Captain Skip's Fox Sport Fishing Blog

May Highlights in Pictures

2015-06-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Fred Sr. and Fred Junior release a Tarpon in early May. Diablo 750 spin reel and an 8 foot Sailfish Trek rod were used to make multiple catches on this afternoon trip

Fishing in April with Fox Sportfishing Tackle

2015-05-29T02:44:00.000-07:00

My clients loved using Diablo spinning reels and Trek Travel Rods

Here are just a few pictures

17 year old Sallie Wiggington released 7 Tarpon in 2 days of fishing

besides the great Tarpon bite plenty of big Crevalle Jacks are making for some big pulls

heres Butch Richards with a tasty Triple Tail

Charlie Magidson did an outstanding job of angling on this large Tarpon.

Charlie puts the heat to a Shark using the Rage rod and Diablo 350 combo

Deb Riolo catching another Tarpon while Rich films

Deb Riolo got a great jump from this Tarpon

Sallie Wiggington uses the 8' sailfish trek rod and diablo 750

nice jumper

Jeffrey Thompson and wife Christine and 2 great days of Tarpon angling

Kevin gets a beautiful jump

Kevin made the trip to the keys from Nova Scotia hoping to catch a Tarpon. He released 8 in 3 days

Kristine Thompson used the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo on this huge Tarpon

Lesli Rogers keeps the pressure on this beauty

Lesli Rogers tames another Tarpon

Lonny Barco with a fine Snook

Lonnie Barco enjoyed catching this Tarpon

Mark from Nova Scotia battles a nice Tarpon

Matt Humwick had a big day releasing 5 Tarpon

Matt used Diablo spin reels and Trek travel rods for his catches

this was Matts biggest Tarpon

Christine Thompson caught this huge Tarpon and is teaching her unborn child to fish

Paul Magidson catching his
Tarpon

Rachel Ducat really liked Tarpon fishing with
Fox Sport Fishing tackle

Ray and Steve Rogers enjoyed red hot Snook fishing

Ray Rogers got an incredible jump out of this Tarpon

Ray with another jumper

Ray Rogers released this huge Mangrove Snapper for breeding stock
he caught it using the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Ray loved catching this Crevalle Jack on the
Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Sallies dad Ben releases her Tarpon
she used the Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spin reel

Scott Barco used Rage ultralight rods and Diablo 350
spin reels to catch a bunch of Snook

Snooking was really good for Scott Barco

Stanley McJunkin catching a jumping Tarpon

Stanley and Keving tag teamed this Spinner Shark

Steve Rogers released this impressive Snook
he used the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Steve released this large Redfish using the
Rage ultralight rod fitted with a Diablo 350 spin reel

Rich Debbie and Rachel are having Tripletail for dinner

they can't all be Tarpon
young Cole did a great job landing this Stingray

Wendy and Tom Sims limited out on big Mangrove Snappers
using the ultralight Rage rods and Diablo 350 spinning reels

Kevin released this Permit

Tarpon Season in full swing

2015-04-09T03:48:00.004-07:00

The weather cooperated and Tarpon fishing continued to be spectacular.

Folks ask me when is the best time for Tarpon fishing. I say March and April, but it all depends on the weather. This last 2 weeks of March it all came together. Lots of slick calm days which is a rarity in the springtime.

Tarpon migrated in from the gulf of Mexico and swarmed into the area. The bridge channels, the banks, the lakes and many channels through-out the back country. Water temps were up lto 78 degrees 2 days ago.

Now we have a little setback, a late season cold front dropped the water temp into the mid 60's in the last 2 days. But the Tarpon are here and this will be a minor slowdown in the action.

Here is a run down of what we have been catching on our www.foxsportfishing.com tackle.

March 21 and 22 I had brothers Jim and Paul Magidson. They released 8 Tarpon in the 2 days including 2 double headers. Jim also released 2 Hammerhead sharks. Plenty of action with Mangrove snappers as well after the tides became unfavorable for tarpon fishing.

Jim and Paul Magidson fight a double of Tarpon

another jumper for Paul

Jim Magidson enjoyed this Tarpon

Jim Magidson released 2 Hammerhead sharks. btw..
I do not recommend putting this much bend in you fishing rod please

Jim Magidson's Tarpon

Mugshot

nice leaper for Paul

March 23, 24 I had Ray Rogers and his son Jeff and grandson Harry. Harry is only 14 years old but managed 2 estimated 140lb Tarpon. Jeff release 2 Tarpon as well. They also had some very good light tackle action using Rage spinning rods fitted with Fox Diablo 350 spin reels. Grouper, snapper, ladyfish, spanish mackerel, and seatrout were in the mix.

3 generations of Rogers. Ray,Jeff and Harry

Harry's first Tarpon putting on a show.
The 8' sailfish trek 4 piece rod does an incredible job

Harry Rogers first Tarpon

Jeff keeps on eye on son Harry. His 2nd big Tarpon in 2 days

March 25 we did an afternoon/sunset trip with our good friends Dick and Marilyn Alt. She caught her very first Tarpon and was delighted to say the least.

Dick Alt was thrilled to watch Marylin catch her first ever Tarpon

March 26 I had Pete Rose and friend Barry, the duo had an action packed day of fishing the backcountry releasing 4 Tarpon and jumping off 6 more. Many sharks as well.

Pete Rose and good friend Barry released 4 Tarpon and
jumped another 5 off using the Fox Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combos

March 27 it was windy prefrontal conditions. Jim Riscky and Kenny Russell had incredible action.
On the way out to the backcountry I saw a large school of mullet getting blasted by Tarpon. 1 toss of the castnet and we had 30 livies and 40 more for dead bait. It was a sign to stay close to home even though the backcountry had been very good. With an outgoing tide the friends released 7 Tarpon and had LOTS of fish blowing up on the live mullet. By sunset it was blowing from the northwest at 25mph.

Kenny Russell and Jim Riscky used Sailfish Trek Rods and
Diablo 750 spinning reels to release 7 Tarpon this day

Next morning with the same crew and cold winds we ducked behind some keys and caught mangrove snapper for dinner and Jim released a large Redfish. This was quite a catch. Jim was using the Rage spinning rod fitted with a Diablo 350 spin reel and 10lb braid. Putting the rod tip under water he was able to work the large fish out from under the mangrove roots. On the way back we soaked some dead mullet on the bottom and Jim(his birthday today) hooked a 100lb Tarpon and released it after a 30 minute battle..

I went back out yesterday afternoon with Bryce Henderson from Great Britain. Even though it was cool Bryce hooked and released a Tarpon estimated at 130lbs. Bryce will be fishing the next 4 afternoons and the forecast is to warm up. I'm sure the Poons will be back on the feed.
Yesterday afternoon Bryce and I went back out. We found a nice school of mullet which we castnetted. Then we tried 6 different spots right up until sunset. We had 1 sharkbite and never raised a Tarpon to our live mullet. Water temp had dropped to 70 degrees overnight. So today we are giving it a rest. Tomorrow afternoon Bryce will give them another go.

We have caught all the Tarpon this March using Fox Sport Fishing 8 foot long , 4 piece travel,trek rods. These long rods are wonderful for Tarpon fishing as they give the angler a long reach over the poling platform and motor and also for those quick runs around the bow of the boat.. These long rods have saved countless tarpon for my guests.

