I love fishing in Florida in the fall. Of course, I also love fishing in Florida in the winter, spring and summer, but right now it's fall, so that's what I love. What's to love, you ask? To start with, I don't have to get up as early to be fishing when the sun rises. ...

I’m starting to think about a new boat. Not ‘new’ in the sense of right off the showroom floor, just new in that it will be a new addition to my fleet. This one will be used to run out of Fort Pierce or Jupiter Inlet looking for bottom fish, dolphin and mackerel. ...

If you’re like me, you usually make a big production of going fishing. Check out the tackle, replace worn leaders, survey your inventory of lures to be sure you’ve got the variety you think you’ll need, get a thermos of coffee and a snack, load the boat, check for sunglasses, hat, sun block, make sure you have the right tackle box, etc. You can spend an hour just getting ready to fish. ...

Sea trout are the usual target when I go fishing on the Indian River flats south of Vero Beach. They’re fun to catch, there are plenty of them around and they make a tasty dinner. While I often use live bait, mostly shrimp this time of year, I also like the action of a top-water plug. ...

When business takes me to south Florida I always try to schedule a little free time to stop by Outdoor World, the sprawling big-box retailer of all things outdoorsy.  The store, adjacent to Interstate 95 in Dania, a semi-suburb of Fort Lauderdale, is loaded to the gills with all sorts of stuff: clothes, knives, canoes, grills and smokers. You name it, the store has it. ...

Pompano should start showing up in the waters around Vero Beach soon and that will bring out the surf casters. My friend Jack is a avid surf fisherman and has been telling me for the last couple of years about how far he cast his custom-made surf fishing rig, a Penn 525 Mag revolving spool reel harnessed to a 12-foot custom surf rod. I kept wondering what was so much better about that rig than a spinning setup, so a few days ago I challenged Jack to a hurling contest. ...

It isn’t hard to understand that boating is a big industry in Florida. Everywhere you look you see boats of all sizes and types. But it’s always mind boggling to spend a little time on or near the water in Fort Lauderdale to get a perspective on just how huge and important the marine business is to Florida. ...

Pompano are one of my favorite fish. They fight like tigers and taste great to boot. It’s about time for them to be arriving on the Treasure Coast. ...

Trout are out of season right now on Florida’s east coast, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fresh trout for dinner. It all depends on what you think the meaning of “fresh” is. Living and fishing on the Indian River I have a pretty high standard for “fresh. ...