Sportsman's Adventures Tips

Hurricanes Don't Necessarily Mean the End of Fishing
When the storms sweep in, so do the snook, tarpon and redfish

Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav have now passed the Florida Keys to the south and west, traveling up the West Coast of Florida. A lot of people think that is the end of fishing for a while because those storms muddied up the water so bad thanks to the southwesterly swell that crashes into the coast.

I fished between both storms and I am sure that as Tropical Storm Hanna goes by the same rule of thumb will apply: The water may be dirty but that just makes the bait fishing bite tremendous.

Those snook, tarpon and redfish still have to make a living and they are even more triggered into the vibrations that a live pinfish or finger mullet on a 6/0 or 8/0 circle hook will create. Simply put, the live bait bite becomes ferocious.

I have had some great days fishing for snook along the points of the West Coast. Having spoken with Capt. Ron Hueston in Chokoloskee, it seems the same holds true for that area as well.

One pattern we've both stuck to is still trying to fish the West Coast on the incoming high tide or when there is enough water under the bushes for an unsuspecting snook, gag or Goliath grouper, or even a juvenile tarpon to be lying in wait for your bait.

The other thing is, when the wind is blowing from the southwest, the dirty water helps hold some of that fresh water and keeps it from flowing out of the river systems. We've had a tremendous amount of rain, but it's been so fresh it's run the fish off. If that fresh water gets held up in the rivers, the fish will maintain their positions in the dirty water along the bushes, points and drop-offs.

This type of fishing is simplistic.

First, you have to get your pinfish. You can do this with a pinfish trap, a Sabiki rig or simply buying them at your local bait shop. Once you have the fish in hand, you just put it under a cork and let him swim three or four feet below the surface. If you're fishing in shallow water or around limbs or branches from a tree that's been blown over, you're going to want to shorten the cork to make the fish dig but not be able to get hung up in the tree.

Pinfish will naturally want to head straight for the bottom to bury themselves in the grass and weeds, but you want to keep them in the water column, struggling and sending out vibrations that predators will pick up on.

For your leader, use 25- to 30-pound fluorocarbon, joined to a double-lined braid with a back-to-back uni knot. This is a proven leader system and has been working for me since the beginning of time.

Depending on the size of the pinfish, you will want to use a 6/0 to 8/0 VMC 7385 circle hook. The cork you want to use is the standard white and orange trout popping cork. Hook the pinfish between the eyes and the dorsal fin, in the shoulder.

Remember, like always, when you feel a bite, just reel. You don't have to set the hook with the circle hook.

Ron and I have both found these recent rains and storms haven't hurt the fishing at all. We've both caught snook up to 15 pounds, tarpon to 15 pounds and slot and over-slot redfish. Plus, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and Goliath grouper all live in these areas 24/7/365.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Redfish: Hot does not have to mean not
Early morning wakers and tailers are the perfect targets for those anglers trying to fill out their Herman Lucerne card

Of all the species you need to catch in order to win the Herman Lucerne Memorial Tournament, one of the toughest this year is going to be the redfish.

It's officially summer and, usually, that means slow fishing for those of you who like to stalk redfish. But, for those who are connoisseurs of the spotted tails, hot doesn't necessarily have to mean "not".

Offshore fishing is definitely affected by the hot, humid, still conditions. For the most part, it's real small kingfish and just generally slow overall fishing.

What that means to me is staying inshore and looking for redfish and permit. Those two species seem to love the hot weather and there are more than enough places around this state that can allow for anglers who like to technically fish for redfish.

Whether you're fishing out of a 17-foot Maverick HPX Mirage in shallow water, technically poling in 7 or 8 inches of water, or fishing in shallow water in the Everglades in a 16-foot johnboat, one thing you can count on is early morning redfish.

When it's dead still outside – not a breath of wind -- and you're running along, it's very easy to see redfish push up on the flats. In the tournament redfish world, we call this "RUP-ing." That's Recon Under Power, or just running along until you push a big school of redfish.

Because early morning is when we have the calmest water conditions, one thing you need to do is be ready before you leave the dock. My suggestion is to have a gold 1/4-ounce spoon on one rod and a Mustad weedless hook with a Bass Assassin 5-inch jerk bait in Chandelier Island color on another rod.

One thing you can be sure of is you need to be ready. When a school of redfish has gone unharassed for a while they will get schooled up tight. That makes it really easy to find the school and catch multiple fish out of it early in the morning.

The way we usually do it is, after we've push a school and located where they are on the flats, we come back and pole until we can get in casting range.

You are going to want to look for them to be tailing and, remember, the single most important pat of catching a tailing redfish is to throw the spoon or plastic two to three feet beyond the fish. You literally want the line to land a foot in front of his head so you can reel your lure right in front of the unsuspecting redfish.

If you're fishing a spoon, reel as fast as you can reel without the spoon flipping on the surface as it comes vibrating across his world. The vibration will trigger the bite.

It's very important that the cast is beyond the fish so he feels the vibration approaching him. A little short and all he'll feel is the vibration going away. This is not a good scenario.

For those of you who like to be more sneaky, I like to use the Bass Assassin jerk bait because of the way it lands softly two to three feet beyond the fish without spooking him. I can then use the rod tip to steer the bait to the right or left until it reaches his surroundings without him noticing.

Sometimes you'll make a cast a little bit more on the aggressive side and that fish will hear it splash and come out of his tailing position. The thing to do here is twitch that soft plastic so he can see it, which should make his strike.

If the fish are spooky because of pressure or the fact that it's so calm outside, downsize to a 1/8-ounce spoon or a 3- or 4-inch jerk bait. Those sizes still have paddle tails and will make vibrations when they're moved correctly.

So remember, whether you're in Port Charlotte, fishing Pine Island Sound, Mosquito Lagoon on Tiger Shoal or trying to take home the prestigious Herman Lucerne trophy here in Everglades National Park, August and the dog days of summer are the perfect combination for great tailing redfish in the morning.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Whether You're Fishing Inshore or Outside, InsiderFishing.com Gives You the Inside Scoop
New statewide site allows anglers to pick their spots and tactics before leaving the dock

For those guys who are looking for the source of information most professional captains use from day to day, there is a new website called insiderfishing.com.

Insiderfishing.com is based on having the state broken down into different regions, with each region having its own inshore and an offshore expert. The beauty of the insiderfishing.com site is you are able to go there on a daily basis and get daily, up to date reports.

Each one of the professionals reports to the site each day, talking about what they are doing when they are on the water. What's great about this is, with the fuel costs being what they are, members of the site are not only saving money on gas, but they're also saving time when it comes to catching bait and trying to find where the fish are.

One of the best features of the site is it allows you track the patterns of the experts on a day-to-day basis.

Say you're going to the Florida Keys this weekend and you want to go offshore to fish for dolphin. You could go to insiderfishing.com, choose the portion of The Keys that you will be fishing out of, click on the offshore link and a local captain will come up. You can see what this particular captain did on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc. They'll tell you where they're catching the dolphin and you will be able to put together a game plan based on what that guy, who is on the water every single day, is seeing out there. There is no doubt this will save time and fuel.

And these aren't just any guys who can call in. Insiderfishing.com has signed up some of the best Florida has to offer for their particular area.

Some of the local experts are Ron Hueston, Will Geraghty, Geoff Page, Mike Holliday, Pat Dineen, Billy Harbaugh, Wes Rozier, Jim Ross and Scott Fawcett. These are the guys that report into the site every day and give you firsthand knowledge as to what they are doing, where they are doing it and how they are doing it.

The site also provides a variety of different types of online seminars that are based on information such as how to put line on a spinning reel, how to get the backlash out of a plug reel and how to properly clean your rods and reels after a good day of fishing.

For 50 cents a day, you can have all this information statewide. A guy who lives in Orlando can click on the Mosquito Lagoon region and hear firsthand from Capt. Jim Ross what's going on for the weekend. At the same time, for no additional money, you can click on Sarasota and find out what Geoff Page is doing.

For my money there's no better way to plan your trip, save some gas and put yourself in the best possible position to come home with fish than insiderfishing.com.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Rainy Season Brings Floods of Snook and Tarpon
The predators gather by creek runouts, coupling with white egrets, to smash minnow schools

We're into the time of the year when we begin to have afternoon thunderstorms every day. This causes the freshwater in the creeks, river systems and canals that the Corps of Engineers operates, to begin dumping into our ecosystems.

Whether those systems are to the north, in the Jupiter/Stuart area or the southwest, from Flamingo northwest to Boca Grande, this freshwater flushes bait into the areas where snook and baby tarpon like to stage.

What also happens is this freshwater allows the mosquitoes to hatch. If you look, you'll find a lot of mosquito larvae living in the roots of the mangroves that grow along the shoreline. This, in turn, attracts the glass minnows and the Gambusia minnows, which come in huge schools to eat the mosquito larvae. It's not uncommon to see schools where there are several thousand tiny fish in one place.

What that means is it becomes a targeted species for the snook, redfish and tarpon to feed on. One of the clues I look for as I'm driving my boat from the ramp to the general area where I think I might be able to catch the snook or tarpon is I look for white egrets. These birds will stage at the waterline and stare into that water, waiting for the minnows to be pushed up to the shoreline by the snook and tarpon underneath.

The man in white is a guarantee! When you see several birds staged on water's edge of a shoreline you must stop and fish. It's a dead giveaway, they tell you exactly where the fish are. And all of this occurs because of the fresh water rains we have every afternoon.

Once I've located these birds what I like to do is pole the shoreline or troll slowly, listening for snook popping on the surface or tarpon free jumping through those schools. This is what I'm always looking for in conjunction with the birds flying and hovering and working the edges of the shoreline. It's amazing to me – and has been for over 30 years -- how the birds and the fish work together.

What I usually do because the minnows are too small to use for bait is get a small pinfish. I'll put that pinfish under a cork with a minimum of a 40-pound leader and a VMC 7345 circle hook, usually in the 4/0 to 6/0 range.

I throw that pinfish right in the middle of the school and just freeline him until he gets eaten.

If I don't have live bait, another thing I will do is get one of the new Bass Assassin 3-inch swim baits in baby bass color and attach it to a 1/8- or 1/16-ounce jighead (depending on the depth). When I work that lure, I'll keep my rod tip up and twitch it in quick, upward motions. This seems to mimic the glass minnows much better and, by keeping my rod tip up, it keeps that lure in the water column at the same depth as the minnows.

Remember, when you get a bite with the swim bait to set the hook immediately. Whereas, when you get a bite on the pinfish, all you have to do is reel because you're using a circle hook.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Summer Means Snook on the Beach
One of the most enticing ways to fish beach snook is to sight cast and watch the bite.

