Here’s a little bit of information for you, Florida now leads the nation as the state with the most registered boats. It has taken over long time leader Michigan. Florida’s growing population is the main reason for the takeover. Our waters continue to get more crowed and I see more and more people with a disregard for the rules, mainly due to a lack of knowledge. There are safe boating courses that are given by the Coast Guard Auxiliary that can prove beneficial to those that take the course. One advantage is a deduction in insurance costs. Maybe it’s time that everyone be required to attend such classes.
Last weekend I attended a preopening of the new Gander Mountain store at 3750 Flagg Lane in Lake Mary. It is an 80,000 sq. ft. building that holds a variety of outdoor merchandise. It has everything from fishing, boating, hunting, camping, clothing and even scuba diving. They even have boat and atv sales with an on premise service department. It is definitely worth the ride.
The surf and pier are still producing trout and redfish along with some whiting. Look for pompano to start to turn on soon once the water temperature drops a few degrees.
The ICW is yielding some trout, reds, flounder, snook and blackdrum. Capt. Chris Herrera was out the other day and landed reds on live mullet, cut mullet and Berkley gulps. Phil Summersill from Lake Mary fished with me last Sunday and had a decent day. Phil is a Florida native and has fished most of his life but never caught a snook, he had three that day. They ranged from 16” to 24” and were caught on live shrimp and Mirr”O”lures. He also had flounder, blackdrum and mangrove snapper.
The Flagler County Sportfishing Club held it’s annual inshore tournament this past week which benefited the Palm Coast Little League. One hundred thirty six anglers participated and divided up $3,200 in prize money. The top 5 fish in each category won money. Here are the results:
Redfish – 1st - George Gardner 6.55 lbs, 2nd - Warren Green 6.30 lbs, 3rd - Joe Hill 6.20 lbs, 4th - David Cribb 6 lbs, 5th - josh Forbes 5.25 lbs.
Trout – 1st - Chuck Kaszupski 3.95 lbs, 2nd - Chuck Kaszupski 2.06 lbs, 3rd - Tom Hodgin 1.65 lbs, 4th - Toby Collins 1.40 lbs, 5th - Duke Daniels 1.40 lbs
Flounder – 1st - Shawn Nickols 3.50 lbs, 2nd - Brian Pohl 2.30 lbs, 3rd - Warren Green 2.25 lbs, 4th - John Jordan 2.10 lbs, 5th - John Baggott 2.05 lbs
Blackdrum – 1st - Shawn Nickols 3.50 lbs, 2nd - Brian Pohl 2.30 lbs, 3rd – Warren Green 2.25 lbs, 4th – John Jordan 2.10 lbs, 5th – John Baggott 2.05 lbs.
Boat Winners – 1st – Jeff Johnson - 40 Something, 2nd – Michael Struhar – Hooked, 3rd – Larry Stevens – Fine Time.


Photo: Phil Summersill, a life long Florida fisherman, shows off the first snook he’s ever caught. It was landed on a live shrimp.

As I was driving south on A1A Tuesday afternoon I was looking out at the ocean and I noticed two large schools of bait. Judging by the way they were flashing on the surface I could tell they were pogys. I sat and watched for a while but saw no action from fish feeding on them. As I started to pull away one of the schools erupted and by the size of the splash I could tell it was a tarpon. I thought all the tarpon were gone for the season but I see I was wrong. Don’t look for them to stay around for long because the bait is quickly moving south.
Rick at Roy’s Bait House says they are getting trout and reds in the surf and from the pier. The trout are in the 18” range and the reds are averaging in the 26” to 30” range. Most of the fish are being caught on live mullet. Pompano have also begun to show and whiting continue to be caught. These two fish can be caught using sand fleas or shrimp. The best bait for pompano are clams if you can find them.
In the ICW it’s reds, trout and snook. Snook are being caught at night around highbridge and the bridge on Old Dixie highway in Tamoka state park. Trout and reds are being caught in the ICW along the dropoffs. Topwater plugs are working early and switching to plugs, gulp baits and jigs as the day continues.
Last Saturday morning I headed out before daybreak to try for some snook and trout. I started with a topwater plug but had no luck. I then switched locations and started flyfishing with a popper. I had numerous fish that hit the fly and missed but ended up catching a 3 lb jack and 2- 18” trout. Sunday I headed out again but couldn’t catch anything on topwaterpulg or fly. I then switched to a 7m mirrolure and raised some big trout but none were willing to eat my offering.
Later in the day I noticed a fish busting bait on the other side of a flat. With the water being high I moved across the flat toward the action. I started throwing my 7m but no luck. All of a sudden the water exploded and I threw my lure into the action. As soon as it hit the water it was devoured. Line started peeling off the drag and I couldn’t stop the fish as it made it’s way under a dock walkway. I thought I could slow the fish down some by thumbing the spool on my baitcaster. Wrong move, the added pressure was too much and the 10 lb test mono just popped. Yet again another reason I give myself to switch to braided line.


