Fishing Report
December 22, 2007
Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, FL
The holiday season has arrived, and more than ever families and friends are gathering to celebrate life and living. It is again time to count our many blessings and thank those who sacrifice their time and lives to defend our freedom. It is also time to relax and enjoy life with those within our circle and there is no better place than the outdoors to do this very thing. The weather this weekend shows improvement, so plan some time on the water and enjoy.
Currently, the sea state offshore is expected to reach 5 to 7 feet, so I don’t think anyone will be venturing out until the seas settle around the middle of the week. Once conditions wane, look for snapper, grouper, and amberjack to be concentrated on the deeper reefs and wrecks from 120 to 240-feet. Also look for cobia holding on the near-shore wrecks from 90 to 160 feet of water. If trolling is your preference, there are still some dolphin and wahoo possible outside the 120-foot mark with an occasional sailfish mixed in, and plenty of kingfish on near-shore structure.
Along the beaches the red tide is letting up, so consider pompano, whiting, sheepshead, bluefish and Spanish mackerel off the beach, ocean piers, and in the inlets, with sand fleas, cut clams, and fresh shrimp serving as choice baits. As the temperatures on the flats warm up, look for slot redfish and sea trout to return to the shallows, and small dark colored soft plastics and cut mullet and ladyfish should produce best for them. Also, remember sea trout season is closed until January first, so please handle and release them with extreme care.
This past week, I ventured out on the freshwater side, and spent some time on the St. John’s River, and although I didn’t catch any, I heard of several hickory and American shad being caught. Also, as the moon grows full, look for speckle perch spawning activity to increase, and schooling bass to be feeding on small surface minnows in the confluences of small sloughs and creeks flowing off of the pastures.
Remember, fishing and boating activity will be at an elevated level this week, so please be kind and courteous to each other and the environment.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity thank all of you who fished and worked with me in 2007, you are all truly a blessing, and I’m looking forward to a glorious 2008.
Seminar and Event Schedule:
January 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, Central Florida Boat Show Orlando Convention Center.
January 22nd, Orlando Kayak Club Meeting, Gander Mountain in Lake Mary 7 PM, Rigging Soft Plastic Baits for Redfish and Sea Trout.
March 1st, 2nd, and 8th Bass Pro Shop Spring Fling, Orlando Florida
April 18th, 19th, 20th, Coastal Angler Magazine Boating and Fishing Expo, Melbourne, Florida.
As always, if you have any questions or just need information, please contact me.
Happy Holidays, and good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
http://www.irl-fishing.com/
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 office
866-790-8081 toll free
Visit http://www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com/ for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
St Petersburg Has A Nice Balance Of Fish
I spoke with Larry at Mastrey's Bait & Tackle Inc. in St Petersburg this morning. He was telling me that there is still plenty of bait around, so fishing is steady with a nice balance of fish being caught. Before this last cold front blew through anglers fishing the ship channel just inside Tampa Bay, and in 30'-40' of water in the gulf, were still catching king mackerel. Slow trolling live bait or king spoons around structure, drop offs, or anything that holds bait may still produce a few kingfish. Grouper action is also good in the ship channel and near shore wrecks and reefs in 30' of water and up. Anchor just off of the structure you are fishing and drop your bait to the bottom. Start with frozen sardines to draw in smaller reef fish and they will draw in the grouper. Once the grouper start to bite, switching to live pinfish, pigfish, or grunts will produce larger grouper. Snook, spotted sea trout, and redfish are still biting well. Snook season is closed in Gulf waters until March, and spotted trout season is closed until January 1, so these are catch and release only. Snook are moving into rivers and residential canals and can be caught on live bait or artificials. Trout can be found on deeper grass flats and will eat jigs, slug baits, Gulp or DOA shrimp and live shrimp fished under a popping cork, Cajun Thunder or Deadly Combo float. Silver trout are a good alternative to spotted trout. Look for them just off of the beach and inside the bay and intercoastal waterway in 6'-12' of water. When you find a school of silver trout, catching 50+ fish in an hour is not uncommon. Shrimp works well, but I like to use Loves Lures in the pink color. This tandem jig combo is irresistible to silver trout! Sheepshead are starting to show well around bridges an rock piles. Fiddler crabs, shrimp. green mussels and barnacles are all good baits. Use the smallest, long shank hook you can get away with, and 30lb fluorocarbon leader to increase your hook ups. Keep your bait near the bottom and when you feel a light tap, set the hook. For more information contact;
Mastry's Bait & Tackle Inc.
727-896-8889
1700 4th St SouthSt. Petersburg, FL 33701
Mastry's Bait & Tackle Inc.
