Tampa Bay to Sarasota, FLORIDA

      This May has turned out to be one heck of a month for fishing. Inshore and offshore, equally so. It seems that each day as I leave the dock I must fight the same mental battle over and over. Should we head inshore or offshore? Now it's especially difficult with tarpon season in full swing, what to do, there are almost too many options and they are all good ones. It doesn't seem to mater which direction we take because the fishing is on.

Here is the run down; our traditional southern run of tarpon is in full swing. So far I have been undefeated in going out and at least jumping a few fish. On my best days we have been hooking up with as many as 10 or 12 in a day. All the fish are in the 75 to 150 pound class. I would rate our tarpon fishing right now as very good and I am hoping for a good June and July as well. So far there seems to be an awful lot of fish. Inshore fishing remains strong as well, especially for snook. Last week we had a few slow days on snook but it seems that they are back on the bite now and a good day on bait could produce over 50, our best on the fly has been a little over ten. Lots of the snook we catch are very nice fish and it seems that with the season closed and less pressure, the snook over 30 inches are starting to bite much better. We are also catching some nice trout while we are snook fishing, quite a few over 20 inches. As for redfish, they still have been pretty slow, we have been catching just a few slot-size fish mixed in with the snook. I guess part of it is with the snook biting, I really have little reason to gamble on a school of redfish right now.

Can you believe it? King fishing still remains strong, every charter I've taken offshore in the last couple of weeks have experienced some great king fishing. We even had a 40 incher taken on the fly last week. There are still bunches of kings in the 8 to 15 pound class, as well as some real nice smokers in the 25 to 35 pound class.

Little tunny have also been really thick over the last couple of weeks. Most of them are in the 8 to 12 pound class. This is especially good news for my fly fisherman because they really love to take a fly and man can they ever pull. We have also been catching a few cobia on our offshore excursions.

Ok now lets talk about the offshore sea monsters, the Goliath grouper and sharks (primarily black tips) have been on the boat. The largest Goliath grouper we have boated for pictures has been nearly 300 pounds. We did have one up to the boat that was no less than 400, although we couldn't get it up for a good picture, doubt if it would have mattered much because sliding a fish that big onto the boat would have been very difficult.

As for sharks, we have been catching mostly black tips, my personal favorite because of their powerful runs and high-flying leaps. We have also caught quite a few nurse sharks, what they are lacking in power they have been making up in size. I would say that some of them could go 8 or 9 ft. I did have what looked like a good size hammerhead swimming in my chum slick a few days ago but we never got him to bite.

Well I hope you have enjoyed my report, if interested in catching and doing battle with a really large fish you could not pick a better time. I have a few days left in June and July so if you are interested give me a call or email soon. Good luck on the water casting a line! 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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