Fishin Franks Blog

There are plenty of Balck Drum arounf the 41 bridges right now, Fish on the bottom with shrimp, or crabs. Black drum cruise along looking for food laying on the bottom. Very seldom will they come up for food. Many there in the fifty pound range.

Fishin Franks Itr is the Crabs on the move which bring out the drum.. If you can catch a couple extras. you might try crushing them and dropping them in the water at your feet like chum.

Donald Graves My 65 pound plus drum from lashley pier was at night on full blue crab. Fished there last night sugar trouts, ladyfish, one lonesome catfish. There were quite a few crabs drifting by with the tide

Fishin Franks One of my favortie things is when I get someone out night fishin for the first time, I take them back into PGI and those big Drum lay up right under the boat I tell them it is the ghost of Fish past angry with me for catching so many , Like you say the boat shake and at night it is an errrie sound when they drum
Mike Ploskina is it a night bite Frank? good on the bright moon? Use to catch em that way with whole surf clam. you will know they are coming when stuff in the boat starts rattlin

C.j. Hunsicker
how about snook?

Fishin Franks I have heard of Snook from the Peace irver all the way to the beaches, any spot where you ever caught a snook should have them now. but you need to cast net some greenies to get the bite on. They are just not that interested in shrimp right now

looks like we get to go out on the boat today. It’s a deack boat so we don’t go out TOO far. any ideas where the best place would be to drop a line and get something better than cats? really want something with a good fight in it. thx
My answer
Fishin Franks I would go to the east side, idle up to the bar with your motor down, when the motoe bumps bottom, shut off the engine. cast your bait towards the shallower water, “towards the bar” then let the boat drift back toward open water. a shrimp on a hook with just a split shot shoudl be good for some Bonnets & Trout

Linda C. Yes, Cody C. fished the wall on Thursday and landed 7 slot reds. So everyone go fish it can make a bad day good

Frank,

Had to write to complement you on a great website and store. As a recently retired 30 yr. tackle rep from the upper midwest, your site provides tons of info for someone new to the saltwater scene and the locale.

Keep up the good work and KUDOS to you and your staff for providing such useful fishing info! I’m at your website daily.

Bob from MN

Hi Frank,

Just wanted to drop you a line to say, “Thank you!” Ava was so excited when she pulled in her huge sheephead. We started home and she asked, “Momma, can I bring it to Fishin’ Franks? Do you think he’d like to see it?” I said “Sure. That’s what Fishin Frank’s for.”

She was soo excited – because you are her al time, living “idol.” She lives and breaths “FISH!” — and the chance to show “you” — she just couldn’t wait. She jumped out of the car, got her fish out of the livewell and flew in to see you.

Just wanted to tell you “Thank you!” You were so “nice” and she was just “tickled” to get to show you. She was “dancing” in the back parking lot after she got to talk to you.

So thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It people like you that make ALL the DIFFERENCE in a kids WORLD. She’s only “11″ – and everyone always thinks she’s older. You’re just GREAT. That’s why your so loved.

ps. if you could, can you forward a pic to me of the sheephead – Ava would be so tickled to have a FISHIN FRANK PHOTO of her sheephead.

Thanks, again!

Sam, Patti, and Ava

Ava is quite anangler & this is proof, I am going to have to get on my game
If I am going to keep up to Ava, Congrats Ava beautiful Fish.
Frank

West side wall and west point of Tippecanoe Bay a few keeper specs, some smalls and small sand trout, ladyfish med size 12-28″. North side Tippecanoe in the mangroves small reds and small snook. Myakka Cutoff West entrance some tailing reds very spooky and shallow lots of mullet and horseshoe crabs. 1/28/12
William K.

Bill Scully
Report from Saturday:
3-5 miles out of Gasparilla Pass – keeper sheepshead & silver trout; 10am-1pm
ICW from Stump Pass to Lemon Bay bridge, nothing; 1pm-330pm
El Jobean bridge – lots of sugar trout, ladys and short mangos from 4-6pm

Rob R. sent this pic to us, he had a great time fishing the insde of Boca. that is the Placida tressel on the left.

Barb caught this Gag while we were out looking for fish. I am not sure if this is a bad fish, But it was a fun fish.

Not all fish are going to be big, but they can all be fun.

Ron’s first fish of the day, Red fish will bring a smaile every time

Mike PloskinaFishin Franks
75-80 ft ledge , also some shorts and a 33″ gag ; not many boats out today 6 ft rollers turned a bit steeper at the end of the day

Great day of fishing in Boca Grande. Caught 3 reds all over the slot. Biggest was close to 33″. Lots of Sheepies even got one that was close to 19″

I live im michigan and took vacation to go fishing with my parents in October 2011. My dad told me we would goto fishing franks to find out how and were to find the fish when I got there. Just wanted to say thanks again for putting us on the fish. I booked a flight for Jan 27, 2012, yup this friday. The first place im stopping when i get off the plane is Fishing Franks. I cant wait to catch more big fish like these.

