A couple of people I know ran offshore earlier this week in search of some cobia on the Flagler County reefs. They only found one 25 lb cobia but did get some nice flounder that averaged around 4 lbs.
I don’t keep up too much with the offshore scene so lets move to the beach. There have been some good size pompano caught in the surf; fish up to 21”. The Flagler pier has been producing bluefish up to 10 lbs along with pompano and flounder. The surf has been very clear the last couple of weeks but if the wind switches to the southeast the water will turn to looking muddy. When the water gets muddy the fish tend to turn off and you’ll mostly get saltwater catfish and small sharks. Let us leave the ocean and move to calmer waters.
This Saturday night will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. Experts expect that it will exert 42% more tidal force so look for the tides to be higher than normal. I mention this because it will make accessing the backwaters easier. On the other hand it can make fishing the backwater more difficult because the fish also have access to more areas. Use an artificial bait to cover more area quickly to locate fish in the deeper flats.
Last week a friend and I fished the Tamoka River in search of some snook. The search was slow. We fished long and hard before we found the “one”. I was retrieving a Berkley Gulp 4” jerk shad (nuclear chicken was the color) when “it” appeared out of nowhere. The big snook was about 3 feet from the boat as I watched her nonchalantly swim over and eat my bait. When I felt her on my line I set the hook. He was on for about 5 seconds when the hook pulled. I was not a happy camper when I lost that fish. Oh well, chalk another one up to the fish. I guess that’s why they call it fishing and not catching.
The flounder action is picking up in the ICW. I caught 3 flounder on fly last week and they were all small keepers. I also had a nice 24”, 10 spot red on a fly. Fish the shallow water along the banks of the ICW using live or artificial shrimp for your best results. You’ll get both species using these baits.
