It had been really tough for me with all the wind and finally, it laid down. I had Tom Bost and godson Tom for 2 days. The first day we threw white Bass Assasins and Berkley Gulps with quarter ounce jig heads during the late afternoon outgoing tides and caught a bunch of big Snapper jigging points and bars with heavy current. The Snapper were biting on every cast at one point catching them up to 15-16′. Some of the largest mangroves Snapper I have caught in the back country in a long time . When the tide dropped we switched reeling the Bass Assasins shallow around schools of mullet and found some decent action on Snook.  A few of them were very aggressive sometimes eating at boat side.

The next day we fished the late afternoon outgoing tide again but this time I went early and baited up offshore. It was the first day that I could get out with all that West wind. We caught Snook after Snook at a few areas. The bite was excellent with the most of fish ranging from 24-29″ The fish were very tight to the trees and the casts needed to be on spot. Every nook and cranny held a Snook it seemed. I think we caught fish at all but one spot. The 10 am -6pm trips both days payed off. The high tides in the morning were extremely high.

Also I had Leon Szeptycki with son Alex 10, and daughter Claire 6. We couldn’t get offshore for bait so we used shrimp and popping corks to get the kids some action. It’s all about the action for kids. We caught a bunch of small Snook, Jacks, a load of mangrove Snapper and 3 Redfish from 18″ to 24″ . The last spot we tried to get the Slam with a Tarpon. We went up a tiny creek an found a load of small fish to 15lbs. We threw a freelined shrimp numerous times with out a bite. It was about the last cast of the day and Alex hooked into one. He fought it well and and Tarpon jumped numerous times giving them a show. Unfortunately the fish jumped one last time and pulled the hook.  These kids coulf fish sometimes putting cast under the bushes perfectly. not easy with popping corks and 18 inches of line hanging. They even wanted to get thier own bait and take thier own fish off. I had it easy. After the trip Alex asked his dad if the next time they come to Florida, if they could come when the Tarpon fishing is good. That made my day.

I really want to thank everyone who fished with me this season. With the state of the economy I did not think I would have a great season but thanks to all of you, it was excellent. I can’t say thanks enough. I had some memorable trips with new anglers and many that have been fishing with me over the years. Some that have been booking me over the last 10 or 11 years.

Thank You!

The Snook bite is as good as it gets. They are from the beaches and passes all the way up the back country. For the last Month I have been concentrating on fishing the Southern Marco Island area.  There are schools of bait all over the shorelines. All you have to do is look for the Egrets and Herons lined up on the Mangrove roots. They are after the same thing the Snook want, the food. Find the birds and you will find the Snook. We had a few bad weather days with strong West winds putting the bite off for a few days but the fishing rebounded quickly. There are a few Tarpon around but you have to work hard to get a few bites. The Snook have been the best bet. I have started to catch a few Reds as well the last few trips with all of them over the slot (18-27″). The fishing should stay strong pending any weather changes but getting out early is a must. The mid day heat is extreme and the afternoon thunder storms usually scare me off the water.

This has to be the toughest Tarpon season on record for this guide. Winds, rain and dirty water have pushed the majority of our fish packing for cleaner waters. Lats week we also had some very high tides mid day shutting down the inland fishing for Tarpon. There are a few 20-50lb fish around. If you work hard all morning you will get a couple of bites from the Silver King.I had Jeff Spence and Brent Brodie for several days last weekend and we managed 5 jumped Tarpon and 3 landed. They were on the smaller side but they fight like crazy on light tackle. We were using Snook rods with 10-15lb test line.

The Snook fishing has been great on live bait. Getting the live bait has been very tough but I have been managing to put together enough to fish day. Some of the Snook have been very nice. We have been getting slot sized fish every day but Snook season is closed so they are still out there somewhere. That’s fine with me because I really hate killing a big Snook. I wish they would lower the slot maximum from 33″ down to 30″. I think a small window like 27-30″ and limit to one fish per person would do the fishery a favor.

Redfish have been slow for me but getting a couple here and there. They seem to be mixed in with the Snook.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

Tarpon have been around in fairly good numbers. The wind has layed down and the offshore Tarpon fishing has been great. The fish have been eating live sardines offshore and they are hungry. A few other guides have been reporting great sucess offshore as well. These fish have been about a mile or two off the beaches and you can see them rolling and free jumping as far as you can see. The inshore tarpon have been tough but in the last week they have decided to eat. I coincide this every year with the full moon. The full moon can be tough for Snook.  The full moon makes for very bright nights on the water my theory is the Snook feed all night and relax during the day. With Tarpon I find they love to eat around the full moon. I fly fished several days for The inshore Tarpon the first week in May and found lot’s of fish but hardly any eaters. The ” laid up” Tarpon over the last several years have been getting pressured hard. There is a new wave of anglers and guides that have found many of the local Tarpon haunts and the super hush hush spots. These fish have been getting poled over daily making the Tarpon very reluctant to eat.

