Do you believe in good omens? Well I do. Let me explain about the latest one I had. Up until the last two weeks I had only caught one snook the entire year and that was up in the Tamoka River. In the past two weeks I have caught a total of three snook here in Flagler County. These were not big snook. As a matter of fact the largest was about six inches and the smallest about three inches and all of them were caught on a fly. Now I’d have to consider this a good omen for things to come for our snook fishery next year.
You might ask yourself how I can get excited about catching fish so small? Snook are ferocious feeders. When they are small it amazes me to see them try to eat something almost as big as they are. Also, any fish I catch while flyfishing is a good fish. Snook just happens to be one of my favorite fish to catch on a fly, or for that matter, any other type rod and reel.
Steve Carl and I had planned a trip to fish the Indian River on Saturday but due to the weather report (high winds) we decided to stay locally. Steve wanted to try out a fly rod he was thinking of purchasing from me so we went to one of my favorite canals to be out of the wind. Steve put the rod to the test by catching trout and bluefish. When the wind finally made us give up on flyfishing our total was 15 trout, 5 bluefish, a snook and a redfish.
We then headed to the area around Highbridge to fish another canal. With the wind I decided to operate the trolling motor and let Steve fish. Working the canal produced a 15” flounder caught on Berkley Gulp bait. With the wind howling we decided to venture into a flat and give it a try. On entering the flat we spooked a couple of reds and saw another bust up on bait. Not being dressed properly for the conditions we thought we’d give it ago anyway but the stronger the wind got the colder we got and the harder it became to fish. We were about to turn around when Steve cast his Gulp up to the point of a small island. As soon as the bait hit the water a redfish exploded on it and the battle was on. We landed the fish and it measured out at 23”. It was then time to head to the barn and it was a very cold ride up the river into the wind.

There are some regulation changes coming to Speckled Sea Trout and Redfish starting on February 1st, 2012. Rather than lose something in the translation of the new laws I will post them as copied directly from the FWC website.
Seatrout:
· Removing regional season closures (removing the current February closure in northern Florida and the November-through-December closure southern Florida)
· Raising the recreational bag limit in northeast Florida from five to six
· Changing commercial seasons based on regions-lengthening them from three months to five months in the northwest, southwest (June 1 – Oct 31) and southeast (May 1- Sept. 30) regions and from three months to six months in the northeast region (June 1 – Nov 31)
· Allowing spotted seatrout to be sold 30 days after the close of the regional commercial season.
· When there are two commercially licensed fisherman aboard, changing the commercial vessel limit to 150
· Redefining the areas where spotted seatrout are managed by splitting the state into four management zones instead of three

Redfish:
· Create three management areas for red drum (the northwest, the northeast and the south) instead of one statewide management area
· Increase the number of red drum that a recreational fisherman can take per day in the northeast and northwest regions of the state from one to two red drum
· Establish a statewide vessel limit of eight red drum
· Limit the number of red drum that can be transported on land to six drum per person
Agree with it or not these will be the new regulations. Do I agree with them? No! I believe in the long run these regulations will do more damage than good. Six or seven years ago I could remember catching four or five trout a day that went between 4 to 6 lbs. These days, I’m lucky if I get that many size fish in a year, and I do a lot of trout fishing, shame on the FWC.
The wind has been playing havoc with the fishing as of late. It’s been difficult to chase redfish in the flats. The wind dirties the water and makes it difficult to locate fish, especially if you’re trying to sight fish. It also makes it difficult to fly fish or try to cast a lure on an exact spot. Hopefully later this week the winds will subside and flats fishing will improve.
The flounder run is about over for the year. Target trout in deeper water using small flies on an intermediate line or small plugs that dive to about six feet. One such plug that comes to mind is the Yozuri Pins Minnow.
Good fishing!!

Have you ever tried to figure out why one type of bait catches more fish than another on any given day? Why one fisherman catches more fish than the other while using exactly the same bait when fishing on the same boat. Why are a bunch of fish found in one spot on one day then go back the next day and there are non to be found. These questions have perplexed fisherman for years. I bet you think I’m going to tell you the answers but I can’t. I can only ponder different theories and there are a lot of them. Some of them can sound like good logical excuses to fellow fishermen and even better to the person who doesn’t fish. But as fishermen we all know that sometimes no matter what you think you know and what you try you are just not going to catch fish on that given day.
Take, for example, this past weekend. I went out on Saturday morning at the break of dawn to fish the last couple of hours of the out going tide. Not getting anything on my fly rod I put it away and picked up my spinning rod and had no luck with it either, just a couple of very small trout. I then ran into some friends of mine who were using live shrimp and having no luck either. We parted ways and I was headed back to the boat ramp. On my way back I decided to stop in a canal to give it one last shot before I called it a day. By this time the tide had started coming in and the wind picked up. I was sort of out of the wind in the canal so I picked up the fly rod again. On my third cast I had a nice 16” trout. By the time I was done drifting down that canal I had five trout between 15 ½ and 19 inches. Then all of a sudden it was like someone threw a light switch and the fishing turned off.
On Sunday I headed back to that same canal and the fishing was hot, at least for me it was. Another fellow was fishing there and he had 3 trout using lures. I was using my fly rod and caught 15 trout a redfish and a couple of jacks, one of which bit off my fly. Who knows why my fly caught more fish than the other guys offering, I’m just glad it did. By the way, once the sun came out from behind the clouds the fishing turned off. And yet another good excuse of why the fish stopped biting.