It's the middle of the summer and when I think July and August, the first thing that comes to my mind is this is a great time of year to find snook swimming in very shallow water along the beaches on the East and West coasts.

I've been talking to some guys that fish off Anclote and Longboat Keys and it seems that their way of fishing is similar to the way we fish in Everglades National Park. It's very simple.

I would start early in the morning, generally on the higher phases of the tide – the last three hours of incoming and the first two hours of outgoing -- where the snook can get real tight to the beach. What I find so enticing about this is the fact that it is a sight fishing situation.

Those of you that like to use the boat for height so you can see the fish better, you can either run your trolling motor or have your buddy pole you down beach. Whether you're in a boat or walking the shore, you should be looking parallel to beach, about 3 or 4 feet from the sand. What I find in South Florida and Everglades National Park is these fish will be swimming right where the waves break and roll back into the surf. Obviously, if it's blowing 15 mph and the waves are crashing on the beach this is not a time to be doing this type of fishing.

If you have an east wind on the West or Southwest coast (or a west wind if you're fishing on the East Coast) then the water will be slick calm. This is exactly what you want. Remember, the most consistent weather pattern is the first thing in morning when the water is going to be at its calmest.

The way I like to attack the situation is to park the boat and begin casting parallel to the beach as far as I can throw it. I'm targeting 10 to 12 feet out of the surf breakline. While I'm walking, I'm looking to see the shadow of a snook swimming 2 to 3 feet from water and sand's edge. If I see that fish then I reel in and sight cast to him.

If the fish is swimming towards me, I throw my bait just outside of where they are heading and slowly bounce it back towards shore until I intercept its path. If the fish is swimming away from me, I throw it ahead of the fish and leave it on the bottom until he's close enough to get his attention. Then I twitch it a couple times until he notices it and then move it hard enough to act like I'm going to take it away from him.

What I like to throw is the Rapala Twitchin' Rap in olive flash color or the Rapala X-Rap in olive or black and silver. If I want to bounce a jig on the bottom, the obvious choice is a Bass Assassin 1/4-ounce jighead with a baby bass 5-inch jerkbait, or one of the new 4-inch swimtails. Pearl is a deadly color.

Don't forget that some of these fish can be extremely large so make sure you have a minimum of 40-pound shock leader, fluorocarbon is preferred but not necessary. If I'm going to use fluoro, I prefer Sufix Invisiline because I have found that this is the most abrasive resistant line on the market.

The final thing to remember is that right now all snook are catch and release, so take a quick picture, making sure the weight of the fish is supported by one hand under his belly, and let that fish go.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

They're Not Just Maneaters, You Know
How not to lose your catch to a shark

Having been doing a lot of tarpon fishing these past couple weeks, I can tell you the sharks are out there and man are they hungry.

I think everyone knows about the legendary shark stories from places like Boca Grande and around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, where big – and I mean BIG – sharks are notorious for crushing your catch before it gets to the boat. But even places like off of Jupiter, all the way up to Fort Pierce and Sebastian are seeing huge amounts of bull sharks this year.

If you fish long enough, you are probably going to have an encounter with “The man in the brown suit”, a.k.a. the shark. That's just the way it is. Hammerheads and bull sharks are notorious for chasing hooked tarpon and munching an easy meal before an angler has a chance to get the fish off the line.

Well, I don't know about you, but I never like to lose a fish to a shark. Even though it's a fact of life, there is something you can do about it.

When you have an encounter with a shark, if you open the bail on your spinning rod, most likely your fish will be able to get away. Releasing the drag will also keep the line from breaking because, as I have said in the past, if the line isn't tight, it won't break.

If you're using a conventional reel, you can try to put it on free line to give the fish more scope to try and escape its pursuer. Be careful not to let the line tangle on the reel when trying to avoid a shark.

Here is something else. If your fish is really stressed when you get it on board after a near-miss with a shark, you can put it in your livewell right after you get it off the hook. That will give the fish time to recuperate and the smell that fish get when they are stressed (which attracts every shark in the area) will subside. The lack of vibration in the water from that fish struggling will also cause the shark to go off in search of another meal.

Try fishing a little heavier tackle, like maybe 20-pound test instead of 12-pound, if you're going to be in shark-infested waters or places where sharks are known to frequent.

By putting more drag on the fish, your fight will be shorter and the fish won't be as stressed for as long. The shorter the fight, the less time the shark has to find your tarpon, snook or whatever you're fishing for that day. Also, the less time the fight lasts, the more prepared that fish should be for a quick recuperation at the surface and release back to its habitat.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Big Permit On Big Tides
When the flats flood, the large permit take advantage and scour new areas for their favorite foods.

If you want to catch a big permit on the flats, then certainly, June is the beginning of the perfect time of year to do just that.

Permit, by nature, seem to really like those hot, sticky, calm days, just like the tarpon, when the humidity is way up there. The one thing that comes to mind when I think about catching permit is I like big tides.

I fish for the big permit in Biscayne Bay and the one thing I find that seems to work very well is fishing for those fish on the new and the full moon phases. This is when you have the highest tides and that's when I like to chase the ‘mits.

The combination of calm, hot days and those big tides seems to be the key to allowing those crabs to flow, as well as put volumes of water on top of the flats, which allows permit to get to places that they can't normally visit.

What I like is to have an incoming tide in the morning which changes to a falling tide in the afternoon. In that situation, the current and the sun are at my back early in the morning and then, about noon time, the tide reaches high tide so my best visibility is between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. It is during that higher phase of the tide when the permit will be on the flats.

The thing you should know about catching a big permit – and by big, I mean 25 to 40 pounds – is it's not that hard to do. All you want to do is simply use a 2/0 J-hook with a bb-sized split shot and a quarter or 50-cent piece sized crab. Hook the crab through the corner of the shell.

Casting to permit is the most important – and hardest – part of the whole transaction.

The first thing you want to do is find the permit. They will either be tailing in the shallow water on top of the flats or mudding as they look for crustaceans to eat. The one thing you need to do when you see the fish and you want to make your cast is throw the crab so that it crosses the permit's eyes and lands directly in front of his face. It would be like casting to a jack crevalle. This is, by far, the most critical part of fishing for permit.

Once that crab lands right in front of that big fish, whatever you do, don't move it. You should be able to see the fish eat your crab, or at least feel it when he takes the bait. When you feel the fish eat, you need to point the rod straight down the line and reel 1000 times the speed of light, times a trillion, just like my good friend Mark Krowka taught me years ago.

You're going to be fishing fairly light line – 10- or 12-pound test – and catching a permit on 12-pound mono is not an easy feat.

Remember to take your time and keep your rod high so, when he goes screaming across the flats, he can't rub your off on the bottom.

Just stay connected and pull when he's not pulling and know that you can't pull down a permit's backbone like you would a tarpon to stop its forward momentum. All that does is make him turn around and head right back at you.

The way to get that fish to the boat is, if he pulls left, you pull left. If he pulls right, you pull right. This will cut down his circles. It's the way you would fight a tuna or a shark, as opposed to a tarpon, a bonefish or a redfish.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Get Crabby with your Poon
We recently learned how to position yourself in relation to other anglers, now let's talk about where to set-up when targeting tarpon on the beach.

If you've been reading Florida Fishing Weekly for the past two weeks, one of the things I recently talked about was the hill tides and how they affect tarpon transferring their diet from finfish to crabs.

This past week, I was fishing in Sarasota, filming an episode of Sportsman's Adventures with Capt. Stacy Capps. The whole time we were fishing, the bait of choice was blue crabs and pass crabs.

Pass crabs are crabs that you can dip out of the water as they flow out of the passes. In this particular case, we were dipping them on the outgoing tides. They are very similar to blue crabs, except they don't have the pointy shell and they have little red tips on their flippers and legs, which really makes them stand out in the aqua green water.

Now that we've established that we want to use crabs as bait, etiquette – toward the fish, as opposed to other anglers – is something we should talk about.

Whether you are fishing on the East Coast, targeting the tarpon that are migrating towards Jacksonville and the Carolinas, or you're on the western side of the state, from Tampa Bay south to about Marco Island, I think this is a protocol that everyone needs to pay attention to.

One of the things I learned from Stacy is, when you find fish, there is no reason to be in a hurry. We were able to simply motor on down in front of the fish with his quiet Yamaha four-stroke as they migrated down the coastline and reposition ourselves several times without disturbing the fish.

As we idled down the coast, we kept our eyes on the fish to see where they were rolling and just set right back up about 100 or 150 yards in front of the flow of the migration.

Us being able to intercept those fish while they were still on top was due to what Capt. Stacy felt was a very key element and that was not drifting over or trolling motoring over the school. We simply never allowed them to see the boat and, therefore, get spooked and dive down.

One of tactics Stacy constantly used was running his trolling motor to hold us into the wind. That allowed us to have a downwind cast, and also kept us from running over the fish.

This technique worked so well, we were able to hook 13 fish, 12 out of the same school, in a six-hour period.

The other thing you need to understand is where to put your cast once you get positioned in front of those fish.

First thing in the morning, the fish were rolling very slowly and staying on top where we could see them just under the water. This told us that they were going very deep.

In that particular case, the presentation was literally 10 feet in front of the school. And once that crab hit the water, our job simply was to hold the rod tip up at a 45 degree angle to the water and let the crab slowly sink.

One of the mistakes that I made when I got one of the first bites was, as soon as I got the bite, Stacy wanted us to wind down tight on the line. Don't yank, simply reel. I let the fish eat instead of winding down immediately and came back with basically a crushed crab shell. Once Capt. Stacy explained this to me, we did very well and ended up releasing six of those 13 tarpon we hooked.

The other thing you'll want to look for as the day grows longer is the fish have a tendency to swim faster down the beach. When you see this happening, what you want to do is lead the school with your cast and drop that crab about 30 to 40 feet in front of the fish. Remember to hold your rod tip at a 45 degree angle to the water and let that crab sink slowly.

If you are in the Sarasota area and get the chance, I recommend looking up Capt. Stacy Capps. His phone number is (941) 809-6551.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Big Tides, Big Changes
June is the time of year when big tides change the fishing in a big way.

One of the things that comes to mind is the hill tides that bring with them tremendous crab migrations out of the passes in places like Marco, the Shark River and Boca Grande. What this means to me is, when these crabs begin to migrate up on the surface, they're going offshore on the outgoing tide and being flushed by the thousands out to the Gulf. That crab migration will trigger fish like tarpon, redfish, black drum, even the occasional snook and Goliath grouper.

These fish know that their diet can go from the silver mullet that have been migrating to eating these easy-to-catch crustaceans, specifically blue crabs.

