Capt. Keith Grimes Tarpon Fishing

Tarpon Mania 2008

07/06/08

The boys of summer are back! From the passes to the beaches and clear water flats, Tarpon fishing has now reached world class levels. We are getting multiple jumps with most clients boating at least one fish. The really big (150+ lb) fish will begin showing up next week. While the smaller (less than 100 lbs)fish can be a lot easier to deal with, the monsters make for life time memories. We have been having great success with artificials of late. The most lethal weapon still remains a finger mullet. Watching these giant silver clad creatures leap six feet into the air is almost more than the heart can take. God, I love this time of year.

Hope to see you at the dock soon.

Captain Keith Grimes

Tarpon Everywhere!

06/25/08

We are absolutely kicking the Tarpon's butt right now. Artificials seem to be the ticket for now. Triple Tail are still all over the place. Redfish are all up and down the shoal. Is this paradise or what? The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I keep reminding myself that there will be a lot more Tarpon here in a week or so. If we get more than we have now, there could be a serious traffic jam. If you want to catch one of these giants, now is the right time. The next two months will yield more Tarpon than any other months of the year. Hope you get to take part. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

Tarpon, Pogies & Pelicans

06/19/08

Tarpon Mania is officially in full swing. We are jumping and boating Tarpon daily now. From the passes to the beaches, the show has began. As the summer heats up, the Tarpon fishing will only get better. We've caught numerous Triple Tail over 10 lbs. We've also hooked and lost a Triple Tail that would have went over 25 lbs. As good as things are now, I have to remind myself, we are just getting started. For the next two months Tarpon fishing along this coast is as good as it gets any where on the globe. The Triple Tail fishing is without dispute, the "Best in the World". I hope you have the chance to come spend a day on the water with us. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

Tarpon Mania

06/16/08

The large schools of Tarpon are finally here. If you have been waiting for them to show up, you don't have to wait any longer. We are jumping and catching fish on both artificial and live bait. The triple tail are still here and large. Other than the occasional thunderstorm, the weather has been great. These Tarpon should now be here consistantly through the season. Each week should get better an better. Hope you get a chance to visit with us. See you soon.

Captain Keith Grimes

Let the Games Begin!

06/10/08

Looking for a few good "Gladiators"! The "Monsters" are here. Went out on Monday. Saw several Tarpon just lazily rolling. There was however something in the air. There was a sense that something was about to happen. On Tuesday, it did. Like Monday, the pogies were there. However on Tuesday they had company. The Tarpon began busting up the party. I now know how the father felt when the prodigal son came home. I'm still grinning ear to ear. I will be there tomorow morning to continue our visitation. If you have never witnessed these giants partying like a bunch of spring breakers, you simply have got to see this. There are also some huge Triple Tail free floating in amoungst the pogies. God, is this paradise or what? Hope you get to visit with us (the Tarpon and I) soon. I'll report back soon.

Captain Keith Grimes

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

06/03/08

This is worse than waiting on Santa Claus. Went out of Indian Pass today after hearing scattered reports of Tarpon feeding. Forgot to make a live sacrifice to the wind gods. Couldn't get outside due to the white caps. We stayed inside and caught some Triple Tail, Trout and Flounder. We simply can't be too far off from the real show. Water temps are climbing steadily. I hope to make another trip over the weekend. I'll be fishing the bay for Trout & Reds for the next few days. We have been having some red hot days in the bay. The Redfish seem to be everywhere. The big Trout are also up on the flats.

As a good friend of mine once said "You have too much patience and absolutely no tolerance". Oh well. One out two is'nt bad. I think I'm going to talk to God about these Tarpon. Surely he has some influence with these over grown sardines. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

On Pins & Needles

05/30/08

Went out on Wednesday looking for Tarpon. Only saw one fish. The Pogies are starting to accumilate along the front of the islands. That's a good thing. We can't be too far away now. A few days and a couple of degrees warmer water will make big difference. Still hearing tales of Tarpon up some of the local rivers and creeks. I plan a trip next week to confirm those rumors. In addition I will also be revisiting West Pass to look for the little devils.

This week was a mixed bag but had some great fishing. We caught Trout,Triple Tail, Redfish, Flouder and Cobia. The flats fishing has really picked up. Some of the Trout were hogs. The reds were mostly 22"-29".

If you are looking for a Tarpon trip, "Hang in There"! They will be showing up any day now. Give us a call to reserve a date. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

They are on the way!

05/21/08

We are seeing more and more Tarpon along our coast of late. The water temps are hovering around the mid 70s. We need 78 degrees and preferably 80 degrees for the giants to show up in force. The first large schools of Tarpon should begin showing up in the passes and rivers. I will begin hunting them down just after Memorial Day weekend. We'll pray for no more cold fronts and milder winds moving forward.

