It seems we can finally bid adieu to that awful red tide that hung around for almost three weeks. Although there were fish kills I don’t expect it to take too long for the fishing to rebound. Inshore the hardest hit area seemed to be Matanzas Inlet down to the Pellicer flats. Lots of dead trout, flounder and redfish were reported. It never seemed to reach the southern end of Flagler county or Volusia county. I never saw any dead fish in that area. As a matter of fact the fishing was pretty good. The costal beaches of St. Johns, Flagler and northern Volusia counties took the hardest hit from the tide but reports already have the fishing making a strong comeback.
The trout fishing in the ICW had been hot until this past Sunday when it just seemed to shut down. Reports I’ve been getting this week is of a slow bite. This may be attributed to a couple of things, a slow moving tide, the full moon, winds and what seems to be a lack of bait. However, look for the fishing to pick up by this weekend. Roy Mattson, at Roy’s Bait house, said he has been receiving reports out of Georgia and northern Florida that of lots of bait and fish are moving south. It could be that the warm weather and water temperatures have kept the bait up that way a little longer than usual. We’ll just have to wait and see if this run materializes here.
Last Thursday Lou DeFazio and I fished the ICW for what turned out to be a good day of fishing. We hit a couple of spots and caught lots of trout. I fared better with my mirrolure than Lou did with his jig. After seeing all the trout I was catching Lou decided to switch to a small Rapala x-rap lure. On about his third cast he hooked into a big fish. At first we couldn’t tell what it was because the fish didn’t want to come to the surface. When it’s tail finally broke the surface you could see the black spot that indicated it was a redfish. When we got it in the boat it measured out at 30” and weighed 9 lbs. The fish was photographed and released. It was the biggest red Lou has caught yet. Mark Zander fished with me on Saturday and had a 25” snook also using a small Rapala x-rap plug.
Jake Jaquish At Jakes Highbridge Bait and Tackle reports that the snook fishing has slacked off some but most of the action is taking place after midnight from the bridge. Jake also reports black drum being caught on live or dead shrimp.
Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports lots of blues being caught on mullet, black drum and whiting using shrimp and pompano on shrimp or clams.
Hugh Anderson, fishing the “2007” Fall Surf Fishing Tournament held out of St Augustine, weighed in the largest fish a 12.6 lb bluefish.

Last week I reported that the red tide was about gone, was I ever wrong. The red tide is still here and it is strong. Anyone who has spent any time on or near the beach can tell you how annoying the situation is. Watery eyes, coughing and sneezing are the major symptoms caused by breathing in the toxin. I live about a mile due west of the beach and I’m getting the effects of it here. I feel sorry for those living beachside. It’s also nasty when trying to fish the ICW. Wearing a surgical mask may not look chic but it will cut down on the breathing symptoms.
When is it going to go away? No one knows. According to information I received from the state, red tide can last days, weeks or months and can also change daily due to wind conditions. With the east/northeast winds that have been blowing for the last couple of weeks I don’t see a change coming soon unless we get some strong west/northwest winds that last a few days.
I have also received reports of fish kills in the ICW around Matanzas inlet, Pellicier flats and as far south as the Hershel King boat ramp. None of theses are good reports for fishermen. I haven’t noticed any dead fish south of the rte 100 Bridge in Flagler Beach. I’m hoping it stays that way. The southern end of Flagler County and the Highbridge area tides are controlled by Ponce Inlet rather then Matanzas Inlet. Let’s hope it keeps this area free of the red tide. For more information on red tide you can go to http://www.redtideonline.com/ or view videos at www.start1.com
The winds are also creating havoc with baby sea turtles. The hatchlings, they usually spend the first year of their lives floating around on seaweed, are being washed ashore by the easterly winds. To date my wife Lori has collected over 500 hatchlings that have been turned over to the piers Flagler Bait and Tackle shop and to Roy’s Bait House. Both places will get in touch with Lori for their safe return. She gathers the turtles and takes them to the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet. The turtles are given a good rest and some antibiotics before being returned to the sea.
Now for some fishing news, the pier reports blues and redfish but you have to fish out past the breakers.
Roy’s Bait House reports Dave Bourde fished the pier for redfish of 41” and 39”. Brenden Smith fished the surf and landed a 26” red, 14 bluefish and 2 – 16” sheepshead. William Konetzky pulled a 36 ½” snook from the ICW.
Last Friday I landed 3 snook in the Highbridge area, the fish were 8”, 17” and 26”. All fish were caught on a mirrolure or a yo-zuri 3D minnow. I talked with a fellow who told me that last week he and his buddy caught over 37 snook fishing from the bridge and all fish were caught on artificial baits. Reds, trout and flounder are also being caught from Highbridge to the Granada Bridge.