Like most fishermen I have a lot of stories to tell about my experiences on the water or on the road traveling to or from a fishing destination; some good, some funny and some are not so good or funny. I have two stories to relate to about this weekends fishing tournament I was involved with in St Augustine. I have been involved with this tournament for the past nine years and it is all done to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The first story is a little “batty”. On Saturday morning I was driving up A1A at 4:30 AM to launch at the boat ramp at the St. Augustine lighthouse. I was somewhere just north of Matansas Inlet when something flew from out of nowhere into the path of my vehicle. I forgot about it by the time I got to the boat ramp. The next morning when I went out to clean the boat I noticed something in the front grill of my truck. When I went to inspect what it was I found a dead Bat that was in perfect condition, except for the dead part. I told my wife to come check out what I had caught yesterday. We removed it from the grill and snapped a few pics and sent them out on the Internet to some of my fishing buddies. I got some interesting responses back. As for the wife, she thought it was one of my most interesting catches ever.
The next story involves 2 anglers, one from Oklahoma the other from Massachusetts. Not being avid fishermen I spent the better part of the first morning trying to teach them to cast a spinning rod. One took to it pretty good the other not so good. As luck would have it (call it beginners luck) the not too good caster caught most of the fish over the two days. Fishing was difficult because of the extremely high water we were having. They caught a couple of small trout in the ICW but they were undersized. We then moved to the back of the flats to work the grass line for some reds. Not so good caster wound up landing a 22” red on a Berkley Gulp jerk shad rigged on a 1/8 oz 5/0 worm hook. Later that day we were in the 206 flats and the not so good caster hooked into a big redfish using the same rig he landed the other red on. He couldn’t budge the fish but once it started to move it took off like a “bat” out of @#$%. The fish stopped and ran straight back to the boat dragging his line across the trolling motor and breaking him off. He now has a fish story of his own to tell about “the big one that got away”.

I-4 is a road I despise driving on and I’m sure many of you feel the same way. Friday evening added to my contempt of that Highway as I returned from Pinellas Park. I had gone over to the west coast to tape a television show for Average Angler Adventures that airs on the Brighthouse Sports Network. Glen Pla, the host of the show, was wrapping up a series of shows he did about fishing the marshes of Florida. Having done one of the shows in that series he asked me to join him and two other fishing guides into the studio to conclude the series.
The taping of the show ended around 4:30 PM. Not wanting to hit rush hour traffic in Tampa and Orlando I hung around the studio until 6:15 PM thinking that I would have a clear shot on my return trip. I sailed through the Tampa area thinking I had a clear path the rest of the way. This was too good to be true I thought to myself and as fate would have it, it was. As I approached the Auburndale area all cars came to a dead stop. Oh no, not again, another accident on I-4. We just sat there moving at a snails pace. I proceeded to talk to someone in the car next to me and he informed me that there was an accident involving a fatality. I turned up the radio and settled in for a long slow drive. Although it was 12:30 AM by the time I arrived home feeling tired and hungry, I felt grateful that I made it home safely. You can bet the next GPS I get for my car will be equipped with a traffic alert feature.
I had a buddy of mine (Doug) come visit last week for a few days and we did two days of fishing. The first day was slow and uneventful except for the 20” flounder Doug caught on a Berkley Gulp. On the second day we headed up toward Matanzas area to see if we could get some flounder but they weren’t cooperating. We then headed to the 206 flats and landed one small red and a small jack on gold spoons. With the water being higher than normal we could hear redfish busting on mullet way back in the grass but we couldn’t get to them.
We then headed south and weren’t able to get to some flounder spots due to the dredging that is going on. We stopped at a flat north of Bings Landing and landed 3 slot size reds and a croaker on gold spoons.

As Labor Day came and went I did some chores then proceeded to a sale at a local store to purchase a new chair for my computer desk. The new chair has a high back and a cushiony seat. The old chair had a low back and a hard seat. As a matter of fact the back was broken off that old chair and every time I sat in it I had to place the backrest just so as not to fall off the chair. I did however write many a fishing article from that broken chair. I placed that retired chair in the corner of my computer room along side a lot of my old fishing rods. I figure if I ever get writers block I’ll pull the old chair back in front of the computer for inspiration to come up with something to write about. The old chair was good to me and hope the new one treats me just as well.
I would just like to take a minute hear and say goodbye to someone, who like my old chair, inspired me my entire life – my mom. She passed away last week at the age of 86. She always taught me to do the best I could at whatever I did. She got a big kick out seeing me write fishing articles; the kid that barely passed high school English. So with her gone now I guess I’ll have to sit in that old chair every now and then, think about mom, and inspire myself to write when the writing gets tough. I would also like to thank all the wonderful people at the Stuart Meyer Hospice House who treated my mom so great in her final days. You are a special people!
I didn’t get to do any fishing last week due to the circumstances but I did get a good report from Capt. Ralph Olivett. He and Joe Ricke were out and landed 6 flounder. The largest was a 5 pounder that Joe caught using a live mullet fishing at Matanzas Inlet. The other five flounder were all caught on Berkley Gulp bait. They also had 5 reds all on Berkley Gulp. Only one of the reds was under the slot size. They also landed a 19” trout on live mullet.
Now that September is upon us look for the fall bait migration to start in the coming weeks. The bait will be moving south along the beaches and the ICW. The fishing usually gets “reel” good when it happens.

