22 Mar 2009

Matthew, Dave, Clannan, and Ryan met me at Galvez Landing this morning at 0700. The Sheepshead bite has been getting better every day and these boys wanted their shot.

Today's conditions could have been better, winds east at 10-15 knots, incoming tide, sea state: choppy to rough. But we can't let a little thing like adverse conditions get in our way. With the tide opposing the current, our weights had to be greatly increased to reach the bottom. Three ounces of lead was needed, instead of the normal half to one ounce leads. I kept the boat stern to the wind and stayed in reverse most of the morning to hold position over our aggressive quarry. The catching was slow to start, it took us a while to get everything right, but once we figured it out the catching was non-stop.




In 2 1/2 hours we went through 6 dozen live baits (shrimp and crabs) resulting in boating 18-20 nice Sheepsheads in the 4-8lb range and two 6-8lb Black Drum.



Great morning guys!!! I can't wait to do it again.

21 Mar 2009

Captain Dusty called me around 0730, his charter for the day had come down with the flu and weren't able to go. My day was open as well, so we decided to go look for some Redfish for a couple of hours. The 15 knot East wind left us few options as to where we could fish, but we found a leeward beach and set up shop. We were trying out a new bait this morning, with poor results. Our first 6 fish grabbed our bait, and immediately spit it out! After that I couldn't take it anymore and switched over to a 3" Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny color. Dusty followed my lead and the next three attempts ended successfully, one small Red and two 4.5 lb fish!



After adding two Flounder to our daily catch, we packed it in and headed for home. We both have charters tomorrow we need to get ready for.

Another excellent time with Capt. Dusty.

Thanks for stopping by!

07 March 2009

Terry, Roger and I left out of Navy Point at 0700. This was Roger's first time seeing the salt water and he was all grins from the moment we left the dock. He pointed excitedly at the pod of dolphin coming up for air near the boat with that look of wonder and amazement. I can't get enough of seeing that look on people's faces. The weather could not have been better; sun shining, 72 degrees, winds SE@5-10, nice.

Sheepheads were today's preferred target, and we found them! The first stop yielded a good mark of fish on the bottom machine but few bites. We landed an undersized Scamp and this juvenile Red Snapper.


Our second stop was LOADED with fish. The rapidly depleting number of shrimp in the well was a sure sign they were biting. The empty hooks coming back to the boat was a sure sign that Terry and Roger needed more practice! We still had plenty of baits in the tank when Roger found the touch and boated his first Sheepshead.


Hooks struck home in a dozen Sheepies. We collectively fed another 3 dozen without incident. Our remaining time we spent searching for a big fish, deep dropping in the pass. Roger hooked into a random invincible sea monster that took him into a rock and set up camp. As to what he had, I don't know, but my prime suspect is the 15+ lb Gag Grouper caught and released in the area recently.

The wind was picking up as we made our way back to the ramp, perfect timing.(By 1300 the SSE wind had grown to a steady 20mph) Thanks again for a great day guys. I hope to see you back next time you're in town.

I'm Here, I'm Here

So, it's been quite some time since I've sat down to do this. This has been one long, cold winter. A winter best spent with the most important people... the family; and mine has kept me busy.

My son finally had his reconstructive ear surgery in early December. He had a hole in his eardrum resulting from numerous inner ear infections when he was a toddler. Our surgeon, Dr. Todd, put a skin graft over the hole during the 4 hour long ordeal. I'm thrilled to report that the surgery was succesful and my son is doing really well. The poor guy hasn't been allowed to get in a swimming pool, play in the sprinklers, or even take a bath longer than a few minutes. Any water intrusion in that ear would postpone the surgery... again. Thankfully, now this summer is shaping up to be a normal one! Swimming lessons, sprinklers, hosing him down while we wash mom's car...it's gonna be awesome!!!


If you're having ear, nose, or throat problems call Dr. Donald Todd at Sacred Heart Hospital. The guy is the best around and really takes his time with each patient- rare in today's world!

