Patriotic Angler Fishing Podcast

Assorted Fishing Questions and the fifth installment of the fishing question and the answers.

Back to the grindstone with more fishing questions from our listeners. This weeks questions on fishing cover Blackfin Tuna regulations, Life jackets, Bass Culling, Fish short striking topwater lures and the solutions to hooking them. Kingfishing in the Clearwater Florida area and questions on redfish feeding and tailing along with snook.

This show is dedicated to Captain Todd Davis, who died from a boating accident. It is with a saddened heart that I ask all my listeners to have Captain Todd and his family in their thoughts and prayers. Anyone who is a top dog in fishing knows who Captain Todd is. I summarize what I knew of his life as a Captain, professional fisherman and as a really good man with integrity, character and a incredible everlasting mark on the fishing world. Knowing Captain Todd Davis is one of the men who helped change many people's lives through fishing, including mine. He will always be a big part of my fishing life. So I ask all of you to catch a fish and release it in honor of Captain Todd Davis.

Asked by our listeners to do some more Ask A Captain questions on the air. So I picked another assortment of questions of all things fishing. From Florida to many other areas of the United States. We give lots of good information for all kinds of fishing. Just answering the fishing questions reminds me of all the fishing tactics and techniques that you never hear any other fishing shows. So sit back and listen to me destroy the English language! lol

Our Ask a Captain is the Dear Abby and Ann Landers of the fishing world. This week we answer fishing questions from our listeners from all over the United States, actually all over the world for that matter. Saltwater, Freshwater, Inshore, Offshore, Nearshore. Pelagic fish to bottom feeders with lures, live bait and more. Answers to fishing questions that are often asked and fishing questions that have never been asked.

Slow jigging or slow pitching is a fishing technique that was developed and used in Japan over 10 years ago. It now is a craze in the United States, even though it has been around the United States for at least 5 years. The reason the Japanese came up with the idea is to implement some new fishing techniques in areas that were highly over fished. Since they were able to locate the fish, yet not able to get the fish to eat out of hunger, they worked on a method that would get a reaction strike from the fish, rather then a hunger strike. Speed jigging or butterfly jigging was already around and the success had been good and it all worked on the reaction strike theory. The movement of the speed jigging and the original butterfly jig was a vertical reaction presentation. But the idea and movement of the lure being vertical was itself was what they wanted to change.  

This week we have Edwin, a high school angler, again on the show to talk about the seven most common complaints about fishing from last weeks show. We also discuss some solutions to the complaints and equipment failures. There also is not just one answer to some of the fishing failures. We give you more then a few options and tips to eliminate the complaints and problems your having.

In this episode I asked a whole bunch of anglers, women, men, young and old, the question “What Do You Dislike About Fishing”. I asked anglers to tell me their first thoughts to the answers of “What Do You Dislike About Fishing”. Some were one word answers and some where a few paragraphs long. I found it very amusing and fun what these many anglers thought.

Blue crabs can be caught from Novia Scotia to Uruguay. Florida has a fantastic blue crab fishery and they are fun to catch no matter how you go about doing it. Since there are so many ways to catch blue crab, we will cover only the most common. Along the way we will give you some blue crab facts and tell you about all the equipment you will need to recreational blue crab fish, whether that be from shore, dock, bridge or boat. Each method for blue crab fishing requires different tactics and equipment.  

Just maybe the most overlooked and underrated type of fishing in Florida are the spillway areas. I learned about fishing spillway areas by fishing them, but also by huge amounts of research. I called and spoke to power companies that use them for energy production, professors of limnology and aquatic biology. FWC biologists and many anglers that make a lifetime of fishing spillways. One in particular older gentleman named Hank who, 35 years ago was about 80 (God bless his soul) was at a spillway every night. I watched him collect moss at the spillway, take the moss and catch Tilapia and a certain species of Cichlids on small hooks at the top of the spillway. He would then go down to the bottom of the spillway into the saltwater and use the live Tilapia and Cichlids as bait for monster snook in the 50 plus inch range. He also use to catch big tarpon the same way. He did this consistently day in and day out. I can't imagine if he was alive today that he would show this on the internet. It took me about a year to convince him to teach me how to do this and I promised no Polaroid pictures of such and bringing others there.  