The Redfish, Trout and Triple Tail all seem to be very eager to eat a well place bait. St Joe Bay is full of Pilchards (preferred live bait for Redfish & Trout). Given the vast supply of bait, the flats fishing should continue to get better and better. We are seeing some good numbers of Triple Tail. Toss them a live shrimp, they will become your best friend. Some Pompano are still being caught. They are still some real monster Pompano hanging out also.

My next report will be around the end of next week. I hope to have some Tarpon stories to tell by then. Hope all of you have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend.

Captian Keith Grimes

Counting Down!

05/12/08

As of this posting we have 33 days,17 hours and 4 minutes until Tarpon Season 2008 "Blast Off". Not that I'm counting. We are still having sporadic sightings of Tarpon up and down St George Island & Cape San Blas beaches, inside St Joe Bay and around Apalachicola. Some fish are still being sighted and jumped out of Lanark. A recent cold front will slow them for a day or two. We should however start seeing some real numbers around Memorial Day.

We are still catching schooling redfish. Some of the schools are very large. Most of these fish are slot size (18"-27"). Some are however over the 30" mark. Trout are becoming more numerous. Most are on the small side. A few fish are however really nice (over 24"). The large schools of Pompano are thining out. Some of the world class (over 5 lbs) fish are still here. I love sight fishing these large Pompano. You typically don't get a lot of shots but when you do, "WOW". Haven't seen any Cobia this week. It seems the big spring push of Cobia never really happened due to the severe fluctuations in the water temps this spring. We are starting to see some real good numbers of Triple Tail. The really big fish should arrive along with the Tarpon.

Hope you have the opportunity to join us for the Tarpon season. Give us a call @ 850-509-0573 or email us @ fkgtflats@fairpoint.net. See you at the dock!

Reversal of Fortunes

05/07/08

The God's are playing with us. The recent sighting and subsequent catches of a few Tarpon remind me of playing with a kitten with thread and a button. The poor kitten will chase the button until it is absolutely exausted only to end up with nothing for it's efforts. I believe the Tarpon God's do the same with us each year early in the season. Time is however nearing for the opening of the real show (Tarpon Season 2008). We are just over 30 days away. The sightings should continue to increase in frequency over the next month. I just need to find a suitable live sacrifice for the wind God's. Yes, it is still blowing.

On a brighter note, we have been having some great catches of large redfish. The winner for the FLW Redfish Tournament this last weekend fished St Joe Bay all three days. The pompano are in and out depending on the water clarity. There are however some world class fish mixed in the schools. The large trout still don't seem to have moved onto the flats like normal for this time of year. The cobia are starting to thin out also.

Water temps have stabilized and should thus allow for consistant catches moving forward. NOAA is calling for high winds through the weekend. I'm going to have to do something about this bad karma thing.

Give us a call or email us to reserve your date for Tarpon season. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes
850-509-0573
fkgtflats@fairpoint.net

Tarpon, SCA & Boats

05/02/08

As promised, I went looking for Tarpon. Found a small pod on Wednesday. Jumped one large fish on a top water plug. Nothing is more beautiful than seeing a 100+ lb Tarpon leap into the air. I got three jumps from her before she decided to toss the plug back at me. Oh well. I was limited in my search due to the relentless high winds. SCAs (small craft advisories) have been our constant companion of late. We are suppose to have high winds through the weekend. I will get back out as soon as the winds subside. As mentioned previously, the Tarpon that are here now are the early arrivals. They will be scattered at best. The quest however is worth it.
Had to take the boat in to the doctor for a visit. God took a rib and gave us a woman in return. It seems he took my wallet and gave me a boat in exchange. B.O.A.T. (bring-out-another-thousand).
I have been experiencing some real email issues of late. Please accept my apologies if you have experienced difficulties in emailing me from the site. For the time being, please email me at fkgtflats@fairpoint.net or give me a call @ 850-509-0573. I am trying my best to resolve this issue.
I hope you get to make the 2008 Tarpon Season. We still have some prime dates in July & August. Give us a call. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

Gone Tarpon!!!!!!

04/28/08

It's official! The first of the Tarpon are here. It's like falling in love for the first time all over again. I will begin the hunt in earnest on Wednesday morning. Yes, they are a little early. I'm sure not going to complain. Several Tarpon were jumped by fly fisherman late last week and this weekend. These early Tarpon tend to be very willing to eat. Gosh, I love these fish. I can't say that we have Tarpon in real fishable numbers just yet. I should have more data by the end of the week. There is no doubt there are small schools along Cape San Blas, Mexico Beach, St George Island and Apalachicola. I'll begin this week searching the typical early season haunts. For those of you who are as finatical as I am, OK maybe not quite as finatical as I am, I'm sure you can appreciate the rush of seeing the first Tarpon of the year.