Every so often I feel the need to go fish a new area of Florida, so when I got a call from my buddy Steve Carl we did just that. Steve suggested we go to Scootsmoor and fish the northern most area of the Indian River Lagoon. A few days later we embarked on our trip.
Steve picked me up at 5:30 AM on Friday morning and we loaded up my tackle and set out on the drive to the boat ramp. The drive from my house to the boat ramp took about 45minutes. The boat ramp is small but there is plenty of parking. The only draw back is that there are no bathroom facilities. Once you launch your boat it takes less than a minute to where it opens up into a large body of open water and within minutes you can be fishing the grass flats.
Our target species that day was to be redfish. Steve, having fished the area several times before, knew some of the better spots to search for the fish. We drove to the shoreline on the north end, cut the motor and Steve got up on the poling platform. We worked a couple of creek mouths and the shoreline with no luck so we fired up the motor and moved to a different area.
We worked the shoreline of the new area and again no luck. It wasn’t until we moved about 50 yards off the shoreline that we started to see redfish. The water in this area is usually clear but with the rains they’ve had lately made the water murky and difficult to sightfish. It wasn’t until we were right on top of them that you could see them. By that time you have already spooked them and you could watch them swim off. We had a couple of shots at some cruising fish where steve put a Berkley Gulp right in front of their noses and they wouldn’t eat it. I had a shot at a cruiser that stopped and I lost where he went. I knew he was somewhere where I last spotted him and when I threw the fly I must have hit him right in the head because the water erupted and he was gone.
We didn’t catch any fish that day but I did see enough of them to bring me back to Scottsmoor again.
Locally the flounder bite has been hot. Use a Berkley Gulp on a jig head and work the shorelines of the ICW. For big trout, locate schools of glass minnows around docks and throw a Mirrolure 17MR for big results.

Tarpon fishing along the areas beaches has been spotty as of late due to cooler water temperatures. Lately the water temps have been bouncing back and forth between the seventies and eighties. The lower temps will either shut the tarpon down or they will leave to find warmer water. Higher temps will bring the tarpon in and turn the bite on.
Tarpon are often called “silver kings” or “poons” so you will see me use these terms in this article.
Last week Dan and Ramona Rutkowski went out Matanzas Inlet in search of tarpon and were rewarded with two silver kings that they brought to the boat and released. Both fish were in the 80 lb. range. Dan said they didn’t find any tarpon on any of the bait pods they came across but instead they found them by accident as they were cruising around searching for signs of poons. They noticed a silver flash in the water and stopped the boat to investigate. What they found were a couple of schools of tarpon that were lazily hanging out just a few feet below the surface. Dan said most of the fish they saw seemed to be kind of sluggish which he said was probably caused by the cooler water temperatures. They placed their baits right in front of the fish’s noses but they refused to eat the baits. They finally found a couple of fish that cooperated with them and the fight was on. Dan emailed me some of the pictures he took while Ramona battled her fish. He had some great shots of the tarpon leaping out of the water.
If you want to try your hand at catching a tarpon, start by trying to choose a day when there is no wind. Morning is usually the best time because the ocean is flat and it is easy to spot the pods of bait on top of the water. As the day wears we usually get the afternoon breezes and this puts a chop on the water making it difficult to see the bait. Once you locate bait you’ll have to throw the cast net and fill your live well with it.
Your tackle should consist of a rod in the 30 to 50 lb class with a reel to match. Line should also be in the same size class to match the rod and reel. You’ll need a 50 to 80 lb leader attached to the line with a triple surgeons knot. On the end of the leader you want a 5/0 to 9/0 circle hook depending on the size of the fish. Hook your bait in the back and cast it to the edge of the bait pod and our good to go.

Bait is thick right now in the ICW, especially south of the rte. 100 bridge in Flagler Beach. There are large schools of Menhaden, Mullet, Shrimp and Glass Minnows moving with the tides. With all the bait that is available to predator fish it can make catching them difficult at times. They become more selective about the choices anglers present to them.
Try matching the bait that is in the area you are fishing. For example: when there is menhaden around try throwing something like a 17 MR Mirrolure. When retrieving this lure, as with other artificial lures, try to make it look like a wounded baitfish. Twitch it and then pause it then twitch and pause again. It is usually on the pause when a fish will strike it. When it comes to mullet try a Mirrolure catch “2000”. This is a sub surface lure that looks like a mullet and is very effective when fished the same way as the 17 MR or in a “walk the dog” motion.
There are numerous shrimp imitations on the market and the D.O.A. shrimp is one that comes to mind. Fish this the same way you would free line a live shrimp, very slowly.
The only thing I haven’t found a good imitation of is the glass minnow. The closest I can come to one is a fly fishing pattern.
The reason I am mentioning these artificial baits is that it can become hard this time of year to get live shrimp at your tackle shop. If you don’t know how to throw a cast net or just don’t feel like it, artificial baits can save the day for a fishing trip.
Fortunately last week I was able to get shrimp for 2 trips that I had. Both trips had mangrove snapper, jacks, ladyfish, flounder, redfish and trout, lots of trout.
Jeffery Lademann and I went looking for snook and tarpon in the Tamoka River this past Friday. On our way up the river we saw a couple of huge explosions under a dock light. We went and worked the area but came up empty handed. Further up the river Jeffery landed a small snook with Catch 2000 and I landed one on a fly. There was tarpon all over the place but we couldn’t get any to eat our artificial baits. Sunday afternoon Capt Ralph Olivett and I headed out Matanzas Inlet in search of tarpon but came up empty handed. There were lots of schools of menhaden but no tarpon feeding on them. Next time we will try early in the morning when the tarpon seem to feed the best.