Photo: Lori Ottlein holds one of over 500 baby sea turtles that have been washed ashore onto Flagler County beaches in the past week. All turtles have been taken to the Marine Science center in Ponce Inlet.

The next time you have to renew your fishing license it’s going to cost you an extra $4. The FWC has raised the price from $13 to $17 for the cost of an annual license. It is the first time since 1989 that the price has been increased. This increase still falls behind the rate of inflation. For more information about licenses go to www.myfwc .com.
According to the results of the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation Survey Florida has defended its title of “Fishing Capital of the World”. 2.8 million anglers fished here last year spending $4.4 billion and creating 75,000 jobs. Another interesting highlight of the study, reported by the American Sportfishing Association, is that one out of three anglers fish for largemouth bass, America’s most popular game fish. Also, one of every seven Americans fished in 2006, making the sport more popular than jogging or golf. Despite all these high numbers the amount of issued licenses had decreased in 2006.
Wednesday morning I spoke with Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle (pier) and he said it looks like the red tide is finally gone. Thank goodness! Johnny said it didn’t seem to affect the fishing too much. Lots of big reds are being caught at the pier, fish in the 20 lb bracket. Mullet or shrimp, live or frozen, are doing the trick. Black drum to 23” are also being caught along with lots of whiting. Look for flounder to start to show soon also.
Jake Jaquish at Jakes Highbridge Bait and Tackle had three words to report, snook,snook,snook. Jake says they can be found almost anywhere you fish. They are eagerly taking plugs or artificial bait. Fish creek mouths that feed into the ICW on an outgoing tide. Big schools of jacks are erupting in the ICW on bait as they move south. They will eat anything you throw into a marauding school. You’d best have on a leader when battling a jack. Jacks aren’t much in the way of food but they sure do put up one heck of a fight when hooked. Jake also reports lots of speckled trout. You’ll catch trout on the same baits you use for snook.
I found lots of trout last week but most of them were in the 14” range. You might have to land a dozen or so to be able to find any keepers. Although I didn’t find any snook it won’t keep me from trying this week. I think I’ll just have to try fishing a bit farther south.

Due to the strong northeast winds this past week the water levels in ICW are extremely high right now. Water levels are just inches below the seawalls along the ICW and the flats are flooded. All this high water just gives fish and baitfish too many places to retreat to. The only saving thing is that the bait may stay more to the ICW as it migrates south.
The question is, will the bait run still be going on after the winds subside? I guess the only way to find out is to get out and fish. Before the winds picked up on Saturday I was having a pretty good day with trout. On almost every cast I had either a hit or a fish. This lasted for about an hour, then the winds started to pickup and the bite seemed to turn off. The tide going almost slack probably played a role as well. I decided to call it a day. For the record, I was using a soft plastic paddle tail jig on a ¼ oz jig head. I was swimming it half way between the bottom and the surface. Sometimes you have to try retrieving at different speeds to find what depth the fish are at.
Chuck Medlin didn’t let the winds bother him on Sunday. He found a place that was semi protected from the wind. Fishing with a soft plastic bait he landed 3 snook to 7 lbs. Chuck said the snook were busting water while feeding on bait. This lasted about an hour before things finally died off.
There were a few people fishing the rough water from the pier on Tuesday and they were landing slot size reds, black drum and bluefish. Look for the surf and pier action to pick up once the surf dies down.
Here’s a bit of fishing news for all you readers who use to fish for fluke up north. (the equivalent to southern flounder) Monica Oswald caught a pending all tackle world record 24.3 lb fluke. Monica was disqualified for the record by the IGFA when she stated that she rested her rod on the gunwale of the boat while fighting the fish. Resting the rod on an object is not allowed by the IGFA.
Moving farther north to Canada a Canadian record was set for northern pike. An unidentified angler caught a pike that weighed in at 55 lbs and measured 55 inches long. According to the pictures I was sent the angler landed the big fish when it came up to eat a 20 lb pike the man had on his line. There was a picture of the fish trying to eat the other one. If anyone would like to see the pics you can email me at captrco@cfl.rr.com and I will send them to you.
One other note of interest pertaining to boating is that boat thefts in Florida are up 20% this year. Most of the problems seem to be in south Fl. and the Keys. Authorities believe this is due in large part by people stealing go-fast boats in the 30’ to 40’ range to smuggle refugees into the U.S.

Photo: Unidentified angler with a Canadian Record 55 lb 56 inch northern pike.