December 8 2015 – Late fall in the Florida Keys is Great. While most of the nation is wearing pants, sweaters and shoes trying to find things to do inside. We here in the Florida Keys are still enjoying the warmth and water in our shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. December is a great time to visit and enjoy our tropical climate one last time before old man winter shows up in your area. We usually have an influx of people this time of year mostly people from the north escaping from the cold. We also have a strong push of tourism during the holiday breaks. Which brings with it families wanting to do activities together. I love fishing with Families whether it be novice anglers looking to just catch some fish and enjoy the beauties of nature or the more experienced family who is trying to land the saltwater trophy they’ve always wanted. Family Fishing and fishing with kids is a significant part of my business and I love it. Introducing new fresh faces to our sport is something I am very proud of, and I can customize charters to accommodate every age group and attention span.

Family Fun Fishing Report- Just this past week I took out a father and his son for his 6th birthday. This particular 6 year old is accustomed to being on the boat and fishing so we decided to go for a longer amount of time than the average 4 hour trip, and try for some of the more challenging species. We enjoyed a gorgeous ride out to the fishing spots and proceeded to catch species such as Trout, Redfish, and Snook. The Tarpon that we were looking for were there. We saw them but they eluded us on this particular day. However this is not your normal family kid oriented trip but some are up to the challenge. On the other end of the spectrum I offer a 2 hour learning experience where we will stay close to the marina. (Usually no more than a few miles) On these experiences we tend to focus solely on the children and teach them that fishing can be fun. On the last charter like this we caught so many fish we lost count. I think it is important to keep children busy and catching fish even if they are small. It gets the interest flowing and you can build from there. I have many clients whose children started this way and are now very proficient avid anglers.

During the fall we have a wonderful opportunity that begins to arise, and that is that it becomes possible to fish Deep in the Everglades. This type of fishing gets you away from the everyday grind and the hassles of life including Cell Phones. It’s almost like exploring untouched areas of the world. The only access to these areas are by boat and most times you won’t see another person your entire trip. It is a very serene and calming experience. That allows you to be one with nature and cast to fish that get very little pressure by other anglers. In this area the fresh and brackish water rivers flow out in to the gulf and create an experience that is hard to find. You have a good opportunity for catching multiple species in the same spots. Species include Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Black drum, Sheepshead, Trout and many more. You can even catch largemouth bass and saltwater species on consecutive casts.

Deep In The Everglades National Park– I just returned from one such experience yesterday. The day was beautiful and we headed out at daybreak. We crossed the Gulf of Mexico to one of the bays that multiple rivers and creeks flush out from the mainland. On our first cast we landed a near 30 in Speckled Trout, and proceeded to catch Trout and ladyfish on every cast for at least 45 mins. We returned the trout from the waters which they came and carefully selected specific ladyfish for our bait. When we felt we had worked the area thoroughly we moved on to the next river mouth and so on. We continued to do this all morning until the tide changed and we moved in to the rivers. This is complete wilderness and you will not see anything man made. It is a truly beautiful experience. By the end of the day when it was all said and done. We had caught over 30 snook in a variety of sizes 20 plus Redfish and more fish than I cared to count. We also saw a variety of wildlife including some rare and endangered species such as American Saltwater Crocodiles, Roseate Spoonbills, and many more birds and mammals.

If you would like to book a charter or have any questions I would love you talk to you.

www.captaintonymelton.com
captaintonymelton@live.com
813-230-3040