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Sarasota
    Happy Halloween, I hope all is well with everyone. Let me start by saying this has been a very strange fall season, but good. The fish have been doing really well when you get on them and for some reason we started to have our winter tides almost 2 months early this year. I still haven't figured out why that is, but they also moved daylight savings time back as well. I really don't know exactly what this all means but apparently the fish are onto it as well. It took me a few days to figure out that the fish were in their winter time places or close to them and once I figured that out it has been game on ever since. I really don't think it will be a cold winter like we have had the past couple of years and this is fine with me. However, it is still Mother Nature and just when we think we have it all figured out she throws us a curve ball and we have to rethink everything. As for the fishing it has been just as different. I have been sitting in one spot on the low tides and getting snook, trout, reds, flounder, and grouper all out of the same spot. I know this is rare but the action has been great with double and triple hook ups for several hours just about every day. Most of the trout I have been getting have been over the 20'' size and all the way up to 28 1/2". We have been picking up the rest of our limit in other places as we fish the rest of the day. The red fish have been really great action with most of them averaging anywhere from about 10" all the way up to 30". It is not unusual for me to have 5 or 6 of them laying on the floor or in the live well waiting to toss them back when a bigger one comes to the boat. We have had our limit on these as well just about every day that I can remember. Now here is the really great news, you wouldn't believe the snook I am seeing out there and not only the numbers but the size of these fish. It is such a relief to see this after two years of freezing temps. throughout the winter. After loosing as many snook as we did two years ago I didn't know if we would ever see them really come back and especially this soon. If you remember back after the fish kill I said that a couple of friends of mine, that don't know each other , both told me that during the cold weather that killed so many fish they were diving in about 50' of water off shore and said you would not believe the snook out there. Well I guess they weren't fibbing and now it seems these fish are coming back in this year just like they have year after year until the past two years. This is really great news for a couple of reasons, one being the fact that the fish kill may not have been as bad as we all had thought and two this should make for a great comeback for the rest of this year and even better this coming spring. They won't be open for harvest until next fall but who can complain about going out and having a high number day catching snook of all sizes. They have already been chewing good and we have been catching them on every trip. There is one spot that I have been fishing that is usually great for nice size trout and they are there but the snook are so active that we catch more snook than trout. This is something that I don't think I have ever seen before as the trout are so aggressive that they usually beat any other fish to the bait but not at this spot. We have been catching more snook there than trout and that is hard to complain about. There have also been several Spanish mackerel being caught on a daily basis just fishing for other stuff around deep grass and moving water. The kings have started to show up but we still haven't seen the big push of them heading south just yet. Grouper are also doing really good both off shore in about 45' of water for the gags as well in the bay itself. We will be able to keep these fish until the 15th of Nov. So I am taking every opportunity I get to go do some grouper digging and most days it has paid off. I do believe that we have not seen our best fall bite yet but I think the conditions are right for it to happen just about any day now and as good as the fishing is right now it will be hard to decide on what fish to go after. My answer to this is to go after them all! As things start to change more I will let you know and until then I hope to see you soon. Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Capt. Shawn Crawford
941-747-3856
www.captainshawn.com

Boat Name: Andros 26' Tarpon
Boat Equipment: Capt. Shawn has been in the buisness long enough to have some top name promoters so you can rest knowing you will be using the best equipment available like Shimano, Power Pro, Suzuki, Costa Del Mar, and many more.

About Us!
Capt. Shawn Crawford is a fifth generation native and has been guideing in these waters for over 15 years full time. Capt. Shawn offers everything from nearshore to back country trips for just about everything that swims. Make sure to only book with a 100% full time guide for your next fishing adventure. We can fish 1-4 people per boat and can set up multipul boats if needed. We can provide accomadations for one person to as many as you have in your party. We also have gift certificates for that special someone for their birthday, Christmas, or for whatever reason. Check out photos and compare for yourself.