Welcome to the Outpost Travel Journal where the members of the Guy Harvey Resorts Pro Team provide you their notes, tips and images from the field. Read their entries to inspire you for your next travel adventure! # TravelInspired
Reel Time Florida Sportsman – Largemouth Bass A to Z
Captain George Gozdz provides you lessons and tips on Largemouth Bass A to Z on Reel Time Florida Sportsman featuring Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort and Lake Kissimmee!
Reel Time Florida Sportsman TV brings the most up to date fishing reports on the web, the fishing reports from the Florida Sportsman Forums, to the Big Screen.
Captain George Gozdz, host of Reel Time, reviews the hottest action in the state, based on the most current fishing reports on the Region Forums, then packs up his boat and gear to fish with the Florida Sportsman member who posted the best and most action-packed report. For more information visit www.FloridaSportsman.com
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer by scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com With the South Atlantic grouper harvest season set to close on Jan. 1, now is a great time to catch dinner off St. Augustine. …
Catch & release still permitted during closure NOTE: This story was posted today on TampabayOnline.com by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this …
The month of May in Florida produces spring flowers, increased showers, warmer waters—and the kick-off of lionfish derby season. From now through September, Floridians and visitors have more opportunities …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com I can’t think of too many outings more fun in winter than going patch fishing off Islamorada. While you are almost certain …
Incredible video from Conservation International showing a whale shark sucking baitfish from fishermen’s nets in Cendrawasih Bay, Indonesia: CI’s summary of the video: ” On a recent …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com Eight-year-old Miguel had never caught a fish before Oct. 18. But thanks to Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, FL. and the International …
Five teenaged scuba divers took turns guiding Seth Wade underwater in the deep end of a swimming pool near Tarpon Springs recently. They made sure Wade’s regulator stayed firmly in his mouth and …
Be sure to set a reminder on your phone (or circle your calendar) for Sept. 5. On that Saturday, you do not need to buy a fishing license in order to wet a line in any saltwater body in Florida. You …
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![](mailto:?subject=Get to the Bottom of St. Augustine&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3041 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/stafish.jpg?w=225" alt="StAFish" width="225" height="300" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
by scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
With the South Atlantic grouper harvest season set to close on Jan. 1, now is a great time to catch dinner off St. Augustine.
Father-and-son charterboat captains Bill and Billy Hunsicker of <a href="http://www.endlesssummercharters.com" target="_blank">Endless Summer Charters </a>will take you to the hot spots for however long you want to fish aboard your choice of three sportfishing boats headquartered at Conch House Marina.
There's the 52-foot Endless Summer; 43-foot Endless Summer II; and 41-foot Endless Summer III, and you can book your choice of excursions: a four-hour trip to waters about 65 feet deep; six hours to 75 feet deep; eight hours to 100 feet deep; 10 hours to 100-125 feet deep and 11 hours out to 200-plus feet of water.
The ten-hour trip might be your best bet for grouper and other species, including amberjack, triggerfish, black sea bass and cobia. You can also catch mangrove and mutton snapper; however if you hook a red snapper, you have to release it because the season is closed. Captain Bill Sr. says the fish tend to hold on shipwrecks, live bottom, and drop-offs a good ways offshore and will readily bite both live and dead bait.
If you would prefer to troll, you'll have shots at both tuna and wahoo along the Continental Shelf about 50 nautical miles offshore.
When you get back to the Conch House, the crew will gladly fillet your catch and you can have it prepared at the dockside restaurant and served with a couple of sides.
Eat well because you're going to need fuel for all the walking and touring you're going to do in St. Augustine. More on that in a later blog.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/get-to-the-bottom-of-st-augustine/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=FWC Decides Not to Reopen Snook Season on Florida’s West Coast&body=<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg"><img title=""Side-Liners" by Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="282" /></a>
Catch & release still permitted during closure
NOTE: This story was posted today on <a title="TBO.com" href="http://www2.tbo.com/" target="_blank">TampabayOnline.com</a> by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this week that the snook fishing season will remain closed on the state's west coast, rather than reopening Sept. 1 as scheduled.
