105 anglers in 54 boats participated in the Flagler County Sportfishing Clubs 19th Annual Inshore Fishing Tournament last Saturday. There was $4000 in prize money paid out to the winning anglers. Close to $3000 was raised for the Stewart-Marchman Foundation of Flagler County. Here are the top 3 winners for each category. Black Drum - 1st – Amy Cauley 3.6 lbs, 2nd – Amy Cauley 3.6 lbs, 3rd – Mike LaMonica 3.6 lbs. Redfish – 1st – Billy Page 6.1 lbs, 2nd – Winn Cummings 5.95 lbs, 3rd – Melissa Page5.5 lbs. Flounder – 1st – Dave Tucker 4.55 lbs, 2nd – Al Scott 3.75 lbs, 3rd – Chris Stewart 3 lbs. Trout – 1st – Chuck Kaszupski 2.45 lbs, 2nd – Chris Herrera 2.45 lbs. 3rd – David Wright 1.95 lbs. If there is a tie in the weight of a fish the tie is broken by the first one to weigh their fish in.
The ICW has been alive with mullet on there migration south. The mullet coupled with the rain that dropped the water temperature about 5 degrees has turned the fish on. Sunday there were fish erupting as school after school of bait headed south. Mullet were being chased out of the water into the air and the fish were ascending after them. It was quite a site to witness. Trout, snook, jacks, redfish and tarpon were all part of the feeding frenzy. There was even a porpoise that put on a show. Boats were stopping to watch as the dolphin was leaping and spinning to heights of 10 feet out of the water. The dolphin show lasted about 5 minutes.
Lou DeFazio and I were lucky enough to be there to see it all take place. It was one of those fishing days that you’ll remember for a long time. We caught so many fish that day that we lost count. Using artificial baits we landed trout to 19”, small reds, snook to 23”, jacks in the 4 lb range and even jumped a tarpon that hit a mirrolure right next to the boat. The 40 lb tarpon jumped twice, spit the plug, and was gone.
Fishing in the surf and from the pier has also picked up. Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle on the pier reports that reds from 26” to 35” are being caught on the incoming tide. Flounder to 23” are also being caught. Bluefish, pompano and Spanish mackerel have all began to make their presence.
Jake Jaquish at Highbridge Bait and tackle reports lots of snook, triut and tarpon in the area. Jake says the snook are hitting in the early morning on skitterwalks and twitchin raps.
Occasionally I like to report on the fishing in different areas of the state for anyone that may be doing some traveling. John Inman and Dave Goddas recently traveled to Chokoloskee in the Everglades for two days of fishing. The duo chartered a boat where the captain put them on lots of fish. In two days, using live bait, they had over 75 snook and redfish. Not a bad couple of days fishing.


Photo: John Inman with an Everglades snook. It was one of over 75 fish caught in 2 days of fishing out of Chokoloskee.

Last week my wife Lori and I spent four days at the Florida Outdoor Writers Association conference in Homosassa, Fl. Homosassa is located on the west coast an hour north of Tampa and just south of Crystal River. Rather than towing my boat over to fish unknown waters I booked a half day charter with Capt. Earle Waters of Back Country Concepts.
We met Earle at our hotel on Thursday morning and followed him to a boat ramp that would put us in the midst of prime backwater. The trip to the boat ramp took us for miles along a winding road through what is known as low country. We arrived at a paying boat ramp on private property and launched the 16 ft Hellsbay skiff.
Once on the water it took about 7 minutes to get to Earle’s first spot. When he shut down the engine a school of about 100 redfish spooked pushing a large wake through the water. Earle poled us through crystal clear water over grass flats where you could see everything below you. After a few casts I landed a 24” red on a 17MR mirrolure. We had a couple more strikes but no takers. The big school stayed just out of casting range as we pursued them so Earle decided to move on. We ran into a couple of smaller schools and caught a few reds on Berkley gulps.
As the water got shallower on the outgoing tide the fish seemed to break off into singles. We cast to a lot of fish but they weren’t in a feeding mode. My wife Lori took over the bow and made a cast with a Rapala skitterwalk and the water exploded with the crash of a redfish. The 6 lb red was boated, photographed and released. We then headed back to the boat ramp.
The next day I got to fish with Capt. Earle in the FOWA tournament. Again we saw fish but they just weren’t in a feeding mode. Earle suggested it might be due to a front that was passing through. Earle did manage a 30 ½” red on a skitterwalk and a 27 ¾” red on a berkley gulp.
One of the beautiful things about the fishing other than the beautiful clear water and grass flats was I only saw two other boats in the 2 days I fished. It’s only a 2 ½ hour drive to fish these waters. Capt. Earle is one of the only true shallow water guides in Homosassa. He can be reached at 352-302-0359 or visit his web site at http://www.backcountryconcepts.com/.
Locally, redfish and flounder are being caught at the pier. Look for the bite to get better as the surf calms down. Sunday Lou DeFazio and I did some fly fishing and faired rather well. I was throwing a top water fly and only had one hit. Lou was throwing a streamer fly and landed 3 snook, 2 trout and had numerous strikes, he also lost a big snook when the hook pulled. Watching this I changed flies and landed a snook and also lost a large one when the hooked pulled.
All the rain giving us fresh water the fishing won’t improve until it begins to flush out. Try fishing deeper water where the salinity levels will be higher.

