- 6 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00I'm Nick Hanaszewski. As a professional saltwater fishing journalist I've
00:04explored the world's wildest fishing destinations. Now I'm bringing you there
00:09into the saltwater underground.
00:30The Florida Keys. Visitors to the 113 mile long island chain ride route one down past the telltale aquamarine concrete divider entering into America's island paradise with thoughts of cool breezes, palm trees, and fishing on their mind.
01:00Once you cross through Florida City into Key Largo over the historic Jewfish Creek Bridge a new world of possibility opens up. Key Largo sits as the first key you reach and is often overlooked for the more prominent lower keys districts but this key showcases the Everglades and Florida Bay backcountry filled with snook, redfish, sea trout, snapper, and grouper an area where the style of old Florida still reigns supreme.
01:28I dialed up Captain Bruce Davis a local conch born and bred in Key Largo and Bruce wanted to show me something special about the Key Largo backwaters.
01:38The first stop upon getting to Key Largo was to check in at Baker's Cay Resort, a lush 15 acre boutique seaside escape situated on the tranquil bayside waters where sunsets are stunning and the grounds are welcoming.
01:51Rooms at Baker's Cay are tailor made for comfort catering to a family friendly atmosphere with amenities such as beach recliners set on the bayside to swim in the shallow gin clear waters, two swimming pools that take a quick dip, a small but friendly hammock nature trail, bike rentals to tour town, and of course the Dry Rocks bar and Calusa restaurant for good times.
02:14I started my morning grabbing breakfast at the Dry Rocks restaurant at 7am sharp then passing the local black cat I hoped his presence would buck the superstitions and proceeded to walk down the Baker's Cay dock to meet up with Captain Bruce Davis of True Blue Charters to explore the backwaters of Florida Bay.
02:33All right Captain Bruce, here we go brother. Tell us a little bit about the grounds we're going to be fishing and what we're going to be targeting today.
02:48Well we'll be fishing out of Key Largo, we're going to be going into Florida Bay first, the Everglades part of it and we're going to be going back, we're going to use live bait, pilchards, pinfish, maybe some chunks of ladyfish and other dead bait and then we'll be going back to wind blowing
03:02stone points, mangrove shorelines and we're going to be pretty much about 20 to 25 miles out and we're going to be going for a little bit of everything.
03:09What's on the hit list?
03:10Goliath groupers, we got snook, we got redfish, we got big gray snapper, they just got done their spawn and of course Jack Cravels, sharks and then we might see some crocodiles as well.
03:22That's great saltwater crocs back here in Florida Bay.
03:24One of the main places on the planet that saltwater crocs.
03:27All right, let's put the throttle down and get rolling man.
03:29All right.
03:30All right, Bruce, I saw that we pulled up to these mangroves here.
03:43What's up?
03:44So a lot of white birds, muddy water, so we got mullet, probably finger mullet, bigger mullet.
03:49And we're going to be coming up here and doing this incoming tide here and going to fish on the point and then up on some snags here.
03:55See if we get some snook or trout.
03:57What's the game plan?
03:58We're going to toss live pilchers?
04:00Live pilchers, pin fish, and we'll be using either on the poppers or just with the jig.
04:04All right.
04:05All right, show us what's up, Bruce.
04:06I'll let you hook the first one.
04:07All right, so that's your pilchers.
04:08You can either go through the nose.
04:10My favorite spot, though, is right about right where the little fin is and slide right in.
04:17Perfect.
04:18There he is.
04:19There he is.
04:20Yep.
04:21Oh, there he is.
04:22That didn't take long with the pins in.
04:23Nope.
04:24He threw it right in his mouth.
04:25I love the way they bite.
04:26Yeah.
04:27All right.
04:28Big old Jack.
04:29Jack to start the day here.
04:30Yeah.
04:31Look at the mouth on that one.
04:32Yeah.
04:33There he goes.
04:34He's honking.
04:35Nice old Jack Craval.
04:36All right.
04:37We'll release him.
04:38Get another bait back out there.
04:40Let's see if we can get the first one on.
04:41Brother, first one.
04:42Let's get some snook.
04:43Maybe a tarpon.
04:44Something's eating it.
04:45I don't think it's jackish.
04:46A snapper, maybe.
04:47Was it a snook or a red?
04:48I don't know.