The season has been closed due to a 2010 cold-kill, which wiped out tens of thousands of fish from Clearwater to Naples.
"This is a wise move," said snook guide Scott Moore of Holmes Beach. "I'm seeing big fish and a few slot (keeper-sized) fish, but no little fish — we're missing whole-year classes due to the winter kill, and we need to get more in the pipeline before we start taking them again."
The continued closure also was supported by the Coastal Conservation Association, which said that the number of adult snook on the west coast was down 20 percent after the freeze, and the numbers of juvenile fish killed was probably much greater.
The season will reopen Sept. 1, 2013, if the commission takes no further action.
Catch-and-release fishing for snook is permitted during the closure. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fwc-decides-not-to-reopen-september-1st-snook-season-on-floridas-west-coast/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Follow the Yellow Brick Road&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3226 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/p1010298.jpg?w=225" alt="P1010298" width="225" height="300" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
I can't think of too many outings more fun in winter than going patch fishing off Islamorada.
While you are almost certain to catch big numbers of yellowtail snapper, plenty of other species either hang out or pass through these miniature ecosystems at the same time.
On a late December outing with captain Greg Eklund and mate Cory Nelson on the charterboat Cloud Nine out of Bud n' Mary's Marina, our group of four anglers boated nearly 40 yellowtail and gray snapper, a handful of cero mackerel, and the broad head of a big red grouper that got cut in half by a suspected shark. We also released about dozen and half undersized mutton snapper. We couldn't lower our baits into the current without getting a hit.
"Yellowtail is one of the most important species we have," said Eklund, a 21-year veteran captain. "They're delicious. abundant, and fun to catch."
Check, check and check.
The fishing grounds Eklund chose was a sandy plain in the ocean off Islamorada about 20 feet deep with scattered patches of coral reefs to the north and south. He dropped the Cloud Nine's anchor in the sand up-current of the live bottom.
"You don't want to damage the reef by anchoring on it," Eklund explained. "You don't want to damage your tackle on the bottom and lose fish on the reef. You bring the fish to you."
Nelson deployed a chum bag on the transom and prepared a bucket full of raw oats mixed with the oily fish parts. For bait, Cloud Nine had brought live shrimp threaded on 1/4-ounce knock-off Hook Up jigs.
"Live shrimp is a very effective bait in wintertime because a lot of shrimp are going under the bridges," Eklund said, referring to the spans dotting U.S. 1 that separate the ocean from shallow Florida Bay waters.
The captain said fishing for yellowtail with live shrimp on the main reef tract further offshore doesn't work as well as it does on the patches because the fish aren't used to seeing them in wintertime. Most of those migrating crustaceans get picked off by predators long before they make it to the open ocean. Live pilchards, he said, are the preferred bait in deeper waters.
The captain tossed out a cloud of oats and chum from the stern of the boat, waited a few beats, then sent out another one. Within a few minutes, he pronounced, " I can see them; they're swarming."
Flashes of dingy yellow appeared in the green chum slick as Eklund baited my jig with a live shrimp. I lowered it into the water, watching for the line to start zipping through the rod guides. It didn't take long.
"You're on," Eklund said.
I slammed the bail of the reel closed, and came up tight on a feisty fish. It even made the drag sing a little. Within a minute or two, I swung a 14-inch yellowtail over the transom.
My fishing companions--Bud n' Mary's owner captain Richard Stanczyk, tackle shop manager Stephen Byrd, and North Carolina charterboat captain Dave Peck--all joined the action, which was constant and frenzied for several hours. Mixed in with the tails was a handful of mangrove snapper; quite a few muttons too small to keep; and several ceros. A heavy bottom outfit yielded the partial grouper.
The weather was bumpy the day we fished, so we pretty much had the area to ourselves. No commercial boats plied the area for yellowtail because NOAA Fisheries had closed that fishery Oct. 31, projecting that the total annual catch limit of about 1.6 million pounds would be reached. Commercial fishing re-opened on Jan. 1.
