Gulf Coast Guide Service | Naples & Marco Island Inshore Fishing Charters
  • HOME
  • CAPT. BILL
  • TRIP INFO
    • RATES
    • VESSEL
    • LODGING
    • DIRECTIONS
  • PHOTOS
  • REPORTS
  • CONTACT

Fall and Winter Fly Fishing in the Glades

1/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
If you follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook, you already know I am extremely passionate about snook fishing.

It's long, slender silhouette, gaping jaw and upward focal arrangement make it one of the most compelling targets a fly caster could ever endeavor to catch!

It's not their rarity, beautiful fluorescent colors or existence in exotic locales that makes them so unique. Heck, you can catch a snook in a road-side canal or under nearly every pier, dock or bridge on either of Florida's coasts south of Lake Okeechobee.

In the right conditions, they'll eat just about anything even the most indiscriminate angler can conceive of casting, soaking or dragging through just about every graduation of the water column.

BUT... When you set out to capture a real, live, bonafide trophy snook on fly rod, you will have undertaken one of the greatest challenges a fly fisherman can accept!

We all know that getting fly fishermen to agree on which species truly represents the ultimate catch may be as difficult as getting them to agree on the best pizza toppings or IPA.

However, ask any angler who has spent more than a minute chasing the elusive linesider in it's most suitable habitat (The Everglades) which quarry has eluded him most and I am willing to bet a free day of fishing that 9 out of 10 will admit that it's the monster snook that has left the deepest scars and created the most emotional baggage when asked to recall their most memorable encounters with their quarries.

Perhaps its the almost contradictory juxtaposition of  the snook's willingness to eat a giant piece of plastic one day and then refuse even the smallest, most intricately hand-tied fly the next that makes them so difficult to reconcile.

Maybe it's heir ability to confound even the most seasoned guide day in and day out that makes them so impossible to forsake.

Whichever it is, I guarantee there are a ten-fold more 20-pound permit, 100-plus pound tarpon and 10-pound bonefish caught around the world every month than there are legitimate 20-pound snook taken on fly in a year!!!

That's what makes them so special and that's what make s what I do every day so interesting!!

As many clients often do ... If you were to ask me what is the best time of year to fly fish for snook, with few exceptions, I will almost invariably answer ... Winter.

To the experienced angler that might seem counter-intuitive. After all, the snook is a sub-tropical fish that is highly susceptible to extreme temperature changes and fluctuating barometric conditions.

 All true.

However, unlike most other times of the year when snook are comfortable across a wide range of habitats, winter most often finds them in or near the shallowest waters found in their respective ecosystems.

Why?

The answer is simple.

Warmth and food.

Not unlike many other species of game fish around the world, snook tend to relate to shallow water during the winter months because the shallower the water, the more drastically it is affected by changes in temperature, and somewhat uniquely, south Florida, and more specifically,The Everglades offers snook the unique proximity of deep, or relatively deep, water and fertile shallow waters that warm quickly under the radiant heat of the winter sun!

Like the hundreds of thousands of mammals, otherwise classified as humans, who travel to Florida from all over the northern hemisphere every winter, snook can be found in similar places based on very clear climate changes and weather patterns.

When it's cold, we humans may be a bit reluctant to climb out from under that fluffy down comforter to get that cup of morning joe or prepare that bowl of piping hot oatmeal, but add a little heat, be it HVAC or a dose of that beautiful Florida sunshine, and suddenly we're ready to fill the tank with those ever so beneficial nutrients to get us through the day!!

Draw whatever conclusions you may about the similarities between snook and "snowbirds," but if you take the time to observe the nature of nearly every living thing, you will notice very predictable behavior patterns.

Without divulging too many secrets of the hunt, (Hahaha) I will simply reiterate that winter really is the best time of year to seek and find the trophy snook you may or may not have been waiting your entire life to catch!!

While it can be difficult to predict who will be among the lucky handful of anglers to encounter a truly giant snook every year, I can guarantee only one thing ... you have to be there in order to seize the opportunity!!
0 Comments

Venice, Louisiana

9/16/2019

0 Comments

 
What an adventure!!

After years of thinking how cool it would be to spend the summer chasing monster redfish in the Louisiana marsh, I finally did it!!

