The July moon is ramping up and so is the fishing.  With 10-15 boats fishing the North Drop each day, the number of marlin bites has been increasing each day for the fleet.  One or two bites per boat turned into 2 releases per boat yesterday.  A mild tropical wave is rolling thru today ahead of the start of 50th annual July Open Billfish Tournament this weekend.  Stay tuned for a fishing report.

I might have a little spray on the lens after this catch.

A calm jumper on the leader.

The bite.  What can I say, the bite on the pitch bait is what it’s all about.

Last week I was invited to go bass fishing.  Something I haven’t done in 20 years.  The best part is that the location was just an hour drive away.  Our morning half day charter began with a meeting in a Home Depot parking lot where we met Capt. Roger Gonzales.  He is one of the guides with BassOnline.com.  A short drive away to some private property that only he has access to and we were launching the skiff.  This location was a bit sparse on the scenery and natural beauty that most fishing trips provide, but I quickly got over that when the Peacock Bass started biting.  These are amazing little fish.  We did some sight casting with top water plugs to fish along the shoreline.  And some slow trolling with live shiners along the drop off.  The topwater bites are remind me of a Jack Crevalle, fast and aggressive.  Our biggest catch was about 4 lbs, with plenty of smaller fish.  Even a few Largemouth Bass too.  All in all, a great trip full of action.  Roger runs a fantastic charter operation and really knows hows these fish think and how to get them to bite.  I highly recommend a fishing trip with him if you want to see some South Florida Peacocks.