About your trip & What we catch

Captain Justin Burger

Sarasota Fishing, Longboat Key Fishing, Siesta Key Fishing, Bradenton Fishing.

For your trip we supply a 100qt cooler with ice, bottled water, sunblock, tackle, fishing licenses, bait & instruction if so desired. A few items you might consider bringing include hats, food, camera, sunglasses and a cooler should you choose to keep fish.

What We Catch

Tarpon

My personal favorite nearshore sportfish! These giants show up along our coast in May and are availiable until August. The larger fish are generally just off the beach but we also catch Tarpon in the bay. These fish fight and jump like no other! Average size is 75lbs-100lbs with the world record at 283lbs.

King Mackerel

King Mackerel or "Kingfish" are found offshore along our coast in both the spring and fall. We target Kings from March untill the end of May and again September untill the end of November. However, in the past few years we have been catching nice Kings throughout the summer! Larger Kingfish are sometimes called "King Smokers" because they can "smoke" a couple hundred yards of line off your reel in seconds. Average size is 15lbs-25lbs but fish up to 50lbs are always a possibility. World record 90lbs.

Cobia

Cobia can be found all but the coldest months. We target them from just off the beach to well offshore. At certain times we even find them in the bay. Cobia pull hard & make great table fare. Average size is 20lbs-50lbs with the world record at 135lbs.

Permit

While these fish are found on the flats in the Keys and Caribbean, on our coast we fish for them on the offshore wrecks. They are wonderful fighters and the smaller ones make great tabel fare. I reccomend however, relesing most of these fish. Average size is 10lbs-20lbs world record is 56lbs.

Gag Grouper

More people come to our coast to fish Grouper than any other fish. This tasty bottom fish can be found year round and is very fun to catch. Average size is 5lbs-15lbs world record is 80lbs.

Red Grouper

Another tasty bottom fish the Red Grouper doesen't reach the size of the Gag but what it lacks in size it makes up for in aggressiveness.We catch Red Grouper year round. Average size 2lbs-10lbs. World record 42lbs.

Gray Snapper

We catch Gray Snapper AKA Mangrove Snapper in both the bay and offshore. They are around all year and are sporty fighters on light tackle. They are also very good on the table! Average size 2lbs-6lbs world record 17lbs.

Spanish Mackerel

Spanish show up along our coast and in the bay just before their cousins the King Mackerel. They are good sport on light tackle and are willing to bite when other speicies will not. Common 1lbs-4lbs world record 10lbs.

Sheepshead

When the water gets cold in the winter sometimes the fishing gets tuff. Lucky the Sheepshead don't mind. We target Sheeps inshore in the winter time under docks and mangrove islands. They are fun sport and wonderful as a food fish as they dine mostly on shrimp and crab. You are what you eat! Average size 3lbs-5lbs world record 21lbs.

Great Barracuda

Barracuda can be found offshore on reefs and wrecks. They are a load of fun on light tackle & are prone to jump when hooked making them fun to watch. Average size 5lbs-15lbs. World record 67lbs.

Shark

We have many species of Shark along our coast. The most common are the nurse, lemon and blacktip. Shark are a fun fish to catch especially with kids. Sizes vary.

Flounder

There is no better eating fish then the Flounder! Starting in November Flounder move in to nearshore reefs and wrecks. We have both the Gulf Flounder and the Southern Flounder. Pictured is the Gulf Flounder as you can tell by the 3 prominate black dots. World record for Gulf Flounder is 6lbs, world record for Southern Flounder is 20lbs.

Redfish

Red Drum or Redfish are the rockstars of inshore fishing. With countless tournments revolving around the redfish it is surely the most targeted inshore species on the Gulf coast. They pull hard and range in color from copper penny to almost silver. We find them on the grass flats, over oyster bars and mangrove islands. Average size is 2lbs-10lbs. World record is 94lbs.

Spotted Seatrout

Actually not a trout at all but a drum, the Seatrout can be found on shallow grass flats. While not the best fighter, the trout is very aggresive and very good table fare. Average size is a pound or two. We catch some fish up to 8lbs and the world record is 17lbs.

Snook

The snook is by far my favorite inshore fish to catch. Matching great runs with jumps there is no tactic the snook doesn't use! We find them on the grass flats, mangrove islands and off the beach and passes in the summer months. While the snook is very very good to eat I urge you to relese 99% of the ones you catch. Common size 3lbs-15lbs world record 53lbs.

Jack Crevalle

Pound for pound the Jack is the hardest fighter of any inshore fish. Older, larger fish are true tackle busters! Average size is 3lbs-12lbs with 20lbs not uncommon. World record 57lbs.

Florida Pompano

Very similar in apperance to the permit, the pompano is a great fighter when hooked and top of the list for food value. We fish for them in passes and flats with sand fleas and small tip shrimp on little jig heads. Average size is a pound or two. World record 8lbs.