04:49It was one of the good ones.
04:50Is it?
04:51Yeah.
04:52All right.
04:53Here we go.
04:54Yeah.
04:55It looks like a red.
04:56A little redfish?
04:57A little redfish, I think.
04:58Bring him up.
04:59Yeah.
05:00Yeah.
05:01All right.
05:02Here we go.
05:03Yeah.
05:04It looks like a red.
05:05A little redfish, I think.
05:06Bring him up.
05:07Yeah.
05:08Yeah.
05:09Yeah.
05:10Yeah.
05:11First Florida Bay red on the trip, man.
05:16Nice little guy, man.
05:17Great that he hit that little pill trip.
05:19Oh, he sucked it down, too.
05:20Yeah.
05:21He wasn't nibbling.
05:22Get you back in there.
05:24That's the way to do it.
05:27First redfish in Florida Bay.
05:29Let's get more, brother.
05:30Great job, buddy.
05:31Yeah, man.
05:32Let's do it.
05:37Saltwater Underground with Nick Honoshefsky
05:39is brought to you by the Florida Keys and Key West.
05:43Nick Honoshefsky on Instagram
05:44and Saltwater Underground on YouTube.
05:47Fisherman Supply, Grumpy's Tackle,
05:50and these fine supporting sponsors.
05:52Saltwater Underground with Nick Honoshefsky
05:54is brought to you by the Florida Keys and Key West.
05:58Nick Honoshefsky on Instagram
05:59and Saltwater Underground on YouTube.
06:02Fisherman Supply, Grumpy's Tackle,
06:04and these fine supporting sponsors.
06:07He's hitting the bob, really hit.
06:14Oh, you got him out.
06:15Oh, yeah.
06:16It looks like a trout.
06:17There he is.
06:18Nice.
06:19Beautiful.
06:20Second species.
06:21So these are post-spawn.
06:22So even see how small their bellies are right now.
06:24Yeah.
06:25Look at that.
06:26Yeah.
06:27He's skinny, huh?
06:28Skinny, because they just spawned the last month.
06:29Wow.
06:30All right.
06:31I know trout are very fragile.
06:32So let's get him back in the water.
06:33All right.
06:34Nice and easy.
06:35Reds and trout, man.
06:36Reds and trout.
06:37Snook, we'll get a backcountry slam, buddy.
06:38Try, man.
06:39Let's try.
06:43Captain Bruce got the party started.
06:46Now it was time to test our skills on bigger fish.
06:53There he is.
06:54I don't know what it is.
06:55Get him out.
06:55Get him out.
06:55Get him out.
06:57And once you feel he's out enough, just keep pressing him.
06:59Oh, no.
06:59He's pulling me in.
07:00I got to palm a little bit.
07:02Might be a Goliath.
07:03Yeah.
07:03Uh-oh.
07:04Oh, he got me in there.
07:05Oh, no.
07:06I got him out.
07:07Nice and smooth.
07:09I mean, I've caught giant snook that don't jump.
07:11It's not.
07:12It's just rare.
07:13No, it's a big Goliath.
07:14Ah, Goliath's sweet, dude.
07:16That's sweet.
07:18Yeah.
07:20That's sweet.
07:21It's so beautiful.
07:23It's a nice Goliath back here, man.
07:24Woo!
07:27Great job, buddy.
07:28They're such a beautiful fish.
07:29Look at that, man.
07:30Little Flamingo Bay Goliath grouper.
07:33Oh, look at the colors, man.
07:35We don't see the pretty fish like that up in the Northeast and Jersey.
07:38Like, I mean, we have pretty fish, but I just love the spotted color patterns.
07:41And imagine you can't see him.
07:43Oh, I know.
07:43If you saw him in the water.
07:45That's so cool, man.
07:46That is such a stunning fish.
07:49Just the beautiful spots and the camouflage on this guy, man.
07:53The big old mom out there, just chewing everything in those mangroves.
07:57He was dogging me like, what, four or five times?
07:59Yeah, he was trying to get you around his home.
08:01Yeah.
08:02Oh, God, that's so wonderful.
08:03I got to eat.
08:04Here, here, here.
08:05When one bites, they're all biting, man.
08:07There we go.
08:08Real tight.
08:09Don't go too crazy.
08:10There he is.