You better start checking the weather report before heading out to fish now that the afternoon storms have arrived. Nothing is worse than getting caught in a lightning storm. I don’t think I have to explain the ramifications of you or your boat being struck by lighting. Second worse is being caught in a downpour while running the boat back to the ramp. Those raindrops can feel like needles hitting you. It’s wise to carry raingear on your boat at all times during the rainy season.
If you have a smart phone go to the web and type in “weatherunderground.com.” You can go to local weather and get the up to the minute weather conditions. You can also get animated radar of the area. On the same site you can also get tides for Smith Creek, Bings Landing and the Matanzas area. You can find NOAA offshore conditions on the same site too. Believe me, I’m no computer genius, if I can find these things and figure them out so can you.
Now let’s move on to fishing. The ICW is loaded with bait at the present time. Menhaden, mullet, glass minnows and shrimp make up the majority of the schools of bait to be found. It’s one school after another swimming with the tide. The bite is good when bait is moving with the tide. Once the tide slows down so does the bait and once that happens the bite also slows down. Then when the tide completely stops moving and goes slack the fish stop feeding. The bite won’t pick up again until the tide switches and starts moving again.
The trout bite remains strong. There are a lot of undersize fish around but there’s a lot of keeper size also. They will eat just about anything you put in front of them. Just try to use whatever they are feeding on. In other words “match the hatch” and that includes when fishing with artificial baits.
I don’t mean to bore anyone with my tales of flyfishing but it’s what I love to do. In 3 days of flyfishing I caught 13 trout. Of those 13 fish only one measured less than fifteen inches. The other 12 were all between 16” to 23”. The fly is purple/black and has a rattle tied in. I’ve even caught a mangrove snapper on it. I also had some people get a few snapper on live shrimp. It’s good to see they’re coming back from the freeze of 2 years ago. The only fish that has avoided me this year is the snook. I know they’re there so it’s just a matter of time until I hook up.

This past Friday I returned to my flounder hole to see if they were still holding in that area. Yes they were. This time I had a disadvantage. I forgot to put my bucket of Berkley gulp shrimp on the boat that morning so instead I tried a black bucktail jig. The jig has worked for me in the past but on this day it yielded no results. I had some other made imitation scented shrimp on board so I put one on the jig. On my first cast I landed a nice fat 15” flounder. That was the only fish I landed on that bait. I lost a couple of big fish that I attributed to losing because the bait was about an inch longer in length than the 3” Berkley Gulps I’m use to using. It seemed they would just take the tail and hold on to it then release it when you got the fish near the surface. This theory was evident by the bite marks that were left just behind the hook on the much softer, longer bait. You can bet that I won’t leave home again without my Berkley Gulps.
For those of you that would rather fish live bait for flounder you have several options. Free lining a live shrimp with a piece of split shot to get it near the bottom will work as will shrimp fished on a jig head. Live mullet or mud minnows are also great baits and don’t rule out a piece of fresh cut ladyfish.
Speaking of fresh cut ladyfish, it also works great for redfish and trout. Don’t be surprised if a big tarpon eats it and takes off with it too. A friend of mine, I’ll call him Bill, has been tearing up the redfish on fresh cut ladyfish. He’s also landed a few trout over 25 “ on the cut bait. Whenever Bill sees my truck at the boat ramp I can always expect a call asking me to keep any ladyfish I catch to give to him.
For those of you that like to chase tarpon I’ve been getting reports that they are up in Matanzas Inlet and they are big. You can probably expect to find them in that area for the rest of the summer.
I’ve been getting reports of big flounder coming off the offshore wrecks and reefs. There is also some Mahi Mahi in the 20 lb range coming from these locations. Also large red snapper but they must be released.
No matter what your fishing preference is, now is the time to get out and wet a line. Be safe out there this July 4th weekend.

I had the opportunity to fish this past Monday with Glen Pla, host of The Average Angler TV show that airs on the Brighthouse Sports Network on channel 47, channel 1147 on HD. Glen had contacted me to do a show about fishing in the Tamoka Basin and we set a date. We met at the park at 6:30 AM, loaded the boat with camera equipment, and set off for a day of fishing.
We got out into the basin and began to work the shorelines with top water plugs. As luck would have it we could not find a single trout or redfish to cooperate with us. I started to think about where we could go to get some trout and reds so I decide to head north up the ICW to Bulow Creek.
We fished a stretch of the Creek and again no luck. I thought for a few minutes then said to Glen that we would fish an area and probably pick up some flounder. We tied off to the bank and began fishing the in coming tide with jig heads and Berkley Gulp shrimp. It wasn’t but a few minutes and Glen was hooked up with a small flounder. We continued to work the jigs and Glen hooked into another small flounder. We worked the area a while longer and had 2 more flounder and these were both keeper size fish. As the current slowed so did the bite. We then went for a short sight seeing cruise further up the creek.
Once we returned to our original spot the current had picked up on the out going tide and so did the flounder bite. This time the fish we were catching, I mean Glen was catching, were of better size. The flounder were now in the 17” to 18” range and fat. These fish were hungry because they were swallowing the entire rig. By the time we called it quits we boated 8 flounder with 6 of them being keeper size. We also had several that we lost. During the trip I found out that catching flounder was one of Glen’s favorite fish to catch. The flounder saved the day to make for a good fishing show. And believe me, after not landing a trout or a red, the fish gods smiled on us to make for a wonderful trip.
Glen was so pleased with the catch that he said: any time the flounder bite is on give me a call and I’ll be there.
The show will be on some time in the next week or two so stay tuned in to catch it.

