Yep, it’s all that and more

A man holding a fish - Northern pike
Capt. Pablo Rodriguez of Slamtime Charters has seen red-hot action in the backcountry and Everglades. Check out this snook showcasing some fine fins!

 

Capt. Pablo Rodriguez of Slamtime Charters has seen red-hot action in the backcountry and Everglades. Check out this snook showcasing some fine fins!

This past week was outstanding as usual for the Best Bet teams and their customers! Variety, they say, is the spice of life, and the fleet’s anglers have certainly had plenty of it lately.

The big yellowtail snapper are still firing up on the deep reefs, and these fish are not only excellent table fare, but they are incredibly hard fighting fish and will test any angler’s skill on light tackle.

It’s interesting to learn the lingo used by your local captions, so just so you know, the big yellowtails are known as flags.

There have also been quite a few kingfish cruising through the chum slicks as well with most of these speedsters exceeding 20 pounds – some catches have even approached the 40-pound mark!

Yellow jacks and amberjacks have also been mixing it up on the deep reefs. These fish will truly test your endurance level; they are unbelievably strong fish.

Keep an eye out for the cobia and sailfish as you move from spot to spot on the deep reefs. There are quite a few cobia moving through our area, and the sailfish are showing up in better numbers every day.

Our area bridges have seen the early arrival of some decent numbers of tarpon. Look for the tarpon action to really get going in the next three weeks or so. There have also been quite a few mangrove snapper around the bridges.

Best Bet for the week ahead: Head out to the deep reefs to catch a variety of our local fish.

John and Mike from West Virginia had a double-header hookup with two amberjacks while anchored near the reef.