And for the spinning reels I use. Diablo 750's. The toughest most dependable reels I have ever used. For casting lures to Tarpon or crabs I like the Permit Trek rod fitted with the Diablo 550.

captain skip nielsen

big Redfish surprise while snapper fishing with Rage
Diablo light tackle combo for Jim and Kenny

Bryce gets a beautiful winter sky jumping Tarpon memory

Bryce got into a good fish before the water temp dropped

Bryce Henderson makes the journey from Great Britain every
year to Tarpon fish with his Diablo 750 Sailfish Trek combo

Jim Riscky battling a Tarpon on a windy cold day.
water temp was still warm. It was Jim's birthday present along
with his big Redfish

on day 2 a strong cold front rolled thru so we found a lee out of the wind

young Harry loved catching big Ladyfish on the light tackle

the Tarpon bite was on for Pete Rose

Ray Rogers caught this Red Grouper .
what a battle on an ultralight Rage rod fitted with a Diablo 350 spin reel

Kenny has his own style of Tarpon fishing posture.
They were biting for Capt. Johansen as well on this awesome morning bite

major air for one of Jim Riscky's Poons

nice work Kenny

one of Kenny's fish getting some air

Jeff Rogers released this Gag Grouper he caught while
jigging for snappers on the Rage rod

Happiness is catching your very first Tarpon

close up of Jim's hi jumper

Classic... Marylin Alt catching her Tarpon. picnic
foreground, sunset memories

one of Jim's Hammers

Paul and Jim Magidson timed their fishing trip perfectly

Ray Rogers using Rage light rods and Diablo 350 spin reels for great action

slick calm weather really brought in the Tarpon

With calm winds fishing has been off the chart.

2015-03-30T01:34:00.006-07:00

Large schools of Tarpon have been moving in from the Gulf of Mexico this past week. Everthing has been biting this week and my guests have all had a great time.

On March 12th I had the a family from New York. Craig and son , Wil and mom , Jodi...... They had a great time catching a variety of fish on the Rage rods including Sea trout, Lady fish, Crevalle Jacks, Pompano and Mangrove Snapper. We moved over to a nearby channel and Jodi hooked up to a big Tarpon, her first one, what a battle. Son Wil did the wiring and release...

On March 13 my longtime friend and fishing client since the mid 70's joined me for a day along with his granddaughter Kim . It was not our day for Tarpon but Kim did catch some large Lemon sharks and lots of Snapper, Pompano.

The next couple days we were able to take advantage of the calm weather and fish the wrecks out in the gulf of Mexico.

Hugh Miller and his son Barr and friend Jake got their arms stretched out by Goliath Grouper, Bull sharks Cobia and Permit and Crevalle Jacks. We used Fox 4 piece Trek Boatrods XT. What an unbelievable rod. Using a top shot of 100lb test line we have not broken this rod yet.

On the 17th I had Dick Alt and son Ken out. We were on our way to a wreck in the gulf when I spotted free jumping Tarpons. We positioned ourselves up current and cast black worm lures on Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels. The boys hooked and landed 3 Tarpon and jumped 8. We finished with some Bull sharks at the wreck and Ken released a nice Permit .

18th I had Jeff Henry and sons. Back out in the gulf it was Sharknado. Tarpon were jumping everywhere but we only hooked one. Big Bull sharks wore the boys out. We finished with a big Goliath Grouper.

Finally on the 19th I did a special canoe trip deep into the Everglades with my good friend Doctor Hugh Dennis. Solitude, no boats and lots of fish and just a few bugs. Crocodiles were plentiful Dr. Hugh had great day. Using Rage spin tackle and Diablo 350 spin reel he released 13 Snook and 3 Tarpon.

Fishing is pretty darn good lately.

Captain Skip Nielsen

smaller Tarpon on Rage ultralight rod and Diablo 350

ken and dick alt hooked 8 tarpon and landed 3 all over 100 lbs
using Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels

Kim at Sandy Key fighting big Lemon Shark

look at the bend in that rod. Dr. Hugh Dennis caught 13 snook and 3 tarpon

Dick Alt with a Redfish

Jodi's son, Will, wires her Tarpon, while Craig videos the action

Silver King at the boat

George Witts has fished with me since the mid 70's. that was my offshore boat

Billy Kilgore caught this Gag Grouper
using Diablo 350 spin reel and Rage rods.

this oversize Pompano was a great fighter on the Rage Diablo 350 combo

Bull Shark cried Uncle. The Trek Boatrod XT
and EOS 30 Trolling reel did the job

Hugh Miller caught this Cobia, It was following a Bull Shark. light tackle

Bar Miller with his Permit on the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550

lots and lots of Bull Sharks in the Gulf now

double header of Goliath Grouper for Jake and Bar Miller.
4 piece Boat Rods XT can handle it all

Hugh Miller with his Goliath.

Dick Alt is hooked up to a sightfished
Tarpon using the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Ken Alt freelined a shrimp back to this Permit. and he
used the Permit Trek Diablo 550 for the catch and release

one of many jumping Tarpon

here is young Jeff Henry doing battle with
a Bull Shark while Dad keeps ahold of him

Jeff got a release on a big Bull

It's Tarpon Time Again!

2015-03-19T04:12:00.004-07:00

Its Springtime in the Keys and Tarpon are beginning to show. Plenty of windy weather is holding them back a little but if you put your time in you will get a shot or two.

This past week we have hooked Tarpon on every trip...

Yesterday I had Dick Alt and he made me proud. At 77 years old Dick is in great shape and fought a huge Tarpon for over 2 hours.We had the leader many times but Dick wanted to get it alongside the boat for a pic. After an hour the big fish started grey hounding like the battle had just begun. Dick is a very experienced angler and has caught many Tarpon and big sharks with me in the past. He knows how to cup the spool for added drag. Finally at the 2 hour mark the fish surged one more time and went thru the leader.

We used Fox Diablo 750 spinning reels for all of our Tarpon and Sharks. When I first get a new Diablo spinning reel I take the spool off and unscrew the back plate and totally lube all the drag washers with super lube and the roller on the bail and for good measure some oil in the reel when I unscrew the handle. Once this preventative maintenance is done the reel is good for a season. These are the toughest reels around. I have never had a gear get stripped, had a handle break. Pretty amazing. I have been a charter skipper for over 40 years now and have used my share of spinning tackle.

Well here are some pictures of my guests and their fish.

Captain Skip Nielsen

up close

action

at the boat

Caroline & tarpon

Caroline's Tarpon

Dick Alt had a great day Tarpon fishing

Dick Alt had the battle of his life with this huge Tarpon

Dick Alt is a young 77 years old.
12 shark releases and a 2 hour battle with an estimated 150lb plus Tarpon

Dick Alts monster grey hounding after an hour

earlier 7 year old Austin lost a huge Tarpon
but then caught a big Lemon Shark.

Frank,Adam and Austin Eismont fighting a triple of Sharks

Joe and Caroline Millican will be back

lots of shark action in between Tarpon

Pat Quarranta had a very exciting day. first big Tarpon and a Sawfish

teeth

Pat Quarranta's Tarpon put on a show

Pat's Tarpon

Randy Soth with a big Mangrove Snapper

Fishing Report Mid February

2015-02-24T03:24:00.005-08:00

It is for sure a day to be putting together a fishing report. Its in the mid 50's outside and tonight is forecast to be the coldest day of the year. The fishing has been very good though. In fact by tomorrow afternoon it is supposed to warm up into the 70's. It won't be long before the Tarpon start showing and I'm ready for them.

