John the Crazy Fish Guy

Venting

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:32:05 +0000

Vent the fish before returning them to the water. It is now state law in Florida to carry a venting tool on your boat. Venting the fish allows 85% of the fish returned to survive when returned to the water. It keeps them from flopping around on the surface until they die. When you return a fish the water it can be caught again when they are bigger and better table fare. Less dead fish means more fish to catch. It is best to vent the fish as quickly as possible with a minimum of handling. If the fish’s stomach is in or coming out of the fish’s mouth, do not attempt to push it back into the fish’s body. Expelling the swim bladder gases will allow the stomach to return to its normal position within a few hours. Hold the fish gently but firmly on its side and insert the venting tool at a 45-degree angle approximately one to two inches back from the base of the pectoral fin. Only insert the tool deep enough to release the gases — do not skewer the fish. The sound of the escaping gas is audible and deflation is noticeable. If a fish is extremely bloated, use your free hand to exert gentle pressure on the fish’s abdomen to aid deflation. The fish’s stomach should not be punctured. Return the fish to the water as soon as possible. If necessary, revive it by holding the fish with the head pointed downward and moving the fish back and forth to pass water over the gills until the fish is able to swim unassisted.

john@crazyfishguy.com

Sinkers and Swivels

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:29:28 +0000

A good thing to remember is the smaller the sinker usually the better you are. The sinker is to get your line down to the bottom. Too much sinker gets you down to the bottom but makes you fight the sinker instead of the fish. When the fish is not at the bottom but running somewhere in the middle a sinker will hold live bait down to keep them where the fish are.

Swivels are a must do. Swivels keep your line from getting all twisted up. Allows you a better feel for the fish and keeps the line from getting kinks and knots as your bait swims around.

john@crazyfishguy.com

Leads to Better Catches!

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:55:13 +0000

You should use a leader that is right for the clarity of the water. It also must be right for the type of fish you are looking for. If you are fishing for Kings using 40 pound test mono leader would not be considered real smart if you want to get any fish to the boat. A steel leader will get more fish to the boat. If you are fishing for AJ’s 60 or 80 might be in order depending on the size of the fish. They seem to be there but don’t seem to be hitting like they should, reduce the size of the leader and loosen the drag you’ll catch a lot more fish. Many times especially in clear water you can see fish but they aren’t hitting. That is a prime time to use a lighter longer leader and a smaller hook.

Keep an eye on your leader if it shows any signs of chaffing replace it. Chafing does two things it increases visibility and weakens the line. Fluorocarbon line is more expensive but in my opinion is well worth the added expense. As the fishing season moves on towards fall from spring and summer the fish seem to get more and more leader shy. Lighter you can go with your tackle the better your fishing will be and the more skill you will develop.

john@crazyfishguy.com

Stay Sharp!

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:53:36 +0000

Keep your Hooks sharp. More fish have been lost because the hook did not penetrate than anything else. First he’s there then he’s not. Sharpen the hook it is very easy and I guarantee you it will make a difference. Try to avoid steel files first time it gets wet it is done throw it away. Many stores carry diamond hones and that’s the best I know of.

john@crazyfishguy.com

Circle Hooks Ahoy!

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:50:28 +0000

Oh yea tips to catch more fish, yea, yea I remember. You might not think some of my other tips the most important, but they are the ones that insure you and your children will be fishing tomorrow and beyond.

Okay, on to the good stuff…Use circle hooks. Better for the fish and better for you. The one thing that you must adjust when using circle hooks is the snatch and jerk technique. DO NOT DO IT. You simply real up the fish the hook slides to the corner of his mouth and he’s caught. Sounds simple right? When you are use to snatching the rod and pulling back quick to “set” the hook, it is tough to get use to not snatching it.

However that is what you must do. Most of the time just the slight rocking of the boat is enough to hook the fish. This is excellent for kids they actually catch fish they didn’t know were there. WOW! REAL FUN. What you will find is that you’re catching more fish with less effort and the fish caught are easier to get off the line when you get them to the boat.

One thing I do to a circle hook is offset the point from the shank just slightly, kind of like a very skinny as you look at the hook point to shank. Make sure not to overdo it because over doing it will make the hook weak. What you don’t want to do is have the hook break off when you are on the big one you’ve been waiting for.

Bag YOUR limit

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:32:19 +0000

I for one would like to continue to catch fish on a daily basis which brings us to another thing I would say this is extremely important. Pay attention to bag limits and size limits they are there for a reason.

Keep only what you are going to eat. Don’t keep extra fish for friends and don’t keep extra for the kids it is YOUR bag limit. Instead take them fishing! When you do that and they have a good time perhaps they might learn what it is to be a good steward of the sea. Maybe, just maybe, this valuable resource will be important to them as well. Perhaps they will help us to preserve it.

When our government gets involved with “fish management” like they are doing in the gulf with Grouper and red snapper they will continue to take the easy road, which is to cut off recreational fishing first because we are the harder ones to monitor.

The other thing to remember is commercial fishermen have lobbyist to fight for them. Without our banding together as recreational fishermen we are the first to get axed when it comes to limits. We as recreational fishermen bring in more money per fish in to the state and federal budgets than commercial fishermen do. So let’s keep to the limits and keep our rights!

john@crazyfishguy.com

Fish and Chips…Not!

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:26:51 +0000

Don’t throw anything in the water that didn’t come out of the same water. This is more important than most people think.

What we have to remember is fish are not as bright as people might think. They will in most cases eat just about anything once or twice. They test things with their mouths.

When you’re a fish you don’t have fingers you can’t pick it up feel it and think to yourself, ah that’s not food! You put it in your mouth to test it and if you’re a young fish you’ll probably swallow it before you know what happened. Oops now it’s a sick fish.

This tip of not throwing things in the water includes people food. I have been diving all my life and have seen all kinds of fish and strange things under the sea. But I have never seen a fish with a ham sandwich or an apple or a bag of chips. Sick fish die or get eaten by bigger fish which in turn get sick from what the sick fish ate and so on and so on and so on.

What that means is you can’t catch them when their dead or if you do they won’t put up much of a fight! So remember, keep it clean out on the water!

john@crazyfishguy.com

Pix ‘o Fish!

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:20:53 +0000

Man, these have got to inspire you to take the boat out and toss that baited hook in!

John with the Family

Paul with his Cobia

Beautiful fish!

The Girls with Their Catch of the Day!

The Captian with a Shark

Have two stocked tackle boxes

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:16:48 +0000

Now I don’t think anyone should be wasteful (especially with the enviroment), but I also think that we make dumb moves sometimes. And we waste time when we don’t customize. So here’s my take on tackle…

Meet John, the Crazy Fish Guy

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:55:27 +0000

People think I’m crazy because I’m willing to share my years of fishing expertise with the world. Even better — I’ve got the GPS coordinates! - of the places no one else will even talk about. Got sport fishing on your mind? Dude, it’s on mine ALL the time. (it gets me in trouble with the family on occasion)

Check out my photo gallery of the snapper, grouper, mackerel and other great sport fish I’ve been catching. You can also click on the FREE “7 stupid mistakes I’ve made fishing” button and I’ll email you the report — and I won’t even ask you not to laugh at how crazy I’ve been a few times.

Last week the moons and stars aligned and I grabbed my neighbor and we had our own fishing party. It was one of those perfect “out on the sea” days of clear sky and smooth water. Oh yeah, plenty of big game fish too! Click on the video to see my buddy Tony for tips on the tackle we used and reeling in a NICE sized red snapper.

VIDEO HERE