Another year is in the books and what a glorious year it’s been! Florida saw it’s Snook population continue to improve with a gusto! Redfish and speckled trout thrive all over from Texas on over to the Southeast as far as Virginia…Our friends in the Northeast are chasing gorgeous Striper and let’s not forget the gentlemen on the West coast and Alaska putting up solid halibut and salmon. Fly, Spin or Baitcast…artificial, live or fly…tiller, center console..it does not matter…The Skiff Life is alive and well!
Conservation efforts are the strongest they’ve been in decades. Is there room for improvement? Of course! But we are on the right path! There is a renewed passion for enjoying the great outdoors as people realize there are limitations as to what happiness you can derive solely from the “digital” world. It’s up to us to lead the way and show proper stewardship in treating the natural resources we all hold so dear.
Happy New Year to all of you, our Skiff Life Family!
Please find below our top photos for as “Liked” by you. Some of the photos are “clickable” where they link to an article for more information or photos. Enjoy and thanks for the support!
A tripletail of a LIFETIME! Billy with Suncoast Fishing Charters jumped offshore and nailed this Tripletail…24 POUNDS, 24!!! Here is the best part…he caught it on a 20 lb leader with 10 lb lb braid and a crappie hook with a shiner! Tight work, Billy!Aw heck, ..we’ve got Snook on the brain! … How can we not when ya’ll are sharing up these AMAZING catches with us…we caught up with EPIC guide Billy Nast out of Yankeetown Marina and he is throwing down some MAJOR represent for the Nature Coast. Check out his latest fishing adventures here… shark, jewfish, snook GALORE…GREAT JOB, Billy!Booom! Brandie hooked into some serious linesider Snookage while fishing with Capt. Joey Mattay out of Anna Maria island. Keep an eye out for Brandie, she is moving to the Keys and is going to touch base with us on her adventures in the Conch Republic! Let’s all wish Brandie safe travels and big fish on her journey!If this doesn’t get your heart going this am, nothing will! Great capture by Bryon Chamberlin of http://www.barbedsteel.com/ while fishing on Peterson Bank for Bonefish. If you are in the Tampa area, give Bryon a call if you are looking get on the feeeesh! Nice work, Bryon!You ready for a BUCKET LIST poon? Call Capt. Russ: 786-290-3474. Capt. Russ is reporting an EPIC start of his tarpon season and is ready to roll! Pictured is a monster poon measured in around 140# released in Miami with RJ Boyle while affixing a transponder by the Bonefish Tarpon Trust.Chris Berzas comes up with one of the coolest captures we’ve seen in awhile. He calls this the “Leaping Bull Red” and says, “This capture is showing what the famous bull rides in Venice, Louisiana are all about!” — Follow Chris and the crew over at Egret Baits for more fun.Crab vs. Whooping Crane by Cissy BeasleyThis is a first! Cliff was Photobombed by a Porpoise while switching it up with some artificial Hogy Lures. He had to trick the creeper to keep him from making a Snook Snack of this beauty…LOL, great job on the release, Cliff!You NEVER know what is going to chomp! Cody was looking to play with some small poons, broke out the 9wt Gloomis /BVKII reel and starting letting a red and white tarpon bunny fly..end result?? His biggest snook to date 42″ and on fly! BOOM! That’s some Fort Myers goodness right there! Nice work, Cody!!!This red is so fired up, he went cross-eyed! Is there ever a good day to be a popper? The answer is NO when under the instruction of a capable guide like David Mangum using a Pole Dancer popper… Check David out if you are in the 850 area code and looking to get on the feeesh: http://www.shallowwaterexpeditions.com/Congrats to Dave Walker who broke the DE Sheepshead State Record! Dave’s’s catch weighed 17.1-pounds, measured 28 inches long, and had a girth of 24 inches. Click here for a few other pics he sent in of this MONSTER sheepie!Gorgeous Red, Skinny Water, Gheenoe = Fishing Perfection! Great looking fish caught by Charleston SC’s Dillon Blythe of Grey Ghost Charters, who is ready for the weekend?!? THIS GUY! Have a safe and fun weekend everybody! …check out: http://www.greyghostcharters.com/World’s SKINNIEST running Gheenoe LT25! Nice work, Mitch! Mitch debuted this awesome radio controlled replica at the Annual Gheenoe Rally in Jensen Beach. Video and Photos here: http://www.skifflife.com/703242/worlds-smallest-gheenoe-lt25/ Pictured: Mitch (Left, Builder) Pugar Gheen (Middle, Custom Gheenoe) Sam Heaton (Right) –>CLICK HERE –> Video and Photos here: http://www.skifflife.com/703242/worlds-smallest-gheenoe-lt25/UNREAL shot with Graham Kenan running skinny in the new East Cape Canoes & Skiffs Glide…such a fantastic skiff: http://eastcapeskiffs.com/skiffs/glide/What a beauty! Jason had 8 hours (yes, 8 HOURS!) of tailing LA redfish goodness with Capt. Greg Moon of Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters.Gus Montoya’s girlfriend, Yissel got her personal best in this 24″ Trout out of the Indian Lagoon system on the Unfair Lures, Rip N Slash! Congrats, that is seriously one of the prettiest trout we’ve seen in awhile!Jake’s Pics! This week’s top Instagram post with 569 Likes was Haley with a gorgeous redfish. Nice work, Haley! Join the fun on Instagram here: http://instagram.com/skifflifeLet’s switch it up with some offshore action! Bringing home the bacon! Monster Hogfish nabbed by Eric, Logan and Capt. Jason Stock of Jmsnookykayakcharters.com WOW!!! Get the full story here: http://www.skifflife.com/?p=699352Haulin’!! James Oswald’s Gheenoe Super 16 with a 40 HP Tohatsu looks like a blast (Upgrading to a 50 HP). He did the front deck, aluminum work and rigging himself. WOW! Great job, James!! Have fun!Ummm…SPEECHLESS!!!! No other comment necessary. Jerry McBride slaying them like only he knows how with the Egret Baits Jighead & Wedgetail in their new Bone Mo-Flash color. AMAZING!!!! Way to go, Jerry!BEAST! Jessie Alexander was fishing in Homestead, FL and nailed this 6 lber on a live mayan cichlid! Great job, Jesse!We touched base this morning with Jessica Jae as she continues to expertly hone her game on chasing reds…she is currently mastering different artificials and live bait techniques. Keep up the great work, Jess! Follow her on her adventures here: https://www.facebook.com/JJfishes2How sweet it is! Capt. Justin Price with RightInSightCharters caught this GORGEOUS speckled trout today. He said, “The length of this trout was only about 25″…all the weight came from the girth.” with shoulders like that you know that was fun…Check out Capt. Justin if you are looking to fish the Mosquito or Indian River lagoon system and get on some SLOBS! http://www.rightinsightcharters.com/Fishing for MONSTER tarpon takes teamwork! Textbook teamwork in action right here with Capt. Krista Tucker providing sustenance of the Fireball kind to ElusiveTails very own Marcella while fighting her first Tarpon with CAPT. JEFF HAGAMAN! Fish ’em up, ladies!WOW! Marjie Goldberg-Photography came up with an AMAZING capture of this dolphin “KERPLUNKING” – Marjie says, “This is an actual scientific term where the dolphin slaps the fish out of the water with one of its tail flukes to stun the fish. Nice work, Marjie!Running with the Bulls, TWICE! Mike Goodwine gave the same bull redfish a sore lip, TWICE within 10 months! Pretty cool story and close ups PLUS a bonus video here: http://www.skifflife.com/?p=989495 – Great work, Mike…awesome stuff!Check out our photo album by the talented Pat Ford here: http://www.skifflife.com/photos/?pid=2AMAZING tarpon & Baitball action off of Singer Island, FL courtesy of Paul Dabill Photography…check out his prints, Paul is AWESOME! — https://www.facebook.com/PaulDabillPhotographyWow! You don’t see this everyday! Robert McCue got colleague & fill in deckhand Clark Wright on this piebald (albino with some pigmentation) tarpon this AM off Tampa Bay. Great job, guys! Check out Robert and Clark at: http://gianttarpon.com/Striper say whaaaattt??? Heading north to Cape Cod to test a new “Top Secret” combo for Shimano, Roy Leyva was putting some sore lips on the stripers including this 32# beauty. Over the next 4 months, Roy is travelling the East Coast as a Surf Specialist for Shimano, so we’ll be touching base with him and his always EPIC adventures!!! Safe travels and have fun, RoyLIVE ACTION!!! Chris Cenci ( Slayer Inc Lure Company ) and Tommy Derringer (Inshore Adventures Fishing Charters ) are pre-fishing for the Power Pole Fla Pro Redfish Series in Titusville right now, nailed this 9.5lb. Gator on top of 6 or 7 over 5lbs today already… Chris says, “still fishin…zzzzzzzzz..just threw a 6lber back….”. Fish ’em up GENTS!!! They are nailin’ ’em on the SST Venice Glow found here: http://tinyurl.com/ka7vrdgWhoa!!! Check out this spotted red on display in the Jetty Tank at Texas Parks and Wildlife – Sea Center Texas named “Pepper”!! Originally caught in the Port Aransas area by Rebel Charters. The fisherman were trying to sight fish to what appeared to be a speckled trout….THEN… SURPRISE!!!Ah yes, the beauty of an afternoon slammage! Stephen Ferrell was given some Logic lures at iCast and decided to try them out on a nice afternoon Bote paddle on the IRL. Well, I’d say in the capable hands of Stephen they get it done! Nice work, Stephen!Jakes Pics! Tailing redfish sent in by @tvallejo93 look top vote this week with almost 1500 “Likes”…Great shot..NO Filter needed! Brandon Barton snapped off this great capture of a red doing what they do off of Perdido Key, Florida. Enjoy! Nice capture, Brandon!Now this is cool…Texas loves their Redfish so much, the spots are shaped like a heart! Get your lady out fishing this weekend for reds, it beats the hell out of flowers and a card! Thanks to Troy Jason Butler for sharing this up…really neat, Troy!