Then, on January 12, 2009 my niece, Aubrey Margaret Seeman, was born. Aubrey was diagnosed with Trisomy-18, also known as Edwards Syndrome, during my sister's second trimester. Unlike Down syndrome, which also is caused by a chromosomal defect, the developmental issues caused by Trisomy 18 are associated with medical complications that are more potentially life-threatening in the early months and years of life. 50% of babies who are carried to term will be stillborn. 1 of 3000 pregnancies are affected.



We felt blessed to have Aubrey with us for 2 days. She returned to her heavenly home on January 14. We got to sing Happy Birthday to her twice. Here is a link to Aubrey's Legacy page at the Trisomy-18 Foundation.
If you've never heard of Edwards (I hadn't until my sister told me) good for you. If you have first hand experience, I'm sorry. If you'd like more info here's a link to the Trisomy-18 Foundation.

My wife's photography business is doing well and I've been doing all I can to support her. Check out her newest work at www.gypsyisle.com/blog. Not only does spring start the fishing season, it's also wedding season, so we're both starting to get busy.

In fishing related news, I was recently invited on a Peacock Bass fishing trip to Panama (the country- not the city!)... That'll burn up a week in early April... I'm so excited! Three days of non-stop fishing with Randy, one of my high school friends, and a beautiful house right on Lake Gatun... SWEET!!! This has been a dream of mine for a long time. And my wonderful wife is even going to let me borrow some top-notch gear, so hopefully I'll bring back some award-wining pictures (aka eye-candy) to throw up on my blog.

The local Tournament season kicks off March 21 with the Grassflats Classic in Destin and the Outcast Inshore Slam and IFA events to follow. The weather's warming up, gas prices are down, time to get up from in front of your computer and GO FISH!!!

Capt. Josh

14 Nov 2008

Met up with Wyatt, Eric, and Vaughn this morning at Galvez Landing at 0630. These guys were interested in Redfish...Big Redfish. Our first order of business was bait; I caught a dozen Pinfish before we left, but that wouldn't be enough, so we stopped to add a few White Trout to the live-well.

The White Trout bite was excellent! We kept 12 for dinner and 20 for bait. (Of the more than 50 fish we landed in the 45 minutes we stayed) What a blast! With the bait secured, we moved to the Pass to try the deep water Redfish bite.

Score a double header on the first drift! Vaughn and Eric both boat nice Reds and I reach for my camera for the photo op. Turn it on, look through the view finder and see NO MEMORY CARD FOUND blaring on the screen. So much for that idea! Two more drifts produce three Redfish, two of which were in the slot, and a Sail Cat that had to weigh 6 lbs. By now it's 0900 and already it's been a great morning. I suggest we run the Gulf side beach and look for Pompano, the guys agree.

As we're exiting the Pass, Wyatt points out the birds diving near Pickins Point. I look over and see a wave of Bull Redfish pushing a school of Pogies. I turn the boat and head us over. What follows is best summed up by Vaughn, as he's standing there in awe, right after releasing a big red, "WOW! I just saw a thousand fish swimming right at me! That was awesome! I've never seen anything like it." ...Yeah, that's a pretty accurate depiction.

Throwing bucktail jigs and swim baits, we released probably 20 fish in the next hour and fifteen minutes. I even got to catch one, on 8#, that was cool! I just wish I had a memory card. We had fish swimming around the boat numerous times. I don't know how to properly explain what we saw; again, Vaughn's quote can't be beat.


By 1030 we were ready to call it a day, head back, clean fish, and get a nap. Thanks again Wyatt, Eric, and Vaughn, it was a pleasure.



Hey you sitting at the computer. Get out there and FISH!

2008 IFA Redfish Tour Championship

Thursday: Pre-fishing/Anglers meeting

Dusty spent the day in Choctawhatchee Bay, checking on fish and looking for more. He did a great job! The fish I had found were still there and he found another awesome spot loaded with perfect fish. Other places we key on in the Destin-Fort Walton area were also holding fish, so we decided to make the 45+ mile run from Panama City on friday.

Registration began at 1700, followed by the anglers meeting at 1830. When registration closed, 119 teams had qualified and made the drive to fish. We drew boat #24, putting us in the first flight on day one (check-in at 1500) and the last flight on day two (check-in at 1600). (The check-out order is flipped the second day to ensure equal fishing time to all compediters) After the meeting concluded we went back to the boat to finish preparations and get some sleep. Here's an example of the lengths you have to go to make sure everything's ready for game day.

