Offshore Fare

By Capt. Bart Marx

Hello fellow anglers! Turkey month once again, can you believe it? It is the beginning of our tourist season and relatives that come to visit. This is to me, the month you start preparing for lots of family time. The weather is changing and the waters are getting cooler. This has triggered the migration from north to south in the fish community and is good for the offshore anglers. Offshore you can harvest several species that are great table fare. The two most popular that all folks like to eat are snappers and grouper. Just to name a few of the snapper: yellowtail, lane, and mangrove, all of these are great table fare. Then you have your grouper gag, red, and scamp. The State of Florida has the reds, snook, and sea trout on catch and release until May of 2020.

Alpha Omega Fishing Charters has the proper permits and boat to venture out into the Federal waters of the Gulf.  With 4-6 anglers aboard, we travel about thirty miles to target grouper and snapper. (Also, our addition to the fleet has a porta-potty for our female customers). As the migration gets into progress there will be catches of king mackerel, tripletail, and cobia. I have been fishing these waters for the last forty years and have done a fair amount of SCUBA diving-hunting with a spear gun. This is an advantage to understanding what the structures are like, which in turn helps on how to fish the structure. I have been down one hundred forty-eight feet in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of SW Florida, mostly to harvest grouper and snapper with a spear gun. We have plenty of tackle for bottom fishing and artificial lures to troll for some of the migratory species, too. With all the closures on the reds, snook, and trout, we can go into the Gulf and target other good-eating fish.

With this being the month of Thanksgiving, some people have out of state guests that might enjoy an offshore fishing trip. We have gift certificates (hint-hint, the holidays are near) that would be a great gift for a family Florida-fishing adventure. We have several anglers that use us to go offshore to harvest the snapper and grouper for a family outing and for a fresh fish cookout too. They wait till they have enough friends and family for a personalized trip for their guests. Always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

Contact Capt. Bart Marx at 941-979-6517

captbart@alphaomegacharters.com