When you are going to fish in a new area or fish unfamiliar waters no matter where it is, you can follow some of these suggestions to have a much more successful fishing trip. The key is to find that small percentage of water that holds feeding fish or is the most productive. The suggestions will be somewhat different depending on the type of water you will be fishing (Saltwater fishing vs freshwater fishing) Example tidal current in saltwater effects everything and in freshwater fishing it would be the major and minor periods.

Triggerfish 101 gives you all the basics to effectively catch Grey Triggerfish, since most anglers have a hard time doing so. Why fish for Gray Triggerfish? Well they are one of the best eating fish in the ocean and there is an abundance of them. They will challenge your fishing skills like no other bottom feeder. Also being a very Aggressive feeder and relentless in their attacks upon anything they perceive as food

The controversial American Red Snapper from being commercially exploited, to being one of many anglers favorite fish to target. They are a deepwater snapper that thrives especially in the Gulf of Mexico. As always we talk a little about the biology of the fish, where to locate them and the habitat they live in and how to catch more of them and bigger sized red snapper. There are always a few facts that have never been talked about that will make you a better Red snapper angler.

The mystique of the bonefish is that it is an elusive fish to catch, hence the names the gray ghost and the silver fox. But with some basic information like this Bonefish 101 series, we make it much easier for you. How to find and locate bonefish. How to approach bonefish and the techniques and tactics to do so. Not much different that chasing other species of fish. If you have not caught a bonefish, put it on your list. It's a fishing experience you will never forget.  

Yellowtail Snapper are fun to catch, great to eat and have a unique and canny way of avoiding your hook. This show will help you catch more yellowtail snapper by teaching you some widely used expert Yellowtail snapper techniques. Also we talk about some of the best of Florida's West Gulf Coast fishing which is going on right now. A new bill in congress called "The Forage Fish Conservation Act, is to set federal catch limits on catching bait to combat commercial exploitation of forage fish.

Though the jack crevalle is widely caught and a great sport it is probably the most disrespected of all the jacks. Part of that is because anglers don't see it as a food source. If it were a great eating fish, it would be praised. The jack crevalle is a diurnal predator, which means they are most active in the daylight hours. So night fishing is not the best time to target them. The jack crevalle is one of the most powerful swimmers of fish. Jack Crevalle 101 will teach you all you need to know to find and catch Jacks.

This episode we just have a light conversation with a local charter boat captain about trout and some other places that he has caught fish in West Central Florida. Capt Jared Crisp is also a fireman and has done a few Make-A-Wish charters. One of the things he wants to pursue is educational videos, to help anglers succeed when on the water. He tells us his favorite trout baits, lures, hooks and terminal tackle.

Big Game Fishing Reels have a system of designation called the O system. The O indicates that the reel is and ocean fishing reel and it is preceded by a number that represents its size. This was originally how Penn Reels became known. Later on other companies including Penn, Accurate and more started to also designate reels by line class. We talk about the largest fishing reel in the world. This show also teaches you what a Multiplying Reel and how to use hollow core braided line for big game fishing.  

Roller guides are an essential tool in big game fishing, but also in many other fishing tactics and techniques. Including nearshore and inshore fishing. Along with roller guides Bent Butt Rods, Stand Up Rods, Acid Wrap Rods, Roberts Rods and Spiral Rods. We discuss all of the above to make you a better, more knowledgeable and most of all effective angler.  

Chumming for fish is one of the best if not the most effective technique you can ever learn or master as an angler. I heard another local paid for subscription fishing source state that chumming is a waste of time and money. Now that is 100% completely wrong. The only way I could say that has any truth is, if you don't know what your doing. So I am going to correct that statement this entire show!  Chumming is also the most widely underused and underrated tactics by many anglers. Learning to chum helps catch fish, learning to chum correctly helps to catch a lot more fish. You don't just randomly chum. You target an area of habitat that is likely to hold the species of fish your trying to catch and create your own feeding station. Chumming can be so effective, you can chum grouper, snapper, amberjack and so more from the deep bottom to the surface and then catch them on topwater or fly.  