Photo: Nathan Starke eyes the 22” trout he caught while live lining a mullet

We have now come into a fall tide pattern. Water levels will remain extremely high for the next month or so. This is due to the moon phase and alignment of the planets. Fishing can be a little difficult during this period as it allows fish to get into places they can’t normally get to. The fish will be way back in creeks and in the grass looking for food. Capt. Chris Herrera says you can see and hear the reds way back in the grass. If you plan on venturing into the grass on foot make sure you wear a good pair of wading shoes. You’ll be able to spot feeding redfish to toss your baits at. Jerk baits rigged weedless or weedless flies will be your best bet. A live shrimp rigged weedless also works well.
Last week I spent four days at Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Florida Keys attending the Florida Outdoor Writers Association conference. The first time I went to the Keys was twenty years ago and have been back a couple of times since. Just like hear things are changing rapidly. The first sign of change is on the roadway in. The road is being widened in ares and a high rise bridge is being built to replace the old drawbridge. Farther down the road you start to notice a lot of the old mom and pop motels have been replaced with condos. Many of the old restaurants are gone giving way to more development. Ok, enough about changes.
The Keys are still a great place to fish. Other than Biscayne Bay to the north it is the only place in the U.S. where you can catch bonefish. The biggest bones in the world are caught there. They also have a great tarpon fishery and some of the best offshore fishing in the state.
At Hawks Cay some of the guys were jumping tarpon on jigs in the 30 to 40 lb range at the entrance bridge to the compound. At their marina small tarpon were hanging around the docks. On an outing to Pigeon Key one evening Rodney Smith, editor of Coastal Angler Magazine, brought his fly rod and waded out under the bridge. In about 20 minutes he landed 2 jacks, a snapper and jumped a 40 lb tarpon. That’s how good the fishing can be there without even having a boat.
I did go bone fishing one day and came away empty. They were having the same problem in the Keys, extremely high water. The high water makes it very difficult to spot the gray ghost of the flats. I did have a shot a tarpon however but he just turned and swam away from my shrimp offering. The Keys is still a great place to fish!
Here are the results of Roy’s Redfish Tournament, 1st place – Gregory Wilk – 5.6 lbs, $700, 2nd place – Robert Rees – 5.5 lbs, $500, 3rd – Capt. Mike Vickers – 5.3 lbs, $150.


Photo: Lori Ottlein hand feeds a tarpon at Robbie’s Marina in the Florida Keys.

It’s time to go to Matanzas inlet to get the big reds. I’ve been getting reports of big reds in the 15 to 40 lb range and lots of them. This is usually the time of year when the reds begin to migrate offshore and also follow the mullet down the coast. Ken Stone said he was at the inlet on Sunday and it was one after the other with the bull reds. One disturbing thing I heard was that there were a lot of oversize fish kept that day. People don’t seem to understand that the big fish are the ones that reproduce. No reproduction no new fish. Slot sizes and bag limits are in effect for a reason. When it comes to big fish, I always say take a picture it lasts a lot longer than a fish on the plate.
Last Friday Richard Delacy from Port Charlotte fished with me. The fishing was slow, mangos, jacks, ladyfish, a trout and a small snook. Then it happened. Richard hooked up with a fish that just started pulling line off the reel. All we saw was a huge tail that was swirling and splashing. When he finally got the fish near the boat it turned out to be a very large snook, 15 to 20 lb range. The fish had wrapped the line around itself and on it’s last surge popped the 10 lb test mono line like it was nothing. We both wanted to cry. If anyone out there catches a big snook with a hook and leader in it’s mouth it was the one that got away. I guess the fish didn’t realize all we wanted was a picture and he could have gone back. For a long time I’ve been putting off going to braided line but losing that fish has convinced me to give it a shot.
Sunday Doug Bunnell and Lynn and Robbie Beal of Midland Texas fished with me and again found the fishing to be slow in the ICW. Sounds like we should have been at the inlet but who knew. Robbie who has never really fished much was a quick learner once given a few casting instructions. She put a whoppin on her husband Lynn and Doug. She caught the most fish and the biggest. She had a flounder and a couple of black drum with the largest being 20”. When she caught the drum it pulled hard and she said help me – help me but the guys told her she was on her own. Well she landed the fish without help from anyone.
Roy’s Bait House reports Julie Enzweiler had a 30” red. Jessie Maxie fished the surf for whiting and pompano to 3 lbs. Bill Walker fished the surf with live mullet and caught and released 7 reds that were over 27”. Tom Steinmetz fished live mullet at the rte 100 bridge for an 8.12 lb trout.


Photo: Robbie Beal of Midland Texas shows off a 20” black drum she caught while live lining a shrimp.