Ben had already posted his point of view of the Florida trip. Michael and I stayed another 1.5 week longer in Florida and fished a bit more. Here's my point of view of the trip.

I tried to be brief this time since there were 19 days to write about. Most of the pictures taken were of new species caught. I added 30 new species on this trip to bring the total number of new species caught in Florida up to 84 species, and the new species added in 2013 up to 103 species. I would say I've probably easily caught 50+ species of fish on this trip. Fishing in Florida is pretty insane!

Just to tease you a little with some beautiful fish...



I know this is a non-native...but it is so beautiful!















Oh yeah...and these...





Check it out on my blog...all the juicy details are there!

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-1.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-2.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-3.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-4.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-5.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-6.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-7.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-8.html

http://muskiebaitadv...2013-day-9.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-10.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-11.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-14.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-15.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-16.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-17.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-18.html

http://muskiebaitadv...013-day-19.html

Thanks for reading!

Edited by MuskieBait, 14 January 2014 - 12:17 AM.

WOW.. sweet. How long did it take you to land that nurse shark and what did you use to catch it?
Thanks for sharing!

Very nice report. Excellent pictures. Thanks for posting.

Usil

Thanks Heather and Usil! The Nurse Shark, which was caught twice that night, took me around 30 minutes to get to leader. We tried to walk it back to shore to unhook and release, but the shark took me under the bridge 4 times and eventually cut the 60lb line when the wore through. My friend Michael then hooked the same shark again an hour later and this time we were able to walk the shark (in the water) 2000 feet back to shore where we could lasso it around the mid section and guide it over a break in the seawall into a small pool of water. We unhooked it, took a few quick pictures and rested it in the shallow pool before releasing it.

I hooked the shark on my lightest shark rod which was rated up to 25lbs, but my reel had 50lb braided line with a 60lb monofilament line, then tied to 150lb abrasion leader (shark skin is abrasive and it can wear through lighter line) which is then attached to 24 inches of 135lb wire leader on the end.

Michael hooked the shark on stouter gear but he still had 60lb monofilament line, tied to 400lb weed eater nylon line and 135lb wire leader.

We were not targeting sharks that big, but we didn't have a choice to pick and choose what would bite our hooks. Our gear was more suited for smaller 3-5 feet long sharks. We try our best to match the gear to the fish we wish to catch such that we can bring the fish in quickly and revive and release them in the best condition (least stressed) to give them the best chance for post release survival.

When I take pictures of fish, I try to do it promptly with the least amount of time out of water. Most often, this is less than 30 seconds (my rule is, if I can't hold my breath for that long, the fish should go back into the water as well). I try to minimize the amount of thrashing the fish does on land and keep their slime layer, scale and fins intact to my best abilities. As you can see in my pictures, the fish have glossy look overall which indicate they were kept moist and the slime layer maintained, and most of the time the fins are intact and not injured.

I tried to photograph only fish that are required as a record of a new species captured, or if I need a better photograph of prime specimens (more beautiful, larger more mature animal, sometimes juvenile that has different appearances...etc). Most of the time, the fish that I catch was promptly released after unhooking without photographs. The landing and unhooking process usually takes around 10 seconds.

Edited by MuskieBait, 14 January 2014 - 11:53 AM.

Thanks for sharing Ken!

We're going to have to work harder to find more freshwater natives next time we're down there.

The Nurse Shark, which was caught twice that night, took me around 30 minutes to get to leader. We tried to walk it back to shore to unhook and release, but the shark took me under the bridge 4 times and eventually cut the 60lb line when the wore through. My friend Michael then hooked the same shark again an hour later and this time we were able to walk the shark (in the water) 2000 feet back to shore where we could lasso it around the mid section and guide it over a break in the seawall into a small pool of water. We unhooked it, took a few quick pictures and rested it in the shallow pool before releasing it.

Sure sounds like it was memorable!

Thanks for sharing Ken!

We're going to have to work harder to find more freshwater natives next time we're down there.

Most definitely Ben. Now that you and I have knock off a lot of the common saltwater species, the freshwater natives (especially in Northern Florida) and saltwater micros are where I can make some progress.

I still want to catch some sharks though

I seriously think we need to take a trip in the summer...Skyway should fish well in the summer for sharks when the water is not so cold. It'll also allow us to wade in the Northern Florida streams...as long as there are no gators...

Did you notice how much nicer the Oscars down there are than the ones you typically see in stores? Natural sunlight has a very nice effect on pigmentation, eh?
Nice parrotfish! Not a common find.
The Aleutera scripta filefish was a beauty.
Porkfish are great. I don't know why they aren't more popular in the hobby.

Did that Graysby Grouper survive, or did he make a very tasty meal? LOL

I've GOT to get back down there soon...