I hope everyone had a safe Memorial Day and you took time to thank our Soldiers and Veterans for the freedoms we have in our country.
The trout fishing in our area remains steady. Trout are hitting top water lures and flies at the crack of dawn. Surface lures such as the Rapala Skitterwalk or Mirrolure Top dog or Top Dog Jr. will get the job done for those of you casting bait casting reels or spinning reels. These lures are plastic and have loud rattles in them that are meant to attract fish, and believe me they work. They work best when retrieved with what is known as a “walk the dog” movement. The lure moves across the water in a zig – zag motion.
To create this movement you need to continually twitch the rod tip about six inches while winding in the line. You can also change up the cadence of the lure by letting it pause after a couple of twitches or the rod. You can also work it slow or fast. Different retrieves need to be tried to find out what works best to catch fish. Many times the fish will strike when the lure is stopped on the pause. Like all lures you buy read the directions on the back of the box to obtain the best results. Yes guys, that means read the directions!!
When it comes to flies I have three favorites; Todd’s Wiggle Minnow, Rainy’s Bubblehead and the Hell’s Bay Popper. All three of these top water flies will make a popping sound when worked correctly. The Wiggle Minnow also dives below the surface giving it double the effectiveness. Just as with lures the flies need to be used trying different retrieves. I find that with the flies the fish seem to want it when it stops between strips. Stripping in the line with your hand is how you retrieve a fly compared to turning the handle on a spinning reel or bait casting reel.
The hardest thing to get use to when fishing a top water lure or fly is setting the hook when a fish strikes. Your first reaction will be to set the hook as soon as the fish strikes the target. Wrong thing to do!!!! You need to feel pressure on the lure first before setting the hook. If he misses the lure, which happens quite often, let it sit for a second or two before you start to move it again. If it sits the fish will think he stunned his prey and often comes back and hits it again.
Give top waters a try, it will be some of the most exciting fishing you’ve ever done.

What’s For Dinner?

What’s for dinner? Let me explain what I mean by describing the event that led to this question.
Early one morning last week I was fly fishing the banks of the Intracoastal Waterway in search of trout. I started with a top water fly but when that didn’t produce I went to deeper water (dropoffs), a weighted fly and an intermediate fly line. An intermediate fly line has a slow sink rate. The combination of the fly and line allows you to present your offering at deeper depths.
As I proceeded to fish I noticed an unusual amount of dolphins in the ICW that morning probably because of the abundance of bait. After watching some of them explode on the bait and eating they seemed to move on their way. A few minutes later I hooked into my first trout of the day.
It was a nice trout about 23 inches in length. She was a feisty gal that didn’t want to come to the boat. She was putting up a grand fight when I noticed over my shoulder on the opposite side of the boat about 10 feet away there was a dolphin hanging around. The trout had taken me under the boat a couple of times and then headed back out to open water. When I finally got the trout to the side of the boat I looked over and that dolphin was still there. It was acting anxiously.
When I reached down and grabbed hold of the leader to lift the fish in the boat the fish shook it’s head and flopped off the hook. (I crush the barbs on my fly’s to make for easy hook removals.) As soon as this happened I looked over my shoulder to see where the dolphin was and before I had a chance to turn my head back there was a huge explosion in the water where the trout had been. I was in awe at how fast that dolphin swam under my boat and how it seemed to know exactly when the trout came off the hook. Nature is an amazing creation.
Bon Appetit Mr. Dolphin!!
The FWC is still deliberating at weather or not to make the 3 miles south of the Rte 100 Bridge a no wake zone. This is all because of Manatee’s even though there is less than 1 Manatee death per year. I believe in conservation but this is wrong considering the small amount of navigable water we have here in Flagler County. It seems animals have more rights than humans nowadays. Boaters and fishermen get involved. Let the FWC know what you think about this matter before it’s too late.

