The State of Sunshine
24:34
Paul's exploring the incredible fishing opportunities offered by Florida, the Sunshine State, on America's east coast. First up he's in the Lakeland district of Polk County, where he puts himself in the expert hands of local guide Dave Hoy for a spot of Bass fishing. Dave recommends they cast soft plastic worm lures, and it's not long before Paul is into some decent Largemouth Bass. From here he travels down to the island of Captiva on Florida's Gulf Coast, where in the shallow waters he goes fly fishing for Sea Trout on board with skipper Mike Fury, any trout between 14 & 24 inches can be taken home for dinner. At Robbie's Marina on Islamorada, in the Keys he sits and watches a shoal of Tarpon being hand fed a free meal before heading out into the deeper blue waters for some big game fishing, on board Catch 22 skippered by Capt. Scott Stanczyk. First job of the day is to net some bait fish, but as this attracts the circling Barracuda, it seems silly not to try and hook one of these dangerous predators. Paul certainly knows when one has taken his bait. Next a fast and furious session, as they hit a shoal of Dorado but Paul's hardest fight of the day is when he hooks a 50lb Sailfish on 15lb tackle.