Twice this past week I picked up the Daytona News Journal and read articles about snakes and that being bitten by a snake is unusual. Last week I became one of the unusual victims. After picking up my charter at the boat ramp we stopped at a canal to throw some plugs. My client, while throwing his plug up towards the bank, let his cast get away from him and it landed up on land and became stuck. I then pulled the boat up to the shoreline and got out to retrieve the plug.
I was walking toward the plug (dressed in flip flops) when I felt something sharp on the side of the heel on my left foot. I thought to myself that I brushed up against a sharp piece of wood as I took a couple of more steps I turned around to see what it was when I noticed a small snake following me. He stopped and coiled up and I could see the small rattles on his tail. I knew right away that it was a pygmy rattlesnake. Now I’m not one to harm animals, not even a snake, but when it bites you it’s a different story. I picked a large piece of coquina rock and threw it on him. I retrieved the plug and got back in the boat. My client suggested I go to the ER but we continued to fish for about 15 more minutes. I decided to call my wife who is an ER nurse and she told me to get myself to the hospital.
Once at the ER they took me in right away, gave me a tetnus shot and put an I.V. drip in me with antibiotics. They kept measuring my foot to see if there was any swelling but none occurred. The doctor asked me what kind of snake it was and I told him it was an adult pygmy rattler. He said I was lucky because many times the first strike of an adult pygmy is a dry strike. The snake had only bitten me once, probably because I was walking when it happened. (Pygmy rattlesnakes strike their prey repeatedly) They kept me there for two hours then released me.
The lesson to be learned here is that a $5 plug is not worth the risk of serious injury. Cut your line or break it off. Also, all you people who get out of the boat to cast net mullet need to take a good look around before proceeding to walk a bank.
According to Capt. Ralph Olivett the redfishing is still good at the inlet on the change of tides. Mullet is the bait of choice.
Tarpon continue to be seen rolling in the canals. I heard of one kayaker who was almost pulled under by a 70 lb tarpon he hooked on a live shrimp. He got scared and cut his line to free himself of the big fish.
Who says fishing isn’t a dangerous sport?

Good news for surf and pier anglers, the mullet run has started along the beach. The mullet will bring in spanish mackerel, king mackerel, redfish, flounder and tarpon. When the Spanish mackerel show up a large silver spoon tossed from the beach will work, just make sure you use a metal leader or you’ll lose your spoon. Spoons will also catch king mackerel that might come in close to the beach and don’t rule out connecting with a tarpon. When fishing from the pier a “gotcha” plug will do the trick on the Spanish. A whole frozen mullet, live mullet or a fresh chunk of mullet is your best bet for reds and flounder.
Johnny Garrett at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle on the pier tells of king mackerel to 33 lbs being brought to the planks. There was also a 28 lb barracuda caught. Black drum and whiting are also being caught. Look for the fishing to get even better as the mullet run heats up.
Inshore there are lots of snook of all sizes to be found. They’re hitting flies, topwater plugs, diving plugs, jigs and live shrimp or mullet. Tarpon can also be found in the canals off the ICW. There have been tarpon up to 80 lbs rolling in the Sea Ray canal. The best bet for a possible hook up with a tarpon is to live line a mullet or a pogy.
Look for reds cruising the banks of the ICW at the end of the out going tide and the beginning of the incoming tide. Lots of times you’ll be able to sight fish them as their backs will be out of the water while they search for food.
Flounder fishing remains steady. I caught a 3 lb flounder this past week on a mirrolure plug. Flounder are very aggressive fish and will come off the bottom to chase bait. Jake Jaquishat Jake’s Highbridge Bait and Tackle told me of a 33” flounder that was caught this past week. Jake also reports that snook to 37” have been taken from the bridge and reds along the banks of the ICW.
Lou DeFazio and I were talking at the rte. 100 boat ramp the other day and he told me that he landed and released 25 snook to 33” during the month of August. Lou fishes at night from the bank using only a jig. He looks for the remainder of the season to be a good one for snook.
Here are the results from Roy’s redfish tournament, most spots, 1st – Terry Schweers – 10, 2nd – Ted Wilk – 7, 3rd – Rosa Pana – 6
Heaviest fish, 1st – Robert Mock II – 5.85 lbs, 2nd – Paul Wann – 5.1 lbs, 3rd – Dallas Moore –5.05 lbs.
Roy also reported that Linda Vickers caught a 1 ½ lb permit in the ICW.
The Flagler County Sportfishing Club is holding their Annual Inshore Tournament September 22 at Bings Landing. The captains meeting will be at JT’s Seafood Shack on A1A in the Hammock. Entry fee is $45 per angler. Payouts will be for blackdrum, redfish, trout and flounder. For more information you can goto www.fcsportfishing.com or contact John Raybon at 386-447-3828 or 386-503-3545.