In the meantime we are keeping ourselves plenty busy catching lots of Reef fish and some nice Snook and Reds in the backcountry of Everglades National Park. We took a short trip to Belize last week and I was lucky enough to release a nice Permit on my Fox fly rod. What fun to be on the front end of the boat with my own guide! My anglers have been using Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 350 spinning reels to make their catches this past week. We have also been using the Bonefish Trek 4 piece travel rod series and the Fox Rage light rods. Fishing with ultralight tackle on the reefs takes fishing to a whole new dimension. Very challenging and rewarding when you do catch a big Grouper or Barracuda.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Captain Skip Nielsen

another shot of Bruce Beardmores Black Grouper caught
using the 4 piece Bonefish Trek rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

another Snook on light tackle

battling big Barracudas on Fox Rage ultralight rods was a blast

big Barracudas on light tackle was way too much fun for Bruce

Bruce also caught and released this beautiful Nassau Grouper

Bruce Beardmore got a big Cuda using very light tackle

Carolyn Doster coaxed this Gag Grouper
out of a hole with some good angling

catch and release Grouper fishng was great fun for Jim Magidson

catching Redfish using Rage Ultralight rods
and Diablo 350 spin reels out of a canoe

Chris Gilbert landed this big Red Grouper
on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Chris Gilbert with one of his toothy critters

Cyd landed this Tarpon using the Rage Ultralight Diablo 350 combo

Cyd Nielsen completed a west coast Florida slam
by releasing Redfish, Snoook and Tarpon

even a Scorpion Fish

George Witts and brothers, Steve and Paul
had plenty of action on the reef patches

Hogfish for Paul Magidson

I used my Fox 5 piece 9 weight flyrod to catch a few Snook on fly

it was great to be on the bow flycasting to tailing
Permit, my guide Victor Garbutt holds my prize

juvenile Amberjacks were fun as well

lots of Mangrove Snapper action for Stokely and Carolyn Doster

on this perfect day Chris and Bruce really
enjoyed catching Barracuda on light tackle

outstanding patch reef catch in 20 feet of water by Bruce Beardmore

Paul Magidson and a nice Black Grouper on the
Rage ultralight Diablo 350 combo

Steve and Paul Witts

Tarpon release

this Snook gave Cyd a fit. taking her thru and under the Mangroves

uncommon catch on the patch reefs. Sheepshead

Wintertime Fishing in the Florida Keys

2015-02-02T02:36:00.000-08:00

Yes it is winter and we have been wearing windbreakers. But the fishing has been loads of fun and the variety of species to catch is staggering..

Cathy and Cliff Fox joined me for 5 days of fishing during the last 2 weeks.

Grouper season is closed so it is catch and release only but I love it. Lots of big fish to catch and all within a couple miles of the dock. Along with the Grouper were Hogfish, Porgies, Mutton Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Yellow Jacks and too many more species to mention. Just loads of great action on very light tackle.The Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 350 spinning reel is my all time favorite spinning reel. Contact me and I can get you hooked up with Diablo spinning reels. For rods we used Fox's line of Trek 4 piece travel rods. Bonefish and Permit series. Cliff's favorite rod is a Fox Rage Ultralight 2 piece . It is superstrong but very light and sensitive.

To watch Cliff battle 10lb grouper or a big snook on such a light rod is a real pleasure for me.

We spent a day way back in the Everglades. Black Drum,Snook and Redfish were biting. It was a really cool day and the Crocs were sunning on the banks. Quite the sights back there with all the birdlife as well.

On another day we got into a crazy bite of jacks,bluefish and spanish mackerel. I broke out the Fox 9 weight flyrod and Cliff and Cathy had some fun tossing flies and catching!

On our last day we fished the reef patches once again. We had seen some Permit the last 2 trips out but had not had any luck feeding them. Today finally they got a little hungry. We saw them flashing. Reflecting the sunlight off their silvery sides.

Cathy casted out a live crab and was rewarded with her first ever Permit catch. It took her 30 minutes of very careful angling to land it. Cathy used the Fox Sportfishing Permit Trek 4 piece rod and a Diablo 550 spinning reel to make the catch.

The water temperature had climbed to 71 degrees on an incoming tide and that finally got them feeding. Before that we kept getting refusals. But that is Permit fishing.
So here are some pictures of all the fun we've had the last 2 weeks here in Islamorada, Florida Keys.

Captain Skip Nielsen

10lb braid, Fox Rage rod, Diablo 350 spin reel = big Gag Grouper

75 lb Blacktip Shark hooked in the pec fin is a tough fight

battling sharks close to home

Black Drum are a winter time catch and strong fighters

Bluefish on the flyrod

catching large Grouper on light tackle takes skill and Great tackle

Cathy caught this Snook on a cool winter morning

Cathy did an expert job angling this hefty
Black Grouper on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Cathy Fox caugth and released this Black Grouper

Cliff might be having Yellowtail for dinner

Cliff releases a Red Grouper for Cathy

Cliff scores a big Snook on the light Rage rod and Diablo combo

colorful Porkfish were stealing a lot of bait

finally after 3 days of trying. Cathy Fox caught her first ever Permit
and she used a Permit trek rod and Diablo 550 spin reel

handle with care

infamous Bermuda Chub

mugshot of the day.. Lizardfish

nice going Cathy on your Permit

nice hogfish for Cathy

nice Hogfish! note the Fox Diablo 350 spinning
reel and 4 piece bonefish travel rod

on one afternoon Cathy and Cliff had loads of fun catching Yellow Jacks

one of the locals

plenty of Cero Mackerel on the patch reefs

Rainbow Parrotfish

smaller Gag Grouper were fun also

some nice Redfish were in the creeks also

Spanish Mackerel on the flyrod were fun

the bayside channels are holding lots of grouper for catch and release

the business end of a Rainbow Parrotfish

then Cliff comes right back with a bigger
Black Grouper on the Rage Ultralight Diablo combo

using the Fox Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350
spinning reel all week, Cliff had some great catches

Yellow Jack

you have to start somewhere...Cathy's first ever fish on a fly

Family fishing over the holidays

2015-01-19T03:45:00.001-08:00

December 26 thur January 4th is the busiest week of the year here in the Florida Keys. Families from all over get to spend quality time together. I had the pleasure of reuniting with many fishing friends I've made over the years. Its been wonderful to watch the kids grow up to become young adults and to see all of them enjoying my favorite pastime. Fishing!!!

We used Fox Sport Fishing rods and reels relentlessly over the holidays to catch a lot of everthing. The weather has been unseasonably warm so even a few Tarpon are in the mix. I have to say the Fox Diablo spinning reels caught all these fish and continue to be the toughest,problem free spinning reel on the market. Here are some pictures of my angling friends from the holiday period.

If you have any interest in getting your own Diablo spinning reels please email me. skipcyd@bellsouth.net

Thanks and Happy New Year

Captain Skip Nielsen

Arthur Kargen treated his grandchildren to a fishing trip

Ava caught a Pompano

Ben and Sirena with a nice Spanish Mack

Ben Cohen with one of many Macks

Ben Friedman holds a Blacktip Shark

capt Scott Bannerot releasing a huge Sawfish for his father Palmer,
they used Fox Diablo 750 spinning reels for their fishing

Corey and Gary each caught keeper Cobia using
Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 spin reels.

Corey gets a look at a Spinner Shark. Sailfish trek 4 piece travel rod
fitted with a Diablo 750 spinning reel

double header of Shark for Ben and John. we used Diablo 550 and 750's

Eli and Ava had a their hands full using
Fox ultralight rods and Diablo spinning reelss

Eli using the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 spinning reel
on a large Crevall e Jack

end of the day action was Sharks for the grandkids

Gary Adiska battling a large Lemon Shark using Diablo 750 spinning reel

great catch for 9 year old Eli. 15 minute battle

Hanna caught her share

John McWard landed this Tarpon using the Tarpon Trek rod
fitted with a Diablo 750 spin reel on December 27th

John's Tarpon put on a show

Josh with a nice Spanish

Kurtis did not release this great eating Hogfish

Liz Cohen caught the largest Snapper on this family outing

Liz Cohen caught this hefty Atlantic Blacknose Shark

Randy Soth got his New Years Eve Grouper.
Last day of the season and Randy used a Diablo 550 to
make the catch on the bayside

Scott Barkow and son Josh, enjoyed excellent
Snapper fishing at one of the bomb craters

Scott called us over to a school of Cobia that were
following the Sawfish Palmer battled

sight casting to Cobia following a huge prehistoric
Sawfish was a once in a lifetime experience for Corey and Gary Adiska

Spanish Mackerel for Ava

Yes! Blowfish do like Doritos

Variety Is The Spice Of Fishing

2015-01-16T05:04:00.000-08:00

Fishing never gets old for me. It is always different and challenging. The last couple weeks the weather has been spectacular. And the fishing options were really anything you wanted to pursue.

