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The Fishing, Diving and Boating Magazine of the Florida Keys

FishMonsterM A G A Z I N E

SPRING 2016 Volume 6 Issue 3

SPECIAL Spring

ISSUE!

SPRingTarponmigration

wreck fishing:

verticaljigging

Spearfishing 101

THE SPRING TARPON MIGRATION BY CAPT. MIKE BARTLETT

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30SPEARFISHING 101 BY CAPT. ERIC BILLIPS

TARPON FISHING FROM A KAYAKBY CAPT. RANDY MORROW

ISLAMORADA OFFSHORE REPORTBY CAPT. RICK RODRIGUEZ

GOING VERTICALBY CAPT. BEAU WOODS

SPRING FISHING BY CAPT. RICK STANCZYK

BROAD MINDEDBY CAPT. NICK STANCZYK

FishMonsterM A G A Z I N E

Spring 2016 Contents

36

8TARPON ETIQUETTE:THE P’s & Q’s of Tarpon FishingCAPT. JOHN SAHAGIAN

Springdolphin fishingat it’s best!

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39

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COVER PHOTONothing says “Springtime in the Florida Keys” like big dolphin offshore in the ultra blue Atlantic offshore waters from Key Largo to Key West. Captain David Richardson holds a dolphin that weighed in at close to thirty pounds. The fish was part of a quality dolphin catch found on a current edge scattered with debris in 600 feet of water offshore of Key West. The tally for the day stopped at twelve dolphin total with fish averaging between 10 and 20 pounds.

EDITOR’S NOTE

READER PHOTOS

ARTIFICIAL WRECK & REEF COORDINATES

FLORIDA KEYS FISHING REGULATIONS

The clues of spring are everywhere from Key Largo to Key West all the way to the Dry Tortugas, the Bahamas and Cuba. These islands all have two things in common, the

Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Stream which become littered with underwater creatures making a move or trying to recreate. The abundance of sea life that our islands experience during the special spring season leads the way to our special spring issue of FishMonster Magazine. All of our contributors are blooming with springtime excitement. Most of our backcountry guides will fill you in on the do’s and don’ts of tarpon fishing. Protocol with other anglers and the tarpon themselves will be touched upon in some articles and hammered home in others. Our full time guides are making another solid effort to educate the out of town guides and new anglers in

regards to skinny water etiquette. We do have our share of encroachments during the migration.

Our offshore contributors are anticipating the the blue water to be teeming with dolphin. Those little green monsters are the focus from now until November for the fleet and this special spring issue carries a few of the favorite dolphin tournaments to enter.

Our bubble blower contributors are touting underwater hunting and the infectious nature of the sport. Spearfishing is the new extreme sport and springtime is the gateway to the hunt.

As always, thank you for your support, we are what we are today because of you. Enjoy!

-Captain Marlin & Dianne Scott

Spring is Special

Advertising Inquiries 305-432-0046 Sales@FishMonster.comPO Box 420844 Summerland Key, FL 33042 www.FishMonster.com 305-432-0046

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Junior Fishmonsterof the Month

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reason why to photos@fishmonster.com.

Jade Hair Jade caught and released this nice sized grouper offshore of Ramrod Key

in the lower Florida Keys.

Seven year old Hope Owens from Buffalo, New York beat her brothers to the targeted species by catching this

mutton snapper aboard the Double 00 out of Cudjoe Gardens Marina in the

lower Florida Keys.

Hope Owens