We are currently experiencing email issues. Please contact us via telephone @ 850-509-0573. I appologize for the inconvenience.

I'll be reporting again later this week on the Tarpon search. If you haven't already reserved your date for the Tarpon season, give us a call or an email. We still have some prime dates available. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

The Land of Oz

04/21/08

As promised in my previous report, Toto and I am reporting from the Land of Oz. The winds simply will not quit. If you read my last report, you know there were Pompano everywhere. The winds and thus dirty water took care of that.

We did however see three nice Cobia in St Joe Bay on Sunday. Ken (alias "The Tin Man")from Chicago made a great cast with a plastic eel. The fish followed but would not eat. Had we been prepared with live bait, I feel sure we could have enticed the little devil. Even in the wind I have seen some "Monster Pompano". The all tackle world record (8 3/4 lbs) was caught in St Joe Bay a few years ago. I have personally seen a number of Pompano that would top that weight. Anyone up to a "World Record Quest"? George also from Chicago caught a really nice 30" Redfish on Monday. We caught a good number of Trout, but most were small.

The water temp should continue its upward trend over the next week. That's good news. Now if we can just get the wind to lay down.

We also had a report of a large school of Tarpon sighted offshore this last week. With just over 50 days to the official opening of Tarpon season, I am on pins & needles.

Give us a call or shoot or an email if your thinking of coming to our area this summer. We'll show you and your family a great time. No flying monkeys. I promise. See you at the dock!

Captain Keith Grimes

Cape San Blas Fishing Report: Let the Games Begin

04/18/08

Water temps have reached 70 degrees. The Pompano are all over the gulf side shoals. All the species are moving about. "Life is Good". I am booked up next week. The winds are suppose to start laying down tomorrow night. Maybe I do have some karma left. Water temps should climb another few degrees by weeks end. If the winds lay down, this is going to be a great week. I will be hunting for the Cobia pods that should be surfing down the coast this week. The water is clear and should be great for some sight fishing opportunities. I will be reporting again on Monday. Be sure and check back then.

If you have any questions just reply to the blog or send an email. See you at the dock.

Captain Keith Grimes

Cape San Blas Fishing and Aunty Em

04/14/08

This may not be Kansas but I can sure empathize with that little mutt, Toto. If the winds continue, my next fishing report will be from the Land of Oz. The unfavorable weather patterns persist. Fishing has been spotty at best. We are expecting temps in the upper 30s in the morning. Water temps are subsequently taking a dive. Much like Pollyanna, I just know things are going to improve shortly.

I hate to sound like a broken record. We simply need water temps at or above 70 degrees to get this show started. I am booked up next week and am praying for warmer temps.

We are planning to wage an assault on the Pompano schools as soon as they remove their little sweaters. We are also hoping to be there to greet the Cobia as they begin there trek down the coast. All the rods are ready. The boat is fueled and iced. We just need Neptune to cooperate.

We are making our final preparations for the opening day of Tarpon Season. I find myself trying to find something else to focus on. I get so excited thinking about that first rolling fish, I can't stand it. Watching videos of previous Tarpon seasons is simply like foreplay. Is there anyone out there as obsessed with Tarpon fishing as I am?

If you're contemplating a Tarpon trip this summer, give us a call or shoot an email. July is booking up. Hope to see you at the dock.

Captain Keith Grimes

Fishing Cape San Blas, St George Island & Mexico Beach

04/09/08

Sorry for the delay in posting a fishing report. Being the eternal optimist (a fishing guide), I was holding out for better weather. Mother nature is apparently in a very bad mood.

The recent rains bode well for the upcoming Tarpon season. The rise in Apalachicola River water levels will supply the necessary fresh water to balance the salinity levels in Apalachicola and St Joe Bays for months to come. This is a vital component to the pogies (Tarpon bait) which will arrive in large numbers beginning in June. If the salinity level is in balance and remains stable, the large schools of pogies will stay as long as late October. That simply means the Tarpon will stick around also. God, I love those pogies. Two early season Tarpon have already been sighted. Thank God I was not the one to see them. I would probably still be out there fishing for them.If you haven't experienced Cape San Blas - St George Island Tarpon fishing, you need to make plans to do so. We still have a few days left for July (Prime Time) Tarpon trips. Give me a call or email and let us sign you up.

The water temps this morning were around 66 degrees. We had a reading of as high as 71 degrees last week. That's the old, "You should have been here last week". A lot of Pompano were caught when the water warmed. Several Cobia were even sighted during that time. The cooler temps this week will force the real onslaught to pause awaiting warmer surf temps. Maybe next week.

Some Trout and Redfish are being caught on the flats.The Redfish schools that we have found are large (over 100 fish). Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish are here in good numbers. Most of the Mackerel are small. Some large Spanish are being caught in deeper water.

