"Variables" from Justin Turkowski on Vimeo.

This is a beautifully done video from Kimi Werner documenting her passion for the ocean and her respect for nature. Even though some people criticize fishing and hunting, I think Kimi really articulates the view that a lot of anglers and hunters share.

The video has amazing shots of Kimi freediving with a great white shark and even riding along with it. Gosh do we love GoPros!

Check out this awesome photo taken by VIP's own Captain Tommy on Texas Wireline in Pompano Beach, Florida. Is it a sign from the fishing gods, or what?!

Check out our new Florida Fishing Calendar. This table gives a general overview of Florida's fishing seasons and the likelihood of catching a certain type of fish. There's no substitute for expert, local knowledge, so if you're interested in a specific type of fish, location, or season, just give us a call or drop us an e-Mail and we'd be happy to answer your questions.

Guide: Bright green = great fishing. Yellow green = good fishing. Most fish can be found year round, but the colored parts of the calendar are best.

Check out this cool blue bull dolphin caught off of Fort Lauderdale by Captain Doug Kelley!

Fort Lauderdale is a great bachelor party destination.  Fort Lauderdale offers all the attractions, restaurants, bars and clubs that Miami does but without all the hassle.  Fishing charters are a great option for a day time activity in between wild nights of partying.  With in a couple mile radius of downtown Fort Lauderdale you have everything you need for a long weekend.  Bachelor parties can walk or pay a small cab fare to access everything Fort Lauderdale has to offer.  I recommend booking a hotel a the W Fort Lauderdale.  There are two great bars located right on the premises.  The pool area has a great scene during the day and the beach is right across the street.  For dinner head to Las Olas Boulevard and choose from dozens of great restaurants.  After dinner you can walk downtown where there is a large selection of bars and clubs that get pretty busy on the weekend.  

After a long night of partying try not to waste the day away.  Book one of our fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale.  All of our bachelor party fishing charters allow BYOB, so bring some beers on board and will chill them on ice for the Bachelor.  Our captains and crew are super fun to spend the day with and most importantly they catch a ton of fish.  We can arrange multiple boats for larger bachelor parties.  We often put on a mini tournament between the two boats.  You can't go wrong with a little competition amongst friends.  After a long day of fishing we'll clean your fish at the dock and recommend some nice restaurants where you can enjoy your fresh catch!

A couple of months ago we had the pleasure of taking out Manny Ramirez on one of our fishing charters.  VIP Fishing Charters books a lot of charters for celebrities including professional athletes.  Most of them want to be discreet and don't want us posting pictures of them.  Manny was nice enough to pose for picture with Captain Paul out of Miami.  Manny had a great day with friends and family on the boat and we look forward to taking him fishing again soon.

Check out this cool ribbon fish caught today off Pompano Beach, FL.  Although these aren't the hardest fighting fish they might be one of the coolest.  Ribbon fish get their name from the similarity to a ribbon.  Very cool!

This may look like a piece of modern art, but it's actually an experimental wind map designed by some clever folks over at hint.fm. By using live wind data from the National Digital Forecast Database, the map renders wind speed and wind direction. The screenshot above was taken the morning of Tuesday, October 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the northeastern United States.

I wish they had included sea surface wind, but this still gives a pretty good indication for what the coastal winds look like, which can be very helpful for fishing.

The map is showing west winds for South Florida which should help lay down the rough seas from the past week. We just had our first cold front in South Florida and you know what that means? Sailfish time. I'd recommend heading out on one of our charters in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, or Miami.

Source: Hint.fm Wind Map

The first cold front of the season has rolled in and the sailfish are officially biting in South Florida.  Sailfish season generally starts in November.  Sailfish migrate south as the water and air temperatures drop.  You'll tend to start seeing a lot of kites being flown from the fishing boats.  Kite fishing is a technique used with live bait that works very effectively in South Florida.  Call or inquire online and will give you the latest sailfish season report.

Tarpon fishing in Marathon is one of the most popular types of fishing in the Florida Keys.  In this photo Captain Doug is lifting the tarpon into the boat.  I don't know too many captains who have the strength or the courage to do this.  I've heard horror stories of putting tarpon into boats.  A tarpon can easily destroy everything on a boat with it's immense strength if he decides to starting flopping around.  On a normal tarpon fishing trip in Marathon we leave the tarpon in the water.  "Doug, what were you thinking?"

Here's a great picture of Captain Doug holding a big permit caught off of Marathon in the Florida Keys.  We tend to find an abundance of permit starting in Miami south the Florida Keys. Permit fishing is done in shallow water such as the flats, channels, or muddy bottoms.  Most permit fishing in the Florida Keys is done close to shore but they actually spawn offshore.  The unique shape and silver colored body make permit a unique and beautiful fish.

Miami mahi fishing has been red hot over the last couple of months.  We've seen the average size of the mahi really increase over the last few weeks.  Captain Doug is pictured here catching two beautiful mahi off the coast of Miami.  These fish were caught near some floating debris.  Our captains love to fish for mahi near floating debris.  This new storm Sandy should produce quite a bit of floating debris and mahi fishing in Miami should be great after it leaves Florida.

Tarpon fishing in Fort Lauderdale is always the best when the shrimp or mullet are running.  The mullet started running a month ago in September so Tarpon fishing is hot.  The shrimp typically run in December, January and sometimes into February.  September through January is the best time for tarpon fishing and February is hit or miss.  Smaller boats tend to be best for inshore tarpon fishing because they are more maneuverable and provide 360 degrees of fishing.  Many anglers come down to Fort Lauderdale to catch a tarpon and check it off their bucket list.  

The 2012 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is shaping up to be a good show. Although it's not what it once was, it's great to see that manufacturers and vendors are starting to innovate again and we're sailing out of the recession doldrums.

Parking at the Fort Lauderdale boat show is never much fun. The parking near Bahia Mar is extremely limited, and you've gotta be prepared to cough up some cash to find a decent spot in walking distance.

For most, the easiest thing to do is park in the parking garage at the Broward County Convention Center and then walk through the show to the back of the building where a shuttle bus will take you to Bahia Mar.

If you do want to get a bit closer, our Fort Lauderdale fishing captain, Mike Johnson, is selling spots in his lot, which is on A1A just south of the Jungle Queen ticket office. The address 1005 Seabreeze Blvd. Spots in his lot go for $50 a day, but you'll be right next to the show and it'll be easy to exit onto A1A. If Mike's lot fills up, try parking at Bahia Cabana, which is just off of A1A behind the fire station.

A handful of other enterprising parking lot owners are also offering paid parking in Bahia Mar and if you can get a spot for under $50, you're getting a ... dare I say "fair price".

Here's a great picture of a big wahoo caught near Pompano.  This father and daughter reeled this wahoo in together.  You can see the concentration and determination they used from the look on their faces  It must be at least 4.5' in length.  Great job!