Yellowtail is considered a success story by both fishers and fisheries managers. Unlike some grouper/snapper species, the stock is not in trouble from overfishing.
Eklund said part of the reason is all the chumming that goes on in the area.
"It's like a small farm," he said. "[Yellowtail] will gorge themselves on chum, then go to the rocks and regurgitate and it feeds other fish."
We scored a cooler full before noon, and I went home with plenty of five-star entree fare to serve at holiday feasts.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/follow-the-yellow-brick-road/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Catch of the Day for Florida Foster Kids&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bass.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2960 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bass.jpg?w=225" alt="bass" width="225" height="300" /></a>By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Eight-year-old Miguel had never caught a fish before Oct. 18. But thanks to Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, FL. and the International Fellowship of Hunting and Fishing Rotarians, the little boy caught and released his first-ever largemouth bass in the lake next to the store.
Miguel, who used a live shiner on a light spinning outfit, explained his successful technique.
"I threw over there and then held tight," he said, nodding toward the lake. When it went under, I wind it up. It was wiggling a little bit. It was slimy."
After Bass Pro volunteer staffer captain Brian Leibowitz re-baited his hook, Miguel was ready to catch another fish.
He is one of 14 youngsters aged 7-15 from the S.O.S. Children's Village foster care neighborhood in Coconut Creek, FL. who got to spend the morning learning to fish in a target-rich environment stocked with carp, largemouth and peacock bass, and catfish. To really stack the odds, Leibowitz brought along dozens of live shiners in addition to containers of earthworms. He and fellow volunteers baited the kids' hooks and taught them how to cast, land, and release their fish alive.
"They're having a blast," said Genevieve Areson, the volunteer manager at
Children's Village.
It wasn't the first fishing trip for some of the youngsters; they have gone on deep-sea outings aboard local party boats. But this time, "these kids get to fish without getting seasick," Leibowitz noted.
Top fish of the day was a four-pound peacock bass caught and released by 11-year-old Nicholas. He was awarded a rod and reel for his accomplishment.
But nearly everyone caught at least one fish. The final total was 17 largemouth and four peacocks released.
The group worked up an appetite fighting all those fish, and celebrated afterward with lunch at McDonald's.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling, camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/catch-of-the-day-for-florida-foster-kids/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Use Guy Harvey Outpost’s New Fishing App for a Chance to Win a Guy Harvey Florida Fishing License&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/flfishinglicense.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2875 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/flfishinglicense.jpeg?w=300" alt="FLFishingLicense" width="300" height="200" /></a>Be sure to set a reminder on your phone (or circle your calendar) for Sept. 5. On that Saturday, you do not need to buy a fishing license in order to wet a line in any saltwater body in Florida. You can fish from shore, on a boat, on a pier or a jetty in the ocean, Gulf, bays and canals license-free for that one day.
Here are several good reasons to take advantage: you can teach a kid to fish or introduce a non-angling friend to the sport at no extra cost, or --best of all-- you have a chance to win prizes, courtesy of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts.
Anyone who logs a catch of ANY fish on the Guy Harvey iGHOFISH app --(a free download on Iphone and Google Play)--will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes to win a one-year I DO! Guy Harvey saltwater/freshwater fishing/hunting combo license and a $50 Guy Harvey merchandise gift card. Also in this special, one-day tournament, your catch information will be instantly shared with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through the IAngler program, which helps fisheries managers and scientists conserve and protect Florida's saltwater fish stocks.
The license-free day applies to all saltwater recreational species such as crabs, lobsters, and scallops. But all bag and size limits and seasons still apply, so make sure you check out the regulations before harvesting.
If you don't have a license and want to fish the rest of the year, you can purchase one online at myfwc.com/license/ or at any county tax collector's office and some retail outlets. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/use-guy-harvey-outposts-new-fish-app-for-a-chance-to-win-a-guy-harvey-florida-fishing-license/){kind=link}
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