Deda landed this false albacore off Sarasota, Florida. False albies are one of the few tuna species that regularly inhabit shallow, coastal waters. Good thing for Sarasota anglers; the depths in Southwest Florida waters only gradually drop off. Some artificial reefs in Manatee County are located 12.8 nautical miles offshore and still only measure 27 feet deep. WIN $200 IN CLOTHING AND LURES! We know you're out there, and we want to put your photo in our next informative girls-only galleries. You could be the winner, picked at random, of $100 worth of clothing from Salt Life and an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures valued at $100. That's $200 worth of swag just for sending us fun fishing shots! Remember, you have a 1-in-20 or 30 (depending upon size of gallery) chance of being the winner — pretty good odds! Send your photos to sfgirls@sportfishingmag.com.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Pompano
Lauren fished near the Tampa bridges to land this hefty pompano. It's hard not to notice the similarities between pompano and permit, especially juvenile versions of each species. A couple key features to look for: A pompano's dorsal fin begins forward of the anal fin, while a permit's dorsal fin begins over its anal fin. Also, pompano have no teeth on their tongue at any size, while small permit have teeth on their tongue.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Speckled Seatrout
Emily waded the flats near Sarasota to hook this seatrout. Spotted seatrout are similar to two other species, but are easily distinguished by their spots, points out Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at Southern Miss. Sand seatrout, or white trout, Cynoscion arenarius, and the smaller silver seatrout, Cynoscion nothus, look much like spotted seatrout but have no spots at all.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Snook
Rachel went kayak fishing in Sarasota Bay to land this undersize snook. The common snook is the largest and most common snook species, though Florida anglers also catch less-abundant swordspine, fat and tarpon snook. In Florida waters, common snook grow up to 48 inches and 38 pounds, says the Florida Wildlife Commission.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Barracuda
Chrystal fished the nearshore waters of Naples, Florida, to land this barracuda. Anglers sometimes bust the lip off a shallow water hardbait to mimic an erratic, fleeing baitfish at the water's surafce. Cudas on the flats and near offshore wrecks attack this fishing technique with vigor.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Permit
Chrystal fished off the local wrecks near Naples, Florida to land this permit. Earlier in this gallery, Lauren showed off her pompano catch. Compare the two and notice the similarities. One obvious difference is the size of the two species; permit can reach up to 60 pounds!Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Snook
Gabriela fished near Tampa Bay to land this snook. Common snook are protandric hermaphrodites, changing from male to female after maturation, says UF's Ichthyology Department. To put it simply, the majority of small common snook are male while the largest snook are female. WIN $200 IN CLOTHING AND LURES! We know you're out there, and we want to put your photo in our next informative girls-only galleries. You could be the winner, picked at random, of $100 worth of clothing from Salt Life and an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures valued at $100. That's $200 worth of swag just for sending us fun fishing shots! Remember, you have a 1-in-20 or 30 (depending upon size of gallery) chance of being the winner — pretty good odds! Send your photos to sfgirls@sportfishingmag.com.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Snook
Vickie hit the flats to land this snook. If you haven't noticed in this gallery, snook are a very popular inshore species in Florida waters. Many anglers, like Vickie, often fish during the day near flats and mangroves to catch snook. But the biggest snook bite at night in deep channels, often along current edges near bridges, inlets and passes.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Speckled Seatrout
Kiri fished the evening hours near Bradenton, Florida, to land this speckled seatrout. She used the most effective technique available to anglers to stalk finicky seatrout — wade fishing. The biggest specks often are loaners on the flats, and many anglers spook them before they even have a chance to spot them or make a cast.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Redfish
Gabriela landed this oversize redfish near Tampa, Florida. She's fishing out of a bay boat, one of the most popular fishing platforms available to fishermen today. Sport Fishing recently created a photo gallery of 25 of the top inshore center-console fishing boats.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Redfish
