Florida trout fishing has long been a favorite of many anglers. In years gone by we had unbelievable Florida trout fishing, and catches of hundreds of fish per day were common. However, in the recent past the resource drastically declined to less than 50% of 1950 numbers, because of both sport and commercial over-harvesting. Fortunately, since the net ban was instituted a few years ago, Florida trout fishing has rebounded in a big way as we've seen the population return to healthy numbers.

Florida trout fishing is done with a wide variety of baits including live baits, jigs, spoons, crankbaits, and topwater lures. Chunking topwater plugs is by far the most fun. We often use a special floater with a trailer jig and often catch two fish at a time. Jigs, and even shiners can be double-rigged to double your pleasure and double your fun! When you're on a good trout hole, a fish per minute isn't uncommon!

Curently, the size limit is 15 to 20 inches, one fish allowed over 20 inches, and a daily bag limit of 4 fish per angler. But, because of the trouble our stocks are in because of the recent red tide kills, and because they are very delicate and do not release well, I do not encourage trips that specifically target these fish. The exception is during the winter and spring when the fish are much larger and heartier. Large specs can be found in big numbers in the potholes in very shallow water. That makes for some great catching! Newest regulations have closed specs to harvest during November and December.

So, come with Capt. Butch Rickey and enjoy an adventure on "the BarHopp'R" Web Page. You'll find boundless stories, tips, secrets, and other information in the "Weekly Reports", "Customer Testimonials", "Angler of the Month","Angler of the Year", "Newsletters", "Highlights", "Articles and Recipes", and "Fish Species Description" sections of this Site.