Gary Gilman JR

Frank: just a brief note to let you know what a terrific job Robert at the Burnt Store Anglers meeting.

What a great ambassador Frank is not only for the store, but for outdoor activites for all of southwest Florida. I enjoyed his comments, learned several new things and made the decision to drive a little further to become more of a regular customer at your store.

Thanks again David Haydon

A word of thanks.
Most people who come in see the Jars on the counter, which state for the care & feeding & welfare of the animals behind the counter.
( “like the one you are talking to” )
into which people sometimes drop in a little appreciation of the help or extra time someone has spent with them.
This is put back into a kind of general pot, with the idea that once a year we all get together to do something “cool” / fun together, in years past We have gone on over night fishing trips or had a night at a nice Restaurant, something to get all of us in one place which is not work. I think it is called partying .
We have not had time to get us all together to do something, So there it has sat growing a little at a time. It usually is not enough to cover all of the expenses of what we are doing, But it is enough to make it affordable So we can do something a little extra cool every once in a while.
Recently we Had all started talking about what we should do. maybe another fishing trip.
However recently Big Greg, was told he had cancer and now needs to go out of town for treatments. Fuel and every thing is very expensive,  But he is one of us. We talked about it and they all said without blinking an eye, to use it for Greg’s treatment expenses.
So if you were wondering, what happened to your generosity,
It is going to make this horrible thing maybe a little easier for one of our own.
So it really is for the welfare, care and feeding of one of our larger animals.
We wish you the best Greg. Be well.
, Thank you all for thinking of us and helping us make life a little better for Him. just thought you should know.  
Frank & the entire Pirate Crew
 

Sunday was a beautiful day on the water. The weather was perfect, the water was flat and I was able to run down to Bull Bay to fish. There are plenty of trout in Bull Bay, but you will be picking through the little guys to find the keepers. There are also plenty of reds and sheephead in there too.

There was whitebait on the deep side of the entrance to Bull Bay but I didn’t stop to throw the net. I was skeptical that anything inside would eat it. There are also plenty of whitebait on top of the Alligator Creek Reef (Old 41 Bridge Reef). Just remember that this isn’t a place to let your net sink. Throw it and start retrieving immediately.

I mention the whitebait for two reasons. 1, it’s an indicator that our water temperature is still unseasonably high and 2, don’t let it fool you. Don’t rush out and fill your livewell because chances are nothing is going to eat it. The one place that it will work is the San Souce tressle. There are plenty of snook and nice snapper up there that will pound those greenbacks. But if you’re heading offshore I would definately consider stopping and getting some for both bait and fresh chum.

Amanda Boley
Here is a picture of a gag grouper my daughter caught 14 miles offshore today on her new pink pole she got at Fishin Franks. Beautiful day to be out on the water and not a bad way to break in her new pole!

Weekend report: Saturday – Lots of rat reds among the mangroves near Charlotte Beach boat ramp, a few mixed trout all 12-14″ers, even an oddball 12″ sheepshead. Lady-fish-a-plenty in the boat channel at Alligator bay. Sunday – over 30 Whiting landed from near the El Jobean bridge. All on shrimp. Back to work tomorrow, back to fishing next weekend.
Bill Scullu

Our newest Captain is Mike.
Mike is going to be doing eco tours, And nature tours on the Peace river. As well as Fishin Charters.
ConGrats Mike opps sorry Capt. Mike well done.

More on mike when the boat is ready and we start to shceudle tours * trips

there are 18 seats left for tuesday meeting at luigi’s restarant which the topic again will be the life and times of a shrimp and demonsrations on how to hook a shrimp, featureing Live shrimp
This tues Jan 17th 6:30 pm at luigi’s

Last night at Luigi’s Port Charlotte meeting of the Fishin Club due to fire codes we hit max capacity. So we had to turn down 20 something people we are now calling them so they can have reserved seating at an encore meeting, this Tuesday 6:30 pm at luigis. We will be covering the same topic about shrimp, how to hook them, how to keep them alive, or if you should, and much more. Capt Cayle. will be giving the fishin report. and Both Cayle & Myself Fishin Frank will be giving the seminar. If you would like to jion us call the store we have 20 seats left and there is no fees. Any way Sorry if we had to turn you away, I hope to see you there Tuesday night.

