Venice FL Fishing Charters

2011-11-17 fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard.

Venice to Boca Grande fishing is productive now.

Time flies by and its Thanksgiving already with Christmas right around the corner. Don’t procrastinate colder weather is coming soon. Fishing has picked up outside with better weather, some kings and plenty of Spanish mackerel. Flounder are around the near shore artificial reefs. We finally found a few pompano yesterday around the pass. Inside red fish keep me guessing; we do great for several trips and then fish move around. Snook and trout are here but fun only for now. Ladyfish have reappeared for fun action. We have fish and maybe some good weather for the Holiday?

If the weather doesn’t stir up near shore waters with today’s front, we have mackerel to play with from Venice Beaches south to Boca Grande. Spanish are thick right off Stump Pass and Venice Beach. We are using Gator spoons since minnows are hard to find right now; live shrimp are also working. The larger kings are scattered but cruising thru with some nice cobia. Tripletail have blessed some trips recently too. Our near shore fishing will turn on if we get a migration of baitfish to help us locate the action. Sharks will follow the food too.

The flounder have been abundant so far we even had almost a dozen on Monday’s trip. Some were smaller but we had six from 2-3+ pounds. That’s a nice mess of fresh fish for dinner! The trick for us is to use cut bait and jig heads bounced around the reefs structures. Nice to have tasty flatfish with grouper closed.

We found a few pompano at Stump Pass yesterday. The ladyfish kept us busy; we had fun with Spanish and pompano for lunch, that’s a good morning. We usually bounce Doc’s Goofy Jigs along the bottom for pompano. Add a tip it of fresh shrimp to enhance the bite.

Redfish are here and abundant but some days we catch them other trips they elude us. That’s the thing about fishing even with thirty-five years of guiding experience the fish keep educating me! Maybe the bright Full Moon last weekend just had them eating at night? The trout and some snook help keep poles bent but we have to release them for now.

Bottom line is we have fish and a lot to be thankful for so enjoy Thanksgiving with your family and then Let’s Go fishin’. Captain Van Hubbard  <www.captvan.com>

2011-11-1 fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard

 Redfish, snook, and trout are active now around Venice and Englewood.

 I fished several days last week and we enjoyed some good action. While out side is still slow right now mostly because of strong winds, inside action was fine. Absolutely no signs of red tide anywhere last week!

 The weather let us get outside to look for kings Wednesday the 26th. Waters were fine, but baitfish were scarce.  We looked around North towards Venice saw no birds of baitfish. Then all the way South to Boca Grande Pass dark water because of recent rains next we cruised off shore to three different artificial reefs and found only a few minnows anywhere. We did finally catch one nice king mackerel on a live whitebait and a 40 Cabo spinning rig. We also saw numerous schools of smaller Spanish Mackerel working very tiny minnows. We have had a lot of wind and waters have cooled down into the mid seventies. I know we have plenty of minnows north of us but they were scarce here last week. I do expect to see minnows soon as weather pushes more our way. I also expect some good action with Spanish and kings if the winds allow us to chase them.

Friday Mel Weaver and his daughter April of Greenwood, SC. joined me for a brief trip. We dodged the light rain and found plenty of hungry fish. Lots of Speckled trout but most were smaller; we did get one big one. We got into some good redfish action and landed a dozen mostly slot fish. It was fun to get into some double headers and steady action.

Saturday we got rained out so we rescheduled for Sunday. Linda, her cousin Rodney and his son Caleb meet me at Stump Pass Marina to sample our Lemon Bay fishing. It was windy so we stayed close and worked some protected shorelines to pick at the redfish and trout. We had two snook, several trout one very nice three pounder, several sheepshead, and about twenty redfish.  We would catch a few and pole down a hundred yards and get a few more. We fished several different spots; rigged with rattle corks, and Bleeding Bait red circle hooks with live shrimp.  The tide was extremely low so fish were on the drop offs waiting for the tide to turn in. it worked out well we released most but did save a few for lunch at the Stump Pass grille. The skis cleared as we ate so they headed for Venice Beach.

