Send us your photos to include on our facebook page. New photos were just posted from a Shark Trip on May 11, 2013.
Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FinsNGrins! Love to hear from you!

Get ready for a great season of snook fishing on Marco Island.
In just a couple of months from now, on September 1st, 2013, Snook Season reopens!!
We are so excited about this!

From the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
“At the June 2012 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) meeting, Commissioners voted to keep the recreational harvest of snook in Gulf of Mexico waters closed through Aug. 31, 2013. This closure will offer the species additional protection after a 2010 cold kill detrimentally affected the population.

Snook closed to harvest in Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic waters in January 2010 after a severe cold kill affected snook population numbers.

At the June 2011 Commission Meeting, Commissioners received a staff report on the status of the snook population, which suggests that snook on Florida’s Atlantic coast were less severely impacted by cold weather than Gulf Coast snook. Based on this information, Commissioners reopened snook harvest season on September 1, 2011, in Atlantic waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.

Catch and release of Gulf coast snook is still permitted at this time. When snook is open in Gulf waters, the bag limit is one fish per person, per day; the slot size limit is 28 to 33 inches; and the season is closed from Dec. 1 through the end of February and May 1 through Aug. 31.”

Can you say Damn!!!! Fishing was awesome again with mackerel, trout, bluefish and pompano, and then BAMO!!!! A cold front hits again and all went to hell!!!!

Well after the mildest Winter that I have witnessed in 30 years I am very excited about the upcomming Spring season. Fishing has been pretty awesome the last few weeks with lots of catches of Pompano, Spotted trout, Markerel and alot of other speices rounding out the day. Bring on Spring

With the mild winter this year, water temperatures have been warm enough for plenty of fish in the backwaters. Recent charters have been bringing plenty of Red Drum, Silver Trout, Spotted Sea Trout, Spanish Mackerel, shark, lady fish, blue fish and Pompano into the boat. We would love to have you onboard to share the excitement! If you find us on Facebook and click on the photos tab you will find a $25 off gift certificate to be used on your next charter! See you soon.

On Wednesday, Florida Sea Grant in conjunction with Florida Fish and Wildlife hosted their yearly fisheries management meeting. Was great information on how they determine fishing regulations, openings, closings and quantities. The snook population has rebounded nicely after the big freeze two years ago. It is anticipated that anglers will be able to keep snook again soon. They want to wait until after winter to evaluate just to make sure we don’t have a serious cold snap again this year. Was a great workshop.

We had a fun group shelling on one of the small islands near Marco Island. The tide was very low. We saw an odd fish swimming close to shore. On closer inspection we were thrilled to identify it as the endangered species Smalltooth Sawfish. We reported it to the researchers at Florida Fish and Wildlife. They even called us back for more information. One of the exciting things that could happen to you on a Fins N Grins Charter!
http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fish/sawfish/general-information/

We here at Fins-N-Grins Charters are ready for the up comming season here in S.W. Florida. Marco Island fishing is still one of the best places in the world.

November was a beautiful month for fishing. Lower water temps and outside temps brought the ladyfish and mackerel closer to shore. Redfish was the primary prize this month with many slot redfish, juveniles and the biggest catch at 9lbs and 28″. Silver trout has been an easy catch in the grass beds near shore. Anglers rods were kept bent with pompano, flounder, blue fish, mackerel, snapper, ladyfish and bonnethead sharks.

The marina installed outside lifts this year. This is exciting news for us! We now have access to the boat anytime. The new trip times are 8am to Noon and 1pm to 5pm. Capt Michael isn’t limited to fishing “just the tides”. Over his many years fishing the backwaters of the Ten Thousand Islands, he has learned where to go during low and high tides, so morning and afternoon trips are both equally successful.

We retired our four year old rods this year and purchased all new Bionic Blades again. They held up so well why change a good thing. We also had a new cover installed with the boat being kept outside. Drop by the marina and see the new “weather rock” and check out our new “home”.

Well Trout season finally opened on January 1st. We had a very good day catching a good number of Trout with a few Pompano mixed in. I hope the trend continues with this cold weather finally coming in.