As I lay down to sleep Friday night, I tried my best to get my mind off fishing. The sight of still trees and glass-calm water did nothing to help.
When I finally fell asleep, I began to dream - about fishing of course. In my dreams I was receiving phone calls about reports and catches. Offshore boats were catching record sized snapper because they could run further offshore than ever before on a slick calm Gulf of Mexico. As these offshore boats pulled up to the docks at the Bradenton Yacht Club, I woke up. The clock said 5:15 AM.

Few fishing tournaments are as well run as the Sam Chrosthwait Memorial Fishing tournament.

The amateur-only tournament is one of the biggest on the west coast of Florida. Since 1995, teenagers younger than 18 have competed in the juniors division of the Crosthwait.

In 2005, juniors split into two divisions. One was for anglers younger than 16, the other for anglers younger than 19.

In 2008, the under-16 team Over Bite, captained by Chris Jensen, put up an astounding 270 points. That bettered the winning inshore division total by Capt. Brian Bower's Plan B.

Forty days. That is the length of the upcoming 2012 red snapper season.

Ten days: That's the amount of time anglers will be able to keep both red snapper and gag grouper.

Zero days: That's the amount of time anglers will be able to keep both red snapper and amberjack.

Despite public outcry for a longer season, NOAA has determined this year will be the shortest red snapper season to date. Red snapper season will open on June 1 and close on July 10. That is eight days shorter than last year's season, which ran from June 1 to July 18.

When I turned 16 and acquired my driver's license, I ditched the bike and begin fishing further from our northwest Bradenton home. In my free time, I'd load up a rod and sneak out somewhere for a few hours. I always read of big snook being off the beaches during the late spring and summer months and wanted to learn more.

I would drive to Longboat Pass, Bean Point, New Pass or Big Pass, anywhere the tide would give me a shot at a linesider. I would walk along the Longboat Key bridge, watching the patterns of big snook swimming below as they prepared for spawning.

Tarpon. Are you excited? You should be. They're here.

It is still April, but large pods of fish have been off the beach and in the bay. While late May through July may be the best time of year for tarpon, that shouldn't stop you from targeting them already.

Most fish are caught in the bay, passes or close to the beach. Depending on the time of day, weather conditions and point in the season, you should approach them differently.

The first day of daylight savings time may be my favorite day of the year.

It's synonymous with warmer temperatures, beautiful weather and fish biting. It also means an extra hour of light at the end of the day, allowing many who work Monday through Friday to "sneak out" after work.

When sneaking out, it's best to do it as effortlessly as possible. How can you stay dry, not have to unload and load the boat, keep costs low and still catch fish? That's where the kayak has found a nice niche.

As I was out last weekend with diving experts Taylor Chadsey Jr. and Taylor Chadsey III, I was amazed at how many different rock piles and ledges they had marked on their GPS within the site of Bean Point.

“We’re always looking for new spots,” Taylor Chadsey Jr. told me. “We’ll idle from spot to spot and see what we can find.”

Offshore anglers are a very protective group. We all have numbers or spots that we love and call our own.

Another weekend, another cold front. While this one isn’t nearly as strong as the last, it brought plenty of rain and leaves a strong northeast wind behind it.

Last week’s front left fishing for “the big three” -- redfish, snook, and trout -- a tough proposition. Moving forward into the winter, there are other cold water-tolerant fish to target.

The first species I love to target as the water cools is sheepshead. The tasty sheepshead is often overlooked because whitebait fishermen will rarely tangle with a sheepshead as they eat crustaceans and mussels.

Sometimes I wonder if Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor and knows when weekends are coming.

It’s hard enough in October to get stretches of decent weather, but this week we were hit by a blast of cold temperatures and strong winds from a cold front made for December.