I don’t know about you but I’ve about had it with this springs crazy weather. It’ll beautiful one day, a cold front and wind the next day. Let’s hope this all settles down so we can get to some serious fishing. Historically this is one of the best times of year to fish. Inshore, big snook start to show up along with gator trout and big jacks. Along the beaches flounder have one of their biggest runs of the year and the water temperature is just right for pompano with cobia not far behind. We’ll miss the cobia run if the wind keeps the surf riled up. With a little luck the fish gods will smile upon us and turn things around.
I’m getting reports from Roy’s Bait House that there are up to 50 flounder a day coming to the planks. Joe Locante has been limiting out daily with flounder up to 8 lbs. Al Spearman landed a five flounder and Alfredo Batone and his daughter 27 flounder up to 35 inches. Larry Finch has been fishing the clean water around Matanzas inlet for lots of pompano up to 5 lbs. and David Watson pulled 6 pompano, 3 blues and five flounder from the surf. Nathan Stark fished the ICW for 23” trout he caught on a topwater plug. Nathan was also kind enough to capture a brown pelican and remove some fishing tackle that it was wrapped up in. Steve Martin was able to slip offshore between fronts for a 24.09 lb red snapper.
Last Saturday Pete Arnold and Kevin Thompson fished aboard my boat for a ½ day charter. We started in the flats on the last of the incoming tide. I poled the guys around for about an hour and located 2 reds that were slamming mullet along the grass line. As fast as the fish appeared they fled even faster and all we could see were the fish pushing water as they fled the area. As the tide turned we left the flats and hit a feeder creek. It was there that they found trout, redfish, snook, flounder and jacks. After all was said and done Pete put 5 trout up to 19” in the box and landed his first ever snook that measured 25”.
There’s talk going on that the FWC wants to change the bag and size limits on snook. The bag limit on the east coast will be changed to match the bag limit on the west coast of 1 fish per day per angler and the slot limit to be changed from 27”-34” to 28”- 33”. They are also discussing putting a closed season on redfish. Once I hear something furthear I will let you know.
It’s still not to late to enter the Flagler County Sportfishing Clubs Bucket “o” Fun tournament next weekend. You can pick up an entry form at your local tackle store.
Photo: Pete Arnold displays the first snook he’s ever caught. The fish measured out at 25” and was caught live lining a shrimp.
I’m getting reports from Roy’s Bait House that there are up to 50 flounder a day coming to the planks. Joe Locante has been limiting out daily with flounder up to 8 lbs. Al Spearman landed a five flounder and Alfredo Batone and his daughter 27 flounder up to 35 inches. Larry Finch has been fishing the clean water around Matanzas inlet for lots of pompano up to 5 lbs. and David Watson pulled 6 pompano, 3 blues and five flounder from the surf. Nathan Stark fished the ICW for 23” trout he caught on a topwater plug. Nathan was also kind enough to capture a brown pelican and remove some fishing tackle that it was wrapped up in. Steve Martin was able to slip offshore between fronts for a 24.09 lb red snapper.
Last Saturday Pete Arnold and Kevin Thompson fished aboard my boat for a ½ day charter. We started in the flats on the last of the incoming tide. I poled the guys around for about an hour and located 2 reds that were slamming mullet along the grass line. As fast as the fish appeared they fled even faster and all we could see were the fish pushing water as they fled the area. As the tide turned we left the flats and hit a feeder creek. It was there that they found trout, redfish, snook, flounder and jacks. After all was said and done Pete put 5 trout up to 19” in the box and landed his first ever snook that measured 25”.
There’s talk going on that the FWC wants to change the bag and size limits on snook. The bag limit on the east coast will be changed to match the bag limit on the west coast of 1 fish per day per angler and the slot limit to be changed from 27”-34” to 28”- 33”. They are also discussing putting a closed season on redfish. Once I hear something furthear I will let you know.
It’s still not to late to enter the Flagler County Sportfishing Clubs Bucket “o” Fun tournament next weekend. You can pick up an entry form at your local tackle store.
Photo: Pete Arnold displays the first snook he’s ever caught. The fish measured out at 25” and was caught live lining a shrimp.