2024 was a great year in terms of fishing. I had a lot of fun memories out on the water and am looking forward to an even better 2025! Here are some of the best fish of the year.
Personal Best Peacock Bass
Every Spring I take a trip down to South Florida to target peacock bass. This year I was fortunate enough to catch my personal best.
We had just wrapped up our second day of fishing where we caught 50+ fish and were on our way back to where we left the truck we when spotted it. Sitting just on the edge of the shallows was an absolute unit of a peacock. I stripped out my fly line and made a cast just ahead of the fish, he was immediately interested. The fish swung and missed a few times, but eventually succeeded in taking the fly.
After a nerve-wracking battle that saw jumps, big runs and numerous attempts to get into limestone outcroppings, I subdued the fish.
Dolphin on Fly in Islamorada
Islamorada is my favorite place on Earth, it is also a great spot for targeting my favorite fish – the dolphin (AKA mahi-mahi or dorado). It had been three long years since I had fished there, so I was thrilled to book a trip with friends Spencer and Jose to go offshore and chase these pelagics.
We did what we set out to do – tuna, tripletail, a sailfish, and of course, dolphin – lots of them. Not only do I love to catch dolphin, but catching them on fly is also something that I strive for each time I go down. I am happy to say that the hand-tied offering that I whipped up a few nights prior did the trick.
Slams on Slams in Tampa Bay with Costa
I joined Coast Del Mar on their One Coast Tour, which has been traveling all up and down Florida’s West Coast cleaning up the coast in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Working for the IGFA, with Costa as our partner, I was called upon to help. We cleaned up a ton of trash from Egmont Key, that day. Also that day, we were with Captain David White who took us out to the island and also got us on a TON of fish.
Any day you can catch quality redfish, snook and trout – it’s a good day. Any day you lose count of how many you’ve caught is an AMAZING day. We had a blacked-out livewell of hand-sized threadfins that were getting blasted almost every cast.
Personal Best Redfish on Fly
On a weekend that saw a near limit of Pasco County scallops, topping it off with an incredible day of flyfishing for reds and snook took it to another level.
The fish in question was sitting in the shade of a mangrove tunnel, the second my fly hit the water, he came zooming out and crushed my fly. The entire fight I kept repeating in my head, “please stay on”. When the fish came to hand, the jubilation was as if I had won some sort of contest or a championship.
The day also saw other redfish and snook on fly as well, which were also of good quality.
Memorial Day Snook!
Memorial Day is one of those insane days on the water where all the crazies are out. We spent most of the day seeing some friends at one of the local spoil islands, didn’t fish much, but when we did, my girlfriend caught her first snook!
The snook in question thumped a live greenback underneath a dock and she fought it out and got it to the boat beautifully. I was very proud of her.
In Sum
2024 was a great year of fishing. 2025 should be just as good, if not better! I have a trip to Islamorada planned to target bonefish, there will be peacock bass, redfish and more!
Stay tuned for more of these adventures!
Until next time, tight lines!
