June 14, 2009 - Snook, Slams in the Summertime Snook and Slams – It Must Be Summertime
Spring slammed into summer this week along the Space and Treasure Coasts of east central Florida, and the fishing action has continued at a frenzied pace. We have had grand slams and giant snook coming out of the Indian River Lagoon this past week from Melbourne Beach to Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce. The action has been simply amazing.
We start our individual charter reports with young Wesley Miller of Satellite Beach. Wes and Marcel Pope fished the Grant area yesterday with me as part of the FLFA Junior Angler Inshore Tournament. Wes walked away with the trophy for largest snook, largest fish, and largest smile. His 25 lb snook, measuring 39 ½ inches, will long be remembered by all involved. He also caught a mess of trout measuring up to 25 ¾ inches and a pair of big jack crevalle to complete a remarkable slam. It was an amazing day for Wesley, Marcel, and me.
Also participating in the Junior Angler Tournament was Jack Baney, his friend, and his dad. Fishing with Capt. Roland in the same areas as Team Wesley, young Jack nailed a pair of fine snookeroos measuring 25 and 28 inches. His comment, "Yeah, another fish for the wall of fame at the Baneys’ house" says it all. What a way to spend a morning!!!!!!
On Friday it was a pair of my old friend from Orlando, Florida: Scott Bell and Jesse. The last time we fished the Titusville area and had a grand time with the redfish. This year we traveled south to Grant and tangled with trout, jacks, and snook. The trophy trout that was caught measured nearly 28 inches and was taken in around a spoil island in the Grant/Sebastian area.
On Thursday both Capt. Rocky and Capt. Roland had charters. Roland fished the Melbourne Beach area of the IRL with Doug Herrell, son Mac, brother-in-law Schuyler, and his sons Schuyler and Case. The crew of Melbourne residents targeted snook with great results and also had some trout that crashed the party. Case and Mac had the hot rods of the morning landing snook, trout, jacks, and one small grouper - another early June inshore grand slam.
Capt. Rocky had the pleasure of the company of Todd Mahaffey Sr. from Atlanta and the two knuckleheads, Todd Jr. and his cousin A.J. from Chimney Rocky, NC. (This was the second trip of the week for the trio after getting caught in a rare summer doldrums-type day on Tuesday.) We ventured into the pristine reaches of the Indian River between Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce. The slam for the day consisted of monster trout, bluefish, and ladyfish. Besides the fish, other highlights included “wade-fishing” the islands, racing the boat, eating ice cold watermelons on a pirate island, and an ultra-fun tire swing found hanging over the river. The day ended by enjoying the fresh trout fillets perfectly prepared by the chefs of Grills Restaurant in Port Canaveral. What a fun and full day! By the way, the Mahaffey's had a great stay at the Resort on Cocoa Beach while vacationing in central Florida (http://www.theresortoncocoabeach.com/)
On Monday, Dave Reinbold and his good friend Marlita from Pennsylvania were my guests for a half-day charter. Blue summer skies and calm water greeted us early turning to a gentle east breeze by late morning. Dave and Marlite had their inshore slam within the first hour by catching a redfish, snook, and trout. The trout was the biggest of the three weighing nearly 12 lbs, large jack crevalle up to 17 pounds, and several more trout completed another fantastic day of fishing.
Last Friday found Steve Young and his two sons Austin and Chase aboard the Flat Broke with Capt. Rocky for a half-day charter. Our purpose for the charter was to nail big snook for the boys. Pictured below are Austin with a 20 lb snook and Chase with a 15 pounder. We also caught redfish, trout, and jack crevalle to complete another early summer grand slam. All fish were released alive.
Our final two reports came from the logs of Capt. Roland from last week. Kevin from Satellite Beach, a good friend of Native Sons, fished with Roland in the Grant area and caught two monster snook including the one pictured below. The next day Jessica Jones, Roland’s daughter, fishing in the FLFA Taylor Creek Tournament, caught all kinds of fish including a personal record 24 pounder.
In conclusion, this has been an unbelievable start to summer for us. The fishing over the past six weeks has been as good as any I can recall in over forty years. If you have not had a chance to get out and enjoy this run, you are missing something very special.
Posted by Rocky Van Hoose on June 14, 2009 at 04:46:49 PM
Native Sons Fishing Guides
Captain Rocky Van Hoose
321-986-9588
rvanhoose@cfl.rr.com
Captain Brad Jones
321-626-5072
jonesmelb7@bellsouth.net
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