Patrick Smith

Captain Patrick Smith owns Swamp to Sea Guide Service and has fished South Florida for more than thirty years. A Palm Beach County native and light tackle and fly specialist, he covers a rare range of water, from peacock bass and largemouth in the canals to snook and tarpon inshore and blackfin tuna and kingfish on the nearshore reef. In his In The Spread videos, Smith teaches nearshore reef trolling and the simple, repeatable methods that produce across South Florida's saltwater and freshwater fisheries.

• Reef & Wreck Fishing
• Saltwater

Instructor's videos

The name Swamp to Sea tells you what Patrick Smith is about. There are very few fishermen who can put you on a peacock bass in a canal in the morning and a blackfin tuna on the reef in the afternoon, and mean it. Smith can. A Palm Beach County native who has fished South Florida for more than thirty years, he owns Swamp to Sea Guide Service and covers a range of water and species that almost no single guide can match.

Smith is a Coast Guard licensed captain with a real love for fly and light tackle fishing, and he teaches both to anglers at every level. What makes him effective on so many fisheries is that he keeps his methods simple. He is not interested in complicating fishing. He is interested in catching fish, and in showing you exactly how he does it.

His South Florida home water is uniquely suited to that versatility. The Gulf Stream runs close to the beach here, pushing clean water and bait within reach and putting sailfish, mahi, tuna, and wahoo on the table when conditions line up offshore. Closer in, the nearshore reef gives up blackfin tuna and kingfish on the troll. The inshore fishery is loaded with snook, tarpon, big jacks, and the occasional bonefish, and Smith works the bridges and dock lights at night for snook on fly and spin. Then there is the freshwater side, the canals and lakes full of peacock bass, largemouth, and bowfin, and even gator hunting when the season comes.

Through all of it, Smith is a conservationist who takes real pride in preserving and sharing the local fisheries that shaped him. That respect for the resource is part of what makes him worth learning from.

In his In The Spread videos, Smith breaks down nearshore reef trolling for blackfin tuna and kingfish and the simple, repeatable methods that produce across South Florida's incredible variety of water. Few guides can teach as broad a game as he can, and fewer still make it look this easy.

Personal website:
https://www.swamptosea.com/