What a difference a year makes. In just one year the trout fishing has gone from next to nil to excellent. Last year it seemed that the only time you could find trout was at night under the dock lights. Not this year. For example: last year I couldn’t get a trout bite on a top water fly all year, I’ve had several already this year and that includes a 21 inch one Sunday morning.
During the daylight hours the bait of choice seems to be live shrimp. Live lining the shrimp is working best. All you need is 10 lb test braided line with a 15 inch piece of fluorocarbon leader tied to the end of it and then tie on a #1 short shank hook on the end of the leader. About six to eight inches up from the hook place a BB size split shot and your good to go. Oh yea, don’t forget to place a live shrimp on that hook.
I have found the two best ways to hook your shrimp is to either horn hook it or tail hook it. When you horn hook it the hook point will go under the horn on one side and out the other. Just make sure the hook is placed in front of that dark pulsating dark spot on the head. That is the shrimp’s brain and if you hit it, it will kill it instantly. When tail hooking shrimp I like to put the hook through the middle of the fan tail and thread the shrimp about a ¼ inch up the hook shank then bring the point out on the bottom of the shrimp.
After all this is complete you’ll want to cast your shrimp diagonally up current and let it drift down with the current as you slowly work it back to the boat trying to keep all the slack out of the line. Once it gets past you and parallel to the boat reel it in and cast out again. I also have lots of success by letting the person on the rear of the boat just letting the shrimp drift in the current every so letting out a little line to keep the bait down in the water.
I know that this might not interest some of you but for those of us who saltwater fly fish we lost a legend in the sport last month. On April 18th Billy Pate passed away at the age of 81. Billy was a pioneer in fly fishing the Florida Keys. The first fly reel I ever bought was a Billy Pate bonefish reel back in 1985 and I still have it. RIP Billy.

What a difference a year makes. In just one year the trout fishing has gone from next to nil to excellent. Last year it seemed that the only time you could find trout was at night under the dock lights. Not this year. For example: last year I couldn’t get a trout bite on a top water fly all year, I’ve had several already this year and that includes a 21 inch one Sunday morning.
During the daylight hours the bait of choice seems to be live shrimp. Live lining the shrimp is working best. All you need is 10 lb test braided line with a 15 inch piece of fluorocarbon leader tied to the end of it and then tie on a #1 short shank hook on the end of the leader. About six to eight inches up from the hook place a BB size split shot and your good to go. Oh yea, don’t forget to place a live shrimp on that hook.
I have found the two best ways to hook your shrimp is to either horn hook it or tail hook it. When you horn hook it the hook point will go under the horn on one side and out the other. Just make sure the hook is placed in front of that dark pulsating dark spot on the head. That is the shrimp’s brain and if you hit it, it will kill it instantly. When tail hooking shrimp I like to put the hook through the middle of the fan tail and thread the shrimp about a ¼ inch up the hook shank then bring the point out on the bottom of the shrimp.
After all this is complete you’ll want to cast your shrimp diagonally up current and let it drift down with the current as you slowly work it back to the boat trying to keep all the slack out of the line. Once it gets past you and parallel to the boat reel it in and cast out again. I also have lots of success by letting the person on the rear of the boat just letting the shrimp drift in the current every so letting out a little line to keep the bait down in the water.
I know that this might not interest some of you but for those of us who saltwater fly fish we lost a legend in the sport last month. On April 18th Billy Pate passed away at the age of 81. Billy was a pioneer in fly fishing the Florida Keys. The first fly reel I ever bought was a Billy Pate bonefish reel back in 1985 and I still have it. RIP Billy.

Gear up for Cobia It’s time to start gearing up for Cobia. Reports show that the sought after Cobia are in the Port Canaveral area. This means the fish should only be a few weeks away from our area. The thing that’s holding their migration back is the water temperature. It was reported to me the other day that the water temp in Matanzas inlet was only 61 degrees. The water temps at the reefs and wrecks off of Flagler Beach was only 63 degrees. Once the surf temperature starts to near 70 degrees we should start to see Cobia. Once the Cobia enter our area the main concentration of fish will be found in depths ranging between thirty five to forty five feet. It’s then that you have to start looking for the large Manta Rays. The cobia will be found swimming with the rays and can be underneath, on top of or following them. The width of the rays can be up to twenty feet and the large ones will often hold a good amount of fish. The best time to look for the rays is between 10AM and 3PM with noon being the optimal time because of the position of the sun, less glare on the water. Once you spot a ray you need to get within casting distance without spooking the fish. If you get too close he will sound quickly on you. Normally you will be able to see the cobia around him. Fire off a cast quickly and begin to reel. You will on occasion hook the ray and he will take you for a ride. You’ll want to use some fairly stout tackle when it comes to cobia because they can reach weights to eighty pounds and over. An eight foot spinning rod that can handle lures to three ounces will due along with a reel that can hold about 300 yards of 30 lb braided line. O the end of that line you’ll want to have a minimum of a fifty lb leader. When it comes to bait, a 1 to 2 ounce bright colored buck tail jig tipped with a curly tail grub will due. For even better results try a jig with a Berkley Gulp eel attached. Cobia can’t resist an eel. Use caution when bringing these fish aboard the boat. They’re tails are kind of spiked and can cause you major harm if you are not careful. A large landing net or gaff is preferred. Keep your ears open and listen to the grapevine for Manta Ray sightings and get out and enjoy these powerful fighting fish.

