Inshore:

Crystal River's inshore waters provide anglers with some outstanding opportunities for the sought-after Florida species like Redfish, Trout, and Snook. Our offshore boat was too big to navigate the shallow waters around the mangrove islands so we remedied that. We are proud to announce the newest addition to our fishing fleet a 20' microdraft. This vessel is designed to be the ultimate fishing boat for exploring the backwaters of Crystal River, Florida. Powered by a Yamaha  90 HP motor, this locally built skiff is designed to run shallower than a flounder. With the ability to float in 3-4" (Inches!) of water at rest and run even shallower, we can access waters that most boats could only access while on a trailer. Unlike many other shallow water boats, this one has an 8-foot main beam, allowing anglers to comfortably fish from a stable platform regardless of where they cast from.

The transitional time periods of fall are when these fish begin to move. Where many inshore species were offshore spawning during the summer months, they have begun to move back towards their winter homes. As the water and air temperatures drop, our inshore species will move farther back into the deep holes and channels in the backcountry. These locations paired with our winter tides keep fish holding in greater numbers in smaller areas, a win for anglers looking for a high cast-to-hookup ratio.

Trout-

Speckled sea trout fishing in 3-4' of water has been productive throwing nose-hooked soft plastics like doa flukes. These fish are often prowling the “rockgrass” beds and oyster bars.

Redfish- 

Water temps haven't dropped enough to push the big reds completely into the backcountry. As a result, we are seeing a mixed opportunity of smaller redfish in the backcountry and still plenty of fish surrounding the outer islands. The front that is pushing through this week should force them into the shallows.

Offshore:

The offshore fishery in Crystal River is what draws many anglers to our waters. The nearshore rockpiles and slow change in bottom depth allow fish that would otherwise be considered "deep sea" species to be targeted In waters no deeper than some marinas. That said with our 31’ vessel we are able to quickly zip to fishing spots farther offshore than many other boats, allowing us more fishing time in less pressured areas.

Snapper- Grouper may be closed but that doesn't mean you have to go home empty-handed from an offshore trip. Mangrove snapper have been our cooler fillers this month. One tip is to downsize your tackle as they tend to "smarten up" and become leader-shy as our water gets cooler and clearer. 12-15# leader and a 1/16th oz jig head tipped with a shrimp has worked great in 20-30'.

Hogfish has been a reliable catch in 40+ feet of water with the best catches happening in 50-60'. Hogfish are notoriously finicky but dropping shrimp down over live bottom has been the ticket for us recently.

Grouper season in Crystal River is one of THE most anticipated openings of the year. However, biologists determined we were going to prematurely reach our quota. This finding resulted in an emergency grouper closure on October 18th, effectively halving our already shortened season. While Gag Grouper can still be caught, they are strictly a catch-and-release species until the season reopens. We’ve still been seeing lots of shallow water grouper activity at rockpiles in 15’ of water and deeper. We will see what regulations come from this for the 2024 season but we expect another reduced season, it will open September 1st, 2024 and probably run for 30-45 days so if you are interested in booking in 2024 don’t delay.

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