Fishing News (updated daily from about.com)

They are there almost every morning that I head offshore. They anchor up just after dawn and begin cleaning their decks and holds of by-catch and trash fish. "They" are the shrimp boats that spend the night dragging their nets for pink gold. By night they work the nets, and by day they rest and clean.

Shrimp Boat By-Catch Mean Fish originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 05:08:10.

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One of my favorite ways to fish is with a jig - a big jig - in deep water. We call it deep jigging.
In water from 100 to 200 feet deep we drop eight to ten ounce jigs to the bottom with a strip bait and then we hold on.

The fish we catch are big - grouper, cubera and mutton snapper - and they will take a rod out of your hands if you're are not paying attention. Here's how we deep jig the outer ledges..

Deep Jigging originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 05:00:43.

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The Southeastern United States provide the best grouper fishing in the world, and they can be taken by any number of means. From gag grouper in at little as ten to twelve feet of water to the mighty warsaw grouper in several hundred feet of water, all grouper tend to like the same types of baits and presentations whether they are presented on the bottom or by trolling. Just remember, big bait, big fish, small bait, small fish... Read more...

Trolling for Grouper originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 05:31:22.

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Tarpon season is in high gear up and down the Atlantic coast. Chum fishermen are catching a mixture or tarpon and sharks either by following a shrimp boat and waiting for them to dump their by-catch, or by anchoring off the beaches and chumming with menhaden.

We ran into some tarpon quite by accident on a trip to Southwest Florida, and caught them in an unusual way. Has anyone ever trolled a mangrove creek for tarpon?

Trolling for Tarpon originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 05:34:51.

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Sometimes the best-laid plans don't work out as well as I would like. As well as I would like? Heck, sometimes they fall apart right before my very eyes! John was tired of paying those high prices for bait, and so was I. They weren't really that high, but we didn't have the money at the time to afford what we needed. Between fishing and family, money was thin and we tried to scrimp and save.

Fiddling for Bait - Fiddler Crabs originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 05:07:42.

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How hard is too hard? How much penetration can I get on a hook set? The results of a class my boys attended when they were young may surprise you. It certainly surprised me!

Hook setting is almost an art - not just yanking up on the rod. Depending on the type and size of fish, type of hook, and method of fishing, hook setting methods can vary significantly

Setting the Hook originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 05:41:45.

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Dog days mean hot, sultry afternoons that more often than not end up with rain. They also mean that shrimp are on the run, and recreational shrimping can help cool off those hot days.
Up and down the Atlantic coast, shrimp make a summer migration into the inlets and rivers to perform their spawning activities. Searching for brackish water indicative of an estuary, they migrate with the moon phases sometimes fifty miles upstream in the larger rivers...

Shrimping Season originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 05:19:46.

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Listen to this true fish story. We were in Florida Bay on a hot June afternoon. We were drifting the flats south of Carl Ross Key in about 5 feet of water, catching a few trout and an occasional snapper. The wind was so still, that a good drift was almost impossible. Photo © Ron Brooks

Weather or Not - Here We Fish Again originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 05:35:23.

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I know the weather report said fifteen to twenty knots and seas five to eight feet, but that was for Okracoke. We're fishing way north of there out of Hatteras; it will probably be fishable. Ever heard any famous last words like that before?

Weather or Not - Here We Fish originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 05:22:27.

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Lots of people travel to the Florida Keys for a fishing vacation. Some bring their own boat while others opt to rent one when they arrive. However they arrive, they all want one thing - to catch fish.

Catch Mangrove Snapper on the Florida Keys originally appeared on About.com Saltwater Fishing on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 05:38:55.

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