PGA golfer Brandt Snedeker spent an afternoon and a day fishing with me. Two years ago he had hooked a Sailfish only to see it spit the bait on the first jump. We decided to give Sailfishing a try the first afternoon. After hair hooking a couple dozen live ballyhoo for choice live bait we headed out across the reef.

Within 20 minutes we had a sail chasing the ballyhoo and Brandt hooked up. Brandt was using a Fox Sport fishing 4 piece Permit Trek rod fitted with a Fox Diablo 550 spinning reel. Little did he know the battle would go on for over 2 1/2 hours. This Sailfish would sound all the way to the bottom(at times up to 300') and after 20 minutes would come up greyhounding and tailwalking. We could never get close to the fish and back down it would go. Finally after what seemed forever Brandt had his first ever Sailfish release. He did a great job of angling as we only were using 30lb trace for leader to not break the line and hang tough for the long fight. Next day we got into schools of Dolphin fish., not large but very sporty on Bonefish Trek rods and Diablo 350 spinning reels.

On another day Tom and Wendy Sims of Miami fished with me. Along the edge of the reef we found plenty of action with King Mackerels up to 25lbs. We used Fox Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels on these big Kings. Also we did some patch reef fishing catching some Hogfish,Mutton and Mangrove Snappers .

Nick Charek and Tommy spent a day on the reef catching all sorts of variety including some really nice sized Groupers,Cero Mackerel,Hogfish and Mangrove Snappers.

A couple days ago Henry Hernandez and his son Brian spent a day with me. First we fished mangrove creeks over in the Everglades and had a great morning releasing over a dozen Snook and 5 Redfish. It was a slick calm day. We ran back into the middle of Florida Bay and chummed up a school of Spanish Mackerel. Big fun on Rage Ultralight rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels.
We finished the day fishing a small wreck keeping Mangrove snapper for dinner and releasing some tough fighting gag grouper.

Last but not least I spent yesterday with my favorite angling companion Cyd fishing for Snook using our canoe deep in the Everglades. We tied the canoe onto my skiff ,crossed Florida bay, and then launched the canoe on one of the countless creeks of the Glades backcountry. That was my Christmas present.

I cannot say enough about the Fox Sport Fishing Diablo spinning reels. They come in 3 size's. 350,550 and 750. I have been using them for over 4 years now. At the end of my typical day they get rinsed off with fresh water and once a week get sprayed with wd 40 oil. They are simply the toughest spinning reel out there .

Captain Skip Nielsen

another species of Grouper to the Keys Gag also
caught using the Diablo 350 spinning reel

Arthur Kargen calls Barracuda's Pike on steroids

Arthur Kargen used a 4 piece Bonefish Trek rod and
a Diablo 350 spinning reel to release 12 big Barracuda

Arthur loved using light tackle Bonefish Trek rods
fitted with Diablo 350's to catch his Barracudas

Brandt Snedeker spent over 2 hours battling the toughest of Sailfish
using the 4 piece Permit Trek rod fitted with a Diablo

Brian Hernandez with a nice Redfish

Christmas present for me.
Getting to go canoe fishing for Snook deep in the Glades

Henry Hernandez and son Brian released a couple dozen
Snook using Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combos

I got to have a little fun while the boys had lunch using a
Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 spinning reel

in the water release for Sned's first Sailfish

it was an up then down battle for Brandt's first ever Sailfish

Lauren Kargen did a great job of landing this 24 inch Red Grouper
using the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

nice angling by Nick Charek to muscle up this keeper Black Grouper
using a Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

the Sim's used Diablo 350 spinning reels on the Patch Reefs

Tom Sims with another nice King Makerel on the Diablo 550 spin reel

Tommy with a fine Cero Mackerel on the
Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Tommy with a great eating Hogfish

Wendy Sims made this 25lb King Mackerek catch
using the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 reel

while looking for Sailfish we got into the
schoolie Dorado's

Great Fishing Mid December

2014-12-11T03:08:00.000-08:00

Here are a mix of pictures from the last 2 weeks.

One of the highlights was having Rex Roberts and his flyfishing guide Torin spend the day with me in the backcountry. It was a slick calm day and we targetted Spanish Mackerel. Using Fox sport fishing 9 weight flyrods the duo caught over 25 mackerel, seatrout and mangrove snapper on the flyrod. After lunch the tide switched and we chummed up a herd of Spinner Sharks. Feeding them small chunks of the mackerel we brought the sharks within 10 feet of my boat. Then we casted a white fly back and watched the takes. These spinner sharks were very exciting to catch. They jump and spin. One actually cleared the air 7 times. Fox 12 weight Trek flyrods did a great job of tackling these tackle busters.

On a couple other days we carried my canoe deep into the Everglades creeks and paddle a few miles before fishing. Snook, Tarpon and Redfish and Crevalle Jacks were all fun fishing out of a 15' canoe.

Offshore there has been a good bite of Sailfish and Wahoo. The charterboat Relentless won the 3 day long Islamorada Sailfish tournament with 17 releases. The charterboat Buzz On had a 50 and an incredible 80 pound pair of Wahoo's yesterday. We all do our charterfishing out of world famous BudnMary's Marina here in Islamorada. Go to www.foxsportfishing.com and order some Trek Travel rods and Diablo spinning reels and come on over.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Scott Barkow on a cool day with a Black Drum

Adam Eismont Mangrove Snapper fishing

Adam Eismont used the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo
on this keeper Red Grouper

Cyd goes 1 on 1 with the Bonefish Trek 4 piece travel rod

Cyd's reward was this Gag Grouper

Dr.Frank Eismont with a nice keeper Gag Grouper
on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

family fun for Adam,Frank and Austin Eismont

lots of Spanish Mackerel on fly tackle for
Rex Roberts and his son in law Torin

My good friend Rick Peper released 12 Snook
and a Tarpon using Diablo 350 spinning tackle

on my days off I've been exploring the Everglades in my canoe

Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo spinning reel
caught this fine Snook on a canoe day

Rex battles a Spinner Shark on Fox fly tackle.

Rex had a blast using Foxsportfishing Trek 9
weight flyrods to catch Seatrout

Rex with a Ladyfish on fly. aka Poor Man's Tarpon

Backcountry Fishing

2014-12-04T01:24:00.000-08:00

Backcountry Fishing really came alive this past week with cooling water temps.

Dr. Hugh Dennis used Fox Rage Ultra-light rods and Fox Sport Fishing Diablo spinning reels to release over 40 Snook. We even caught a few on a Fox 9 weight fly rod!
David Kubert and family fished on another day and at the start the water temp was in the low 60's, By afternoon it had warmed up to 66 degrees. After a couple dry spots we found the mother load. With 4 anglers it was wild. Snook , Redfish, Seatrout and Sheepshead were all huddled up together and made for an incredible 2 hours of fishing.

My anglers used Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 350 spinning reels and Bonefish Trek 4 piece rods and Rage light tackle rods.

