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Dave Stewart holds up a snook. Capt. Ron Mallet says snook fishing in South Florida is excellent during the season that starts in February, but anglers should be prepared for broken lines and some lost fish. Photo provided

By Steve Waters

It was the

Mike Surman holds a bass he caught with a crankbait at Lake Okeechobee. Bass will bite a fast-moving crankbait when air and water temperatures are cold. Photo provided

By Steve Waters

Depending on the fish you pursue, cold fronts can be a curse or a

Pitch baits are especially effective at catching sailfish. Capt. Skip Dana prepares to release one caught off Boca Raton by angler Glenn Sapir. Photos provided

By Steve Waters

The most successful offshore anglers never leave the dock without pitch b

Capt. Abie Raymond holds a mutton snapper he snagged recently. Top mutton spots from Boca Raton to Lake Worth Beach are along the second reef and the third reef, as well as around wrecks 100-150 feet underwater. Photo provided by Abie Raymond

By Ste

Capt. Steve Anderson holds a nice snook he caught on a recent fishing trip in the Jupiter Inlet. September is a good time to catch snook in local inlets. Photos by Steve Waters/The Coastal Star

By Steve Waters

Tom Greene used to look forward to Sept

Capt. Tony DiGiulian holds up  a nice wahoo on a recent fishing trip. DiGiulian, who likes to troll for wahoo, says anglers looking to reel in the speedy gamefish should pay attention to the position of the moon. Good times are when the moon is dire

John Strunk holds up his lobster catch. He recommends getting your gear checked and taking a practice dive in advance of the July 30-31 miniseason. Photo by Steve Waters/The Coastal Star

By Steve Waters

Just about everyone who dives for lobsters l

Capt. Chris Lemieux and a few young anglers hold an 87-pound wahoo caught during the Lantana Fishing Derby. Lynn ’Doc’ Moorhouse came up with the idea of the derby 30 years ago to support the Lantana Chamber of Commerce. Officials later added a kids

Merti Rittgers (above from left) of Delray Beach, Derik Bowen of Coconut Creek and Kari Longshore of Montana came to Boca Raton on Nov. 12 to catch a glimpse of a rare and beautiful bananaquit (Coereba flaveola), which was feasting on firespike necta

ABOVE: Capt. Chris Lemieux holds a 43-pound kingfish that was caught kite-fishing with live bait.
BELOW: Lemieux also uses bonita strips as kingfish bait. Photos by Steve Waters/The Coastal Star

By Steve Waters

Late spring and early summer are whe

Ken Udell of Boca Raton shows off a big black grouper in his right hand and a hogfish in his left hand that he shot while diving with Jim ‘Chiefy’ Mathie. Steve Waters/The Coastal Star

By Steve Waters

This is an exciting month for South Florida angle

By Steve Waters

The last day of Florida’s lobster season was March 31 and it doesn’t reopen until the lobster mini-season at the end of July. The seasons for grouper and hogfish don’t open until May 1. So, what’s an underwater hunter to do in April?

This time of year can bring windy and wavy conditions that can cause seasickness in people who are prone to the malady. Photo provided

By Steve Waters

Offshore fishing in Palm Beach County can be terrific following winter cold fronts. But those same

Will we have a repeat of last summer? August 2022 staff file photo

By Larry Barszewski

Sea turtles aren’t the only things returning to south Palm Beach County beaches this year.
So is seaweed. Lots and lots of it.
Not since Jaws has so much attention

Ben Zafir and Giovanni Griffin of Boca Raton pose with their take during the two-day lobster mini season, July 26 and 27. The 2022 regular season begins at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 6, and ends at midnight March 31, 2023.
Photo provided

The Chinese Garden at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach is a perfect place to spend time with Mom, and admission is free. The society says the garden celebrates beauty, harmony and tranquility. Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star

Celebrate

By Joyce Reingold

You may remember reading here last year about Eva Takacs, the Boynton Beach woman who enjoyed an almost daily, hour-long swim at Oceanfront Park. This year, Takacs celebrated her 91st birthday. And when lockdown restrictions allow

This view of Lake Boca Raton on April 19 gives a small sense of the crowds that usually attend the annual Boca Bash on the state-controlled lake. BELOW: But a week later, FWC and Boca officers found no bash to police. Boaters heeded advice from an or

Jessika Harvey and Rush Rashidi show the 103-inch broadbill swordfish they boated March 23 after a 24-hour fight. They hooked the swordfish off Palm Beach County on the evening of March 22 and drifted north in the current. The fight ended off Vero Be

ABOVE: Dolphinfish (mahi mahi) begin to show up in greater numbers as the weather warms in the spring. These were caught in mid-April by Tim Workman (left) and Dave Hammond from the Lantana-based Geno V charter boat operated by Capt. Geno Pratt (far