Fantastic Florida Fishing Finale by Ed Valitutto

Posted on March 25, 2024 by VHFC

What a way to end my 2024 final Dragonfly charter with Captain Mike Moran! Despite breezy conditions which actually felt nice with the 80+ temps, we went off into the shallows to cast pilchards and greenbacks to hopefully hungry fish. And they were hungry especially once the tide changed.

There were many boils, several stolen baits, a few lost on the way in, but my final count was three 30 – 32″ redfish, two beautiful snook (one over and one slot which I declined to keep), one crevalle jack and one nice 19″ spotted trout which went home with me. On light tackle and in shallow water, these fish really fight hard especially the jack!

What an end to my 2024 SWFL fishing adventures! Thanks again to Captain Mike of Dragonfly Charters.

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

The triangle fly is probably the most unusual of saltwater flies. It’s one of the few, if not only, flies tied to a treble hook. It’s also barely a fly at all, because hardly any material is used. It is complete after tying the two straw pearl twinkle flashes and the tiny tuft of natural squirrel, leaving an entire hook fully exposed. Incredibly this barebacked treble fly is a knockout when it comes to sea trout.