Tampa Bay to Sarasota, FLORIDA

      Hello fellow fisherman! Hope you're enjoying your summer. It's been pretty hot lately but compared to the weather they're having up north lately we should be feeling pretty lucky down here in the sunshine state. I thought the idea was Florida in the winter and Maine, or perhaps the Smoky Mountains, in the summer. I don't know but if you where going by just purely temperture I'd guess the coast of Florida would be the place to stay. Many of my fishermen coming from the north are talking about temperatures of 105. I guess I should feel lucky, the hottest days are only reaching 95, and with a sea breeze it's really not that bad. Anyway, enough about the weather, lets get down to business.

Our snook fishing has remained strong, on some of the better days we have been catching over 20 and the action has been fairly consistent from day to day. Most of the fish are smaller in the 22 to 25 inch class, but a trophy over 36 inches is still possible.

Redfishing has started to pick up and most days we are able to catch a few slot fish. Nearly all the reds we are catching at this time are falling in the slot, ranging between 22 and 24 inches. I just started to see some big bull reds schooling up. Remember most of these fish are in the 30 to 34 inch class, sometimes larger and when you get on them the fishing can be good as it gets. Basically you're either reeling them in as fast as you can cast or you're not catching any. The schools are large, sometimes over a thousand fish. As long as you're getting the bait in front of the fish you will be catching them. They are probably the least finicky we fish for all year. Hands down traditional August and September our are best months for bruiser redfish, although October can be equally good. Well that's what we have going on around the flats now with the exception of a few trout and snapper.

Now for offshore, over the last couple of weeks our offshore fishing has picked up considerably. Especially for little tunny and Spanish mackerel. Many days over the past couple of weeks we have spent the morning chasing snook and reds, the afternoons on those drag screaming little tunny. Most of the little tunny are running good size, I would say between 10 and 15 pounds. When they're hot it's fast as you can put a bait in the water. Last weekend fly enthusiast Ran Edelstein traveled from north Florida to spend a couple days fly-fishing. We spent most of our time offshore and it was awesome. The first day we had to work for the little tunny, the second it was as fast as it gets. Both Ran and I sat in one spot pulling in little tunny up to 14 pounds. By 12 o'clock we had given up, the fish had just plain worn us both out. Even on 10 weight fly rods battles where lasting up to 15 minutes, pulling as hard as we could without snapping the rod. What a lot of fun!

Well I guess that pretty much sums it up. I hope you have enjoyed my report. The next couple of months should be great whether you prefer light tackle or fly-fishing. If we can't find them inshore then we can find them off. Give me call if you're looking for a fishing trip. Until next time, Good Luck Fishing!

Capt. Matt Ercoli

Capt. Matt:

      Just wanted to thank you for the WORLD CLASS fishing trip you guided my son Justin and I to on April 30, 2002! I have fished all over America including guiding and tournament fishing at senior levels and have never found a more professional guide. Your equipment, boat, bait, and knowledge are all SUPERIOR. After many "flats" trips in the Tampa Bay Area with other guides you are now my permanent yearly choice!

     This was the 1st time I was able to bring my son along and contacted you in advance with one request, "keep my son hooked up and don't worry about size". I cannot describe the trill of watching Justin land 76 Snook. And we had size to go with the numbers. And as you described in your 5/6 fishing report we only fished one rod at a time. As soon as we cast the 2nd rod( usually before) we were hooked up on the 1st rod and I just reeled in the 2nd rod to watch Justin have the time of his life. I do want to differ a bit from your report stating we could have caught 100 fish. I honestly believe if we would have fished both rods hard we would have caught 200.

     I am very grateful for your efforts. I have personally guided for bass, crappie and stripers and know what it takes to keep equipment in first class shape. I was especially impressed with the quality of your bait(Greenbacks) and the amount you had to chum and fish with. I am already looking forward to fishing with you next year and please feel free to post this if you wish and if any one needs a reference please do not hesitate to have them contact me.

Bill Manning, William.Manning@att.net

Capt. Matt,

I finally got around to scanning in the pictures of my daughter (Danielle) with her snook. Martha, Danielle and I really enjoyed our fishing trip that afternoon. It was easily the best fishing trip Danielle has ever been on and the largest fish she has ever caught. Thanks. I hope we get to come back and do it again some day.

Happy Fishing, David Dodson

      My Son told me to click on to your web site to get your latest fishing report. Glad to see that you referenced our fishing trip we chartered with you. I was the angler who lost the "BIG" one and then boated the 37 inch snook. Alan, my son was the one that battled the cobia. It was the first time I ever angled for snook or chased cobia on the flats. Have always been an off shore fisherman. It was a great experience, exciting and a lot of fun. You are a great captain and fisherman, definitely know where the fish are and techniques on how to catch them. My Son, Alan, and myself will definitely be back to fish with you. I told him to send you the pictures, hope that he did. Thanks again for the thrill!

Tom Radwanski - Jacksonville, Florida

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