Species: Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) Location: Orlando, Florida Date: July 9, 2018 Admittedly, tarpon was my favorite catch in Florida, and the biggest prize for me as an angler, but the Longnose Gar I caught was a close second. Read about it here. #SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #149 —…
Species: Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) Location: Titusville, Florida Date: July 8, 2018 Every time a fish bites a baited hook, the reality is that they may be digging their own grave. I have no qualms with keeping fish, especially since seafood is my favorite. When given the opportunity to catch plentiful, good-eating fish, I’ve been known to…
Species: Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) Location: Titusville, Florida Date: July 9, 2018 It wasn’t a tarpon. It wasn’t a Ladyfish, either. It was something lighter in color with a big mouth. It was a snook. Snook are awesome. For years, they’ve been near the top of my target list, but they always seemed so unrealistic. Every video…
Species: Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) Location: Titusville, Florida Date: July 8, 2018 I already wrote this one. You can find it below. Ask any angler for a list of their 10 dream species, and Atlantic Tarpon will be on it. Megalops atlanticus entered my dream species list the moment I first watched these silver slabs of muscle erupt…
Species: Ladyfish (Elops saurus) Location: Titusville, Florida Date: July 9, 2018 Though Ladyfish can grow quite large, none of the 20 or so I caught while chasing tarpon were. I did manage to hook into one pushing 30 inches in length, but it spit the hook almost immediately. I was fishing a stretch of Florida brackish swamp…
Species: Bowfin (Amia calva) Location: Orlando, Florida Date: July 8, 2018 My seventh and final new species of the day made for a grand finale. This was my third-best day for new species, taking the Bronze to Croatia’s Gold and California’s Silver. The final species was one of my top targets, the Bowfin. Along with tarpon and…
Species: Coastal Shiner (Lepomis auritus) Location: Little Wekiva River, Florida Date: July 8, 2018 One of my favorite professors in college used to say “If you haven’t ____________, you haven’t lived.” He honestly had a lot of great catch phrases, but this was my favorite — especially as it relates to fishing. If you haven’t waited chest-deep…
Species: Seminole Killifish (Fundulus seminolis) Location: Urban Park, Orlando, Florida Date: July 8, 2018 My first killifish would prove to be one of the largest found in North America, but in order to catch it, I had to do some legwork. I was told they could be found all over Orlando, and though I ended up catching…
Species: Florida Gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) Location: Lake Fran Urban Wetlands, Orlando, FL Date: July 7, 2018 Gar are so cool, man. These fish can gulp air, will take most lures as well as bait, flies, and topwaters. I once had a four-foot Longnose Gar hit a Whopper Plopper three times during the retrieve. Not to mention, gar…
Species: Pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera) Location: Graffiti Bridge, Pensacola, FL Date: August 1, 2017 The second-most popular baitfish in the Gulf of Mexico is just one letter away from the first (Pinfish). I’m speaking, of course, of the Pinfish. I caught my one and only Pigfish fishing from a public pier in Pensacola minutes after night fell. There…