The fishing seminar went great last night in my humble opinion. I do want to apologize for those that we had to turn away because the room was at capacity. For those of you who missed it or had to be turned away, we will be redoing the seminar on Tuesday, January 17th at 6:30 at Luigi’s.

You wouldn’t think there are that many ways to rig a shrimp but you will learn a ton of new ways to do so and, most importantly, why. Remember, bait presentation is important and different rigs will give you different presentations.

Yes the rain and the colder, maybe cooler temps are on the way, but this is what we need to keep the fishin, so good with out cool water, we lose the Trout , and sevaeral other species of fish to the cooler waters of the gulf. with this cold spell it will bring the fish even more up into the Harbor looking for the warmer waters of the canals and sunning themselves on the flats during the mid day.
Fishing will slow down for the next day but by Fri or Saturday get ready because the bite will be on. Great fishing forcast for the weekend. Sorry to say this is just what we needed.

Frank: just a brief note to let you know what a terrific job Robert at the Burnt Store Anglers meeting.

What a great ambassador Frank is not only for the store, but for outdoor activites for all of southwest Florida. I enjoyed his comments, learned several new things and made the decision to drive a little further to become more of a regular customer at your store.

Thanks again David Haydon

Amber Jack, out in 40 feet of water provideing enertanment for the off shore guys

whiting, at the 41 bridge, I-75, and out by the 1 mile reef off aligator creek.
half of a shrimp #4 hook On a slip sinker rig, on the bottom . this should get you a tasty meal. Whiting do not bite as well if you use whole live shrimp. you will catch more with pieces.
Just a little info the real name of a whiting is Southern King fish. easy to i-d they have a single barble under thier chin, gary in color

Today we hit the 41 bridge in both the morning and afternoon. This morning we caught a 12 pound black drum at the bridge. We then moved on to the Alligator Reef. The Sheephead are starting to pile up on the reef, however they’re moving in pairs.

Sheephead breed in February through April so they’re starting to pair up to start their mating ritual. Unfortunetly, sometimes they’ll simply ignore your bait until they’re set and ready to eat when they’re paired up. But the good news is that they’re hitting the reef in better numbers.

The 41 bridge in the afternoon brought a few trout to the boat. I’m sure the redfish are still on fire as they were yesterday, however we were in a deep draft boat.

Lots of Reds biting this cool water has truned on the fish, they are eating, Sea Trout, Sheep head are the others I have heard great stories about,
Capt Cayle is so busy with his Habpr introduction tours he is almost missing the Fun but he dose stop and fish while on these tours,
What a great time this week is going to be if the fronts hold off through the next week and it looks like they might.
Here is my majic 8 ball predictions. This is going to be the best week for fishing water temps air temps this is it, try to get our before the next front hits. I am calling this week a WOW .

Here in a few hours I’ll be heading out onto Charlotte Harbor to do a Harbor Tour. Some of you may not realize this, but I do several different adventures out into the Charlotte Harbor on your boat for much cheaper rates. I have one instructional tour, one instructional fishing trip and one fishing trip.

These trips are aimed at those that are new to boating, new to fishing, or are new to the area and just can’t figure out the fishing down here. These trips are done on your boat, not mine, and are priced at $150 for half day (4-6 hours) and $250 for a full day (7-9) hours. You provide the boat, the fuel, your own tackle and bait.

The Harbor Tour is exactly that. We take a tour of the harbor and its estuaries. I show you how to navigate safely, show you danger areas, landmarks, points of interest, where you can get fuel, food, or out of the weather and also get you a step ahead of all the common mistakes people that are new here make out on the water.

I also have two fishing excursions that have become known as “Give a man a fish” and “Teach a man to fish”. They are based on the age old adage of “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats forever.”.

The “Give a man a fish” trip is similar to a charter on my boat. We just get on your boat and catch fish. You don’t learn much so it’s aimed at those visiting the area or those that normally don’t fish with family down that just simply want to go catch fish.

The “Teach a man to fish” trip is fishing instruction. It is aimed at those that want to learn how to fish Charlotte Harbor. The goal on this trip isn’t to catch fish, although every one that we do catch is a bonus. The goal is to give you the basics, fishing 101 if you will, of successful fishing down here. I teach you what tackle to use, how to use it, how to rig it and how to fish the topography and geography of Charlotte Harbor. I can also help guide you with outfitting your boat and also help you with your electronics.

So if you’re looking to learn more about Charlotte Harbor and fishing this area stop down at Fishin’ Frank’s or give me a call.

Capt. Cayle Wills of Bad Fish Charters
www.reelbadfish.com
capt.cayle@reelbadfish.com
941-916-4538

Well I guess the fish were not toobothered by the cold, reports of Reds biting up on the Peace river. it has been slow in here with this cold but the sun is shinng and people are strating to stir around, whiting at the 41 bridge is doing well oeices of shrimp on the bottom. thats all I heard today so far.