Also what it seems to do, especially in Everglades National Park, is it has the tendency to bring lots of small pilchards and threadfins in close from out on the grass flats into the points of a lot of rivers. Lostman's, Chatham and the Shark River are some of the places that come to mind for these smaller baits being pushed inshore to the points.

This helps trigger snook, mangrove snappers and the gag and Goliath grouper to stage themselves on those points.

On the outgoing tides, the crabs come flushing out of the river systems and on the incoming tides, the pilchards seem to get pushed into the points. So, what it amounts to is the predators -- snook, tarpon, snapper, groupers -- really seem to take residence in these general points and regions because of the food that is coming out of the river systems, as well as the food being flushed in. It seems to me the predators don't have to work very hard in order to find food.

This is one of the reasons why the big tides of June make me think very carefully about where I want to be fishing. It really narrows the fishing spots, or the water column, into small, compact zones.

Whether you're on the East Coast, fishing for permit eating the crabs flushing out of the inlets, or on the West Coast targeting tarpon, these hill tides really seems to have a tremendous effect on what the predators do.

There are certain ways that I really like to position myself in order to fish with a crab. I can dip the drabs as they flush out on the hill tides, or simply go to a tackle shop and buy silver dollar-sized to 50-cent piece-sized crabs to use for bait. I use a 3/0 to 4/0 j-hook with no weight and free-line the crab in the current. I should also mention that you should be using at least a 60-pound, if not an 80-pound, shock leader if you're fishing for tarpon in this way.

Sometimes I will use a small cork -- I like a round, brown, natural cork for this application – placed about two feet up from the hook so the crab can't get down in the water column. In most cases, the silver dollar-sized crabs will float on surface anyway.

You're going to want to drift through the passes or where the river systems let out. Spread you baits out as far as possible from each other. Or, if you're going to anchor because you see rolling fish down tide of you, throw your cork straight out at 9:00 to the boat and one at 3:00, leaving the bails open. That allows the cork to drift down and away from the boat, instead of behind the boat.

Remember, by free-lining baits, it allows that crab to be a traveling salesman. As long as he's moving, he's selling. As soon as you stop free-lining him, you're only fishing a 6- to 8-foot radius. You need that crab to keep moving so you're always covering new ground as he floats down current.

The one thing that often happens when you hook a tarpon and it begins to jump all over the place, is it creates a lot of panic and havoc in the area and this will sometimes move other tarpon away. Sometimes it's 100 yards, other times it's a few hundred feet. After you've jumped a few fish, let more anchor rope out or pull your anchor and drift down current a couple hundred yards. That way you're fishing new fish at all times.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Tarpon Season Means It's Time To Bone Up On Tarpon Etiquette
Remember to leave the middle of the channel open, give everyone plenty of space and try not to run over the fish you hope to catch.

Whether you're fishing on the West Coast, the East Coast or the Florida Keys, the tarpon bite is happening right now. And now that the tarpon migration is in full season, it's probably a pretty good time to talk about etiquette.

There are many subtle differences in each region as to how the game should be played.

Let's start off with fishing in The Keys. When you're fishing in The Keys on the ocean side, there are a few basic rules you need to understand about being on the water and setting up for tarpon. If you want to fly fish, the thing I would recommend is picking a spot on the ocean side where you'll see all the boats lined up, waiting for the fish. My suggestion is not to set up on either side of a boat, unless you can give that boat 400 or 500 yards of space.

Certainly if you get to a spot first you wouldn't want somebody to set up 100 yards upflow of the fish from where you are staked out. So, when you get there, don't set up in front of somebody if you think you will interrupt the flow of their fish. This way you won't get into any trouble with any of the local fishermen.

If you're not sure of what to do, there's nothing wrong with running your trolling motor up to a guy and asking if it would be okay to set up south of him about 400 yards. That guy will have lot more respect for you after being asked that question.

If you are a live-baiter and you're going to visit the Florida Keys, the oceanside flats are not the place for you to be. You need to understand that those fish on the flats are migrating from Point A to Point B and their feeding pattern is not happening when they're doing that. The channels are where these fish are more comfortable feeding.

If you're bait fishing, these channels are where you should be. But you have to remember, there is somewhat of an etiquette for drifting through the channels and then relocating to get back on the fish. When you run off the fish, put your trolling motor down and run up the side of the channel, shut down upcurrent from where you think the fish are and re-establish your drift back through the channel.

When you're fishing up north on the East Coast, places like Jupiter or off of Stuart, the No. 1 no-no that I see constantly in these beach fishing situations is guys that are running where the fish are swimming. It doesn't make any sense to be running in depths where the fish are swimming. Think about it, if every time you sat down to dinner, an 18-wheel Mack truck drove through your dining room. It wouldn't take long for you to find another place to eat.

That's what tarpon see when they have boats running over them when they're eating. My suggestion, when you're trying to relocate is to run offshore a little further. If you don't like the pounding or the splashing from the waves, in my opinion you shouldn't be out there anyway.

There's nothing wrong with running a half mile offshore, then going parallel to the beach before coming back in and restarting your drift.

The other thing that you need to know when you're in a tight fishing situation like in Boca Grande or Egmont Key, where there are a lot of boats and anglers with lines in the water, is that once you hook a fish, you need to use your big motor to get all that excess line back on the reel and try to get on top of that fish as fast as you can. When that fish makes his first run, he's going to take a few hundred yards of line, but getting on top of him with your motor will help prevent tangles and cut-offs from other boats and you'll lose a lot less fish this way.

It's very, very important to understand the etiquette or protocol of wherever you're fishing, whether it's Boca Grande, Channel 2 or 5 in The Keys, Egmont Key or the beaches on the East Coast. Just remember to leave the middle of the channel open, give everyone plenty of space and try not to run over the fish you hope to catch. Remember, nobody wants to have a 200 hp motor idling over the top of them.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Targeting Early Summer Snook: Part 2
Artificially Chasing Snook

Last week I talked a bit about how to target late spring/early summer snook while using live bait. I went over the type of rod and reel and how to fish that live bait when looking for a big snook.

This week, I want to talk a little about targeting those big snook with artificials.

Whether you like to throw a baitcasting reel or a spinning reel, there are a few things you want to think about before you leave the dock. First, there are a few flys and lures that will work better early in the morning, but not so much later in the afternoon.

Early in the morning, you are going to want to use lures that will call that snook out from where ever you're fishing, whether it's a dock, deadfall, pot hole, or along a jetty.

If you're looking to throw a topwater lure, nothing can really beat the Rapala Skitter Walk in silver and black color. That lure with those colors really seems to match the mullet that are swimming up and down the coast.

The clickety-clack action and noise that the Skitter Walk puts out just seems to outperform all other topwater lures. Rapala also has new chrome and silver color that seems to entice a lot fish to bite.

If you like to fly fish, Orvis makes a popper that works very well. It's got a 2/0 hook with balsa head and a green with white belly with white feathers shooting out the back. That balsa popping sound is the perfect tone to get that big snook to bite.

When popping this popper, I find that using a 10-weight rod with floating line makes the job pretty easy. Make sure you put your rod tip in water when popping. By keeping that tip in the water and doing short little quick jerks of the line, you'll see that the popper responds very well.

The reason why we want to have the rod tip in the water is because if the rod tip is out of the water, the weight of the line has a tendency to drag the fly instead of popping it. Gravity makes the line drop straight down and you lose that nice connection to the popper.

Once the sun gets up, you might want to try a jerkbait on a weedless hook -- Mustad makes a great one -- or a jig head like a Bass Assassin in 1/4- to 1/8-ounce. I like to use the Bass Assassin 5-inch jerk bait, though there are some new swim baits out there with paddle tails in 4- and 5-inches that simulate a finger mullet very well.

Match the color of your plastics to the color of the baits you're seeing around you in the water you're fishing. For example, if it's tannic water, try a chartreuse, white or silver color that will stand out in that stained color.

The key to picking the right plastic is making sure it can get to depth where fish are.

If you're fishing off of a jetty, you know go to a 1/4-or 1/2-ounce jig head so you can get that bait down the 8 or 10 feet you need to be on the bottom. Current is a big determining factor in this.

One of the other things I like to throw when I'm fishing swim baits is the Rapala X-Rap in olive and green or black and silver color. If I'm fishing on the West Coast, the Purple Ghost colored X-Rap, which has a purple back and chartreuse and silver belly, seems to work the best.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Targeting Early Summer Snook: Part 1 Of 2
What to use, how to use it and what to look for when you’re using it

As you know, May and June are the months when snook do their thing. What that means to me is a lot of snook that are big, little and somewhere in between.

The other thing it means to me is that this is the time of the year when you can get experimental and try a variety of approaches and different types of tackle to catch these snook.

Whether you’re a novice who is new to snook fishing or you’ve fished for a while and you simply want to catch one, here are some of the ways I suggest you going about doing just that.

You’re going to want to use a medium to heavy action spinning rod with a 4000-sized reel. Take that reel and load it up with some 4/20 braided line, which is 20-pound test line with a 4-pound diameter. I like to use Rapala Core, which can be easily purchased at your local retailer, but any of the braids that you hear about and see on your Saturday morning fishing shows will most likely work just as well.

The key to this is to make sure you a) have enough line on your reel and b) make sure that line is strong enough to hold any fish because you just never know how big that snook is going to be. Attach a 50- or 60-pound mono bite leader – about 3 or 4 feet seems to be the right length – to the braided line with a back-to-back uni knot.

After that, it’s very simple.

Choose the bait you’re going to use; either a pinfish, finger mullet, threadfin herring or a pilchard. In each case, with the exception of the pinfish, you are going to want to use a 6/0 VMC circle hook. Simply hook the bait through the nose and throw it over to where you think that snook is living and hold on.

For the pinfish, you want to use that same 6/0 VMC circle hook, but you’ll also want to attach a cork about 3 to 5 feet above the hook, depending on how deep the water is that you’re fishing. The nature of a pinfish is to dig and get to the bottom and bury itself in that grass. The cork will prevent him from doing that and keep him where the snook can easily find it.

Some places that you will want to target are docks, points with deadfalls or trees lying in the water or rocks. The jetties up in the Stuart area are perfect example of where snook like to be.

The key is to throw out your bait and just freeline it out there. You want the bait to do all the work, swim around until he finds trouble.

Remember, when you’re fishing with a circle hook, you don’t want to yank on that rod when you get a bite. Simply point the rod tip straight down the line and reel as fast as you can. This should cause the hook to run back up and catch right in the corner of the mouth, which is good for the fish and perfect for the angler who is trying to release that fish.