08:11We've got the Goliath.
08:12Back to back.
08:13Smith takes the chunk bait.
08:14He's coming right in.
08:15Yeah, keep the tip off.
08:16Keep the tip off.
08:17Yep.
08:18You're good.
08:19Keep around.
08:20Look at him right there.
08:21He's coming.
08:23Pretty much doubleheader.
08:24Look at this, dude.
08:25One Goliath in hand.
08:26The snook in the net, man.
08:27Backcountry slam for you, sir.
08:28That is wonderful, man.
08:29Look at that.
08:30Great down, dude.
08:31Oh, man.
08:32Back to back.
08:33Goliath in the snook.
08:34We got the slam right now.
08:35Oh, my gosh.
08:36Beautiful fish.
08:37Oh, yeah.
08:38That is wonderful.
08:39What a wonderful day in Flamingo Bay, brother.
08:42Oh, my gosh.
08:43Beautiful fish.
08:44Oh, yeah.
08:45That is wonderful.
08:46What a wonderful day in Flamingo Bay, brother.
08:49Oh, this is just unreal, you know?
08:52Yeah, great double hit there.
08:53We had one on a chunk bait and then one on a livey.
08:56And you can't beat that.
08:57You can't beat the snap.
08:58No.
08:59Let's go fish a little more right here.
09:00Let's do some more.
09:01I'm in.
09:02Just keep your hand a little higher.
09:04Yep.
09:05Just in case.
09:06He's going if he wanted to, yep.
09:08So if you keep your hand up higher, you're good.
09:10Yeah.
09:11See how they suck their thumb?
09:13Yeah.
09:14Always got to watch the shark.
09:16That's what Bruce was talking about here in Flamingo Bay.
09:19You don't want to put your hands in too deep of the water, right?
09:21No.
09:22Because there's too many sharks.
09:23I've almost lost my hand to a bull shark before.
09:24Yeah.
09:25Or the saltwater crocs.
09:26Or the saltwater crocs.
09:27What you calling?
09:31Oh.
09:32Oh, it just came out.
09:33Oh, we got a snook on that other one.
09:34Probably another snook.
09:35Oh, that one I'll get.
09:36I'll get it.
09:37Feels snooky.
09:38We'll see if he comes up or maybe.
09:39Oh, little jack.
09:40Little swinger jack.
09:45Those jacks are all over these baits, huh?
09:48Yeah.
09:49Everywhere.
09:50Yeah.
09:51Non-stop action, man.
09:52Just like boom, boom, boom.
09:53Another bait in.
09:54Like you said, Bruce, once they get that electricity going.
09:57Yeah.
09:58Once you get one fish eating, the other fish eats, and it just makes them all fire up.
10:01Yeah.
10:02You can't move a spot that quick.
10:03We really can't keep a bait in the water right now, which is cool.
10:06There he is.
10:07Snooker.
10:08Ew.
10:09Look at that.
10:10I love the aerial and the antics of him.
10:14That was him, man.
10:15Snook right in the mangrove.
10:17Oh, yeah.
10:18Coming right out of the water.
10:20That's what's so great about snook, man.
10:22Flaring the gills and making the jump, man.
10:24Yeah, they like to flare those gills out and turn sideways.
10:27Yep.
10:28They cut it like a razor blade.
10:29I'll bring them close, too.
10:30We're going off on the other rod again, too.
10:32Of course, right?
10:33Reel that thing.
10:34Reel it, dude.
10:35I'll get this guy.
10:36It always happens, right?
10:39There he is.
10:40Nice.
10:41That's the shark rod.
10:43You got him?
10:45All right.
10:46Look at that.
10:47Little snook here.
10:48And Bruce has either got a big snook or a shark on.
10:51We'll find out.
10:52I'll let him go.
10:53Oh, my gosh.
10:54That's a big cat there.
10:55That's a cat there.
10:56Look how giant that thing is.
10:58Look how big that thing is.
10:59That's like state record.
11:00Good grief.
11:01Nothing's huge.
11:02That ain't a whole freaking jack.
11:04That thing is huge.
11:06Look how big that cat is, dude.
11:08I thought we had a big snook on.
11:10Oh, my gosh, dude.
11:11Pretty wild fish, man.
11:13It's the only one you could actually eat.
11:15There's actually white meat on it.
