Fresh Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve Fishing Reports

I was blessed to have some super nice folks on the boat yesterday! Tom, Becky, Ed, and Joe picked off a few fish during the course of the day with an almost non-existant tidal flow. However, they kept their heads in the game, and when the tide changed and started coming in, the good Lord blessed us with enough current to really turn on the fish, and they were hungry. They put together an impressive cooler, including Redfish, Black Drum, Seatrout, Flounder, Pompano, and Mangrove Snapper. Joe also picked up a 30-in tank of a Redfish, which, of course, went back into the pond. Tom was the Silent Assassin on the boat yesterday?! He fished off the back of the boat in probably the worst position all day and caught the most fish including 25-in Redfish, some big Seatrout, Black Drum, Pompano, and a 4 ft Bonnet head shark that gave him a great fight on light tackle, but Tom won the battle and got the shark to the boat! Another awesome day in God's Country!!!

I was blessed to have this outstanding crew on my boat yesterday. Started the day with Ben, Bryan, and Austin, who have been friends for 20 years, fishing the river to stay out of the wind, and it was a little slow although we did pick up a few Redfish. Decided to make a run outside, and the wind and seas laid down enough to make for a beautiful afternoon of fishing in the Gulf. Caught over 20 trout, and kept 14 good ones for dinner. Left them biting to go find some bigger drag pulling fish. Put an exclamation mark on a great day of fishing with a few big Jacks pulling drag before heading in. What a great group of guys who know how to have fun and enjoy fishing as much as I do! Thanks guys!!!

I had a great day with Katie and her dad Pete, and Katie's friends Jamie and Jess. This Crew fished hard all day, and it paid off for them. We had to move around a lot but caught some quality Redfish, and kept three nice ones. The girls even had a nice double up, so I scooped the Redfish up in the same net. Trout bite was not great, but we managed a couple of nice keepers and a few throwbacks as well. Filled in the time around the bigger fish with quite a few small Sheepshead and a bunch of Snappers that were right about 10 in to 10 and 1/4 inches. We put those back to grow a little more. Those Snappers will be a little chunkier and some good eating in a few weeks. Highlight of the day was the fat 26 and 3/4 inch Redfish that Jess caught on a medium light rod on light leader, with a tiny hook that had just a little scrap of shrimp on it. This Rod was set up for Sheepshead, not for top of the slot redfish... I guess elephants do eat peanuts! After an extended fight and lots of drag pulling, she got it to the boat, and we landed it safely. Turned out it was barely hooked in the lip and probably would not have stayed hooked up for another run so the Lord was looking after us on that one! Thank you guys for choosing God's Country Fishing Company.

I had a fantastic day with Kenny, his father-in-law Dave, and Dave's brother Tim. A bunch of funny guys who can fish makes for a good time on the water. The brothers are a story for another day, but let's just say they found out they were brothers just a couple of years ago. Lost count of how many Redfish we caught, but we picked three good ones and put the rest back. The two best fights of the day were Kenny's big Black Drum, and Dave's very large Jack Crevalle. Quite a few battles with nice Redfish as well. Won most of those battles, but lost a couple. We also caught a bunch of Black Drum, Seatrout, Spanish Mackerel, Snook, and even caught a Whiting and kept it for Tim's dog Bentley, who loves to eat fish. He's not spoiled??. It was a windy, beautiful day, but these guys really put the hammer down on some good fish, which made for an incredibly good time in God's Country!!! Great job out there, guys, and I look forward to having you back on the boat soon! God Bless' Capt. Mike

Today was a fish catching day with repeat client Dave and his friends Sam, Jamie, and Collyn. It was guys versus girls in a total fish caught contest with the losers paying for dinner. The girls jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 23 to 18 win. They had a side bet going for who would buy drinks, and the girls won that also with the biggest fish of the day. Multiple species were caught, including Redfish, Trout, Snook, Black Drum, Pompano, and a small grouper as well. They also caught a couple of sharks and a couple of stingrays to keep things interesting. Thank you guys for a fun day with lots of laughs. Look forward to having you all back soon! God Bless, Capt. Mike

It was a fun trip with Josh, who loves to throw artificial baits. He caught some nice Seatrout and some Redfish as well. November is a great Trout month as they really start schooling up as the water temperatures drop. Fun to catch and good to eat. Book a trip with me and see. God Bless, Capt. Mike