Homosassa “Holidays” Fishing
Homosassa “Holidays” Fishing
If this is the Fall Season, we must be in Paradise! The weather has been beautiful most days here in historic Old Homosassa, with the temperature in the upper 80’s, a slight breeze to keep you cool, and the Gulf water temperature is around 75 degrees. That sounds like ideal fishing/catching conditions to me!
Lately, days on the water have been full of excitement and the cooler full of fish by days end. Hopefully the East winds and low winter time tides will remain away through November. As the water cools and the baitfish continue to migrate south, you never know what you’re going to hook into this time of the year.
On a recent charter with Levi, Mike and Dennis Hatterfley, we caught 7 Redfish, with Levi catching his first Red, a 27 ½ inch monster (released), we did keep our limit of four Redfish, caught between 30 to 35 Speckled Sea Trout, (they are thick everywhere over the lush grass flats), a 26 inch Spanish Mackerel, Gag Grouper, Sharks and even jumped a four foot Tarpon. That fight didn’t last long on the light spinning tackle we were using but everyone in the boat did see the fish jump! Don’t be surprised if you add Sheepshead, Black Drum, Mangrove Snappers and Black Sea Bass to your catch. Plus the resident and sometimes annoying “trash-fish”, Puffers, Ladyfish, Lizards and Pinfish that are pulling on your line and trying to steal your bait. Can it be any more fun than catching fish all day?
On another recent charter with Veronica, Barb & Marshall Cook from Lyons, Colorado with Uncle David Cook from Atlanta, Georgia, the action started immediately as we caught two 21 inch Redfish on our first two casts of the day! It’s real nice to get the skunk out of the boat at the first stop of the day. It was 13 year old Veronica’s first Redfish, that I’m sure she’ll never forget! Though Uncle David playfully reminded her throughout the day that his Redfish was ¼ inch bigger than hers but she responded by saying she had the first fish of the day. As the tide went out so did we to drift the pristine grass flats and on our second cast put a 17 inch Sea Trout in the cooler. We managed to catch between 20 to 30 Trout, four Sharks, (Veronica caught three of them), and an assortment of trash fish and were still back at the dock by 2 PM. Another unforgettable day on the water! Is there anything better than watching young folks catch fish? As my good friend, Captain Billy Nobles from the Reel Animals Fishing Show always says, “do yourself a favor and take a kid fishing”.
As often as I’ve been out on the Gulf lately, I believe that there are definitely more Trout in the water than 5 years ago and way more than before the net ban in the mid 90’s, which is a true testimony to wise management of the Speckled Sea Trout fishery. Let’s all hope and pray for the East winds to stay away so we can all enjoy some productive and comfortable days on the water in November.
If you haven’t visited our Photo Gallery, lately we have added lots of new pictures. Is your catch one of them? As many of you know, Cynthia and I went on an adventure of a lifetime to Ireland in August. This was a trip that we purchased at a Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Banquet and we decided to add a couple of extra weeks to the journey. By popular demand I have uploaded a few pictures, (we took hundreds), from the Emerald Isle to the gallery. We’ve also added some shots from the Annual River Raft Race held every September on the Homosassa River. If you’ve never attended this event you’ll get an idea how much fun everyone has from those photos. Also if you have any pictures from fishing with us that you’ll like to add to the gallery, please e-mail them to RedEd@HomosassaRedfish.com.
As we only have a few dates still available in November don’t wait, book your charter now. Take a spouse, child, friend or your entire family on an exciting outdoor adventure here in our tiny fishing village and experience Florida like it was hundreds of years ago! Come bend a rod with us in one of Florida’s last best kept secrets, the beautiful and productive waters of Homosassa and Chassahowitzka!! Let’s go CATCHING!!!
Upcoming Events
11/1 – Trout Season Closes, South Region
11/5 – Crystal River Stone Crab Jam
11/6 – Daylight Savings Time Ends
11/10 – Full Moon
11/12 & 11/13 – 37th Annual Homosassa Art & Seafood Festival
11/24 – Thanksgiving Day
11/30 – Hurricane Season Ends