Although I've spent many days, even weeks at a time, fishing Louisiana in the past, it was always time spent preparing and/or practicing for elite-level tournaments series targeting slot-size fish -- lots of pressure, lots of competition and lots of money on the line!!

Despite all the demands that came with fishing for $50,000, $75,000 or even $100,000, I can honestly say that those were the best times of my professional life! Maybe it was the money, maybe it was the recognition, maybe it was the boat racin'? 

Nah!

When it came right down to it, it was always far less selfish than that - far more personal -- It was the the challenge of chasing fish in unfamiliar waters and the rewards associated with earning the respect of your fellow competitors!!

For years, I tried to articulate those very feelings to my clients, but I knew few of them would ever really understand if they didn't experience this magical marsh for themselves!

Now, with this new chapter in my life I was finally able to share it with them!!

As anyone who knows me me will attest, I never do anything half-ass!! So, it took me a little while to get the wheels turning.

But, what an operation it was!!

Starting with the purchase of a brand new 40-ft. Jayco Eagle travel trailer back in late May, my plan was finally starting to come together.

Next, I had to convince a few of my best clients to commit to fishing out of their comfort zone as well!!

"Louisiana," asked Gary Newgent, a client of over 20 years!!??

"Yep," I said!!

Through the years, Gary, who, unlike most of my clients is actually an expert plug fisherman, not a fly fisherman, has become one of my closest friends and best clients.

I explained that we'd be chasing monster redfish with topwater plugs and before I could finish my pitch, he exclaimed, "I'm in!!"

Like Gary, it didn't take much convincing to get a handful of my other clients to commit to coming to Venice for a few days of incredible fishing in August either!!

As you can see, Gary was just as gifted at teasing up big reds in the marsh as he is at caching monster snook in the Glades!!

About 10 days and 200 fish later, Jim Truchan and his wife, Helen, a favorite pair of my fly fishing clients, arrived at the Lighthouse Inn in Boothville!!

Jim and Helen had been trying to make the trip to Venice for years, but for one reason or another were never able to complete their journey!

As the photos clearly illustrate, our three-day trip was a big success!!

Despite two of the days offering up less than favorable fly fishing conditions, Jim landed several fish in the 20- 30 lb. class and Helen, not to be out                   fished,  boated several big cane cruisers of her own and a very respectable bull which nearly bottomed out the boga at 24 lbs!!!

What a trip!!

What an experience!!

Day after day, I had the pleasure of seeing my clients smile from ear to ear, literally laughing as they caught giant fish after after giant fish!!

Too many days of total mayhem to recount them all here, but I wanted to take a minute to thank all my clients for being the best a guide could ask for!!

Looks like the book is already almost full for next summer!!

I hope a few of you will help round out the Louisiana redfish season in style next year!!

Until then, I'll see you guys back home in the Glades in early October!!

Now it's off to Hilton Head to try try to solve the puzzle of the none foot tide!!!

Ha!!

Your Guide,
Bill Faulkner
Naples, Florida
0 Comments

Daiwa Tatula SV TW

10/16/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​New Tatula SV TW arrived today!!! Watched my boy Chris Wittman literally cast the line off of this reel at ICAST!! This reel outperforms other $700 baitcasters I've owned for around $200 retail!!! Tolerances tighter than a Swiss wristwatch!!! #daiwausa #tatulasvtw #daiwasamuraibraid
0 Comments

    Capt. Bill

    Check back often for the latest area fishing report, product reviews and industry events.

    Archives

    January 2020
    September 2019
    October 2017

    Categories

    All
    Daiwa
    Louisiana Redfish On Fly
    Redfish
    Venice Louisiana

    RSS Feed

Picture

Site Map

Home
Capt. Bill
Rates
Vessel
Photos
 Fishing Reports
Contact
Questions?
E-mail Capt. Bill
Call
(239) 994-8600

Helpful Information

Places to Stay
Shopping & Dining
Directions

Website by Mellowfish Media
© Copyright 2018. Gulf Coast Guide Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • HOME
  • CAPT. BILL
  • TRIP INFO
    • RATES
    • VESSEL
    • LODGING
    • DIRECTIONS
  • PHOTOS
  • REPORTS
  • CONTACT