Jennifer landed this eating-size redfish near Ruskin, Florida. Redfish, also commonly called red drum, don't often travel long distances from where they're born, says the Florida Wildlife Commission. For anglers that release most of their reds, there's potential to catch the same redfish numerous times before it heads offshore to live with other spawning stock.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Stingray
Jennifer landed this unconventional catch — a stingray — near Port Manatee, Florida. She's careful to keep the stingray's tail away from her, as the base section features a barb with nero-toxin. Beach-goers and waders should always shuffle their feet to keep from stepping on rays, thereby alerting the rays to their position and spooking them off. If barbed by a stingray, the best solution is to soak the wound in hot water. Infected, allergic reactions, or broken barbs in skin require medical attention.Sam Root / www.saltyshores.com
Redfish
Kimberly reeled in this redfish off Tampa, Florida. Reds readily strike bait, lures and flies. Their habit of tailing in shallow water and the schooling of bull reds at times in open water off beaches make them a favorite target of sight-casters. WIN $200 IN CLOTHING AND LURES! We know you're out there, and we want to put your photo in our next informative girls-only galleries. You could be the winner, picked at random, of $100 worth of clothing from Salt Life and an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures valued at $100. That's $200 worth of swag just for sending us fun fishing shots! Remember, you have a 1-in-20 or 30 (depending upon size of gallery) chance of being the winner — pretty good odds! Send your photos to sfgirls@sportfishingmag.com.
Redfish
Kimberly with another red caught off Tampa, Florida. Redfish are found in a great variety of habitats, from clear flats to muddy bays to Atlantic beaches to the base of structure in more than 200 feet of water offshore.
Fighting Fish
Kimberly fighting fish off Tampa, Florida. Learn fighting skills and other tactics in our Techniques section.
Snook
Lace caught this snook off Tampa Bay, Florida. Snook explode readily on plugs and flies, and usually put on an exciting aerial display. The underslung jaw and dark lateral-line stripe make snook hard to mistake for anything else.
Reef Shark
Karla caught this reef shark off Tampa Bay, Florida. If this picture doesn't do it for you, try out our video compilation of the Best Shark Fishing Videos.
Redfish
Chrystal caught this red off Bradenton, Florida. Check out our redfish section, from tactics to photos — it's all here.
Redfish
Kelsey pulled in this nice redoff Apollo Beach, Florida. Being one of the most accessible, available game fish over a very large area (from the westernmost Gulf of Mexico to the mid-Atlantic states) helps account for the tremendous popularity of the red drum (aka redfish) among inshore and nearshore anglers. WIN $200 IN CLOTHING AND LURES! We know you're out there, and we want to put your photo in our next informative girls-only galleries. You could be the winner, picked at random, of $100 worth of clothing from Salt Life and an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures valued at $100. That's $200 worth of swag just for sending us fun fishing shots! Remember, you have a 1-in-20 or 30 (depending upon size of gallery) chance of being the winner — pretty good odds! Send your photos to sfgirls@sportfishingmag.com.
Redfish
Jacklyn caught this red off Englewood, Florida. They've been given game-fish-only status in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas; in all federal waters, no red drum may be kept by anyone. The all-tackle record weighed 94 pounds, 2 ounces, from North Carolina in 1984.
Blackfin Tuna
Lindsey brought in this blackfin tuna off Sarasota, Florida. Widespread throughout the temperate and tropical Western Atlantic, this very accessible and aggressive surface-schooling tuna is a favorite of anglers.
Lemon Shark
Cindy pulled off this lemon shark off Long Island in the Bahamas. Lemon shark earned its name because of its yellow coloring, which is great for camouflage along the sandy ocean floor.
Apollo Beach, Florida
Krista takes a break from a long day of fishing off Apollo Beach, Florida. Check out all of our stories and photos dedicated to the Sunshine State. WIN $200 IN CLOTHING AND LURES! We know you're out there, and we want to put your photo in our next informative girls-only galleries. You could be the winner, picked at random, of $100 worth of clothing from Salt Life and an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures valued at $100. That's $200 worth of swag just for sending us fun fishing shots! Remember, you have a 1-in-20 or 30 (depending upon size of gallery) chance of being the winner — pretty good odds! Send your photos to sfgirls@sportfishingmag.com.
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