By Capt. Kevin Deiter
I’ve been lucky enough to fish some incredible destinations—chasing everything from trout to marlin—and when people ask me to name the one place that stands above the rest, I hesitate. Mexico for sailfish was unforgettable. Blue marlin in the Abacos still fires me up. Surf-casting for bluefish and stripers at Cape Hatteras will always be special, if only because it was my first real fishing trip as a kid.
Trying to pin down a single favorite bucket-list destination is no easy task.
I’ve spent countless evenings dockside after long days on the water swapping stories with world-class captains who’ve truly done it all. We talk about where we’ve been, where we’d go next, and where we’d trade coordinates if money, time off, and responsibility didn’t exist. You know the dream trip—the one with no contingencies, no worries, and nothing but anticipation for the adventure of a lifetime.
But every time I think about that “trip of all trips,” I find myself circling back to my own backyard.
If I could ask a genie for anything, it wouldn’t be one perfect fishing trip—it would be the opportunity to live a bucket-list trip every single day. Unlimited time. No stress. No worries. Just fishing, right where I already am.
Having fished so many places has taught me that every destination comes with potential pitfalls. Lost luggage. Bad weather. Sub-par gear. Food poisoning. Long-planned trips can unravel quickly. You might be standing in the best peacock bass fishery on the planet, but if a weather system rolls through ahead of your arrival, you could leave empty-handed.
That’s why living and fishing in Southwest Florida feels like paradise to me.
People ask, “Where does someone who lives where everyone else vacations go on vacation?” The answer is simple—you stay put and appreciate it.
Growing up farther north, my fishing seasons were short and dictated by the calendar. Waiting for trout season to open or chopping holes through ice eventually lost its appeal. So, Beverly Hillbillies–style, I loaded up the truck and moved to Floridee—flip-flops, mullet dip, and year-round opportunity.
Southwest Florida offers every flavor of fishing imaginable. One day you might be chasing an eight-pound largemouth. The next, you could be trolling for marlin and tuna a hundred miles into the Gulf. Within minutes of my home, I can choose from hundreds of fishing options on any given day of the year.
Our seasons don’t arrive with falling leaves—they’re marked by traffic in the left lane and whatever species you feel like having for dinner that night. Some seasons even roll around twice a year. Kingfish, grouper, and cobia are prime examples. I’ve caught wahoo, tuna, dolphin, and sailfish in every month on the calendar.
One of the most common questions I get when booking trips is, “What will we catch?” My answer is usually another question: “What do you want to catch?”
When people ask what’s biting, I can’t help but chuckle. For those of us who do this every day, the answer is often simple—everything. How do you beat that?
Weather—especially wind—dictates our fishing more than seasons or migrations. If it’s blowing 20 knots out of the east, we don’t cancel the trip. We adjust. We fish the beaches for tripletail, cobia, or mackerel. Then we slide into protected bays, flip docks, and maybe add redfish, trout, or snook to the mix.
A buddy told me recently how his day went fishing. His answer? “Eleven species.” No mention of size or numbers—just the diversity. On a half-day trip, he connected with eleven different species. That’s a pretty solid way to measure success.
While I’m grateful for opportunities to fish exotic locations on incredible boats, a local trip on my bay boat means just as much to me as flying the laundry from an outrigger on a sportfisherman. It’s all relative, and I value my backyard as much as any destination that requires a passport.
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s this: never take an opportunity to fish for granted—no matter where your bait hits the water.
Now… where did I put that genie in a bottle?
Capt. Kevin Deiter
Feeding Frenzy Sportfishing Academy
Capt. Kevin Deiter has fished the entire Eastern Seaboard, both coasts of Florida, the Florida Keys, and throughout the Bahamas chasing pelagic trophies. His academy specializes in teaching the finer points of fishing and boating in Florida waters.
📞 (941) 234-2041