Speaking of releasing the fish, remember that snook are out of season in Monroe County, Everglades National Park and the entire West Coast of Florida. You still have a few more days on the Atlantic side (until June 1) if you want to keep one for the dinner table. The slot limit on the East Coast is between 28 and 32 inches.

Be sure to always check the FWC website (www.myfwc.com) for all the rules, regulations and slot limits.

If you do choose to take a snook home to eat, remember that all you have to do is simply put it in 350 degrees of peanut oil after being sautéed in Italian bread crumbs and serve it with black beans and rice is one of Capt. Rick’s favorites.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Rule No. 1 in the Sun – Protect Yourself
Florida is the last place to mess around with the sun; when it comes to your skin, try these ideas to help protect it

Sooner or later the summer is going to be upon us in full force and, whenever that arrives, sun protections should be your single most important priority. There are a few things that have come to the forefront of the fishing industry and I think it's very important to talk about them.

First is shirts. Hook and Tackle has come out with a cotton, Under Armor style shirt that has UV protection. These are nice because they not only protect you from the sun's harmful rays, but also work to keep you cool by wicking away the sweat.

Buffs have risen in popularity recently and, thanks to companies like Buff USA, you can now find these in many cool patterns. In fact, you can even be species specific in choosing your face coverage when you're out on the water. For example, when I'm fishing for redfish, you can bet I have on my redfish buff, just to make sure I get that extra redfish voodoo going.

What I like about the buffs is the fact that I can protect my nose, ears, neck and that little bald spot on the back of my head, where that hole is in my hat just above the strap.

You've got your face covered, but some of the most important parts of your body are your hands and your feet. Sunscreen is still a must.

The sunscreen I'm really in favor of is Ocean Potion. The reason I like Ocean Potion is because it has an anti-aging ingredient in it which allows my skin to stay moist, instead of drying out.

A lot of the sunscreens on the market are alcohol-based. When I've used these in the past, I have found that I still burn because they evaporate in such a short amount of time. I am, by nature, dry skinned and I like something that has an oily base to keep my moist, but without feeling greasy. Ocean Potion does that for me.

The other reason I choose Ocean Potion is because I like the smell of it. It has kind of a citronella smell and I can put it on first thing in the morning, right after I shave, and that allows it to penetrate the skin for at least an hour before being exposed to the sun.

Gloves are starting to become very popular when it comes to sun protection. No matter what kind of glove you might use, as an angler you have to make sure they are thin.

Mangrove Gloves makes two models that are made with fishermen in mind. One has a thicker pad on the palm for guys who may be doing a little more poling than others, while the other style is a really thin glove for technical fly fishing or even spin casting.

These gloves are very good and feature half fingers so you still have the feel of the rod in your finger tips.

As far as pants and long sleeve shirts, people ask me all the time how I can fish in those and not get hot. The truth of the matter is, if I have my skin covered and the sun is not able to beat down on it, I'm actually cooler. After I begin to perspire, the new wicking effect that the Hook and Tackle shirts have allow me to feel like I have an air conditioner on the boat. When the breeze blows, it feels very cool, as opposed to hot and sticky.

The final thing you need to worry about protecting is your lips. I find that when it comes to your lips, it's a must to keep lip gloss or lip balm or lipstick in your pocket at all times.

The key is to make sure you reapply after drinking water or soda or if you've been eating something. I find that if you buy the kind that offers a minimum of SPF 30 that, when you do forget to reapply, it seems to be a little more forgiving when it comes to the sun.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Targeting Migrating Tarpon through The Keys
What to look for, how to avoid the sun and what kind of lure to use

The tarpon migration has finally started in full force on the ocean side. For those of us who are veterans and have been following these fish for a long time, there are a few key things that we do and look for in early May.

One of the things to know is that the fish swim from north to south or, if you're down in the Islamorada area, it's more east to west, which means you're going to be looking into the sun to try to find them.

My question to you is why do that? Why handicap yourself by looking into the sun and, therefore, not be able to see the fish as clearly?

There's a simple solution: Get up early. Remember, the early bird gets worm! Take the time to run into the backcountry to places like 9-mile bank and First, Second or Third Point.

These fish are migrating out of the Gulf and pushing along the banks, headed toward the bridges of the Keys. Places like the Channel 5 bridge, the Long Key bridge and even in Marathon. My point is you can certainly get the early morning bite, without having to stare into the sun, simply by setting up on the ocean at 7 or 8 in the morning.

In some cases you may not want to make the long run because gas has gone up to $4 per gallon. That's fine. There are places where the fish are migrating south and then turn back to the east or west, or they're migrating west and they have to turn back east because of the contours of the banks.

When you have that particular situation, especially if you have a southeasterly wind, and the sun, at your back, you can get into some real heavy tarpon action. Some of the places that come to mind where the fish have to alter their route because of the contours of the banks and allow you to get a shot at the fish downwind and down sun are Tea Table, the swash in Lignumvitae and inside Shell Key.

If you're on the Oceanside, the same applies.

No matter which side you're fishing, remember early in the morning you're going to want to use a darker colored fly or lure. The darker the sky, the darker the fly is the rule to go by.

Some flies you might want to consider are something like a small purple bunny, or an Apte Too. A dark Black Death will work well, too.

The ocean fish seem to shy away from the larger backcountry sized fly. Two inches in length is adequate.

Remember, when you make that cast, to try and lead the school of fish by about 20 feet. This lead distance will allow your fly to sink as well as the rings from where it landed to settle. When the lead fish get to within five or six feet of the fly, give it a quick little strip. You want the fly to show excitement without moving it very far.

Also on the ocean, because the fish have the tendency to be shy, you will want to downsize your leader to 50- or 60-pound fluorocarbon. I like the Invisiline fluorocarbon because it is very abrasion resistant and the fish don't break through the leader.

Follow these tips and, hopefully, your tarpon season will be a good one.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Push Pole Power
Picking the right push pole for the right depth

We're coming into the time of the year when technical poling is going to become very important. Whether you're poling for bonefish or permit in Biscayne Bay, tarpon in Charlotte Harbor, or trying to catch a redfish in Everglades National Park in the skinnies of Florida Bay, having the right push pole will make your job much easier.

This is also the time of the year that I get asked a lot of questions about what size pole to buy. Graphite or fiberglass? Quite often I get asked which is the right length push pole and right type of push pole for my boat?

Here's what you need to consider when going to make your next push pole purchase.

Length, in my opinion, is the single most important thing to consider. The reason why is because, certainly, you don't want to be in the middle of a hearty push and run out of length in your pole.

One thing that really aggravates me about poling is when I'm trying to pole into a 15 mph wind in 3 or 4 feet of water, or even deeper, and the pole seems to be too short. You simply can't keep the momentum of the boat going forward.

Any boat that has a 40-inch poling platform is going to require at least a 20-foot push pole. If you've got that same type of high tower and you're planning on fishing in water that is four feet deep or deeper, you certainly don't want anything less than a 21- or 22-foot pole. In fact, a 22- or 23-foot pole is perfect for deep water poling.

If you're fishing out of little johnboat, or a short towered technical poling skiff, looking for tailing redfish in water that's 12 inches or less, you might want to have an 18-foot pole. Really, anything deeper than that, you're going to want at least a 20-footer.

Another thing to consider when looking at purchasing a push pole is the material the pole is made out of.

Graphite, obviously, makes the pole as light as it can possibly be. But the trade-off is, even though you get light, stiff poles, they sometimes can be brittle. Something like a composite pole, which is graphite combined with glass would be a better choice.

The poles that I really prefer are the Stiffy Poles, made in Texas. For my little boat, I like the Stiffy Extreme, which is a very small diameter pole and ultra-lightweight. Now understand, this small extreme is not a pole you'd want to use for an 18-foot Hewes or a Maverick.

Unfortunately, these are made out of graphite, which has a tendency to break when you're staked out with the heavier style boat.

The pole I use day in and day out on my Maverick HPX is a 24-foot Stiffy composite. This pole is larger in diameter than the Extreme, therefore it is much stiffer and a lot more forgiving when staking out in high wind conditions.

Understand that, any time you're using a graphite pole, there is that chance of having the pole break when you're staked out because of rocks, coral, etc. potentially fracturing the graphite.

If you're a guy who is not necessarily technically poling but spending hours with the pole in your hand, then I would suggest you get an E-glass or S-glass fiberglass pole. These will both allow you to stake out a larger boat. These poles, in most cases, are more flexible because of the lack of graphite, and therefore much more forgiving when excessive bends are being applied.

The prices of these poles range from $200 for an E-glass push pole that measures 20-feet long and weighs somewhere around 6 pounds, versus a Stiffy carbon pole which could be as high as $900 but only weigh 1.5 pounds.

Understanding what your needs are, how much time you're going to spend with the push pole in your hand and not in the pole holders and the type of water you're going to be poling in should all be considerations for your next purchase.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Tax Day Means Tarpon are Ready to Play
Tarpon on fly can be one of the most exciting fights on the water; here are some ways to get started chasing the migrating silver kings

The middle of April means to me that tarpon will begin their annual migration out of their winter haunts. The tarpon winter in places like Government Cut which, in March and February, holds thousands of fish.

These fish will stay south, near Fisher Island, and when temperature hits that magic number of 76 degrees with the wind blowing out of the cut, they will begin to head down the beaches and begin their summer migration to The Keys.

Tax day (April 15) is the day I typically start to look for these migrating fish. When the warm conditions are backed by easterly winds, that’s the perfect time to take a look along the oceanside flats from Miami to Islamorada.

For whatever reason, April 15 seems to be the day to be 1099’ing these silver kings.

When it comes to fly fishing for these big fish, what I like to throw this time of year is not too scientific. The fish seem to be on a migration, so the key is to make sure your fly is in the right place at the right time.

What I mean by that is cast your fly 15 to 20 feet in front of the school and let it sink using floating line. When the fish get to where they can see the fly, make short, quick strips to give the fly a lot of life without moving it very far.

Early in the morning use a dark fly like an Apte Too. The darker fly gives more of a silhouette in the water and should garner a little more attention. Remember, the darker the sky, the darker the fly. A brown or tan colored toad will work well too in this low light situation.

As the sun gets higher in the sky, say from about 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and you’re working with a bright sky, I change to a more brilliantly colored fly. Chartreuse is one color that comes to mind, whether you’re using the toad or a type of Deceiver. There is also a yellow-white fly called White Lightning that works very well.

Remember, these fish haven’t had a lot of flies thrown at them, or seen a lot of boats since last summer, so you’re going to want to fish 60- to 80-pound shock leader.

One of your responsibilities as an angler is to look for a reaction out of the fish or the school as a whole. That reaction should be one of two things.

If the fish see the fly because you allowed it to sink to the proper depth, they should react to it by following or actually eating it. In either case, that is a positive reaction.

