Fish ON!
Nice Over Slot Red Fish
Capt Jim with a nice Red Fish
Beautiful Speckled Sea Trout
White Pelicans
White Pelicans
White Pelicans
Capt Dave Dant - Premier Guide
I have not been fishing in Florida other than from my dock since my return to Florida from Alaska in October, so in an effort to help a good friend and one of the best fishing guides in the Tampa Bay area with some marketing and photography, we took a little trip out to the Boca Ciega Bay and Fort Desoto area of Tampa Bay yesterday and as expected (??) had a great day of fishing and some nice pictures of just a couple of the fish we caught.
Honestly, I was a little surprised at our success although I should not have been, because as I mentioned Dave is one of the premier guides in the Tampa Bay area and he picked the time and place based on tides and previous experience, although I am not too sure he considered the weather.
Yesterday was the coldest day we have experienced thus far this winter. When I arrived at the dock in Gulfport the temperature was a brisk 43 degrees with light winds, cold and clear. We departed right on time at 7:00 am and headed to our first spot less than a 15 minute run away and I managed 3 real nice trout on my first 4 casts. We were looking for redfish, but spotted some nice trout, so why not! In another 30 minutes of searching we spotted some tailing redfish and brought a real nice one to the boat and hooked several more which we didn’t photograph. We tried to avoid taking the stressed fish out of the water, so we only took pictures of a couple of the bigger fish.
After working that area for a while, we decided the tide had come in enough to try the Fort Desoto area and off we went for about a 20 minute run and in no time Dave had us on some more big redfish. As the day progressed the temperature rose an unbelievable 30 degrees and by the afternoon we were fishing in a warm bright sunny Florida winter day at about 73 degrees. It was fantastic.
We made sure to stop by and see the beautiful white pelicans which are winter residents and managed a couple nice photos although they spooked a little too quick for any real close shots, but we managed a couple anyway.
Fishing with Dave is a very unique experience. Dave specializes in what is becoming a lost art, Sight Fishing. Which means stalking the fish and casting to a visible fish, sometimes not always clearly visible by the angler, but Dave’s keen vision tells you 6 boat lengths at 2 o’clock and off you go! Too many guides these days rely on trolling motors and best guess practices to catch fish. Dave works hard up on the poling platform hand poling the boat into the ideal position, very quietly, for the best opportunity to make a great cast to the feeding fish.
His specialty is sight fishing for Tarpon in the summer months and tackling them on fly! There are not many guides left in Florida that can say they specialize in this form of Tarpon fishing.
Visit his website and if you are looking for a unique fishing experience book him for a charter to remember.
I think a true professional guide should have at least the following four qualities.
1. Great equipment
2. Work hard for their customers
3. Be a great conversationalist
4. Catch fish based on his customers abilities.
I can honestly say that Dave exceeds all of these characteristics. I had a great day and we had some great conversation about his tarpon season and his plans for the upcoming season. I just wish I could talk him into coming up to Yes Bay for a season. But he doesn’t feel his girlfriend would appreciate his absence and right now wants to focus on building his business in the Tampa Bay market.
I asked Dave to put together a summary report of this past summer’s fishing and you will see it shortly on his blog, which I created last February, but did not bother to give him detailed instruction on working with uploading pictures and keeping it current, which we will be doing very shortly. So stay tuned for more details on his fishing adventures.
Dave’s website: http://www.sightfishtarpon.com/
Dave’s Fishing Report Blog: http://sightfishtarpon.blogspot.com/
Capt Jim Lucas
My web site: http://www.captainjimlucas.com/
My Fishing Report and Travel Blog: http://captjimtravelblog.blogspot.com/
From St Petersburg, FL
Oh and by the way…I leave tomorrow for another adventure of sorts. I am heading up to Crystal River Florida to visit some old Alaska friends…Lady and Trap from the 2007 season at Yes Bay. They were guides there for the 2007 season. And from what I hear, Tramp has finally caught a fish in Florida!! We’ll see!