11:16Is that right?
11:17Yeah.
11:18Wow.
11:19And they don't face, man.
11:20Biggest cat I've ever thought of.
11:21That was probably the biggest I've ever seen.
11:23Oh, man.
11:24I mean, that jack was this big.
11:25Yeah, yeah.
11:26Oh, man.
11:27We'll eat everything back here, man.
11:29This is solid fishing in Florida Bay, brother.
11:39That might be loose.
11:40Maybe not.
11:41Oh, no.
11:42Let him run.
11:43Yeah, that's got some weight here.
11:45That's one of those shark things.
11:46Shark rod just ran off.
11:48Yep.
11:51That's definitely sharky, man.
11:52He's like dead weight.
11:54He had a good run.
11:55Is he going to the flat?
11:56Yeah.
11:57Okay.
11:58As long as he's in the flat, that's better.
11:59Yeah.
12:00We'll find out what he knows.
12:01It's about 200 pound test on the wire.
12:02Oh, okay.
12:03But then we go to 50 pound and then to 30 pounds.
12:04So don't go too much.
12:05Yeah.
12:06Now he knows he's hooked.
12:08Yep.
12:09Oh, man.
12:13There he is.
12:16I think it is a bull shark.
12:19The run looks just like a bull.
12:20There he comes.
12:21Watch this.
12:22Look at that.
12:23Look at that.
12:24That's a fat boy bull, dude.
12:25That's why you don't want to fall in the water here.
12:26Might be on the other side.
12:27He doesn't like the power bull.
12:28Look at that.
12:29Look at this.
12:30That's a big shark, dude.
12:31That is one big bull.
12:32Same place catching snook.
12:33Yeah.
12:34That's why you released your snook very quickly.
12:36That's those are the teeth you don't want to have on your legs.
12:41And that will take the hand off.
12:42And the way you can tell their bull is that there's a big bull.
12:57That will take the hand off.
12:58on on your leg and that will take the hand off and the way you can tell they're
13:02bull sharks to this one the freckles that's how they know where all the bait
13:06is and then to the jaw see how fat the jaw line is it's a big shark it has one
13:11big bull all right nice release on the shark man good man that's cool though
13:19about sharks back here is that you have families and like you know kids that
13:22want to come out and fish they can go for those sharks the jack so it's like a
13:25family-friendly environment back here to fish yeah even on slow days you're
13:28gonna be getting those bites and they'd be able to get sharks like that and so
13:31many different species to do but a six-foot bull shark yeah admit in the
13:35middle of the day can't beat that that was rad man I got my blood pumping yeah
13:38but yeah we have to do the shark snook and grouper had us buzzing but Bruce had
13:44another trick up his sleeve for more action all right Bruce man we just
13:49pulled up on this last little snapper spot to fool around with them man but I
13:52can't thank you enough for taking us out in the Florida Bay you know Everglades
13:56backwaters catching snook Goliath redfish you know yeah man it was like that
14:00this is my last spot it's grocery store you get enough food to eat if you wanted
14:03to or just enjoy catching fish and the day with a little bit of snapper fishing in
14:08the mangroves and I think it's almost gonna be an instant hit coming them up
14:12put the little live pilchard out and smoke at it look at that look at them all oh they're still in the jig you just got a little little one but that's cool dude that's so fun man it's like being like a little kid again fishing in a little trout pond man I think that's a gray snapper yeah it's a gray snapper or you can call
14:29mangrove snapper mangrove snapper get back in there oh they're crushing that pilchard dude what kind of snapper that's a great snapper that's a big one now that's a breeder right that's nice man beautiful fish that's a big old pig for back here that's like an ocean
14:44size snapper incredible pattern on that yeah that is nice I guess we hit the spot at the
14:49right time because Sarah smoked up yeah Bruce pitched that pilchard in deep into the mangrove
14:57and he found a goliath just to whack it he's trying to get him out right now watch your head
15:03yeah he's almost out he went 20 feet in there oh man that's a big one he's crushing it when Bruce has
15:12get the net ready it's a good one you better start running man that's that's a big one
15:17nice come on stop stop stop stop bust him out of there holy moly bust him out of there boy
15:23look at that big old goliath man that's a big one Bruce
15:28that's a nice fish
15:32steal that head in
15:37yep that's that's it oh yeah dude watch your
15:40oh yeah man monster
15:45that's a fat boy right there look at that what do you think he's at
15:49uh that's over 20 it's almost 25 pounds maybe even 30
15:53snapper fishing for all these little fish and this big old goliath comes sneaking out of the mangrove
