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Offshore fishing in Florida was far different in the early 1970s. The average boat was between 20 and 23 feet, and for the areas we fished off Northeast Florida, a [...]

I grew up with different heroes than any of my buddies. They wanted to throw a football like Bart Starr (yes, I'm that old) and I wanted to fly as [...]

I have known Glenn Pumphrey for many years. He lives in my neighborhood, and we're friends, but his work ethic is from a time long ago. How many of us [...]

My grandson Parker and I hosted family friends Jeff and Corey Benischeck for the day offshore of Stuart. We hooked a double, and the sailfish were both big and hot. [...]

It's hard to argue against October as the overall best month of the year in Northeast Florida. The mullet run is on full bore. I don't believe in reincarnation, but [...]

You know, Halloween just ain't what it used to be. I can remember dozens of kids in their latest Superman costume walking the neighborhood. If the older kids had come [...]

I recently replaced my Shimano Tiagra 30Ws with Shimano Talica 16s, because they weigh a little less. They are smaller, but have very high 5.9:1 gear ratio. The combination of [...]

Never trust a forecast with an N in it,' was one of the first lessons I learned from the old time offshore fishermen in Northeast Florida. You see, what they [...]

July can be summed up in just one word in Northeast Florida. The word Is HOT. It can describe the fishing, but you can count on it describing the weather. [...]

Consistently landing wahoo requires planning and careful helmsmanship. Keep moving, for one. Short of possibly a blue marlin, I'm not sure any fish creates more panic in the crew of [...]

I have maintained for many years that we need at least 60 days for May. Who can be expected to work any day the sun is shining, the winds are [...]

Four wahoo over 100 pounds. Yes, you read that right. Right here in Northeast Florida, Capt. Frank Vining has caught FOUR triple digit wahoo and has lost count of the [...]

I'm sure there is a purpose for March, and I'm also sure the reason doesn't involve heading offshore. The challenge lies not just in the limited calm weather days but [...]

Technology is a big reason why Florida fishermen are catching more specks on a year-round basis than ever before. In the past, generations of speck fishermen drifted across open water [...]

I have always believed there's a good reason we celebrate Thanksgiving in November. For Florida outdoorsmen, it's a time of great harvest. Whether you're a speck fisherman on Crescent Lake, [...]

My phone will ring a lot during the month of October. This will be partly because we are apt to get a cool northeaster, and partly because all the fish [...]

I don't recall the exact year, but I do remember when the gorgeous, two-story Northeast Florida Marlin Association building was built at Camachee Cove Marina in Saint Augustine. As we [...]

God forbid we should ever have a worldwide famine, I'm moving close to Capt. David Borries. I've never fished with someone more in time with the natural world. He knows [...]

The success or failure for most fishermen in August and September will be defined by the weather more so than any other 60-day period during the year. If we get [...]

May might be the best month of the year for mahi, but the speedy kingfish own the month of July. Tournaments will abound out of every inlet, and the numbers [...]

I will never understand why June can only last 30 days. The biggest problem this month is figuring out how many different fisheries you can hit on the same day. [...]

In Northeast Florida, there is no month I don't look forward to, but if there were one, it would be February. It blows, and it blows, and then it blows. [...]

In case you've forgotten how wonderful it is to live in Northeast Florida, consider the year I visited New England in early November. Every boat in sight was covered in [...]

May is the best month of the year in Northeast Florida. This subject is not open for debate, and at the top of the list of things that are more [...]

I love April like I used to love Christmas Eve as a kid. We may or may not get to open one present, but you can bet your bottom dollar [...]

I'll bet you a dollar the old saying 'One man's trash is another man's treasure,' was coined by a fisherman in the month of March. If you are a blue [...]

Ten miles off a beach in northern Costa Rica, Frank Wilhelm struggled as a 300-pound blue marlin ripped line from his Tiagra 50W. Where I normally fish, out of Jacksonville, [...]

Every summer, the big tarpon return to the forage-rich waters of Northeast Florida. Here's how to get 'em. Through good years and bad years of Northeast Florida saltwater fishing, one [...]

At seventy years of age, I should be changing my fishing from sailfish back to where I started catching bream from a farm pond. My body and eyesight may have [...]

Why oh why do we have the month of February? My first love is blue water trolling, and if we get four calm days 68 miles offshore Jacksonville during the [...]

During the dog days of summer anglers can usually get by with checking on the weather once or twice a week. During December and January, you'd better check it once [...]

Wanna know why they keep my very favorite candy bar right next to the cash register at the grocery store? Because they know I'll react. I can't help it. I [...]

Last month we started a dive Into offshore artificial lures, by talking about some favorites that are used to dress up a mullet, ballyhoo, Spanish mackerel or bonito belly strip. [...]

Please let it be known that I'm no climatologist. However, I can tell you without a doubt that real fall weather comes later than it used to. I can remember [...]

You may have to rise a little earlier than normal to feel it, but there's no doubt it's here. If you step outside early, you will feel a chill in [...]

I'm no big fan of continuous calm weather as fall approaches. Now, don't get me wrong, nobody wants the big storm that can leave years worth of damage to our [...]

Having gotten sick and tired of days with too much wind in them, I recently purchased a 15-foot Gheenoe with a 6-hp outboard. I bought the Gheenoe with plans on [...]

After a windy spring, July is apt to be welcome by area fishermen. We rarely lose a morning's fishing to weather, and with the number of offshore boats with either [...]

I clearly remember the first time the owner of a bayboat with a trolling motor called the Florida Sportsman Live! radio show with a report that he had taken his [...]

Today's offshore tackle shops are a veritable Baskin-Robbins for fishermen, with lures stocked in at least 51 colors and styles. If you're a new angler, how do you decide what [...]

In my experience, bonito strips have always been as effective as any ballyhoo, but they only produced when you could get them to run straight. If they spin, or even [...]

Remember that kid in high school who just had to do something nobody else was willing to try? Say hello to Jeff Crabtree, and Mark Lacovara. Jeff is a full-time [...]

When I need a peaceful night's sleep, my mind goes back to an afternoon I showed up on Talbot Island well past the prime hours for sight fishing. Needing a [...]

Any good football coach will tell you that their games are not won or lost on game day. They are won or lost during 'two-adays' in August when the best [...]

Strong current nixed our grouper fishing and we broke out our emergency supply of ballyhoo and began trolling. I had a livewell full of sardines we'd planned to use for [...]

Have you ever heard of a ghost shrimp? Yeah, me neither. How about their scientific name Callianassa subterranean? Oh heck no. I will, however, bet that you have seen the [...]

I'm not sure how old I was when I was introduced to the story of 'The Emperor's New Clothes.' I am quite sure I was far too busy dreaming of [...]

I love gag grouper. I've loved gags since the first one I ever hooked dove into a wreck and broke me off. It's funny to me that much like snook [...]

'Yes, officer, I saw the helicopter.' Captain George Strate was speaking loudly into his cellphone as he weaved his way between customers aboard the Mayport Princess. Several regulars started chuckling [...]