Author: Derek Redwine

With the onset of the cobia run about to descend on the east coast of Florida, many anglers will be hitting the tackle shops to load up on heavy spinners, boxes of squid and big jigs. Tripletail Tip – How to catch Tripletail While my sights are focused on the “brown ones,” I always keep a lighter outfit ready for the other brown one — the tripletail. Although the tripletail is smaller, they put up no less of a fight when paired with the right tackle. Tripletail are commonly found in the same haunts as cobia, including floating debris, weedlines,…

My Friend Jason Levine used to work at Melton Tackle.  He and I were speaking back and forth about pulling “jigs” or lures for marlin. Jason ran their online store so his knowledge with products is amazing. As we were discussing many of the So Cal captain’s strategies for catching local striped marlin I asked him what were Melton’s top-five selling striped marlin lures. Jason really gets into his work and has access to a full warehouse of fishing gear and thousands of products. He’s also a marlin lure junkie with literally hundreds in his collection. “Jason put together a list of…

Cobia Gulp Eel Tip Thawed squid that has been left out too long is probably the worse smelling bait in the world to fish with, but squid works well when fishing for cobia. However, there are other artificial baits out there that won’t leave you slimy and stinky but still get a cobia to hammer your jig. Berkley offers several different eel-shaped soft plastic baits in its line of Gulp scented baits, and they’re perfect for cobia fishing along the coast of Florida. In the past, all of my cobia outings included a stop at the local tackle shop to…

A few weeks ago I did a little spring shopping. Florida summer is coming fast and that means blazing sun and frequent afternoon thunderstorms. This coupled with upcoming travel plans to California, the Keys and New Orleans meant I needed to gear up. I’m getting too old not to be comfortable on a boat. My wish list included the Aftco bibs , for sloppy but warm weather, a light rain jacket , a thin sweat shirt for cool early mornings, a few pairs of shorts, and a pair of flip flops. I also got my son and his fishing buddies…

Fishing Novel The Sound Of Many Waters By Sean Bloomfield When my friend, Sean Bloomfield, told me he’d written a novel, I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve known Sean since his days as a 15-year-old shrimp-dipper at a bait and tackle shop in Port Canaveral. He loved to write, and I loved to draw, so, way back then, we teamed up to create a little fishing magazine called Local Secrets. We both laugh when we look back at our little 6-page magazine now, but we had fun doing it, and we learned a lot. After Sean got a degree…

Fred Hall Show long beach The Fred Hall Show Long Beach at the Long Beach Convention Center and Arena is the premier outdoor recreation show featuring the largest selection of the nation’s leading equipment manufacturers. Fred Hall Show Entrance Gigantic crowds of passionate outdoor enthusiasts made their way to this year’s show in celebration of the great outdoors and the kickoff of the new season. Fred Hall BD booth The BD Booth was the place to get the newest BD Swag. BD Outdoors booth Our BD Girl made everyone who visited our booth feel welcome and made sure they had a…

If you fish in Florida, and especially in the East Central part of the state, then you’ve probably noticed the increasing numbers of large Spotted Sea Trout in the Indian River Lagoon system. In the past couple of years, the amount of 2 to 5 pound trout I’ve caught and seen has been staggering to say the least. That said, as much as I enjoy catch-and-release fishing, I also enjoy a good, healthy meal. After releasing sea trout for 30 plus years, I’m not ashamed to say that my family and I will target a couple of these tasty fish…

Panama City Mountain Top View For the BD Outdoors crew, the trip to Isla Secas begins with a few nonstop flights from both coasts to Panama City. Moments after arrival, a resort representative had us sitting comfortably in a lounge, beer in hands, while they expedited the customs and baggage clearance. Brant Panama City View Typically on a trip to Islas Secas, you spend a night in Panama City, and then catch another flight to David in the morning. We decided to spend a whole day checking out the city before continuing to the resort. Casco Viejo Casco Viejo was…

Most poke (pronounced “poe-key”) uses the same ingredients to make this traditional Hawaiian dish — fresh fish (usually ahi or yellowfin tuna), seaweed, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil. I switched out the sesame seed oil for limejuice and ended up with a delicious, light appetizer. INGREDIENTS Serves 4 ½ Pound Fresh “Ono” (Hawaiian for wahoo) 1 tsp. Course Hawaiian Salt 1 Heaping Tbsp. Ogo Seaweed 1 tsp. Chili Pepper (adjust depending on how spicy you like your food) ½ Lime, Squeezed Fresh-Cut Scallions for Garnish DIRECTIONS A few years ago Ali Hussainy, co-owner of BD, turned me on to…

Black Drum Fishing Florida Although I consider myself more of an offshore fisherman at heart, the chance to hunt down a 30- to 70-pound fish in skinny, crystal-clear water definitely gets my heart pumping. The size of the fish you can chase offshore is typically of a bigger class, but you can’t always get offshore and sometimes I just don’t have the time to put in a full day. So when I need a quick fix for something of size and another sea trout or redfish just won’t cut it, I like to go out and stalk a true giant…

Well it’s finally time! Over the past summer I shot a second show with my friend Jose Wejebe, host of the Spanish Fly television show on the Outdoor Channel. The show should come out pretty funny, the episode follows us using various watercrafts to fish local ponds, ditches and rivers around my home waters in Merritt Island, Florida. The premise of the show that Jose wrote up says, “What do you do in tough economic times when you want to go fishing but don’t have the means to get in a big center console boat? Downsize everything —including your…

My wife Cory and I recently joined up with our good friend Brad Spalding and the crew on the Brassy Hooker to help out at a shrimp boil to benefit the Wounded Warriors (www.woundedwarrior project.org). The boil took place at Patrick Airforce base, which is just south of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ali and Jason at BD hooked us up with a care package to give out at the event, and sent us off with BD shirts and stickers for donations, and all of the participants were very happy for the gifts. The Brassy Hooker crew, including Brad, Ashley, Danny, TK,…

PEI Home of Giant Bluefin Tuna How do you describe a fishing trip of a lifetime, the proverbial “bucket list” trip? Flying over Nova Scotia, sipping on a cocktail, I reflect on the last five days. My laptop is littered with images of giants. My ass and legs are sore, my arms scream to lift another drink. Did this really happen? Expectations can be the root of all evil. This one lived up to the hype. Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is located on the east coast of Canada. It’s connected to the mainland by the Confederation Bridge. The…