January Fishing Report from Capt. Randy Boggs

Most people do not realize what a great time of year this is for fishing.

The sheepsheads are being caught inshore near the pier, the jetties and the rocks. They are biting fiddler crabs, if you can find them, and live shrimp as well as fresh cut shrimp. The trout can be found in the deeper holes of the rivers and the bays.

Reel Surprise left on a 4-hour charter on Tuesday afternoon and found that the vermillion snapper, white snapper and trigger fish were biting near shore. Many of these fishes were keeper fish.

In the 100’-130’ water depths vermillion snapper and trigger fish are being caught. There are a lot of red snapper being caught on the reefs for catch and release.

As for the big game fishing, there have not been any reports, as no on has been off shore.

Current water temperature: 60 nm out is 71.4° - closer to shore 61.7°.

Capt. Randy Boggs
Reel Surprise Charters
www.reelsurprisecharters.com

Starting the New Year with a Bang!!

Beachin’ Bob and friends will start the New Year on Pleasure Island will a full calendar. First it’s the “Noon Year” celebration for the kids at Lulu’s at Homeport. Then later we’re off to the Wharf for their annual New Year’s Eve street party. We’ll take advantage of something unique on the Gulf Coast, their ice skating rink (hopefully with a minimum of spills). Later on one of my favorite bands, The Molly Ringwalds will take the stage with their brand of classic 80’s music. In between we’ll take advantage of all the amenities at Brett Robinson’s newest addition, Phoenix 9. Phoenix 9 has an indoor pool on the sixth floor, overlooking the Gulf, as well as an indoor tennis court. It’s a beautiful building with magnificent units, and all are brand new.
As always, see you on the Beach!

December Fishing Report

At the rigs 70 nm to 100 nm offshore the yellow and black fin tunas are biting. The cooler waters have turned off the dolphin and Wahoo.

Closer to shore, the red snapper are great for catch and release. They are eating just about anything that hits the water. The vermillion snapper and big trigger fish are also starting show up.

The fist schools of red fish are showing up along the beach. Trolling with planers and spoons is a great way to catch these fish. The slot limit for these fish is 16” to 26” three per person aggregate. One fish of the aggregate can be over sized.

In the deep holes along the creek mouths and rivers, red fish are also being caught along with croakers.

For those who like to surf fish, you will find white trout and mullet.

The water temperature 60 nm offshore is 74.8° and 59.4° closer to shore.

Capt. Randy Boggs
Reel Surprise Charters

Magic Christmas in Lights

The Beachin’ clan made our semi-annual trip to see the annual Christmas lights display at Bellingrath Gardens . It’s an unbelievably well designed and displayed Christmas light show at the Bellingrath Gardens and Home. According to the staff at Bellingrath the show will include: 3.5 million lights, 605 set pieces, over 14,000 light strands, 7,700 extension chords; 377,000 replacement bulbs; over 100,000 twist ties and almost 5 miles of steel. Local musical groups provide entertainment nightly from the South Terrace and the Magnolia Café is a great spot to sample some fine food and take in the sights.
Remember…for those who have everything a vacation can make a great Christmas gift.
Enjoy the show and we’ll see at the Beach.

Fishing report for November

From my friend Capt. Randy Boggs:

Red snapper season closed on October 31st, but that did not stop Beachin’ Bob and some of the Brett/Robinson staff members from venturing out with Reel Surprise and Gulf Winds II.

Tom Davis from the maintenance department caught a nice amberjack, and Margie McCullough with our human resource department reeled a gem of a Pompano. The rest of the Brett/Robinson crew had a great time catching the vermillion snapper, lane snapper and trigger fish.

With the changing weather, the seas offshore have been rough. There has not been any big game action reported.

Mo Fishin’ Bait & Tackle reports the big red bull fish are biting hot right off the beach. Along the mouths of Fish River and Magnolia River the speckled trout are on fire. The flounder are being caught in the back bays.

Catch up with Capt. Randy at Reel Surprise Charters.