Florida Fishing Academy Student Photography

Over the last few months we have had a few students who have expressed interest in photography.  Here are a few photographs the students took using an infrared filter.  Some of the students are getting really good at putting the camera on the correct settings and setting the camera for the perfect shot.  More photographs to come....

Saturday Fishing Class 1/22/11 and Thursday Fishing

This past Saturday was a very cold fishing class and the fishing was a little slow.  Even though the fishing was slow the students hung in there and kept fishing.  Their determination finally paid off as the eventually started catching barracudas and even a flounder.  We even had a few friendly manatees come right up to us to see what was going on.

I also wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of two of the students on Thursday.  We were fishing out on the outside pier next to an elderly gentleman who had been out there fishing trying to catch dinner for a few hours.  He was answering questions and talking to the students, when one of them  caught a larger mangrove snapper.  Instead of putting the fish in the bucket and keeping it, he walked the fish over to the gentleman and gave the fish to him for his dinner.  We could all see he had been out there a while and getting cold.  He was extremely appreciative and shortly after receiving the fish he packed up his equipment and went home to cook the fish.

Holiday Boat Parade Awards Lunch

Today Captain Rich and I were invited to a wonderful lunch by the City of Boynton Beach.  At the lunch Captain Rich was acknowledged for his 3rd place standing in last month's Boynton Beach/Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade.  No too shabby for the Academy's first attempt in the parade!!

Captain's Report 12/29/10 and 1/5/11

Last week Captain JJ and I had 2 fishing charters.  During the morning charter we cleared Boynton Inlet a little after 8:00am and trolled straight out of the inlet and caught a dolphin-fish before zig-zagging north where we caught a bonita.  On the afternoon trip we trolled around between the inlet and the water tower in 75ft-135ft.  We were much more successful catching 8 kingfish and 1 nice wahoo.  Both trips we were trolling 3 lures on the surface with bonita strips and one deep lure with a bonita strip.

Yesterday Captain Rich and I went out in the morning to see what we could find.  We trolled out about 2.5 miles and catch 2 nice dolphin-fish before heading in south of the inlet and trolled around in 75ft-130ft.  Trolling around in shallow resulted in a nice sized kingfish and two more short hits.

Village Academy Fishing Trip 12/13/10

After being in a classroom learning about fishing for the last 10 weeks, Village Academy finally earned their fishing trip.  Capt Rich and I met the students at Caloosa Park so the students could try and practice everything they had learned.  They were able to fish thanks to FISH FLORIDA who donated the fishing rods and tackle boxes to the students.  Sadly, due to the extreme cold the fish were not biting.  However, everyone had a wonderful time and I strongly believe we have a new group of ethical anglers in south Florida.

Boynton Holiday Boat Parade and Saturday Fishing 12/11/10

                                                              Ray and his Barracuda

This past Friday night the Florida Fishing Academy was entered into the Boynton Beach and Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade.  Everyone on board had a magical time spreading festive cheer, and our boat won 3rd place in our division.

This past Saturday was another great day of fishing.  I met Ray, Kevin and a few more students at the classroom and we headed down to the boat ramp.  Using greenies and squid we caught 3 big barracudas, some large mangrove snappers, and lost a snook at the dock.  Around lunch time we went over to Intracoastal Park and caught some sheephead and ocean perch using shrimp.  This Saturday was another very successful and exciting day for me and the students who came out and fished and learned with me.  Along with all the fish caught, the students were lucky enough to see manatees swimming around the park all day trying to find some warmer water.

Saturday Fishing Class 12/4/10

This past Saturday was the most exciting and most enjoyable Saturday for me and the students since we began the classes.  Most of the students arrived early around 8am and the remaining students arrived at 11am, and we all fished together till 5pm.  By the time I arrived at the Boat Ramp, Ray and his brother had already caught an Amberjack, a blue-ruuner, and a Spanish Mackeral.  We continued to catch Spanish Mackeral, Blue-runners, snappers, grunts, and even a Sea-Robbin.  We caught all our fish on either frozen squid, frozen mullet, or live bait some of the students were catching after learning how to throw the cast-net.  We even had a family of manatee come right up to us to see how we were doing fishing!