Here are some pictures of the fun they all had.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Dr.Hugh Dennis released over 40 Snook

Fox Rage light rods and Fox Diablo spinning reels

Hugh Dennis used Fox Sport Fishing Rage light tackle on this Snook

its great fishing when the Snook are biting the Fly

the Kubert family released 30 Snook and 20 Redfish
using Fox Sport Fishing Tackle

Joe and John Kubert

lots of Sheepshead were in the mix

Patriarch DK released some big Snook

the bite was ON!!

Cathy & Cliff Fox with Freddy DuPreez had good fishing in spite of tough weather in the Keys

2014-11-25T03:02:00.001-08:00

Tuesday morning: the ocean was flat, not a ripple. With a few throws of a castnet we had our livewell brimming with Pilchards.

FOX Trek rods from the Sailfish, Permit, Bonefish, Rage rods and the FOX Diablo spinning reels in all 3 sizes were rigged up and ready for action.

We cruised the edge of the reef looking for signs of life. Hopefully a freejumping Sailfish. But as we ran down the dropoff the wind started to pick up out of the west and we could see the cloud build-up of an approaching cold front.

I anchored the boat on a patch reef in 30 feet of water. With a little chum and a handful or "freebies" the water behind Foxy Lady erupted with feeding fish of all sorts. As the wind increased so did the feeding frenzy behind the boat.. Cero Mackerel, Yellowtail and Mangrove Snapper,. We would toss a handful of freebies then cast back and get a bite immediately. This was patch reef fishing at its best. By 2 pm the wind was up to 20 mph and it was time to slowly work our way towards shore and then use the lee to ride back up to Islamorada.

The next day it was howling from the north and a nice drizzling rain to boot. Cathy took a day off but Cliff and Freddy were game. This is what is so cool about fishing the Keys. We made a ride into the deep "backcountry" following the edges of shallow banks. That kept us in a lee for most of the ride over to the mainland. There we worked our way up a narrow creek totally out of the wind and had action with Snook and Crevalle Jacks using Bonefish Trek and Rage rods and Diablo 350 spin reels. Except for the ride over and back it was another fun day for the boys.

Day 3 was different yet again. 20 mph out of the northeast. At least today it did not rain. But it was a very cool morning and the during the ride across the bay we were layered up with warm clothes. We fished an area called Snakebite. A channel that drains a vast area of flats along the mainland near Flamingo in Everglades National Park. With a very low tide thousands of feeding birds were on the mudflats. Roseate Spoonbills and Egrets and multitudes of White Pelicans, Black Skimmer's, Herons and countless smaller varieties. What a sight to see.

The water temp had dropped to 64 degrees and we could not get a bite on live pilchards. But the fish were Hungry for shrimp. We had good winter time fishing catching Black Drum, Redfish and Sheepshead, So as I always say we can find a place to fish no matter what the weather is doing and have a fun day.

Below are a few of the fish we caught the last few days on FOX Sport Fishing Tackle.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Big Sheepshead were biting.
Water temp was 64 and it was a winter day's catch

Black Drum were a big battle

Bonefish Trek rods and Diablo spinning reels
were perfect for fishing the trees

Cathy is a patient and attentive angler.
It paid off with the big Red of the day

Cliff with a Cero Mackerel caught on a
Rage spin rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

Crevalle Jacks were fun action on FOX Sport fishing tackle

Freddy with a Cero Mackerel...
notice the stripe and slashes

how about some Sheepshead

it was nice fishing once we got out of the wind

lots of spots on this Redfish caught by Cliff

Mangrove Snapper were biting for Cathy

Yellowtail Snapper for Freddy

Fishing Report November 11-15

2014-11-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

With some cooler weather behind us and now a stretch of very calm winds the Reef fishing has been on Fire!

Cliff and Cathy Fox and Freddy DuPreez have been enjoying excellent "action fishing" the past few days. To make things even more fun the crew used a very light rod made by FOX Rage. As you will see in a few of the pictures these rods can take incredible punishment while pumping up big Red Groupers.

FOX Sport Fishing Diablo spinning reels are the toughest reels out there and I can not say enough of how well they hold up. We spent 2 days on the reef patches catching all sorts of species and one day in the backcountry on the gulf side enjoying a "hot" bite of Spanish Mackerel and Blacktip Sharks.

Here are some pictures of the variety we have been catching here in the Florida Keys using FOX Sport Fishing Tackle

Captain Skip Nielsen

Blacktip Shark

Cathy and Cliff had a great time fishing the reefs of Islamorada

Cathy catches a Blacktip Shark on her Special EOS 50 reel

Cathy with a Black Grouper

Cliff did an incredible job of keeping Groupers
out of the rocks with ultralight tackle

Cliff really put the pressure on

Cliff used a Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350
to subdue some huge Red Groupers

Cliff with one of many Spanish Mackerel on very light tackle

for Ira and Richie it was Snapper City on the reef.

Freddy DuPreez caught his Red Grouper on
Fox Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

Freddy with a fine Spanish on the Rage rod and
Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 350 spinning reel

giant Cero Mackerel

Incredible strength (the Rage rod)

Ira Kanarich has fished with me since 1971. We are Old fishing buddies

Lane Snapper

multiples , once the action began it was non-stop

Mutton and Yellowtail Snapper on the dinner menu

say aghh

Spanish Mackerel season has begun

the eight foot long Sailfish Trek rod hard at work on another Blacktip Shark

Unique custom EOS 50 looks magnificent in Pink!

this Porgy matches the color scheme

we were surrounded by Blacktip Sharks after catching the mackerels

This is a world class Cero Mackerel.
It weighed 12 lbs and was captured by Richie Silver
on a Fox Bonefish Trek rod and Diablo

Summer Backcountry Fishing Is As Good As It Gets!

2014-07-09T05:43:00.001-07:00

This past week we had great conditions for fishing the area around Cape Sable. It is a 30 mile run from Islamorada but is truly a wilderness and an awesome fishery.

My guests this past week included David Kubert and Steve Kost for an action packed 3 days, Jeff and Christine Thompson for a day, and Liz and Mark Harris for a couple days. All my guests had days of Tarpon, Snook and Redfish, along with all the action fish while baiting up like Mangrove Snapper, Ladyfish, Seatrout and Crevalle Jacks.

The Tarpon bite was very good. Liz Harris got her first ever fly-caught Tarpon while Mark jumped a couple off and Jeff had a few in the air as well. Live bait fishing under corks was a blast for the Tarpon. These Tarpon are medium size fish. 20 to 60 lbs and jump like crazy.

Great sport using Fox Sport Fishing's Permit Trek travel rods fitted with Diablo 550 spinning reels.

After spending mornings Tarpon fishing we explored creek mouths and shorelines. Snook and Redfish were plentiful and all my guests caught "Backcountry Slams" consisting of all 3 species on one outing. Nice!

Big Sharks are on the prowl and fighting a fish for any length of time invites them in so quick releases were done in most places we fished. Bull sharks and Lemon's are great sport in the shallow water as well and are part of the eco-system and unfortunately can associate boats with easy pickings so lots of the time we catch a fish or two then move to another spot. Bait on the edges of the flats is thick right now. Baby pilchards and Ballyhoo are swarming and all the Crevalle Jacks and Ladyfish are right behind.

Tarpon will be around the rest of the summer in the far backcountry and readily take flies and lures. Mornings are best for this action. In the afternoons thunderstorms build over the mainland and you should be on your way back by 2pm latest to avoid the threat. I backed off the drags, sprayed some lubricant and loosened the rod pieces up and stored the tackle til November. I am on a bus-mans' holiday until then fishing the western USA flyfishing.