727-896-8889
1700 4th St SouthSt. Petersburg, FL 33701
Tampa Bay Reds And Trout On The Flats
Fishing after this last front has been extremely tough. The extremely warm seasonal weather that has kept kingfish on the nearshore reefs has passsed. The high pressure system has is holding over us continues to affect the fishing. Drifting the deeper flats during the day has produced good amounts of redfish. The redfish have been less affected by the front and therefore they have been my main target over the last week. The schools have bunched up on the deeper flats because the water is warmer there. They are most active on the outgoing tide as they wait for they wait for the tide to flush bait off the flats. The trout have also been biting strong. 
Larger trout have been holding in the same depth as the redfish and are extremely easy to catch. Jigging darker color soft plastics has been the key to these fish. A popping cork and a shrimp is also a very productive combination. Night fishing tends to be a lot more productive. The redfish are extremely concentrated in the underwater lights. The underwater lights warm up the water around them and are more productive than above water lights.
The snook have been hard to get to eat. The key to hooking these fish is to get a well full of whitebait and chum the lights heavily. Slip in the biggest whitebaits that you have in with the chummers and you will have success!
Larger trout have been holding in the same depth as the redfish and are extremely easy to catch. Jigging darker color soft plastics has been the key to these fish. A popping cork and a shrimp is also a very productive combination. Night fishing tends to be a lot more productive. The redfish are extremely concentrated in the underwater lights. The underwater lights warm up the water around them and are more productive than above water lights.The snook have been hard to get to eat. The key to hooking these fish is to get a well full of whitebait and chum the lights heavily. Slip in the biggest whitebaits that you have in with the chummers and you will have success!Tight lines and Happy Holidays!!
Ben Choi
727 432 7232
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Everglades Cobia, Triple-Tail, More
WHAT'S New ...
Yes, Mikey, the cobia are here!
We are please to be able to now offer online booking for all our trips. However, we are still right here to speak you on the phone or via email. Please never hesitate to call about any of the charters, to personally work out the details of your fishing trip, discuss accommodations, or anything! We will always be here for you. Click for online booking.
Yep, there are still plenty of triple-tail around. Most fish are in the 5-12 lb range. DOA Shrimp work well.
Sight fishing has been spectacular. The Redfish and Snook, in water as shallow as 4-6", are waiting for baits to be forced out of the mangrove. These fish risk attack from ospreys in the shallow water for one reason to feed. Plant a small bait in front of them and they will eat. Timing the tide is paramount for these trips. A 1/2 or 3/4 days is best and you do not have to get up early. A sight fished snook in the shallows ... What can be better?
Pick up a copy of Mike "Stubbs" Stubblefield's new book "Confessions of a Fisherman and Other Lies". It is a collection of over 30 of Stubbs funniest short stories. Here is his website http://www.yakerobubbas.com/!
We are very please to announce the launch http://www.evergladeskayakfishing.com/, The road here was long and a bit bumpy, but we kept diligently moving forward. We have added a second kayak transport boat, the Yak Attack 2, some great captains & guides, over 20 new kayaks and three new kayak trailers to the operation. We can now offer kayak anglers a wide variety of fishing experiences throughout the area You can sight fish laid up snook on the flats one day, cast to rolling tarpon in a remote back country creek the next, and catch large mouth bass and Oscars on fly the third. This all comes about from lot of hard work, but most of all, from the continued support of our anglers. Vickie and I would like to thank every one of you. The sport of kayak fishing has come a long way and EKF is simply a reflection of where the sport is sport today.
We just finished the first Marquesas, Overnight "Special Destinations" trip. We took a 43', twin air-conditioned, Torres out of Key West loaded with fishing kayaks for. The trip was awesome. We are going to be taking reservations for these trips beginning in Janurary. Click for more information.
Please congratulate the winners of this month's drawing for the free fishing trip!! Joe Winston (Houston), Eydie Heller (Naples) and Sara Galer (Ft. Myers) were the winners of the 11/1 drawing. Don McCumber (Naples, FL), Jeff Bivins (Atlantic Beach, FL) and Greg Travis (Houston, TX) were the three winners from the August 31st drawing. Rob Phelan (Ft. Myers), Benny Landrum (Houston, TX) and Ed Chamberlain (Atlanta, GA) won July 31st. Gary Robinson (St. Pete, FL) & Jim Dolan (Allen, TX) won in June. Remember, you must register for each drawing to be eligible to win. Click here for more info on the Kayak Fishing Trips
Dec 21st and 22nd we will be camping and fishing Wizard Creek. We still have a couple of openings for this trip. In January, February and March will be camping on Cape Sable again .... great snook fishing. The January and February trips are booked but we do have availability for the March 17, 18, & 19 trip. (Read more about our February 2006 fishing amongst crocodiles.).