The only way to catch fish is to go fishin”. Let’s go fishin’ son. Captain Van Hubbard.  www.captvan.com email at <charternow@captvan.com>

2011 October 22. Venice and Englewood fishing is confused like our weather; some good but not all.

 This is prime time for inside and near shore fishing. We have had some challenges with Red Tide but there is also some red hot catching when we can dodge the problem areas. So far there has not been a major fish kill inside. Some patches off shore have had dead fish. The winds are variable and fluctuating like the so far minor blooms. So here’s the deal; we can enjoy some great fishing but I can not make an educated guess as to weather and red tide blooms very far in advance.  You need to make your plans to fish and then see if Mother Nature let’s us  go or maybe we can try a day or so earlier or later?

I am not out to burn bridges by wasting time if conditions are not right. Just remember that some our very best catches ever are around red tide outbreaks. When we have these limited blooms it affects smaller areas; then most fish can sense the problem areas so they concentrate near by. This is not something I like but if all you have is lemons it’s great if you like lemonade!  Gamefish frequently bunch up and feed aggressively on fish stunned by mild red tide blooms. The most awesome tarpon and redfish bites we have encountered were created buy minor blooms chumming up gamefish into a feeding frenzy like whitebait eating my Magic Chum.  Every cast until we all cried “uncle”!

Redfish and trout are both open now and hungry. Snook are hungry and here but closed for harvest. Both Spanish and king mackerel are here if winds and conditions allow us to get at em. Several friends from the St Pete area reported great mackerel action just before this last blow so plenty of migratory fish are due to be off Venice now! The problems have been south so far and usually don’t move against the natural water flow. Again all we can do is try; if conditions are wrong we don’t waste our time and money. If we get lucky it can be the trip of your life!

It’s best to check with me about making your plans down here right now if you can. I can only make educated guesses but local knowledge really helps in times like these. Are you feeling lucky? Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Thank you,

Captain Van Hubbard.  www.captvan.com

Captain Van’s mackerel fishing tips. I hope they help you!

Here are some helpful tips if you want to catch more Spanish and king mackerel. This is a huge subject and I can only point you in a better direction here. Utilize local tackle shops like Cook’s Sportland to get set up.

First we need to decide to fish natural bait, live baitfish or hardware; before we start out. Each method has different requirements; gear, riggings, etc…  Examples are; shore based or boat, live well or not, trolling or casting or anchored? You get the idea you need to consider your options, select one and then match the gear to the method. No matter how you decide to go after the big ones your best bet is to hire an experienced, local, expert guide this will minimize your learning curve. Yes, we are expensive, unless you compare our fees to boat ownership costs, your time and effort? The next step is to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with your local baitshop staff! They can help you select gear for the task, rig it and share their hot up to date tips.  Friends can be helpful if they actually know what they’re doing and want to share with you?

My first choice is usually live minnows; if I can acquire enough without killing too much of our time?  If you don’t have built in serious bait well and expensive cast net you can throw, skip to the next section now. This is basic but frequently overlooked; match the hatch type and size!  Fish fed on what is available. They are used to a specific size and may not want to vary. If fish are eating glass minnows, big threadfins may not work. Glass minnows are like tenderloins so don’t expect to decoy fish away with hot dog! As you put in time you can learn to identify different minnows and fish patterns. An easy way to begin is to examine minnows at surface or any minnows your fish cough up when you boat em. Simple good old common sense always helps.

How to set up gear. If you have a live well that will transport minnows we usually cast net or Sabiki our baits. Catching minnows requires knowledge, skill, proper gear and luck! Start out with the Sabikis and look for bird activity. Carry extras because macks will cut bait rigs off! Extra sinkers too!

Then rig up, for starters try light to medium spinning gear. I use braids ten to twenty pound test and thirty pound fluorocarbon leaders. Add long shank shinny hooks and baits of choice. Slow troll or drift and cast, keep your presentation moving.

 Where to go? Look for bird or baitfish activity as soon as you get to open waters. Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay both offer excellent opportunities. Work out the nearest Pass and start fishing. Both mackerel can be active near shore if waters are clean and baitfish/food abundant.

How catch the fish. Spot fish or active areas and troll around; exercise care to fish around the fish, not scaring schools away by riding over top of fish schools. Set up from up wind and up current of activity to drift and cast to fish. Chum helps.

Dead natural baits can work well. Ballyhoo and cigar minnows, etc… can be fished effectively if you are not set up with a live well.  Sometimes they are mixed with a “sea witch” type of skirt to add color and extent the trolling time. Ballyhoo can be rigged with a circle hook and small lead to look alive and troll better than live!

