I’ve had an awesome summer traveling all over Florida having a blast on the water. Here is my 2024 Summer fishing recap.
Down South
I made my annual pilgrimage to Broward and Palm Beach Counties with my friend Nate to target exotics like peacock bass and others. This year I caught my personal best peacock.
Islamorada
Every year I head to the Florida Keys to go offshore to target dolphin, tuna, sailfish and other amazing creatures (still searching for that wahoo). This year I went with my friends Jose and Spencer and we had a banner day aboard the Endeavor with Captain Hunter Barron. We caught a ton of dolphin, tuna, a tripletail off a floating pallet and a sailfish!
Destin
I won a trip to Destin to fish with Captain Royce Dahnke at the Skinny Water Culture Christmas Party. While I didn’t catch any redfish, I had shots at some giant fish and got to explore a beautiful part of the state that I had never been to before. I would highly recommend booking a trip with Royce and spending time on the Emerald Coast.
Home Fishing Recap
While I certainly had some great adventures this summer, I also had some excellent days on the homefront.
Scallops, Reds and Snook in Tampa Bay
I really enjoy fly fishing for redfish and snook, however, because of my lack of a polling skiff, I don’t get to do it as often as I like. When I do get to go, I always have an amazing time.
Additionally, Pasco County scallop season has been absolutely on fire. Every trip we caught a TON of scallops, enough for dinner for two and more.
Memorial Day Weekend
While Memorial Day weekend was crazy with lots of people on the water, it was still super fun. What made it special was that my girlfriend caught her very first snook! It smoked a greenback pitched under a dock and gave us some nice jumps.
Docklights
Finally, at the end of summer, I was able to fish dock lights, one of my favorite things. I went with my friend Angelo, an old hockey teammate. A few quality redfish chased my offerings out of one of the lights with reckless abandon, however, I was not granted a hookup despite making a worthy cast and retrieve. I was able to put my hands on a tarpon though which is awesome, Angelo caught and landed the juvenile silver king below. It has been a while since I have had a good face grab, thanks, Angelo!
Another thing that made this adventure memorable was that I dropped my phone in the water and it was sitting on the bottom in about five feet of saltwater for no less than five minutes. Somehow we found it and were able to retrieve it. As I write this, my phone is still in perfect working order – pretty wild!
In Sum
It was a great summer of fishing, a lot of awesome fish and adventures both at home and across the state. Next summer I am hoping for more fun times and memories with friends.
Until next time, tight lines.
