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Fishing Report: The summer doldrums are here, and the heat is definitely on along the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida. With afternoon temperatures reaching the upper 90’s, it is prudent to fish at first light or at night if possible.
This past week, I was off the water on assignment representing Coastal Angler Magazine at the American Sports Fishing Association’s ICAST Convention in Las Vegas. ICAST is the tackle industries premiere event, where new products are introduced for the upcoming year, and for me, I was like a kid in a candy store. Recreational angling is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and with over 700 manufactures in attendance, it was clear to see the economic impact anglers represent.
Before leaving for ICAST, I was honored by the presents of Karen and Mike Cassidy from Merritt Island, winners of the charter I donated to the Brandon Tournament, for a morning of fishing out of Parish Park in Titusville. Departing the dock before first light, we headed north to the Carbide Flats, and we were on our first spot within 15 minutes. In the darkness, we could hear bait showering and fish busting, and as the daylight filled the sky, I polled us up into the middle of one of the largest finger mullet schools I’ve see in years. Karen started by throwing Chug Bug in the bullfrog color, as Mike work a red and white Skitter Walk, and both baits produced numerous strikes and some nice sea trout. As daylight grew and the top water bite dissipated, we opted to move on in search of the larger redfish schools. We spent the remainder of the charter looking, and near the end, we finally located a school of about 50 large fish. Once we located the fish, our next challenge was getting them to eat, and with some persistence, Karen caught her trophy 20 pound redfish on a well presented live jumbo shrimp.
Yesterday was my first day back on the water, and I was joined by Captain Mike Rachal who guides out of Port O’Connor, Texas. Our mission for the day was to target tarpon off of the beach. We were on the water just after sunrise, and we spent our first hour searching for bait in the port, and the next hour running the beach, with no luck. We searched the beach south as far as Patrick AFB, and then ran all the way back to the Port before finally locating a pod of pogies in the middle basin. Once bait was acquired, we headed out only to find that the wind had shifted from the west at 5 kts, to north at 15 kts, and all we could get to bite were sharks. We found no bait on the beach, we did not see a single tarpon, and the bait we did catch was balled up deep making it hard to capture.
In closing, the cold water Labrador Current is pushing in, and the bottom fishing has started to shut down, so your best bet offshore is to troll for kings along the beach, and for dolphin and cobia in the deeper water. As for the bait situation, you might consider taking a box of spinning minnows (Spanish sardines) as back-up.
Captain Tom Van Horn
As always, if you have any questions about fishing, or need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn |
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