(This is the brother's Maxwell's set-up)

Friday: Day 1

The alarm blared at 0400 and we were out of the parking lot by 0430. Check-out began at 0600 and we didn't want to get stuck behind a hundred other guys at the ramp. Once we checked-out we headed straight for Destin, an hour away. The fishing was almost surreal. We caught 40 or so redfish over the course of the day. Seeing them in schools of 2-10 and nearly every fish that you could get a bait close to, ate it. Probably one of my best fishing days ever, a day Dusty and I will tell stories about for a long time.

Our two fish weren't really BIG, but they were solid 5lb fish. We felt good about what we had, yet we knew it wasn't what we needed. The scale put us at 10.86, somewhere around 20th after the first day. Sweet!


Saturday: Day 2

Todays events were very similar to yesterday with a few exceptions. Extremely dense fog in the ICW between Panama City and Destin caused us to crawl along, adding 30 min to our ride, costing us precious time. Our fish had also changed patterns over night, calling for an adjustment on our part. The bite was much slower than yesterday, where we caught 40 on friday we caught 5 today. We saw plenty of nice reds but getting them to even look at a bait was a chore. Todays two fish weren't quite as nice as yesterdays and we were hoping the bite was as slow for everyone else. We really wanted to stay in the top 25 and recover some of our expenses.

Our fish tipped the scales to 9.78, a little light, but giving us a two day total of 20.64 which was enough to secure us 20th place in the tournament. That felt good, 20th of 119. (It even looks nice written out) You can see full results here



This was the seasons last tournament and I'm ready for a break. I'm also making plans for next season! Thanks for stopping by.

31 Oct - 02 Nov 2008

Friday, Oct 31
I spent today in Destin pre-fishing for the IFA Championship, by myself. A nice day on the water, no one to worry about, didn't have to answer the phone, no kids saying "I want", good fishing, it was HEAVEN! I found the fish I was looking for, putting together a 12.5 lb aggregate, sight fishing East Choctawhatchee Bay. I boated 4 fish and saw probably 20, most of which swam by as I was trying to net other fish, and maneuver the boat, weigh and measure... It was nice fishing by myself, sure, but I never said it was easy! I left Destin around 1330, headed home to fire up the grill for our usual Halloween cookout.

Saturday, Nov 01
As you well know, I've been spending a lot of time out of town lately. I've missed most of my son's soccer games this season, so I wasn't about to miss this one (with only 3 games left) I slept in, hung out on the couch with the kids watching SpongeBob, attended the game (we lost 7-1, our only loss so far this season), then played the good husband. I swallowed my pride, let my wife pick out clothes for me (she said I couldn't wear ANYTHING with a fish on it, not even a belt!), and went for a family photo session at the beach. I didn't talk bout fishing the whole day... well I don't remember it if I did. I'm sure my wife would set this straight if she had my blog password, but it's my blog and I'm going to remember it like I want. When the picture taking was over we dropped off the kids with my parents for the night and spent some quality time by ourselves.

For anyone looking for a family photographer, check out my wife's work at gypsyisle.com I know I might be a little bias, but I think her work is awesome.

Sunday, Nov 02
Dusty, our friend David and I met at 0500 in Gulf Breeze, loaded the truck and were off for Panama City. The boat was in the water a little after 0700 and we were on our flat no later than 0715. The wind was blowing out of the North at around 10kts and the tide was falling. We eased toward the beach, planning on running the bank, got within 200 feet and hit bottom. The wind and tide had taken too much of our water and we just couldn't make it where we needed to.

Plan B... hit a few of our favorite docks. Rolled up to the first one, no bites. The second dock, however, was on fire; we pulled 10 fish off of it, but most of them were too small to help us in the tourney. We peeled off to an adjacent flat that was slightly deeper than our first stop and found 5 perfect fish before moving on to check a few more flats. The water hadn't come in much, but enough for us to find a few fish on one of our preferred flats. In all a great day, we packed it in around 1500 and headed home.

Tournament dates, Nov 7-8 2008