Readers Stories

Smack. Slap. That's the way my morning began at the end of a long, dark road, on an eastern edge of Tampa Bay. No-see-ums started nipping necks and legs as we loaded our gear into the boat. Looking back, that was the only negative thing that day held in store...

Chokoloskee, Florida - 2008 Winds fifteen, gusting to 20, NNW; extreme low, full moon tide at 6:30 A.M.; temperature under the chickee at the water's edge: 48-degrees. The old houseboat tied up in the little marina was not floating; indeed, it was resting on a mud flat. Two small jon...

All four of my kids went to their grandfathers on Saturday, so my wife and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. We got up before sunrise to rig up for snook and reds, and readied the offshore gear so we could live bait and high speed troll as...

On June 26th, my wife Rhonda and I left our home in Juliette, Georgia and headed for a long weekend of fishing ...

When a tournament like the Big Bend Saltwater Classic is produced, the organizers can only hope it will be a success. Success comes in many forms including great weather, great fishing and a great turnout. You even hope for a few records to be broken. But the 18th Annual Big Bend Saltwater Classic, held June 16-18, 2006, included a...

Jacksonville, the largest city in the USA - known for its sun laden ...

My dad, Roy Athey, loves to fish. It all started when he was 5 years old. His mom cut a willow branch, rigged ...

After a week of enduring grocery lists, childcare, laundry, nightly dinners for a family of five, and the...

Tu Tu, the great fish, seemed to be getting weaker, bleeding out, and probably the reason we were able to stay with her for the past two hours. The 80-pound tackle was nothing more than ultra light tackle to this "honored grand mother.' This made for quite a tug-of-war. There...

How many times can you catch the same fish? As many times as you'll let me tell the story. ...

While fishing in the Cobia Invitational, Matt Clark spotted a white object moving southeasterly. We quickly steered toward it to inspect what we thought would be a manta ray, which generally means cobia. As we got closer we thought maybe a whale. Then after getting on top of the thing...

Making durable, highly-visible, customized marking buoys is easily and inexpensively done. A review of available buoys on the market range in price from $8.00 through $35, with some topping $60 (those with automatic line stoppers). The final cost for making your own buoys is about $2.00 per buoy, with most...