It was a long time ago. Richard Bowles Tim Tucker and I met after work at Sonny’s on Waldo Road to discuss my taking over as the Gainesville Sun’s fishing columnist. My best qualifications were that I had spent a … Continue reading → The post A Fishing Farewell appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

Fall weather in Crystal River brings in overcast days cooler temps and epic inshore battles. Targeting Gag Grouper in waters as shallow as 8 feet during the Fall is where...

As daylight shortens and nights cool a bit several elements of area fishing are strengthening. Among the opportunities that have apparently ramped up through the last couple of weeks are: speckled perch on Orange Lochloosa and Newnan’s Lakes bass on … Continue reading → The post Shorter Days Make Active Fish appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

For many avid fans of outdoor sports this is hunting season … pure and simple. Possibly even more would-be anglers postpone their casting due to football season. But those who keep a grip on their rods while others grab guns … Continue reading → The post Fall Fishing Firing Up appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

Most years fall-run Spanish mackerel begin showing up in our nearest gulf waters sometime in September. The run often commences when the first nights begin to turn a bit cooler. By the second week in September avid mackerel lovers are … Continue reading → The post Fall-Run Mackerel Arriving appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

Great action for today's morning trip with the Platz team. I fish this great family every year around this time and we've been going strong for about 10yrs now. Josh Piper and Rick were my team today and they turned some nice ones. No break offs pulled hooks etc... they were 100% on their game. We fished in the 10ft to 12ft range and all the gags...

For many years it was a huge deal in the southern half of the state but not a noteworthy season opening in our North Florida coastal waters. Things have changed in a big way. The September 1 opening of Snook … Continue reading → The post Snook Season a Big Deal Now appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

A nice day out of Crystal River with Chuck and Tim and these guys had a fine day. We pulled our bait traps and went to grouper digging. The gags were biting pretty darn good and we had a couple even get the best of us by taking us in the rocks. Chuck and Tim soon enough turned four nice ones and just around noon we called it a day. Great job and I...

Another great morning trip with Larry and Todd on board and it was pretty much just like yesterdays trip. Some fast grouper action kept us busy and by 10am the guys had their limit of good ones. We totaled probably 25 grouper for the morning and beat the heat being back at the dock before noon. Awesome morning and I thank you... Capt. Dan

By the first of August the annual run of saltwater shrimp up the St. John’s River has usually started in earnest. But up ‘til a week or so ago shrimping fans had insisted that the river crustaceans were scarce-to-nonexistent. Experienced … Continue reading → The post River Shrimping Cranks Up appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

Some quality gags for Mark and Craig and these guys did awesome. We dropped on a couple different ledges and right out of the gate it was on. We had a double digit morning and turned some nice fish that gave a great tug of war. I thank you both and great job... Capt. Dan

A great trip with Sabrina and Eric and this was Eric's birthday present to catch some Crystal River grouper. Well I didn't disappoint him and the team turned some really nice gags. Before 10am they secured a fine limit and we called it a day to beat the storms and heat. You both did awesome and happy birthday Eric.... Capt. Dan

The start of Dog Days has always brought a rather scarce period for fishing stories. Days are long but they’re hot—-sometimes unbearably—and neither fish nor fisher is found often in rare form. This year things seem even tougher. Ridiculously copious … Continue reading → The post Heavy Rains Toughen the Fishing appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box....

A hot grouper bite for the Millennium Metals team from the East coast and they sure did well. The bait traps were loaded today and we had an awesome trip. Nothing to fancy just dropping live pin fish on some ledges and "wham" grouper on. The guys turned all their fish and six fine gags came on board. Great job and I thank you all... Capt. Dan

Another hot one but a good one with Terry and Jamie on board. These guys were ready to go and did awesome. We turned four really nice gags for a limit and released several others too Live baits on bottom rigs were the deal for us and I thank you both for a really fun day... Capt. Dan

Well vacation's over and it's back to work time. I'm easing my way back into trips and today Dan Lauren and Big Fish Bob were up first. We had a good trip caught four really nice grouper and had a couple get the best of us. Dropping live baits on the ledges did the trick and we wrapped it up around noon. With the oppressive heat right now I'm just...

This year we’ve seen both low and high water levels in local lakes. For fish-catching this natural fluctuation is preferable to constant unchanging levels. And over the last few weeks the ‘new’ water seems to have trumped the summer heat … Continue reading → The post Wet Summer Brings Good Fishing appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

A great time in the Rocky Mountains with Becky and some great friends. We caught some really nice trout and saw some new beautiful country. We've been going out there now for 12 years and this trip we even did some more exploring. Some of the new streams paid off great and some not so much but they will definitely produce in the future when they h...

The couple-month spell of very rainy weather has freshwaters in North Florida pretty much full. This is generally a good thing ensuring that our lakes will remain high in the foreseeable future but it also brings a touch of trepidation. … Continue reading → The post Strong Rains Bring Strong Fishing appeared first on Gary's Tackle Box.

Hello everyone just wanted to check in and give a quick out West report. The trip so far has been excellent in both Wyoming and Idaho. We've caught cutthroat's brown trout rainbows and saw but didn't hook up chinook salmon and bull trout. We're using mostly dry flies and a few streamers. It is a hot one out here and the water on the Idaho side is...