Captain Charles Wright
239-695-9107
http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com/
http://www.evergladeskyakfishing.com/
Yes, Mikey, the cobia are here!
We are please to be able to now offer online booking for all our trips. However, we are still right here to speak you on the phone or via email. Please never hesitate to call about any of the charters, to personally work out the details of your fishing trip, discuss accommodations, or anything! We will always be here for you. Click for online booking.
Yep, there are still plenty of triple-tail around. Most fish are in the 5-12 lb range. DOA Shrimp work well.
Sight fishing has been spectacular. The Redfish and Snook, in water as shallow as 4-6", are waiting for baits to be forced out of the mangrove. These fish risk attack from ospreys in the shallow water for one reason to feed. Plant a small bait in front of them and they will eat. Timing the tide is paramount for these trips. A 1/2 or 3/4 days is best and you do not have to get up early. A sight fished snook in the shallows ... What can be better?
Pick up a copy of Mike "Stubbs" Stubblefield's new book "Confessions of a Fisherman and Other Lies". It is a collection of over 30 of Stubbs funniest short stories. Here is his website http://www.yakerobubbas.com/!
We are very please to announce the launch http://www.evergladeskayakfishing.com/, The road here was long and a bit bumpy, but we kept diligently moving forward. We have added a second kayak transport boat, the Yak Attack 2, some great captains & guides, over 20 new kayaks and three new kayak trailers to the operation. We can now offer kayak anglers a wide variety of fishing experiences throughout the area You can sight fish laid up snook on the flats one day, cast to rolling tarpon in a remote back country creek the next, and catch large mouth bass and Oscars on fly the third. This all comes about from lot of hard work, but most of all, from the continued support of our anglers. Vickie and I would like to thank every one of you. The sport of kayak fishing has come a long way and EKF is simply a reflection of where the sport is sport today.
We just finished the first Marquesas, Overnight "Special Destinations" trip. We took a 43', twin air-conditioned, Torres out of Key West loaded with fishing kayaks for. The trip was awesome. We are going to be taking reservations for these trips beginning in Janurary. Click for more information.
Please congratulate the winners of this month's drawing for the free fishing trip!! Joe Winston (Houston), Eydie Heller (Naples) and Sara Galer (Ft. Myers) were the winners of the 11/1 drawing. Don McCumber (Naples, FL), Jeff Bivins (Atlantic Beach, FL) and Greg Travis (Houston, TX) were the three winners from the August 31st drawing. Rob Phelan (Ft. Myers), Benny Landrum (Houston, TX) and Ed Chamberlain (Atlanta, GA) won July 31st. Gary Robinson (St. Pete, FL) & Jim Dolan (Allen, TX) won in June. Remember, you must register for each drawing to be eligible to win. Click here for more info on the Kayak Fishing Trips
Dec 21st and 22nd we will be camping and fishing Wizard Creek. We still have a couple of openings for this trip. In January, February and March will be camping on Cape Sable again .... great snook fishing. The January and February trips are booked but we do have availability for the March 17, 18, & 19 trip. (Read more about our February 2006 fishing amongst crocodiles.).
Captain Charles Wright
239-695-9107
http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com/
http://www.evergladeskyakfishing.com/
Biscayne Bay Holding Reds, Snook, Tarpon
While most of the snook caught this past two weeks have been small, schools of larger linesiders can be found.SOUTH FLORIDA SPORT FISHING REPORT
Flamingo, Biscayne Bay and Florida BayDecember 10th, 2007
Snook fishing has been the ticket in Florida bay with redfish in the mix as well as a couple of smaller tarpon here and there. The past two weeks catches included a 35lb tarpon and a slew of smallish snook caught in the some of the backcountry creeks and ponds. We did however jump a bunch of tarpon in the 50+ lb range in larger creeks on topwater lures. Tim Slawson along with his two sons, Jeff and Chris, combined to catch over 20 redfish – the largest at 12 lbs – on live pilchards fished around structure in moving water. Snook fishing has been good as always this time of year, but most of the snook are a little smaller than normal. On less windy days we are finding a lot of small schools of much larger snook – 8 to 15 fish in a pod swimming on the flats. Most of these fish are over 10 lbs! This last weekend we landed a 24 lb linesider on the flats with 8 more over 10 lbs. All of these fish were caught sight-fishing with artifical lures.. and you have no idea how many snook we saw like that!!! I have had a couple days when the fishing wasn’t that great – like days when a cold front passes over first thing in the morning, shutting everything down – but for the most part, the fishing has been very good. I expect the same scenarios to continue for the time being. If the weather stays warm, the fishing will get even better! Until next time, TIGHT LINES!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)