The river bite has also been up and down but almost always with a few fish including one slam of a snook, redfish, and a spotted sea trout.
About a week ago my good friend Capt. Chris Myers gave me a clinic on tarpon. He jumped 11 and got one to the boat for a photo op. I jumped one but got him to the boat so the only thing I could really brag on was my percentage of 100 %. The bait of the day was the DOA Baitbuster. The photo below is 1 second after I pulled my tarpon from the water for a quick picture and he decide to give one more wiggle and jumped free from my hands.
The kingfish depended on the bait. Those who found pogies found kings and many anglers where limiting out. On the day I took my grandson looking for his first kingfish the pogies were not to be found. The previous day they were as easy as pie. With no live bait we trolled frozen Spanish sardines and still managed to catch him his first king. When you are trolling dead bait you can pick up the speed a little and they can be productive too.
One trip in the river produced a slam of snook, redfish, and sea trout. Carol and Lloyd were visiting the Space Coast from Kansas and took a little time out for a fishing excursion. As sometimes happens with the lucky ladies, Carol caught the slam while Lloyd was left only with a mangrove snapper. The slam came on live shrimp suspended below a popping cork.
Another trip to the Banana River found Ann and her seventeen year old son Matt on the Pathfinder. Matt is an avid fisherman and was already talking about doing some surf fishing as soon as our trip was over. Ann was actually the first to hook up with a jumping ladyfish and then a slot-sized trout. Matt wasn’t too far behind with a 20 inch trout and later he caught the biggest fish of the day in a 5 pound sail cat. By the end of the day Ann and Matt from New Jersey had boated over 30 fish that include seven different species.
As always, you can visit my website at www.inshorefishingadventures.com to view pictures of the fish we catch in the Cocoa Beach area. That’s what it’s all about. Good fishin’.
Capt. Ron Presley
Phone 321-454-7285
www.inshorefishingadventures.com
presleyr@bellsouth.net