If it didn’t eat but still followed the fly that, at least to me, lets me know the fish showed some interest. That’s positive. Maybe all you have to do is fix your strip to get them to eat.

If you throw your fly and it sinks to right level and, as you strip, a big hole forms in the school around your fly, that’s a negative reaction. Or, if you strip and the fish go in the opposite direction, running away from the fly, that tells me it’s time to make a change.

In that case, if you’re fishing a dark fly, I would go 180 degrees in the completely opposite direction and fish a light colored fish. Vice versa if you’re fishing a light fly and receive a negative reaction.

In most cases in tarpon fishing it’s not the fly. It’s having the fly to the right level and having the fly move in a manner to entice that tarpon to bite.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

It’s Not Too Early to Target Big Dolphin
April and May are the traditional months for big dorado, and after consistent days of easterly winds, the big bulls are out there and they’re fairly easy to target

Consistent days of southeast and easterly winds mean big rafts of weeds and debris have blown in from the other side of the Gulf Stream. If you want to catch a big dolphin – or what some people call dorado -- this would be the time of year to do it.

You have to understand that dolphin grow up to 22 pounds a year. That means, if you’re lucky enough to catch a two-year old, you are potentially catching a 40-plus pound fish.

One of the things you need to consider when fishing on the East Coast is that the running and gunning style seems to work the best. That means leave the ramp full of fuel, make sure your coolers are full of water and beverages and, when you break the inlet, just head east.

Sometimes these fish are found right on edge of a color change, a current change or a rip, but I really prefer looking for birds. Look for man o’war birds, some type of gulls or even frigate birds. These birds will swoop down or dive on the bait fish which are balled up and pushed to the surface by predators looking for an easy meal. If you find the bait fish, you find the predators and, more often than not this time of year, that means dorado. Those birds are a big key to finding fish.

Your plan of attack needs to be executed the night before. Your offshore rods and trolling rods need to be rigged and ready. If you plan to troll ballyhoo behind a skirt, I’ve found that blue and white seem to be the most popular and effective. One of my favorite things to do is put a green and gold Billy Bait skirt in front of a naked ballyhoo.

Ideally, you will want to have four offshore rods so that you can troll two on the riggers and two on each side of the transom. Make sure these baits are let back far enough that they’re out of the prop wash so they can be easily seen skipping along the surface.

Before you put these baits out, make sure you locate something that potentially might hold dorado. It might be something as simple as a weed line that stretches two or three miles, or a floating tree blown in from the Bahama Banks or something as simple as a pallet that fell off a cargo ship. These are all things that will congregate baitfish which the dolphin are consistently waiting to ravage.

In the case of fishing structure and debris like that, a 20-pound spinning rod will do just fine. If you get a big dolphin or even a schoolie while trolling, it is also important to have those 20-pound spinning rods ready and easily accessible. Make sure your leader is in the 60-pound class.

Have a yellow jig rigged on one of those rods or, certainly, ballyhoo cut or filleted with small strips will work just as well. Once you get one fish on, you should be able to catch what you need to eat by simply having multiple rods ready. All you have to do is drop that yellow jig near one that is hooked close to boat. His buddies will think that jig is something the hooked fish regurgitated and will gobble it up quickly. The key to catching lots of dolphin is to simply keep one in the water.

The reason why you want to keep the most recent dolphin hooked in the water is because he will be brilliant with color and is most likely the one that will regurgitate food while on the hook. What that means to me is he is chumming for you.

The reason why you want to keep him in the water is because he will attract any other dolphins that are part of that school. If angler No. 1 is hooked up, have him keep his fish on the line and about 10 feet below the boat. When angler No. 2 gets hooked up, angler No. 1 can pull his fish in and you can follow this sequence until you have enough fish for your dinner.

Those of you who like to fish artificials or even fly fishing, this is a pretty easy task as well. Just get a simple 10-weight rod with floating line and a white fly is all you need. If you’re fishing with plugs, I like the Rapala X-Raps in blue and silver or black and silver.

Remember, whether you’re fishing with a fly or an X-Rap, you want to move it through the water with a quick twitching pace. This is what will attract the fish and keep you and your group busy until the cooler is full.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Get in that Cold Frame of Mind
Late season cold fronts force you to change your patterns, here's why and how

What has happened with this latest cold front is all the fish have retreated off of the flats and gone back into the channels. The thing I found today, however, is they're not far from the flats and that means they're staging to go back on those flats when the water warms up.

As I was fishing in Everglades National Park this morning, the strong winds and chilly temperatures reminded me that a lot of people don't know the correct way to fish during this time of year when the weather can be up and down.

When you have a small temperature change but heavy winds and big barometric pressure change, the fish are not receptive to it or don't agree with it. As soon as the wind changes from the north back to the east, the fish go back to their warming process.

I think this is a positive time of year because it slows down the mullet and tarpon migrations, as well as the prespawning activity that the snook undergo. Late cold fronts like this also allow the shrimp runs to stay heavy. I know when I bought my shrimp this morning they were much larger than they have been since the water started to warm.

Though you might not like it when you're out on the water, it's good to slow spring down a little. If it comes too soon, we're going to be catching snook that should have been protected during the closed season because they'll be spawning too early.

The same thing applies to tarpon. Once it warms up, those fish will start to pull into Boca Grande and start staging off the West Coast. The cold slows the process of migration in the shallow water, which is good because you don't want it to be June or July and have no fish to target. Anglers in Fort Pierce and Jupiter and Vero look forward to those months to target the tarpon off the beaches but, if the spring comes too early, those fish will have already moved through.

Late time cold fronts, even though they're a pain in the butt because we all want to be warm, are a necessity after a mild winter like the one we just had.

The answer for how to fish these conditions is simple: Slow and deep.

If you're out in the morning and you have to wear a jacket and there's a little bite to the wind, you need to get into the train of thought that you're going to have to give up the topwater bite and concentrate on the fish that are deeper and more lethargic.

I fished this morning (the first one after a cold front moved through) and I caught snook and redfish on the bottom on shrimp on troll-rite jigheads. The redfish hit so hard they almost ripped the rod out of my hand, which is typical for redfish in cooler temperatures.

But the snook bite was very lethargic. The fight was very short and the fish did more when I got it in the boat than it did in the water. It acted like it was cold.

In the afternoon, you might start to look up on the edges of a flat, where it drops into the channel, as the tide is coming in. Once you get about a foot of water on that flat, it gives it kind of a Jacuzzi effect where the water is considerably warmer because of the sun and the fish will be attracted to that warmth.

But they won't move far from the channel because, if it gets cold again that night, they want to be able to move back into the depths again.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Start Tuning in the Channels for Muttons, Bonefish and Permit
As warm water flows from the bays into the Atlantic Ocean, the larger fish begin to bite; here's how to target them while they're still inshore

March is the best time of the year to be out fishing and some of the things that come immediately to my mind are all the channels in Biscayne Bay that lead to the Atlantic Ocean.

From Tavernier Creek in Islamorada, all the way up north to Government Cut, March is a warming time of the year and opens up a lot of fish that not a lot of people are aware of.

This is one of my favorite times of the year to catch mutton snapper in the channels. This used to be something that was very difficult but, thanks to the advent of scented soft plastics, it has become much easier.

The reason I think it's easier to fish with soft scented plastics is because it's not a sit and wait type of game. This is active fishing, you're always moving.

What I like to do is position myself in one of these channels on an outgoing tide. It doesn't matters if you're in The Keys, Biscayne Bay or The Bahamas, which is where I am right now, this is a pattern that is a necessity.

If the tide is coming in, the only fish you're going to catch will be the small ones. I'm talking too small to keep. But, as soon as the tide starts to fall, because you've got that warm water from the bays flowing out through the channels, it triggers the bigger mutton snapper to bite.

I like to use braided line with a 3- to 4-foot piece of 20- to 25-pound fluorocarbon as a leader. You can join these two lines togther by using a Bimini twist or spider hitch in the braid and then using a back-to-back uni knot to secure the leader. Make sure you wet the knot before pulling it down as this will make the knot that much stronger and eliminate the fish from seeing the braid.

What I like to do is fish a 3-inch Berkley Gulp! or Bass Assassin shrimp pattern. These baits work because the snapper and the other fish down there are still feeding on the shrimp at this time of year.

I get a 1/4- to 1/2-ounce Mission Fishin' jig head, basing my weight on how fast the current is running and how hard the wind is blowing. The key is getting your bait to the bottom and keeping it there. If the current is moving too quickly or the wind blowing your boat too quickly, it will cause your shrimp to lift off the bottom and your chances of catching anything go way down.

I like to drift through the channel when I'm fishing this way because I feel like I get more bites and am able to cover more ground. When you're anchored and casting, you'er really only covering a 120 square foot area, but drifting you can cover a quarter or half mile very easily.

When you're fishing, just throw your plastic out 90 degrees to the current, making sure you're capable of reaching and bouncing it along the bottom while the boat is drifting. This is about as basic as jig fishing can be. There's nothing hard about it at all.

Understand, this is about more than just mutton snapper. You will also catch lane snapper, an occasional bonefish and permit using this method.

I find that the plastic needs to be 3-inches, or right around that range. The 2-inch baits are too small and you will only catch the smaller fish. The larger, 4-inch baits, at least in my mind, eliminate the 3- to 4-pound bite.

My advice to you is, before it gets too hot and before the fish move to the reefs, grab some Gulp! or Bass Assassin shrimp baits and see what you can drum up inside those channels.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

March Tarpon Can Mean a Change in Tactics
This month is a transition for silver kings, that means you have to adjust your fishing to coincide with the fish

As the shrimp migration slows and the water temperatures warm, the mullet will begin to migrate along the coast. Whether they're headed to The Keys or the backcountry of Florida Bay, that mullet migration sometimes can really be a key to having multiple days of great tarpon fishing.

Once you start to see pods of mullet cruising the shorelines, that's when you'll know it's safe to change your bait.

On the East Coast, look for the silver mullet that range anywhere from 6 to 10 inches long. On the West Coast, you're going to find fish that are more in the finger mullet category.

Once see that, you want to cast net those fish and start using those for bait. The reason why is because these tarpon have been focused on eating shrimp for the past three or four months and I feel like they're no different than we are. You don't want to eat a Big Mac every day, or have steak every day. Once you get the chance to eat something different, you will certainly do that.

Plus, for a tarpon to eat a 10-inch mullet, that takes up a lot more room in his stomach than a 1 1/2-inch shrimp. And it comes at about the same effort.

Understand that March is a great transition month. It's also a great month to adjust your tarpon fishing.

