Best wishes to our northern neighbors. Hope it's not too cold there. I just turned the AC on.
After Salty Sol & Captain Wilson Hubbard
As a Florida native who has been fishing the waters of the Sunshine State ever since the late forties one of the most important things I have learned about fishing is you can never know too much. The key to being constantly successful is being willing to learn, and then learn some more.* Keep yours eyes open, listen to the experts. In days, years, long ago we had two of the best to learn from, Salty Sol Fleischman, and Captain Wilson Hubbard.*
]Today, 'After Salty Sol & Captain Wilson Hubbard,' we have, following in their footsteps, Captain Wilson's Grandson, Captain Dylan Hubbard. Captain Dylan's live 8:30 P.M. Sunday TV show is not only extremely interesting, but very informative:
Want to know what the bottom we fish actually looks like? Captain Dylan will show us:
This time of year the Hogfish bite is on fire.I must admit the only 'HOGS' I have ever targeted are equipped with four legs:
Let's take a look at hogs that swim:
Let's 'learn' some more. Let's take a closer look.The Hogfish is a species of the wrasse (not snapper) family. This best of the best eating fish is native to the Western Atlantic Ocean, living in ranges from Nova Scotia, Canada, to northern South America, including our Gulf of Mexico. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.*Think Mangrove Snapper are hard to fool? Hogfish are much harder. Here, per Captain Dylan's TV show, we see a Hogfish cautiously approaching a bait:
Will he strike?* No Way!* Here he goes:
Most Hogfish are shot with a speargun. Can they be caught on hook-and-line? Absolutely! Not hard, if you know how.*Think those pretty beads are just for looks? Think again! Listen, learn, from the fourth generation Florida Fisherman, Captain Dylan Hubbard. This happy angler did just that:
Talk about a happy angler. A nice Hogfish will put a smile on anyone lucky enough, good enough, to catch one:
They are getting bigger:
Now, let's take a closer look at another gourmet delight the Tripletail:*The Tripletail's body appears to have three tails. Actually this is just the long rounded dorsal and anal fins, extending almost to the tail. They have a sloping head with small eyes. Color can vary from black, grey, brown and yellow depending on habitat. As they mature and grow, some retain a mottled appearance, but the majority change to dark grey, black or a deep bronze color.*The Florida Tripletail record stands at 19.5 pounds caught 04/28/62 by Robert E. Batson, Daytona Beach, Florida.*The largest on record, 40.8 #'s, was caught by Mr. Thomas D. Lewis, 03/04/98, Ft. Pierce.*Personally I have never targeted Tripletail. But I remember seeing many 'float' by as I was night tarpon fishing under the Howard Franklin Bridge.*
As a means of protective camouflage young Tripletail often turn sideways in the water and float listlessly mimicking floating leaves.*Take a look at the fourth largest Tripletail ever recorded. It was caught by Mr. Joshua Jorgensen and hit the scales at 39.5 pounds.*
Want to 'learn' how-to catch Hogfish, Tripleail, or any other fish that swims in our waters:
Learn from, 'After Salty Sol & Captain Wilson Hubbard,'Captain Dylan Hubbard.*