Utilizing The Web

If you don’t think of the World Wide Web as a useful tool when it comes to fishing you might want to think again. I have found the web to be an invaluable tool for information on all aspects of fishing. You can find information on everything from offshore, inshore, fly fishing, fishing knots, tackle and places to go to. Just go to Google and type in what you are looking for and it’s there. The other day when I needed to find a variation of a fishing knot I tie I Googled it and there it was.
If you are like me and learn best from visual demonstrations then You Tube is the source to go to. You can learn to tie knots, fly fish, tie flies, throw a cast net or rig baits, it’s all there for your viewing pleasure. Having an iphone will allow you access to that information right in the palm of your hand. The iphone also allows you to get up to date weather reports, radar and barometric pressure all of which I find very useful. It even has an electronic compass.
I’ve watched all this technology evolve over the years and it never ceases to amaze me. I may show my age here but when I started working for the phone co. back in 1970 I remember having to repair phones that were on a 4 party line. To you younger folks that meant that 4 houses were working on the same line. Then came car phones where the workings were so big they had to be put in the trunk of the car. Look how far we’ve advanced over the past 41 years. Makes me wonder what the next 30 years will bring. In the meantime I guess I’ll just have to be stuck with my iphone and my fishing.
The fishing was excellent the beginning of last week but slowed during the latter part of week and the weekend. I believe the slow down was due mostly to the full moon. Early in the week I had a couple from Pennsylvania fishing and the duo caught over 30 fish; reds, trout, flounder and ladyfish. All were on live shrimp. On Friday my buddy Mark Zander and I went up the Tamoka River in search of snook and tarpon. We saw one tarpon roll but no takers. Mark had one 17” snook on a plug and also a red. I had one trout and one red both on fly. Look for it to pick up again as the moon wanes.

Capt Rob Ottlein
386-439-2636
www.flaglerfishingcharters.com

Trout Fishing Is Open Again

The first part of the old saying “March rolls in like a lion and out like a lamb” has been holding true so far this month. The strong winds have made fishing the flats difficult but if you can find places to get out of the wind such as canals and behind tree lines you’ll find some pretty darn good fishing. Trout are plentiful as are reds, flounder and ladyfish.
Trout have been very cooperative since the season opened March 1st. What a difference since last March when trout were very difficult to find. I’ve had a couple of trips out this month where the people have caught 30 fish in four hours of fishing. Right now they’re eating just about anything you put in front of them; live shrimp, plugs, soft plastics and flies. They are averaging between 14” to 20” and they are very healthy.
By now, most of you who read this column know that I love to fly fish so I must tell you that I’ve been tearing up the trout on fly. I’ve been using a rendition of a Clouser fly that my buddy, Rich Santos, from Jacksonville showed me how to tie. There are 2 things that I believe are the key to my success with this fly pattern. One is the color – black and purple. The second is using an Intermediate fly line – it is a slow sinking line. Rich Santos and I recently fly fished an area of the Pelicer flats on foot. I used the above combination and out fished him 15 to 2 on trout. The next day I fished in the ICW by myself with the same combination and lost count of the amount of trout I caught.
The flounder are eating live shrimp, Berkley Gulp fished on a jig head and black bucktail jigs. The best place I have found for the flounder are in the vicinity of Highbridge. If you don’t have a boat you can fish the canal along Highbridge Rd. from the bank. By putting in a few days of fishing this stretch of road you’ll quickly learn where the oyster bars are. This area has also been producing trout and redfish. Just be careful of the passing cars.
A lot of the redfish in the ICW have been under slot size (and there have been plenty of them) but if you keep at it you’ll eventually find a slot size fish. They too are eating live shrimp, Berkley Gulp and 1/8 oz black bucktail jigs.
Time will tell if March “goes out like a lamb”

Capt Rob Ottlein
386-439-2636
www.flaglerfishingcharters.com

To Fish or not To Fish?

That is the question. Lately it seems I’m getting a lot of emails on how the Government wants to curtail our fishing. Let me explain; The NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Services) who has already put the clamps on red snapper, grouper, black sea bass and other species is now looking to put drastic changes on the bag limits for cobia in our state waters. Right now the bag limit stands at 1 per person or 6 per boat per day. The new legislation would cut the number to 1 cobia per boat per day. You wonder why they, the government, would want to do this when fishermen say the cobia stocks are the strongest they’ve seen in 25 years. You can read more about this in this months issue of the Florida Sportsman or www.floridasportsman.com.
You may ask yourself who is really pushing the Government to make all these changes to our fishing regulations? In this writers “opinion” it’s the environmental group known as PEW Charitable Trusts. For the sake of losing my cool here and going off on my soap box I urge you to go to their website www.pewcharitabletrusts.org and find Protecting Ocean Life and see what there up to. Again, “in my opinion,” they would like to see fishing shut down altogether.
Here’s another good email I received; Florida State Senator Joe Negron (R-Stuart) introduced a bill, S.B.744, which would eliminate resident and non-resident fishing licenses. If this bill passes, Florida’s fisheries management system and the recreational fishing economy would be devastated. You can learn more about this ridiculous bill, and I strongly urge you to do so because this will affect not only fisherman but business’s and jobs, by going to:
www.keepamericafishing.org
I read all this stuff and I ask myself why? Why would people or organizations want to affect the lives of millions of people? Before I get into politics, which I really don’t want to do in a fishing column, let me just say this; “can’t we all just get along”.
Enough depressing news, let’s talk about fishing. The inshore fishing this past week has been on the slow side overall. High tides and the full moon both had an affect on the bite. Look for this to change with the advent of the new moon and warming water temperatures. It’s been beautiful lately so do yourself a favor and get out and enjoy these days before the real heat sets in. Looking at the national weather I feel very lucky to be living in Florida.

