Captain Steven like many local guides are taking full advantage of the annual Black Drum blitz. The massive schools have been on the flats in lower Tampa Bay for 3 weeks. Saturday’s game plan was simple, depart O’Neill’s at 7 am and arrive and be hunting Drum at sunup. Good plan but not a drum [...]

Monday’s trip was ushered in by slick calm conditions. What a pleasure to see the Tampa Bay area look more like Florida than the frozen tundra it’s been this winter. The run to Ft. Desoto to pick up my clients Walter and Megan was smooth and mild. With the water still chilly at 57 degrees [...]

Big trout made for a special Sunday. Lower Tampa Bay is not known for large gator trout like the spoil islands North of Clearwater or the Indian River area on Florida’s east coast. So catching numerous trout over 20″ is a good day. My secret trout hole appears not so secret as 2 boats were [...]

Captain Steven sounds more and more like a broken record these days. Good news we did get some decent weather last Saturday through Tuesday. Overall the weather and water temperatures are screaming mid January when March is at our door step. Spotted sea trout have been the fish of choice at On The Mark Charters [...]

Sunday was a scouting day; most clients never see the boring side of the charter business. While scouting can make for a long day the information gathered is vital to running a top notch charter service. Time on the water, scouting new locations along with trying new and different techniques is part of the learning [...]