If you have any questions, either respond to the blog or send me an email. I'll will respond promptly. Hope we get to share some time on the water this summer. See you at the dock!

Capt. Keith Grimes

Knocking on the Door

03/30/08

Large bait pods are moving into St Joe Bay. The Spanish are right on their heels. Mixed reports of Pompano being caught, more and more Trout moving onto the flats are all very positive signs. It is this time of the year that a professional fishing guide can't help but smile. Given the warmer days and nights forcasted for this week, I fully expect things to be ramping up quickly. The winds are finally trying to slow down also. April is stacking up to be a great month. The fishing will only get better and better as the month goes on. We can expect the large schools of Redfish begin to roam the flats. Cobia in real numbers should show any day now. April fishing along Cape San Blas, Mexico Beach and St George Island can go from docile to outright explosive within 24 hours, depending upon the water temp stability.

If you are planning a vacation to St George Island, Mexico Beach or Cape San Blas during the month of April, you are sure to have a great time. For a first class fishing trip, give us a call at 850-227-2135

See you at the Dock!
Capt Keith Grimes

Things are looking up!

03/23/08

The fishing gods seem to be in a little better mood this last week. The winds were high but so were the temps. Found some nice schools of Redfish up on the flats. The really large Trout have also started to venture into the shallower water. The Bluefish have started showing up along with just a few Spanish Mackerel. The really good news is the sighting of three large Pompano up on the flats. By next weekend we should begin seeing Pompano in fishable numers along the beaches of Cape San Blas. The Sheepshead are all ganging up as well. Probably saw close to 200 on Saturday. Would not surprise me to start seeing a few Cobia along the beaches this week as well. As a fishing guide I always seem to get a little impatient this time of the year. I am simply ready for the summer fishing patterns.

The new boat is proving to be a leathal weapon for sight fishing. I never dreamed you could put a 24' boat into areas as shallow as I have fished lately.

Have yet to see any pilchards (bait) in the bay as yet. They should also start showing within the next couple of weeks.

If you get down to this area this summer and want to have a first class day on the water, be sure to give us a call. 850-227-2135

Captain Keith Grimes

St George Island Fishing

03/19/08

I grew up running down the beaches of St George Island trying to catch up with the huge schools of Spanish Mackerel that were pludering their way down the Island. On those calm days when the water was flat and slick as glass, I would crawl on my hands and knees to the waters edge in an attempt to sneak a cast at the Redfish and Trout that I could see roaming down the troughs along the beach. Later we would sit on the tailgates of our 4wheel drives with the stereo blaring, rods in the sand spikes as we bragged of what we had caught and boasted of what we were yet to catch. Those were the days.

A few years have passed now. I am fortunate enough to be a professional fishing Guide. St George Island still is and will always be a part of my soul. The large schools of Spanish Mackerel are still pillaging the beaches. Redfish still roam the troughs along the waters edge. The Pompano fishing is amoung the best in the world. The Trout fishing along the bay side flats is as good as it gets. This Island even has one of the best Tarpon fisheries in existence. Yes, St George Island is "Paradise".

As a St George Island Fishing guide I spend most of my time closer to the west end of St George Island. During the months of March, April, May and the first half of June we chase the Refish, Spanish Mackerel, Trout, Cobia, Bluefish and Pompano. Come mid June I become a Tarpon fishing guide. See the info on the Tarpon Season page.

Due to limited boat ramps on St George Island, most guides launch from the mainland. Most of our launch spots are within 45 minutes of St George Island. If you are vacationing on St George Island, you are very fortunate. If you have the opportunity to go fishing during your stay, you are indeed blessed. Let us show you why we are one of the most sought after guide services on this coast. 850-227-2135

Cape San Blas, St George Island, St Joe Bay, Mexico Beach and Apalachicola Fishng Report

03/17/08

Cape San Blas fishing Guides have learned one word very well lately, "WIND"! The winds have been howling(20-25 mph). I took the new boat out today for a true test (25 mph winds). She absolutely ate it up. WOW! The winds did lay down long enough on Sunday for some scouting of St Joe Bay. The grass beds haven't really started to grow just yet. The bait needs the grass to hide in. The fish need the grass to ambush the bait. Now that's what I call a symbiotic relationship. I did however find two nice schools of redfish. Most seemed to be 20"-24". Saw a few trout. Having the ability to cruise the flats from a tower sure stacks the odds in our favor. The Indian Pass area is still reporting good catches of both Redfish & Trout. The winds have stalled the water warming momentum. At this point it seems we are probably looking at the first week in April before we get to 70 degrees. There are still scattered reports of a few Pompano being caught along the beaches from Panama City Beach to Cape San Blas and even St George Island. No reports of any real numbers however. This time of year always seems to try a fishing guides patience.

If your coming to our area for a few days of vacation, be sure to give us a call. 850-227-2135

Captain Keith Grimes