I know there are a lot of you who like to throw plugs, whether it's in the channels in The Keys or working a deep diving Rapala in the backcountry or west side of Everglades National Park.

Some of my favorite plugs to throw to tarpon are the Rapala X-raps in sizes 12 and 16. If I'm in tannic water, I like throwing the orange and chartreuse so the fish can easily see the lure. If I'm fishing the channels in Islamorada, I might prefer something silver and black to match the mullet. In real clear water, I'll downsize to a 10 or size 12 in the modles that run either 8 to 12 or 12 to 15 feet deep.

The key to having good plug fishing in any situation is to throw 90 degrees to the current.

The tarpon are going to be facing into the current, hoping to snap up s meal as it gets pushed by. If you throw across the current, you're going to have a higher percentage of getting a bit than if you throw down current or even straight up current.

It's no different than throwing a plug across US 1. You have a higher percentage of hitting a car if you throw across the three lanes of traffic, than if you stand on the center line and throw straight up between the cars.

The more across current your cast, the higher percentage you have of bringing that lure across a fish's face.

Now that the lure is in the water, all I do is put the rod tip down and twitch-twitch and then reel up the slack. I pause for just a second or two between the two twitches and that's where I get most of my bites.

If you choose to fish a mullet, you're going to want to use a circle hook.

There is no need to use a bobber. You may have seen that on Sportsman's Adventures or read it in this column, but this time of year I simply free-line my mullet.

If I'm fishing on the East Coast with the bigger mullet as bait, I use a 7/0 VMC 7385 hook.

A 9/0 is also acceptable. If I'm on the West Coast and using a finger mullet, a 7/0 sized hook is the max, whereas a 5/0 in the same VMC model is probably better.

Remember, when you're using circle hooks and you get a bite, all you want to do is simply reel. No yanking, just reel.

You are going to want to use 80-pound fluorocarbon leader minimum. Especially at night, the fish don't act like they see the leader, so why not put on something the fish definitely can't break through?

For my line, I like to use braid, usually in the 12- to 30-pound test. Rapala Core is a very good line that works very well for me. I like to use as strong a line as possible so the fight is minimal and the fish can get back to his business and I can get back to mine. Plus, I don't want to have to fight a fish for two hours.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

When Spring is Sprung, The Tarpon Bell is Rung
As water temperatures begin to warm, tarpon are waiting for that magic number of 71 degrees to become extremely active; here’s what you need to be successful

Between cold fronts, the water temperature sometimes can get warm enough to where it makes the tarpon fishing very active.

Whether you’re talking about fishing the backcountry of Everglades National Park or Chokoloskee or even places like Haulover Inlet, Government Cut or the bays and bridges of the Lower Keys, you need to understand that water temperature is what is going to dictate the bite. It is one of the most important things about tarpon fishing.

It’s not so much how warm it gets during the day that’s most important either, it’s how warm it stays at night that really matters.

If the water temperatures at night go below 70, most likely even with an 85 degree day, the water will not warm enough to entice tarpon to move in the shallow bays and channels of the backcountry of Florida Bay area.

Know this, if you start out the morning with water temperatures right at, or above 7 1degrees, you have the potential of having a very good day fishing for tarpon.

That 7 1degree mark is the standard, whether you’re fishing with live bait or artificials or if you’re fishing the channels of the Keys bridges, Government Cut or Port Everglades. The water needs to be in that 71 degree range for your fishing to be productive.

When it comes to what kind of bait you want to use, that changes as the years goes on.

Typically, everyone thinks of tarpon fishing with live bait as sticking a mullet on a hook and floating him out behind the boat. The problem is, right now, those mullet aren’t really prevalent just yet along the southern part of Florida so the tarpon are not accustomed to preying on them.

Until those mullet start to migrate down the coast, you’re going to want to fish with live shrimp. These are the days when an outgoing tide produces huge volumes of shrimp floating out to sea. What that means to me is you want to match the hatch.

One of the rigs I like to use in a channel-fishing situation is a shrimp on a Troll-Rite jig. Take a shrimp about the size of one you would dream about in a shrimp cocktail and hook it onto either a 3/4- or 1-ounce Troll-Rite jig head. Hook the shrimp through the bottom of the chin and out the top of the head so that it looks like it’s swimming in a free-lined situation.

What I like to do is use my Humminbird to mark the fish in the channel and then simply drop the shrimp on the Troll-Rite to the bottom during an outgoing tide and drift. I like to drift when fishing this technique because it allows me to cover more ground.

All I’m doing at this point is lifting the rod up and dropping it back down. After doing that a couple of time, I look back to the Humminbird to monitor whether or not I’m still marking fish and where those fish are.

It is vitally important to monitor that Humminbird unit and try to distinguish where the fish are holding in the water column. Sometimes you will have fish holding 10 to 15 feet off the bottom. You want to be constantly adjusting the depth of your shrimp to meet the depth of the fish.

Think about it like this: If you drop your shrimp to the bottom and just lift your rod up and put it back down, you’re only covering the bottom and 6 to 7 feet up, depending on the size of your rod.

If those fish are 10 to 15 feet off the bottom, you’re only about halfway there and they can’t see your bait.

That’s why you have to be constantly adjusting your level and reeling every now and then to hit that right depth.

That method also lets you present that shrimp on a jig head to a variety of fish in different parts of the water column. The fish on bottom might not see a lot of food and may be hungry. The fish on top may be feeding and, therefore, be more aggressive. You have to figure that out.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Using Popping Bugs for Bluegills and Shellcracker
Targeting these panfish with a fly rod or an ultra-light spinning rod can lead to a great meal

This is the time of year when, between cold fronts, what often happens is the surface temperatures warm up. When they do, the fishing for crappie, bluegill and other panfish can be on fire.

It really is a very simple approach, whether you’re in a Maverick HPX, a 20-foot bass boat or even a canoe or johnboat. All you really need is a 5-weight fly rod with floating line.

Panfish-sized poppers made by Metz are the perfect ones for this type of fishing. I like to buy the types that are tan and orange in color with rubber band legs.

What you need to understand when working this type of fly, compared to working a fly in saltwater situations, is you want to pop the popper and then let it sit. And I mean don’t move it at all. Let it sit 10 to 15 seconds, perfectly still, and you will see small bass and panfish come up underneath the popper to see if it runs.

I have found that when I move the popper I don’t get the bite. But, if I pop the popper and then let it sit, it will create the interest needed to get the bite. The thing that is so exciting about this type of fishing is the sipping sound or getting to hear the light pop when the fish hit your fly. It is very invigorating.

For those of you who are not fly fishermen, an ultra-light, 6-foot spinning rod with a 1500 to 2000 sized reel and 4- to 6-pound test are very adequate. Buy some little beetlespins to use as lures and you should be set. I like to use chartreuse beetlespins because those are the ones the crappie really seem to favor.

This is one of those situations where you don’t need to work the lure very fast, you just simply need to jig it, get the attention of the fish and let it fall. You will almost always get the bite on the fall. For kids, I recommend simply reeling at a slow rate of speed without it bouncing the beetlespin on the bottom.

As a kid, I certainly ate a lot of bluegills and the other variety of panfish we’ve spoken about. I remember being with my dad and cleaning them with a table knife, or butter knife, just scraping all the scales off and then pan frying them with the skin still on.

We would just cut the heads off, gut them, roll them in flour with a little seasoning (I like using Complete Seasoning) and then frying on top of the range or stove.

The best way to eat them, is to slide your table knife against the backbone of the fish all the way down and then let it lay flat on the plate on the skin. Add some green beans and wild rice and you can’t eat any better than this.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Filing Float Plans: Part Two
Sometimes, even while taking every precaution, the worst happens and you are unable to get back to the dock; here are some things to remember just in case

Last week I talked a little about how important it is to file a float plan before every trip you take in your boat. We discussed what kind of information should go into a float plan, who you should file it with and the importance of sticking to that plan.

The one thing that comes to mind when I think about float plans is I’ve been very fortunate to have never been stranded. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had situations that could have been hairy, it just means I’ve never been completely stranded.

One time that stands out to me was when we were fishing about 30 miles southwest of Walker’s Cay, on the Grand Bahama Bank, in a 15-foot technical poling skiff with a 40 hp tiller motor. All of a sudden, a storm front blew through and we had 30 miles of 30-foot deep water to cross to get home. That wasn’t an option.

Fortunately, we had a vhf radio and one of the first cell phones, which we all now know as “The Brick”. I was able to call my wife, receiving a signal in Homestead, and she was able to relay through the Fort Lauderdale office for Walker’s Cay and they came and picked us up in a 60-foot dive boat.

In that situation, the first thing that came to mind was the rationing of food and not knowing how many days we would be out there before someone came to look for us. How much water we had on board was another question that popped up quickly.

To that end, there are certain steps you can take before you leave the dock to ensure that, if the worst possible scenario happens, you will be able to survive for several days, at least.

Some of the things you might want to add to your essentials are protein bars, a small flashlight and some flares, which should always be up to date on your boat. A Ziploc bag is very important as it will keep your perishable food, and any matches you might have, dry and will store easily.

The other thing I think you should have if you’re putting together an emergency food kit is a lighter. I prefer a lighter because you’re going to be around water and matches tend to soak up as much water as they can. This would certainly allow you to build a fire and cook any fish you might have caught that day.

A flashlight will be key if you ever happen to get stranded because, once the sun goes down and you’re on the water or a deserted spot of land, it’s going to get very dark very quickly.

Make no mistake about it, spending that night away from home unexpectedly is not going to be a lot of fun. But there could come a day when this could potentially happen. As a boater this is something you should prepare for no differently than living in Florida and dealing with hurricane season.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Float Plans: Part 1 of 2
Filing a Correct Float Plan Can Be The Difference Between Spending An Unexpected Night In The Wilderness And Getting Home Safely

It often comes to mind when I see that box at the boat ramp that is specifically noted for floats plans that I really don't know a lot about float plans. I'm not sure if there is a specific sheet of paper that you're supposed to fill out or if you're supposed to put something like your own personal notes in this box.

The key is, whatever you decide to use, be it a form or just a simple handwritten note, the idea behind a float plan is that someone would be able to find you in case you have an emergency or break down.

The U.S. Coast Guard calls a float plan "The world's only lifesaving device on paper" and even had a form (www.floatplancentral.org) which you can download and fill out online. That site also has a link which advises anyone in a boat from a kayak to a jet ski to a sailboat to a sportfisher to file a float plan every time they head out on the water.

The types of thing you want to include in your float plan are the general area you're going to be fishing, how many people are on the boat with you, what type and color boat you're in and what time you expect to be back. Certainly some emergency contact numbers are important, in case you don't show back up at the ramp, so the park rangers or authorities will know where to look.