Here is just a few pictures from my last week of summer fishing...

Captain Skip Nielsen

4-spotted Redfish for Steve Kost

Chistine Thompson with a jumping Tarpon

Christine's photo finish

David Kubert releases this Tarpon from the livewell
after carefully taking the hook out, Again

David Kubert with an honest to goodness Great Hammerhead

DK got his Redfish using a Diablo 350 spin reel
mounted on an Ultralight Fox Rage rod

DK had fun with the Fox 9 weight Trek Flyrod

DK with one of many Snook caugth the last week of June

double header of Tarpon for Liz and Mark on
Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels

Fishing creek mouths with Bonefish Trek rods
was very productive for Redfish

fishing the shorelines of Cape Sable with Bonefish Trek rods
and Diablo 350 spinning reels David Kubert released lots of Snook

Jeff Thompson with a nice Redfish caught on a
Rage rod and Diablo 350 spinning reel

limit of tasty Mangrove Snappers.
All caught on Fly using Fox 9 weight Trek flyrods

Liz and Mark Harris

Liz Harris catching her first Tarpon on a
flyrod built by Fox Sport Fishing

Liz Harris Nice Redfish

lots of Jacks cruising the beaches of Cape Sable.
Steve Kost used a Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo here

Mangrove Snapper provided fast action for
Jeff Thompson on the Fox Trek 9 weight fly rod

Mark and Liz Harris had fun fly casting with the 9 weight Fox flyrod

Mark Harris and the Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek travel rod
and Diablo 550 spinning reel on this crazy Tarpon

medium sized Tarpon perfect on Fox Permit Trek rods

nice air on this Tarpon for Jeff

nice Redfish for Liz on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

since the big freeze in 2010 these guys are making a good comeback

Snook for Mark

Steve Kost points his Permit Trek rod at this Tarpon

Steve needed this Snook for his Slam

Steve with the 9weight and a fat Snapper

Tarpon on Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo for DK

we have lift-off

Backcountry And Blue Water

2014-06-26T02:20:00.002-07:00

It was hot and calm this week. All the options were open...

Richie Silver and Ira Kanarick fished with me last Thursday and Friday. Day 1 we took a ride over to Cape Sable. Small pilchards are swarming right now which is making for plenty of great fishing. Using 4 piece Bonefish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels the boys released 25 Snook, 4 Redfish and countless Seatrout and Crevalle Jacks. Finally a large Bull Shark showed up and ate a Redfish which is when we moved on to another spot where Ira landed a Tarpon. Nice job on the backcountry slam for Ira. Snook, Tarpon and Redfish.

Snook action was red hot as was the temp

Richie Silver with a Redfish

Richie and Susan with a beauty

Day 2 it was slick calm again. The offshore report was lots of Dolphin fish so we decided to check it out. At 10 miles offshore we hit the edge of the Gulf stream. Even though the wind was very light the hard running current made for some choppy rips.

Fifteen miles out we started running into schools of Mahi-Mahi. What fun on the light Bonefish Trek and Permit Trek rods. We kept 15 for the table and released another 20 or so. We finished the day at the 409 seamount. Trolling a couple small ballyhoo on the Sailfish Trek rods and Diablo 750's Richie caught 2 Slammer Dolphin. Rest of my crew was worn out.

Ira Kanarick with one Snook of many

great jumpers great fighters and great eating

fishing close to the beaches of Cape Sable

Ira and Richie with 2 Slammer Dolphins.
Sailfish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 750 spinning reels were used

On Saturday Doctor Frank Eismont and son Austin fished with me. After hearing yesterday's report they wanted to try Dolphin fishing. It was slick calm once again so off we went. On the way out we stopped in a school of pilchards inside the reef and loaded the livewell with 2 inch baits. We got out to 20 miles before finding the right set of birds. By this I mean 5 or 6 birds feeding on baitfish that a school of dolphin fish were pushing to the surface.

This was an incredible school of fish. There must have been 75 Dolphin. Dr. Frank had heard about this but this was a first for him and Austin. We used the Bonefish Trek and Rage Ultralight rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels. We drifted for 2 hours.. Every once and awhile I would toss a netful of pilchards to keep the school around the boat. It was a sight seeing these colorful fish all around the boat. We kept enough to feed family and released the rest.

On the way in we did a little deep dropping in 450 feet of water. Young Austin cranked up a nice Tilefish. The Fox Sport Fishing Boatrod XT fitted with an EOS Trolling reel was perfect for this action.

450 feet of water

after plenty of dolphin we did some deep
dropping in 450 feet of water.
EOS Trolling reel and XT Boatrod was perfect for this

Austin Eismont with his first Dolphin of the day.

Its amazing to be able to fish 30 miles into the backcountry and then run 20 miles offshore into the Gulfstream the next day. Fishing in the Florida Keys is the best.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rods fitted with Diablo spin reels catch S...

2014-06-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

Lens new Friend

2014-06-21T16:40:00.001-07:00

Islamorada Tarpon fishing in clear water

2014-06-21T16:39:00.001-07:00

Richie Silver and Ira Kanarick catching Snook

2014-06-21T16:36:00.001-07:00

One Day Report

2014-06-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

The McJunkin luck factor kicked in yesterday. After cast netting some live mullet we fished off the beach at Cape Sable. Stanley, Bobby and Paul released 4 Tarpon and 3 huge Snook up to 23 lbs. Sharks were absent from the scene probably allowing the other fish to bite so well.

We used Fox Sport Fishing Sailfish Trek 4 piece travel rods fitted with Diablo 750 spinning reels for the catches.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Bobby caught and quickly released this Snook
while fishing for Tarpon

off the beach at Cape Sable.
Bobby uses Fox Sport Fishing tackle to catch this Tarpon

Paul and Bobby hard at it

Stanley McJunkin caught this Snook over
20lbs while Bobby fights another

Stanley McJunkin uses Fox Sport Fishing Sailfish Trek rod
and Diablo 750 spin reel on this Tarpon

Mid June Fishing Report

2014-06-18T01:59:00.002-07:00

6 foot juvenile Tiger Shark is beautiful

My favorite time of year. Loads of bait, hungry fish and lots of options. I have been taking my guests to the far backcountry of Everglades National Park the last 10 days. Baitfish such as pilchards and silverside ballyhoo have flooded the flats and are choice baits for Snook, Trout, Red-fish, and Tarpon. Lots of fat mangrove snapper have moved into the grass flats as well providing great action and good food. Snook have started their summer migration along the Cape Sable beaches. Medium and large Tarpon are in the backcountry channels. Not swarming but if you are patient you will get a couple on the right tides.

Fox Sport Fishing Trek rods and Diablo Spinning reels continue to do the job for me day in and day out.

Here are some pictures as of late. A thunder storm chased us in giving me a little time to post the report. Going back out for the outgoing tide when it clears up.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Bobby and his first ever Tarpon release.
He caught it using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

David Kubert caught this beauty using the
Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

great snook fishing, 20 released on day 2 for Joe Kubert

Happy Father's Day to David Kubert the father
and sons caught Tarpon and Snook and Sharks

Huge Redfish for Wendy Sims on the
Permit Trek travel rod and Diablo 550 spinning reel

interesting double header, Paul points his rod at a 100lb Tarpon
while Bobby gets a rare backcountry Tiger Shark release

Joe Kubert released this jumbo Snook he caught while
Tarpon fishing with the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

John Kubert used Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo
on his 100lb Tarpon release

Lots of big Mangrove Snapper in the mix.
Bobby caught this one on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Paul releases this Snook.
Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rod and Fox Diablo 550 spin reel
were used to make the catch

Paul with his first ever Tarpon

Randy Soth did a great job of angling.
Fox Sport fishing Bonefish Trek rod on a 50lb plus Goliath Grouper

she's a real Beauty

Paul's 2nd Tarpon was over 100lbs and he caught it
using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

Snook bite was on for Stanley and Bobby

Stanley McJunkin gets a Tarpon release

Stanley McJunkin releasing Bobby's Tarpon

Tom got a big Redfish as well

Tom Sims caught his Snook on the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Using Permit Trek rods and Diablo 550 spin reels filled with 30lb braid
The rods were great. they allowed us to get the snook

Wendy Sims with a great Snook on the Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

An Awesome 6 Days Of Fishing

2014-06-09T02:59:00.001-07:00

Cliff and Cathy Fox, joined by Freddy DuPreez teamed up to catch and release 32 Tarpon in 6 days of fishing.