Hardware, spoons, lures; plugs, jigs, combos. I can only share the basics here for exact details create a working relationship with your local tackle shop staff. Cook’s in Venice is an example of a good place to start. Invest the time to get acquainted and stay with your salesman.  They can help you understand how you match up your boat to gear and then to your style of fishing exactly to your needs! They have everything to rig your poles to matching rigs. Remember that spinning gear and trolling gear are very different. Light spinners are not intended for trolling and thirty pound conventional gear will not cast a ¼ oz jig!    

Spoons, jigs, and plugs can all be cast or trolled. They can be added to weights, planers or down riggers to vary depths fished in the water column. Mackerel suspend in the water column. They must always be on the move because they don’t have a bladder and small gill area. Macks and sharks require forward movement to maintain Oxygen levels.

Speeds to properly produce bites for each style is different so do not mix spoons and plugs. This also goes for live baits but you can mix some rigged natural baits with lures if they work at similar speeds. Live baits must be treated carefully and you only need enough movement to keep the lines tight. Live minnows are a way to catch fish, not locate them.            

Wire or not?  With larger kings, coffee colored wire is recommended almost always. With Spanish I prefer 30 -40 # fluorocarbon leaders but mono can work if waters are not crystal clear. Keep it short for wire and long for fluoro. Black swivels are a must because the toothy critters bite at anything shiny. They can even grab lines as they steak by.

You need to be on fish to catch fish. But you do not want to mess up others! Use birds and boats to find fish but don’t abuse the boater that helped you! Artificial reefs are usually great spots for both macks and more. Unfortunately more includes hungry sharks, cudas and jewfish which eat macks. So I usually work the edges and lead hooked fish away from structures to increase our odds.

Chumming helps. Frozen blocks are perfect and carry several. Don’t be cheap here; or spend more on gas chasing the fish. Crippled live minnows help. Cut up big baits into smaller treats so you don’t fill up the fish.

Note you need lots of ice and a place to keep your catch fresh to eat!

Notes on gaffing kings! Let speedy fish run or pull hooks and break lines. Expect them to take off when they first see your boat and mug. Anticipate them wrapping you around motors, anchor lines, etc…  Clear extra lines for big fish but remember that these are school fish. You could get multiple hook ups if you can handle them without tangles. Anticipate…

Try eating fish ASAP! You can freeze some but only for a short time, shrink wrap or vacuum pack helps.  My favorite recipe is simple and fast. Lay one inch thick mackerel filets on aluminum foil and season with Everglades Seasoning and Old Bay to taste. Place under a red hot broiler until half done, only a few minutes, depending upon exact thickness. Remove and add Dukes Mayo liberally to filets. Put back into broiler and DO NOT LEAVE. Observe until the Dukes begins to boil and brown. Shut off heat and let sit while you pour a glass of wine and then serve hot. They are beautiful, tasty and good for us because macks are high in omega 3s. Very large kings can be high in mercury so don’t over do the big smokers. In fact I smoke smokers and mix meat into fish dip to share and enjoy. Use Dukes, Old Bay, add sweet pickle relish if you like then season to taste. Some key lime juice and hot sauce helps spice it up.

I hope this helps and feel free to email questions to <charternow@captvan.com>

2011-10 Fall fishing report from Captain Van Hubbard.

I enjoyed a nice vacation since my last post, cruising all the way up to Lake Ontario in upstate New York.  The weather was cooler and I enjoyed the change. Of course taking time to explore their local fishing; the salmon and trout were starting to run up there. I visited as many fishing tackle shops and hot spots as time would allow. I found some tools that could be useful in our Fall king fishing. They use big flashers and it looks like it will also attract big kings, we’ll see soon. I expect these will visually attract more feeding fish in to our bait spreads. It can be challenging to match weather to your desire in advance this time of year but if it’s calm outside is an option but we can fish inside except in lighting. The protected waters are most productive if we have some barometer fluctuations.

 Spanish mackerel are already appearing locally. I am going to do a separate post ASAP to explain our fishing methods in detail, both natural bait and hardware, if you’re interested. All the captains I have talked with as I prepare my gear are reporting significant numbers of striking fish and baitfish.  Schools of smaller baitfish are around and some larger greenback minnows too. The macks are varied in size but some dandies; from one to four pounds each. Some kings are already being caught; medium sized ten to twenty pounds each. Ladyfish, sharks, jacks, little tunny, blue runners, and all are busting minnows already. The action is starting plus it will just get better until cold weather blows in usually sometime around Thanksgiving, in November.

