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com or call 941-979-6517 to book your Florida fishing adventure. Always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

Hello fellow anglers.  Hope you have been able to get out there to go fishing. I have reports that the red grouper in 80 to 90 ft. have been doing well - fire trucks up to 25 lbs that I have seen pictures of.  I have been keeping closer to shore and having some fun with the porgies, mangrove snapper, and grunts. There has been a show of the flounder on the close reefs in 30 ft. or so, and there should be plenty of sheepshead on the short bottom too. The reefs just off Cayo Costa and Gasparilla Island should produce a good bite with the mangroves, flounder and sheepshead plentyful to harvest for a fresh fish fry. There may be a few of you that are reading this that are part of the PGI fishing club. You guys have the most current information from your group and there are some of you who are very good anglers. Lets talk about some inshore fishing - you will find sheepshead around the pilings of the trestles and bridges in our area. This is the time of year that the trout and reds can be found in and around the sand holes and scattered throughout Pine Island, Gasparilla Sound and the ICW areas. Pompano jumping in your wake could be a sign of a spot to start fishing for them, or you could work the edges of the passes with a jig tipped with shrimp where the current is moving pretty good. There should be plenty of trout on the flats on the east side and west sides of the harbor and the north end of Pine Island grass flats in the Jug Creek area. If conditions are favorable, there may be some resident tarpon in the canals to target for some fun. Get the dust off your fly rods guys and give it a shot. If you would like to book a charter with Capt. Bart Marx or  hire me to come along on your boat you can contact me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com or 941-979-6517.  Remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{