Fox Sport Fishing Diablo 750 spinning reels, EOS Trolling reels, Sailfish and Tarpon Trek travel rods were used for the catches. Timing is everything. The ocean and bayside channels had been clogged by Sargassum week blown in from the Gulfstream. It finally moderated this past week and the Tarpon went on a feeding spree.Also on a strong incoming tide near Cape Sable ,a big pulse of migrating Tarpon made for a couple fantastic days of action.

Cathy,Cliff and Freddy were fortunate enough to enjoy some of the best fishing of the season. The fishing is still holding up well near the bridge channels but the backcountry Tarpon action has slowed the last couple of days. Plenty of other species to be had back there though.

I can not say enough about the Trek travel rod series. The Tarpon Trek and Sailfish Trek rods break down into 4 pieces but can handle all kinds of abuse. And the Diablo spinning reels are bullet proof. Half a dozen guides here in Islamorada are now using the DiabloSpinning reels and all of them are amazed at the drags and the toughness of the gears and handles.

So here are just a few pictures of the action the Fox Crew enjoyed this past 2 weeks.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Cathy Fox catches first Tarpon of the trip.
Freddy DuPreez does the release

Cathy Fox prefers conventional reels to fight her Tarpons.
Here she uses the EOS 30 reel and Tarpon Trek rod

Cathy Fox

Cathy hooks up while Cliff clears his line

Channel 2 Bridge provided plenty of Tarpon action
for the Fox Crew this past 6 days

Cliff and Freddy catching a double header of Tarpon

Cliff doing battle and Freddy piloting

Cliff Fox and Freddy DuPreez had 13 Tarpon releases on this day!

Cliff Fox gets a jump out of his first Tarpon of the trip

Cliff is using the Tarpon Trek rod and Diablo 750 on
his 2nd Tarpon of the day

Cliff using the Diablo 750 spinning reel and
4 piece Sailfish Trek rod on another jumping Tarpon

Cliff with a Tarpon missle

down and dirty

Freddy and Cliff had an incredible day out in the backcountry

Freddy doing the bridge piling dance

Freddy DuPreez tries to put the stop on an
estimated 150lb Tarpon.
biggest of the 6 days

Freddy gets a Tarpon release.
The 8 foot Sailfish Trek 4 piece travel rod is a perfect Tarpon rod

I get hi-fives from Cathy.
She did a great job on a tough Tarpon using the
EOS 30 Trolling reel and Tarpon Trek rod

major air from this Cape Sable Tarpon

on a rainy 5th day we released 6 and had 10 takes - Here,
Cathy Fox catching a Tarpon on the EOS Trolling reel and
Tarpon Trek rod

the Tarpon Freddy is fighting wove us in and out
of almost all the pilings for a nerve wracking 30 minutes

this never gets old

this Tarpon is a movie star

to the air we go

we wonder about this man but he absolutely loves his Tarpon fishing

Wild jumping

a little rain got the Tarpon biting

Action, action!

and the Tarpon gets another breath and the battle goes on

another jumper for Cliff Fox

Cliff catches the last Tarpon of the trip - 32 Tarpon releases
in 6 action packed days.
All using Fox Sport Fishing rods and reel

Fishing Report May 2014

2014-05-29T03:50:00.002-07:00

After strong north east winds at the beginning of last week and some challenging fishing conditions it has suddenly turned into Summer.

The so-called Ambulance Crew visited last week from England. Martin Founds hosts this group and they all stay at Bud 'n' mary's marina. What a fun group. They used 5 or 6 guides and caught a little bit of everything. Tarpon fishing was kind of slow last week because of the winds and previous week's late season cool front but now the Tarpon have turned back on. Here are some pictures of my crews from the last 10 days.

this happy crew released 2 Tarpon and kept a Black Grouper for dinner.

quite the fish story for Martin Campbell on his Bullshark capture

Phil of the Ambulance crew scores a first ever

Len stopping traffic with this Tarpon
he released using Fox Sport Fishing tackle

Martin Campbell with another first ever capture
using the Boatrod XT EOS 50 combo

Neil Stewart caught this Goliath Grouper
using the Fox Boatrod XT Travel rod
fitted with an EOS Trolling reel

One interesting story was of angler Martin Cambell catching a Bull Shark the hard way. He had wanted to fish for a Bull and landed a Mud Marlin(sawfish) in the morning. Fishing the bottom with a live blue runner on a Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spin reel , Martin hooked what I believed to be a grouper by the way it was fighting. After a short battle the line started zinging out and I told him I thought a shark had eaten his grouper. Martin kinda looked at me like ,yea sure. Anyway soon this 10lb gag grouper head comes sliding up the line,comes off and starts floating. We gaffed the head and continued the battle. After half an hour Martin brings a 250lb Bull Shark alongside my skiff . Lo and behold the lips and half the grouper head are still attached to the 5/0 circle hook. All this was on a monofilament leader as well. So Martin got his Bullshark the hard way. Martin also released a Tiger Shark in the backcountry 2 days later fishing with Jim Willcox.

a little Bullfighting for Skip. note the
5 piece Fox Boatrod XT trek rod and EOS 50 Trolling reel

Ray Jennings caught and released a nice sized Bonefish. Del Elliot got a nice Tarpon and a small Permit on a very windy day. On their last day it was calm and I was able to take Ray and Del out to one of the wrecks 30 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. There the boys wore themselves out releasing multiple Goliath Groupers and as many Bull Sharks as wanted. Even a nice Cobia was taken by Del on a Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 combo for the dinner table at Lazy Days restaurant.

Ray Jennings caught this nice Spanish Mackerek
on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Ray Jennings caught his Bonefish on Fox Sport Fishing tackle

this Permit was on Del Elliot's bucket list

GOLIATH

Del with an ultralight catch of this large Ladyfish
aka Poor Man's Tarpon

Del releasing his Goliath Grouper that he caught using
Fox Sport Fishing's Boatrod XT and EOS Trolling reel combo.

Del Elliot gets his Tarpon release using Fox Sport Fishing tackle

Cobia for Del Elliott on the Rage ultralight rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

Neil Stewart went along the next day and it was slick oily calm. Off we went again to the gulf wrecks. Fishing was hot and so was the temp. Goliaths, Crevalle Jacks, Bullsharks and Cobia. Saw some Permit but could not get them to bite.

Clive Bruton from England fly fished for Tarpon 2 days this week. We had a couple takes and follows but did not land one. We strictly sight fished , which Clive had never done before and he was amazed and is now even more addicted to fly fishing . He has fished the Yucatan extensively for Tarpon and it is mostly casting to rolling fish in murky water. Seeing a string of Tarpon swimming directly at you and making a perfect presentation can get the heart thumping big time. Clive used a Fox Sport Fishing 5 piece 10-12 weight fly rod. He'll be back next season for sure.