Fishing can be one of the most expensive hobbies that a person gets into, but that is only if you buy into all the hype! The price of the tackle and equipment can be reasonable. But that is not what we are most likely taught by almost everyone working in the industry. Every where you turn in the fishing industry there is a new and better product from the last one. New designs, new actions, new colors, technology changes and of course with that the prices of your fishing equipment goes up. You might of been told, taught or have learned that you need numerous fishing lures or baits in certain sizes, certain colors, certain actions for each species of fish under the thousands of variable conditions your fishing in. Special techniques and tactics that you need specific rods, reels, line and terminal tackle. We cut through the nonsense and make it plane and simple. Buying a fishing outfit for under $100.00 and much less!  

Gar populates the entire state of Florida, yet many anglers shun them for reasons like not edible and very hard to land. If you like tarpon fishing, you will love gar fishing. Gar are easier to hook up with then tarpon, but much harder to land because of the hard rock like mouth. A mouth loaded with razor sharp teeth. Gar make drag burning runs and leap just like tarpon. Especially the Longnose Gar. Gar are in many states while Florida has 4 Species of Gar. Gar are easy to access whether you fish from land, boat or kayak. Every pond, drainage ditch, lake, river, brackish water, back country, marine estuaries, streams and have gar. We teach you all the basics to go get you some!  

A heartwarming story about a little Make-A-Wish boy, who's dream was to hopefully one day travel to Florida to catch a shark! It is through this little boy's hope, courage and faith that takes him and the author on a journey that will never be forgotten. It is the days of fishing with him that changes the world for him and all the lives he touched along the way! Fishing doesn't get any better then this.  

Winter fishing in Florida can be absolutely outstanding if you know where to locate the fish species your targeting and how to catch them. The locations of each species change often because of the inconsistent amount of weather changes and fronts that come and go throughout our state. The type of gear you use will change along with the terminal tackle. The tactics and techniques change. We break it down with general locations and areas to fish for all different fish species. Then we will break that down into micro locations and finally pinpoint actual casting and fishing at the micro locations. What will make these places better then others is the warmer and more stable water water temperatures the type of preferred forage that the particular species wants to eat. Safety, oxygen, water clarity and so much more.  

This week's episode we talk about fishing for monster carp with our special guest from the UK, Joe Blair. Joe also brought his father along to the studio. Joe and I take you through some carp fishing facts and ways to catch them both here in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Joe has very specific tactics and rigs that he uses to catch big carp. The rigs and tactics are very different from the way I fish for carp in Florida. From bread to boilies, its a fish that will impress you with its power and leaps. I relate to it as our freshwater tarpon, though it runs like a bonefish and jumps like a snook.

Sand Seatrout also called Sand Trout or White Trout are a unregulated species of fish often overlooked by anglers. Sand Seatrout like deep water and swim in large schools. They are a great fight on light tackle, often catching two at a time and they make great table fare. They are readily accessible to all anglers. Fishing for them on light tackle with small jigs is very effective or almost any piece of cut bait on a small hook. As always we tell you where, when and how to catch them. One key is deeper water then most trout stay and fishing the lower water column.  

Some Anglers call them by catch or accidental catches, but most anglers don't sport fish for them, even though they fight hard and some are excellent table fare. And as regulations continue to expand on many of our sport and gamefish, fishing for these species will become more common and create a market for them which will grow in time. This show is all about Fishing For Unregulated Species Of Fish  

Catching Bigger fish no matter what the species is usually what most anglers set their sites on. We will discuss things you can do to catch bigger fish and what bigger fish do. No matter the species of fish, there are many techniques and tactics you can use to target bigger fish. Plus each species of fish has a time of year or a particular tide, type of forage or specific type of habitat that they will take advantage of.

Anglers have used mullet and finger mullet for years as bait. One of the many questions we have received over the years is this. "I am using a live finger mullet and free lining it, but getting many short strikes" We give approx 12 tips to the short striking problem. We also talk about Florida's great tripletail fishery and this time of year is a great time to target them along with catching stone crabs. They both go hand in hand. Tripletail techniques, tactics and tips  

If you really want to improve your fishing and are serious about catching 100 snook, monster snook, huge kingfish, tuna or wahoo then you must understand fishing tides.  How about redfish, sheepshead, permit or black drum? Yup, tides matter when fishing for those fish as well.   It does not matter what you want to catch you should play this podcast and listen to the hole hour and take notes, because this will change your fishing forever!!!!! It's really important to listen to this over and over until you know it. There is no doubt following this will be the best thing you ever did to up your fishing game by major leaps and bounds!!!