In the Murphy house, we have a general float plan that happens every single day. It's basically a pattern that we have fallen into over 25 years of professional fishing to let my wife know the general area where I'm going to be fishing, the car I will be using to tow the boat to the boat ramp and the license number on that car.

The general float plan in our house is for me to tell my wife, Kathy, where I'm going. If I'm going to Flamingo, for example, I try to tell her if I'm going to be fishing in the backcountry or if I'm going to on the Florida Bay side. The more detail that I give her, the shorter my time in the wilderness experience is going to be should something go wrong.

This discussion with your wife should include what friends to call in case something happens so they know where to possibly begin looking for you. In my experience, there are not a lot of people who know exactly where I fish. By specifically telling Kathy who to call, she'll know who to notify and be able to say, "He's fishing in the backcountry." Those friends of mine are going to know where to start looking.

The point is, if your wife knows what buddy knows where you fish when you go to Flamingo or Mosquito Lagoon or Biscayne Bay, it's going to make the job of the authorities easier when they come to find you.

Next week: How to be prepared in case of an on-the-water emergency.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Winter Bass Fishing Can Be Really, Really Good
The right way to target largemouths during low water times

A big thing to remember this time of year is that the bass fishing can be really, really good in the Everglades and the canal systems simply because there's not a lot of rain and the water is concentrated in the canals.

One of my favorite ways to fish for bass in this type of environment is to worm fish along the banks using a black grape worm, 6 inches long with a bullet weight, rigged Texas-style. With 15-pound braided line, this set-up seems to be a deadly combo.

What I like to do is throw that worm up on the bank, so it doesn't make a splash, and then slide it off into the water. If it's rigged weedless, this is something that can be accomplished on every cast.

If you are in pursuit of big bass, your odds of fishing these clear water areas and canals are best if you fish at night. This time of year that's not a problem because it's not buggy at all.

What I like to do is fish ahead of the boat, using a trolling motor and slowly making my way down the shoreline so that I can work the worm along the edge of the ledge. Because it is a little cooler these days, sometimes you might have to work the bait in a much slower manner.

For those of you who might prefer to fish in a little faster way, you can simply use the same rod with braided line and throw Rapala crankbaits. The DT series of crankbaits is what I really like.

When choosing a DT, there are two things to keep in mind: The depth of water that you're fishing and the color of water.

Once you've established the depth, it's important to know that a DT4 is going to crank down to about 4 feet. A DT10 will crank down to about 10 feet and a DT 16, well, by now you've figured out that it will dive down to about 16 feet.

David Fritz taught me a long time ago that, to be a successful crankbait fisherman, the bill of that lure has to be either hitting the bottom or the debris that you're fishing around. So, be very sure that you're touching the bottom as you're cranking along.

I like to jerk the rod tip and pause, crank up the slack and then jerk the rod tip again. That way the crankbait dives down and starts back up. That's when you seem to get the bite with the bass.

I find that when I'm selecting a color for that lure, it works best to choose a lure that looks like the natural prey that the bass feed on in that area. In clear water you want to use something that looks like a bluegill or bream or a shad. If you're fishing in the Glades where the water is a little darker because of the muddy bottom, I would use a chartreuse or orange or red lure, something to simulate a crawdad. Sometimes I will even use a brighter color to be sure that the fish can see the lure, as well as feel the vibration, as it goes through the water.

If you're interested in butterfly peacocks this time of year, take your time and sleep in. These are tropical fish and, with the water temperatures being cooler this time of year, they'll be feeding in the hottest part of the day, from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

You can certainly catch these fish as easy as 1-2-3 fishing with shiners with a small split shot in order to get the bait down, or simply use the same Rapala crankbaits in chartreuse. The peacocks seem to really like chartreuse.

For those of you who like to walk canal banks and like to fly fish, a chartreuse Clouser Minnow with big lead eyes is a deadly provider for catching those peacocks.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Flamingo: Weeks After the Fish-killing Cold Snap
It appears the Goliath grouper population took the brunt of the cold weather, which is good news for snook and redfish

It's been about four weeks since the Flamingo area underwent a nasty cold snap. Now that we've had time to evaluate how bad the cold snap really was, I've come to the conclusion in my own mind that the fish that really suffered were the Goliath grouper.

I've been talking to and getting reports from other guides and they're all saying that they've seen not hundreds, but thousands of Goliaths, from hand-sized to 30 pounds floating dead on the western side of Everglades National Park. Especially in the area known as Lake Ingram.

I can honestly say now, after fishing four weeks later and not having caught a single Goliath in several trips, it is that species which took the brunt of the cold snap.

From what I have seen, the crocodiles have also suffered some significant devastation. I saw a 15-footer dead on the bank, as well as a 12-footer and several smaller than that in the 9-foot range.

But there are positives to all of these negatives.

The biggest positive seems to be all those trees and other deadfalls in the water that have been holding all the Goliaths are now holding small snook. Those juvenile snook can be there now and don't have to worry about getting eaten by one of their grouper brothers.

In last few days of fishing, I have had 100-plus fish days, catching snook and redfish while fishing with a troll-rite with a shrimp on the bottom. You should understand that when you're fishing the troll-rite with a shrimp, this is more like bottom fishing than fishing with an artificial.

You want to hook the shrimp underneath the chin and back through the top of its head. When you throw this shrimp out, you don't really move it at all. When the predator comes close, that shrimp is going to snap his tail and try to get away from that snook, trout or redfish and most of that time it will get eaten.

The cold water slows the metabolism of the a lot so you must fish much slower. Typically, bumping a jig along the bottom in 8 to 12 feet of water in 60 degrees is not conducive to the situation when the fish are slowed down. The jig being bounced on the bottom is too fast and the fish won't expend then required energy to eat if they have to chase it. With the troll-rite, the shrimp will be eaten because he's moving too slowly, if at all.

The funny part is the catch ratio seems to be 50-50, depending on what side of the cold weather we've been fishing on. When the weather seems to be a little warmer, the snook are more active and biting versus when the days might be a little cooler and the redfish seem to the higher of the two species in number of fish caught.

Also, most of the cold snap devastation took place on the western side of the Flamingo or Florida Bay area. After fishing in the backcountry of Everglades National Park, near Whitewater Bay, and seeing no dead fish floating and finding good numbers of redfish, snook and small tarpon, I can honestly say we might have dodged another bullet from Mother Nature.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

For All the Latest and Greatest, I Go to the Miami Boat Show
From electronics to new boat models to artists and knick knacks, the boat show is the place to be

The Miami Boat Show is a place where there are tons of deals.

If you’re thinking about buying anything that’s marine related, repowering your old Contender or, possibly, buying a new Pathfinder or technical poling skiff, the boat show is certainly the place this can easily be accomplished.

The one thing you need to do before going to any boat show is to really understand how this boat is going to best suit your needs and your family’s needs. We would all like to be poling in 5 inches of water, but you’re not going to do that with your three boys, your wife and her girlfriend all piled into your boat.

Understanding how you want this boat to serve you is the hardest thing to consider before going to the boat show.

Make no mistake about it, when you’re going to buy a $40,000 boat, mama is going to have something to say about it. While you’re thinking about making the decision, you might want to include her in the thought process and discussion. It might save you some embarrassment in front of a salesman you don’t know.

Remember one thing…she’s undefeated.

Now that you’ve figured out what’s best and how it’s going to serve you and your families needs, know there are great deals to be had at the Miami Boat Show.

In most cases, engine manufacturers will give you extended warranties that are not available outside of the show. There are also a lot of boat show specials to be had.

Boat manufacturers will sometimes give you options not normally thrown in under a normal sale.

But there’s more than boats at the boat show, and that’s some of my favorite stuff to look at.

Electronics that you looked at last year, but are now obsolete because of the advancements during the past year, can be seen under one tent in one building. Rods, reels, boat trailers and parts, new engines and, of course, for the latest and greatest in boat products, certainly the Miami Boat Show is a place to see it all.

Some of the things that I always look forward to seeing each year, besides the new electronics, certainly are the art displays.

Some of the greatest wildlife artists that the marine industry knows will be at the Miami Boat Show. I’m talking people like Guy Harvey, Jean Eastman, Carey Chen and Don Ray will all have displays on the second level of the Miami Beach Convention Center. In most cases, you can buy an original piece of art from the artist themselves.

The other thing I certainly enjoy is looking at is all the new apparel.

From clothing that Hook and Tackle comes out with or the new shoes that Sperry Topsider has introduced, I love it all. Then there are the new bags to put all your little lures and keepsakes in. Whether they be waterproof or just very practical, there is always something unique and very interesting to see at the boat show.

When I’m not roaming around, looking at the cool new stuff, I will be at the Maverick booth on Friday and Saturday and at the Yamaha booth on Saturday and Sunday. If anyone has any questions, feel free to stop in and say hello.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Winter Bonefishing: Bigger Schools Equals Less Spookier, Easier to Catch Fish

As the bonefish migrate between Key Biscayne and Marathon, they congregate in large schools, making them easier to find and less worried about shrimp dropping in from the sky

Winter bonefishing is something most people don’t like to do. But it’s something that more people should consider because it can really create some serious catch numbers.

This is the time of year when the fish get in extremely large schools and travel on the oceanside flats, from Key Biscayne to Marathon. The key to catching and having big number bonefish days is fishing deep.

Often, I find myself poling in 4- to 6-feet of water. As you pole, look for these fish in big schools. They’ll look very black when they’re swimming on the surface.

Some people say this is a pre-spawning thing. I’m no biologist, but I can tell you, whatever it is, it’s a good thing.

This type of fishing is simple: All you have to do is drop the shrimp in front of the school of fish when you see them on the surface.

In my experience, these fish are going to be migrating one way or another during this time of year. You want to remember that they will generally be migrating into the wind.

If the breezes are blowing from the north, the school will be traveling from the direction of Marathon, towards Miami. If the wind is out of the south before a front, they will be traveling in a southern direction.

The one thing that seems to be consistent is, once you find these fish, if you can make a mental note of both the depth they’re swimming and the temperature they’re swimming in (by using a Humminbird or some other type of water measuring device), you’ll find that you should encounter more fish by following that pattern.

These winter bonefish will be very active and biting in 71 to 76 degree water. If you find that the water is colder than that, don’t be discouraged, simply try to wait until the water warms later in the day.

You can catch these fish on jig heads, if you want. I prefer a 2/0 VMC j-hook in either black or nickel color because it looks more natural than a chrome or silver when it is hanging out of the shrimp. I take a bb-sized split shot and slide it right down on top of the eye of the hook for a little weight.