Neil Stewart and friends did a sunset trip night before last. The Tarpon bite was on. We spent time throwing the cast net and catching live mullet which paid off. The surface bites were really exciting. We released 2 and probably had 10 others crashing the mullet but not quite taking them..We call that cheap shots.
Also a nice Black Grouper was caught. So a nice outing was had.

channel 2 Tarpon takes to the air for Neil Stewart

Yesterday I fished Cathy and Cliff Fox with their good friend Freddy DuPreez. These fine folks just love to Tarpon fish and are very patient. After spending a good hour netting mullet we fished the rest of the day. Cathy, as usual caught the first Tarpon. She ended up with 2 for the day. Cliff released 2 as well. Freddy had one go thru his leader and had plenty more crash his bait. We have 5 more days to fish so I am sure Freddy will get a few.

I get hi-fives from Cathy. She did a great job on a tough Tarpon
using the EOS 30 Trolling reel and Tarpon Trek rod

Freddy DuPreez fights a nice Tarpon
on the 8' Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

Cliff is using the Tarpon Trek rod and
Diablo 750 on his 2nd Tarpon of the day

Cliff Fox gets a jump out of his first Tarpon of the trip

Cathy looks on as Cliff fights a big Tarpon at Long Key Viaduct

Cathy Fox catches first Tarpon of the trip.
Freddy DuPreez does the release

Phil with a Pompano on the
Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Tarpon up-close

Woke up this morning to summer time conditions. Lightening flashes in the sky, thunderheads and then clearing off for a beautiful day. Gotta love summer and the fishing.

We have been using all the Fox Sport Fishing tackle lately. All of the 4 and 5 piece Trek travel rods. Sailfish, Tarpon, Permit and Bonefish Trek rods. Fitted with invincible Diablo spinning reels. And for the Goliath grouper and huge bullsharks the XT 4 piece boatrods and EOS reels. All kind of action and variety now as the lessened winds allow me to go everywhere the fish live.

Also here is a quick video from utube of the other nights action http://youtu.be/-OOv5hqpRgM

Captain Skip Nielsen

Great Week Of Action

2014-05-19T03:14:00.000-07:00

Busy is all I can say. Fishing for Tarpon has been up and down. At the end of the week a hard cold front pushed thru shutting down the Tarpon bite for a few days. We had great fishing all week though releasing 2 to 5 Tarpon a day.

One of the highlights was finding a school of 300 or more Redfish on the flats and catching doubles and triples until we lost them in deeper water. Another highlight was a big Black Grouper caught by Rick Evans.

So many nice Tarpon bites this week until the North Wind came through. Sharks, Snook and Trout and Ladyfish made a couple days for us. Hopefully the wind will get back in an easterly direction. Here are pics of the last few days.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Don Thomas and Mark Ried each caught nice Groupers.
Neil Stewart in the middle jumped off a couple of Tarpon

Hugh Dennis with a fat Snapper making
the best of 30 mph north winds.
And the Tarpon did not bite

in 3 days of fishing Rick Evans,Jason Evans and
Stanley McJunkin had 12 released Tarpon.
Very few jumped more than once strange

Jason Evans on day 3 gets the first Tarpon release

Jason Evans put full pressure on a big Tarpon
with the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

Jason Evans Tarpon puts on a show

Neil Stewart and Mark Ried are having Seatrout for dinner

on this 3rd action packed day the trio caught plenty of
fat Mangrove Snapper

Randy Soth gets a jump

Randy Soth gets his release after a very tough battle

Richard Hendrix caught this nice Redfish,
but no big school to be found like the day before

Richard Hendrix scored his first ever Snook on
Fox Sport Fishing's Bonefish Trek rod and Diablo 350 spinning reel

Rick Evans is pointing out his Tarpon
while Stanley drives and Jason stands by

Rick Evans with a big Red caught on a Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Rick Evans with a spectacular Black Grouper he caught
while Tarpon fishing

singles, doubles and triples for an hour straight
til we lost the school in deeper water

Stanley gets a jump out of this one

Stanley got the 2nd Tarpon of the day out in the backcountry

Stanley McJunkin with one of his big Redfish

Stanley releases one of Rick Evans Tarpons

Steve Johnson and Richard Hendrix battled northerly cool
winds in May but still had some action including this Seatrout

Steve Johnson got a nice Snook as well

Tom and Wendy Sims had 5 Tarpon in 2 days of fishing

Tom putting the brakes on his Tarpon.
Fox Sport Fishing Sailfish 4 piece travel rods give you incredible power

Tom Sims enjoying the view of his Tarpon leaping

Wendy Sims using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo
on a command jumping Tarpon

Wendy tried to stop this Tarpon from going thru the bridge

here is a 7' Lemon Shark Jason Evans brought to the boat.
Note the double dorsal fins

here's cousin George getting one of his releases

May 1 through May 7

2014-05-12T02:35:00.003-07:00

Solid week of Tarpon fishing the past 7 days. We exclusively used the Sailfish Trek 4 piece travel rods and Diablo 750 spinning reels. I'm happy to report(as usual) no tackle failures of any kind. Just a few Tarpon here and there jumping off the hooks.

What a week it was. We averaged 2 to 3 Tarpon a session and in between caught quite a variety as you will see in the pictures attached.

I can not say enough about the Sailfish Trek rods. At eight feet long you save many a fish being able to clear the bow or stern with the long reach. And the Diablo spinning reels. Never had a broken handle or a stripped gear,EVER. Pretty incredible. After a long tough week of battling giant Tarpon and big Sharks I took a little time today to write this blog and oil my reels.

Thanks to all my anglers this past week and FOX Sport Fishing

Captain Skip Nielsen

Tony McKinnis catching his first ever Tarpon .
He used the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

Brian Goerges using Fox Sport Fishing tackle Tarpon fishing

Cyd sight fished this Tarpon with her
Fox Sport Fishing fly rod early May 2

Derek DeLoreto catches his Tarpon while Nick snaps away

Fred Clany Sr. battles a Tarpon we estimated
over 150lbs while Fred Jr. coaches on a
May 2 sunset trip

Here is Tommy Taylor catching the 2nd Tarpon of the day, May 5

here's Brad McKenzie battling a Tarpon at
Long Key bridge using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

in between releasing 4 Tarpon Brian caught a
limit of tasty Mangrove Snapper to take home

Jeremy Meiers and Neil Stewart after a big successful Tarpon battle

Jeremy Meiers spanks a big Tarpon using the
8 foot 4 piece Sailfish Trek travel rod and Diablo 750 spinning reel

Jeremy with some Tarpon By-catch. Jack Crevalle, a very hard fighter

later on Tom Berry had an hour battle with this
monster Tarpon at Downtown Islamorada

Look Out, you never know what you will catch
while Tarpon fishing picture taken by Neil Stewart

Mark Huling catching the Big One on
Fox Sport Fishing's Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spinning reel

Mark Huling's Tarpon towed us across the flats

Mark Quinn and Skip pose with my favorite
Tarpon gear just after releasing a 100lber

Mark Quinn safely navigates his Tarpon thru channel 2 bridge
the 8 foot Sailfish Trek rod is a big help

Neil Stewart caught this Cuda while Tarpon fishing

Nick Charek battling a Spinner Shark

Nick Charek catches the first Tarpon of the day

Nick Charek had wanted to catch a jumping Spinner Shark and he did

Nick got a great release shot of Dwayne's Tarpon

Rob Hilman catching his Tarpon at Long Key bridge and of
course, using the Sailfish Trek Diablo 750 combo

shot by Nick Charek

sightseeing in between catching 3 Tarpon for the day

Tom Berry caught this Tarpon early morning May 7

Tom with his Tarpon after an hour battle traversing 3 miles