I Snook fished yesterday Bruce and Celeste Osbourne and found the fishing pretty good. We caught many small to medium sized fish. I still havent found many Redfish but getting a few here and there. The best fishing of the Spring starts now and during the week there are hardly any boats out. I catch most of my Tarpon now through September. Outgoing tides in the morning are my favorite.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

Fishing in the Ten Thousand Islands has been dictated by the Windy weather we have been getting every single day. It has been very depressing for this guide. I have been working very hard to catch fish and hide from this wind. It has stirred the water up so much that it has scattered the fish and bait. No food around = No fish around. The good news is it is supposed to lay down over the next several days(so the weather man said). This will slowly clean the water up and bring the food back in. This will allow us to fish where we want to and not where we have to. I have been getting some Snook on live bait that I have been going offshore 3 miles to get. The effort has payed off by bringing the bait into the back water catching mainly Snook with a few Redfish mixed in. It has not been easy and good casts under the mangroves are a must. Tarpon have been slow due to the wind. Tarpon hate wind and tend to move on to cleaner and deeper water. I fished Connie and Ann from Texas and we worked hard but put a few fish in the boat. Here are a few pics.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

The past several weeks have been tough in the 10,000 Islands. One day the fishing is great and the next can be very slow. After my last report I found some Tarpon on some of the best weather days in weeks. We had several light wind days and that made fishing for Tarpon a prospect. I was on fair numbers of fish offshore and managed some great hook ups and a few fish brought boat side. It took patience but it payed off. I managed to put Andy Glick and his son Charlie on their first Tarpon. I think they have the Tarpon fever now. Since that week the winds have been blowing hard out of the South/Southwest. This has stirred the water up and higher than normal tides making the fishing tougher. We have been catching lot’s of small to medium size Snook tight to the Mangroves. We are supposed to get some cooler weather this week along with more winds.This will keep me on my toes and covering lot’s of water to stay out of the wind and on fish. I fly fished Pat Elwood for a few days and had a great time throwing at some Redfish one morning. We found decent numbers of fish in a crystal clear river mouth. Pat landed a nice 31″ fish. His first ever.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

I get many questions on a typical day and one I get asked all the time is how did you learn the water. Now with GPS mapping technology navigating through the islands is much easier. I really wish this was available when I was first started learning the area. For me it was by trial and error, paper charts and intel from some local boys that grew up here. I had many days running the boat aground, scratching my hull on jagged oyster bars and pushing my way through mangrove creeks till the boat couldn’t go any further. I had the idea to get some Aerial photos off all the ares I fish. I decided to hire pilot John Apte to go up and take some photos. What he got for me was priceless for learning the area. The photos really helped me find my way around.It really helped me learn as much as I could about navigating in short time. Now with the internet and Google Earth You can use the satellite photos to your advantage. This is a great way to learn any area and I still use Google Earth all the time. Now learning to catch the fish is another story.

Here is one of the Photos From Johns plane.

Fakahatchee Bay in the Ten Thousand Islands FL

The year started off very warm with calm winds. Water Temps crept back into the lower 70’s and Snook of all sizes started feeding again. I was using shiners for the Snook on the higher tides. Fishing points or oyster bars with moving water. Also Tarpon started showing up again and had a day with 2 guys throwing plugs at them and jumped 3 and brought one boat side @ 90lb. You do not get many shots at the big beasts in January so that was a treat. I also took out Madison Durbin and his buddy Matt for a day of Shark fishing. In the summer I could almost guarantee we will catch a shark with the warm water, but this was January. I received some info from a friend of mine, he told me to pull up onto a big mud flat near Marco. He was spot on. There wasn’t five minutes between all the Bull sharks. They all went 5-7 feet. I rarely Shark fish with guests but I had a blast. these fish put on a fight and even a few of them launched out of the water like Tarpon. This all changed in the last few days though. We are experiencing record cold and windy conditions. This has dropped the water temp down into the 50’s and after a freeze warning tonight I wouldn’t be suprised to see another fish kill like last year. Fish especially Snook, cannot take water temps much colder than the mid to lower fifties.

With the cold water temps my tactics will be fishing deep with jigs and and shrimp using very slow retrieves. Snook will be on the Backburner while Trout, Pompano, Black Drum, Grouper being the main targets. On the warm up days after the fronts, I find the Redfish love getting up in the shallow muddy coves and also the beaches mixed with the mullet. This is where some great sightfishing can be had. I have a Fly trip scheduled on Saturday and can’t wait to hunt them in the skinny stuff.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

I feel very lucky and thankful for what I have, a great family, friends, a job I love and my beautiful wife Stacey .

A couple personal notes of 2008

This past year my buddy and fellow guide Rob Walczak’s son Brock was diagnosed with a very rare form of eye cancer. It is hard to understand how this could happen to such a strong innocent little boy. Rob and his wife Amanda made many trips to see specialists in Ft Myers and Miami hospitals. They practically lived at the hospital so Brock could receive the care and Chemo that was necessary; it has been a very long and emotional  battle. After completing his Chemo Brock has returned to running around and playing like the rambunctious little 4 year old boy that he is. Brock fought brave and hard; and is now cancer free. This was the most amazing  news, and we feel like our prayers have been  answered. Brock is my hero and I have much respect for the love and strength that his parents have shown.

We lost a great man this year, Mr Fred Smith from Michigan passed this summer after a brief battle with cancer. Fred and his son Andy have fished with me for many years. I fished with Andy over the holidays this year and we laughed about the last time I took him and his dad fishing. Fred was so pissed because Andy was catching everything and he was fish less. I’m very thankful for being a part of that day and many others shared with Fred, he was a great guy He will be truly missed.

I want to thank each and every one of you that has fished with me this year and years past. I have made some great friends and have met some very interesting people. Without you I would probably be doing something that falls short to my love of the water and outdoors. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

New fishing reports are coming.

Happy New Year

Captain Aron Blaisdell