16:01to like ham hock that filtered bait man two feet of water oh look how beautiful that is
16:06let him go back yes sir even the captain gets the fish
16:09after a solid day's fishing I wanted to explore a bit more of Key Largo and traverse the John
16:20Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park established in 1963 John Pennekamp State Park was the first
16:27undersea park in the United States covering approximately 178 nautical square miles of coral
16:33reefs mangroves and seagrass beds well I didn't have much time to snorkel and scuba dive the nationally
16:39renowned submarine coral reef grounds I did get to check out all the on-site amenities
16:44walking through an expansive aquarium with indigenous reef species of fish
16:49underscored with historical maritime lore pirates and pillagers of the Florida Keys
16:54checking out the myriad options for fun
16:57including a local kayak rental area glass bottom boat tours
17:01snorkeling opportunities and even a quick dip in the water
17:05they're not recommended anyone who parks their RV here or visits can walk the wild tamarind trail
17:11to truly immerse into the natural land flora and fauna of the indigenous trees and wildlife
17:17a stop to the gift store is also a must to bring home some presents for the one you love
17:22saltwater underground with nick honeshevsky is brought to you by the florida keys and key west
17:34nick honeshevsky on instagram and saltwater underground on youtube
17:38fisherman supply grumpy's tackle and these fine supporting sponsors
17:44all right since i'm in key largo i have to make a stop by coach jimmy johnson's big chill restaurant
17:53i've interviewed coach a few times when he comes up to new jersey but now i gotta see what this
17:57restaurant's all about fans of the nfl know that coach jimmy johnson has a cool restaurant situated in
18:04key largo called jimmy johnson's big chill even though i'm a die-hard steelers fan i met coach
18:11johnson a handful of times at his jj fish week fishing tournaments to cover him in some of my
18:16writings and he was even gracious enough to sign my article i met up with manager amanda at the big
18:22chill who recommended we order the one thing a jersey guy would want most pizza any pizza made
18:29outside of the jersey new york city area is suspect at most but after i learned that chef mike was
18:35originally from brooklyn my expectations jumped up big time mike's trademark pizza that
18:41coach put on the menu is the fisherman's pizza topped with an array of shrimp crab meat and of
18:46course lobster on top the heated oven was churning out pizzas like a true new york city joint
18:52and when chef mike pulled the final product out of the oven in all its sizzling glory
18:57i couldn't wait to test it out
18:59caught so many fish today dude it was just unbelievable oh here's amanda with the pizza
19:05look at this we got the italian fisherman's pizza too
19:08one of the really cool things about doing what we did in the everglades there with true blue charters
19:13and all that was very family friendly like you can go target those snook those tarpon
19:18fly a trooper and then if you want to just pull on sharks if you want to go like snapper fishing
19:24and those little back channels and stuff you're guaranteed almost to catch fish all the time
19:28yeah and stuff you can bring home you know we're bringing to the restaurants and they'll cook it up for
19:32you too so it's nice that you could just five years old four years old i've taken them all different
19:37ages the kids love it you just got to go and have fun snapper fishing or start with that but the
19:42sharks always is an ace for the families you know a lot of people think of the lower keys as the keys and
19:48where to fish but key largo is such a prolific area to shoot out right in the florida bay get that
19:53everglades like vibe to it um you know some of these species that you don't normally catch down the
19:58lower keys that are here and it's just like non-stop action i can't believe how many fish we caught
20:03two miles out you're in the everglades enjoying yourself fantastic well so let's enjoy the rest
20:08of the pizza all right man yeah of the hundreds of days i've spent in the florida keys over my life
20:16i have to admit i've always skipped over key largo to head further south i never knew just how solid
20:23the fishing could be right in key largo hooking up with captain bruce and applying the backwaters
20:28that touch florida bay and a quick run bailing a grand slam of snook redfish trout goliath grouper
20:35sharks and tons and tons of snapper species truly elevated my mindset to never overlook this key
20:42again when planning a fishing trip down here
20:44you
Be the first to comment