March 23, 2007
What a week this has been. We started out the week with a cold front over the past weekend and Monday morning when I put my boat in the water temp. was a cold 58. I was still able to catch bait somehow and we took off looking for a hungry fish. The bite was super slow and then we got on a very short bite but did manage to get a nice 29" snook out of it. As the week went on the fishing got better each day catching quite a few snook and reds each day until Thursday when everything seemed to just shut down but we were still able to pull of another keeper snook even though the bite was totally off. Then on Friday the tides were getting ready to switch from 4 tide days to 2 tide days and that made all the difference in the world. I was fishing with the Lakewood Ranch Angler's Club (Read Red Baily's Review) and we really had a great day with about 25 or 30 nice reds boated up to 32" and about a dozen snook up to 29." This was the first day of things to come and on Sat. the fish let loose. I fished a half day in the morning and my three guest boated about 50 reds all above 23" up to 33." We also had some Spanish Mackerel mixed in and some snook pooping some chum baits but the reds were so hungry they were beating the snook to the baits. It was a great morning for fishing. The winds had finally laid down and it was a beautiful day and the boat traffic didn't get bad until the trip back to the dock. I think this coming week will be even better and I cant wait to get out there and catch more fish. The Spanish Mackerel are thick off the beaches and the King fish should be here by now but with the winds we had this past week it was impossible to get out there far enough to see. Until next week keep those rods bent and your drags screaming.
Sincerely,

March 17, 2007
Spring is here and the fishing is great. I was wondering if it would ever get here and it finally did. The fish have been doing great and with an exception to one slow day this past week it has been good and I think it is only going to get better. The snook have been moving around but have stayed pretty consistent with some nice fish being landed this past week. Bait moved in to the flats last week and it is beautiful bait, everything we need from small trout sized to big king fish size and lots of it. Speaking of king fish I was talking to an old commercial fisherman friend of mine this past week and he was telling me that the kings had moved in right up to the beach and he was telling me they are the best he has seen in 15 years. Some really big ones being caught and a lot of good size ones to mix it up a bit. This little cold front we are having is just what the Dr. ordered. It was getting to warm to fast and this should really bunch the fish up even better. I haven't been out on the kings yet but you can bet I will be out there this week.
The trout have also been getting better with our limit being caught this past week just about every day and that is a great sign of things to come. Most of them have been 16"- 19" but just about everyday we have had at least one 22"-25" and some days quite a few of them. The red fish have also been doing pretty good and we have had our limit on them as well just about everyday and they are just mixed in with the snook we have been catching. There are a lot of them around and if you just targeted them you could have a high number day but with the snook fishing so good it is hard to shy away from that. The fishing should only get better as we get further into spring and I am looking forward to seeing you out there. Until next time.
Sincerely,
Capt. Shawn Crawford
941-747-3856
www.captainshawn.com

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