You’ll want to rig your shrimp Texas-style, with the point going into the tail of shrimp, and then threading it on like you would a worm on a bass hook, before turning the hook back into the shrimp. Make sure the point is exposed after pushing it back into the meaty part of tail.

Remember, this is winter time and that means you can be more aggressive with your presentation because, oftentimes, these schools consist of 50 to 60 fish and they’re not nearly as spooky. You can throw your shrimp 6 feet or so in front of the lead fish and simply let it sink. Once it hits the bottom, let…it…sit.

Bonefish have a spectacular sense of smell and they will find your shrimp.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Sailfish Season is Here, This is How to Get Started, Part Two
The right types of bait are important, as is how to handle those baits when a jumping sail threatens to tangle the rest of your lines

Last week, I talked about what you need to have to be prepared to do battle with sailfish. Kite lines, types of baits and what kind of rod you’re going to want to use.

This week, we’ll get into the best way to actually catch a sailfish. The most important thing to remember is the key to good sailfishing is simply covering the water column.

Once you’ve established that you’re going to be using goggle-eyes, pilchards or blue runners for bait, remember that you’re going to want to use circle hooks in all those cases. For the kite baits on the middle and long lines we bridle the bait, using a 6/0 or 7/0 VMC 7385 hook. On the flat line and on the short kite lines we use a 5/0 VMC hook, either hooking the bait through the nose or bridling him in the nose.

Another little trick that works well with the flat line is to take a small twist-on sinker and attach it up the leader about 10 feet or so. This will allow you to drop your bait down to a preferred depth. This weighted flat line often catches other fish as well, including kings, mutton snapper and wahoo. More than one sailfish has certainly been taken over the years on the flat line with a little bit of weight. Plus, it’s a good way to vary your baits instead of having them all on or just under the surface.

Using circle hooks is new to some people and the method of hooking the fish is as elementary as fishing can get. The one thing you need to remember is to point the rod down the line and just reel. You don’t have to reel fast, you just want to come tight on the fish so the circle hook has time to slide and hook him in the corner of the jaw, which is the way those hooks are designed to catch fish.

When fishing with circle hooks, a little tip you need to take into thought is, if you’re kite fishing, you have to make sure that you drop the bait to the fish. What I mean by that is, when a sailfish surfaces to take your bait, simply free spool your line, letting that fish take the bait down, spin it around, get it down in his mouth and then let the circle hooks do what they do best. When you come tight, the hook slides from the roof of his mouth, or his throat or the back of his mouth, coming forward until it comes tight in the corner of the jaw.

The only time you need to reel fast is if the line pops out of the clip on the kite and you have slack falling from the sky to the water. In that case, reel fast to get your slack out and then slow down again. Once you come tight, you want that fish to feel steady pressure. In circle hook fishing, as well as sailfishing, patience is a virtue, going slow when setting the hook seems to be a proven method of success.

A trick to catching multiple fish is for someone else on the boat to tend the other lines in the water when you hook a fish.

Let’s go with an example. If you’re middle bait out of three gets eaten, there is a possibility of a tangle between the long line or the short line, depending on which way the fish goes.

What you have to be aware of is it’s very easy to move the baits that have not been eaten by simply reeling them up, letting the fish and the line go under your baits, and then free spooling and dropping the baits back in the water when the fish is out of harm’s way.

The one trick we use on the Miss Costa when we have a fish that’s off running and tailwalking and greyhounding on the surface is to go light on the drag. We don’t want the hook to get torn out of the fish, plus we want to be able to clear all the lines and then get in pursuit of the fish.

It’s very important to have a spinning reel or level wind type of reel with significant line capacity because, in many cases, when you’ve got a multiple hook-up, one fish goes in one direction and the other fish goes in the other direction. That’s when you keep the drag loose and try to control one fish while you’re chasing the other one.

Obviously, a full spool of line is essential before you leave the dock.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Sailfish Season is Here, This is How to Get Started
How to set your kites up and get ready to chase sailfish from now to April

Sailfish season seems to be off to a slow start for recreational anglers and tournament fishermen in South Florida. Most of the fish currently seem to be in the waters from Stuart, down to Palm Beach, thanks to the lack of north winds and cold fronts that have been able to penetrate to the southern part of the region.

So, if you’re thinking about going sailfishing, you might want to try fishing from Boca Raton, north to Stuart or Fort Pierce. Keep in mind that, if we get a few days of north wind and chilly temperatures, these fish should begin to tail, heading south. That’s one of the things that sailfish like to do is surf downwind in the waves.

Once you’ve established where you want to go fishing, whether it’s off of Miami or anywhere else on the East Coast, you should definitely try a method proven to work well over the years: Kite fishing.

Kite fishing is successful because it attracts the fish to the surface. They see the baits struggling either on or just under the water and it looks like an easy meal. Perhaps the most important asset when it comes to kite fishing is the fact that it keeps your leader out of the water and that means the fish can’t see it.

There are a couple tips you need to keep in mind if you want to try kite fishing and are thinking about flying two kites. The problem with two kites is they have the tendency to tangle in the air, causing numerous problems for fishing efficiently. That last thing you want to be doing is fighting with your kites to keep them apart or, worse, trying to untangle the long lines while on the water.

To solve this, you can put a split shot or weight in the upper right hand corner of the kite that is to fly on the right (just clip it to the bridle). That will make that kite track to the right when it’s in the air. Put a weight in the upper left-hand corner of the kite on the left side of your boat and that will a) keep the kites from tangling a) and b) allow you to cover the water column more efficiently.

When we’re fishing in sailfish tournaments on the Miss Costa we fish three baits on each kite, giving us a total of six baits in the water at all times. The long baits are generally bigger and heartier baits, such as goggle-eyes. If there aren’t any gogs available, use a small blue runner. The middle and short baits generally have a tendency to be things like threadfin herring or, if there are none of those around, a large pilchard would be a good secondary back-up. If your short bait is a pilchard or a threadfin, some guys like to fish that on a 20-pound spinning rod.

If you’re not tournament fishing, then you could use a 20-pound spinning rod for a flat line, not running the line up through the kite clip, but rather just having it float out the back of your boat. You could also potentially have a flat line off the bow if you’re fishing out of a Contender or some other type of open boat.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

When Mother Nature Begins to Replenish her Waterways, You Need to Adjust Your Lure Selection to Keep Up with the Bite

Tannic water in the month of June is an everyday event because of the afternoon thunderstorms. It’s nature’s way of replenishing the state’s water and understanding how the fresh water flows into our inlets, bays, rivers and marshes can really make for some good fishing.

The fresh water does some really cool things as it flows into the estuaries and rivers we fish in.

First, it flushes minnows into the open, which creates a food source for juvenile tarpon, snook, jacks, ladyfish, snapper and a variety of other fish. The tannic water also can create a bite because the water isn’t stained (but not dirty) and the fish aren’t as spooky.

You are most likely going to have to adjust your fishing, but the good news is the fish aren’t going to move too far. They may also become a little more concentrated, depending on where the baitfish are holding after being flushed from safety.

If you are using lures and you have located the fish, use bright colors.

Some good examples are a black and gold Rapala Skitterwalk for topwater, an orange flash Rapala Twitchin’ Rap or a Clown color X-Rap for a diving lure. If you like soft plastics, you might want to try the Bass Assassin 4-inch BLURP paddle tail in Drunk Monkey color.

The key consideration when selecting what color lure to present is to realize the baitfish are going to take on a darker color in the tannic, iced tea-colored, water so you have to adjust your color selection. It’s a classic case of “match the hatch.”

Regardless of what lure you select, the fishing should be better during this time of year. The weather patterns are more consistent and that tends to lead to more bites.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

They're Not Just Man-eaters, You Know
How not to lose your catch to a shark

If you fish long enough, you are probably going to have an encounter with "The man in the brown suit", a.k.a. the shark. Hammerheads and bull sharks are notorious for chasing hooked tarpon and munching an easy meal before an angler has a chance to get the fish off the line.

Well, I don't know about you, but I never like to lose a fish to a shark. Even though it's a fact of life, there is something you can do about it.

When you have an encounter with a shark, if you open the bail on your spinning rod, most likely your fish will be able to get away. Releasing the drag will also keep the line from breaking because, as I have said in the past, if the line isn't tight, it won't break.

If you're using a conventional reel, you can try to put it on free line to give the fish more scope to try and escape its pursuer. Be careful not to let the line tangle on the reel when trying to avoid a shark.

Here is something else. If your fish is really stressed when you get it on board after a near-miss with a shark, you can put it in your livewell right after you get it off the hook. That will give the fish time to recuperate and the stressful smell and vibration from the shark will have time to vanish.

Try fishing a little heavier tackle, like maybe 20-pound test instead of 12-pound, if you're going to be in shark-infested waters or places where sharks are known to frequent.

By putting more drag on the fish, your fight will be shorter and the fish won't be as stressed for as long. The shorter the fight, the less time the shark has to find your tarpon, snook or whatever you're fishing for that day. Also, the less time the fight lasts, the more prepared that fish should be for a quick recuperation at the surface and release back to its habitat.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

Take Care of Your Equipment
Cleaning your rods and reels goes a long way to better (and longer) performance.

In saltwater, cleaning your rods and reels is as important as putting gas in the boat. Saltwater is very corrosive and, even though rods and reels are made of great material, they are still exposed to a very hostile environment. When all is said and done, it is a must to keep your rods clean.

Here are a few tips that seem to make my overworked equipment stay looking new and functional.

First, I rinse off my rods and reels with freshwater. I try not to spray the reels with a hard stream of water, instead using more of a light mist. A hard stream can wash salt into the reel and also wash away or dilute the very important grease that helps that reel work smoothly.

After rinsing the reel, I rinse the rod, paying close attention to the guides. If I have fish slime on the rod, I might take a soapy rag and wipe off those nasty spots.

Once the rod and reel are clean and rinsed off, I’m get a dry towel or rag and wipe off the excess water. When they are dry, I use the Bass Assassin Reel Care Kit.

The kit comes with a 2 ounce spray bottle or Reel Clean, which is a cleaner and degreaser which removes salt deposits. It cleans the intricate parts without scrubbing. The kit also comes with a 1 ounce bottle of Reel Free, a powerful corrosion- and rust-breaking solution.

The final part of the kit is Reel Lube. This is what you want to apply as the final step in the care and maintenance of your rods and reels. Reel Lube is a lubricant which reduces friction and repels dust, dirt, grit and grime. It will also improve your reel’s performance by increasing casting distance and preventing corrosion.

If you don’t have these products, you can try Armor All on a dry rag to wipe off the rod blank. Make sure you wipe around the guides and get the fish slime and built-up saltwater where they wrap around the rod.

-Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Captain Rick Murphy

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