November Isles LIFE 2016 November the month of Thanksgiving. I am thankful for being brought to Florida as an infant and I still live here where we get to fish all year long. Yes November to me is when you can see the big white pelicans show up for winter, the shrimp filter into the harbor to harvest to eat and to fish with, gag grouper move closer to shore so we can troll for them. Also we get to have time with family and eat some good home cooking. Fresh grouper just out of the peanut oil, and some sweet potato fries hush puppies and then a walk to burn off the excess calories. Grand kids with there moms and dads yea it is a great time of year. One of my best memories of my dad Harpo Marx (nick name LOL ) one of the last trips we had together. I begged him to go with me gag grouper fishing for just a little while his health was bad then. He agreed to go only if it got ruff in the Gulf we would come back to shore. My most favorite way to grouper fish for gags is troll with deep diving lures it is very productive. So we pulled the boat to Placida and ventured offshore about 3 yes 3 miles and started trolling one of the local artificial reefs. I was driving the boat so I had him reel the fish in we had a great time he reeled in 5 gags and I reeled in 1. The limit then was 2 fish per angler and 22” we had our limit yes 4 gags and had the boat back on the trailer in 2 hours. These are the types of memories that I like to hear about family and friends. This is the time of year people come to visit Florida and some never get to experience the great fishing we have here in the S.W. corner of Florida. So if you are the ones that have had enough of the theme parks and enjoy being on the boat call Capt. Bart Marx at 941-979-6517 or e-mail me to reserve your Florida memory making fishing adventure. And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

November in S.W. Florida this to me is the time of year you get out your trolling rigs and dust them off. I like to troll near shore in the 50 feet or less areas to harvest gag grouper. Yes it is true that you can catch grouper trolling. Gag grouper will come up off the bottom 10 to 15 feet to attack an annoying big lipped lure that has rattles in them. Rapala, Manns , and Bommer  are some that I have used to outsmart these great tasting fish. I personally like to use 30 lb. Suffix Performance braid it is thin and it lets the lures get down past there suggested depths. There are artificial reefs all along the coast from Sarasota County to Lee County that will hold these fish, there are also those natural bottom ledges and hard bottom that they will use for cover too. Usually around 5 knots is a good speed and as close to the bottom without snagging it, trolling the artificial reefs  it can be tricky the relief of some come up 15 feet or so. I have found that setting your drag tight enough that while you are trolling it will not slip as you troll, but loose enough to be able to pull it with your hand so if you snag something the drag will slip and not cut your line. Also if you do hang into some structure stop your boat and relieve the pressure and the plug will float ( most of the time ) then you can start trolling again. The drag is tight enough to not allow the fish to get back to the bottom if you don’t take to long to start reeling it in, if you are trolling around structure don’t stop the boat over another pile of stuff they will find it and use it to cut you off. Also this could be a great time to have some King fish spoons out in the wake of your boat too. Planers with wire in front and back of them as there are some big toothy critters that may think it is something to eat too, and some in front of your spoon that you are pulling. There have been times that you may encounter some of the monster reds that have come close to shore for food to fatten up to travel offshore to spawn. They pull like a F250 Diesel that is some fun right there fellow anglers. I typically don’t troll for the whole trip just till I can find a great spot to anchor and get the snapper bite going so you get a mixed bag of species to harvest. And you may be able to have some grouper nuggets for an appetizer at your Thanksgiving meal Florida style. Yes it is great to live here and fish all year long and be able to catch so many different species of fish that are great eating. Oh yea there are some inshore species to talk about too, red fish scattered all over the place islands, grass flats, sand holes, and under the mangroves. This time of year is when the shrimp start to come into the bays and harbors for the winter. This means that shrimp is one of the desired baits this time of year. There are other species too sheepshead, pompano, and flounder that will eat shrimp that is presented In the proper areas. This month also you may see the big white pelicans that come for the winter. So if you would like to bring some of your winter visitors along with Capt. Bart Marx give me a call 941-979-6517 or e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com  And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{