The most accurate information of tides. This will make you a more successful angler. We cover the history of tides. What's true and what's not true about tides. How to really use a tide chart to your advantage. Information you never heard before: Like extracting the most important information from a tide chart. Learning the difference between Tide and Tidal Current. What tides and how they affect all fish species. Stay tuned for Part II.

Want to catch an incredibly powerful, fast and high flying fish! It's the American Shad. Florida has a phenomenal American Shad fishery in the St. John River up in Northeast Florida. The run starts around December due to the shad coming out of the Atlantic Ocean and heading into the St Johns River to Spawn. They spawn in the freshwater and shortly after die. They will travel well over Hundred miles to their spawning grounds. They can be easily caught during the spawn on ultra light tackle or Fly Fishing. It is a species that every angler should go out and catch. It is one of the most extraordinary fishing experiences a person can ever have.

Everything you need to know about fishing rods from the rod blank, rod eyes, reel seats, rod foregrip, rod rear grip, rod handle, rod hook keeper, rod gimbals, rod straight butt, rod rear butts, rod splines, rod spines, rod power, rod action, rod, Rod Lengths, rod weights, Rod components, rod manufactures, rod tips, roller guides, rod thread, rod epoxy, spinning rods, bait caster rods, conventional rods, surf rods, fly rods, jigging rods, travel rods, one piece rods, two piece rods, rod materials.

This episode covers October fishing forecasts for the entire state of Florida. We take you around the horn from Jacksonville Florida and south down the entire Atlantic ocean Florida coast. Then we cover the Florida Keys and Florida Bay. From Florida Bay across into the Everglades and through the Ten Thousand Island region. Then it's up the Gulf Coast from Naples Florida north to Steinhatchee. Last it's the entire Panhandle area of Florida . From Inshore to Offshore and so many different species like Spotted Sea Trout to Blue Marlin.

We will talk about one of the most caught fish in the state of Florida, even though most anglers won't admit it. Professional anglers anyway. The fish is the good old catfish. We will talk about two catfish. The Gafftopsail Catfish and The Hardhead Catfish. They are coated with a venomous slime that if you get punctured from one of these spines. The venomous slime will make it excruciating painful. Many people have a allergic reaction to this and need immediate attention and have to be hospitalized.

Pros and Cons of Star and Lever Drags on Conventional Reels. Discussing in depth both conventional reels star drag systems and lever drag systems. How they work, how they can be used, which is better for your type of fishing and much more. We even give you the companies that make some really excellent conventional reels in both star drag and lever drag. Also talk about level winds on conventional reels and the ones that you can actually cast. Lastly we finish Part three of Hooks 101.

Hooks 101 Part 2 goes further into knowing what hook to use or choose for having the best fishing success. Things you never knew about fishing hooks and to properly identify which hook to used for what species and the conditions your fishing in. We talk about good fishing books to read that will teach you to be a better angler. The latest fishing news in the last week. Regulation changes, Florida Fishing License free days, red tide and more....

This is the most in-depth show ever done on hooks. Every and anything you need to know about purchasing hooks.

Amberjack or Greater Amberjack are one of, if not the toughest fighting fish in the ocean. Nicknamed the "Reef Donkey" they are aggressive, hit hard, fight with tremendous power, have incredible stamina and kill prey in all areas of the water column. Including the surface where they utilize speed. Biology, Habitat, Baits, lures, tactics and techniques are all included in this episode.  Captain's give us their top ten tips to consistently catch many amberjack anc large amberjack. We cover both the East Coast of Florida which is the Atlantic Ocean and The Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida.  

