March 26, 2010 - Spring has Sprung
Spring has finally sprung along the Space Coast and we are, at long last, fishing in short sleeves and short pants while enjoying bluer skies and much warmer temperatures. The fish are also overjoyed that this long winter of harsh temperatures, gloomy skies and north winds has finally left us. Our fishing activities now pivot around successive high and low pressure systems accompanied by shifting winds and wind speeds pushing their way into the area. As a result, fishing can be spectacular one day and maddeningly difficult the next as the following individual reports indicate.
We start our fishing reports with a spectacular fish caught nearly two weeks ago. Jerri and Natalie Van Hoose spent part of sunny Saturday afternoon with husband and dad, Capt. Rocky, catching some rays (sun rays, that is) and leisurely fishing. Leisurely, until a monster redfish from the Banana River changed the entire
ambience.Pictured below is Natalie holding her trophy redfish.
Capt. Peter and Capt. Roland spent nearly two weeks pre-fishing the Grant area in anticipation of the first Florida Flatsfishing Tournament of the season. They marked numerous schools of fat redfish and trout during this time and could not wait for last Saturday to arrive. However, a low pressure system pushed through the region Friday and the entire fishing landscape changed overnight. Even though both captains caught many fish the following day, it was the crew on Capt. Roland’s boat consisting of Mike and Michael Rinkus of Colorado that did the best.. Pictured below is young Michael holding the fifth place redfish which measured exactly 27 inches and weighed 6.56 pounds. (The team also weighed the fifth place trout in the tournament).
Capt. Roland and I pre-fished the Grant/ Sebastian Inlet stretch of the Indian River on Tuesday in preparation for charters booked for later in the week. Again, a wind shift from northeast to west occurred overnight and drove the fish away from their previous haunts. This time we adjusted our tactics correctly and located a number of pods of hungry fish along with a school of the largest redfish we’ve seen on the flats in Grant in fifteen years. Pictured below are Roland and me holding two of the five reds caught from this school. By the way, the fat slob of a red held by Roland measured over 40 inches and weighed between 25-30 pounds. We are used to catching such fish in the Banana River of Merritt Island and the Indian River in Titusville but to find them in Grant was exceptional.
After the Saturday tourney, the rest of the Rinkus family flew into Orlando for a week of spring break on Melbourne Beach and little more fishing. Mike, Michael, and Jacob joined Roland in the Grant area on a beautiful sunny Wednesday. The fishing was great because of the school of giant reds found on the flats the day before. Many fish were caught from reds to trout. The highlights from the charter were Michael with a 6 lb trout and Jacob pictured below with the fish of the day and his biggest ever, a 20lb redfish. The smile on this 7 year olds face says it all.
Bob Hughes from Merritt Island along with two of his buddies, James from Brooksville, Florida and Buck from Fontana, North Carolina recently joined Capt. Rocky on a gorgeous day for a redfish hunt in Titusville. In pre-fishing the flats the day before there were hundreds of happy reds and black drum feeding, tailing and lollygagging about. However, the wind changed and the fish disappeared overnight. Sometimes fishing can be maddening. We did manage to catch one glorious monster red, fought and landed by Buck, and it made all the difference for the day.
Jonathan Dodd, recently moved back to Cocoa Beach from Vancouver, Canada, joined Capt. Rocky for a fishing adventure on the Banana River last weekend. They were sought shelter from the shift spring winds along several barrier islands and bumped into a school of gator trout doing the same thing. Pictured below is Jonathan with a monster trout caught and released.
Capt. Peter observed that with the recent strong winds, the schools of redfish and trout have moved into coves, and protected docks. Jonathan Painter (visiting from North Carolina), and Zack Spurlock (Satellite Beach), reaped the rewards of fishing mangrove coves with him during a blustery day by sight-fishing schools of redfish in the Banana River. Jonathan and Zack put the hook into eight pretty reds including the two shown below.
Josh, Matt, and Anthony joined Capt. Roland on a rare beautiful clam sunny day early last week for a fabulous day of fishing. The fish are starting to move into the shallow water for warmth and food. The day started a little slow but as the sun warmed the water it got better and better. Everybody caught trout from 20 to 27 inches and 1 red also made an appearance. Pictured is Josh with a 27 in trout. The final tally was 20 trout and 1 redfish.
Posted by Rocky Van Hoose on March 26, 2010 at 10:19:10 AM
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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