 Remember that gag grouper season is open until the fifteenth of November and we frequently catch some grouper along with cobia, barracuda, and more while king fishing! Gag is not expected to reopen for almost a year! Do not miss this tasty treat! I do not fish way off shore but inside of nine miles; I don’t like rough seas either. We call in gags, etc… while chumming up the mackerels.

 I have had several tarpon reports mostly from Sarasota and north of us so far. This is not the, (see hundreds of tarpon every day like our summer run) but we do enjoy some excellent action when we get lucky and intercept these hungry schools passing thru. Multiple hook-ups are common. We actually had large tarpon, redfish, and king mackerel on at once one time! I believe Jack Cartier CPA from St. Petersburg, was on the boat that trip? I expect the silver kings to move in with those big dark balls of baitfish migrating into our Venice thru Boca Grande region anytime. I stopped by the Venice Pier to talk with the regular anglers there recently; things were slow right now but there have had a few king, tarpon and shark bites already. Everyone expects the action to heat up as waters continue to cool down. This week’s hot daytime temps did not let waters cool but shorter days and last weekend’s clouds will push temps down. Fall officially arrived last Friday. 

Snook, redfish and trout are all active and ready to play if you can find the time. This weeks New Moon offers stronger times and enhances the bite. Fishing inside will also improve until the colder temps run minnows south. All three will group up as the move around with temperature fluctuations. Snook are closed but fun to catch while we target the other two. Red fishing is good now and we have a shot at schools of moving fish. The sub-adults, (twenty-seven to thirty-five inches) are moving toward the Gulf to join up with off shore breed stocks. Some slot and smaller fish blessed our catches before my vacation. Trout closes in November so don’t wait too long to go fishing! Trout are doing so well the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is planning to open it back up year around soon! This is some of our best inside fishing right now because the fish are hungry and no crowds!

 We could also get lucky and get on a school of the big bull reds from twenty to forty pounds now. It’s not every day but every year someone gets lucky and we hit the jackpot! A red cloud of hungry redfish rises up from the depths and crashes everything that hits the water. This is usually in the near shore Gulf of Mexico and we encounter the tarpon, etc… with them. It is crazy action but make many of our Gulf excursions memorable!

 I am always looking for pompano but no action here yet; but a few are being seen skipping already! Venice to Boca Grande fishing is ready to light up any day! It’s time to set up your Fall fishing adventure with Captain Van now before the opportunity slips by. Like Captain Wilson used to say “if you’re too busy to go fishing you are just too busy!” Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard

Check out www.captvan.com  the web site for additional info.

Or call 941-740-4665 in the evening.

Labor Day weekend and life is good.

 I am hearing about good fishing but have not been out for a while. I’m sure we can find some action if your interested. Spanish Mackerel are abundant now around Boca Grande Pass and will improve until Thanksgiving. The big king mackerel will be off of Venice soon. I hear rumors of pompano at the Venice Pier but need your company to motivate me to go chase them. Trout and redfish are fine here around Englewood and we could even stumble into a big school of redfish. Snook are available but we can only catch and release them. Gag grouper opens the sixteenth and that is a big bright spot; just don’t procrastinate it closes mid November. Cobia, cuda, sharks, and more are on the reefs so we can get and keep a nice mess of fish plus have fun by mid month.  So far we are lucky on the weather but my guess is that all the press about hurricanes is scaring folks away from the water. Plus kids are back in school. This is a great time to enjoy Florida fishin’ fun without crowds!

 Business was slow so I decided to go visit friends on the Nature Coast last week. It was nice to poke around in very different habitats. They are short on mangroves but plenty of fish, plus scallops. I saw miles of grass shorelines that are awesome with very few man made structures. Some areas were totally natural as far as I could see; no structures at all! That’s special in coastal Florida these days. It was fun to hang around in an old Florida environment. I went into the woods and even spent two days helping a commercial crabber friend pull traps. My grandfather used to take me crabbing so this was a real treat. It reminded me of many wonderful memories we shared. I even got some soft shell blue crabs to bring home and eat. I am home for the weekend and am not sure what happens next. Make me an offer I can’t refuse and I could spend some time with you? Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard

www.captvan.com charternow@captvan.com.