Just maybe the best eating fish in the ocean according to most people. The Hogfish, which is in the wrasse family was speared by most fisherman. Famous for being hook shy and difficult to catch, because so little was known about this species. Not anymore! We walk you through the most effective and easiest way to catch them. Where to find them, how to set up for them and fooling them to eat. The tackle, line, hooks, weights and lures to catch them. With our top ten tips you need to know.

A Great White Shark was caught in 1986 by Captain Frank Mundus, it not only was the largest shark ever caught on rod and reel, but the largest fish ever caught on rod and reel. This Great White Shark weighted 3,427 pounds. It was caught off Montauk Point New York. In this episode we talk everything shark! How to find them, catch them, chum them up. Catching them anytime of the year in Florida is a pretty easy thing to do them. Sharks from a few thousand pounds to a few pounds can be found and caught everywhere in Florida. We cover it all, even things you never knew about sharks.

Barracuda are one of the most spectacular fighting fish on light tackle with tremendous long runs and high air born jumps. They are frecious. Probably the most recognizable fish outside of the Shark. With a Long missile like body and a long narrow head with pointed lower jaw bearing noticeably very large teeth. We like all our 101 series teach you how to find them and catch them.

The genius or smartest of all fishes according many anglers both professional and novice is the Mangrove Snapper. Also many of the marine biologists who have studied this snapper, claim it is the Mensa of fish. No doubt they are smart, but we will teach you how to outsmart them in this episode and catch your limit in ways never taught before.

A Fishing trip of a lifetime for approx 30 abused and neglected children.  We take about 30 children from the "Fostering Hope Florida Program" for a fishing trip where they catch tons of redfish.  The Patriotic Angler Guide Service, Anclote Key Anglers and the FWC provided the great fishing trip.  Also provided was a barbecue lunch.  Each child leaves with a brand new fishing rod and reel, plus tackle.  But mostly a feeling that all adults are not going to abuse, neglect or hurt them.  We also cover the new administrations Executive order which will help recreational anglers in Florida and the United States. 

The sizzling summer days are here! So to beat the heat. Try this: Fish for speckled sea trout from the early morning before the sun comes up to around 10 or 11 am. You can do this in a grass flat around 4 feet deep. Once the sun is up and you feel the suns heat, switch gears and start your scallop hunt. Your in the water making it more comfortable and at the end of the day you have some of the seas best surf and turf.

There are so many species of fish year round at piers which are dictated by the season. Piers offer bathrooms, tackle shops and restaurants on them or at the base of them. Many piers are 24 hours, so you can night fish. Piers can have tons of anglers where you can learn the tackle, tactics and techniques to fish them successfully. We walk you through some pier fishing points and facts that might help you become a good pier fishing angler.  

The largest of all groupers is the Goliath grouper. Anglers enjoy catch and release of these giant fish mainly because of the size. They can be caught inshore, nearshore and offshore. They are easy to catch and eat anything that is presented to them. There are some strict laws protecting the Goliath grouper. We take you through all the facts you need to know to catch and release these groupers. We then briefly take about the Gulf Sturgeon, which is in many of our Florida Rivers.

Everything you need to know to purchase a cast net. Anglers buy millions of dollars of cast nets each year. Many choose the wrong cast net, in turn making it much harder to catch the bait they are seeking. We will teach about cast nets and how to correctly choose the right one for the type of bait your catching and the place your trying to catch it, under all conditions.

In most situations anglers are trying to catch bait when the sun is up. Scaled sardines all always harder to catch when the sun is up. There is less room for error since they can see your boat and you much easier. Your cast net throws a shadow especially if the sons behind you. It takes much longer for the scale sardines to ball up under daylight. The scale sardines are disturbed by more boat traffic and people when the sun is up. From this time on the water where the scale sardines are keeps getting hotter. We give you solutions to your bait problems.  

We have a conversation with Louie The Lure, from Catch All The Fish and Louie The Lure Adventures. Louis specializes in educating people about fishing, especially children. Louie is also a graphic design artist who also runs a commercial fishing business for fun. His passion is fishing and teaching it. Louie has designed one of the most unique children's fishing shirts that have a humor side to the theme. Louie the lure has joined with The Patriotic Angler in the past to help put on children's fishing seminars in the State of Florida. The last one was in Pensacola, where over 300 children and families attended! They even came from Alabama and Georgia.