sltOur Florida is now one of the most populated states in the entire country. And, for very good reasons! Out climate is second to none, Our beaches are among the finest in the world, Southern cooking is tops, and, never to be forgotten, our fishing. Florida is widely known as the Fishing Capital of the World. And, guess what? NEVER IN OUR FLORIDA!
'Chicago Mike' was more than willing to travel 1,198 miles to fish for 39 hours on our Florida Fisherman ll. Was it worth the trip? Will this adventure seeking man from Orland Park be back? Join us as we find out together.
That huge scamp is good reason to plan a return ASAP!
With a good friend like Mr. Richard Sipple Mike is in good hands. And, with resident fishing advisor, Mr. John Martine, always there to offer expert advise, this man from the far North country will do just fine.
Mike, be sure to sample our world famous grouper sandwich. You will love it!
Oh No! Looks like giant hammerhead sharks love grouper as much as we do. John had this nice grouper almost ready for the gaff; all of a sudden a huge dark object appeared under John's gag. John reels as fast as he can...too late! Grouper Sandwich? I Think So, but not for John:
And now the rest of the story:
Serious fishing for serious anglers. Let's go!
Madeira Beach, Florida, home of our home away from home for the next 39 hours, the Florida Fisherman ll, is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands twelve months out of the year:
Madeira Beach may be hard to leave, but we are on a mission, a mission to catch fish. This is serious fishing for serious fishermen/women:
First up, Chef 'Jersey Girl' Tammy followed by several hours of quality napping time. Be sure to carry a blanket; it's really cool inside.
THEN:
Once again John leads by example. When Mr. John Martin speaks...people listen!
Mangrove snapper are hard to fool, hard to hook. We will be using threadfin herring. Here is how most prefer to use herring for 'mango' bait:
We are now 100 miles off Madeira Beach; it's beautiful out here. Hope the snapper are hungry:
They are! And they are really BIG.
Craig, that' a nice mango:
Hold on, Mr, Craig Hammock has hooked something larger than a mango. Now that's a big 'red snapper.' Or is it?
Here is another view of Craig's fish. It looks like an American red, but!
Nice!
Just think! We can keep gags until the end of the year:
Mr. Cory Rodrigue:
And, with NO closed season on mangrove snapper, and a two day federal possession limit of 20, we have a lot of fishing to look forward to. Twenty Middle Grounds & Vicinity sized mangos snapper are a good catch by themselves. They tend to be a little LARGE:
No that is looking extremely impressive:
Want to see what they look like on the screen?
Saturday morning...Tammy time...We are hungry:
Hope the fish are too:
Looking Good!
Our new friend form Orland, Chicago, has traveled a great distance to fish with us. Hope he too is, 'Looking Good!'
One thing is for sure...he is a fighter:
And a catcher:
'Chicago' Mike, do you give lessons?
Nice:
No hammerhead for this beauty:
'Chicago' Mike's friend, Mr Richard Sipple:
Just completed the video of our trip. Check it out!