We all have an image of ourselves, how we see ourselves and how we perceive The way others see us.
As for me I have been knocked down, broke, failed, and sometimes even, fishless, So for all my successes I know I am far from perfect.
Every once in a while there are reminders of why I need to keep trying to improve my sometimes bad attitude, and control my temper, and be a better person.
It is my alter ego, the public face of Fishin Frank, WHo is a very big celerity frog in a rather tiny little pond.
The thing which started me writing this is that, kids don’t understand that.
To them I am a pro angler, the fishin guy, A role model, someone to look up to. While hard for me to keep in mind not to mention trying to live up to, I try.
It is a very different thing when some young kids come up to me when I am shopping, or out somewhere and they have that wide eye look  “That’s “Fishin Frank” the excitement in their face, most are too shy to really say anything they just bary get out a quiet Hi Fishin Frank, I try to say Hi and ask how their fishing trips went. It can be hard
especially when in my head I am just Frank a guy who owns a bait Shop, then it dawns on me. I guess somethings like “Fishin Frank” make better myths and ledgends, than the real guy himself.

I guess I just wanted to say thanks to the parents who let their little one’s ride their bikes here, and wait in the cars while their child comes in to buy their bait on their own the first time. buying something buy them selves. This is a trust I do not take lightly, and each day I try to be worthy of that, becasue it is a big thing, to the little one, makeing a start on growing up and to all of us here, who know how hard it is for you to wait in the car, while they walk through that door with out you.
Thank you for letting us be such a part of your lives, and for makeing me Fishin Frank
I may not have explained myself right, again I am a work in progress, but from everyone here at Fishin Franks the staff, the Captains, Have a Happy New Year.
Frank

Well I made it in, Tired, a little hung over, but hey not grouchy, just a little fuzzy around the edges. Lots of people going fishing, Red fish seems to be the target fish, the reds have been biting better later in the after noon, once the sun has warmed the water up a bit.
Shrimp under a clacker float if you are fishing the open bars.
But if you are looking by the mangroves it is better to free line a tail hooked shrimp, keep in mind if you tail hook, count to 2 before setting the hook.
Happy New Year

this was the year Love lure tandems came back not that they went anywhere, but all things old are new again every once in a while.
A lot of people found out why we have been selling them to people who want to catch Trout, for over 1/4 of a century you can cast out a lovelure and Catch fish.
Start by taking them out of the pack slowly the two lures you see are connected this is a tandem rig, you are throwing two jigs at once and as you will learn you can catch two fish at once quite often.
The secret to catching lots of fish on Love lures, is how you reel in or retrive, It must hop,
Yes when you start to reel use a lifting motion with your rod keeping the rod on the same side of your head as the hand you are holding the reel.
Picture it like this the bait is chased out of the grass when you lift the rod tip. and as you lower the rod tip the bait is going back to hide in the grass.
So chased out of the grass , & diving back to the grass, repeat
The best color to use is the one that’s working but If I was buying my first Love lure it would be white or red/pink those are the two tried and true colors although often for a while here and there the other colors will do much better, But it always comes back to the white or red. I cant explain it I only know it is true.

There were a few changes in 2011 one big one to the world of frog lure for bass. Live target came out with the most realalistic frog I have ever seen. this year it has become a favortie of the bass guy fishing ponds or lake, It has not really been a canal thing but we will see what this year brings.
before you cast the Live target take a second to sray some bait mate oil on the bottom side of the lure, not for the scent but to make it slick. so it will slide from one lily pad or plant to plant. Cast it out when it hits the water, Shake the end of your rod, once the lure has apperaded back on the surface, whe it hits the water it could be anything but when you wiggle it Now it is alive, Yes igor It IS ALIVE , . when you retrive it do so in small pulls then just shale the rod again, if you ever watched a frog they will move a little then stop and hang there perfectly still. this is Very verry important to remmeber that stop is as big a movment as go. work the Live target across the top of the heavy cover and wait for that monster bucket mouth to explode on it.
This is not a numbers lure, this is how big can I get lure,

These Grouper seem to like eating bathing siut tops
While a strange diet for most fish these seem to grow
Quite large. White & yellow swim suit tops seem to be what they like best

Black Grouper pictures here has a more defined ring pattern to it’s spots and is a little darker in Color. They seldom found in Chrlotte Harbor Black grouper are usally a deeper water 30 foot or more not common in shallow waters in our part of the gulf.

This is a Gag grouper common in Charlotte Habor and the near shore reefs in the Gulf. The Gag has less defined spots on it’s sides and usally is a little lighter in color.