First, let me wish all of you dads a happy Fathers Day.
As we approach the summer solstice in the tropic of cancer, long hot days set the stage for some of the hottest fishing experienced along Florida's Indian River Lagoon Coast all year. Long hot days also signal a shift in strategy to fishing early in the morning and late in the evening and at night to beat the heat and our typical afternoon thunderstorms.
My first adventure this past week was a near-shore trip out of Port Canaveral with one of my longtime fishing buddy and best friend Mike Murray, and our plan was to target kingfish along the beach. We left the Port heading south along the beach, and we quickly located and netted pogies just south of the pier. After acquiring bait, we immediately started trolling live baits with no success. That's when we started looking instead of fishing, covering 40 miles of ocean with only one shark, one barracuda, and a 50-pound class tarpon who released itself after leader touch. As it turned out, the kingfish were staging in about 30 feet of water, one of the only locations we didn't look.
Next, it was off to Jensen Beach to attend the D.O.A. Outdoor Writers conference held at the River Palms Cottages, where I had the opportunity rub shoulders with an outstanding group of journalist while we learned and fished with D.O.A.'s newest products. Hosted by Captain Mark Nichols and his staff, the event also included two days of fishing with members of the D.O.A. Pro Staff.
On my first day of fishing, I had the pleasure of spending the day with another great friend and mentor Captain Rodney Smith as we were skippered by local angling guru Frank Caimotto. Frank's plan was to run north to Fort Pierce and fish the inside for snook, sea trout, and redfish, and then work our way out the inlet and south down the beach to the Stewart Inlet. The plan worked out great as we boated eight different species of fish all caught on D.O.A. Lures. The highlight of the day was a 5 foot sailfish that fired up on our jigs before departing in 15 foot of water right off of the beach. Frank did an excellent job putting us on fish, and it was great to fish with someone else doing all of the work.
On my second day of fishing, I was paired up with Robin Smilley of Florida Sportsman Magazine, and the legendary guide Captain Squeaky Kelly. Day two was only a four hour trip, and our plan was to target snook in the inlet and then tarpon on the beach. Once we arrived at the inlet the tide wasn't right, so we ended up working the beach south. In a matter of minutes Squeaky had us on a pod of tarpon, but they swam right into us before we could get a decent cast off. The rest of the morning we spent running the beach looking instead of catching, and that is why they call it fishing.
All in all it was a great week of fishing, and I would like to thank Captain Mark Nichols and the staff of D.O.A Lures for the great time and their assume hospitality.
As always, if you have any questions of need information, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
http://www.irl-fishing.com/
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 landline
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