You will be fishing with the top of the line in fishing platform.  My 23' center console Panga Marquesas is one of the most fishable bay and coastal guide boats in the Sarasota area that can fish all of the skinny water and back water on Sarasota bay plus the coastal offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico.   You can mix your fishing up with a little inshore and offshore in the same trip.

With a very large variety of fish in this area, this boat will allow you to fish the shallow grass flats for Trout and Redfish or move to the docks and Mangroves for Snook.   On those windy days, make the long runs across the open bay to the protected fishing grounds without taking a bath.  We can fish the swift waters of the inlets for Pompano and Bluefish, the beaches for Tarpon and Cobia, or the natural and artificial reefs for a possible Grouper, Barracuda, Permit, Snapper, or Kingfish, just to name a few. I carry plenty of live bait and artificial lures on board for different kinds of fishing.  This is hands on fishing for the novice or experienced.   I find them, you catch them!  I find it more gratifying for both of us if I teach you how to catch fish rather then catch fish for you.

Tackle we fish with:
The rod and reel of choice for most of our fishing and the one we never go fishing without is the Penn 550 spinning reel with 12 pound test tournament monofilament line, and a one piece, 7',  graphite rod.  Some times we need to kick it up for bigger fish, then we might go to a Penn 750 with 20 pound test line, Penn 950 with 30 pound test line, or a Penn 4/0 with 50 pound test line.  Ultra-light, Fly, and Bait-Casters are also fun but you would need to bring your own rod and reel for that.

 Baits we fish with:
Live and artificial, and only some cut bait for tipping jigs.  The lave bait is mostly live shrimp.  Small live fish also work if we catch them fresh, like pilchards, sardines, pinfish, and grunts etc..  The artificial baits we use are mostly hard and soft jigs, such as D.O.A. 3" shrimp, Silly-Willy, Diamond jigs, pompano jigs, etc..

Methods of fishing:
Drifting with a free-line and casting or dragging your bait.  Anchoring over a reef and dropping your bait straight down with a small splitshot or jig.  Casting under docks and boats.  Sight fishing and casting to a fish or schools of fish. Popping cork with live bait or D.O.A. artificial baits.  I hardly ever troll but sometimes we need to for fish in the mackerel and tuna family.

Where do I fish:
All of Sarasota bay and backwaters south to Siesta Key.  The adjacent Gulf of Mexico off shore 9 miles, optional and weather permitting.  Offshore we have some large reefs within 3 miles of the beach.  In all I have about 200 square miles to fish.

What do we fish for:
I normally fish for what is on the bite at the time of your trip.  I can also target fish if you ask, but that could be less productive if they are not on the bite.  I am like any predator, I may be looking for Elk but if I find Buffalo I am not going to give up a meal. Snook, redfish, grouper, pompano, tarpon, cobia, etc. are all on our list to catch and we are more likely to find concentrations of a species at different times of the year, but they are not predictable to the day or week that they will be hot.  Mother Nature Rules and I just look for the best action and fun we can have in your time span.
For more info, please click on "What we will fish for".

I have well over 40 years experience in Florida waters, actually a lifetime but it looks better if I stop at 40 :), and about 30 years spent in Sarasota as a full time fishing guide.  My boat is fully equipped with fishing and navigational electronics. The boat has permanent flotation built-in.  I fish only the Sarasota area, so I am always up to date on the local fishing activity.

Remember, the more options you have when fishing the better your chances are of having an action filled day.  Good fishing weather will give us more options, but if the weather is poor and the fishing is good, we will never notice the weather.