Trout Fishing Closed For February

Trout fishing is closed for the month of February in the northeast zone. The northeast zone starts at the Volusia/ Flagler county line and extends north to the Florida/ Georgia border. All trout that are caught inside the northeast zone must be released no matter of their condition. If you launch your boat in Flagler County, go into Volusia County and catch trout you can’t bring them back into Flagler County. If you launch in Volusia you can’t go into Flagler and bring trout back to that county. Your best bet if your looking to keep trout this month is to launch in Volusia and stay in Volusia. Trout fishing will reopen in the northeast zone March 1st.
In my last article I wrote about the benefits of the color gold in clear water. Now that we are getting rain and the water temperature rises you’ll notice the clarity of the water start to change, it will become darker. Once the hue changes it’s time to start looking at trying different colors when it comes to artifical baits and flies. Don’t get me wrong here, gold will still work especially when the sun is the brightest during the day, it’s just time to start thinking about the use of different colors in stained water.
A lot of fishermen have a saying when it comes to fishing dark water; If it ain’t chartreuse it ain’t no use. I have to admit that there’s a lot to be said about that statement. Chartreuse is one of my favorite colors in dark water especially if the color gold is incorporated somewhere in the mix. My favorite lure, the Mirrolure M17, is a combination of chartreuse and gold. This lure, because of the flash it puts off, seems to draw fish from out of the dark depths on bright sunny days. Even when it comes to my flies I’ll use a chartreuse/gold color combination during the daylight hours.
When fishing deeper water, where it’s always darker, I like lean towards dark colors such as black, green or purple. I’ll use these colors or a combination of them weather I’m using a deep running plug, jig or a fly. The darker colors put out more of a silhouette than lighter colors making it easier for the fish to see. They actually make a product that will select a color to use when it is placed in the water. Add to the color a lure that wabbles and puts out vibration or a jig or fly that pulsates when moved through the water and you have a deadly combination for catching fish.

Go Gold

When it comes to fishing for reds in the flats during the winter I like to go gold, as in gold spoons. Or for that matter any lure or fly that contains some gold color. Gold puts out a reflection in the water that redfish just can’t resist. Add to that the vibration a gold spoon or spinner bait puts out and you have an unbeatable combination for finding redfish.
With the gold spoon I can cover a large area and quickly find out if there are any fish in the area. It casts a long distance when fished with a 10 lb braided line and a light rod and reel. Another advantage to a gold spoon comes on those windy days; if cast sidearm it will cut through the wind and go farther than anything else you can cast. There are times when the reds just won’t eat it but you’ll find maybe 10 of them will follow it back right up to the boat. That’s when it’s good to have another rod rigged and ready to go with maybe a Berkley Gulp that you can quickly pick up and throw to them.
Gold spoons are not just limited to redfish. I have caught plenty of flounder on them while searching for redfish. The gold spoon has also caught me trout and snook in the flats. The first snook I caught here in Florida was on a gold spoon. Wow, that was a long time ago and it did teach me early on that it’s a good tool to have in your arsenal.
A gold, single blade spinner bait rigged with a soft plastic mullet imitation also works well in the flats. The biggest problem I find with them is casting them into a wind. Because they are bulky they offer a lot of resistance traveling through the air.
If I use a soft plastic jerk shad on a worm hook I like it to have some gold specks in it. A rig like this allows you to work it very slowly and if it is rigged weedless you can throw it up into grass where you can often find redfish feeding.
I also like gold in my flies I throw. I’ve been using a form of a Clouser fly that I tie that is black and has gold holographic flash tied into it. It’s been catching reds in the flats. If I switch to a sinking line while fishing deeper water it’s been catching me reds, trout and flounder.
So do yourself a favor and go out and invest in some GOLD.

Seeing Red

Sight fishing for redfish is what I’m referring to when “seeing red”. Now is the time of year when you have the best opportunity to actually see these fish in the water. When the algae that causes the water to become a dark color is killed of by cold water, it becomes clear. As long as there is no wind (a slight wind will cause a chop on the water making sight fishing difficult) or rain (rain can darken the water) your chances of seeing red are excellent. Low water level also improves conditions. The deeper the water gets the less clarity you have.
For example: I was out a couple of weeks ago and entered an area at low tide where I found crystal clear water conditions. I could see everything on the bottom; it was like looking into a glass of gin. Conditions like that can also give the fish an advantage as I soon found out. As easily as you can see them they can also see you just as easily. I was casting a shallow shoreline for fish when I began approaching a creek mouth lined with oyster bars when I noticed some mullet acting nervous. As I got a little closer a redfish exploded on the mullet and then another. At this point my adrenaline starting taking over and I let myself get a little too close to the action. Being in only about a foot and a half of water I looked down to make sure I wasn’t going to run up on an oyster bar when I noticed the school of fish started swimming by the boat. There must have been fifty of them and not a one smaller than 25 inches.
There was still one active fish left on that bar that ate the fly I cast to it. He took off with my fly and the battle was on. I landed that fish and it measured 28 ¼ inches.
I found that school a couple of more times but when they saw me they took off before I had a chance to cast to them. Had I been on the poling platform instead of the fore deck I probably would have had a better chance of spotting them before they spotted me.
Speckled sea trout season is once again open south of the Flagler County line. Trout up to 5 lbs have been landed in the Highbridge area along with some decent size flounder. Berkley Gulp on a jighead or a 1/8 ounce black bucktail jig is catching these fish.
Find a windless day and get out to “see red”.

Capt Rob Ottlein
386-439-2636
www.flaglerfishingcharters.com