2012-Jan. 18^th We are still enjoying great weather and good fishing.

Our days have mostly been warm and sunny with temperatures frequently up almost to eighty degrees. The Gulf has been stirred up for a few days sometimes but settles fast; I fish mostly inside now anyway. Boat traffic is up with many folks cruising south to Boca Grande or north to Venice for lunch or dinner excursions, so we lots of different rigs daily. With the colder weather up north we have plenty of migratory birds that add entertainment to our outings.

We have caught a good variety recently including; snook, redfish, trout, pompano, ladyfish, sheepshead, catfish, etc… While the bite is not red hot like summertime action we have managed several double headers of snook, trout, and ladyfish this week.  Our best action has been on warmer afternoons recently but that is because of cooler morning last week. Live shrimp have been the bait for most catches. We did get some pompano on jigs with shrimp treats.  The rattle corks are the ticket right now, just remember to make noise with the corks and keep our feet quiet.  Fish have been in unusual places recently and they keep moving around, it’s challenging everyday but fun.

With the winter staying so mild so far my guess is we should have an early spring. So please don’t wait too long to set up your March thru June fishing dates. Folks are starting to realize dates around Easter, Spring Break, and such go fast. It has been good to see snook while looking around and on our lines recently. We can not eat them anytime soon but we sure enjoy playing with em, they put a big smile on Alex’s face on Monday afternoon.

The dolphin, eagles, and other birds offer some memorable moments on most trips. The manatees are hiding back in the deeper protected waters right now but all the other critters are adding frequent smiles to our excursions. White pelicans are very abundant right now for example. We saw huge column of what I believe was sparrows on Monday down by Cape Haze near Englewood.

Tarpon and snook fishing, plus the big Spring migration of mackerel, sharks etc… will be here before you ready so get prepared now. Thank you for your support. Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>