Florida Road Trip 2013

[MuskieBait]

I tried to be brief this time since there were 19 days to write about. Most of the pictures taken were of new species caught. I added 30 new species on this trip to bring the total number of new species added in 2013 up to 103 species. I would say I've probably easily caught 50+ species of fish on this trip. Fishing in Florida is pretty insane!

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-1.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-2.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-3.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-4.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-5.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-6.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-7.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-8.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...day-9.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-10.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-11.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-14.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-15.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-16.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-17.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-18.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/...ay-19.html

Thanks for reading!

[zippyFX]

Wow! Your trips never fail to amaze. Some great fishing and some great catching!

I feel exhausted just reading the report you guys must have been bagged, you were really pushing yourselves.

[MichaelAngelo]

Read up to Day 9 so far.

That border crossing won't be soon forgotten!

I used your camera to photograph a fish one day... I believe it to be one of the chubs. Will get back to you on that.

On Day 7, I think it was Ben's 199 he used to catch his 200 if I recall correctly. Either way it was hilarious (at the expense of the spotted sunfish lol)!

Freaking amazing Oscar shot you got the 2nd time around!!

[MuskieBait]

(01-07-2014 11:36 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  Read up to Day 9 so far.

That border crossing won't be soon forgotten!

I used your camera to photograph a fish one day... I believe it to be one of the chubs. Will get back to you on that.

On Day 7, I think it was Ben's 199 he used to catch his 200 if I recall correctly. Either way it was hilarious (at the expense of the spotted sunfish lol)!

Freaking amazing Oscar shot you got the 2nd time around!!

Yeah, one of your chub is on my camera.

Sorry...but you need better memory

http://bencantrellfish.blogspot.ca/2013/...art-6.html

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(01-07-2014 10:27 PM)zippyFX Wrote:  Wow! Your trips never fail to amaze. Some great fishing and some great catching!

I feel exhausted just reading the report you guys must have been bagged, you were really pushing yourselves.

There were days we had about 2-3 hours of sleep between 2 days. I think we did that 2-3 times this trip.

[MichaelAngelo]

(01-07-2014 11:48 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  There were days we had about 2-3 hours of sleep between 2 days. I think we did that 2-3 times this trip.

There definitely were points when I felt like a zombie. Catch bait, check bait on rod 1 , replace bait on rod 1, check rod 2, replace bait on rod 2, check rod 3, replace bait on rod 3, catch bait, and then it was time to check rod 1 again...

LOL

[MuskieBait]

That's why I only fish up to 3 rods for sharks...and that's why I only bridle my baits since they stay on the hook much better and stay alive much longer...which means I don't have to check bait all that often. I can just hold the line with my finger, pull tight a little and feel the bait struggling on the line and I know I'm still in the game. That is if live bait is used. Cut bait was a stupid waste of time for most part because I'll feel the line with my fingers and there is ALMOST ALWAYS a crab on the other end...

Spending that much time rebaiting detract from actually fishing for other species. You need to dedicate that much time entirely to shark fishing...but then again I'm in Florida to species hunt. Sharks are just a few of the species...there are many other fish in the sea.

[Eli]

Intense trip! The variety in Florida is pretty amazing.
I'll be sure to rub Michael's head for good luck before heading down there some day...

[OldTimer]

Hey,

I took my time reading the reports and enjoyed them immensely. Thanks.

My yearning to take my lady south has increased dramatically. She has never surf fished.

I must admit that the two of you have a lot more stamina that | - but it did pay off - quite well.

Crabs can be quite annoying - I'm surprised you didn't haul a few up on the beach. I'm also surprised that catfish didn't show up in your catches more.

How did your sputnik design perform?

What would you do differently next time?

Thanks again for taking the time to share.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

The crabs wouldn't hold on long enough to be hauled in. I think Michael had a big stone crab that held on long enough for us to pier net it...and Miciah also had a lobster.

I was surprised that we didn't catch a catfish with all the murky water we had the entire time.

Didn't test out the sputnik design...never really needed to use 6oz of lead on the trip. 4oz pyramid was good enough. If the current was strong enough to need 6oz, we wouldn't be fishing it anyways. That was simply too rough to be productive in the Keys. I didn't have any 4oz egg sinker or else I would make one to test out.

Next time, I'm leaving Michael at home He kept getting lucky and stumbling on the species that I wanted.

OK...seriously...next time I think I'll go in the spring or fall if possible...with summer as a second choice. A lot of fishing seems poorer in the winter months in Florida. Not only are the people wimpy about the cold...but so are the fish

[Eli]

Hmm...just googled the gotcha plugs. Looks interesting. What sort of action do they have?